My Sweet Haven

Taking zumba classes.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:02:00 +0000

Zumba classes seem to be the way to go for those wanting to lose some weight. I’ve been thinking of joining one in town. But first, I have to get a comfortable pair of dancing shoes. I don’t want to hurt my feet or worse my ankles so I guess it’s really important to get the right pair of shoes. Since I don’t even want to consider taking myoswell, I think my best alternative is to exercise. So Zumba, here I come, lol!

Renovations.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:19:00 +0000

HGTV is one of my favorite TV channels. It never fails to amaze me when they transform rooms from simple and outdated to modern and stylish. I have noticed that the focal point of every house is the kitchen so most people spend time and money keeping their kitchen updated. However, some would give too much importance to their bathrooms so I guess that’s the second room in the house that I’ve seen many people have spent time remodeling. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine just recently did a whole bathroom remodeling raleigh nc. She believes it would add value to the house which matters to them for they were planning to sell their house and move to a bigger one. It must be kind of stressful to supervise major renovations in the house but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end to see the transformation.

New found hobby.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:27:00 +0000

I have never thought I’d enjoy driving as much as I do now. Originally from a country that has tons of public transportation, there was never really a need to learn how to drive. But I can’t say that is true here in the U.S. You need to be able to get around and learning how to drive was one of the most important things that I had to master since I became an immigrant. To be honest, it was not easy for me to build up courage and confidence to get on the road and drive. I used to dread driving. But like they always say, practice makes perfect. As the years go by, I was able to overcome my fear and starting to really enjoy being out and about without having to depend on my hubby to drive me around town. It is actually one of the things I look forward to every weekend, you know get out of the house and have some free “Me” time, do a little shopping and stuff like that. Helena is pretty much big as compared to the previous towns we’ve lived in. Hence, traffic here can get a little crazy sometimes. It used to make me nervous, you know, but I can’t let that fear overwhelm me. A simple GPS device would have been pretty handy since I am not yet familiar with every little street this town has. I know I don’t need a fancy gps fleet management system. I was thinking, a Garmin 1350 LMT probably would be a good one to start with.

Transitioning to toddler bed.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:20:00 +0000

My little munchkin just turned 17 months. Hubby and I have been debating over whether we should now transition him to a toddler bed or not. I am actually a bit paranoid about him getting hurt if he’ll be free to roam around his room. I still think a crib is the safest place for him to be. But I know it won’t be long before he discovers that he could climb out of the crib and could potentially hurt himself if he falls down. I don’t know. Perhaps, in a month, I may be able to convince myself that a toddler bed would be alright for him. I’m thinking of getting some new sports kids bedding if ever we will make that transition. I’m pretty sure the little guy would love it.

Soap Opera addict.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 20 May 2012 02:33:00 +0000

Have you also been following the teleserye, “Walang Hanggan”? Well, it’s part of my morning routine. I watch it on my laptop over a cup of cappuccino. I love that show. Every character is interesting. However, I’ve noticed, ever since that fraudulent paternity test of the male character came out, they seem to drag the episodes a bit too long. I mean it didn’t seem to be as interesting anymore as compared to the previous months. Oh well, I still follow the show though. Soap operas can be like that especially if they want to keep it running for a while longer. I just hope things will improve for the next week or so.

Carousel and Ice-cream.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

We've heard about this carousel place and ice-cream parlor in town, so one beautiful weekend, we took our little guy out to this place. It's a nice, little place for kids and for the young at heart. However, with my kiddo, it's kinda hard to tell whether he enjoyed it or not, lol! Oh, I can see it in his eyes that he was pretty amazed with the carousel rides but when it was our time to ride in one, he was not very excited about it, lol! I had to hold him the whole time because he'd freaked out, lol! Oh well, maybe he'll do better next time.

Immediately after, we tried their supposedly home-made ice-cream. They come in a variety of flavors to choose from. I think mine was strawberry cheesecake while Jeff got the Java flavor. It was pretty good, actually! The baby had a taste of both of our ice cream and I think that made his day, lol!

Can I take it back?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:49:00 +0000

Ok, now that the weather has started to get beautiful here in Montana, I began to second guess myself whether my idea to sell my pink bike was good or not. Oh well, I’ve had it for a couple of years but hadn’t really gotten much use of it, lol! That’s actually the reason why I wanted to get rid of it in the first place. However, I can’t honestly say that I have not thought about loading my bike in a bike rack, drive to the park or someplace where I can bike around to my little heart’s content. But I guess it won't happen until we'll get a new bike for me huh!

A musician's friend.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:17:00 +0000

I’m very excited for Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year old Filipina Mexican finalist in American Idol this season. I’ve always believed in her just from the beginning. She just has an amazing vocals and her every performance on stage always left the crowd wanting for more. I don’t why but I’m really into great musical talents. I can’t sing to save my life, but I appreciate music and musical instruments. Unfortunately, the only musical instrument I’ve played ever though is a bandurria. It was back from my grade school days, lol! But of course I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano (little girl’s dream), but apparently it would just stay as a dream since I’ve never had lessons.

I think the new generation of musically-inclined fellas right now are quite lucky because there are quite a number of ways to learn how to play instruments without costing an arm and a leg. And in addition to that, musical instruments are readily available online with just a click of the mouse. As a matter of fact, I am quite impressed with the wide array of product selection in a musician’s friend website. Whether you’re just starting or a pro, you have access to Meet the Tech Experts Your Personal Shopping Assistants in the World of Technology. It is like your one stop shop for all your musical shopping needs. How awesome is that? They seem to have everything a budding artist needs. It's Mother's Day and they have some kind of a specials going on so you might not want to miss the chance!

Better safe than sorry.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:12:00 +0000

Having a husband that works in an industrial plant is sometimes never easy. Well, I’m sure they observe proper safety regulations in the plant but it still makes me worried about him getting hurt while doing his job. He already had some minor mishaps in the past at work, no matter how much he tried to be very careful. Accidents happen. He hurt his back and cut his finger. It may not be a big deal to some but hey, the last thing you would want is to get injured. But that’s part of the risks he’s got to take by doing this job. Welding is one of the things he has to do as part of his job. Although, it’s not a daily basis thing but it’s something that’s not to be taken lightly. For one, you could easily hurt your eyes if not being careful. Using speedglas helmets with auto-darkening lens may be one good option before you even start to consider welding. Even if you only do welding as a hobby, it is still important to take extra precautionary measures.

Branching Out.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:07:00 +0000

Authored by Rickey Combs

We upgraded our television package by logging onto http://www.cannonsatellite.com/. We have the tiniest little condo right now and I have enjoyed watching HGTV on it. I have gotten some really great organizational and space saving tips. We are only anticipating living in our little apartment for the next two years until my husband gets done with his residency, but being somewhere so small is a challenge. I saw a great idea on HGTV the other day. You can buy ottomans that are actually trunks. They are covered in fabric and cushions but the top opens up to lots of storage space! They even gave the website of a company that I could order it from and they come in lots of funky fabrics. Everything in our apartment is kind of boring in color because we wanted to make it look as big as we possibly could. Now, when the space saving ottoman comes in, the living room is really going to pop. I ordered a great green and blueprint. It is a little funky but I think that it is going to be exactly what we need. I have really been branching out since we started watching HGTV!

Great Old Downtown.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 12:20:00 +0000

Amidst the chaos of moving and getting settled in, we've managed to sneak into our busy schedule a quick trip to the city's main street, Last Chance Gulch and of course to the old downtown of Helena. Like many other towns in Montana, Helena started out as a mining town. Founded by four men, all from Georgia, a.k.a. as the “Four Georgians”, these four men, rather desperate after searching throughout western Montana for gold and finding nothing, stumbled into the area that is now Helena. The gem of this area is the Walking Mall, a two block section of downtown without a street running through it. It features some quaint and upbeat shops that give residents and visitors alike a unique way to experience the history and the shopping in the area.

Before heading to downtown, we checked out one of the most magnificent piece of architecture I've ever seen. The Cathedral of St. Helena. I came from the land of great history and culture myself so I'm not new to seeing old churches. As a matter of fact, I got married in one which was built in the 1800's.

There are so much wonderful grade school memories in this church since I went to a Catholic school just behind this building so it was a really important choice for me to get married here.

Anyway, as I was saying, St. Helena's Cathedral here in Montana is splendid in its own way. I think I'm lucky to live in a city with an amazing church like this.

After admiring the intricate details of the church's facade, we head out to the great old downtown of Helena. Quite a bit different from the small towns that I've lived here in the U.S. It's obviously a place filled with rich culture and history. I can't believe I actually live here, lol! I mean this is like a place that we'd usually choose to go and visit when we want to take a break and have a mini-vacation. I can't wait for the weather to get really good so we can continue to explore the rest of Helena. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's still so many things to explore here in Montana. And I'm excited to talk about those things in my blog.

Random memories.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:14:00 +0000

There are things that bring back certain memories from the past. At least that is true for me. The other day, a song made me reminisce one of the most fun things we did back when Jeff and I we’re still dating. Baguio City in the Philippines is not just romantic but historical as well and we’re just ecstatic that we had the chance to go there. It’s up in the mountains so the cooler climate adds up to the beauty of the city. However, it’s a tourist trap so some things are overpriced, not to mention a lot of tourists flock in the most visited places so you have to be vigilant. But we did enjoy the experience. The vinyl gazebos at Camp John Hay was super nice and romantic. It truly is a place for couples that are in love.

Crossroads.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Thanks for the post from Rashad Townsend.

There are some music channels that I really don’t like because they play way too much programming that just isn’t music. One of those channels is CMT. I do like their countdown that they do in the mornings but for the rest of the day it is regular programming. I don’t understand it. One show on that channel that I do understand is Crossroads. This is a really neat concept because it pairs up two artists to play together, one is country and the other one would be from a totally different genre of music. The most recent one I have seen is Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett. At first glance this doesn’t sound like a good combination at all. How can Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett sound event remotely good together? You really need to check out Crossroads and you will understand. Just because an artist sings country doesn’t mean they can’t sing other genres they just choose not to for the public’s sake. Go to www.TVByDirect.com and find out when you can get your satellite dish installed so you can start watching Crossroads soon.

Swimming in winter.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:58:00 +0000

It may have been snowing outside but it's a nice balmy 84 degrees inside the hotel's indoor pool. So we decided to enjoy the hotel's amenities. What a great way to while away the time! Caleb had fun in the water. I really enjoyed their hot jetted whirlpool. It was very relaxing. A quick dip in the cool swimming pool afterwards made me feeling rejuvenated. We truly loved our stay at the Marriott. The staff was very friendly. Caleb liked to flirt with the front desk staff, housekeeping and even with guests, haha! My oh my! We had a great time in that hotel. Given a chance, we'd love to stay there again.

Is it too late?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Have you sometimes ever wonder what happens if you seriously pursue something in your life? I’m sure most of us have regrets with the way we handled things in the past one way or another. Now and again, I find myself curious if I would have made it to some good accounting firms such as cpa raleigh nc, had I been serious with my accounting course in college. I felt that I haven't really done my best when I was still in college. I don't know. I mean I'm not really great with numbers but I wasn't flunking or anything. It's just that I didn't have the motivation to pursue that field after graduation. Now that I'm in the US, I've realized that accounting jobs seem to be a good work option. Oh well, we'll see. A little refresher course won't hurt. I might be able to do some entry-level accounting clerical work in the future. Who knows?

Sweet tooth.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Almost every Valentine’s Day, Jeff and I would take a mini-vacation to celebrate the occasion. However, this year, we were not even physically together. We had to take separate trips. I flew to Illinois while he drove our vehicles up north to Montana. Sad, I know! But I understand of course, we’re in the middle of a big move so we thought we’re just going to have a post-Vday for us. I was looking for great gift ideas for hubby when I came across this sweet site that offers not just get well gifts but sweet desserts for almost any occasion. I'm going to get him a full dozen of gourmet dipped swizzled berries. I hope it tastes as good as it looks. As for me, he got me some of my favorite chocolates and a fuzzy little pink stuffed toy, lol! And of course, I stumbled upon it while I was digging through my stuff in the trunk. Yep, I'm always good at ruining surprises, lol! I saw the gift even before he had the chance to give it to me. Oh well!

How hard can it be?

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:21:00 +0000

Is it really that difficult to quit smoking? I wouldn’t know. I have never smoked and have no plans to start either. Hubby, on the other hand, used to smoke for years and then decided to quit about seven years ago. He said it was hard to resist the cravings at first. I’m glad he managed to totally quit even before we met. Anyway, I’ve known people that smoke, some of them are trying to quit smoking but had been unsuccessful. I remember my grandma liked to smoke cigars when she was still alive. I wonder if those were swisher sweet cigars. Maybe not. But I guess it’d much harder to quit if you’re smoking sweet cigars, wouldn’t it? I mean the secret, unique blend of special flavorings that supposedly produces a very mild, sweet tasting, satisfying smoke would be very hard to stop I bet.

Random updates.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:15:00 +0000

We're glad that we've finally settled in our new place but quite a bit frustrated because we were out of phone, internet and TV connection for one long week. Something went wrong with our phone and internet order so for what's supposed to be just 2 days of waiting time, it dragged to 8 days. Of course, we were not so cool about it. But there's really nothing we can do but hope and wait!

Anyway, finally, we got our phone, internet and TV back. It feels so good having to be able to update my Facebook, blogs, emails, call my family and watch my favorite shows on TV. The move-in day went pretty well. However, our new place is not as big as our previous one so getting all of our stuff situated was a little bit of a challenge. But I guess we're good. We'll survive, lol!

The first few days in our new place was alright. I mean of course we're living with boxes everywhere around the house, but I think we did a pretty good job with unpacking and getting everything settled. Just when I thought everything goes well, then Sunday morning came and my little 15-month old munchkin got sick. We took him to the ER in the middle of the night and were told he had an ear infection. Thankfully, he got better after 3 days of taking antibiotics. It is never easy to see your precious little one getting sick. That was a pretty difficult time for Jeff and me.

Anyway, things should be slowly getting back to normal. We may seem to have a long list of To-Do things but we have been taking care of them one at a time. There's no rush, we have so much time in our hands.

Residence Inn by Marriott.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:54:00 +0000

The past 3 weeks or so had been hectic. We finally flew to Helena, MT after staying for 2 weeks with my sister in Illinois. Our flight landed in Helena in the evening so I didn't get to see the beautiful mountains of Montana. However, the city had a certain feel even in the night time. I can tell it's a beautiful city with many restaurants and shopping places nearby. That really had me excited. For almost 5 years since I've moved here in the US, we have not lived in a city that has proximity to shopping so it's really a plus for me that we don't have to travel 2 hours to go to a mall.

The next morning, I was greeted with this gorgeous view of the mountains from our hotel room. It was sooo pretty I was really happy and positive about this move. We took a drive around town and head to the lake where Jeff's work place is. OMG! The view was amazing. We were literally surrounded with magnificent mountain ranges.

The lake stunned me, lol! It's covered with ice. And I just thought it looks so breathtaking.

We have been searching for a nice rental place to move in. In the meantime, we are currently staying in this very nice hotel in town. It's been 2 weeks and I'm loving every minute of our stay in this fabulous place. They have an indoor swimming pool and jacuzzi which we have enjoyed so much. Free continental breakfast was fantastic. I could have lived here forever, lol! But I know we need to find a semi-permanent place to stay that we could call home.

We've looked up several rental places and we're glad we found one that we like right away. It's a 3-bedroom condo unit not very far from where Jeff works so I guess it's a huge bonus. We would be moving in next week. I am so excited! Yes, moving is quite stressful but I think it's worth it. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Helena!

Power of touch.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:48:00 +0000

Technology is ever advancing, that’s a fact. Now how far are you willing to keep up with the latest technology in the market? Personally, I’d like to keep life plain and simple. But that does not mean I have not thought about how cool those elo touch screen monitors are. I know somebody that owns one and it sure looks cool, slick and user-friendly. We had just bought a new computer desktop after our old one crashed on us without any warning. I thought we had a great bargain but wish we had spent a little bit more for a touchscreen monitor.

Toy guitar for baby.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:54:00 +0000

I know it's too early to tell if Caleb has any music inclinations at all. I mean artists' blood don't run in our family but one could hope, right? The reason why I said this is because he seemed to have interest in keyboard and guitar toys, lol! Well probably all babies do. But like I've said it might be something more than just interest in playing these kinds of toys. Wouldn't it be cool if he'd be able to play a martin 000m guitar? I think that would be awesome, right! Anyway, I was thinking of getting him some new toys for Easter and top of my list is a toy guitar or a mini baby keyboard. I'm sure he'd be delighted.

New place, new beginning.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Two more days and finally I will fly to Montana, our new place and hopefully our new home. Hubby has been staying in a hotel in Helena, Montana for a few days now. The baby and I will be joining him on Thursday night. I am so excited. I missed hubby so much. I am also very eager to see Montana. Hubby has been telling me over the phone about how beautiful this state is. I really can't wait to see it myself. There will be so many things to take care of as soon as I get there. We definitely need to find a new place to move in. I've seen plenty of possible places for rental so I hope we would be able to find the one that we'll both like soon. Hopefully our next place won't have trees nearby, that way we don't have to worry about leaves to rake, lol! That would also mean no need for a composter in the near future. Awesome!!!

Signs of old age.

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:24:00 +0000

I hate to admit it but sometimes I think I've been feeling the signs of old age, lol! I find myself asking if I am fit to have another baby to take care of. Yeah, I thought about getting pregnant again sometimes. Mostly for Caleb's sake. I mean eventually he would look for a playmate or a sibling that he can interact with, right! But I don't guess I am capable of taking care of another baby anymore, hehe. I complain about several body pains already, haha! My lower back and knees bother me sometimes. It's nothing serious or anything major I believe. Nothing that could warrant like a laser spine fix, but seriously it hurts just to even think about chasing or cleaning after two kids. But who knows, I might reconsider and get past my physical worries.

Buddy recommendation

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Contribution by Kennith Griffin

I have had the same best friend since I was in the eighth grade. We have always done everything together, and he is someone I trust completely. We always laugh because he says I am always following in his footsteps. He got married about six months before I did, and he had his first child, a boy, about a year before I had my son. He had his daughter five months ago, and our daughter is due in November. Although it is not true, he likes to say I am simply trying to be like him. One thing that I am following in his footsteps on is switching to fixed-rate energy through http://www.TexasElectricityProviders.com/. He has been doing it for about six months, and he really speaks highly of the switch. He keeps telling me that knowing exactly how much he will spend every month helps him to better manage his finances. His wife is a stay-at-home mom, so they are always trying to save money when possible. My wife and I have discussed switching ourselves to try it out. We switched to satellite TV because he recommended it, and we have not been disappointed. I pay less for more channels now than I did with my previous provider. He usually does not steer me wrong. It is great to have such a trusted friend.

Visiting Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Guest post of the week by Deangelo Spencer

My Husband’s best friend lives in Tucson, and I love him and his wife dearly. We have been close with them for as long as I can remember, and we go out and visit them whenever we have the chance. Sometimes we bring the kids, and other times we just go alone so we can have a good time without worrying. Last time we were there, we had the greatest time. We went without the kids, and they took us to all the best restaurants and kept us entertained. They have a gorgeous home, and we were shocked that they didn’t have a home security system installed. We told them they should search Tucson home security and get one right away. They laughed and said we were paranoid, but I think that we are just cautious. I can’t force them to get an alarm, but I hope they do. I would hate to see that beautiful home burglarized or vandalized. I know they live in a nice neighborhood, but a bad thing could always happen. We learned that lesson the hard way, and I sincerely hope they don’t.