should we buy a new sofa?

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When Typhoon Ondoy visited the Philippines last September, it brought about unexpected flooding which was described as the worst one ever recorded. Our house in Makati got flooded chest-deep. All appliances on the ground floor got soaked in flood water. Because of the very strong current, the aquarium even toppled over. FF, the flowerhorn fish, was seen day after the storm happily swimming in ankle-high flood water in the backyard.

The living room sofa, after washing it over and over with soap and water, is still very smelly up to now -- 3 months after the flood. We've been thinking of buying a new sofa for the living room. We've been busy visiting appliance stores and comparing different kinds of sofa's available in the market right now.

We're looking for a sofa that can provide comfort and style. Modern yet comfortable seating that can give the needed face-lift to the entire family room (the wall paint was partially destroyed by the flood water). I am actually eyeing a contemporary leather sofa that was creatively designed to clutch all the stuff and frills of different leisure, entertaining indoor activities.

But there are kids in the house that will (most likely) jump, leave biscuit crumbs and crayon marks on the sofa. They will not care if it's a new one or soaked in flood water; expensive or inexpensive. They will (very probably) make it look old, battered and dirty in a blink of an eye.

So, what do you think. Should we buy a new one like this...

or just wait until the kids are old enough to leave the sofa alone.

what did you get from Santa?

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"Here's my wish list Mama, I want to make it simple. I just want a bear."

Before going to sleep, night of 24th, "Mama, I don't think I'm going to get a gift from Santa."

He got the bear. But not without a letter from Santa.

Very happy, he promised to be a very good boy next year.

cutie pic!

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merry christmas everyone!!

are you on santa's list?

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what do you tell your kids? what should they do to be included on santa's list?

how to make flavourful gravy

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My son loves fried chicken so much! But of course, he cannot eat it without gravy. I am not a very good cook and because of that my heart has been broken a lot of times. I can't count the times my son honestly told me that what I cooked was not yummy (says his taste buds, mine liked what I cooked)! Honestly, making gravy from scratch is not an easy task. It is a very challenging task indeed especially if one is not a good cook (really!).

This Christmas eve dinner though, the gravy that I will serve will definitely (hopefully) be a hit! Thanks to the gravy tips video of Club House Gravy. The video helped me practice preparing great tasting gravy that my son and the whole family will surely love.

Club House traces its roots back to 1883, where it first operated in London, Ontario. Because of strict standard of quality, freshness and taste, Club House was able to meet their ultimate goal of putting the best foods on their client's table.

Do you also want to learn how to make flavourful gravy? Club House Gravy can help you make great tasting gravy with no stress or fuss! Go ahead, visit their site.

While you are there, don't forget to visit the newsletter sign-up and contest entry page.

Bye for now! I still have to practice preparing the gravy again. I want to make a perfect, very flavourful gravy for our Christmas eve dinner.

Twas the Night before Christmas Poem

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Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

credit: carols.org
photo credit: santaclaus.com

Be dazzled @ Bidazzled

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Have you heard of the new online auction market Bidazzled? It was launched in early November of this year. It just turned a month old but Bidazzled.com is redefining the online auction market by offering savings of up to 90% on name brand merchandise all while funding a charity. Bidazzled was designed and created primarily to fund a lung cancer charity - The Ruch Foundation (www.ruchfoundation.com).

At Bidazzled.com auction winners usually save over 80% off retail price. What I like about this online auction market is that Nobody Loses! Those who doesn't win receive up to 50 Bonus Bids as a thank you for participating, and can purchase the auction item less the investment they had in the auction. To those who win an item, Bidazzled usually make an offer to buy the item back through the following options: cash (paypal or check), cash and bids or bids.

There have been 2 winners of Nintendo Wii's who have won with just their 5 free bids during the first month of Bidazzled.

Now, you are going to be dazzled with Bidazzled with these exclusive offers.

Readers of my blog are entitled to 15 Additional Bids. All you have to do is enter this code: BBP1202A on the registration page. I promise that there is no obligation or cost of any kind.

Again, go to the registration page and enter this code - BBP1202A

Bids cost $1 at Bidazzled and are available for purchase in bid packs as low as $25. You also receive bonus bids when you purchase a bid pack. The highest cost of a bid when you dilute the cost with the bonus bids you receive is only $.67 per bid and often much lower.

Bidazzled has a lucrative Viral Referral program also.

*If person A refers person B. A receives 5 Bonus Bids

*If person B refers person C. A receives 4 Bonus Bids

*If person C refers person D. A receives 3 Bonus Bids

*If person D refers person E. A receives 2 Bonus Bids

*If person E refers person F. A receives 1 Bonus Bid.

So, what are you waiting for. Visit Bidazzled.com now.

fruits or vegetables?

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My son will definitely choose fruits instead of vegetables. His all-time-favorite fruit is the Philippines' national fruit - the mango. But why oh why is it so difficult to make him eat vegetables? He's 8 years old already but he still thinks veggies are yucky food.

Your kids - do they prefer fruits or veggies?

photo credit: earthobservatory.nasa.gov

comfortable clothes go green

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My son is a swimming varsity member of his school (as I have mentioned a thousand and one times already). But he has tried a lot of other sports also. This is because he sometimes gets too bored with swimming everyday. One of the sports that he has tried and loved to do is running. I of course has to go with him when he runs. I also try to not embarrass myself by resting when he's not.

I don't have comfortable running clothes though. Good thing I found Ramblers Way while browsing online for running clothes. I have my eyes on the Next-to-Skin Women’s Scoop Neck top. It is made out of superfine, 18.5 micron Rambouillet wool. The American Rambouillet is considered the backbone of the U.S. sheep industry. It represents some of the best superfine wool available in America. What I like about this top is it can be worn as a soothing baselayer during the day, for almost any activity. The natural fiber wicks away moisture, keeping the top feeling like it’s just come out of the dryer.

Ramblers Way was created with the desire to re-imagine wool as a next-to-skin, superfine fabric, to warm and comfort people of all ages and walks of life. Their worsted wool garments warm and cool equally--wearable nearly year-round. Therefore no problem in buying differnt clothes for the warm and the cold weather. The garments are durable and long-lasting, this is a great way to definitely save lots of money especially during these times of financial crisis. Their worsted wool garments are enzyme-treated for shrinkage, washable and are natural, non-synthetic, and chemical-free. Definitely environment friendly.

Do you need comfortable clothing as well? Visit Ramblers Way and go green as well.

too much tutorial fee

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This December, my son only has 3 weeks of classes. Christmas break officially starts on thre 19th.
But his tutor still charged us full month of tutorial fee. This is so unfair.

christmas wish list

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My son's wish list this Christmas.

Family, family friends, blog friends and of course Dear Old Saint Nick, please inform me so I can countersign beside the gift that you want to mail or hand deliver to our address. If you don't know our address, just leave me a note and I will get back to you right away.

1. PSP
2. Nintendo DSi game
3. R4 SD card for DS
4. Disney on Ice ticket
5. HK Disneyland Adventure
6. wrestler toys -preferably Batista (I don't let him watch wrestling, I don't know why he know who's who in the world of wrestling)
7. art lesson
8. drawing lesson
9. chess lesson
10. to be continued...

protect your data, protect your business

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Are you an entrepreneur, accountant, teacher, blogger or even a housewife who has personal and important data's stored in your computer? Do you know that anybody can have access to your computer and erase all these important data in just a click of a button?

Do you have a backup software in case unforeseen things happen to your very important datas? Do you have a backup software that can protect your computer from hackers and viruses that can damage and delete your important datas?

No?

For a free trial download of the latest back up technology, visit CA ARCserve.

ARCserve technology offers "more than backup". If for example you lost an email or you accidentally deleted one, ARCserve technology products provide Email Disaster recovery. Their software also includes archiving datas. ARCserve backup technology will also definitely deliver return on investments (ROI) to business people. How? System downtime will be reduced, storage will be reduced with Data Deduplication feature and a lot of money will be saved due to no more lost data.

The key features of this back up technology are:

1. Built-in Data Deduplication
2. Protection for Virtualized Servers
3. Dashboard with Storage Resource Management (SRM)
4. Centralized Management and Administration
5. Advanced Backup and Restore
6. Flexible High-Performance Backup
7. Efficient Backup Processes

Current clients are very happy with the backup technology of ARCserve. Why don't you download their trial software right now.

is barney just for babies?

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My son was a big fan of Barney. That started when he can already see well (aside from the colors black, white and red). He watches Barney shows while eating or when he was playing with his toys. People in the house cannot even watch television in the living room anymore because all day long it's Barney singing "I love you, you love me...".

I'm sure you know the rest of the song.

We even watched a live Barney show.

But now, he doesn't like Barney anymore. Maybe because he is not a baby anymore.

Is Barney really just for babies??

Do you want $5,000?

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Here's your chance to win $5,000. All you have to do is enter the “You Gotta See This” Video Contest which was launched recently by Abbott Medical Optics Inc. AMO, global leader in laser vision correction, invites entrants to make a video showing the impact of improved vision, for a chance to win awesome cash and cool prizes.

Here are the prizes for the top seven spots
• One Grand Prize winner will win $5,000 — selected from all submitted videos
• Three First Prize winners will win an HDTV package(a $2,500 value) — one per video category
• Three Second Prize winners will win the Flip UltraHD camcorder (a $199.99 value) — one per video category

How to enter?

Users make and submit a video in one of the following categories:
• “My contacts are getting in the way of my good time”
• “My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision”
• “You should see life after the iLASIK® Procedure”

Once users submit a video, they can ask their friends to look for their video and vote for it. Voting will determine which videos win a prize.

What are you waiting for? Join the iLASIK Video Contest now. Show how better vision through iLasik could improve — or has already improved — your life.

rj's artwork displayed at CCP

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The Cultural Center of the Philippines was created in 1966 through Executive Order no. 30, with the purpose of promoting and preserving Filipino arts and culture. It was formally inaugurated on September 8, 1969, starting a three month long inaugural festival opened by the epic musical Dularawan. Since then, the CCP has sought to truly embody its logo of katotohanan (truth), kagandahan (beauty) and kabutihan (goodness). The best artists from all over the country and around the world have graced the CCP theaters and galleries, enthralling Filipinos for over thirty years.

Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity. Zentangle provides artistic satisfaction and an increased sense of personal well being. Zentangle is enjoyed by a wide range of skills and ages and is used in many fields of interest. When you create a Zentangle, you create a beautiful piece of art. You also can deliberately create a mood, a focus, a state of mind.

credits: CCP
            zentangle

4 ways to make quick money for the holidays

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Do you need additional cash for buying presents this holiday season?

Here are five quick ways to make fast money .

1. Sell Something - One person's trash is another's gold mine. Put up a garage sale (in your garage, where else?) or sell your old things (clothes, musical instruments that you've never used, etc) online.

2. Online Tutor - Tutoring pays well not to mention that this is an in-demand service. If you are a very patient person and you like teaching, this is the part time job for you.

3. Moving Advertisement - You can wear a t-shirt or a costume that advertise a business. Companies are willing to pay through inexpensive ways to get their name out there.

4. Freelance Writer - You don't need to have an English degree. Start with searching online to look for writing jobs. Just make sure that your articles make sense, not just to you but to other people as well.

You don't have to break your back doing hard labor to earn quick cash. Just try out my list and you will surely find one easy part-time job that will work for you.

toys for sale

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I never threw away any of RJ's old toys, not even a single one. Lately though, I've noticed that he doesn't play with most of it anymore.

We decided to sort out his toys and have a garage sale.

He wanted to keep half of the toys.

Me, I want to keep all of it.

Garage Sale is this weekend.

ways for family to have fun this christmas

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Christmas is the time of year when we celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is also the time when we gather with our loved ones to catch up on what happened to each and every member of the family during the year. Families congregate anticipating laughter, good food, gift exchange, Christmas music, Christmas stories and good holiday entertainment.

"It's better to give than to receive." Gift giving time is one of the highlights during Christmas gatherings. This is a great opportunity for parents to teach their children that all gifts received should be appreciated equally no matter how big or how small, how expensive or how cheap the gifts are.

Holiday games are a great way to entertain the family members during the gathering. Put on some Christmas music, lay out all the food on the table and throw on some Santa hats. Then gather everyone up and play games like Charades and Christmas Trivia.

Many games can be altered and played with a Christmas version. Parents should teach their kids the value of sportmanship and to have fun whether they win or lose.

Have fun this Christmas season everyone. Happy New Year too!

teaching your children to be rich

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Have you read Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad, Poor Dad?

Me? I haven't...yet. I have read a lot of reviews and forum discussions about it though.

I know.

I am centuries late already. I have a copy of the book a long time ago but put off reading it in favor of fiction books. Such a waste of time? No, not really, I dont think so. I already started reading it, better late than never.

Here are some excerpts from the book that might make you want to read it.

"If you want something, work for it."

"You're only poor if you give up. Keep going. Don't quit."

"A nice car and a nice house does not necessarily mean you're rich or you know how to make money."

"Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick decisions is an important skill."

"It's fear that keeps most people working at a job. The fear of not paying their bills. The fear of being fired. The fear of

not having enough money. The fear of starting over."

"You're taxed when you earn. You're taxed when you spend. You're taxed when you save. You're taxed when you die."

"The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. It's selfinflicted fear and ignorance that keeps people trapped."

"I want to teach you to master the power of money. Not be afraid of it. And they don't teach that in school. If you don't learn it, you become a slave to money."

Want to learn more? Go ahead, read the book.

If you have read it already, what have you learned from it?