Bargain

Mababaw lang kaligayahan ko, pagbigyan nyo na ako.

Hubby wanted to get me a new GPS to replace the old one I have in my car. Hindi pa naman ganun ka-luma, but it's map is quite outdated and it's really bulky. I had no problem with that. It still gets me places I need to go, and I love that it's bulky because I don't have to mount it in the car for it to be stable. And really, it's not like it's a big problem for me to drive around with an outdated map. I'm not one to get lost and not at least know where I got to. But he was really insistent to the point that he loaned my old unit and asked that friend to lose or break it along the way. Of course, that was a joke. But getting it broken would justify buying a new one.

We couldn't really sell the old one. Newer models are coming out for cheaper, so we'd almost be giving the old one away if we want to get rid of it. There's really no way we can possibly sell it to at least cover part of the costs for the new one. We decided we'd just keep it as a loaner unit or something to that effect. So, I told hubby, I am not in a hurry to get a replacement, I'd much rather wait for the price to go as low as possible, then I'll buy. This was a couple of weeks ago. I figured with thanksgiving coming, prices for electronics are sure to go down. I set a price limit for around thanksgiving. Then come thanksgiving, the price went down that low. I was tempted! I told hubby, I'm not buying yet. I have a feeling it's going down further around Christmas.

He checked the other day, and surprisingly, the price went up again. He told me I was procrastinating too much. Sobra sa diskarte, nabutata. "So, what," I said. I am not in a hurry to buy, and anyway, Christmas is still about a month away. Bababa pa yan.

Today, I went online again to check on one of his orders. Then I checked on new prices on the navigation systems. It's now down even lower than it was at thanksgiving! It's even lower than what I thought would be the price for around Christmas, so that's probably the lowest it would go. So, I told hubby and he said to go ahead with the purchase. I processed the order and went to bring A to school. Just now, after I picked the kids up from school, I checked again, and the price went down $5 more! Uh-oh. No way. So I called customer service and I told them, I just made a purchase and the price went down further after a couple of hours. My item isn't even ready for shipping. My card isn't even charged yet for the purchase! So I asked, nicely, for a price adjustment, which they told me they couldn't yet do at this point since the item is getting prepared for shipping and they would have to wait for my payment to be charged before they can issue a refund. They just couldn't do a straightaway price adjustment while everything is pending. What they promised they'd do for me is to send me the refund as soon as my payment gets approved and they would send me the difference based on the lowest price for the item between today and when the item actually ships out. That's good enough for me. So far, now....total savings = 60%!

Painting

From the backseat of the car after picking A up from preschool:

A: I painted a picture of me and D. We were walking and you and Daddy are walking behind us. I am yellow because my favorite color is yellow and D is blue because that is her favorite color.

Me: I thought your favorite color is pink?

A: No, it's yellow.

D: I don't like pink anymore, it's too girly.

A (to D): So, you're boy-y?


Yeah, how come girly is a real word, and boy-y is not?

Sorry

In my book, it's probably the most overused and misused word. Half the time, it's either half-meant or sarcastically spoken. I hate it when people don't even think twice about doing something wrong just because they can say "sorry" after, or how people just say "sorry" so that they can get away with whatever they did. It has just lost it's meaning for me.

Maybe that explains why I don't easily forgive even if someone says sorry a thousand times. It matters more to me to see that one makes an effort to make things right rather than just saying a word. It matters more to me to see that they have learned from the experience. Saying "sorry" just doesn't cut it for me anymore.

And after all that has been said and done, if nothing changes, then it's a learning experience for me. Maybe I would be better off without those kinds of people.

Kinder Eggs

We got 2 packages from Germany in the mail today. I still haven't gotten around to opening it, but I know what the packages contain. Those are Kinder eggs from J/L's parents. Kinder eggs are milk chocolate shells, egg-shaped and hollow on the inside -- much like how an egg would be. There is a capsule on the inside containing goodies -- small puzzles or small toys that you assemble and can collect. The kids are crazy over these -- we have been introduced to them by J/L's parents and the kids almost has a supply from when J/L's parents come over or when J/L visit Germany.

2 years ago, we collected so many of the toys from the eggs that we were able to use the small toys as Christmas ornaments. But those were collected over a couple of years. We usually don't have too many of the eggs around the house anytime -- definitely not as much as we have right now. Funny thing is that the eggs are hubby's winnings from one of the fantasy games they had. J/L's dad was in the league and he just played around with them, knowing hubby was on the winning end. He told hubby to go to Germany to collect his winnings. Then he had a grand idea. He said he would be paying in Kinder eggs. I thought the whole time that it was a joke until J/L told me that his dad was serious -- he would be mailing us Kinder eggs worth his payment. Not bad, if you ask me. We got paid in the currency the kids would understand. And we weren't even in with the betting.

Ticket

Hindi pa naman, pero natakot akong ma-tiket-an. E pano naman kasi, tatlong bwan ko nang nakakalimutang idikit yung sticker ng rehistro ng sasakyan. Hindi ko pa sana maalala kung hindi ko nakita yung sobre ng renewal ng rehistro sa bahay nila J/L. Maryosep.

Nung sinabi ko na ididikit ko lang yung sticker sa sasakyan, nagulat sila. Sabi ko, nakalimutan ko, e. Sabi nila, maswerte daw ako. Sila daw, isang araw pa lang nilang hindi naididikit, nasita na sila ng pulis at na-tiket-an. E, oo naman. Ang swerte talaga. Mantakin mo ba naman na nasa akin na yung sticker, August pa lang. Simula August, naka-limang byahe na kaming LA-SJ. At bukod pa dun, ilang beses na din kaming paikot-ikot sa kung saan-saan. Puro overspeeding pa. At ilang beses na din na may nakabuntot sa aking pulis habang nasa kalye. Kung bakit hindi pa ako nasita, e hindi ko alam. Pero syempre, ayaw ko nang alamin. Mahal din ang tiket, ano?

Pero me excuse naman ako. Ang balak ko sana kasi, ipapalinis ko muna yung sasakyan, saka ididikit ang sticker. Malas lang na palagi kami nagmamadali pagka-palinis ng sasakyan kaya palaging nakakalimutan. Pero nandun lang naman yung sticker sa glove compartment. Pwede ko naman sana idikit anytime.

So, kahapon, naidikit ko na din -- sa wakas.

Mabuti na lang din walang irony of the moment. Baka naiyak ako kung saka ako i-flag ng pulis pagkatapos naidikit yun.

Snagged: Meme

Snagged from Era. I just found it interesting, so I'll be doing mine.

1. Are you good at hiding your feelings?
No. I've always thought I was but hubby said I am so transparent, I might as well be screaming my emotions out. But then again, I was thinking maybe he just knows how to read me.

2. How can we tell that you’re already irritated?
Either I turn really quiet, or I get really sarcastic.

3. How do you treat the person that obviously doesn’t like you?
Deadma. The feeling is probably mutual. I won't spend my time trying to get somebody to like me.

4. What usually ruins your mood?
People who are too assuming.

5. Who do you see everyday that you wish you just wouldn’t at all?
Wala na! Haha!

6. When was the last time that you had a good cry?
I got upset last weekend. Pikon na pikon ako.

7. How often do you shop for clothes?
Whenever.

8. Who’s your long-time crush?
Wahahaha. Secret.

9. Someone you just had a crush on?
Just had? Wala, eh.

10 . Do you have something that you wish you just don’t?
Era: My jelly belly. (Me, too)

11. Do you sometimes crave for something that isn’t there?
Hmmm, not really. We usually find ways to get what we need and want.

12 . Do you wish to live in a faraway land where nobody knows you?
Weird, but I do.

13. Have you kissed a total stranger?
Nope.

14. What do you want to do at this moment?
Go shopping. Bwisit ako, e.

15. The worst feeling?
Being anxious. I am a worrywart. I get anxious over a million things.

16. How about the best?
Being high naturally.

17. Ever given your number to someone you dislike?
No.

18. What will you say to the one reading this right now?
Good luck. Haha.

19. What/Who do you need right now?
Long bath.

20 . Happy with your life?
Most of the time. Hehe.

Back to School

Well, A is.

After we moved, looking for a preschool for her wasn't too high in my list of things to do. It's just that we're too busy with all the things happening all at once, her sleep schedule changed, and I figured after all the changes, she deserves a break. Also, since the holidays are almost here, they won't be doing much in school with all the no-school days. I was planning to wait until after the holidays or after things slow down before looking for a school for her.

Unfortunately, she got bored too fast. Maybe she misses playing with kids her age. Maybe she misses the school environment. Either way, she started bugging me to go out and look for a school for her. And so she did a trial day late last week.

She officially started on Tuesday of this week. She was really excited about going back to school -- she is just so happy to be going. It was just funny that the staff in the school already noticed how full of energy and excitement she is. I mean, I would be picking her up late in the afternoon and she is just jumping up and down, excited to show me what they did for the day. And it's not even her 1st week yet. Jeez. I am afraid they might start thinking I give the kids something to get them so "high."


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On that "high" note, one of J's friends found it funny that the names A gives her bears sounds just wrong.

A has a bear that they decided to call Spike. Now A brought Spike on one of our trips to show off to our friends. Only this time, she was saying the bear's name is "Brownie." That confused us, so we asked her how come the bear's name is now Brownie and whatever happened to "Spike." Her short answer: "Spike's his last name." Oooo-kay. So, the bear's name is now Brownie Spike. Doesn't sound too bad, does it? However.....She has another bear -- and she decided to call her "Hush." Wouldn't have been too bad, either, until BTM laughed and asked, "Dude, spiked brownie and hash? What are you teaching your kids?" Heeehee.

Reminisce

After going trick-or-treating last night, I went through the older pics while organizing them. I know I have pics from years past and I wanted to remember how D and A looked like back then.

I started taking pictures of them with their Halloween stash 3 years ago, after J wasn't able to join us to go trick-or-treating. And before that, we didn't really go. I used to think that Halloween was just a marketing event -- it used to just happen in the malls, at least in the Philippines. And I hated the crowds! After moving here, I was fascinated at how much people would be decorating to participate in the event. I love how the kids dress up and stay late walking around the streets for candy. The girls just had to have that experience. Of course, the fun only lasts one night -- and so we look forward for the next Halloweens to come.

Oh, I almost forgot my pictures!

Halloween 2005

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2007