vacation planning

The husband and I already started talking about our travel plans for year 2010. You see, with the new addition of a baby in the family, going abroad or long vacations should be well planned. Not only we should be financially ready, we need to consider the emotional and physical readiness of the kids when going out for long trips. And since the husband and I thinking of going to Hawaii early this year, bringing our five year old daughter may be feasible but to consider bringing our new born son ... it may not be wise or practical decision at this time.

And since we already planned to spend seven days in Hawaii to attend his telco-conference, our aunt based in Florida begging us to consider flying to Florida and spend time with her and enjoy beautiful orlando vacations. She's willing to shoulder our additional domestic airfare from Hawaii to Florida just to allow us to enjoy the tropical weather on the East Coast side of the US. Tempting, huh?! Her offer is really good and will save us a lot of money, but the husband I haven't decided if we will take her offer. Going on an extended vacation may be difficult for us especially it is still school time for the little girl and with a little kid in tow. Anyway, no definite decision yet. Let's see, we still have a month to decide if we will take the travel offer.

home improvements - the living room

Since I plan to do some home improvements lately, I plan to do some minor changes in our living room. As a start, I so want to prepare our living room with a Christmas theme atmosphere by putting some home accents like with a splash of red and gold colors. From corner center pieces, accent chairs or pillows, table centerpieces and even rugs. I saw on the web area rugs which I think will be prefect for my holiday theme effect. A small area rug will be nice focal point of the house, and getting the deep red color will just be perfect to match the festive mood theme of the house. Anyway, the price is very competitive and it even offers free shipping for items priced above $75. Great deal, huh! You, any plans for home improvement this year?

at 38 weeks ...

... I am ready to pop! Tummy really pronounced and you can see I am already quite top heavy already. Just waiting for the the big day! LOL.

Anyway, this shot was taken last November 1 to celebrate All Saint's Day at Heritage Memorial Park. This special holiday is done to celebrate memory of our loved-ones. Together with me, the little batinella Samantha who enjoyed our picnic and play time at the park.

moving in challenges

Moving home is one of the major inconveniences and challenges we were faced after the Super Typhoon Ondoy. You see, insipte of us not affected by the flood, it was really a big challenge for the husband and I to find :

• a temporary place within a short period of time.
• a place willing to sublease for less one-two months only.
• place with very convenient location : near kids' schools and our work area
• minimal or budgeted rent for temporary location.
• people to help us in our moving-in problems.

Glad that I came across www.moveme.com webiste prior my actual moving-in date. The site provides helpful information for individuals like me who are so busy with everyday work that considers moving-in a gruesome task. Not only provides online quotes assistance, but it also It provides assistance on legalities of property contracts and purchases thru their Conveyancing Solicitor. This is the "legal guy". Talk about the seamless transition of moving in to a new house/property. These guys makes it happen. These are the "dirty works" behinds property transactions.

On the other hand, the owner on the othe side of the fence also needs professional help thru House Conveyancing in order to optimize the returns from the deal. What good is selling a property if the returns is not commensurate to the value. Not to mention the "sentimental" aspect of entire exercise. The seller actually "sells" a part of him when you talk about the "house" or better yet, the "home". Sometimes, the "home" goes beyond the tangible "house" features. Thus, getting the most our of the deal, makes it even more compelling for the seller to let go of the property. And that the function of House Conveyancing.

In the same manner, Property Conveyancing conforms with the entirety of the property ... with structure and even without. Sometimes, even the mere location or even the "fresh air" that passes thru such property creates value for the seller. Bottomline, from the seller's perspective, it would be a good idea to have these guys by your side ... the better the "positioning", more you gain. As simple as that.

after Ondoy calamity ...

As I've shared here at my blog a month ago, after the Ondoy calamity we temporarily rented a condo unit near to the kids's school. Not that we were affected by flood, but primarily due to travel convenience. You see, with all the streets submerged with flood water, it was impossible for us to commuete to and from our work. Very inconvenient if you have kids needed to be at school by 730am, as well as if you have work and meetings as early as 9am. Hence, we were forced to enter a lease contract for 2 months at a brand new condo inside the San Antonio Village. Sadly, with the Ondoy floods over after a week ... we were stuck with our condo lease contract.

But we were lucky. Just early today, a very good friend of us saved us for another one month rental. He needed a short term place to stay since he's on a business trip and be back by 2nd week of December in Canada. He checked the condo earlier, and was pleased with what he saw, and decided to move-in immediately. He brought all his things, clothes, appliance such as his brand new plasma TV with plasma mounts and even his computer gadgets. And presto, he's already at home with our condo unit.

Now the husband is seriously considering investing in a rent-to-own condo units. Probably for business use, such as short term lease or for emergency purposes. We realized now the value of having another place to stay for emergency cases. Really convenient and the peace of mind...priceless. Not bad idea eh, better be prepared for the worst and be safe than sorry. Don't you agree?

Happy 5th Birthday, Samantha!

To our sweetest pretty-princess brat, Samantha

Happy, Happy 5th Birthday!!

You've given us so much joy and love ...

Happiness is you. Love is you. Life is you.

We love you so much! Mwaaaahhh!!

bathroom improvement

Yes, I am thinking of another home improvement before the year ends. This time, I plan to tackle the bathroom ... particularly, the common or guest bathroom. Though nothing major to change, everything functions quite well with my Kohler-brand fixtures, but I wanted to have a different setting or ambiance with the guest bathroom. Wanted it to be more zen-looking this time. Probably change the mood lighting, color of tiles, change the sink top and add bidet for the toilet. Yes, nothing major renovation, huh!?! LOL. Of course, this would only be possible with the approval of the husband. Though he's also seriously considering adding a bidet to our guest bathroom, I am not sure if he'll allow me to change the theme and ambiance as well. Maybe too costly for us at this point. Thus, wish me luck, guys. It will all depend on the financer this time.