I’ve been spending a lot of time with the family of one of my husband’s coworkers. They’re really nice. Today they took me to the library. I was hoping to get a library card but I didn’t have any I.D. with our address on it so I’ll have to go back to complete my registration.

Anyway, my friend used her card so I could check out a book. I went through the whole fiction, sci-fi and graphic novel section before I could pick one. At one point I even asked my friend’s help. We went back to the fiction section while her kids were playing in the children’s section. The library had a lot of great educational toys and games.

I eventually chose Paulo Coelho’s “The Zahir”. I’ve had it on my reading list for a while but never got the chance to buy or borrow a copy. It was funny how we were just talking about Iraq and it turned out that one of the main characters in the book was a war correspondent in Iraq.

I can’t wait to go back and get my own library card! It was so nice to be around so many books again! ^_^

I’ve been trying to organize my files again. I’m having a really hard time because a lot of my files are in my other external hard drive. I have the most important ones in the smaller portable hard drive that I brought with me but I do wish that I had my document converter so I could turn most of my .doc files to .pdf — unfortunately, I also left my laptop with my family back home so I’ll have to wait until we visit them before I can do that. I also have a lot of eBooks that are in .doc and .lit format. I love the .lit format but it’ll be a lot easier to have .pdf files because most people have Adobe Reader. I found a new pdf search engine but I haven’t tried it out yet.

I just discovered a new way to earn money online!

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I was talking with one of my college friends earlier this morning. She was feeling down because she’s been working for over 3 years now and she still hasn’t saved any money. She used to save a portion of her salary every month but when she got a credit card, things started going downhill. I told her that the best thing she could do is set up an “untouchable” savings account that doesn’t have an ATM card so she won’t be tempted to withdraw. Then she should make sure to pay more than the minimum required on her credit card every month.

I’ve been keeping a close eye on all of our bills, credit cards, savings and checking accounts. I was so happy today when I saw that the personal loan that we took out a couple of months ago is almost completely paid off. Once we pay it off the loan, we’ll be able to put the money that we set aside for it every month into our savings account. That’s why it’s advisable to take out personal loans only when it’s a real emergency.

What about you? What are you doing to save for the future? What steps are you taking to ensure that you can retire?

We keep getting offers for Life Insurance in the mail. My husband already has a life insurance policy through his job and I have one through it too. I know some of my friends are thinking of getting life insurance for themselves too. Some of them already have families but the others also worry about their parents. We hear so many young people getting killed that it’s only practical to think about things like this. You never know what could happen. It’s a good idea to get a life insurance quote especially if you have dependents. One of the hardest jobs is probably being an insurance salesman. No one likes talking about death, especially prematurely but it has to be done. You have to protect your family and make sure that they will be taken care of even when you’re gone. Honestly, I hope my husband and I go at the same time. Money can buy you a lot of things…but not the love and companionship of your soul mate and best friend. Nothing can ever compare to that or replace that simple human bond. For now, we focus on being healthy…to ensure that we’ll have as many wonderful years together as we possibly can.

Since I moved to the United States, there have been quite a few things that I’ve had to get used to. Back in the Philippines, people are always looking for the best whitening products in the market. I’ve never been one of those people because I love the color of my skin. I’m happy to be naturally “slightly” tanned. It’s really nice being in a country where people actually want to be tan. You can search online for the best self tanner 2010 and see which product is right for you. I know a lot of people also go to tanning salons. I think it’s kind of scary to lay in a tanning bed but different strokes for different folks. I remember this Friends episode where Ross gets a spray-on tan. I do remember a remedy for it — lemon juice, sea salt (or any bath salts) and a loofah or bath sponge would help fade the tan if you get too tanned. As for me, I’m going to stick to maintaining my current AND natural skin color. I don’t want to get lighter or too dark. I love my skin color and my husband loves it too so I’m very happy and content with the way it is. ^_^

My husband just bought me a car! It matches our other car (same lovely color) and it’s perfect for me! I can actually see the road now. It helps that you can adjust the seat and raise it. Anyway, I’ve been looking at chrome accessories and chrome door handles seem really nice. I know chrome mirror covers can be a nice addition too. Other than that, I remember my mom always getting visors to protect the windows whenever she buys a new car. They’re easy to install too. There are a lot of car accessories available now and it’s all a matter of what you need (and want) to suit your personal style. CARID aims to provide its customers with the best customer service and quality items from superior brand names so you can get your money’s worth. Check out their site now and browse through their wide selection of car accessories!

That’s My Answer!

• Over the weekend I bought a case of wine, what is the last thing you bought by the case?
  My husband and I drink a lot of water and since we have well water, we always buy bottled water. The last time we went grocery shopping, we bought 4 cases of bottled water (24-packs).

Curious as a Cat

1. Who do you grieve for?
   My grandma…
2. List 5 blue things you can see right now.
   1. the background on the coasters we have on our coffee table
   2. the buttons on the TV remote control
   3. the power light on our aircard
   4. the X button on the Xbox controller
   5. one of the DVD cases that we have
3. How old were you the first time you flew in an airplane?
   I think I was 8.
4. Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.
   St. Patrick’s Day!

Manic Monday

• If you could write your own bill of rights, what would you include?
  What a great question! I’ll have to get back to you on that though. This is something that would require a lot more thought than I have time for right now.
• What is going on in the world today that affects you the most?
  The wars that the U.S. is fighting – because my husband is a soldier.
• What do you think is the secret to a good life?
  Being a good person with real integrity.