. . . . . and my husband will be home! 

Yes, Dario will be home soon!  That’s why I am seen less here these past few weeks because I am busy preparing some things and Jeff and I are really very excited!!!!! There are going to be lots of playing and other fun family activities to catch up.  And there will also be lots of lovemaking to do . Hey! Don’t raise your eyebrows. We’ve been apart for 10 months. What’s a husband and his wife got to do? Look at each other?  Haha!

That’s it for now, people.  Got to go back to cleaning! I want everything to look refreshing when he arrives, and that includes me looking oh so beautiful

*****

Another thing.

For those earthlings who are currently looking for a web host, let me leave you a link to a site where you can find a list and reviews of the best web hosting services around where you can also check out the prices and the features each web host offers. Plus, find out more about SEO and your website design on their blog.  They have tips for every bloggers and website designers, especially for starters.  Also remember, ask your blogging friends first what host they use and how much they pay for the service before deciding.  In that case, you will be more likely to end up with the really reliable one.  Personally, it took me months before finally deciding to go for my web host.  I checked out lists of web host providers too to familiarize myself of the terms they use such as ‘uptime’, ‘domain name’ and ’bandwidth’ and the different hosting packages they offer.  Now, I am enjoying the excellent service and affordable rate they provide. In fact, I’ve been talking about them here.  That’s how satisfied I am of them.  No regrets!  Just ask me if you want to know

That’s it for now, people!

It’s possible to pay back those sleep hours you’ve lost.

If you’ve got a run of parties and functions over several nights, you’ll probably have to forfeit at least a few of the recommended seven or eight hours sleep a night. The problem is, a few late nights in a row can lead to ‘sleep debt,’ leaving us fatigued, irritable and unfocused.

The good news is that sleep debt can be repaid. Firstly, if you know you have a few big nights ahead, try to tack an extra hour onto your nightly sleep pattern so that you have some sleep hours in the bank. Once the merry-go-round has stopped, make sure you get some catch-up sleep again, by getting a couple of early nights in a row and making sure you get a minimum of seven to eight hours in the nights following.

source:  Reader’s Digest Apr2009 issue, pg140

Speaking of debt, if you’re in debt, not with sleep but with your credit card, it is better to find the best credit card deals as early as possible and begin saving.  It’s a must especially during these financially challenged days.

I was recently told by my husband that their office has processed his plane tickets already. I am expecting him to arrive in Manila on Apr27. He also told me that another agent is taking over his loan application and asked him to submit some papers needed for the processing. If things go on smoothly and his loan gets approved, that will be the best news ever this year. We have big plans and need that money to get things moving. And hopefully, if it does get approved, he still has time to do whatever has to be done before he leaves for vacation. For now, we’re crossing our fingers, as well as our eyes

And speaking of loan, if you need quick cash without the hassle of a credit check, check out this site for payday loan.

Final exams started on Monday and today is its last day. Yeheeeyyy!!!!! School days are finally over. Amen to that. And students have until Friday to have their clearances signed by each subject teacher. After 10months of school, let me sigh the sigh of relief. Siiggghhh!!!!!

Two weeks ago, I enrolled Jeff in the Milo basketball class. His schedule is every Tuesday and Friday starting on Apr03 and ends on May01. I am still yet to confirm the schedule for the guitar class before I enroll him by end of this month. I want everything organized because I don’t want us to be rushing from one place to the other to attend these classes.

That’s how Jeff spends his summer vacation. Every year, he has activities to keep himself busy and make his vacation enjoyable. Few years ago, he attended the Introduction to Basketball class. The following year, he had his swimming lessons. And this year, he’ll continue with basketball, the sports he really loves. And since he finished the Intro class already, he’s in Level1 now.

There are so many activities this summer that your children, and you, will enjoy. Depending on their interests, you may ask around on how to get a membership for kids book club where you can avail of books for a lower price, and sometimes, for free!  You may also take them to an art workshop or an acting workshop or a dance workshop where they can learn ballet and hip hop. Are they into sports? Then enroll them in a sports clinic. They have classes for gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, taekwondo and many more.   When Jeff was younger, I thought he will be into arts. But when he grew older and learned how to play basketball with his father, he loved the sport right away. Every weekend, you’ll see him playing with the other kids outside. Since his father works abroad and I am not a sports person, the basketball class is there for him to learn the techniques of the game.

What do you and your kids do when the classes are over?

It’s so quiet here the past days, isn’t it?

It’s because exam days are here again and Jeff and I are busy reviewing notes. Also, they opened the intrams season with a parade on Monday where Jeff is playing with the basketball team once again. He is also competing again this year in the chess tournament. He got the third place last year and we are both looking forward to the game itself.

Meanwhile, next week is English Week. They have been practicing since last week for the speech choir competition where their class is competing against the other grades. That’s how busy Jeff is. No wonder he falls asleep earlier than usual lately that sometimes he misses dinner.

Another thing that’s been bugging me is my Vidavee plugin. There is this annoying message that pops up every time I edit or make a new post. It says that vidavee is no longer supported by WP and should be deleted. I deleted it but my site went blank. My webhost helped me out with this and restored my site. I tried deactivating it, but the site went blank again. So now, I will just try to live with the annoying pop up message until my webhost figures out how to kill it. Suggestions, anyone?

And before I forget, check out my cool finds this week: patio furniture, patio umbrellas and wicker furniture.  Never imagined a patio can look as good with them!

Yesterday had been a busy Monday. It was the first day of work after more than a week of holiday. Offices, banks and some stores are back in business. Classes from pre-school to college resume. I, myself, had to rush from one place to the other to pay this and that to avoid the peak of the Monday morning-first day of business-rush. And I succeeded. I finished everything – from taking Jeff to school to paying bills and insurances – in less than 3hours.

Last Saturday was great. As you know, it was Jeff’s birthday. My husband and I decided to give him money as a gift, instead of toys. He’s already 11 and we think that he has to learn how to budget an amount larger than his daily allowance. And everything went well! My husband and I gave him P1,100 (+/- $25). Why this amount? We just multiplied P100 to his age, which is 11.

Jeff was excited. We went to the mall and he asked me to take him to the toy store to find the Transformers toy he wanted. There are 2 Toy Kingdom stores, but both had run out of stock and the little man was really disappointed. Then he just decided to play some arcade games, and when we exchanged the tickets, he got this Spongebob stuffed toy!

that’s him sleeping . . . . .

He always wanted to have a silver ring, so he bought himself one from SilverWorks. After watching a movie and had our lunch, we went to Star City (a themed park) to experience Snow World and Dino Island (he’s fond of dinosaurs). We got back home at around 1am. Tiring but we had a great time. We just wish that Dario was here . . . . .

Anyway, I got a little surprise too late Sunday afternoon. As we were preparing to leave to buy some groceries, Jeff said, ‘Sa labas na din tayo mag-dinner, Ma. Blow out kita’ (Let’s have dinner outside, Ma. My treat). He has some money left so he said he’s paying this time. Of course I said yes

And btw, if you are looking for some educational and fun gifts for kids, check out this magnet building set. They have something there depending on a child’s age.  If Jeff had seen this, for sure he will get something from Neo Shifters and Plasmaverse.  Nice website

Two months before I resigned from my last work, I made sure that I get all the ID cards I need since I will be surrendering my company ID. This means I arranged everything from my SSS (replacement), TIN, Postal ID, etc. These are some of the IDs needed for bank and other important transactions. Aside from these ID cards, I also continued my PhilHealth, Pag-ibig and SSS contributions without fail, so when I get sick, the health insurance can take care of a part of the hospital bill, and when I reach retirement age or die, I get a little something out from SSS (Social Security System).

I was happy with the online inquiry service of SSS until I experienced what seems to be an endless problem with their website. It was down, if not too slow, most of the time. Then they had this new procedure where one should register first and create an account before he can do online contribution inquiry, etc.

Personally, I like the old thing more – type your last name, your birthday and your SSS number, press ‘submit’ then tada! All the information you need to know and see with regards to your membership are there.

That was the old process. The new one is, well, I can’t say if it’s better or what. I have registered and tried accessing my account successfully. To register, you need to fill up the online form and wait for the email with your password from them (you create your own username and they give you the PW which you can change afterwards). Once logged in, you need to log in again to access your membership account. In other words, you need to log in to log in. Funny, right?

After successfully fooling myself logging in and trying the not really impressive service, I tried registering my husband. He received the email that says,

‘We are sorry to inform you that you have not successfully registered in the SSS Website. Please call the SSS Hotline at (632) 920-6446 to 55 for assistance.’

A month later, we tried registering again – filled up the form and waited for their email. We received the same response!

So I decided to call those numbers to inquire but all of them are either busy or your call just can’t get through (I hear a fast busy tone). I tried calling the trunkline (9206401), but the lady kept insisting that I call those other numbers even I told her how hard it is to get through. And I’ve been dialing since yesterday!

Aaaarrrgghhh! How I hate SSS! Their web service sucks, and their phone service sucks more. Maybe that’s why it’s called the SSS Hotline. Your head will get hot when you call their line.  I just hope they find a website hosting service that works, and a bunch of people that works better.

I am going out today to check the costume stores for anything Greek. I’m looking for a Greece traditional/national costume for Jeff. He is representing Greece in the UN celebration the school is holding on Oct24. We already bought the clothes he will wear for the photo shoot tomorrow for the casual wear. After the truck load of school projects, this is next. Plus the rehearsal on Saturday, which happens to be my laundry day. Plus the field trip on Oct18 – another Saturday, another laundry day. Plus the exams the week after that. Then the UN. Oh! And there’s also the baptismal of a friend’s baby on the 26th where I am going to be the oddparent godparent. Aaarrrggghh! What an October! I can’t wait for the sem break on the last week of this month.

Anyway, I have to get going now because I promised Jeff to bring him his lunch to school today. We agreed that I will just wait for him at the lobby to hand over his lunch box then I’m off to the costume shops. No, there’s no need for eyeglasses. Just hoping to find something today. Good luck to me! Bye for now, people!

And speaking of eyeglasses, here’s a great find from Zenni Optical.  They have a huge selection of prescription eyeglasses for as low as $8.  Cool, isn’t it?  I found this one at their ‘New Arrivals’ section.  And there are more new frame designs available.  Go see for yourself!

And while I’m out, you may want to check this one out

For some months now, I’ve been ‘checking’ our son for any underarm and facial hair, in a funny manner. I would say something like, ‘You were out of my sight for 2 minutes. Let me see if you have grown some hair’, ‘Oh, you’re sleepy! Let me see if some hair makes you sleepy’, ‘I haven’t looked at those underarms for a day. I have to check it again’. Every time I say things like these, he voluntarily raises his hands and laughs.

Jeff is ten years old now, turning 11 on January. At school, they already have discussed about puberty, reproduction and sex – topics that I am not yet ready to talk about with him. Before, when he asks the ‘difficult questions’, I would quickly change the topic by asking him to get something for me or by pretending to be busy and about to loose my temper. But now, I am left with no other choice but answer all his questions.

Once, he asked, ‘Ma, ano ibig sabihin ng sex?’ (‘Ma, what does ‘sex’ mean?’). My answer was, ‘Ibig sabihin nun is ‘gender’. Pag sinabing ‘gender’, lalake or babae. Tulad sa mga forms na pini-fill up-an natin sa school, may nakalagay na ‘sex’. Dun mo isusulat kung male or female ka’ (It means ‘gender’. By ‘gender’, it means male or female. Like the forms we fill up at school, you’ll find a section there where ‘sex’ is written. That is where you write if you’re a male or a female’. That scholarly answer that may have given me a standing ovation in a Mrs. Universe pageant was bought, until few months later when I picked him up at school . . . . .

‘Mama, alam ko na kung paano nagbubuntis ang babae!’ (Ma, I now know how a woman gets pregnant!’. Shocked, I just nodded my head without looking at him. Then he proceeded, ‘Tawag po dun is sex!’ (It’s called sex!). Nodding my head and looking at the different direction, he continued, ‘Bakit ka po nagsinungaling sa’kin?’ (‘Why did you lie to me?’).

Embarrassed, I answered, ‘Anak, hindi ako nagsinungaling sa’yo. Totoo na ‘gender’ din ang meaning ng sex’ (Son, I did not lie to you. It is also true that ‘sex’ means ‘gender’). ‘E bakit hindi mo po sinabi sa’kin?’ (‘Why didn’t you tell me so?’). ‘Kasi, anak, may mga bagay na dapat nalalaman lang sa tamang panahon. Tulad nung nagsimula kang mag-aral. Diba ang turo lang sa inyo noon was colors, shapes, alphabets and numbers? Tignan mo ngayon. Meron na kayong fractions, decimal points, kinds of sentences, kinds of letters, history, etc.’ (It’s because there are things that have to be discussed at the right time. Like when you started schooling. You were only taught about colors, shapes, alphabets and numbers, right? But now, you already have fractions, decimal points, kinds of sentences, kinds of letters, history, etc.’). He stopped. ‘Good’, I said to myself with a sigh of relief.

Or not . . . . .

Because as soon as we got home, what I thought was a closed issue, wasn’t closed at all! ‘Mama, nagse-sex po ba kayo ni Papa?’ (‘Mama, do you and Papa have sex?’). I felt my tongue slipped down to my stomach for a few seconds before I was able to say, ‘Yes, so you can have a baby brother or sister’. His answer? A very loud, ‘Yes!’, then went out and played.

I suddenly remember one time when we were at the mall and he saw Kids at Work (a playground for kids) and announced that he will not play there anymore because he’s grown already. Instead, he’ll play at Puberty at Work because he’s at his puberty stage now, then asked ‘Is there such, Ma?’

Our son is no longer a baby. As he always says, ‘I am a TEN-ager already because I am 10 years old!’ Soon, the body and the facial hairs that are not visible yet will be there. For so many times he told me, even his other hairs grow, he will still love me and his dad forever . . . . .

Do you have similar, though not as hairy, story about your kids?

And speaking of hair, if you’re a woman and you or someone you know have unwanted facial hair, you are sure to find some help, don’t you? Check out and learn more about Trienelle’s Reductase-5 and see how this latest and natural approach to women’s unwanted facial hair, which is also recommended by some women’s health professionals, may help you.