I am very thankful for the Lord's blessings to our family, as well as to our relatives and friends. His love is truly never ending. His compassion never fails.
I am grateful for the fact that I can tell Him anything. That He is an all-powerful and all-knowing God. He knows everything, so what's the point of hiding anything from Him?
We may not have all the things we desire, but we have the things we need. Sometimes, it's a shame we ask for more, when we have more. He gave His only begotten Son for us, to die for our sins and give us eternal life.
I pray that I will continue to find joy in everything. I pray, too, that I be more thankful and contented in my life, as God continues His work in me. Amen.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday Music: Enya - Only Time
PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
And the Christmas Shopping Continues...
Today is the second to the last Sunday before Christmas. We've been to the mall last Friday and it was full packed! The stores can barely manage to keep up with the consumers' demands. I was at Target last Thursday too, to buy Christmas ornaments, thinking I'll come back to buy gifts, but by Friday, the stuff I'd like to get were all gone. I looked up on the internet and they're out of stock too:(
So, as it turned out, toys are a hit at this time of the year. I was able to buy a few toys and I can't believe I still need more! The problem is, toys can be very costly at this time of the year. Come to think of it, maybe they're pricey all year round, it's just that we are buying so much at one time, that we think the toys cost extra high this season. The lady before me at the registrar last Friday bought a total of about $680 for toys. Wasn't that grand?
Thinking that I only have a full week to shop for the gifts to reach before Christmas, I can now feel the stress. The gifts for kids won't be all toys though. For my 1-year old nephew, I am thinking of getting new baby boys clothes. I know that a lot of relatives and family friends would give him toys anyway. Cute clothes would be perfect for my very cute nephew, Joaquin. I haven't seen him yet since he is in the Philippines. Honestly, I can't wait to meet him. Giving gifts to my brother's family would somehow ease the longing to be with them. My two other nephews would sure be a lot taller now, too. Anyway, I might as well go back to my quest on finishing up with my Christmas shopping:-)
So, as it turned out, toys are a hit at this time of the year. I was able to buy a few toys and I can't believe I still need more! The problem is, toys can be very costly at this time of the year. Come to think of it, maybe they're pricey all year round, it's just that we are buying so much at one time, that we think the toys cost extra high this season. The lady before me at the registrar last Friday bought a total of about $680 for toys. Wasn't that grand?
Thinking that I only have a full week to shop for the gifts to reach before Christmas, I can now feel the stress. The gifts for kids won't be all toys though. For my 1-year old nephew, I am thinking of getting new baby boys clothes. I know that a lot of relatives and family friends would give him toys anyway. Cute clothes would be perfect for my very cute nephew, Joaquin. I haven't seen him yet since he is in the Philippines. Honestly, I can't wait to meet him. Giving gifts to my brother's family would somehow ease the longing to be with them. My two other nephews would sure be a lot taller now, too. Anyway, I might as well go back to my quest on finishing up with my Christmas shopping:-)
Friday, December 9, 2011
Good Find: Cheap Eyeglasses
I can't stop thinking how I was deceived by the pressures of commercialism and marketing of a branded product. I bought a pair of eyeglasses early this year, and they were priced $150.00 after the insurance. We have quite high eye insurance coverage so, I'm pretty sure, those eyeglasses were more pricey than what I already paid. It was just not right, especially when I learned that I could buy cheap eyeglasses of the same quality and style!
This is exactly the same style of eyeglasses I got from the mall. I found these at Zenni Optical's website. The only difference of this pair from the ones I have was the brand's logo at the side of the frame. Otherwise, they have the same type, style, shape, and color. Would you believe, the price of these eyeglasses is just $19.00! Thinking about how much I paid for mine, I feel bad all over again:-(
I think, one reason why Zenni Optical could afford to offer cheap but quality eyeglasses is because they do not have advertising budget. Do you know how many millions of dollars are being spend by a lot of companies to have their products advertised on print and (especially) TV? It's insane! You'd think they could just keep the money and lower the prices of their products to benefit the consumers...and that's exactly what Zenni is doing. Making their own brand of eyeglasses without much of a fuzz about advertising. In effect, they are able to create durable, safe, stylish, and affordable eyeglasses. It's a very good strategy if I may add. The next time anyone of us in the family needs eyeglasses, I know exactly where to buy them:-)
This is exactly the same style of eyeglasses I got from the mall. I found these at Zenni Optical's website. The only difference of this pair from the ones I have was the brand's logo at the side of the frame. Otherwise, they have the same type, style, shape, and color. Would you believe, the price of these eyeglasses is just $19.00! Thinking about how much I paid for mine, I feel bad all over again:-(
I think, one reason why Zenni Optical could afford to offer cheap but quality eyeglasses is because they do not have advertising budget. Do you know how many millions of dollars are being spend by a lot of companies to have their products advertised on print and (especially) TV? It's insane! You'd think they could just keep the money and lower the prices of their products to benefit the consumers...and that's exactly what Zenni is doing. Making their own brand of eyeglasses without much of a fuzz about advertising. In effect, they are able to create durable, safe, stylish, and affordable eyeglasses. It's a very good strategy if I may add. The next time anyone of us in the family needs eyeglasses, I know exactly where to buy them:-)
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Random Tuesday Thoughts - Snow, Bills, Tree, Vaseline, Volunteer Jobs, etc...
1. It snowed last night and it is still snowing today here in Iowa. Good times! or NOT. I am not thrilled at all. It will be my first time to drive in snow and from what I've heard, it is not pleasant. Plus, snow in the midwest is serious! Once it began, it could last until March, or even April. Hubby's excited though. He got a new snow blower, and he's been waiting to use it for a while now. Oh well...
2. Thank God for the adjustments in our dental bill. We paid a huge amount of money for my son's dental works last week. I didn't expect that it would be that costly to have extraction, sealing, and filling. Even though, we have a dental insurance, it turned out that we still need to pay half of the total charge. Yesterday, the clinic called (after we left a message last Friday) and informed us that we will have a refund about half of what we paid last week. It was good news indeed!
Last week, I was already thinking of studying dentistry (heck, $200 for a 5-minute tooth extraction?). I'm previously planning of pursuing my PhD in Science Ed (that is, if I will not get pregnant until next year and if I will stop to be this lazy---yeah, pressure!) but apparently, being a dentist is not so bad. Lol.
3. We fnally have a Christmas tree! Yay! It is a Balsam Fir and we got it for $30 at the town square, sold by the Kiwanis Club. I still have to add more ornaments though. This year, I wanted to have a candy mint and snowman theme in our house. So it's going to be lots of white and red.
2. Thank God for the adjustments in our dental bill. We paid a huge amount of money for my son's dental works last week. I didn't expect that it would be that costly to have extraction, sealing, and filling. Even though, we have a dental insurance, it turned out that we still need to pay half of the total charge. Yesterday, the clinic called (after we left a message last Friday) and informed us that we will have a refund about half of what we paid last week. It was good news indeed!
Last week, I was already thinking of studying dentistry (heck, $200 for a 5-minute tooth extraction?). I'm previously planning of pursuing my PhD in Science Ed (that is, if I will not get pregnant until next year and if I will stop to be this lazy---yeah, pressure!) but apparently, being a dentist is not so bad. Lol.
3. We fnally have a Christmas tree! Yay! It is a Balsam Fir and we got it for $30 at the town square, sold by the Kiwanis Club. I still have to add more ornaments though. This year, I wanted to have a candy mint and snowman theme in our house. So it's going to be lots of white and red.
4. Cold season equates to dry skin and lips. My poor son has it. It's improving with vaseline though.
5. Cristina and I helped in the school's Parade of Trees activity last Saturday. We baked goodies for the bake sale and served pies and drinks to the guests, at the same time watched and listened to the program and made goofy remarks like..what if we do interpretative dance while the performers sing mellow christmas songs? Or what if we sing with the guy who's playing the piano? Wouldn't that be insane? hehehe
6. Tomorrow will be the Christmas exchange gifts of the ladies in our Bible Study group. I wonder what to give. It has to be under $5 and we have choices of socks, kitchen towels, or mugs. Planning to go to the outlet mall later today.
7. The sun sets at about 4:30pm or earlier this winter. It's quite sad, I think. We should really plan a regular family indoor activity this season.
Well, that's all the randomness I got today...oh, plus, I tried, for the first time, roasting a whole chicken today for lunch! Crazy, huh?!
Monday, December 5, 2011
What a Nice Present
This Christmas season, my son's school has a lot of projects. Their fundraisers are dedicated to help the local charities and the school, as well. Since it is a private school with just 150 students, from Pre-K to 8th grade, the parents and teachers, as well as all the people in the community are actively participating in the events.
There is a fundraiser wherein the parents can buy giftcards of the participating stores like the outlet mall in town, various boutiques and shops, and the town's local grocery store. Half of the proceeds will go to the school and half will be deducted to the kid's tuition fee. They used to sell prepaid mastercard too, but lately, these cards were excluded from the list.
I am not much of a gift shopper, mainly because I worry that the recipients of the gifts would not like what I got for them. I know for a fact that a gift which was not used would just be considered as trash one day.
I give gifts, but oftentimes, for practicality's sake, I give mostly cash or giftcards to family and friends. While it's true that a personalized gift is sweeter, I rather that I give the option to the person, of what she/he wants for her/himself. This is where the prepaid debit cards come in handy. It's like giving your loved ones the freedom to choose.
Since there is no more prepaid mastercard in the school's fundraiser, I will get mine from http://www.greendot.com/ this year. That way, my loved ones get to buy what they really wanted, without them revealing their banking information, shop safely online, not overspend, and avoid overdraft. Isn't that just a nice present? So, if you are thinking of being practical these coming holidays, go ahead and check it out.
There is a fundraiser wherein the parents can buy giftcards of the participating stores like the outlet mall in town, various boutiques and shops, and the town's local grocery store. Half of the proceeds will go to the school and half will be deducted to the kid's tuition fee. They used to sell prepaid mastercard too, but lately, these cards were excluded from the list.
I am not much of a gift shopper, mainly because I worry that the recipients of the gifts would not like what I got for them. I know for a fact that a gift which was not used would just be considered as trash one day.
I give gifts, but oftentimes, for practicality's sake, I give mostly cash or giftcards to family and friends. While it's true that a personalized gift is sweeter, I rather that I give the option to the person, of what she/he wants for her/himself. This is where the prepaid debit cards come in handy. It's like giving your loved ones the freedom to choose.
Since there is no more prepaid mastercard in the school's fundraiser, I will get mine from http://www.greendot.com/ this year. That way, my loved ones get to buy what they really wanted, without them revealing their banking information, shop safely online, not overspend, and avoid overdraft. Isn't that just a nice present? So, if you are thinking of being practical these coming holidays, go ahead and check it out.
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