Bookworm Through and Through

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My son is a certified bookworm. I introduced him to the wonderful world of reading even before he can even walk by himself. I remember buying his first baby books, those made of cardboard so his chubby little hands won't crumple and destroy the pages. He's now 11 and he still very much loves to read.

Our bookshelf can't accommodate the number of books that we both have. Yes, I too am a certified book addict. I probably passed some, or maybe a whole lot of, book-lover-forever genes to him.

we need to buy another bookshelf for these books,

and a whole lot of others,  that can’t anymore fit in our bookshelf

As I've said, he started with baby books. Then he started collecting books about dinosaurs when he was around 3 years old. His fascination with dinosaurs hasn't actually stopped yet. He still read his dinosaur books from time to time but he doesn't collect dinosaur toys and books anymore. One of his dream is to be a paleontologist someday.

He loves reading chapter books as well. He was able to finish reading all 7 Harry Potter books in less than two months! He's up to date on release dates of new addition to his favorite books. Like when there's a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, he's always first in his class to have a copy of the new book.

Because of his love for reading, he always ace his reading comprehension worksheets and quizzes. I'm one lucky mom. Unlike most of his classmates, he has high grades on his reading and language subjects so I don't have to tutor him on those subjects.

Math though is a different story. Although he's good with numbers, he doesn't like reviewing Math at all. Free worksheets that I find online (like multiplication worksheets and third grade math worksheets) keeps me sane.

Happy 11th Birthday!

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Happy Birthday RJ!

 

Always remember that Mama loves you very much. And no matter how tall you become, Mama may already be shorter than you next month, you will always be my baby. But don’t you worry, I will try (really hard, promise!) not to call you baby in front of your friends.

How young is too young to get engaged?

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So Miley Cyrus is engaged at such a young age of 19. In my opinion, she’s too young to get engaged. A lot of young girls idolize her so I hope Miley won’t get married pretty soon. I hope she decides on a long engagement. Her boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Liam Hemsworth was on and off for three years.

At least she won’t be needing steel levelers when changing tires, her fiancé can take care of problems like that!

Happy Day!

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I got an email this morning that I’m now hired as an SMM. I created my profile just last week and after waiting for just a few days I now have my first Odesk client. I’m only required to work seven hours each week so I have more free time for more clients.

 

 

Happy, happy day!

Do I need an exercise attire?

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I exercise at home. I prefer exercising by myself than with a group. I exercise wearing just my house clothes. Shirt, shorts and slippers (sometimes barefoot). Some people spend a lot of money on exercise (workout) attires. Understandable that they can’t use their house clothes to workout in the gym, but why spend a lot?

Maybe I also need to spend money on workout clothes to achieve the weight that I desire. *Grin* *Wink*

I actually love this dickie scrubs flare drawstring pants that my sister has. It looks so comfortable, can be used as workout pants, don't you think so? But I’m not that sure though if I should buy a new one since I still have old workout pants that I have yet to use. Should I buy?

Freelancer at Odesk

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When I was just starting to set up my first two blogs, around two-three years ago, I’ve been hearing a lot about Odesk. It’s a free-membership website where freelancers can look for jobs and business owners/entrepreneurs can look for virtual assistants like writers, accountants, programmers to name a few.

So I deleted my old profile, which was created three years ago, and created a new one. I studied how the site works for a day or two and started applying for jobs that I think I can pretty much handle without any supervision from anyone. I only waited for 1 day. I got an email from a verified Odesk client that they are interested to give me a paid test work for 5 hours. I accepted right away. I’m done with the test work. It was supposed to be for 5 hours but I was already done in 3 hours, reviewed and did some revisions in one and a half hours. Now I’m just waiting for the verdict.

I need the extra money to pay for my SSS contribution. I’m also planning to get an insurance since in my line of work I’m not entitled to any workers compensation. I hope and pray that I get the job.

How to be a Smart Consumer

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Are you a smart shopper? I'd like to think that I am a very smart shopper. Just the other day I was in the grocery store and found out that a certain brand of laundry powder is charging more when you buy a bigger pack. Buying 3 sachet packs with the same quantity is Php10 cheaper. You find it funny that I want to save Php10? Laugh again if I tell you I get to save more than a thousand a year just with that laundry powder savings. And with that amount I can already pay 1 month of phone or water bill.

 

I'm not surprised actually because a lot of other brands also practice the same "pricing scheme". I salute those companies who are consumer friendly and price their big packs lower compared with buying small sachets with the same quantity. I feel sorry for those who buy in bulk like small store owners (sari-sari store). But much sorrier for those who buy in sari-sari stores all the time. They carry the burden of paying more than what they ought to pay. Although most don't know it and maybe just doesn't care how much more they pay when buying in a sari-sari store.

 

 

So here's my piece of advice, value your hard-earned money by being a smart consumer:

- compare the brands that you buy, but do take note that cheap doesn't always mean better

- compare prices of buying in big and small packs, never assume that buying in bulk is always cheaper than buying in small packs, not all brands are consumer-friendly

- refrain from buying in small stores if it can be avoided

- make a grocery shopping list to avoid buying in small stores

 

Happy shopping!

summer is officially over

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Yes, summer is indeed officially over. My not-so-favorite rainy days has started. Hopefully, the wet season doesn’t last that long. We may not need an electric fire place during cold and wet months in this tropical country, but the flooding is an unwelcome change from the hot summer months.

It’s been raining for two days already. My two-days worth of laundry are all wet still because my mom doesn’t want a clothes dryer here in her house. Not to mention the on-off-on-off power supply here in the province. Oh, well. At least it’s cold, I can sleep even without the aircon on.

Summer activity: Learn Yoyo Tricks

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To steer him away from computer and online games while on vacation in the province, I made sure my son's yoyo is inside the luggage bag. I promised him that he'll get a Chinese Yoyo or what's also known as diabolo once he already perfected the basic yoyo tricks. But he has been ignoring his yoyo because he's still busy with his guitar lessons.

Next time I hear him say, “I’m bored!”, I’ll ask him to just play the yoyo.

Teaching Kids How to Ride a Bike

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My son can now ride a bike and he learned on his own. I found this Youtube video on how parents should teach kids how to ride a bike in a fun, stress-free and untiring-for-the-parents way. Of course the parents or an adult still needs to explain how the kids should do it.

 

My son learned how to balance in an hour, how to do a U-turn in an hour. I am not kidding!

 

Here's the video:

 

not so gloomy rainy day

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Rainy days usually make me sleepy and sad at times. But this particular rainy day I don't feel gloomy at all, thanks to our neighbor. They're playing rock music, a lot louder than usual, since early this morning. They must be using their audio mixers.

 

how my rockstar neighbor look like

But I hope they stop before night fall since I also want to sleep early tonight.

The best deal site in the Philippines

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I already bought discounted deals on these online deal sites: Deal Grocer, Metrodeal and Cash Cash Pinoy. If I have to choose what for me is the best deal site, among the three Deal Grocer has my vote. But based on experience, I (without a doubt) place Deal Grocer on the top spot.

Metrodeal gets a negative vote from me. I had problems with some of their merchants but they never, ever helped me contact those merchants. They ignored my tweets and they don’t have any contact number on their site. I reviewed one of those deal-gone-bad at Eatallyoucan.info (when you get to the site, search "Apricot Diner").

Nothing to rave or grunt about Cash Cash Pinoy. I never had a problem with them but their deals are not as good as those offered at Deal Grocer. I haven't tried Groupon yet, I wonder if I'll be a happy and contented shopper there as much as when I buy and use my vouchers from Deal Grocer.

Too many rules at Grandma's house

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Overheard my son and niece's conversation:

 

Grandma: I don’t want to see paint on my living room floor kids!

F: Why does Lola (grandma) ruin all the fun?!

R: Really? How?

F: We're not even using paint!

R: Oh, just ignore her. That's what I always do