Cutty

These days, I spend an average of 6 hours in front of the computer in a day. Back when I worked for an IT firm, I averaged at 14 hours. Spending that much time staring at the screen got me worried. It gave me headaches at first. Someone suggested that I protect my eyes with anti-glare glasses. I just needed an ungraded pair with the anti-glare coating. I spent nearly $30 just for that. The pair I got was so blah, it even made me look like a school principal. Well, at least it served its purpose at that time. Imagine my disappointment when I read this article from examiner.com. I could have gotten a pair of eyeglasses for $8 plus $4.95 for the anti-glare. That is less than half the price I paid for! On top of that, I don’t even have to get out of my seat to place the order. Eyeglasses will definitely be in my list of necessities in the future. I am glad that there are affordable options in the market. I take pride on my 20/20 vision and I want to keep it that way, without...

Before my husband left for work today, someone from GMA wanted to talk to him. They wanted to ask his permission to film in the house. Unfortunately, they wanted to use a big bedroom, meaning the our bedroom. Nyek, wag na lang. Kahit si Piolo pa or si Matt Mendoza mag-shooting dun. It is far too personal to let a stranger in our room. I don't even let the help clean it without supervision. If they wanted to use the ground floor/lanai/den area, we would've been more willing to let them. Anda din yun noh! ---------------- To be honest, we've been waiting for this opportunity since we moved back. The top two networks have been filming in the village since we moved here. They've always been on the look out for newly-constructed homes to showcase in their films or shows. Oh well, I hope we'll have another opportunity in the near future... para mabawasan na yun items sa wishlist ko =).

Last year, a terrible hurricane hit Houston. If I remember correctly, it was Hurricane Ike. News reports showed that properties and personal possessions were damaged. My husband's cousins were one of the many victims of this calamity. Their house was flooded and they had to vacate it while repairs are being made. I can't imagine how devastating it was to see the house and all fruits of one's labor destroyed. Fortunately, their Houston home insurance in Texas covered the cost of the damage and the repairs. While their house is being rebuilt, they lived in a hotel. I hope that's part of their insurance coverage too. Six months have passed and they're back in their newly renovated home. I hope they remembered to install smoke detectors and sprinklers. That would surely help protect their home. Most importantly, I hope they remembered to renew their contract with their insurance provider. Houston is always hit by storms and fires. It pays to be safe all th...

This morning, we met with our architect and the contractor for our home expansion. The project scope and time line were discussed. Those are the only things we're waiting for since we have the necessary permits. The initial plan was to finish the project in eight months. I requested the contractor to squeeze it into 5 months, since I am planning to combine the house blessing with Javi's 1st birthday celebration. There are just a few other tweaks needed before we sign the contract and give the contractor our initial installment. In addition to that, the homeowners' association also had several guidelines for construction. We need to secure IDs and shirts for the workers. Before that, the workers would have to get NBI clearances before ID are issued. With all that in mind, we can only begin construction on Tuesday. The only thing we can do on Monday is to enclose our construction area in time for deliveries that day. I remembered that we failed to include the repaintin...

As much as we want to prepare for the future, it seems that our money in the bank will not be able to earn as much as it would in InvestmentForge . If you study the bank rates, most of the banks would only return 2% per annum for the amount we have in the bank. I think it'll be wiser if we moved some of our savings to Investment Forge. My $50 can earn 2% in 40 days. Can someboday else beat that?

One of our considerations for getting a pre -owned car were the cost of improvements we're going to make. We foresaw the need to change the suspension for our kids' comfort. We'd also have to replace the steering rack. Since I will be using the car, most of the time, it has to be easily manoeuvred to cope with the driving needed in Manila. Weighing the cost of the improvements, we opted to buy a brand new family car instead. How I wish I'd seen these very reasonably priced steering rack s. We would have reconsidered getting a pre -owned vehicle.

Accidents happen any time of day. Accidents don't care if you're flat broke. This is why car insurance is a necessity. It is as vital as food and health care. So, even if my budget is stretched, I have find to find a way to fund my car insurance. I wonder what are the auto insurance rates in my area.

When people are away from home for a long time, they'd end up craving for food they grew up with. I remember the time I was doing lots of business-related trips. I’d stuff my suitcase with lots of mixes so I can cook whatever I feel like eating. I’d even ask other people to bring food from home for me. My cousin, who lives in London, lost a lot of weight because she can't find Filipino food over there. She rarely eats rice and consumes sandwiches and salads most of the time. It's also unfortunate that she doesn't know how to cook. Needless to say, her cravings aren't satisfied. I hope she found these online recipes. They're very simple to follow specially for someone who doesn't spend a lot of time cooking. If she's adventurous enough, she can experiment with different cuisines. The same website carries food products from Asia, the Middle East, Americas and Europe. She also need not worry about getting the ingredients. Everyday ingredients, ...

One of my goals this year is to set up an income-generating business that I can call my own. I have checked out several spaces for potential business ventures. I have even gone as far as submitting an application for lease and application to franchise. However, every time I get the motivation to move on, I am saddled by one very big factor: capital. You see, we are putting aside our disposable income for other stuff. We have allotted some percentage to our travel this year and some to our home expansion. I don't think there still some we can put away to capitalize the business I have in mind. So now, I am looking for a reputable firm that offers Small Business Loans to people who are starting out like me. Do you know of any? I don't want to delay this venture for another year.

We met with our architect and contractor this morning. We are just waiting for the Location Plan and Construction Permits then we are all set. The City Hall and the Developer gave us a two-week deadline. I am hoping to get everything started by next week. The architect, who is Vic's cousin, mentioned that she wanted us to approve the tiles she picked out for the lanai. I can't wait for the time when we'll furnish the place. I'd like to get some rustic furniture to give off that cozy ambiance. A 12- seater dining set and some nice wooden seats are on the top of my list. I would like that part of the house to exude the simplicity and warmth of a country home. On the other hand, I could go for these rustic furniture that give off that modern vibe. What do you think?

Several months ago, we saw someone drive an Audi TT along the highway. The husband was salivating. I bet he was thinking, if only we can afford an audi turbo. For now, he has to be content with Japanese cars. He is currently focusing his efforts on pimping our family car. He's been planning to change the speakers and install a small DVD player and monitor in the family car. I wonder if he is thinking about installing a turbo charger in there. Would it work with a CRDi engine? It would definitely help in long drives. He often says that it lacks power, most specially when he tries to overtake slow moving vehicles. I don't blame him. He is quite used to cars that accelerate instantly. If only http://www.turbochargerpros.com accepts international orders....

I've been planning to put up a business for some time now. I know, it is still in the planning stages. The one location I had set my eyes on is already filled up. The Franchisee is so slow that we lost the opportunity. Now, I am considering putting up something from scratch. I haven't had the time to actually do research on those ideas. One thing's for certain, I need a surefire way to promote the business. After all, marketing can make or break a business. I saw this company that provides online marketing. It explores different avenues to make your business known all over. Though it specializes on Hawaii Design , I hope they can accommodate my requirements even if I am across the Pacific. I hope they throw in their photo services, too. Their work looks good.

As a kid, I used to love the summer season. Not only does it mark the end of school, it also denotes the beginning of fun-filled days at the beach. Now, summer stands for extreme and unbearable heat. The heat brings various physical ailments like flu, cough, colds, sore throat, dehydration and heat rash. It is also bad for people with hypertension. Until a few years ago, I never thought that people died of heat stroke. It is because of this heat that Johann and I are still coughing and wiping our noses. I’m afraid that his condition has worsened. I hope it doesn’t develop into asthma. If only I can afford air conditioning all day. I'm sure my everyone would be in a much better disposition.

If you are like me, who can't sit in front of the computer online shopping all day, this product is for you. The latest Data Scraping Software from Mozenda extracts the text from a page. This product reduces search time in a few minutes. All one needs to do is to show the software how to go about a specific website to extract the information needed. The first step is to browse through the website using Mozenda. Next, create an agent through a series of clicks on the page . This is where you specify a type of product that will comprise your list. The user also defines the terms of comparison (name, model, price, availability, features). All this time, the software is already taking note of the steps to extract the data from a specific website. Yes, it is smart enough to do that. Next, store the agent in an online repository. When you log in to run this agent online, this executes the search using the steps you itemized earlier. After executing the agent, you will see tha...

In two weeks, we'll start the bidding the contract for our expansion. Our target completion date is August. By then, I'm sure I'll be clamoring for decors as I did the last time. The most difficult of all was looking for something to hang on the walls. I mainly selected mirrors and sacred images for my walls. The most artistic touch I had were the blown up prints of my friend's shots of our European trip. It's not that I am not into art. I am just not an expert in that subject. I just know what I like. What looks good to others may not necessarily look good to me. When it comes to art, I am easy to please. I usually settle for those that are not too complicated. I admire the work of Kerry Hallam , Mark Eliot Lovett , Liudmila Kondakova , Jia Lu, Vladimir Volegov and Tomsz Rut. Their works reflect the natural beauty of the European scenery and the intricacy of the human body. The detail in their work is remarkable. The "Magic Realism" f...

I've been thinking of enrolling my eldest in a swimming program for this summer. As early as now, I'd like him to be involved in sports unlike his parents, who are afraid of sweating it out. Every summer, I'd like to immerse him to different sports programs until he finds what he likes to specialize on. I'd like to instill discipline, determination and a good competitive spirit in my kids. Sports does that. It also forms character, teaches someone to be a team player and strengthens will power. Some people may say that it's too early to introduce Johann to sports. I'd say, it's never too early to instill a sense of ambition in one person. I've seen people who have no ambition for themselves. It has gotten them nowhere. Sport-minded people are passionate about winning. I have always envied the ball players in our university. Apart from the fame, perks and college scholarship, they served as role models to the younger class men. Many young kids w...

I've been thinking of getting my own domain for some time now. I would like that new site to focus on the purchasing power of a stay-at-home-mom like me. Though I earned a degree in Information Technology, I am at a loss on how to go about this. It has been years since I used jargon such as domain names, IP address, web hosting and the like. My most recent work dealt with orders and shipments. As I am doing my research, it seems that the next logical step is finding a web hosting service that would make my site visible to the rest of the World Wide Web. Based on what I’ve read, a web host is a computer that houses the program for the site. Though it may be done locally by the user, the server or web host is usually provided by the ISP (Internet Service Provider). The reason being they have the infrastructure and the financial capability to back them up. It also seems that there numerous considerations in finding the right web hosting service for me. One deciding factor i...

I've been blogging for several months now. Blogging has become my form of release. I found it difficult to express my thoughts and feelings at first, knowing that my "soul" is open to anyone who reads this. Now, blogging has become part of my daily routine. So now, I am thinking of getting my own space in this thick web called the Internet. I want something that I can truly call my own. This space should reflect my love for chocolates, music and family, not necessarily in that order. Where do I start? Thank goodness for faq s. Questions of a beginner like me are easily answered. Now I know the difference between domains and subdomains. ASP, Perl, PHP, MySqL no longer sound so foreign.

I do not use my credit card loosely. I mainly use it for gas, groceries and other necessities. I was dismayed to find out that my two latest credit card purchases were declined. It was all because the chip and magnetic stripe are no longer readable. Good thing, I came prepared with cash. I rarely bring cash because I always use my debit card or my charge card. Just imagine the inconvenience this caused me and my wallet. I called the bank today to request for a card replacement. I was appalled to find out that I'd have to shoulder the fee of nearly $10. Then, I'd receive my new card after three working days. Ganon? Why do I have to pay for a replacement? The mere fact that I use my card regularly and that I pay may bill on time should be enough. They've gotten enough business from me. Besides, why would they issue a card valid for five years if the chip and stripe are good enough for only four? That alone is a major rip-off. I argued that I didn't do anything...

I just finished viewing the first few episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. I am trying so hard to recall how those shows ended. At least, now, most of my questions answered. However, it opened up new ones. What would you like to see in this coming season?