Winter Plans

Aldi currently has a promotion with snow gears. I asked Alvin if I can buy for me and the kids. Didn't bother buying one for him because he already has. He bought his when he was sent to Japan for work purposes. He gave the go signal so I bought one for me, Liam and Sam.

We don't have any concrete plans of going to the Snowy Mountains this winter, but I just thought of investing and preparing just in case we have the spur of the moment decision to have a go. Better buy now while it's on sale hehehe

I decided to buy snowtrack suits for both Liam and Sam so I don't have to buy them separate jackets and pants. It would be very bulky and expensive. I made sure there is enough allowance for the kids' suits just in case they don't get to use it this year. As for me, I bought a snowtrack jacket. I still fit in the kids sizes so I got to save ten bucks as compared if I got one from the adult sizes. Still have to buy pants though.

I'm just excited to think of the possibility of having another family holiday and to experience snow for the first time.

Let's wait and see  :-)

Costco

Costco Sydney opened its doors last July and I have been hearing different kinds of Costco stories since then.

We have good friends who are members and my brother and SIL happens to be members as well. My friend Vera has been inviting me to go with her so I can check out the place. But sadly, we haven't pushed thru with the trip yet.

This am, my Kuya told me that my SIL was planning to go to Costco and asked if I wanted to come. Of course, not letting the opportunity pass, I went with Liam and Sam :D

Well, for starters, we didn't have a hard time looking for a parking space since we were there at aroung 10:05am. The store opens at 10:00 am.

As usual, there was already a queue for people who were just applying and getting their membership cards. I could have, but hubby said, he thinks it's not worth it to pay $60 for a few visits to the store. Anyways, we have Vera or my Kuya/SIL to go with if ever we want to go and buy some stuff at home.

Next, it wasn't as BIG as I thought it would be. I think I've seen bigger shops/malls especially in Manila. What makes it look big are the piles and stocks of products up until the roof (well, I'm exaggerating here, but you know what I mean, right?).

Hmmm, what else...true to what I have been hearing, majority of the products are still Aussie products. I don't know if they have an agreement with the government, but if none, I think they can add more American brands.

I bought a box of Kirkland nappies, hoping it is of good quality. (When I checked it at home, I wasn't really happy. It's too thin and I don't know if I can use it for Sam's night nappy).

I also bought Cream puffs. Vera introduced it to us and when I tasted it, there was no stopping me from eating more! Good Lord, jus imagine how my belly has grown over the past week because of this food!

I took the chance to buy hubby's Father's Day gift here. There were some American clothing brands that were affordable. So I got Alvin a 501 Levi's jeans (for $47), a Nautica cargo shorts (for $28) and a pack of Hershey's chocolate nuggets (for $15). I think hubby will be happy with the chocolates :D

I liked the idea of having/selling ready-to-eat meals and cakes. I was actually thinking that if we are to push thru with Liam's birthday party, we might as well just buy the food here. The cake, chili chiken wings, pizza, subs, platter, etc. will make the hardest task of food preparation very effortless. The prices I think are reasonable for the quantity and the cake sizes. I just hope it tastes good as well.

We got out at around 11:15 and by that time both my kids were hungry. We could have eaten there but the line outside was too long already so we just ate our lunch at the nearest Mccas.

All in all, was I happy with my Costco experience? Yes, I was. But it's not a place that I am not really looking forward to visiting again. And this time I agree with hubby, we will not be able to maximize the $60 membership, have we decided to apply, because what I've seen there are mostly available in the local shops. I'd rather go to DFO or Ikea ;)

self-control :)

this is not about being patient. it's about controlling my urge to spend, again :) and i think i passed it again :)

for days now, alvin has been asking me what anniversary present and mother's day present i want him to give me. many choices. but i seriously considered aromatherapy sessionS (yes, with S lol!) and jewelry (hmmm again?!). yup.

yesterday and today, we were so close to buying it but i managed to stop myself from giving him the go-signal. i am thankful that we have extras but in cases like these, i usually, always, find myself still thinking a zillion times if i really need it or i just want it. alvin is generous to give them to me but then again, it's hard-earned money right? and besides, i might as well save it for the rainy days :)

for one, i can just use our private health fund card for the massages, after all we've been paying it regularly, weekly. as for the jewelry? at prsent, i refrain from using/wearing too much as I always have Sam with me. it's either she ends up scratched or i end up scratched from the bracelets, earrings and sometimes the watch that i wear. and she might end up tugging my necklace as well. so jewelry is not an immediate need.

i am proud of myself :) guilt-free! :)

Sari-saring Kwento!

A couple of weeks ago we were able to catch the movie Parent Trap on TV. Liam liked the movie. A couple of days later a catalogue from K-mart arrived and there was a sale of Disney DVDs. He saw the Parent Trap DVD and told me that it was the movie we watched. Nothing wrong with that, right? A couple of days later, I saw him asking his Ate Siobe to cut the DVD for him, after getting it from her, he told me he wanted to post it on the Harry Potter door (which had some of the other pictures he wants to buy). Hmmm, I can already sense something here hehehe. I just told him to put it inside his wallet so it won't get lost. He followed. The next morning, after waking up, the first thing that he did was to get the picture and show it again to me. This time I asked him already, "Do you like the girl?", smiling. I don't know if I embarassed him but his cheerful mood suddenly came defensive. He immediately said, "No!", then got the paper and told me this: "I don't like this, let's put this in the rubbish bin!" Hehehe It was a cute scene hehehe. I feel that he did find the young Lindsay Lohan cute, because he had a classmate in Kindermusik who had the same features as hers, and at that time, he said he liked Zoe. This is one story I will tell him when he grows up!

Yesterday, I thought it was a Friday already! Funny, I even posted it on my FB status. Well, can you blame me? I spent the entire morning, shopping, not stopping myself and thinking, just letting go, and boy it felt soooooo goood! :) In other words, I gave in to the force. I bought 5 pairs of Havainas, 4 pieces of Gap shirts, 1 CK jeans, 1 Adidas skorts, 1 CK shirt, 4 pcs of Adidas caps, 9 pieces of Adidas shirts! I loved the feeling after! Not feeling guilty or anything. I didn't even worry if Alvin would get mad, hehehe, (he did not ;)). To top it all off, I went back this morning to shop more! It was a good buy! The things that I bought are not entirely all for me, of course there was something for my kids, my hubby and some of them will be my pasalubong and Christmas gifts already ;D Yes, it was time to splurge. My day ended well because aside from the shopping, when Alvingot home and asked how my day was, I said "nagwaldas"...and his reaction? "Ok lang yan, pera lang yan ;)" I am so lucky! :D



I am currently upgrading and updating my wardrobe. I suddenly found myself being bitten by the fashion and female bug, that I wanted to feel and look like a "lady" the past few days. I am now a bit braver and confident with the clothes I wear. Maybe because this time I am not so consious of what people are going to say. Aussies dress and wear they want they want regardless how they look or what their size is, as long as they are comfortable and can carry the dress. I guess I am slowly imbibing that vibes :) And I am not now limited with the "teacher" fashion style. I was bounded to be a bit conservative back in Manila because of the school rules and the possible chance of seeing my students on weekends or after school hours. I feel good nowadays. Maybe I also don;t want to look "losyang" considering that I have now two kids and I am now a full-time mum and wife.

Imagine my horror when I saw that the birthday gift Alvin gave me broke yesterday. The glass of my newest watch cracked for reason I don't know. I saw it when I was feeding Sam in the parents' room at the shops yesterday ;( I showed it to hubby and glad he didn't get mad all he said was that I probably slammed into something hard and that caused the glass to break :( oh well, I can still wear it although the OC in me sometimes still bugs me :D

Christmas in August!

Yes, I know, we still haven't reached the "ber" months, which for most Filipinos signals the start of the Christmas season, but for me, preparations for Christmas has begun already!

I am due to give birth end of November and since I'm under the C-section, I don't expect that I would be physically capable of doing the Christmas shopping when December comes. And besides, I hate cramming. So as early as now, I have started with my Christmas shopping. I have my Christmas list and it is updated everytime I get to buy a present for somebody. This year the list became a bit longer as our circle of friends based in Australia also grew. In the same manner, we plan to send some simple gifts to our families and godchildren who are based in Manila. Doing my Christmas shopping this early, I think, is financially rewarding, because I get to see and purchase good gifts which are on sale, which in effect allows me to save. It also allows me to choose the perfect gift for the friend, godchild, or family member, without the time pressure. I'm pretty sure I'd end up giving generic items if I start shopping by October or November. For this, I hope that the recipients of our gifts would be happy of our presents as they were carefully chosen. Next, I get to go and comapre and shop among different shops. I'm not limited to the shops around Western Sydney, which I think is another plus for me.

I have also given my hubby his Christmas present, a GPS, which he thinks would be useful when we go out on long drives. Well, he asked me if he can have his Christmas present in advance. I gave in becuase there was actually a ale on GPS last last weekend. But aside from this, I also plan to give him an RC Helicopter which I know he'll love playing with our son Liam. I'm done with Liam's gift as well, a Piano toy and for his birthday, tickets for the Wiggles concert in December.

Now, I still have a lot of people on my list, but I already have an idea what to give them. I just need to go to this shop and majority of them will be gone from the list already. The harder part is finding the right present for my immediate family.

So there, that is how I have started my CHristmas 2010 preparations and I just can't wait to finish shopping for all my loved ones!

The Hardest Part of Christmas

Since I have started writing about Christmas the other day, I might as well continue with it. But this time I’ll be sharing about the things I do to get ready for Christmas.

Come September, I already make my list of family and friends whom I should and would want to buy a gift. To make things easy for me, I do it per category. I start with immediate family of course. Next are my closest relatives. After family and relatives I start listing down the names of my and my husband’s godchildren. I should not miss out on these kids, especially that we are considered as their second parents. It is just sad that most of them don’t get to see us anymore because we have lost contact with their parents. So to our godchildren, we may not see you that often anymore but rest assured that you are not forgotten in our Christmas list. After our godchildren, friends are next. Friends is quite general so I still list per category, they are classified as friends from work, from college, or even from high school. After listing everyone, I still double check it because I might have missed someone. And I wouldn’t want to be on that person’s shoes.

After the listing of names, now comes the listing of possible gifts and the budget allotted. Of course, family members get the highest allocation. I need not elaborate why.
Since the bazaar season has started as well, I grab that opportunity to buy some of the gifts. I start buying the gifts of the people whom I will not be able to see because of the Christmas break. So basically that refers to my friends at work. Slowly thru my frequent visits at these bazaars and malls, I get to complete my Christmas shopping. By the first week of December I am already done with my shopping and now ready to wrap them. By the time the calendar hits the second week of December; my focus has already shifted from gifts to the family activities for the Christmas season --the Noche Buena, Media Noche, the Christmas parties, the other events like weddings or birthdays and the dawn masses. This may also include visiting relatives, gift-giving to the less fortunate, or having an out-of-town trip.

These are just some of the things I usually busy myself with during the Christmas season. I find myself lacking sleep at times, but what the heck, everyone is on the same boat as I do! But sometimes I get to think that people, myself included, usually fall into this kind of trap. This is how we prepare for Christmas. Gifts, parties, reunions. We may find all of these activities as the reasons why we love Christmas so much. But I believe that this is a sad fact because we know that there should be more than just buying presents and reunions. Getting ready for Christmas in the truest sense of the word is the harder part...is the hardest part.