A Dream Come True

Utilities Setup

2012-01-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Guest written by our friend Mason Abbott

There are a good few TEXAS electricity Providers. When I first moved to Texas, it surprised me how many options there really were. I was clearly naïve about how utilities worked. I did not know the first thing about calling to set things up, or even all that needed to be set up. Some places require you to set up water in addition to electricity, gas and whatnot. It definitely seemed like a complex process to me. I know most of my friends have done it before, but for whatever reason, I still have not really had to do so. Even now, I am hoping if I pick the service, someone with the company or a friend will just help me through the process. When I actually called to set up my utilities for my newer apartment, it ended up taking a lot less time and effort than I had expected. I guess I should not have jumped to conclusions. No one had ever told me that the process was difficult. I guess that is just part of being naïve when it comes to bills.

Extreme Couponing

2012-01-29T20:21:00.002-08:00

Through patience, mistakes and more practice I learned extreme couponing. Look how much I saved. I saved more than 50%. I jumped of joy when went out of the store. I'm pretty sure I will do this again. I love sales and I love being able to coupon and not almost pay anything.

Save Money With Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

2012-01-14T13:01:00.001-08:00

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

I love Walgreens Pharmacy. It has helped my family as a convenience store and a pharmacy. I get my over the counter drugs for my family there. From eggs to milk, to make up and/ or to children's cold medicine I grab it there. The best part is earning register rewards that I can use toward my other purchases in the store. I love Walgreens that wherever I go I always search for the store first.

Lately I got sickly and realized that I have to get a prescription plan to help me save some money. One of the most affordable, safe and convenient prescription plan is Express Script so I thought of using it. Express Script pay Walgreens and some other pharmacy to fill up prescription. They decided to stop partnering with Walgreens. This has greatly affected customers with prescriptions. Walgreens and Express Script is no longer associated with each other. They have ended their contract on January 1, 2012. A lot of customers have been affected with this changes. Some are confused and dismayed. Walgreens tried their best to help out in this great change by creating "Patient Transition Plan". Some questions need to be answered and most of all prescriptions need to be filled. To help ease the burden for the valuable customers Walgreens created Walgreens Prescription Savings Club . They offer special discounts for enrolling early. Individual membership is only $5 every year and $10 per family. I thinks that is really a good deal. You and your family save on medicines, flu shots, nebulizers and diabetic supplies and even pet prescriptions.

You can get more updates about Walgreens on Facebook. The nation's largest drugstore is also on twitter just click the link to follow them Walgreens on Twitter

Thank you Walgreens for being sensitive to your customers needs!

Carrying our Family Tradition of Christmas Lights

2011-12-29T18:59:00.001-08:00

Guest post written by Hannah Shelton

Ever since I can remember, I'm pretty sure that my family has made a huge deal out of putting up Christmas lights. My dad always spend a whole weekend putting them up and then makes us stand outside and watch him turn it on. he's always so proud of his lights. Well, my husband is just the same way now. But I'm pretty sure that my he comes from a long line of men enthusiastic about outdoor holiday lighting too.

Well, this year we decided to take a little bit of inspiration from pictures of lighting displays that we found online. While I was looking that up, I ran across some info on a Heating System. Ours has been a little tricky lately, so I decided to get our home fitted with one of them.

I think that our lights display is even better this year than it has been in the years past. But then again I guess that we've been a little more low key in the past few years and we really went all out this year. I say that we do it every year, unless we get a rude surprise by the power bill.

Smart Shopper Wannabe

2011-12-20T19:00:00.003-08:00

I went to Walgreens to shop today. I do love this store since they have a lot of good deals. Actually been shopping there since the last couple of weeks. Im telling you couponing is so addicting. I bought the following items:

2 Welchs sparkling juice 2/7
Nabisco crackers 2/5
Turtles 3/4
2 Nescafe 7oz on sale for 6.99
Folgers Coffee 11.3oz on sale for 5.49
a gallon of milk for 3.29.
I have coupons for almost each of the item that sum up to 23 dollars that I used to pay (some of these are mfr coupons and register rewards). I paid my balance with my $10Amex gift card I received from shopping at CVS. My balance is 5.01. All these items for 5 dollars? I could dance for joy dragging my basket out of Walgreens. My receipt said I saved 35.70. I think I did very well today!
Thank you once again Krazy Coupon Lady for being so brilliant and sharing your expertise!

Save Some Money With PackIt Lunch Box

2011-11-25T18:00:00.001-08:00

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

There are many ways of saving money. The idea comes in all sizes and shapes. Tips on how to do it amazes me but when it comes to applying it gets a little bit hard. Every penny counts so we do our best to be able to one thing at a time.

Hubby and I like to pack our lunch to save some money. We both prefer bringing our leftover home cook meals to work too. It is just more nutritious and it is a lot more delicious compared to frozen foods most of the time. I put our food in a lunch bag so its freshness is preserved a little bit longer. Hubby got tired of bringing his bulky lunch bag to work so he just bring it in a shopping bag. I got excited when I saw this

PackIt lunch boxes which is on BOGO sale for 19.95. We will have one each when I will buy it. They are come in a convenient size 8" x 10" x 5" so it is not really as bulky compared to hubby's old lunch bag. I prepare our lunch the night before so that hubby will just grab it the next day on his way to work. This Packit lunch box will last for ten hours isn't it cool? Check out the PackIt lunch boxes website to learn more about this fantastic bag that you can use everywhere you go.

Do you like to bring a pack lunch too? Tell me.

Early Christmas Shopping

2011-11-12T16:31:00.002-08:00

Hubby and I talked about buying computers for the kids. They use my computer all the time so we decided to just get one for each them as a Christmas present. Target has notebook computers on sale this week so I secretly shopped one for each of them. It cost 197 each plus tax. I thought they are so lucky to have computers at an early age I had mine when I was 30. Oh well these are useful multimedia for them to use anyways. They are just really lucky. I'm sure they will love our presents for them.

New Baby

2011-11-11T18:34:00.001-08:00

Guest post written by my buddy Aldo Mays

My wife and I just had our first child. By most peoples’ standards, I guess you could say that we are pretty successful. I have a job on Wall Street and my wife runs an accounting firm. We live in Manhattan and honestly, we have never had to think about the money we spend because we have always had plenty of money. When we got pregnant last year, for the first time we thought about the fact that we would have someone other than ourselves to think about. I started looking into different new york energy rates to make sure we were paying a reasonable rate for energy. I also told my wife that we should probably stick to a budget for the baby’s nursery. So far we have not made that many changes to our lifestyle, but now that the baby is here, my wife is thinking that she will not want to go back to work as soon as she had originally intended. If that is the case, we will definitely have to come up with some other ways to save money.

My First Wilton Class

2011-11-11T18:29:00.002-08:00

I attended my first Wilton basic cake decorating class last Wednesday. Boy I was so excited. I went there 3o minutes before the time. No one was there yet so I decided to go around the shopping strip. I went to Old Navy and enjoyed my time there. I ended up spending a hundred bucks and was thirty minutes late in class. Arggh. I enjoyed my first class though. We made stars on top of our cookies. I won't be late next week I promise.

Healthier Way of Cleaning

2011-11-11T17:46:00.005-08:00

There are many ways of cleaning a house. Some people are meticulous about it. They clean their every single day. I don't really clean my house everyday since I am working. My priorities are more of feeding my family. I like cooking more than cleaning. Good thing hubby likes to clean up after my mess. He helps me wash the clothes and arrange the house while I made sure we have fresh and delicious meals every single day.
He likes cleaning except the vacuuming part. I do that part most of the time. I used to vacuum the house once every week. I have allergic rhinitis in which dust, extreme heat and extreme cold weather can trigger to my condition. I started to have congested nose a week or two ago so I decided to take a rest from vacuuming for a while. I wondered if vacuuming has also triggered to my allergies. How sure could one be that the vacuum sucked the all the dirt when we can't see the moving air inside it? I could not do anything about the weather because that is a condition that no one can stop but I can sure do something about vacuuming. I don't even have to do it myself. I surf the net and found http://www.thesteamteam.com/ to help me with the my carpet cleaning needs. I think steam cleaning the carpet is a better and healthier choice of cleaning the house for me. I would like to avail the cheap carpet cleaning services austin. I like the steam cleaning idea. The process of vacuuming the carpet with some water will prevent dust from flying all over the place. They will then steam dry it which is a better process of cleaning. This way scattering the dust and dirt is minimized. A new and freshly steam cleaned carpet smells great too.

Urgent Care

2011-11-11T17:39:00.002-08:00

I am experiencing a series of spells of a whooping cough. I can't sleep well because of congested and clogged nose. If I feel cold and tired it make me cough more. It has been almost two weeks since I am having cough and colds. Eating mong bean last night triggered my cough that would not even stop. Hubby was scared listening to my cough so he asked me if I want to go see the doctor right away. I was coughing and coughing so we went to an urgent care clinic. Good thing I know where it is because hubby don't even know the location. The doctor told me that I have an acute sinusitis. I need some antibiotics, warm steam baths and saline solution to cleanse my nose and some mucinex dm for my cough. She told me my lungs is clear from phlegm thank goodness. I thank God now I can breath better.

A Way To Save Money

2011-11-08T23:01:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Net10 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Believe it or not I prefer reading news and tips on the internet than watching it on television. I read a lot of stuff on the internet and my favorite part is ways to save money. In the downturn of economy, every dime and penny that gets out of your pocket matters a lot.

One way to save money is to use prepaid phones. It cuts your phone bill in half. Take a look for instance of this Net10 Unlimited. It is offering a great deal with prepaid phones. There are no contracts, no surprise bills and no credit checks. The nice thing about it is it has a nationwide coverage and an excellent reception. In addition it uses trusted brands of manufacturer phones like LG, Nokia and Samsung. I so love this brands since I have used them. You can also switch between plans to suit your budget without penalties or fees. I am thinking of getting two Net10 phones for my kids. I am going back to work and I just felt like they simply need it in case of emergency. They are really begging to have one. I'm sure I would save some money. They are excited about the plan.

What Rob has to say

Real NET10 customer

James Teeth

2011-11-03T23:33:00.003-07:00

Some of James teeth are falling out and growing new ones. It is a good thing that he has permanent ones now but I can see that they are growing everywhere. I think this is hereditary because if I remembered it right my set of teeth were growing the same way. They were as crooked as they can be. I had my braces put on at a later age because my parents could not afford it but I'm still glad my teeth were corrected. It is important to have good set of teeth because this will prevent you from heart diseases. It will also boost your self confidence. A beautiful smile is worth a million bucks.
I hope we can go to the dentist soon because he really needs a check up. We need to see San Antonio Invisalign to have his teeth straighten up with invisible braces. Personally I think invisible braces are way better since people will hardly notice it while it is doing its job of straightening up your teeth. I still need to check with my insurance if this is covered. He is a growing kid that needs to have dental check up all the time. I just got back from my absence of leave and I will have to make sure my dental coverage is continued.

Household Chores

2011-11-03T23:26:00.002-07:00

My kids are learning household chores! A big hurrah to them! They are taking turns on cooking rice, rinsing dishes, making vegetable salad and making tea. After a couple of days doing their chores they started asking me why they have to do it and what about me? I thought it's a funny question that deserves a point blank answer so I told them that we can exchange jobs that they provide food, clothing and shelter for me and then I will do their household chores. And then she complained that she's too young to do something a job like earning money so i told her that's why you do something simple things like household chores.

Mama Needs a Caregiver

2011-11-01T17:39:00.003-07:00

I was both happy and sad to be able to talk to my mom yesterday. I say happy because I miss her a lot but sad because my sister told me that my mom fell on the ground and bruised herself. They even showed to me my mom's bruises and I felt sad and worried about it. You see she is already 74 years old now. How soon will ones cuts and bruises heal at that age? I wonder where my brother who is supposed to be there for him to take care of her. They claimed that they can take care of my mom but they don't seem to be doing this. My brother and his wife are both living with my mom to take care of her. Are they really helping her or just taking advantage of her?
In the Philippines, it is our culture to take good care of our old people. We love to do that because we think it is an obligation even if nobody told us. We have a high respect and sense of empathy to the elderly. It worries me to think about my mom. I always think I am responsible to what might happen to her. My mom has been a lot of help to me and my kids that's why I will never forget her. She helped me look after my kids. I think the feeling of being loved and taken cared of will always be reciprocated. I am a thousand miles away from her and that makes me sad. I think it's high time to find someone dependable to help my mom. I wish we have in home elder care in the Philippines instead of family and relatives who can't even be trusted at all to help her. I badly need a compassionate person who will be there for my mom. I thought my siblings can do that since they are family but I was wrong. I would love to help my mom enjoy the calming sunset of her days.

Protecting The Floor

2011-10-29T22:14:00.004-07:00

The kids like to play around the house. They like to invite their friends too. Oh well I feel safer that they are in our house than anywhere else so that's fine with me as long as they will keep their stuff away after playing. I told them that they can play anywhere in the house but not in the living room because I don't have time to clean up after them everyday. I want my living room clean all the time so when an unexpected guest arrives it would be presentable enough. I think it's a gra cious way of receiving visitors that's why I accentuate it with oriental rugs.

I vacuum the whole house for the most part. I clean after the stains. How many times? Countless. I think this is my permanent role here until my kids learn how to do this. I am scared that they will stain the beige carpet because from my experience it is not easy to clean them. I don't have a steam cleaner and it cost a lot to call for a home service to do that tasks. I decided to look for some oriental rugs to cover, protect and prevent floor damages before it's too late.
Another busy area of our house is the family room. We gather in the family room to watch tv, relax and even my exercise machine is there. The family room seemed too large and bare so I decided to accent an area rug there too. It not only protects the carpet it also beautifies the floor area. I like the intricate designs of oriental rugs and they are really durable too.

Unpredictable Weather

2011-10-29T21:15:00.002-07:00

I heard it snowed in the Northeast yesterday. My friends in Jersey have tasted their first snow in October. Really some snow in October? That's interesting that sometimes it snows in October. The leaves have not completely fallen out yet so when it snows its gonna be a little heavy. Oh well it snowed in Texas the day before that happened. This climate of ours has gone mad. Oh well weather has always been unpredictable... always has been always will be. No wonder I'm having terrible headaches. I'm glad it's just a little bit chilly here...no snow yet.

Home Renovation

2011-10-28T17:39:00.003-07:00

The beauty about owning a home is that you can design and redesign it to your heart's desire. Homeowner's have all the rights and reasons on how they want their house to look and feel like especially in the interior part. The outside part sometimes is affected by association rules and regulations. This is what I have learned when we owned a house in New Jersey where it was governed by the association rules. We can't do much in the outside since the facade has to look synchronized with the others. I did see different paint colors. When we changed our windows to something better we have to inform them of our projects. Sadly we have to move away where bread and butter will take us.
We own a house in Maryland. We have it rented out for the last three years but we have decided to use it as a per diem house since hubby is working from one place to another. We go and visit Maryland once a month. Most of our personal belongings are there. We are just bringing the basics in our apartment down here in South Carolina. The house in Maryland is half the size compared to our house before in New Jersey but we still like it. It sits by a small city street corner yet it is not busy nor populated. We can see the view of the mountains around us. It is nice and cool that we don't even need an air conditioner in the summer. There are a lot of things that need to be upgraded in this small house. We didn't mind this before because we were not living there. We need to have the sidings changed. We also need the kitchen renovated. Hubby told me that I can basically be the one in charge with the kitchen since I stay there all the time. I told him that first I want the space opened up, change the cupboards and then change the old countertop to granite tile. I want it to look neat and tidy and most of all updated. I love interior designing and I am up to this renovation business. I look forward to seeing myself in my newly remodeled kitchen.

Not Feeling Well

2011-10-27T15:13:00.002-07:00

The weather has changed gradually. I hate it. It is warm in the morning and gets too cold in the evening. The sudden drop of the temperature at night makes me cough. Seriously this cough in the middle of the night is disturbing my sleep and everyone else. Arrrggghhh. Now you you know why I hate it. This started when I went to the gym and when I went out it was so cold and wet outside. I caught the cough and colds. I hope I will not have a fever. I'm still crawling back to the gym even if I'm not feeling really that well. I need to exercise. Health is my only wealth.

The Long Term Plan

2011-10-25T09:02:00.007-07:00

I always love teaching. I taught grade school for ten years. Right now my focus is on being a wife and a mom of my two kids. I want to be there for them when they need me. My long term plan is to make a preschool when hubby retires. I have talked to him about this plan and he is willing to support me with this great idea. I told him that I want to have a nice playground in the backyard where the kids can play. I want my preschoolers to have lots of fun at play and discover what's around them to quench their inquisitive minds while they are are young.
I taught preschool, first, second , fourth graders. I taught different ages but the best part was teaching preschool. It was most memorable because I love younger kids. I feel a lot better around them. I felt happy and contented around them. There is something in them that I adore. They are so inquisitive and curious. They are just so fun to be with.
Preschool age have very short attention span that's why we need to go down to their level to help them learn. We need songs, interactive games and preschool supplies. It is in preschool that kids start to develop personal, emotional and social skills. Teamwork and play are important things too. I have very personal love and attachment to this age since my kids passed this age too. I think building my own preschool is a wonderful idea.

No School

2011-10-14T17:39:00.001-07:00

The kids are staying home for the last two days because they dont have school. At least after a tiresome 2 days of field trip my daughter can recover. She threw up when she got home. She looked really very tired but she told me she did have fun. I gave 20 dollars for something she might want in the store but she left the thing she bought in bus. Isnt that a thing? She requested for some pizza yesterday so we went to Target to get hubby's presciption and grab a pizza. I think shes feeling better now. Tomorrow we will be heading to Maryland.

Clothing Update

2011-10-11T18:29:00.005-07:00

We are trying to update our wardrobe because of relocation. On top of that the season has changed. A light jacket would really do a long way for the fall season. It's funny when the weather change all the time. One day it's hot then the next day it's raining hard.
I love to go shopping for clothes not only for myself but for the kids too. It is a good thing that seasons change. I take it as an advantage because I find shopping fun and therapeutic. It is also really necessary to buy clothes since my kids grow out of it sooner than you think. I seldom go shopping for my husband because he is very picky with clothes. He surely knows what he wants but this time he is really very busy with overtime at work so I am requested to go shop for his dress shirts. Yes this is a special request from him. I do think he trust my taste for clothes. I wonder where to buy mens big and tall clothes for him. I also want to surprise him with a sports jacket since he is a Steeler's fan. I am excited to go shopping for him.

Time To Change

2011-10-11T03:18:00.004-07:00

The temperature has finally came down. It has been raining hard this past few days. There were reports of flooding in Florida already. Mother nature surely knows how to tell us fall is here.
I notice that it has been cooler than usual. The change of weather triggers cough, colds and even flu to everyone. We now end up groping in the dark and grabbing our bedspreads when we sleep. The comforter that the apartment is providing us for free doesn't seem to work anymore. It's time to change the bedsheets and even the type of clothes we wear. This is our first time living in the south but it does get chilly early in the morning. I thought it wouldn't really get this cold but it does a bit. It gets a little warmer as the day goes by. I wake up late of all people at home since I'm nocturnal kind. I need something thicker and better throws at night while watching tv because I hate it when I shiver in the cold. The kids need their beds change too since they are susceptible to health issues. I usually love egyptian cotton for the summer and something cozy, fluffy and thick blanket during cold season. This will protect us well from the cold. We left all our stuff in Maryland so we need to go shopping for all these stuff.

Field Trip

2011-10-11T03:10:00.002-07:00

My daughter is going on a field trip today to Tennessee. This will be her first time to go to another state without me but she seemed so excited about it. I think because she will be with her class so she felt safe and secured. As a mom I feel scared to see my baby girl go but I have to give her permission so that she will learn how to be independent. She even woke up 10Pm last night thinking it was already morning. I can feel her excitement. They will go to Dollywood and then sleep with the sharks in the aquarium. It sure sounds fun.

The Christmas List

2011-10-10T16:20:00.004-07:00

Christmas is around the corner. Did you make your shopping list yet? The earlier you make your list the better. This way you will have enough time to budget your time and money. Each family member and some circle of special friends is on top of the list.

I have a big extended family so I have really a long list that's why as early as this month I am starting to think about what to wrap. For myself I wanted to have a kitchenaid mixer which is way too expensive. Will hubby ever gift me this? We shall see. What's amazing is I find it easy to shop for girls but not for boys. Hubby suggested to buy mens t shirts for him and the rest of the guys in the family. I think it is a good suggestion this way I wouldn't get a headache on what to give them. All I have to do is just make sure the size is right and they will like the color. He is not choosy when it comes to gifts since he is very frugal. A good shirt that will last a long time will make him happy. It is basic and useful.