Start of the year thoughts

I can say that this is a good start of the year because I can tell that most of my worries will be over before the first quarter ends. Maybe this will be a good year for me but this time I have to be smarter and be prepared for the coming years. I'm no longer worried about being jobless since that is already given. Companies will prefer the fresh graduates who are more worried than me about getting a job.

I just wish that more opportunities to earn will come my way this year. That will include my blogging, my membership in Tiens, and maybe more computer tasks involving writing or designing. I'm not sure however, if studying web designing will be a right move, if an extra income will come.

A lot of people hate credit cards but ours had saved us from extreme financial problems last year, through these cards' installment schemes. The result was of course debts to pay for the next 12 or 18 months, but what I've appreciated about that is I can plan ahead to pay for them as long as they are kept to the minimum (not bigger than Php10,000 per month). What made that planning possible was the assurance that we will be able to sell our townhouse unit. A month from now, we're expecting to get the proceeds from the sale of this townhouse unit which I will use for the payables for the next 24 months. I cannot invest on anything from that sale, except for the Tiens health mattress that will surely help me and my husband avoid the hospital.

The best development that made me feel good is we will now be able to get the finality of the court's decision for our adoption of Lyca, our special needs child. No more cash needed to get that finality, thank God!

Amusing Tips

I have created my new blog as scheduled last January 16. Before that, I've been testing appropriate names for this new blog but they were already used. I've thought of "Amazing Tips" but it was already used. From that title, I've thought of an alternative which is "Amusing Tips". I then realized that this title is most appropriate for my blog because I hope to "amuse" my readers, either in belief or disbelief. The other titles I've thought of, including "Amazing Tips", assume that all my readers will believe all the tips I will publish.

If my readers will enjoy reading this blog, they will remember those "amusing tips" and maybe subconsciously believe in them even if they didn't at first.

I was not able to announce this new blog upon creation because I'd like to look for a better template. Luckily, I found one from another blog offering free Blogger templates. It also offers 3-column templates, so I guess one day I'll be changing the template of this blog, "I Don't Want To Retire!", which will also function as an "administrator" to my other two blogs".

A new blog

I'm thinking of creating another blog, and I'll do that tomorrow. I can't publish the name of the blog yet since I'm not sure if the URL I'm thinking will still be available tomorrow. I've been planning to do that since last year and I've thought of focusing in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a topic but I lacked the confidence to write about it. I've thought of a better idea, so I hope you can check what's it all about maybe two days from now. Just to give you a hint, my new blog will cover the following topics:

1. Feng Shui Tips
2. Traditional Chinese Medicine
3. Household Tips
4. Interior Design Tips
4. Any helpful tips I'll encounter
5. Tips from advertisers

The last item insinuates that I also hope to earn an income from this new blog but that will come later, maybe after 6 months or even one year of posting. Through this blog, "I Don't Want To Retire!", I've enjoyed talking about products from advertisers because they've always reminded me of past experiences I wouldn't thought of if not for their products. I was also challenged to be more creative and persuasive, and I really had fun!

2009 Babies

The New Year is always symbolized by a baby, so to start the year 2009, I’m excited to talk about the things babies or toddlers will need! I know that a lot of mothers are more excited than me because a baby grows so fast, and sooner or later will need this and that.

When my son and daughter were babies until they became toddlers, I could remember I would go to several malls to look for the exact item fit for them. Window shopping for the right item at the right price would last me a week or two. It’s easier with my special needs child now, since her requirements are not as many as that of a normal child. But I’m equally excited as the other mothers because this kind of child would use children’s items for a long time, and therefore I should choose the more durable ones. Our special needs child is now six years old, but she still has to use the play pen or play yard we bought more than 3 years ago. We knew that would happen, so we saw to it that it was a durable play yard.

I have good news to parents! That exact model of the play yard is not always available at the store where we bought it, but I saw it in a website called ShopWiki, which is linked to several stores. It was fun to go through this website and the sites linked to it because all the items for babies and toddlers can be found there. It is categorized into "buying guides" that will assist the buyer, and each guide presents helpful information that are linked to other sites or stores. The play yard for example, can be found in the "Activity Sets and Play Yards Buying Guide". The "Infant and Toddler Clothing Buying Guide" has countless of different kinds of clothings for babies and toddlers to choose from.

While everyone is skeptical about how Baby 2009 will develop or progress, mothers can’t wait to see what their babies might need the whole year. With proper nurturing, both kinds of babies will be healthy and happy throughout the year!

The Modern Three Kings (with Two Queens)

Christmas is not complete without the symbolic giving of gifts by the Three Kings to Baby Jesus. A photo of some family members that I shot last Christmas Day reminded me of the Feast of the Epiphany or the story of the Three Kings, but analyzing the photo further even gave me a more symbolic picture – a modern picture of the Three Kings, but this time with two queens.

Women now play very important roles in the society and that explains why my symbolic photo includes the Two Queens. Here’s how I’d like to interpret the photo:

As an offering to Baby Jesus, the First King brought a dog. Perhaps some animals can be more taken cared of by women and that’s how I want to explain why there is a Queen who brought a cat as well. The Second King brought a special child, but perhaps women are more caring as far as relationships are concerned, so the Queen at the back brought her sweetheart. The Third King brought some special food like Yam Jam, Christmas Bread Pudding and Russian Salad.

To summarize my interpretation, What the Three Kings and Two Queens are offering to Jesus are their love for the things they brought, like the love for animals or pets, love for the partner, love not just for the ordinary child but for the special needs child or people as well, and last but not least, love and gratitude for the graces of God, like the special food we were able to serve last Christmas. I think that was the best interpretation I’ve given so far, about a very simple photo!

Happy Modern Three Kings !!!

Festival of choirs

My Dreams List's Festival of Choirs is my New Year offering to all !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!