Shopping

I got to go out for 3 hours this afternoon to do some personal shopping. It's been a while since I was able to go out and buy something for myself and when I got home, I'm reminded again of why I don't usually do this.

I left at around 4:30 pm, just after I got Swe-cha down for his nap. I figure, if his nap goes well, Daddy should have a leisurely 1 to 1.5 hrs ahead of him. When I got home at 7:30p (picked up dinner on the way home), I opened the door to a crying Swe-cha and a very irate Daddy. Whatever it was that transpired in the last hour, it made Daddy so mad that he was nagdadabog. I didn't like how he looked, I swear, I was so relieved that I got home in time to calm everybody down.

As I write this post, I look back to the moments when I was out shopping and try to relive the pleasure. Given what I went home to today, I don't think that I will be able to go out and leave Swe-cha alone w/ his Daddy, not while the baby is teething (again, sigh!) and very irritable. Hanggang imagine na lang muna ako.

I really can't stand it when both boys are irritable. I had to scold hubby that I can only handle 1 sungit guy at a time and it doesn't really help if I am trying to calm down a screaming baby and all he does is grumble about the screaming at the same time (trans: nagse sermon). As if Swe-cha will and can listen, no. Ka-asar.

Aside from that episode, I had a good day. We started the day well (Swe-cha woke up smiling and comfortable w/ no teething pains) and ended the day well (Swe-cha, Daddy and Mommy hugging and making lambing in bed). My shopping also went well, I got a few new pairs of shoes and a few pairs of skinny jeans. I amazed myself in the fitting room because I fit in size 4 jeans! I haven't been a size 4 in more than 10 years. The super skinny jeans fit me just right (snug) and the skinny jeans were a bit loose in the waist area. *smile*

Funny lang because I got size 6, 8 and 10 jeans when I went to the fitting room and had to go out and get a smaller size. I've gotten so used to wearing my fat pants, hindi na ako sanay.

Black Friday and Saturday

Swe-cha and I watched Daddy clean and vacuum the master bedroom yesterday. Swe cha had fun watching Daddy and wasn't bothered by the noise of the vacuum cleaner anymore, in fact, he kept straining forward so he could reach it. Afterwards, walking on the carpet (still warm from the vacuuming) on my bare feet reminded me of how great it feels.

Daddy also had a lot of fun during Black Friday because he spent a lot of time alternating between cleaning and checking out deals online with his computer. He kept pointing out this 26 inch TV (LCD) that's perfect for Swe-cha's bedroom. I told him to hold off on that as our wallets are still on recession-mode.

We did purchase a few items - diapers, wipes, milk storage bags, .. okay, so these aren't exactly black friday deals nor are they exciting purchases... so we got a wireless mouse that Daddy has been eyeing for months and am about to check out this really cool smart battery charger to replace ours that recently got broken. For a few minutes, we were also tempted to get a portable dvd player for the car - it's not like we're planning any long drives soon anyway. But as with all the other non-essentials, we're going to pass on this for now. But looks like the store is out of the dvd player anyway so I don't feel too bad about not getting that.

Thanksgiving leftovers

We've got a lot to be thankful for this thanksgiving:

- the gift of life (Swe-cha!) and a lot of other babies born this past year

- our family who is always there for us

- friends that we can always depend on

- having Thanksgiving dinner with friends & getting to take home leftovers w/c sustained us for another day *smile* (no need to cook the next day)

- our health

- and even though our wallets are coming up dry, our hearts and lives feel rich

Christmas Shopping

Our Christmas shopping is almost done.

I say almost because we have 1 MOCPLG gift left to order and when that's done, we only have to find gifts for my nephews and hubby's niece and we should be all done for Christmas. I wish we had the budget to get our friends and cousins gifts for Christmas too but I've been jobless for months and while I do enjoy the time I get to spend taking care of my son, we are really feeling the loss of income. I really have got to start working soon (pls pray for me).

The last time we got a bunch of gifts, we were able to score a good China wholesale deal from an online shop. I haven't been able to find a good one this year and with the sudden increase in the MOCPLG kids this year (5 new kids this year alone!) and again, the drastic change in our income, I don't think we'll be able to give out stocking stuffers to the families. Sad, no ?

The past few years, shopping was so enjoyable because I wasn't *this* budget conscious. This year, it's still enjoyable especially when I think about how the kids will look wearing the clothes we got them or how they will enjoy the books and the toys but I am not looking forward to next month's credit card bills.

Oh well! It's not like we do this all year round. Christmas and Swe-cha's birthday only comes once a year after all.

We'll tighten our belts after the holidays.

Coffee date

Hubby and I (and Swe-cha) had a Starbucks date this afternoon.

Okay,.. it was more of a drive-by-and-order kind of thing but I'd call it a date anyway - I'll take anything I can get right now :)

I saw a post on Fatwallet this afternoon about Starbucks' Share Event of Buy 1 Get 1 any holiday coffee and the promo ends today so I really made kulit hubby that we drop by today. Thankfully, Swe-cha (sort of) cooperated and we were able to go.

It's so hard to get Swe-cha to sit facing the rear now and would fight and buck and arch his back and kick and stretch his legs - basically, anything he can do to make it difficult for you to strap him in. He wants to face the front and see where we are going. I can't wait till he turns 1 and we can legally face him forward and position his car seat in the middle where he has a very nice view.

Updates

We got a few more items accomplished this weekend, double yay for us all!

here's an update:

- Christmas gifts for MOCPLG kiddies, only 1 gift left to order

- Christmas gifts for nephews and niece

- order and install new tires for car

- replace weatherstrip on windows

- seal windows w/ silicone
- *new* Buy Buy Life Insurance or Term Life Insurance for hubby, update life insurance information (mine), hopefully, we can get Life Insurance No Exam needed so it'll be faster and we can get a policy in place asap

- replace axle assembly on car

- bring car for inspection (DMV)

- renew AAA membership

- buy caulking / silicone gun

- buy and install baby gate on stairs

- *new* car seat for California

And for Swe-cha's birthday:

- birthday outfit

- book photographer and videographer *new* booked, but need confirmation

- order cake and cupcakes (?) *new* booked, but need confirmation

- finalize decorations, souvenirs, prizes and loot bags *new* booked, but need confirmation

- go over program details w/ host

- finalize headcount and confirm ribbon / tablecloth scheme w/ caterer

I've also talked to a good friend asked for the favor of driving us to the airport for our trip to California in a few weeks and for him to pick us up when we get back. Thankfully, he does not have any activities planned for those days yet and he agreed to pick us up. I'm relieved that we were able to get a friend to drive our car for us to/from the airport so we can use our own car seat for the baby, he's gotten into the habit of eating / licking / chewing the harness and buckles of the car seat and i don't want to rent one for him that's sure to be full of germs.

Pakiusap

S chatted me up last night and this was how our conversation went:

S: Uuwi na kayo diba ?

Me: Yes

S: Sige, mag iisip ako kung anong papabili ko.

Eh ? Na stump ako doon sa sinabi nya, parang ang daming mali sa sinabi nya.

Una, hindi ba dapat tinanong nya muna ako kung pwedeng magpadala o magpabili ?

Pangalawa, wala pa pala siyang kailangan ipabili, so please, hindi naman kami nag ma maka awang magdala ng gamit mo kaya wag mong pilitin ang sarili mo kung wala kang importanteng naiisip. Ok ?

Pangatlo, naisip mo ba na kung saan saan pa mamamasyal yang padala mo ? Ilang beses pang paulit ulit naming bubuhatin ang mga maleta at kahon na kinalalagyan nyan ?

- bahay hanggang sasakyan (nasa 2nd floor ang tinitirhan namin)

- sasakyan hanggang sa check-in sa airport (NJ)

- pagdating sa CA airport, papuntang sasakyan

- galing sa sasakyan papasok sa bahay ng kapatid ko

- mula sa bahay ng kapatid ko papuntang sasakyan

- sasakyan hanggang sa check-in sa airport (CA)

- pagdating sa airport sa Maynila, papuntang sasakyan

- galing sa sasakyan papasok sa bahay namin

Yan e kung maipapasok namin sa bagahe namin na pang-check in. E kung ma overweight pa kami ? Edi bubuhatin na lang namin para hindi kami mag bayad ng additional na fees, tandaan mong pamahal nang pamahal ang bayad sa bawat karagdagang bagahe na ipapadala sa eroplano.

Kung hahawakan namin yan, aba, edi mamamasyal pa yan sa stopover namin sa Atlanta!

Kaya sige, kung importante ang ipapadala mo, walang problema sa akin ang magdala. Gamot ba yan ? Mga bagay na hindi nabibili dyan ? O kaya's sobrang mahal pag sa atin binili ? Pero, kung di naman talaga kailangan, pakiusap lang, wag ka nang magpilit na magisip ng ipapadala para lang merong maipadala. HINDI KAILANGAN, ok ?

Hindi talaga.

Teaser

I've been blogging on and off about that online store that my partner and I are starting. We were able to get a lot of steam built up at the start but things have kind of slowed down this month - my partner is pregnant and is due to give birth soon. She moved nearer to the hospital in early November and lost her internet connection, she'll get it back when she moves back home. Along with her lost internet connectivity, we lost our communication as well.

In the meantime, I'm trying to do as much as I can on my end - I'm the technical person and she's the business & marketing person. Thankfully, she got a lot of the write-ups done and sent them to me before she went on temporary hiatus.

With what limited photoshop skills and imagination I had - and with a lot of help from the husband - we were able to come up with a logo. I can't wait till we officially launch our shop so please watch out for it!

I wish we could've come up with a cuter logo but this really embodies what our shop is all about - savings! We're all about the goodies and all about the savings. So this will have to do in the meantime. Now, I wonder if we'll have to come up with some sort of Mobile Wallpapers to advertise our shop when we launch it (hopefully next month) ?

Updates

Checked the status of my order for tires at Costco and it looks like they've arrived at our local warehouse. All that's left is to set aside some time to get them installed and we should be all set for our inspection at the DMV. We still have not figured out who's bringing the car for tire replacement and inspection.

Stroller-wise, it's still a tie w/ 1 vote pro stroller (Ninang A) and another vote (Meekerz) against bringing it. Mag-ask around pa ako.

Was also about to put in orders to purchase gifts for 2 more kids. 8 kids down, 6 more to go. With 3 more weeks to go before our Christmas party, I'm feeling pretty confident. Yun nga lang, the remaining kids are big kids na and it's so hard to shop for them w/o knowing what they like.

Stroller

Hubby and I cannot decide if we're bringing our stroller with us when we go to my sister's place. We have this umbrella-type stroller but it still weighs in at 19 lbs and the basket underneath the seat is too small to be really useful when travelling with a lot of carry-ons.

On one hand, it may come in useful because it reclines completely and it is quite comfortable to sleep in and on the other hand, the baby isn't really the type to be content and just sit quietly in his stroller. He likes to be carried and prefers the view from up there.

So it brings the question to mind, what are the best baby strollers for travelling ? Or specifically, what are the best baby strollers for our trip? We're thinking of just leaving ours at home (and jut bring our front-to-back baby carrier) since the stroller is a hefty 19 lbs w/o the accessories and just buy one of those cheap umbrella type strollers that you could get at a baby store for $10 to $15. Yes, the (sort of) throw-away type. But then my concern is, my baby is barely 1 years old, are those straps sufficient to hold him and keep him seated ? And... our stroller does come with a lot of accessories w/c might prove to be useful in certain situations - it has a sunshade, raincover, and even a sleeping bag (a covering for cold days).

What say you ?

Weekend in Review

We got a lot accomplished this weekend. To recap:

here's an update:

- Christmas gifts for MOCPLG kiddies

- Christmas gifts for nephews and niece

- order and install new tires for car

- replace weatherstrip on windows

- seal windows w/ silicone
- *new* Buy life insurance for hubby, update life insurance information (mine)

- replace axle assembly on car

- bring car for inspection (DMV)

- renew AAA membership

- buy caulking / silicone gun

- buy and install baby gate on stairs

And for Swe-cha's birthday:

- birthday outfit

- book photographer and videographer

- order cake and cupcakes (?)

- finalize decorations, souvenirs, prizes and loot bags

- go over program details w/ host

- finalize headcount and confirm ribbon / tablecloth scheme w/ caterer

We were able to cross out a couple more items from our list over the weekend and well, we did add a few more as we remembered tasks that we need to accomplish but that is to be expected.

Had a really really bad experience at Babies R Us this afternoon. Went to buy the baby gate for our stairs and the cashier - who happens to be Asian (she looks Chinese but I am not sure - was VERY VERY RUDE to me. She was so nice to the couple in front of me and as I was able to observe when I went back and waited for the manager so I could file a complaint about her, she was nice to others as well. Anyway, she forgot to give me a coupon book and I asked for it when she finished ringing my purchase, "hi, can I have some coupons ?" She got one from the top of her stack, threw it at me and said "next customer!". I was taken aback and I couldn't believe that she just did that to me. I didn't say anything and just left.

While that was happening, hubby was with the baby by the benches near the door. I didn't realize that he had witnessed the whole thing until we were on our way to the car and he said "what was that about with the cashier ? ang bastos, no ?" That's when it sank in.

I decided to go back and talk to a supervisor. The supervisor promised to talk to her, I told the supervisor that this girl has no business being in that line of work with that kind of attitude. I don't care if she was in a hurry or having a bad day, there's no excuse for that kind of attitude.

I'm not done yet. I will fill up this online survey connected with my transaction, hopefully, management gets a hold of her.

Forwarding Company

This is a shoutout for forwarding company recommendations.

We need to bring some items from Manila to the US, mostly heavy or bulky items that we do not want to bother family with by asking them to bring a little at a time whenever they come to visit (e.g. hubby's comic book collection, etc).

The last time I was in Manila, I was able to check with Johnny Air Cargo and got a quote of $100 for each balikbayan box to be sent from Manila to New Jersey. Unfortunately, this offering seems not to have take off because I have not been able to confirm its existence recently.

Sending stuff from the US to Manila is easy and relatively cheap! Balikbayan boxes cost $65 and forwarding companies charge affordable rates too as we found out last year when my uncle built his house and ordered his fixtures from a light fixture showroom and had us send it over to him in Manila.

Let me know if you have any information, okay ? We need this by December :)

Boxing time

The Pacquiao vs Margarito boxing match is on tonight! Can't wait.

Our friend E has invited us over to watch the PPV coverage but we haven't confirmed our attendance yet. Still have to do what we can to complete that checklist.

here's an update:

- Christmas gifts for MOCPLG kiddies

- Christmas gifts for nephews and niece

- order and install new tires for car

- replace weatherstrip on windows

- seal windows w/ silicone
- Buy Life Insurance

- replace axle assembly on car

- bring car for inspection (DMV)

- renew AAA membership

- *new* buy caulking / silicone gun

- *new* buy and install baby gate on stairs

And for Swe-cha's birthday:

- birthday outfit

- book photographer and videographer

- order cake and cupcakes (?)

- finalize decorations, souvenirs, prizes and loot bags

- go over program details w/ host

- finalize headcount and confirm ribbon / tablecloth scheme w/ caterer

Christmas Shopping

I always dread this time of the year.

You see, when Christmas time comes around, I always have a hard time shopping for gifts. I feel so much pressure looking for the something that the recipient would love and be able to use. Unfortunately, I have to admit that it is still a hit-or-miss for me.

I also find it much harder to shop for my family. I don't think I've ever heard Mom or Dad mention wanting anything - they never ask anybody for anything, they work hard at being self-sufficient that way - so it's super hard to get them gifts. This year, I'm sort of winging it and am getting them a multi-handset cordless phone. They do go through those a lot because we're a talkative family. We got them a 4 handset model, let's see if Mom can use up the batteries on all 4 handsets in one night. From past experience, I know that she can use up 3 batteries *smile*.

For my sister, something for the house might be in order as she's still decorating, even though they've been in their house for two years now. She didn't want to spend too much during the first few years and wanted to prioritize their mortgage payments so they only got the basics when it comes to furniture. But she did start buying decorative pieces early this year. A howard miller clock would be a good gift if I only had the $$$, I just saw the perfect grandfather clock while I was browsing through the website and it will go with her floors and her furniture.

As for my brother, he's always been the easiest to give gifts to. Just ask him what he wants and he will tell you. Honest and practical and I love it! I got him John Mayer heartbreak stickers and a book that he wants.

Husband & Wife Conversation

After putting the baby to bed, I decided to go down to do some "swiffering". I go into the closet, take out the swiffer and rummage around for the swiffer refills.

Hubby: I wish we had a walis [broom].

Me: Ha ? Walis ? What do you mean ?

Hubby: The kind that we have in the Philippines.

Me: You mean, the walis-tambo ? [You can check out a picture at this link.]

Hubby: Yeah, a walis-tambo. Our floors will be so much cleaner if we had one of those.

Me: *smirking* It only works if you use it, you know. If someone would just take out this swiffer and push it around a few times,.. [then I lift up to show hubby the bottom of the swiffer]... see ? it does the job as well.

Hubby: I still think that a walis-tambo works better.

Me: If you promise to clean the floors (sweep) regularly, I'll buy you one.

Hubby: How & where will you buy it ?

Me: That's my problem. I'll hand-carry it all the way from Manila if I have to. So, do we have a deal ?

Hubby: [thinks hard] Swiffer na lang.

Job Hunt

It's been a while since I last worked. While I consider it a blessing that circumstances were such that I am able to stay home and be with my child during these months, I do miss working - especially the income that comes along with it.

There are times when I see so many job postings that match my qualifications to a tee and there are times, like now, when I check out job postings and I find nothing. Just this morning, I was checking out a job site and I found several want ads for programmers for financial companies but they all require experience on something specific such as options trading.

If push comes to shove, I can claim some sort of "financial background" - with emphasis on the double quotes - given that our company's biggest client is a financial services company and I worked closely with them and their reports for several years. It got to the point where I could easily find portions of their reports, match reports to their code names, and I even got the company codes (identification codes) memorized. Unfortunately, that is where my knowledge ends. I have no idea how to interpret the data contained in those reports.

Sad, no ? I never really got interested enough to learn.

Milk Stash - Nov 2010

Guess who has reached a milestone ?

We've officially breached the 100-bag mark on our frozen breastmilk stash. That's 54oz per bag. And at 100 ziploc bags, we have 5,400 oz milk frozen to date.

Of course, our freezer contains much much less than the 5400 oz as we have been constantly giving milk away as the freezer nears its full capacity.

To Do

Eep. While cleaning up that bookshelf downstairs, I found the software that A lent me for drafting wills (Sorry, A, I'll return this to you ASAP, promise!). It's been months since she lent this to me and I have not gotten a chance to use it yet. If you don't already know, "free time" is very rare in our household.

This also brings to mind that we still need to Buy Life Insurance for my husband and my own policy I purchased years ago also need to be updated to reflect not just my married status (I told you it was outdated) and new surname, I also have to change the beneficiary to include my husband and Swe-cha.

So our to-do list for November currently reads as follows:

- Christmas gifts for MOCPLG kiddies

- Christmas gifts for nephews and niece

- order and install new tires for car

- replace weatherstrip on windows

- seal windows w/ silicone
- Buy Life Insurance

- replace axle assembly on car (scheduled for tomorrow)

- bring car for inspection (DMV)

- renew AAA membership

And for Swe-cha's birthday:

- birthday outfit

- book photographer and videographer

- order cake and cupcakes (?)

- finalize decorations, souvenirs, prizes and loot bags

- go over program details w/ host

- finalize headcount and confirm ribbon / tablecloth scheme w/ caterer

I hope I am not forgetting anything.

Eggplant and Pork

We love eggplant.

We love pork.

We love eggplant and pork dishes. One day, I decided to look for the recipe of one of our favorite recipes and found a Szechuan Eggplant and Pork Recipe on Food and Wine.com. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the chili bean paste, I substituted salted black beans instead.

We loved it so much, we cooked this three times in one week. Then we realized it was excessive :)

Life at 10

My son is 10 months now and while taking care of him has become easier in some aspects, it has become much harder in other ways.

For starters, he's sleeping much better now during the day, taking naps on almost-predictable times. You could say that he has a regular schedule. Night times are still iffy because he still wakes up crying occasionally when he's feeling gassy and while he sleeps through* the night already on most days, he still wakes up at 5:30a to snack.

During the day, he usually demands a lot more of my time. When I leave him alone in his play yard, he climbs his yard fence (check out previous post) and he would shake and rattle it with his whole body much like a monkey in a cage. It would be so amusing, if it weren't so scary for me to watch. Anyway, I don't go far from his play yard because of that.

This afternoon, I found some time to organize and arrange his jars of food in the cabinet (they've been accumulating on the kitchen counter as we don't have time to make space and rearrange the cabinet) while he happily played by himself in his play yard. I was also able to set aside a bit of time to check out webhosting reviews for when we get our (my partner and I) online shop launched and officially move to a better hosting site. And, hey, I also got a few minutes set aside to post an entry here, didn't I ?

After I hit "publish" for this post, I will be moving on to dismantling those shipping boxes (all those things I ordered online since September) and getting them off to the recycle bin. Then I need to get to that stack of paperwork accumulating on our dining table. I need to scan then shred. Sigh.

My ultimate wish for Christmas is to have a not-so-cluttered home.

---

*sleeping through - defined by 5 hrs of straight sleep

My Son, The Escape Artist

My son has started climbing the fence of his play yard now. It's yet another item added to the already long list of reasons why I cannot and will not leave him alone for more than a few seconds.

Weeks (or months) ago, I was lamenting to my friend, R, that I could never get anything else done at home. "How do you do it?" I asked her, and she told me that I should learn to let go and not hover so much.

When he was climbing that fence last night, his Dad and I were having a discussion...

- that, maybe, we shouldn't be encouraging his climbing

- that, maybe, we should flick him or raise our voice to show him that it's forbidden

But we thought he was cute and we let him climb. More importantly, we decided that it was best that he be able to practice and gain confidence while we're there to supervise and make sure that he does not hurt himself because he will surely find other ways and opportunities to climb and I'd rather that he be more stable when he attempts it by himself.

In any case, here I am, lamenting stating the fact that I still won't be able to do any housework in the near future. I figure, we could live in a disorderly house but if something happens to my son while I'm cleaning the house ? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

My dream is that when I'm back working and we have the added income, we should hire a nanny or a housekeeper to help out.

Pouring

Once again, we are testament to the adage that when it rains, it pours and in our case, it is partially literal too!

(1) In the early part of October, building management asked to check out my windows. The unit downstairs had been reporting a leak coming through its walls and management has exhausted all other options and decided to check the walls on my part of the building. Sure enough, there was a crack on the outer wall and water was getting in because the weather strips around my windows were worn out and water was getting in and pooling around the crack. Bldg management will take care of sealing the outer wall crack but we now have to replace all the weather stripping on our windows. Cost to replace weather strips, including tax and shipping: $40 (not bad).

(2) This afternoon, the super came by to seal the outer wall crack and he noticed that our windows need to be resealed too in the area where the glass meets the frame. *sigh*. Estimated cost of sealant (needs to be same color as the frame): $10 ?

(3) This item on the list is what concerns me the most. Our bathroom ceiling has been leaking on and off for the past two years. Each time I report it, the bldg super either just replaces the vent cap on the roof or repairs the roof over our part of the bldg by pouring some sort of sealant or compound. Two nights ago, it started leaking again and what worries me is that it's dry out. It wasn't even raining! So where was the water coming from ? There are no units above us.

The thing is, we have a textured finish on the bathroom wall ceiling. If part of the paint has to be stripped out to see what's underneath, the entire thing needs to be stripped and refinished. And if the whole ceiling is to be redone, I would prefer that the entire bathroom be redone as well because it really is outdated. So this is sort of a cascading expense.

Part of me wants to ignore for now if the leak stops (super has promised to reseal our part of the roof) and part of me wants to strip it and see if mold is growing underneath but the latter option scares me because of the cascading expense it might start.

estimated cost: $10 (for mold testing kit) all the way to $5k - $7k for a bathroom remodel

The next items concerns our old(er) car:

(4) New tires, there's really no way around this. Cost: $600-900, depending on brand and model of tires.

(5) Right inner axle boot cover is ripped. Subaru is charging $286 + tax for just the boot cover replacement. I called different repair shops to get estimates:

• Midas: $305 + tax for just the boot cover
• Meineke: $135 + tax for just the boot cover but they recommend replacing the axle as well because if dirt / grit got in already, then damage has already been done. The entire thing will cost $185 + tax (only $50 more).
• Aamco: recommends replacing the entire thing as well, estimates $180 - 190 + tax.

Looks like we'll be going w/ Meineke and will have the whole axle assembly replaced. We decided to go with Meineke over Aamco for the simple fact that Meineke is open on Saturdays while Aamco is M-F only.

(6) November is property tax time again. We pay every quarter so our next payment will be in February, 2011.

(7) And last, but not the least, Christmas season. It's the season to be jolly and the season to spend... add that to Swe-cha's upcoming birthday celebration. Eek.

Hoping that 2011 will bring lots of blessings and good karma, especially on the job front. If expenses keep mounting up like these, we're going to need the income.

Craving

I have a craving for cake. I want yellow / white cake with sickly sweet vanilla frosting.

I'm thinking that since it's getting awfully chilly here at home, it might be time to break open that box of Betty crocker instant cake mix and crank up the oven. I'm just feeling lazy to take out the baking pans.