Freek, for a 3 bedroom townhouse, we sure have stuffed in a lot of stuff.
I thought we lived pretty simply, not buying too much stuff unneccesarily. But I guess there are just a lot of things we got that we thought we really need, but it turns out, we can really live without it.
A lot of things have been boxed up and moved out. About 8 boxes of things went to Vinnies or to the Typhoon victims in the Phils. Another 20-30 boxes or so and our dining table have been transferred to the "new place" over the last few days. So here at home now, we just have the basics: a 3 seater sofa, tv, rug, plastic cutlery, plates and cups, 2 pans, the fridge and it's minimal contents, the microwave, our beds, some toys and some clothes. Makes me realise how much I don't need too much at all to survive and be happy. I believe we're happy, even though were a tad sad to move out of here.
Christmas just came and it was lovely. We did get to do the usual Christmas gift shopping for family and K.K. (Kris Kringle) exchange gifts. This year, however, we didn't spend extra on "presents for ourselves", that usually ends up doubling the Christmas spending total. We celebrated Christmas Eve with my family, a crunchy fried feast of spring roll hors d'ourves, prawn wanton dumplings (c/o Costco) with the perfect roast ham and a chicken macaroni soup (called Sopas, in tagalog). We exchanged gifts at 9pm and we played Rapidoh with the kids until it was home time, which was 11.30pm (just in time for the kids to get to bed before Santa came:-). Our 3 year old doesn't know how Santa "works" just yet. He doesn't know about asking for presents, leaving out milk and cookies for the reindeers, or anything like that. I think he will be next Christmas though and I think it'll be cute. But I hope he will also understand that Christmas isn't all about Santa and presents.
Christmas Day was spent feasting again. We had lunch with the big extended fam and then dinner with Frankie's fam. We played Taboo until midnight and my team won! Board games can be so much fun.:)
It was a very simple Christmas, but I can say that it has been one of the funnest....hands down.
Fran and I were wondering if it had anything to do with us being pretty broke. In other years, I think with extra money, came the extra want to be at the shops or restaurants spending it all instead of really relishing the time with loved ones. Or maybe the fun in the previous years could've been dampened by the guilt of spending too much on ourselves. I can't know for sure. But being broke did NOT make Christmas a "downer" this year, that's for sure.
I haven't as yet got any responses from any of the jobs I have applied for. I'm hoping it's because recruitment pretty much stops in December. Looking forward to continuing the job search next year! On the other hand it has been AWESOME not to have to work during this Christmas holiday time and to top it off, the hubby is also on forced leave until early Jan 2012. Woot woot.. it means I don't get left with the job of "moving" all on my own. Oh and of course it means more time together and with the lil man. hehe.
Anyway, hope you all had a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.. and God bless you in the New Year!
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Thursday 1 December 2011
About the shoes..
I previously had a thing about getting rid of lots of things I owned and didn't need (this phase started about August this year). Not only did I want to make a little bit of moola, but I felt the need to clear out some clutter and start afresh.
These red shoes were a then-recent purchase. I was searching far and wide for a perfect pair of red stilettos.. and when I finally came into possession of them, I realised how much of a non-necessity they were...and I also felt guilty pangs of spending over $100 for something and by that stage I had already stopped working full-time.
I did my best to sell it on ebay. I even wrote an ebay "blog ad" for it that I consequently also posted on FB:
The Red Effect - a little blog that I posted on my new Ebay/Auctiva "store"
These red shoes were a then-recent purchase. I was searching far and wide for a perfect pair of red stilettos.. and when I finally came into possession of them, I realised how much of a non-necessity they were...and I also felt guilty pangs of spending over $100 for something and by that stage I had already stopped working full-time.
I did my best to sell it on ebay. I even wrote an ebay "blog ad" for it that I consequently also posted on FB:
The Red Effect - a little blog that I posted on my new Ebay/Auctiva "store"
One day, when I still used to work in an office, I came to work and found that 8 other people had the same idea as me.....We all decided to wear RED that day!(And mind you it wasn't even Valentine's day).
It wasn't a bad thing though, cos we all looked pretty nice. I remember getting complimented a little more than usual too. Come to think of it...the whole day was pretty darn good... and I have a strange suspicion that it had something to do with the random chance occurence that 30% of our office population was also donned in the same scarlet shade.
There's just something about the colour that is just so darn appealing. It makes us want to walk with a little more strut, it makes us want to drive maybe a little bit faster, it inspires us to live more passionately and even take more risks.
Ever notice that when a red car drives past a lot of people pause what they're doing and pay attention? Or when a gift is wrapped and then tied with a big red ribbon, the anticipation to open it up climbs to near un-bearable!
What about "red" on a woman? Red lipstick, a swish red handbag, flaming red curls, a red dress....need I say more??
Is it to do with our blood I wonder? Does the Cherry colour influence the way we behave or what we're attracted to because our very life source is the same tint? Does red make the heart beat faster?
I'm no professional scientist and I haven't got a clue if it's allure and enticement has anything to do with the above association.
But I do know that whenever I get into a red pair of shoes (be it flats or heels), whenever i slip on a red cardi, whenever I bite into a red juicy apple.......I feel better than I did before.
So if anyone is reading this blog out there, if there's something you can take from this...Give yourself a treat... get yourself something red, be it big or small.. GET RED.
While you are at it, check out these very SEXY RED HEELS I am selling on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Mango-MNG-Sexy-Red-Heels-size-38-7-5-8-/****
They might just be the Ruby Remedy that you need.:-P
Have a great day!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It sold for $25 ...the winning bidder.. my beloved husband. He knew how much work it took to finally find them and he knew how much I'd actually miss them. He also knew that the above attempt to sell it for a better price by blogging about wasn't such a success and he didn't want me to lose out bigtime. Thanks Frankie! I think my son was also happy that I got to keep them..he seems to like the look of them on his feet too :-)
I dunno why I put it on my blogpage. Maybe the moment was still fresh and I didn't have any other background photo for my blog. I'm thinking of removing it. But if I do, this blog will be irrelevant. Thus, it will stay, for now:-)
P.S. Avid E-bayers - don't hate. It's only fair.. I was still penalised with the fees.
It wasn't a bad thing though, cos we all looked pretty nice. I remember getting complimented a little more than usual too. Come to think of it...the whole day was pretty darn good... and I have a strange suspicion that it had something to do with the random chance occurence that 30% of our office population was also donned in the same scarlet shade.
There's just something about the colour that is just so darn appealing. It makes us want to walk with a little more strut, it makes us want to drive maybe a little bit faster, it inspires us to live more passionately and even take more risks.
Ever notice that when a red car drives past a lot of people pause what they're doing and pay attention? Or when a gift is wrapped and then tied with a big red ribbon, the anticipation to open it up climbs to near un-bearable!
What about "red" on a woman? Red lipstick, a swish red handbag, flaming red curls, a red dress....need I say more??
Is it to do with our blood I wonder? Does the Cherry colour influence the way we behave or what we're attracted to because our very life source is the same tint? Does red make the heart beat faster?
I'm no professional scientist and I haven't got a clue if it's allure and enticement has anything to do with the above association.
But I do know that whenever I get into a red pair of shoes (be it flats or heels), whenever i slip on a red cardi, whenever I bite into a red juicy apple.......I feel better than I did before.
So if anyone is reading this blog out there, if there's something you can take from this...Give yourself a treat... get yourself something red, be it big or small.. GET RED.
While you are at it, check out these very SEXY RED HEELS I am selling on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Mango-MNG-Sexy-Red-Heels-size-38-7-5-8-/****
They might just be the Ruby Remedy that you need.:-P
Have a great day!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It sold for $25 ...the winning bidder.. my beloved husband. He knew how much work it took to finally find them and he knew how much I'd actually miss them. He also knew that the above attempt to sell it for a better price by blogging about wasn't such a success and he didn't want me to lose out bigtime. Thanks Frankie! I think my son was also happy that I got to keep them..he seems to like the look of them on his feet too :-)
I dunno why I put it on my blogpage. Maybe the moment was still fresh and I didn't have any other background photo for my blog. I'm thinking of removing it. But if I do, this blog will be irrelevant. Thus, it will stay, for now:-)
P.S. Avid E-bayers - don't hate. It's only fair.. I was still penalised with the fees.
Why the title of my blog?
Because... one night earlier this year I was alerted by facebook to add someone "I may know". I don't know her, personally, but I knew of her. She was a gorgeous girl, in a bikini and smoking hot. But I instantly detested her.. why?? Because she was one of my husband's ex-flings... that's why... and I detested her cos I instantly compared myself to her and thought if we went into a bikini contest...I would definitely lose out..hands down. She looked smoking, toned, tanned and pretty as a cheerleader.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not 100% down on myself and my esteem for self is relatively good, especially compared to when I was a teen :-). But that night..I just wasn't feeling it and I wanted to wake up my husband and get mad at him for choosing the "one who would lose in a bikini contest" and made me feel bad about myself and sorry that I wasn't as hot as one of his ex's. But I didn't and I'm glad I didn't cos I know none of it is his fault and he totally loves me for who I am.
But.. I did send him an email to get over it:-) and it went a little something like this:
"Dunno why but I'm sad coz I saw photos of ****** and her sister looking VERY VERY hot in their bikinis at some idyllic place. hmmmmmm ... I'm a bit jealous.. I shouldn't be.. but I dunno. Just feel a bit bad about myself..and my self-esteem is low.
Can u help me boost it somehow.. without us having to get another loan:-)
Thanks.
Oh and yeh I guess that's their life to be super hot... I am happy to be me on a usual day. I just wish I looked that hot 4u. :)"
Ugh...if you're rolling your eyes..don't worry.. I am too. How stupid and silly to think like that...but it's sometimes what we girls do best.
He did call me the next day to say that he read my email and that I had nothing to worry about and all that other love, mushy, goo goo stuff.. in his manly way of course.
But that same night of my passionate jealousy and feeling ridiculous.. I thought I 'd start a blog. I just came up with a title..but didn't get to create a blog entry per se. I did have plans of typing an essay along the lines of.. "beauty of a woman comes not only from physical beauty, but what she has overcome, what she lives for, her strengths..etc.. that makes a babe"..or "my 2 year old son, and all other kids his age or younger would've been called "babes" back in Jesus' day, not "babies" as is the common term now". hehe and start a blog about the ins and out of motherhood.. how breastfeeding is great but also a real sag, etc. But it was too much to think about and after sending my above email I already felt a bit better.
In this blogspace of mine though.. i may touch upon some of the topics I considered above one day, or I may not. I am not sure where it'll go, but I know that in the process I will share and find out much more things about this life..some great and wonderful, some horrible and some downright nasty.
..and i hope never to get jealous over a FB picture, post or anything ever again (even if I am about to just get my period and I feel like a raging, broody whale). It's a waste of time. Maybe my blog title will remind me of this every now and then.
Cheers,
Mush
Now don't get me wrong, I am not 100% down on myself and my esteem for self is relatively good, especially compared to when I was a teen :-). But that night..I just wasn't feeling it and I wanted to wake up my husband and get mad at him for choosing the "one who would lose in a bikini contest" and made me feel bad about myself and sorry that I wasn't as hot as one of his ex's. But I didn't and I'm glad I didn't cos I know none of it is his fault and he totally loves me for who I am.
But.. I did send him an email to get over it:-) and it went a little something like this:
"Dunno why but I'm sad coz I saw photos of ****** and her sister looking VERY VERY hot in their bikinis at some idyllic place. hmmmmmm ... I'm a bit jealous.. I shouldn't be.. but I dunno. Just feel a bit bad about myself..and my self-esteem is low.
Can u help me boost it somehow.. without us having to get another loan:-)
Thanks.
Oh and yeh I guess that's their life to be super hot... I am happy to be me on a usual day. I just wish I looked that hot 4u. :)"
Ugh...if you're rolling your eyes..don't worry.. I am too. How stupid and silly to think like that...but it's sometimes what we girls do best.
He did call me the next day to say that he read my email and that I had nothing to worry about and all that other love, mushy, goo goo stuff.. in his manly way of course.
But that same night of my passionate jealousy and feeling ridiculous.. I thought I 'd start a blog. I just came up with a title..but didn't get to create a blog entry per se. I did have plans of typing an essay along the lines of.. "beauty of a woman comes not only from physical beauty, but what she has overcome, what she lives for, her strengths..etc.. that makes a babe"..or "my 2 year old son, and all other kids his age or younger would've been called "babes" back in Jesus' day, not "babies" as is the common term now". hehe and start a blog about the ins and out of motherhood.. how breastfeeding is great but also a real sag, etc. But it was too much to think about and after sending my above email I already felt a bit better.
In this blogspace of mine though.. i may touch upon some of the topics I considered above one day, or I may not. I am not sure where it'll go, but I know that in the process I will share and find out much more things about this life..some great and wonderful, some horrible and some downright nasty.
..and i hope never to get jealous over a FB picture, post or anything ever again (even if I am about to just get my period and I feel like a raging, broody whale). It's a waste of time. Maybe my blog title will remind me of this every now and then.
Cheers,
Mush
Monday 28 November 2011
Where to from here?
So it's 1:15am and my sister just messaged me.
"So it's 1 am and mum walks in my room. I walk out and find dad snacking on bread and peanut butter and mum walking eating nectarines. Thought 1. Food addicts. Thought 2. Frank's message :( mind forever tainted *shudder* needed to share my nightmares with somebody. LOL lucky you"
As you may find, we kind of think/write/talk alike at times. Anyway..this got me up of my half frozen, "what am going to do with myself" stupor. I was still awake. Frank, my husband had sent my sister a message a few days ago. Earlier that night we had dropped by to my parent's place to visit one night and they weren't home. My sister, who's a mooch (but thinks for some reason I'm the biggest mooch of all) still lives with them (she's 22). She actually had some friends over and they were watching the telly. The real reason why we dropped by my parent's was because it had been raining all week and I needed to get my load of sheets dry in the dryer. We wouldn't have stuck around as we didn't have much to do there. We already had dinner and the TV in the lounge was occupied. However hubby decided we should wait and so I decided to grad a DVD from the shelf and watch a DVD in my parent's room while we wait. Hubby was totally against it. He felt it was just "wrong" for him to be "chilling" in my parent's room. But after 10 minutes of coercion ..he relented. For the next 1.5 hours we watched a Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel film, "Life As We Know It", in my parent's room. Fran insisting he would stay seated on the floor, next to the bed. And so he did, for the whole duration of the film.
Sometime during the movie, I did need to forage for something.. I don't remember what it was.. some loose change maybe?:-), no I can't remember.. but during my exploration of mum and dad's room for whatever-it-was.. we came across some interesting things in their drawers.
Now late that night when we were already home, my husband is semi-seated on the bed chuckling to himself. I was brushing my teeth nearby and in a muffled manner asked him what was so funny. He explained how he sent my sister a message, revealing the suprising contents of my mum's bedside drawers. She replied with an even more exciting list of "things you wish you didn't know your parents owned". GREAT VISUALS GUYS THANKS!... well ..in my sister's case.. that's what you get for being a major mooch and living at home for so long! haha. Frank also got his kicks out of it and loved the idea that they were still "doing it" and probably loving it. EWWWWW I can't even stomach that I finished that last sentence. So explains why my sister's midnight message was quite rousing.
ANYWAY... Late in June this year, I left the world of full-time work to: 1) complete my studies in Remedial Massage, 2) spend more time with 2 year-old son, 3) do things I could never dream of doing working full-time, eg wash dishes and cook every now and then, watch daytime TV, etc 4) avoid the extreme stresses that usually accompany balancing a full-time office job, running a home, studying and caring for a little one.
It's been great and not-so-great. Long story short - I've travelled with my mini-family in this time and had a ball; learnt the art of selling make-up and cosmetics "in my own spare time" with the help of a successful network marketing brand of the Tupperware Group; learnt that although I love to do the selling and "sharing" of the products and have a special knack for make women feel absolutely divine...I can never make a career out of it for myself, just a downright hobby; found that our mortgage cannot survive on one income alone; I got to cook a few meals here and there and wash the dishes at least 3 times a week as opposed to at least once a week when I was working full-time; found that I need to look for work again and I am absolutely unsure of what I really wanna get into.. same old stuff I used to do..or not.. don't really think i have much of a choice.
Anyway.. at present, we are currently behind one month's worth of mortgage payments and have defaulted on one or two other bills. It ain't that bad, things could be worse, but it aint that great either. We've decided that the best way to "save" and also be in the financial "green" is by:
1) Me to find a full-time job
2) If I get a job, find suitable childcare for the little one
3) Rent our place out and live at my mother-in-law's house, which is currently lived-in by my sister-in-law, her hubby and their son. This setting would take place no later than the 1st week of next year 2011 and will be as such for an undetermined length of time
4) Work and pay, work and pay..that is our current plan.
I have submitted ONE application to a certain government agency for an Executive Assistant to the Chair role.. hope I at least get an interview for that one, it took me ONE WHOLE DAY to complete, but more the five days just thinking about it. It seems to pay double the amount I was paid in my first "real job" after uni. Will hope and see.
Also if I do get it, I realy, really need to get the issue of proper childcare arrangements sorted. One of the main reasons why I stopped working is because the freekin' costs to have another look after my beloved son was costing more than half of my daily wages..the rest went to my travel costs, food and impulse buys from being so stressed! I also missed him very much. I just wish we lived in a work\ld where we can take kids to work and there would be designated Nannies/Childcare centres for them there and were fully paid by our employers. If only.
The place has been put up on the rental market just this week by a pretty "professional acting" agency.. hope they can at least get the place rented for $400/week..that would be nice.
Anyway... even if I'm not working and earning a steady income, I don't feel like I've let grass grow on my feet or anything. I've given everything my best.. and found somethings I am passionate about and really enjoy doing... I've found out that their can be dark side to living your "dream life".. and now I'm on a quest to find out what the next upcoming stage of my life will be about. Now, it does sound like I'm just talking about me,me,me here.. but in all things I try to do what's best not just for me, but for my family.. who mean everything to me.
Fingers crossed that tomorrow's gonna be a great day with even more advancements in my current plight.
Oh by the way.. I'm still in the middle of studying and although making some progress...it is very slow going and the current bane of my existence!
PEACE OUT
-Mush
"So it's 1 am and mum walks in my room. I walk out and find dad snacking on bread and peanut butter and mum walking eating nectarines. Thought 1. Food addicts. Thought 2. Frank's message :( mind forever tainted *shudder* needed to share my nightmares with somebody. LOL lucky you"
As you may find, we kind of think/write/talk alike at times. Anyway..this got me up of my half frozen, "what am going to do with myself" stupor. I was still awake. Frank, my husband had sent my sister a message a few days ago. Earlier that night we had dropped by to my parent's place to visit one night and they weren't home. My sister, who's a mooch (but thinks for some reason I'm the biggest mooch of all) still lives with them (she's 22). She actually had some friends over and they were watching the telly. The real reason why we dropped by my parent's was because it had been raining all week and I needed to get my load of sheets dry in the dryer. We wouldn't have stuck around as we didn't have much to do there. We already had dinner and the TV in the lounge was occupied. However hubby decided we should wait and so I decided to grad a DVD from the shelf and watch a DVD in my parent's room while we wait. Hubby was totally against it. He felt it was just "wrong" for him to be "chilling" in my parent's room. But after 10 minutes of coercion ..he relented. For the next 1.5 hours we watched a Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel film, "Life As We Know It", in my parent's room. Fran insisting he would stay seated on the floor, next to the bed. And so he did, for the whole duration of the film.
Sometime during the movie, I did need to forage for something.. I don't remember what it was.. some loose change maybe?:-), no I can't remember.. but during my exploration of mum and dad's room for whatever-it-was.. we came across some interesting things in their drawers.
Now late that night when we were already home, my husband is semi-seated on the bed chuckling to himself. I was brushing my teeth nearby and in a muffled manner asked him what was so funny. He explained how he sent my sister a message, revealing the suprising contents of my mum's bedside drawers. She replied with an even more exciting list of "things you wish you didn't know your parents owned". GREAT VISUALS GUYS THANKS!... well ..in my sister's case.. that's what you get for being a major mooch and living at home for so long! haha. Frank also got his kicks out of it and loved the idea that they were still "doing it" and probably loving it. EWWWWW I can't even stomach that I finished that last sentence. So explains why my sister's midnight message was quite rousing.
ANYWAY... Late in June this year, I left the world of full-time work to: 1) complete my studies in Remedial Massage, 2) spend more time with 2 year-old son, 3) do things I could never dream of doing working full-time, eg wash dishes and cook every now and then, watch daytime TV, etc 4) avoid the extreme stresses that usually accompany balancing a full-time office job, running a home, studying and caring for a little one.
It's been great and not-so-great. Long story short - I've travelled with my mini-family in this time and had a ball; learnt the art of selling make-up and cosmetics "in my own spare time" with the help of a successful network marketing brand of the Tupperware Group; learnt that although I love to do the selling and "sharing" of the products and have a special knack for make women feel absolutely divine...I can never make a career out of it for myself, just a downright hobby; found that our mortgage cannot survive on one income alone; I got to cook a few meals here and there and wash the dishes at least 3 times a week as opposed to at least once a week when I was working full-time; found that I need to look for work again and I am absolutely unsure of what I really wanna get into.. same old stuff I used to do..or not.. don't really think i have much of a choice.
Anyway.. at present, we are currently behind one month's worth of mortgage payments and have defaulted on one or two other bills. It ain't that bad, things could be worse, but it aint that great either. We've decided that the best way to "save" and also be in the financial "green" is by:
1) Me to find a full-time job
2) If I get a job, find suitable childcare for the little one
3) Rent our place out and live at my mother-in-law's house, which is currently lived-in by my sister-in-law, her hubby and their son. This setting would take place no later than the 1st week of next year 2011 and will be as such for an undetermined length of time
4) Work and pay, work and pay..that is our current plan.
I have submitted ONE application to a certain government agency for an Executive Assistant to the Chair role.. hope I at least get an interview for that one, it took me ONE WHOLE DAY to complete, but more the five days just thinking about it. It seems to pay double the amount I was paid in my first "real job" after uni. Will hope and see.
Also if I do get it, I realy, really need to get the issue of proper childcare arrangements sorted. One of the main reasons why I stopped working is because the freekin' costs to have another look after my beloved son was costing more than half of my daily wages..the rest went to my travel costs, food and impulse buys from being so stressed! I also missed him very much. I just wish we lived in a work\ld where we can take kids to work and there would be designated Nannies/Childcare centres for them there and were fully paid by our employers. If only.
The place has been put up on the rental market just this week by a pretty "professional acting" agency.. hope they can at least get the place rented for $400/week..that would be nice.
Anyway... even if I'm not working and earning a steady income, I don't feel like I've let grass grow on my feet or anything. I've given everything my best.. and found somethings I am passionate about and really enjoy doing... I've found out that their can be dark side to living your "dream life".. and now I'm on a quest to find out what the next upcoming stage of my life will be about. Now, it does sound like I'm just talking about me,me,me here.. but in all things I try to do what's best not just for me, but for my family.. who mean everything to me.
Fingers crossed that tomorrow's gonna be a great day with even more advancements in my current plight.
Oh by the way.. I'm still in the middle of studying and although making some progress...it is very slow going and the current bane of my existence!
PEACE OUT
-Mush
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