Category: Family/From the Heart

Posted on

Halloween 2011

Halloween is round the corner and we are getting ready for Halloween – since we have to spend part of the evening at home. Of course, we can’t missed the personalized pumpkins from Chloe’s grampie. Wonder why grampie never make one for PB every year – haha!

This is mine – as you can see here.

And Chloe’s.

And the classic witch smacked and landed on our door.

And a straw puppet. I’m not done decorating yet – because I had been busy decorating the store first. When you own your own business, you usually have to take care of the business first.

Posted on

Separation Anxiety

Not only Chloe but myself – I’ve thought of going up to the city with some of my girlfriends for a night or two – but I have separation anxiety !!!! yup!! me!! but can you blame me – I’ve never left her side except when I had no choice during surgery a few years ago – and that already I was not too keen but had no choice.

Before having Chloe in my life – I had no problems whatsoever traveling at anytime and any place – i didn’t have anything to worry about – nor anything to keep me from traveling but things has changed so drastically for me – I sometimes don’t recognized myself – hahah!! or had I been this way all the time? or have I suddenly turned into a wuss ? And I do not like the thought of me becoming one or turning into one – or is one ! I’m a very tough person – so why is it that I don’t want to be separated from my daughter just for a night and an entire day? Am I the needy one ? or do I think that Chloe is the needy one?

A check with my other girlfriends with kids – some feels the same way but some didn’t have any trouble with spending a brief vacation with their girlfriends. Hmmm… ! interesting isn’t it ? I will chat with my family doctor about this.

Posted on

Frugal Family Travel Tips

In these tumultuous economic times, vacations seem like a luxury that many families can’t afford. But going on vacation doesn’t have to mean blowing the family budget. In fact, taking some time off to be together can be really good for everyone. The following are some vacation money-saving tips that will help you to have a great time while still economizing.

Source: http://frugalfamilytips.com/tag/traveling/

Set a Budget

The first and foremost step is to set a clear budget and stick to it. Rather than be vague about what expenses will be, figure out how much money you can afford to spend total. Then sit down and write out a list of what you’ll be spending money on. Set a food budget, activity budget, gifts (if necessary).
This way you’ll see what the actual monetary outlay is likely to be, and figure out ways you can save on the trip. It will also show you just what you need to make over your ordinary day to day expenses to afford the trip at whatever style level you choose.

Though it would be ideal to spend only cash on a trip, credit cards provide an added level of protection and security. You might even want to incorporate use of a travel oriented credit card such as the Aeroplan Plus Gold Card into your trip. This type of card offers all sorts of travel perks and advantages like sky miles, breakdown assistance, and various travel related types of insurance, so using them is actually a good idea when taking a vacation.

Book Hotels in Advance

Booking hotels is advance is a good way to save on accommodations. You can actually ask the hotel clerk how much you stand to save by booking in advance and then compare various hotels to see which ones are the most competitive in this regard. Try to choose hotels that reward you the most for good early planning.

Get Airline Tickets in Advance

Airline tickets are another area where advance booking can mean a much cheaper rate. There are a plethora of websites online that give you rate comparisons on various airlines and flights. These sites will give you exact rates and saving possible for given booking dates so they are a great way to compare advance flight booking rates and savings.

Consider Off Season Travel

Off season travel is always cheaper than peak season. This usually means the late fall, winter, or early spring (for locations that are reasonably cold at those times) and times not very close to the holidays. Consider planning trips for these times since they can often make for fine vacations that are also more cost effective.

Consider Camping

If camping is something you enjoy you can save a lot of money by camping rather than staying in hotels. This also gets you in touch with the outdoors and gives you a real feel for the flora and fauna of whatever locations you’re visiting. Consider this as an option if outdoor living is something you feel comfortable with. Even if you don’t there’s always a first time, so maybe you should give it a try!

Posted on

I Am Who I Am

Feel liberated yet? if you haven’t – well – there is something not so right with you. You must have some self-esteem problems? since you can’t seems to feel happy for other people. Everyone has bragging rights and if you don’t like mine – that’s your problem.

Marrying PB is the best thing I’ve done in my entire life – well besides having Chloe and having a great 2 great Godmas for Chloe. Why? because he never expect me to behave in a certain way nor talk differently, in our many years together – since I’ve been to Canada and before, he has never asked me to change my behavior, nor the way I talk or the way I walk or the way I wear my clothes – not a thing. He accepts me for who I am – maybe we all should learn to accept our spouse and not try and change them – me included. So for those of you – who don’t like the way I talk – or act – I don’t need your approval – Blah!

Posted on

Our Little Getaway

So we invested in a little cottage by the lake in Pembrooke – and this is our little getaway during the weekends – we just loved going there with our little bass boat and while PB and Chloe do their water sport thing, I just lazed around the sun and get a tan. But because Pembrooke is out of town, our cell phone signal isn’t the strongest but have no fear for in Canada – they have cell booster antenna that you can get from your local store in the mall – not expensive at all – and with that you will never have to miss a call. Although we say we are going there to relax, you all know that we need to keep our cellphone ready and available because of the store, so yes! thank God for gadgets like the cell phone booster else I doubt PB would want to buy this little cottage out in Pembrooke. The cottage was cheap and it has lots of potential, come spring next year, we are putting up a sunscreen porch and inviting friends over for more BBQ. woohoo!

Posted on

If You Don’t Like Something

Someone very wise told me a month ago – that if I didn’t like something, change it. Life is too short – live life to your fullest – do things you love and don’t waste time over-analyzing and I took his advice. My life is here in Canada – there is no going back and there is no way – I’m going to take care of others before my own family. Once that was settled, I knew exactly what I had to do. And I also learned that everyone have their bragging rights and if you don’t like it – then I can choose not to listen and walk away – the same for those who don’t like to hear me.

Yes! I’m very blessed! I’ve got a good spouse and an awesome and funny daughter, I haven’t “really” worked since I came to Canada and I loved what i do online – and I’ve good advertisers who look out for me and my friends often. My health is getting better everyday and I’m spending time with Chloe and able to do things with her more than I did before. Plus, we have good business acumen and do not have to worry about our daily expenses. What more can I asked for right?

Posted on

Apples For Chloe’s Class

We had brought in some apples for Chloe’s class like we usually do every fall. When the Apple farm where grammie works has apples for sale we usually get a 10lb bag every week. They are very cheap, and sometimes grammie will pay for it or there is no charge from the good Wallace owners. We are grateful always for such kind people in this area and cannot thank them enough for being so kind to Chloe. We are really blessed because just on the weekend – Chloe received a huge teddy bear – one that is bigger than her, from our customer – Gillian – just because, therefore I always have thank you cards handy, so that I can write out thank you cards to all these wonderful people who’ve not only been kind to us but also touched our lives.

A friend just told me I’m a Godsend but little does she know that she is the one Godsent and I cannot thank all of them enough for always sending food and gifts from home for Chloe and I – even all the way from Australia. And I’m usually so busy and even sometimes forget to send thank you cards to all these wonderful people, therefore, we do our bit for the kids here and pay it forward. Friends who sends food and gifts to us never expect anything back but I’m always grateful and want to do kind things for others because of them, so they are the ones who are Godsend. Once again, I cannot thank them enough.

Posted on

Inviting Play Dates & Mommies

Chloe is currently in Grade 2 and besides her school friends – we also make sure she has friend from other schools. And since she is taking up so many extra-curricular classes, it is inevitable to be asked out for play dates and vice versa. But my play dates usually involves the mommies as well – that way moms can get together and eat, chat and drink – and most importantly relax. Thank God for electric grills , because we can grill just about anything for everyone. So everyone brings whatever they want to feed their kids and just throw it onto the grills I have and it’s that easy. I make lots of ice lemon tea and lemonade for the kids – and for us mommies – I add in a bit of my special liquor – like the cranberry ones that I bought locally from Lunenburg. My play dates are always a hit – because we have the trampoline – the swings and those big inflated castles for the kids to bounce and slide.

Posted on

Ms Sassy Pants

Yes! Ms Sassy Pants came home and said she was going to run away from home. Started packing her blankie and some clothes and asked her dad to put them in a bag. Of course, PB didn’t do nothing – but I handed a bag to PB and asked PB to put her stuff into the pink Toys R’ Us bag – and then I pushed her outta the door and locked it behind her. She started screaming and crying and of course, PB came to her rescue. So I told her – ” yer’re lucky your dad is still at home and not gone to work yet – coz’ i would have locked you out till the cops came!” Had to show her whose the boss now eh! muahahahah!!!

Posted on

Ways To Save for Your Child’s Education

Saving for a child’s college education is something that takes certain level of dedication and commitment. Starting early and making wise choices will help to ensure that the adequate amount of money is available when the child is ready to attend college. There are a number of key factors to remember when looking at saving for college.

Image Source: http://forthemommas.com/articles/back-to-basics-saving-your-savings

Being Organized

People can have the best of intentions when it comes to saving money. Unfortunately, things get busy and schedules are often hectic. Something as simple as making a deposit into the college fund can easily be forgotten.
The best way to eliminate this problem is through the use of automatic withdrawals. Depending on the specifics, this can be set up so money is withdrawn from a checking account and placed into the college fund on a set schedule.

Regulating Debts

There are most likely going to be other factors that will affect the amount of money that can be placed into a college fund. This can include things such as credit card bills. If a good deal of money is spent simply on paying interest each month, it is difficult to save a substantial amount of money. When looking to set up the college fund, it might also be wise to look into things such as debt consolidation and paying down a particular credit card that carries a high balance.

Choosing the Optimal Savings Account

The type of a savings account that is used can certainly determine how good of a return can be had. For an education account, it is usually a good idea to have one that does not allow withdrawals to be made for a certain period of time.
This will eliminate the possible temptation when it would be easy to borrow money out of the account. Many high interest savings accounts will provide customers with a great interest rates and may feature this stipulation on withdrawals.

In addition to traditional savings accounts through banks, there are a number of different agencies and organizations that give individuals options when it comes to saving for college.

These can include state and federal agencies that offer the ability to set up tax deferred accounts and plans where all interest is not taxable. Looking into state and federal government agencies can usually provide a parent with a wide variety of options that many people might not have previously considered.

It is always best to start early in a child’s life when it comes to saving for his college education. With the right account and a good deal of dedication, any parent should be able to more than adequately provide for this.