Oh yes, my baby daughter Samantha achieved another milestone last night. We were playing in our bed and I was singing / teaching her “clap your hands”. Each time I do this, she would just stare at me and give me her happy toothy grin. And then I would take her hands and clap them together for her. But last night was a breakthrough because she clapped her hands herself when I sang to her! I was so delighted that we spent the next 30 minutes or so clapping and me, hugging and praising her for the great job she has done!
Am excited to post her video of her very first clap! But that can wait until the morning… For now, I must get some snooze or I won’t be up early…
Ah, the joys and benefits of being a hands-on Mom!
It really pays to manage your finances well because that would mean financial freedom for you and the family. But if you are on the shoestrings, chances are you put off paying the bill until the next paycheck until it’s built up or worse, your utility services disconnected.
Budgeting has never been easy for most of us… But it could be fun and rewarding when you have learned how to manage it well. Making a personal budget is hard enough as it is, let alone a family budget. But this is made easier by the YNAB Software which allows you to make and manage your budget using a spreadsheet program or as a standalone Windows application in just a few minutes.
This budget software is based on the YNAB Methodology which follows this four simple rules:
1. Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck. Learn to live a month ahead so that you are updated in paying the bills.
2. Give Every Dollar A Job. Allocating all funds for spending and/or savings will give you a greater awareness of your financial status.
3. Prepare for Rain. All of us must have available funds for those occasional big expense such as paying taxes, tire change. Allocating funds for this sole purpose each month will get you the money you need when the time comes.
4. Roll With The Punches. All of us overspend especially on groceries. To keep us on our “budgeting feet”, the YNAB software makes small adjustments with that overspending so that it doesn’t roll over in next month’s budget. It’s like you start anew each month. No deficits whatsoever.
So that’s it. Following these simple rules religiously will help you start the year right with a budget of your own.
Well, our little Samantha Ysabelle is turning a year old 7 weeks from now. I can’t believe how fast she’s grown! It makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it. SIGH! How time flies!
We have decided to hold her first birthday and baptism in the Philippines so that she will be surrounded with family and friends on her very big day!
And as a mother, I just want to create something quite special and memorable for her. Here’s the list that I have been itching to get started on and well, I haven’t ticked off the boxes on most of them yet! Whew!
1. Create a Photobook of Sam’s first year. I still need to make digiscrap layouts for this. So if you know of sites where they offer nice freebies, please let me know. I would need all the freebies (and some purchased kits) I can get my hands on!
2. Book for Samantha’s Baptism at our local church. I have already asked Nanay (my mum-in-law) to do this. As for the date, it’s going to be on March 1st, Sunday. I was pushing for a special baptism so that it can be done on Sam’s birthday, February 28th, which falls on a Saturday but due to time constraints, will have to opt for the Sunday instead.
3. Reserve a venue for the reception. I still haven’t done this yet since I am too far from the Philippines. Will have to ask my sis to do this for me after I’m done making the guest list which I think will be quite long (owing to the fact that there’s so many of them who wanted to see Sam!) Hmm… Perhaps, we’ll hold it in one of the restaurants that we frequent for special occassions.
4. Make invitations and save the date cards. I am still on the process of layouting these. Will be sending them to friends sometime in the next two weeks.
5. Book for Sam’s cake. I loved our chocolate moist wedding cake and will probably get Ate Hazel’s services again for Sam’s birthday cake. I already have something in mind but will have to surf the net for an sample photo. Hehe!
6. Make Sam’s baptism give-aways and party loot bags. Kids always love freebies and what better way to do it than have loot bags ready for the taking? I don’t know what I’m going to place in the loot bags but there’ll be chocolate goodies and candies of course. And perhaps something Japanese. For the giveaway, I haven’t got any idea yet but I would like to do it myself… nothing beats like a handmade give-away right? Ideas anyone?
7. Book for a party performer. I want the kids to enjoy the party and for Sam to have all the smiles and laughs she can get out of watching these little children have some fun. Will research on this first since this would entail additional cost.
I want to make things simple yet fun as much as possible. After all, occassions such as this only comes once.
That’s my list for now… Did I miss anything? Do let me know if I overlooked something.
Lately, we have been co-bedding with our little baby Samantha. She just doesn’t want to sleep in her crib anymore probably because she finds our body warmth comforting and reassuring. And with the cold of winter here, which baby wouldn’t? Problem is, our bed is not big enough for the three of us. It’s only a double-sized one that me and my hubby get backaches and stiff muscles trying to keep ourselves from falling off and keeping a safe distance from Sam for fear that we might crush her. You can say that it’s been a while since I we had a relaxing and ache-free sleep. If you are a parent, you could relate to what I’m trying to say.
The elegance wooden bed… elegantly simple!
I have been wanting to purchase a sturdy and big wooden bed like the elegance bed from Time4Sleep. I like my furniture pieces simple and minimal and natural and this elegance wooden bed fits just that criteria! However, time is against us since we will be moving to another country soon. Blame it on me, I kept putting purchasing a new bed off for some time. Now, it’s no longer practical to purchase one because of the impending move. Maybe, after we have settled into our new home come April or May, I would definitely purchase a new bed like the Elegance Bed.
And if you are looking for a new bed, might as well invest on it because it is the most used furniture in the house that you can possibly own. Time4Sleep has got a lot of bed selections to choose from. They have got the latest and hottest finishes available from wooden beds, metal beds, leather beds, divan beds, childrens’ beds, storage beds and whole lot more! Be sure to drop by their site and I am sure you will find the bed that you are looking for at the best value.
It’s Wednesday once again and this is my first ABC Wednesdays post for the year.
Today’s letter is Y for Yokohama… the city where I live is one of Japan’s oldest port cities. It is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Opening of the Port of Yokohama this year!
Allow me to give you a quick tour around this charming big city.
The Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, one of the oldest buildings here that is made of thousands of red bricks! The inside of the warehouse has been converted into a cultural hall, shopping boutiques, restaurants and novelty shops.
Photos clockwise:
1. The imposing Landmark Tower, Yokohama’s famous landmark.
2. Wanna go for a roller coaster ride? It goes down under a dark passage. Eerie and exciting!
3. The Giant Ferris Wheel and Cosmo Clock at Cosmo World in Minato Mirai.
4. A View of the bay and beyond in Minato Mirai. Can you see the Marine Tower ahead? This photo was taken last year when I was only a few weeks pregnant.
L: The Nippon-Maru (the Sail Training Ship) at night in Minato Mirai.
R: A night view of Minato Mirai area.
The Yokohama Landmark Tower at night.
The penguins in Zoorasia (Yokohama Zoological Gardens) - a zoological park dedicated to the display and preservation of endangered species.
Clockwise:
1. The beautiful Yamashita Park on a fine Spring day. Flowers bloom in Spring!
2. This is one of the flower exhibition beds in Yamashita Park showcasing the beautiful spring flowers of Japan. Each spring, various landscapers and gardeners participate in this event and display their best spring produce in a very colorful and wonderful mix of flowers and greens!
3. This is very typical scene in Yamashita Park especially on fine days such as this… People from all ages come to the park to paint and capture the beautiful scenery, even dogs tag along!
4. A view of the port from Yamashita Park.
I have always wanted to build our own home in a nice neighborhood. All the details are here in my mind… Big lawns, a nice garden where I can do the gardening myself, lots of rooms, big windows, a terrace or two, high ceilings, a warm and cozy kitchen… It’s quite large and dreamy, but I would love to build it sometime for the family. It would be a large investment but something that is worth taking since it would be a haven for my family.
I can even imagine how it will be built, what materials are to be used, how the floor plan should go… Of course I would contract someone like Schumacher Homes to build it for me, someone with the expertise and experience to understand my needs, my whims and wishes and will allow me to get involved every step of the way from finding the right location to the planning and to what I have in my mind. It would indeed be a relief if you have someone that will customize floor plans to suit your lifestyle and budget, wouldn’t it?
Building your dream home is no joke. I think it is one of the major decisions in life and would entail an investment which is why should be taken seriously. So if you are trying to building yours, entrust it to the hands of those who have been long in the business of custom homebuilding or you’ll be sorry!
Like the three wise men from the East who followed the bright star to find Jesus in Bethlehem, may we be able to see the light and be the light, and bring hope and joy and love to those who need it the most.
You may wonder what I have been up to these past few days. You can certainly say that I have been busy and yes, it was quite a long vacation. Hubby is back to work today after 11 days of winter holiday. While most of those of days were spent here at home for some movie marathons, playing with Baby Sam, and all three of us huddling and cuddling in bed, we did went out from time to time to get some fresh air and visit good friends.
The 30th, we went to visit the delos Santos sisters and family in Tokyo. These are among the close friends that we have here that we consider family. Ate Bem is Sam’s godmother while her sister, Mama Sara, is our ninang in our wedding. We had a sumptuous meal of Sukiyaki courtesy of Ate Bem. It was my first time to try it and my, it was very good! Will post more photos in my Food Friday post this week.
Sukiyaki and me… “It’s all because of you…” Remember the song?
So, what did we do on New Year’s Eve? We just stayed home until it was almost midnight. At around 11:30PM we set off for church for the New Year’s Day eucharistic celebration at 12MN. On the way, we saw some families out and about too. But they were off to the shrines and temples for the Japanese tradition of meeting the first day of the year there. They call this the Hatsumode. Some even drive to the coasts or climb mountains to witness Hatsuhinode or the first sunrise of the New Year.
However we meet the New Year, what’s important is that we spend it with the family and with the hope that all shall be well the whole year through.
On January 1st, We were busy preparing for the small party that we were hosting the next day. I prepared fruit salad, lumpia shanghai, lechon kawali and humba, while Mama Sara graciously prepared dinuguan, bihon and tilapia sa gata. You can say it was indeed a feast!
A sumptuous feast for the bounty received in 2008 and for more blessings in 2009!
The reason for the celebration? It was our thanksgiving for all the blessings received in the past year. We wanted to share our blessings and we also wanted to welcome the New Year with our good friends. Most importantly, it was celebration for our 2nd Year Wedding Anniversary. Although the wedding anniversary itself was on the 3rd, we opted to celebrate in advance with friends so that we can have an “intimate” celebration as a family the next day.
Us with our good friends. Too bad Ate Jessica and family
have already left when this photo was taken.
Baby Sam was very happy playing with her Ate Reina and Ate Airi during the get together. Do visit Samantha’s Own for some happy photos of her. Sam also received New Year’s money called the otoshidama from her ninangs and friends from church. My, she’s even richer than I am these days! Hehe!
So, I guess that was it! Hope everyone enjoyed their New Year!
Online news abound on the internet. There are countless websites out there that will deliver you the news just as it is: dry and quite uninteresting. Surely, you will not go on reading if it does not look interesting at all, right?
So if you are looking for something fresh and upbeat while at the same time keeping you up to date with what’s going on around the world, why not try this Online News Portal which I found while surfing today. What’s interesting about it is that you can link your Photobucket account into the site. This allows you to enjoy the news while waiting for your videos and photos to upload and then share them later on. Now that’s hitting two birds with one stone.
Also, it’s got the latest Latest Celebrity News that will surely keep you entertained and updated with the latest scoop on Hollywood’s famous. You can view featured videos from break.com and find the latest photo clips of your favorite stars! And if you are into music, there’s also the Digital Music News that’s a must to check out! Here you can find the latest releases, the top 10 and browse your favorite music by genre or artist. On top of that, can even purchase your favorite music right then and there! Now you’ll never have to miss out on the latest music because they’re available right at your fingertips!
So treat yourself to some nice music, good gossip and indulge yourself with the news. After all, life is meant to be enjoyed… and all of it is available right at your fingertips. So type type www.clear365.com away for your daily dose of the latest and hottest in entertainment, news, music, sports and yes, even games!
No man is an island. We need companions, partners, family and friends to see us through life. No matter where we are and what we do, friends play a big role in our lives. And I am so glad to have found many in the blogosphere. I may have known them virtually but I am POSITIVELY sure that they are HUMAN and that they REAL. And I am so GLAD and HAPPY to have befriended them. My pretty blogger friend Umma, who I get to know a little bit more each day through her posts and comments, bestowed upon me these two awards: the “Inspiring Blogger Award” and the “You Make My Day” award.
Thanks Umma for counting me as one of those people who inspire and make your day. Know that you do the same to me.
Now, I would like to give out these awards to my blogger friends who never cease to inspire me with their posts and whose visits and kind comments always makes my day: Juliana, Enchie, Iceah, Pchi, Juliana, Niko, Cookie, Beth, Alice, Beth, Kikit, Baby Sam, Little Zoie
