I just filled up the tank of my Jeep and it was a whopping $90+!!!! Oh boy! Last summer I was complaining that it was around $68 to fill it up...I love this SUV and I don't want to trade it yet. I still like it..I have cars before and after a couple of years, I got bored with them. But this one, I have this for more than 2 years now, and I still like it. That's why it's too hard to give this one up yet. I was thinking of replacing this for a van. But like I said, I am not prepared yet to let this one go. Although, the gas is really killing me. Don't know what to do. I am suspecting that the gas will be at close to $2/liter by summer. So maybe by that time I won't have a choice but to trade this one...

I have found a place offering great discounts on ellipticals, those exercise machines that are like cross-country skiing, and allow you to work on both your arms as well as your legs, yet without impact on your feet or other bone structures. You can choose an elliptical machine from a good selection of models having a variety of stride lengths and weight capacities.

Lots of us have home theaters these days, with great viewing of a large screen and careful attention paid to the sound quality, with multiple speakers, as well as the capability to add special effects to make the room seem even larger. The finishing touch to this can be made by equipping the room with home theater furniture and this has the advantage of additional comfort, as theater seating is made to remain comfortable for the duration of a movie, and the lighting is designed to provide ambiance.

"It seemed like it was only yesterday"...a famous line of everyone, but it's true. It doesn't take long before you realized that your son is getting to be a big boy. He's almost as tall as me now. He can even carry me on his back for a few steps, considering how 'HEAVY' I am! hehehehe..well, time does goes fast....he just started to have sex education in school. So a lot really 'delicate' discussion going on at home right now. Some stuff I am not prepared to discuss, so good thing hubby is around to talk to him about that....

Saving money and holding on to it until you have a nice nest egg amount can be hard to do. It seems that there is always an 'emergency' that is an excuse to draw out the savings, so, over time, you never actually get ahead.
A CD account is the answer for many of us, the CD here is not music, it stands for Certificate of Deposit and refers to some different types of Savings Accounts from WaMu.com, including online savings accounts. Traditionally, bank interest rates on deposits are on the low side, but at WaMu, which stands for Washington Mutual, you will probably notice that they are generally somewhat higher than the competition.
It is important when saving, or attempting to save in a permanent manner, to have a plan, and to stay with the plan, despite outside temptations. In the end, to effort will be worth it, as the savings will in turn multiply by themselves at a good speed, the slower years being the early years of the savings. So, a good idea would be to make the effort to set things up, and then push as much money into the savings as possible, as you can always slow down the amount saved each month when, later on, there is a sufficient principal amount for worthwhile self-generation of further funds, remembering that as the interest is added, you will get interest upon the interest that was last added.

Labels: account, bank, savings

....well, it's about 9pm here now. Sunday. That means it's almost time to go to bed for another week of work. Weekend went well here. Did some housework, went to a park, and watch a movie. So it was a nice wholesome weekend for us. It's a little short though. Oh well, that's like:) lol...... I just prepared all the stuff I'll need for tomorrow. I will be going to the city again for a whole week to work. I will probably back in the middle of the week, we'll see how busy I will be over there. So glad I have a laptop now so I can keep in touch with hubby over there. Anyways, time to settle down for the night:)

Summer time is almost here! It's time to get the map and look for a place to camp:) We love going away camping in the summer time. It's one of the things we love doing. It's like you are going on a holiday even if it's just a weekend thing. The scenery, the new environment, new adventure, and of course, the marshmallows!!! You all got to love that...What I hate about it though, is the unpacking of things afterwards. Lots of stuff to take back in the house. It would be great if we can have an RV. Used RVs are a way to go, I think. Having everything you need inside is what I like about it. Of course, there's that comfort of sleeping too, unlike just camping, where you sleep on the ground.Buying an RV is a major investment. It is extremely important that you make an educated, well informed buying decisions. That's why it's good to visit rvs.com for all RV related infos. ..i found some good stuff there today.

Men! it never ends. Well, I was kind of expecting it today. I am talking about the gas prices. It went up from $1.33 to 1.37/liter today. I should have filled my tank up last night. I could have saved about 2 or 3 bucks:)..anyways, there's no stopping with this. All the prices are sky rocketing. The rice alone was about $2-2.50 more than a month ago. The hike in minimum wage did help for about a month...oh well, something out my hands. All I can do is complain really...

I am still into helping my family to get into their own feet here. They arrived last year from the Philippines and they started to get use to the lifestyle here. One of the things they started doing is to get their own credit cards to get into the system. It's important that they can do this soon. Being in the system will give them the option of getting loans in the future they may want like mortgage and stuff.
Credit is a great thing to have, as it is like having a large sum already in the bank ready for an emergency. Credit bureaus are not always speedy in reflecting changes to your credit score, seemingly except when the score gets worse. Now you can check your credit report online which in turn can allow you to get errors corrected before they impact your finances. The service covers the three main bureaus and will allow you to see if you can apply for a credit card or not, or, if you can, whether you will have to apply for a specific card that might be tailored for credit rebuilding. The website can assist you by having expertise that you yourself have not had the experience to have.

Press Release:

It's not a secret that some people are sure that credit cards bring nothing but different financial troubles, including severe debts. The statistics shows that on average every household in the USA has $8,000 of debts.
However, everything is not so bad as it may seem. Though we can't deny the fact that there are a lot of people who are in credit card debt, do you believe that these figures are fair?
You see, if the situation with credit card debt was so critical, the government would have taken certain measures to cope with this problem. And the amount of plastics issued would have been decreased.
On the contrary, credit card market develops and plastics become more and more popular with customers. So, why do you think credit companies promote plastics if the statistics is not so positive?
The answer is the false statistics. The thing is that this method of calculation defines no difference how well you pay on your credit card deal and your credit history is not taken into account as well.
So, how come the statistics get $8,000 credit cards debt in each household? The answer is simple. Statistics specialists used the averages, whereas smart economists wouldn't consider averages when they want to get accurate results.

We love coming to this Chinese Buffet. All good food and all you can eat! We were invited to a birthday here Saturday and oh yeah, 4 of us came, mom and dad and lil sis, and I went over and had a wonderful meal. Thanks to the birthday celebrant;)lol...well it was worth it, I think dad have 4 plates, lol...

For those of you who are not aware what a wine club is, it is a way of experiencing different wines each month, by having two bottles delivered to your door, or the door of someone you are sending this as a gift, each month.There are price options that make this an affordable exercise for most pocketbooks, and the wines are from California's best smaller wineries.

Jealousy is normal, right? It's one of the measurement of how you feel towards something or someone. It's normal to get jealous when someone won a lotto!. Anyways, just to prove how jealous of a person I am, I took this test from blogthings and here's the result.

You Are 37% Jealous

You're occasionally jealous, but you wouldn't be human if you weren't You keep your jealousy under control. You accept it, deal with it, and move on. In fact, most people would be surprised to know that there's a jealous bone in your body. So congratulate yourself for keeping your emotional impulses under control!

It is always annoying to have the phone ring, and find that it has no name on the display. This is especially true if it is done by some automated system, and you want to get back in touch with them. So, it is great to see that there is now a service to look up phone numbers in a reverse directory, so that you can find out exactly Who Called Me and get back to them to have them put your number on to their No Call List.

Hello peeps! My friend's links /blog roll is getting long here. So I thought of editing it. Some URLs are inactive now and some people have more than one blog. So please check if your URL here is still active or you have changed it to a different address. I will be deleting the inactive ones. Also, I will be going at these URLs one at a time and if I don't see my name in that URL, I will be deleting it here also. Please check your URL HERE.

American passport holders now have a non government service that you can use to get things done for you faster and without the hassles created by normal channels. This is truly an innovative business, as it not only speeds up things as far as your passport goes, but they also offer services to assist with visas where required, as well as a service for cellphone rental, to save you the exposing yourself to the risk of getting your cellphone cloned while overseas, resulting in massive bills.

Labels: american, cellphone, overseas, passport, U.S., visa

I was just browsing my album here and found this one. I took this one earlier in December, when we had our first wet snow. See the flipped car on the left? Yeah, I was able to capture this while driving! mind you, it's not allowed to hold a cellphone anymore. They implemented the law last month, so I won't be doing this again:)....well, it's amazing how this car was flipped on it's side, considering this road is a 50 kl/hr limit and it was around 8am in the morning. It was just so slippery I guess.

Thank goodness it the weekend. I have been waiting for this day the whole week. It's gonna be a long weekend for us here. Monday is Victoria day, so most of us don't have work. It's gonna be awesome. Hope the weather will cooperate with us. I might ask hubby to go to the park or the beach tomorrow. Somewhere different scene. I needed a break from the city:)

We have all seen what a child's swing set is, right? No, not right. As we drive past houses, we can often see swing sets set up that are made of cheap painted steel, look like garbage, devalue the property and the adjacent properties as well.

I suppose the question is, how long should swing sets last, and the answer is, at least long enough for the kids to grow up, and maybe longer.

Labels: children, garden, toys

...my new laptop, that is! well, it's one of my 'remembrance' from blogging. As you know I have been lucky enough to earn some extra cash through online opportunities. So before I spent my money on nothing, I thought of treating myself to a laptop. I am loving this right now. I could be blogging even in bed, hehehe...well, anyways, just wanna brag it...

It was sad to leave my work for another adventure. But I have to do it for my sake. My previous work was good. Good enough for us to put food on the table plus more, and of course to help support my family back home. I owe those from that job for sure. The people there had been nice to me. I can't really say anything bad about the job except of it being a shift work. I just can't handle not having a good steady work time.

One good friend was nice enough to get me these cakes. It was surely a surprise to me. Never expected it. She had everyone signed a card too. Some of them got me little gifts, which I will treasure for sure.
I sure miss those girls. We talk about the ups and down of the job all the time. I do keep in touch with some of them at facebook.
It's another chapter of my life that will be in my heart forever. Life is so funny. It's unpredictable, nothing stays the same, people and friends come and go. The only thing I am thankful for is, I was able to experience those days and met all those friends.

Having a hard floor is nice, but it would be nicer to accent it with area rugs. Iwould love to have an area rug like this contemporary style. We will be changing our furniture this year to upgrade it a little bit, and I will not settle until I get an area rug for our living room. I can't wait to have all the new stuff put on my living room, it would be a nice compensation for all the hard work I'm doing. Nice to see where my money went for a change.

For the longest time, I don't gather my pop bottles for money. I do buy, to some degree, a fair amount of them. We love to drink pop especially in a hot summer days or when they are on sale. I just can't be bother saving them until I'll have 4-10 bags of them. I figured, by the time I drive them to the depot, I'll use up the same or more on gas than what I would have get from the bottles. So I would just put them together with the recyclables and let the garbage man be happy. But I have found a way to get to the depot with no or less expense on gas. I just shove them in my Jeep on the way to a friend's house. That way, I am killing 2 birds with one stone:)lol...well, with the gas prices soaring high and all the commodities expensive, I am saving all the bottles I can to have that extra money for coffee and of course, helping mother earth with the recycling...

Labels: ramblings

Lipovox is a diet pill that works by acting as what they call a superfood. Not only does it assist dieting, or weight loss or reduction, it also has the great effect of clearing up skin blemishes and wrinkles. This is done by lipovox having ingredients that have similar properties to the kinds of foods that are known to be healthy, yet at the same time it does away with the drawbacks of preparation time and taste that might be less than pleasant, both of which are really what you might say are the side effects of healthy eating.

I have been meaning to change the look of this blog. It's May and until now, I haven't done anything with this. I have captured a lot of spring flowers to use for a header. But still, I haven't had the enthusiasm to do it. I am not really sure what to do here. I just want a simple one but I am browsing to a lot of template and designs here and nothing gets my attention. Oh well, I guess I'll keep browsing:)

Labels: ramblings

Like I mentioned before, I just started my own business with the support of my family here. It's a scary thing to do. I have never been in a situation where making money is a little uncertain. Working for someone have that feeling of security, where you know that you will get paid at a certain time. In contrast, having your own business have a lot of unknown to it, money-wise. I have spent a lot of stuff since I just started. All the start-up costs mounted to quite an amount. Given the time, I know that I will get all those back. I know that eventually, I will be able to make the money. But for now, it's a challenge. Payday Loan is what I need for now. It's a quick loan you can get online. It's fast and secure and I know this will help me until I get the cash flowing back my way.

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -Abraham Lincoln

It is indeed great to be a mother. Motherhood is such a great blessing. In a child's eye, the mother is the most beautiful woman in his life, for it is from her that he was loved and cherished unconditionally.

Share your favorite Mother's Day quotes and place your blog/name right after the piece of artwork.

1. Irresistible Fascinations / Naomi
2. Manna from Heaven / Lena
3. And Life Goes On / Lena
4. Sheng's Simple Thoughts... / SHENG
5. Just Another Day / Emzkie
6. Online Ramblings / Arlene

Here are my favorite quotes about Mothers that i found here online . . .

...A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.

...Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.

This is kinda too late to tag someone, i think, so who ever wants to do this in honour of your mom, please grab this. With that said, belated Happy Mother's Day to all the mom! Hope you had a superb day!

Lil sis got an eye on a nice car she saw online. She will be needing her own car soon. She should be ready to drive on her own by next month I think. I am glad that she is able to be on her own because living here really does requires you to drive even just to buy salt:)..well, being new to the country, it would be hard also for her to get the credit she will need to buy her own car.Car Loan for her would be hard for sure. There is a site though that will approve you even if you have an existing bad credit or new to the country like my sis to get the car you wanted. Bad Credit Auto Loans is the place to go for those who really needed a car but doesn't have the credit to get one. So check out completeloansource.com for more details. You could be driving your new car sooner than you think.

I have been so hectic with my schedule so far. I have started a business with my family here a month ago now. That's why I have been extremely busy these last few days. I can barely do the things I love most while taking it easy after a day's work. You know,... the blogging! lol...well, I do squeeze some whenever I can. I am glad I took this big step with my family as my support, I know I can do it!..at the same time, it's very scary. I lost all my privileges from work. Paid vacations, paid health plans not covered by the goverment, like dentist and medical prescriptions. Now, I have to buy those on my own. But then again, I am my own boss now, which is great. Plus no shift work anymore. It's kind of exciting actually.

Labels: ramblings

I had been coaching my brother to set himself up in the future. Being new to the country, it is hard for him to get credit because he is not recognized by financial institutions. That's why we are about to sign up a credit card for himself. He got pre-approved for a $300 limit, which is good for now. Just to get the ball rolling. In a year's time, perhaps, as long as he is in good standing, he should be able to get into the system and will be set for the future. Of course, he is talking about getting a house and that, especially that he is going back home to marry his girl friend. Once she's here, they would need a house and getting loans and mortgages in the future is what they will be getting into. I know it is still out there, but as I told him, it may not be important right now, but you have to do the little steps now so when the time comes, it won't be that hard. My hubby did that to me when I first came here. Signing me up for a credit card, just to get myself into the system. Of course, it's up to you to be responsible on how you will manage your finances. It not that easy also to get into that trap.

Press Release:

They say that people only need insurance when they need it. It's true that many people are sure that insurance is something not so necessary to pay for until those moments they wish they had it. Do banks insist on credit insurance? The fact is that it's up to you to decide whether you need it or not. There is no doubt that credit insurance is a "rescue thing" when something unexpected happens to you. When you face unexpected things you would be happy that you have chosen the best credit card. All you need is the best coverage that will satisfy your needs.

Even people with low credit rating can be issued credit coverage. It doesn't matter what type of credit you have, there are even credit cards for bad credit.
There are several kinds of credit insurance: disability, unemployment, credit life. Disability insurance protects your credit score by keeping your minimum payments paid in case you are disabled. Unemployment insurance is similar in its function: the minimum payments will be made if you become involuntary unemployed or laid off. Credit life insurance will cover you in case of death. Your family won't have to worry as your credit debt will be paid in full.
It goes without saying that credit insurance is not for everyone. So, you should analyze your personal situation and then decide whether you need credit insurance or not.

.........is the famous line of Parvati who won the title of this season's Survivor! Of course, since I picked her, I am also stirring up the pot! lol...well, I can;t wait to get hold of that money . Survivor: Micronesia, Fans vs. Favorites is one very thrilling season. A lot of blind sides moments. Very unpredictable. Well, if you are a fan, you know what I mean...anyways, just so glad I won, I can really use that money for shopping for summer clothes!!

Labels: ramblings

HDMI - it stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. In simple terms a way of connecting electronic multimedia things that are high definition. More and more, it makes sense to have your house or condo wired for things other than just electricity, and it makes sense to hide the wiring, as well as being safer to do away with trip-hazards such as loose wiring. Firefold.com have a great line in a HDMI wall plate that is even available with RCA phono outlets as well as the HDMI data cable one.

Well, Parvati won the million, and James the gravedigger won $100,000 from the Sprint cellphone provider. So, that is it for another season. I wonder how long this game will continue, as I never get bored with it, but feel that I should after all these years of watching it. It will be interesting to see it next season, and see where it will be located.

SocialSpark is a new idea. It is a social networking site with features that you might expect from that type of site, but it also connects bloggers, or blog authors, to the advertisers to allow a great form of interaction that gets the advertising message out there on the internet.
Current connecting formats seem to be that there is a middle-man company that canvasses advertisers for the advertising orders that they might have once their budgets are released. Then the bloggers all race and compete to get the orders for the ads, and thus the income from the blog. This current system actually gives the advertisers less control over exactly where they are spending their advertising dollars, than does the new SocialSpark method. With SocialSpark, there is a direct interaction between the bloggers and advertisers. The advertisers can select a blog on its merit for their product, as well as the merit it has that might be unrelated to internet scoring systems which appear to be flawed, such as the one run by a certain large search engine website. This allows more relevance for the advertiser, and better contact for the blogger, who can basically hook up with the advertisers in a more regular fashion.
An example of one of the blog profiles would be How to split an atom which of course does not explain how to split an atom at all! But, it is surely a title that will get traffic, if only to see if it really does explain how to split an atom, which is why I chose it as an example.

I forgot to remember that the fish are called Gaspereau - pronounced gas-purr-oh. They breed in the lake I believe, then they leave and go to the sea to live and grow before returning each spring. The long trough in the photos is called a fish ladder, and it allows the fish to swim up against the stream and as they do, they swim in little stages up each 'rung' of the fish ladder, then they pause and rest for a while, then go up the next rung.
There is also the main channel, that has a little bridge over it, but the dam by the bridge is to high for the fish to jump or swim up. That is why the government have installed the fish ladder, to allow the breeding process to continue.
Before they fitted the fish ladder, there was a stream running over some rocks that had to be running high enough with water to allow the fish to get up it, and some spring seasons it was lower than was good for the fish, although a few always must have made the journey. I believe that the lake water level was increased by the man-made dam, as there are houses and cottages all around the other end of the lake.
The fish when running up into the lake are so many that as they swim, it is possible to just swipe your hands through the water and catch one! As for what we do with the ones we get, we put them all back, hehehehe. My son Arvin spent a bit of time catching the fish in the small pond at the lower end of the fish ladder, and taking them up and placing them in the lake. Anyways, it was a load of fun.

Alcohol or drug addiction can be a dramatic way that causes life for a whole family to change completely, as it not only has the primary victim, but the effect involves those around that individual, not only affecting family members, but also friends and fellow colleagues as well. The ways of repairing this damage are often well known to all those involved, as the 12 step program is now famous, but the actual commencement of the action to follow through on that knowledge is hard to do.
There are many different things that need to be in place to ensure success, including of course a good support system for the main individual, and coupled with that, there also has to be a change in the thinking of the whole circle of contacts, which will generally be dependent upon the attitude of the principal victim, and in addition, it is essential in the case of drug addiction that a good drug rehab program is implemented, such as the one at Cliffsidemalibu.com where they have the addiction and detox expertise as well as the general support expertise in their Drug Treatment Center that will favor a proper and solid foundation for recovery. Added to this, Cliffside Malibu have the relaxing and comfortable setting, expert and compassionate staff, as well as the technical expertise to allow successful Addiction Treatment for any substance abuse situation to have a better chance of success than at lesser facilities. Being less institutional than many is the first step in securing the peace of mind of the primary patient of the abuse situation, allowing for self-esteem support while undergoing the treatment, and this in turn adds to the speed and solid establishment of the recovery.

Trophies and plaques are great things to have, and can add a touch of achievement to a recreation room, or finished basement. You don't have to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, just some local sports or activities will do. Then of course, there are corporate awards, that might be suited better to the plaques rather than trophies. Anyway, if you are a sports organizer, or have been assigned the corporate task of setting up some awards, quicktrophy.com has a great selection of all kinds, including baseball trophies.

Salad: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

Labels: Friday's Feast, meme

As summer starts, we take out the patio furniture to dust it off and get it ready for the season. The problem is, if you are like me and try to save money in what is sometimes a poor way, then you will have the sight of degraded plastic facing you. Question is, do I paint it, or buy new? Well, how about fixing the issue once and for all time? The answer is Teak. You might recognize it as being the favored wood for the decking of sailing ships, or in fact, ships of any type. The reason for the shipbuilders using teak is durability. And so I am considering doing away with the old chairs once and for all, and get some good quality teak patio furniture

We are a society of cellphone users. Many people these days don't even have a wired home phone, as they prefer to save the money of the monthly home phone charge, after all, why pay twice? In a city, you might experience signal loss with a cellphone if you happen to be directly under a roof-mounted cell antenna array, or in a shielded location, particularly around metal framed buildings such as high-rises. I just found two websites including one for the UK that is linked from the US one, and they offer cellphone antennas and also cell phone repeater systems that will ensure a good signal without having to stand by a window, or walk outside a few paces. This could change the way we use phones in general, by resolving the only real current snags in having a cellphone as your primary phone.

Well here we go, another month has passed. I can't believe we are on the fifth month now. Gees, time is really going fast here. I have done a lot in the month of April, lots of significant activities to remember. Well, first, my dad's birthday, it wasn't much of a party but it was an important event simply because it was his first ever birthday here in Canada.

I had also quit my job and started my own business. I am hoping that everything will turn out to be as I thought it would be with just minor downfalls. I am not really going to expect it to boom in the first year, but I am optimistic it will be fine in the end...(crossing my fingers here!)

And then I celebrated my birthday with my family here, first time this year. They had bought me a ticket for a concert, not just any concert but a concert with Gary V as the performer...

So I think, that some up why last month(April 2008) was significant to me....

Now that little sister is beginning to have the confidence to drive, the next step is to get her her new car. It wouldn't be new, but new to her anyways. Since she doesn't have a good credit rating yet, being new to the country and all, she wouldn't be able to purchase a new vehicle. So finding for a used potential car for her is one of the things we have been discussing in the last few days. We have been looking on line- it's very easy and you can do it anytime of the day. A lot of people are recommending a used ford car. I have one before and it worked great. I didn't have any major problem with it so I think it's a reliable enough to be her first car. BuyYourCar.co.uk is one site you can rely on if you are looking for used cars on line. You can save time driving around town to look for cars on sale, not to mention the petrol you will spend doing this:) BuyYourCar.co.uk has a simple to use Search option. You can enter in the make and model of the car you’re looking for as well as a few other options like colour, price range, etc. It's very straight-forward and easy to navigate. By offering the cheapest prices available for any used car online, BuyYourCar.co.uk is able to guarantee that they offer very competitive rates. make sense?..i think so!