Mom's Place

Pink Friday - Flowers

2012-01-27T13:29:00.000+08:00

It's pink Friday today, so here are the flowers at the neighborhood.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Investing For Your Dream House Using Loan

2012-01-27T12:30:00.000+08:00

It's perfect. Not only have you found the dream home for your family, but the owner just reduced the price. Unfortunately, it's still a bit out of your league since they are demanding a down-payment that exceeds what you have in your bank account. Don't despair. A loan might be your answer. It might sound silly to say that you are taking out a loan so you can invest in your dream house, but the truth of the matter is that purchasing a house and getting a mortgage requires some cash up front. There are different types of fees you want to consider covering with your loan. These include home loan application fees, mortgage costs, and property fees.

Home Loan Application Fees

Image Courtesy of DH Wright from Flickr

When you apply for a home loan, your lender might require an application fee. Sometimes this is a flat fee and other times the fee is a percentage of the loan. The home loan application fee might cover legal contracts, credit checks and property title checks.

Mortgage Costs

This category might include a fee for setting up a mortgage, a fee paid to a third party used to determine the value of your new property, a mortgage registration fee, stamp duty, or even some lenders mortgage insurance. In general, the lender will choose the third party for the valuation.

Property Fees

Really watch out for the property fees. They can add up quickly. You might have to deal with building inspection fees, a stamp duty, a registration transfer fee, solicitor fees, home owner's insurance, and maintenance costs.
If your dream home happens to be an apartment, you might find yourself charged with body corporate fees. This means that you are an owner who works together with other owners. This fee covers administration costs such as cleaning, maintenance, management fees, repairs, and security.

Once you determine how much you need to borrow, Great Plains Loan, or whichever lender you choose, can show you different payment and interest options. Whether you opt to go for a fixed rate loan or an adjustable rate depends on your situation. There are several options for payment plans as well, whether you choose to pay bi-monthly or more frequently. You will work with your lender to figure out your down-payment, interest rates, and payment plans based on your unique circumstances. Next thing you know, you'll be packing boxes so you can move into your dream home, which is now an affordable reality.

Free Shipping Affordable Eyeglasses

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000+08:00

I have been planning to buy another pair of my reading eye glasses for I am tired of wearing my old eyeglasses. I want something new but due to my hectic schedule, I wasn’t be able to shop for my eyeglasses either online or going to the optical clinic nearby. Just recently, while I was surfing here on the net, I have found an online store for all types of glasses either eyeglasses or sunglasses. The price starts at $29, and the rest depends on the brand or style you choose from. I actually search for the frame style and I found many designs that are really in fashion, but they also have classic, modern, retro or a trendy style.

I understand that sometimes, when you purchase something you could wear, there are times that the photo is not actually you like when you handed the product, or you were not satisfied with it. The good thing is, at www.glasses.com, you could try your eyeglasses before purchasing it using their virtual try-on. You just have to upload your close-up photo, choose your glasses and see if it looks good for you. Glasses are available for men and women. When you placed an order, shipping is free, and it would take two weeks to arrive for prescription eyeglasses, and 4 - 5 business days for Plano Sunglasses. You can expedite your order if you want by paying a reasonable amount. So, if you are looking for an eye wear, Glasses.com is the right place for you to shop. You could get the brand names you want, the lenses you need and most importantly; they provide great services to all their clients and customers.

Ferry Boat

2012-01-24T14:47:00.000+08:00

On our trips back and forth by land, here's the ferry boat that transported us from island to island. It was just an hour from Surigao City to San Marcelino, I guess.

The Ferry Boat


Our bus parked at the bottom of the ferry boat. While all bus passengers and other vehicle owners were on the deck of the ferry boat.

I am linking this Blog Photo Challenge.

Strawberry Cold Drink

2012-01-22T13:10:00.000+08:00

After the long walk from the heat of the sun, this strawberry cold drink from Jollibee is the best solution for thirsty throat.

Anyway, I am not yet finished with the laundry, and because of my very slow internet connection, I can do my laundry while blogging at the same time.

Do Voluntary Work Close to Your Home

2012-01-22T10:43:00.000+08:00

You’ve decided to start doing some volunteer work. This may be because you’ve recently found yourself with a few extra hours during the week, or you’ve shifted your job focus and wish to volunteer that extra time. Volunteering within your community is not only good for you, but also is good for your community. In addition, volunteer work listed on your resume is an added benefit.

Additionally, you will find yourself meeting new people and gaining new skills through this volunteer work. You will also reap the reward of giving back — many organizations could not function or provide services without the help of donors and volunteers. So, how do you find voluntary work close to your home?

Image via Wikipedia

Schools

Schools are always in need of volunteers. This type of work is great for those people who enjoy children or are looking at beginning a career in teaching. You can simply contact your local school and check into volunteer opportunities. You will need to have a clean background check to work at most school venues.

Libraries

Libraries often seek volunteers. You may be asked to read to children, shelve books or even work with library patrons. You will be gaining clerical and people skills when volunteering at libraries.

Community Organizations

There are many opportunities to volunteer at organizations such as Habitat for Humanity or the YWCA. In addition, you can become a housing advocate to help find housing such as Austin apartments or Chicago homes, depending on your location.

Network

Ask friends and families for any opportunities that they may be familiar. You might find that your neighbor knows that the local softball team needs coaches or trainers. Your parents may know that the local senior center is in need of aides. You will be surprised at the number of people who know of volunteer positions in your community.

Other Resources

Use other resources such as the Internet and publications in your search for volunteer positions. You will find a wealth of opportunities on sites such as The Points of Light Foundation or Volunteer Match. These sites list organizations seeking volunteers by state or zip code.

You can also check with local government outlets for more opportunities. You can find city, county or state positions. Simply check the government websites for more information.

Whether you want to work at a local food bank, the local animal shelter, helping others find housing or any number of other types of assistance, you will easily find an opportunity within your community.

The Island

2012-01-22T07:40:00.000+08:00

This is one of the photos that I took when we traveled from Davao to Manila, and vice versa by land. That was our great experience traveling by land. The BF said, he wants to travel again by land going to Manila, but this time; he will bring his food in the bus because he doesn't like the food at the bus stop. If I could remember, there was only one restaurant that has roasted chicken, so I bought the whole, and we ate it inside the bus.

Anyway, I am linking this to Blog Photo Challenge hosted by my dearest friend named Dhemz. If you want to join, just click the link that I have provided.

Walgreens Prescription Savings club is open for membership.

2012-01-21T06:00:00.001+08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Are you a member of Walgreens Prescription Savings Club? If you are, then you already enjoying great savings on all your prescription purchases. For those who are not yet a member of this club, you may join the club for just a $10 a year for family members and $5 a year for individuals. Family members include your spouse and dependent children from age 22 and younger. Your pet is also included for family membership. All members are entitled to get and avail great discounts for all your prescription purchases.

Members may also entitle for other benefits like discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers, and diabetic supplies. You may also get bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services, and the best part is, there are 8,000 brand-name products that you can avail discounts, including all generic medications. It is a great idea if you could follow Walgreens on Twitter, and/or like Walgreens on Facebook to ensure that you will get an update and latest development regarding the health issue. So, if you are not a member yet, try liking them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter so you could learn things about health from them. When ready, sign up so you could avail great discounts on all your prescription purchases.

Managed Web Hosting

2012-01-18T17:55:00.000+08:00

When you build an online business, obviously you will need to buy a presentable template that matches to your business. The next thing you would do is to look for a place that could host your online business. Looking for a company to host your online business is not as simple as you may think because there are lots of web hosting companies in the World Wide Web that will promise you that they could provide hosting services, including technical problems.

Before you purchase such services, be sure that the company is reachable when a problem occurs. I am telling you this because I also have self-hosted blogs. So far, I haven’t met any problems with them because their engineers are always ready to help you 24/7 a week. They’re hosting my blogs for over a year now. So, if you are looking for a web hosting site, be sure you would hire a hybrid hosting to ensure that the prospective buyers, clients and visitors of your site would not leave your page.

I have learned that Caronet Engineered Hosting offers managed hosting services for your online business. They have been in the business since 1995 but as an internet service provider. Later, the business expanded into hosting and cloud services. So, if you are interested to know more about this company, you may visit the site, and chat with their online representative or contact them through email. You may also call directly to their office and the customer’s service representative is willing to answer your inquiry, and will help you decide which option is better for your business.

Busy Life in Manila

2012-01-16T10:53:00.000+08:00

How was your weekend everyone? Ours was just a boring day because the heaven kept on pouring rains, although it wasn't so heavy, but it made me feel so tired to move my butt. My son and niece were just playing PSP games, and when they got tired playing, my son played his game online. We're supposed to go to the mall and buy new-school shoes for him, but I am not in the mood to go out. I told him to do it next weekend.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, we were in Manila, and these were the busy streets in Makati. The blue building is one of the tallest buildings along Chino Roces Avenure, Makati.

Chino Roces Ave., near Buendia St., Makati.

This is one of the high-rise buildings in Makati. If the electric cables were not hanging above, it would be a nice photo, isn't it?

Pink Butterfly

2012-01-13T15:19:00.000+08:00

Here's another butterfly that was made of fabric. If you are my frequent visitor, you saw the yellow butterfly that was also made of fabric. This time, it is pink. I wonder if there is really a pink butterfly.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Light your home with a style.

2012-01-13T09:18:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, we went to the home depot here in our place. I was actually looking for a window blinds, but unfortunately, there were no available sizes that fit to one of the windows in our home. I roamed around the place; I checked every price of the products that they have until I found beautiful lightings. I remember that it has been a long time now that we have no lights in the porch fronting to the gate. So, I was thinking to buy one, but I had a second thought about the prices. I am not rich, so as much as possible; I want to buy the cheapest one but have a good quality.

When we got home, I searched on the net the prices for outdoor lighting fixtures, and I found it from lampclick.com. They have outdoor wall sconces, and this is really what I was looking for. I have been looking for this style at the mall or at the home depot here, but I couldn't find a style that is perfect for our porch. The bad thing is I don’t have a credit card to purchase the product. They don’t accept PayPal, so I just wish that later I will find an outdoor lighting for wall.

Anyway, for those who are looking for lighting products, you may check the site and see if you could find your perfect lighting for your home or office. They have plenty of styles and great lighting designs that would surely make your home or office an attractive one.

While in Manila

2012-01-11T09:31:00.000+08:00

At the back of 7/11 is the hotel where we stayed.

We were in Manila a couple of days ago. On the first day, we woke up so early, and we went out of the hotel. There was a 7/11 nearby so we headed inside and since there were tables inside for snacks, we ordered cappuccino coffee for us and sat there for a while. I also bought shampoos, conditioner, toothpaste and drinking water. When we were done, we went back to the hotel, and I took a shower. The BF doesn’t like to move when I was done at the bathroom. He was still sleepy, but we have an appointment at 9:00 o’ clock in the morning at the Consulate General of Sweden in Makati, so he had no choice but to get up again.

We arrived on time at the Consulate, and since we were early, we got slot number 1. When the Consulate officer called our number, the BF submitted all our papers to them. Unfortunately, we were not able to finish the papers on that day because there was a mistake on my birthplace. The mistake was made by the Swedish Tax Agency in Sweden. They were the one who made our marriage certificate, but they put my birthplace as Davao City and not Manila.

I was born in Manila and not in Davao, but I am currently living here in Davao. This was my statement at the Consul, but they asked us to request another marriage certificate in Sweden. Well, to make the story short, the Swedish government sent another copy of our marriage certificate to the Consulate General in Manila. Anyway, we are now waiting for the Consulate’s papers, and the good thing is, we don’t need to go back in Manila. The Consulate General will send these papers here in Davao as soon as it is completely done and with no error.

At night in Manila, what do you expect, of course “party, party”. The bad thing was, the battery of the laptop was not working anymore when we were in Manila, and we didn’t bring any cable wires for the laptop. That is why all my blogs were not updated.

Wireless Door Chime for your Home

2012-01-08T13:12:00.000+08:00

I have been planning to buy a doorbell for our house because our main door is not close to the gate and whenever there is someone wants to call our attention, they just knock on the metal gate which is very annoying to me because our dog got mad, and she will bark until somebody opens the gate for the visitor. But the problem is I always forgot to look for it at the home depot here in our place.

A while ago, while I was surfing here on the World Wide Web, I have found an online store for doorbells like wireless door bell. I navigated the whole page, and I have learned that this online store has been in the business since 1999. If you could check the site, they have plenty of great doorbell's design. I actually like the wireless doorbell style because according to the site, this is easy to use. You don't need to hire an electrician just to install this thing. At WirelessDoorbellstore.com you can definitely find what you are looking for a door bell. They have a wide selection which includes long-range wireless doorbells, batter-powered wireless doorbells and also a plug-in wireless doorbell.

So, if you have been looking for a doorbell or a wireless door chime, get a chance to visit the site. Prices are affordable and they accept payment using credit cards, and they also accept payment from your Paypal Account. For orders placed on or before 10 am, PST time will be shipped on the same business day, depending on the state where you live. This company offers only a brand-new product with a manufacturer's warranties. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product you purchase. To get more information, start visiting the site now and enjoy your shopping.

I am Back

2012-01-08T10:11:00.002+08:00

I have been away from my computer for more than a week now since I got back here in Davao. I have so many things to do offline and I don’t have had time to open the computer even just for a while. My Yahoo mail was loaded with emails, including the spam mails. I was surprised it reached to 200+ emails for not opening it for eight days. I am not yet finished cleaning my emails, and I am trying to do updates at my other blogs as well. I hope I can do it all today.

Anyway, I got back here in Davao on December 25, but we went back to Manila on January 02, and we only got back here in Davao again last night. Now, I am still tired from the travel that we had for a week. I will blog all these things one of these days. So, I got to go now because I have to clean all the messy things first that I have here inside my room. See you later.

Computer Area

2012-01-02T07:14:00.000+08:00

This is the computer area of the library here in our place. If you couldn't find the book on the shelves, just search it on the database of the library if it is still available or not.

My Little Nice at the Park.

2011-12-29T02:50:00.000+08:00

She is my niece, and I haven't seen her for a couple of months now. I miss this little girl because she is so loving. She is now five years old and in Kindergarten 2 in a school near to their place. However, before New Year's Eve, Janjan and I were planning to surprise them in their house. I know this little girl will surely be happy when she sees me. She knows that she is my darling.

I Am Looking For A Home Use Popcorn Machine

2011-12-29T01:08:00.000+08:00

When we watch a movie either at home or at the movie theater, popcorn is the perfect partner while enjoying the movie. We will not start the movie until the popcorn is already in a bowl. I just bought the kernels at the grocery store and make it at home, and the only flavor that we have is a plain salt. However, if we were at the movie theater, each one of us has different popcorn flavors. I always go with a cheese flavor, while my kids love barbeque flavor, and sometimes they had sweet with honey popcorn.

I was actually planning to buy a popcorn maker because as of the moment, I only used our microwave oven. And since we all love popcorn, and watching movie or just a TV program at home without the popcorn is like something is missing on top of the center table. I have not checked it yet the amount of this popcorn maker at the appliance store. However, I found an online store for popcorn products, and the prices are not bad. At epopcorn, you can buy a popcorn machine for your home or for your business. There are different sizes you can choose either for home or business. The popcorn machine for home use has two types. They have a popcorn machine with and without cart from 4 oz, and 6 to 8 oz.

And for the business type of popcorn machines regardless the size of the business, epopcorn have machines that are perfectly designed for the place of business like at the restaurant, movie theaters, banks, schools, convenience store to name a few. So, if you are planning to have a popcorn business, try to visit the site so you could see the types of machine that is perfect for you and for the place of business. As for me, I will go with the 6 to 8 oz popcorn machine without cart. I want the bigger size because sometimes I have friends who like to watch movies with us, and we usually did it on weekdays.

Birthday Greetings

2011-12-28T01:27:00.001+08:00

Today is my best friend's birthday. We haven't seen from each other for a couple of years now, and we seldom talk on Facebook as well because she is really a workaholic woman. The last time I visited their place, she was out of town for a business trip, so I only talked with her siblings, nieces, nephews and of course, her mother whom I also called as "nanay". So, to Mely Gregorio, happy birthday to you. I know you are always a darling to everybody, so just enjoy your day, have fun and may the good Lord will always be there for you. Happy birthday again Mel and God Bless.

Not My Lucky Day Today

2011-12-28T00:32:00.003+08:00

We just got back at home from the mall. We went to the mall after our lunch at home. My mother accumulated nine bingo tickets from her shopping at one of the supermarkets here in our place. As part of the Christmas holiday celebration, the mall has been giving a bingo ticket for a minimum purchase of 1,000 pesos. This was started three months ago, and as I have mentioned earlier, mother accumulated nine bingo tickets. To be honest, my mother is a bingo player since I was young, but now that she is a senior citizen already, it is very seldom that she plays bingo at the mall. This is the reason why she gave the tickets to me for she wants me to play with it because today is the game, and she is not in the mood to go to the mall. In addition, the weather was not good since this morning, so she rather liked to stay at home and wait for the result if I win or not. Unfortunately, I didn't win even on the raffle tickets. I wish she likes to play free online bingo games, at least she doesn't need to go out of the house.

Speaking about bingo game, I also like my mother. I love playing bingo either online or at the mall because for me, bingo is fun and exciting. I am grateful that I have found this free online bingo games a couple of weeks ago. By playing online, I could play anytime I want, and I don’t need to fix myself before I could start the game. I know this game is addictive if you do not know how to control yourself, that is why before opening the site, I made sure that I have no other things to do except playing my favorite bingo game. Anyway, do you know the origin of this game, and how this game came out with the name bingo? You can read the whole story from here.

Join a discount dental plan now.

2011-12-27T01:19:00.001+08:00

A few years ago, I have a dental insurance which I purchased from my friend when we were still a neighbor. When we moved to our new place, for some reasons, our dental family insurance was not renewed. Time has come that I need to visit a dentist. I was so sad when I learned that the amount that I should pay was higher than I expected, but I have no choice.

Anyhow, have you heard about DentalPlans.com? I was told that this company offers a good dental care for individuals or family and helping each client to save their money to the dentist. I visited the site, and I was impressed with the testimonials of the company’s clients. DentalPlans.com offers a dental discount plan to their clients either an individual or family. This is a great way to save money from the dentist. There are quite numbers of dentists who accept dental treatment using a dental discount plan from DentalPlans.com.

Dental discount plan is different with dental insurance because the dental discount plan will give you discount on every dental treatment you will make regardless how many times you will be visiting the dentist, while the dental insurance policy has a maximum limit per annum. So, if your dental treatment for a year exceeded the limit, then you have to pay the excess of your dental insurance plans. I am glad that I found this site. I could save money from joining a discount dental plan from Dentalplans.com. This is an alternative to dental insurance. So, if you don’t have dental insurance, you could join the discount dental plan now.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-25T08:21:00.001+08:00

Have a wonderful Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas blessings and greetings, from our home to yours!

Painting or Carving

2011-12-22T08:42:00.000+08:00

Honestly, I don't know how to describe this wall decor. I just find it beautiful, isn't it? I saw this inside the library here. It is like a painting, or a carving and then put it in the hard board or wood. Anyway, whatever it is, this is really an art created by a creative mind.

Optimizing Your Online Business

2011-12-22T03:07:00.000+08:00

I have been in the blogging world for almost two years, and until now, I don’t have enough knowledge on how to get listed on the top search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, etc. I have been doing some hard work for my site, but I am not sure if the work I did for my site is paying off. Well, I guess I did it right for a couple of months or almost a year. I followed the instructions on how to get good rank for my site, but these past few months; my page rank went down. To be honest, I am not happy with it because blogging is my work. I monetized my site that is why I didn't stop searching on the net on how to get a good rank in the search engine optimization (SEO) world.

I also have plans to build an online store. This is actually I am dreaming right now, but I have no idea yet where to start and how will I make it. I know there are online marketing experts worldwide like Austin SEO company where the main goal of this company is to help your website be visible to the World Wide Web and get a good rank. These are sounds good, right? We all know that there are so many competitors on the net, and if you are serious with your site and business, you should seek help from the expert. Austin TX SEO is the right place for you to ask help for your website. With their internet marketing consulting service, am sure you will get the best result for your website.

Paradise Apple

2011-12-19T02:32:00.001+08:00

This is what they called as "paradise apple" here in Sweden. I picked it up from the neighbor's yard without asking permission from the owner. Lol I always passed by at their yard, but I just ignored this tree until I noticed that the fruit looks like an apple. So, one day, when I passed again on this house, I picked one fruit and look at it. I was amazed because it really looks like an apple. I almost wanted to eat it. However, I wanted to make sure if it is for human fruit or bird's fruit. Well, I have learned that this is good if you make a jelly for it, but if you eat it, the taste is bland, but the texture of the fruit is the same with the regular apple. You probably know the size of this paradise apple. You can see on the picture how small it is.

Paradise Apple Tree