yes, you read it right! jude and i are nearing our 2nd wedding anniversary, 8th of october to be exact, and am proud to say that we are a happy couple--unfazed of the challenges that came along and continuously learning and growing in this vocation we have chosen
weekend found us in market! market! and world trade center in pasay city to visit trade exhibits which we either read in the dailies or just heard over the fm radio. since we're into a gamut of projects and interests right now, our whole family (jude, me, iñigo and his yaya) braved the heavy traffic of slex last saturday to see if there can be anything useful for us from these exhibits.
nego-skwela trade exhibit
i am actually unsure of the title of the exhibit but because it was organized by nego-skwela livelihood and technology center, let me have the title that way na lang. it was i who prodded jude for us to visit this since am into business now. nego-skwela is the private counterpart of TLRC and the organizer alone is enough to occupy me in that fair as i read in their brochure that they are conducting seminars and training for aspiring entrepreneurs. lucky for me that one of the training i would like to take is in their list! the rate of their seminars are reasonable enough at 1.3k-2k per module. give me a reply if you want their contact details, okay?
and since we were already in the market! market! the mall rat in me was once again itching up so i asked jude for us to take a stroll for a few minutes. i guess he really know me very well because that few minutes is actually an hour or so but still he gladly obliged. hehe.
we chanced upon toytown, which is at the 3rd level of the mall, and to my delight they were selling some fisher price toys at 75% off! i was able to buy iñigo a battery-operated toy at only php 300. of course, i made sure first that the SKU isn't part of the product recall. other toys like disney's were also on sale and guess what we did... we made some early christmas shopping already! we bought a lot of toys which we intend to give as gifts for our inaanaks and pamangkins.
oh, i was really happy!
but there's more that made me happy this past weekend...
sunday after lunch, jude drove us to world trade center to check the philhouse 2007 which gathered some of the country's house developers and constructors, interior designers, home furnishing companies, and even financing companies such as banks and pag-ibig.
and since we're in the process of having our own house built, we scoured the booths of participating companies to see the latest trends these days, which we can probably copy (oops...) or compare products and prices with those in home depots.
i was smitten by this booth which features country-style home furnishings. i even asked jude to take a picture (left of this page) of me and iñigo just to have a remembrance. sayang, the swing wasn't captured in this photo because it's really cute! =D
one of the first booths we visited was that of imarflex's. i've been longing to have a juice extractor for such a long tim
e now and when i saw the imarflex electronic juice extractor i immediately bought it since aside from the brand reputation (tested it yesterday and i love it!), it was on sale at 15% off! and that's not all... i was given a membership card which entitles me for a 20% discount everytime i buy their products from the head office, which is in buendia, makati.
then we passed by the booth of hanbee trading (they are featured regularly at magandang umaga pilipinas) and to our delight, the modular kitchens on exhibit that day were selling at 50% off the original price! of course we bought one as we really think that's a good buy! actually jude just paid the 30% d/p and the balance is payable upon delivery which is on december. the modular kitchen has everything--gas range, stainless sink and drainer, cabinets with stainless racks, etc. good buy, isn't it?
we ended up last sunday evening really so tired but we weren't complaining because we know all the trips we made were all worth it. =D
- that the guilty verdict and life sentence for erap's plunder case is fair enough.
- that there are more plunderers on the loose. the reason why they are untouchable as of these days because they are seating in the right of the father... err.. mother.
- that the middle class has once again spoke for the nation. it's this class that toppled down the erap administration and kept mum over gma's alleged cheating during the 2004 presidential election as they may probably do not want another artista in malacañang.
- that manny pacquiao will lose this time on his fight with marco antonio barrera. all i do hope is that no one will deliver the good (or bad) news early in the game. it spoils the excitement.
- [jude only] that university of the east will win this year's uaap just because they remain to be undefeated as of now. i don't think so... go, tigers pa rin! hahaha!
- [me only] that dr. hayden kho, dr. vicky belo's beau, is hot! jude thinks otherwise... may tinatago raw.
i grew up accustomed with the phrase "terrible two" and that made me believe that a child starts to become a nuisance (but adorable at that) only when he or she reaches the age of two. that's why jude and i wasn't able to ready ourselves when our little boy, at 10 months, started to rule the house as a budding explorer and grabs anything that he fancies. now at 14 months, he's already a pro in putting chaos inside our house: drawers pulled out and cabinet doors opened with its contents tossed out in all directions, toys scattered all over our room, dining chairs pushed anywhere (fingers crossed that it won't be pushed against the fridge door again), and the list can go on. *sigh*
but what makes us happy about this is the fact that our little boy is already a toddler and is doing what other normal toddlers do. i remember my mama used to tell this when we can't keep our cool with cousins or nephews who won't behave: hayaan mo na... mas okay na yang ganyan dahil kung hinde malikot yan ibig sabihin may sakit or diperensya yan." oh yeah... the wisdom that only experienced mothers could give.
***
just a roundup on iñigo's development as of this month...
- he still won't walk (he loves crawling until now to others dismay... sila yun) but attempts to make several steps when he feels like doing it. he's too cautious... that explains. =)
- he prefers eating regular meals (rice, viand, and soup) now than the baby foods i prepare. fyi, i never offered cerelac and gerber to my little boy. i have nothing against these two but for me, i prefer the hard way of mashing fruits and veggies and serve it to my son. well now.. iñigo would even eat ampalaya when mixed with squash and other veggies. and what a surprise... he turned down the apple-mango puree he used to love! he is now eating menudo, adobo, pancit, relyenong bangus or whatever i cook. =D
- he is now familiar with some parts of his body and can point his head, nose, tummy, and... birdy! =D
- he loves watching tv commercials most especially the ad by jollibee. he'd dance as soon as he heard the the jingle and shriek with delight when jollibee the mascot appears in the tv screen. i am really stunned on this and a bit wary of any subliminal message that comes with every jollibee ad. hahaha!
- he would sign more often especially with the words "more", "milk", and "sleep". =D
- he's also now good in throwing tantrums! =( our son is becoming a little pasaway lately, which can be so annoying sometimes. but according to dr. sear's baby book, iñigo's age right now is the stage when babies are in the height of asserting their independence. oh well... i just hope iñigo won't go too far on this because the last time i said "no" to him he crawled towards the door and sobbed. waah... lalayasan na yata ako!
jude and i had an extra time last night to map out our plans/projects in the pipeline, to do's and to have's, and the corresponding expenses for the rest of the year. i ended up with a heavy heart because of the latter as it will eat a chunk of our savings. unforeseen expenses also came along and adding it up with the gamut will really force us to withdraw part of our savings as our incomes and extra cash are not enough. this lead me to think: what if we didn't oblige ourselves before to save part of our earnings? it's gratifying to know that inspite of the increasing demands of our family (with the coming of iñigo) and increasing prices of the goods nowadays, jude and i managed to save.
life can be really hard these days and for a lot of people, us included, living is all about surviving. hence, we already taught ourselves to live within our means and forego things we cannot really afford or dispense at the moment. wittingly or unwittingly, we learned to be stringent in terms of spending.
- shopping means raiding the malls during mallwide sale/inventory sale only. this is the only time i splurge a little and buy the things and items my family and i would like to have. if the things we need or want can wait until there's an off-the-price promo, then we wait. the same practice goes for our travels. we schedule them as early as possible so we have more time to avail those discounted tickets being offered by some airline companies.
- we buy from divisoria or second-hand shops if possible. when i need new pots or towels for the house i schedule a visit to divisoria as i know i can have them at almost half the price compared to those at the mall. i also intend to buy the things i'll be needing for my store from mk kitchen equipment in reliance, mandaluyong. the stainless trays and bins there are way cheaper than the brand-new.
- we de-list activities that bring no value for us. i hate going to some places or on gimmicks, which are usually unplanned, where we went home as if nothing happened and it was actually better if we just stayed home. i would be more willing to spend 2k for a night of fun and bonding than having spent 500 but thrown in humdrum.
- we cut our subscription expenses at the minimum. we do not have cable for our tv and unlimited internet connection for our computer yet. there's no need as of now. all i think about these two is they will just add up to our monthly bills. we still enjoy life anyway without them.
- we don't buy or spend on credit. we are virtually debt-free since we only have less than 10k in our credit card bill and we can easily pay it off. what we do when we want something badly is we save up for it, and that should be over and above the savings we keep for the rainy days. of course, there's an itch sometimes to buy impulsively and you know very well that nagging voice that tells you "buy now or regret later". jude and i experienced this when we went malling in megamall last december and there's a yearend promo for a plasma tv/dvd/component set, all selling for only 60k! we were already planning to get it on an installment basis since our cash then was alloted to something else but thank goodness we dropped off the plan.
- we delineate the wants from the needs. the truth is there's a thousand and one ways for us to afford upgrading our computer and digital camera, getting a brand new car, or constructing a bigger and nicer house. but we opted to keep our life simple and our financial status in balance by being contented with what we have right now. fyi, jude's is using an old model of motorola for a celfone and even if he has the moolah to buy a newer one, he chose to put his money somewhere else.
we know some people who bask in luxuries and bought luxury cars, grand house, laptops, ipods, condo units, which are beyond their means actually, and now found themselves in deep shit. honestly, we were wowed by their extravagances and their capacity to afford it but still, we'd rather not be like them. these same people are working like dogs now just to keep up with the lifestyle they made.
jude said that if there's one thing we can do with our extra money is to invest in assets, assets as defined by the book of robert kiyosaki... and i must agree with him.
how about you... how do you cope? share it with us please as we may learn something from you.
iñigo amazed me yesterday when i was putting together the rubber mats which he loves to disassemble. i was fitting in the "number 9" piece into the square mat when he saw me and hurriedly crawled to his bike's basket where he put the other piece i needed. he went back and gave the other piece to me... so smart of him! =D
...and when i give him something he wants and ask him "what will you say, iñigo?", he would instantly say "tezzz". that's "thanks!" hehe. see... my little boy is already that polite. =D
...and his sign of the cross already improved. he can start now with the "in the name of the father" by touching his forehead and wait for us to say amen for him to do the amen sign. we have a pious child in the house! =D
he also got the hang of some of mommy's instructions such as "close the door", "come back to mommy", "do not touch, it would hurt you", and my favorites: "hug mommy" and "kiss mommy". =D
according to research, breastfed babies are ahead by 5 points in IQ level compared to formula-fed babies. that's enough motivation for me to keep breastfeeding my son until he's two.
i prepared tacos as our contribution while the other foods and the booze were shouldered by boss bernie, aside from the videoke rental. the p&g boys had a great time singing and partying all night. the other boys even took off their shirt and waved it in the air when a rock song was being played. oh well... as always said, work hard and play hard... and they did.
we went home past 10.00 as the little boy is already sleepy. oh yes, iñigo went us with us and showed his dancing prowess when someone sang "itaktak mo". hahaha.
we woke up early the next day as i was itching to join the mommy milkshake fun run at the fort--not for the run itself but for the freebies. hehe. the fun run was organized and sponsored by a lingerie manufacturer to help promote breastfeeding in the country. i didn't go home empty-handed as i received a brassiere and panty set from them. babaw ba? lol. jude, on the other hand, was aghast when he saw that the free shirts that we will be using in the run is in pink. pakipot pa... hehehe.
in the end, the three of us (you read it right... we were three and iñigo was again with us in the run and jude carried him using a carrier) ran and enjoyed the morning of jude's birthday. jude was even inspired to join another run with iñigo and was thinking of buying a jersey set for his son. sino ngayon ang oc? hahaha.
after that event we head on to vito cruz to fetch jude's family to have lunch in max's restaurant. afterwards, jude and i left iñigo and his yaya matet with mommy and off we went to mall of asia to watch transformers, which we were aching to see in a big screen even weeks before.
all these happened in jude's birthday and i was glad that he's more than happy as he did everything he wanted to do on his birthday, including wearing a pink shirt. =P
jude here was wearing sunglasses that i gave to him as gift for his recent birthday. i just let him blew a candle on a cupcake because all of us in the house were on low-sugar diet mode; hence, no cake as for now. palusot! hehe.
