Finally, after living here for almost a year, we got to take the kids horseback riding. We went to the horseback area beside Taal Vista after Sonya’s to take the kids – I have to say, on record, that if it weren’t for the kids, I won’t even dare going there. But the kids had fun. Since we (the adults aka parents) already had our satisfaction from eating at Sonya’s and taking gazillions of pictures (Sonya’s has very nice patio furniture), we decided to give in.

My kids immensely enjoyed themselves. In fact, it was Martha who enjoyed it the most, she wasn’t even scared of being left alone on the horse with only the horse caretaker leading the horse on.

She even cried when it was time to let her Kuya ride the horse. Matthew wanted to ride alone because the seat was good for only one and it hurt his you-know sharing with his little sister.

Martha would cry, “Mommy, gusto pa Martha horsey eh.”
We had to tell her the horsey needs to sleep in which she said, “Horsey tired na eh, goodnight horsey!”

For the record, the mommies and daddies were trying to avoid the sun which was impossible. We smelled like horses after I can tell (ehem, smell) but the pictures were like straight from an outing in the 80’s.

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So now is the time for some belt-tightening and change to a simpler lifestyle. You will never know when the current crisis will directly hit and affect you and your family so it is always best to be ready. I have friends and relatives who had to take paycuts to be able to continue working and some were unfortunately laid off. I guess I really still should be thankful that I still have some sort of money source to help keep our household from buckling in.

We do lack something – that is the security of the future. We live from day to day and we really need to secure some parts of our future for our kids. There are term insurance quotes I can look over – but many people are advising us not to really invest on insurance policies right now given the crisis on the global financial market.

There are things worth investing for though – health insurance plans so we are covered for in any emergency, college insurance plans for the kids if the policy has the option for a cash-out, the better. We are just holding out for now because my mom and uncle, who are both insurance agents, advised us that with the rate our inflation is rising, the investment we will be doing now will be practically worthless by the time we can enjoy it.

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I have taken notice of all those interpersonal, self-help books through the Oprah Winfrey Show. She regularly showcases them, even in her site and it has been proven to be helpful to many people. Basically, Self Help for the Mind says that in order for one to be able to master himself and get self-fulfillment, he needs to take issues within himself and tackle it first. You cannot help others if you don’t help yourself first. So true, isn’t it? I really don’t know where this all started but back in the 90’s when depression and suicide among the 30-40 age group was rising up,  psychologists came out with these self-help books.

Science of Identity Foundation exists to offer self help for the mind and guide people on finding their purpose. Know more about this through Jagad Guru’s profile here at LinkedIn.

I am off to check this out some more.

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The heat is terrible these days. I know I say this year after year but the weather during summer season I think is getting worse each year. Blame it on global warming. I actually cannot even begin to imagine how humid it is in the city. If we, who live in the mountains, experience heat, what more those in the city, which has smog and absolutely no trees? Well, the heat here is not as bad as I think it is. It is hot, if you walk outside but it isn’t humid because we have a lot of trees – there is also constant winds which are still cool to the skin. In the evenings, it gets cooler and we hardly feel it is summer.

However, when there are signs of rain the next day, it gets really humid. I’d wish for an All Year Cooling and Heating system but that would be asking for too much since we live in a tropical country already!

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If you are not familiar with headhunting, let me give you a brief explanation about it. Basically, if you need a job and have very good credentials, you can refer yourself to a headhunter – a headhunter is someone who works for an Executive Recruitment Firm who looks for a job for you and refers you to a good company. I have been offered jobs by headhunters back when I was still working. If you are working in a call center, agents with positions are always pirated by other companies and offered better compensation. But I couldn’t leave my company because it is so great for my studies and the account I was in was not strict with leave time. It was very family friendly – I was even on AM shift for three years!

If you are on the lookout for experts in executive search firm and CEO headhunting, check out this Spencer Stuart company overview and meet the best in CEO headhunting. Head over to Spencer Stuart’s profile page to know more about the company.

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Pictures taken by Jojo (and Alpha)

These are further proof that Martha needs to be sent off to a finishing school if she would not get over her fixation on animals like the dinosaur, lion, tiger and lately, dogs and horses. She would even be whiny like the horse. Tsk tsk. Sayang ang outfit, pagirl pa naman.

Taken at Sonya’s Garden

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All of us are coming down with something. After doing some grocery shopping last night, I came home feeling extremely hot and with a very bad headache. I think this is the first time this month that I slept at 10PM and woke up at 5AM. That’s seven hours of sleep there people, truly such a great accomplishment for me.

Today, there are cloudy skies and we feel there will be rain, which could not be anymore perfect because it was so hot yesterday. Perfect, Im sure a lot of kids will get sick with this weather.

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I am in love with all things Anthropologie. I discovered them through digital scrapbook designers and found some very nice and interesting pieces over at StyleHive.com. Look at this really cute Odille skirt!

It’s a pigment graph skirt with a row of decorative buttons and pleats. It really would look great with a bright top, ballet flats, stud earrings or hoops and a cute small bag. One would look very very girly and fun! I do not really have that much of a fashion sense but I do know what looks great with one another.

So I browsed the Anthropologie site and found more! There are even more favorites and popular items over at StyleHive as well.

And they are not limited to just dresses, skirts and clothes. They also offer shoes, accessories and jewelries. And believe it or not, things for the house too! From wallpapers, to lighting, to hardware and things for the kitchen – they have it. The site is truly inspirational.

Since I’m a sucker for all items on sale, that is the first thing on the site I looked into. So many great finds (I still cannot afford them though, unfortunately). But they are all truly eye candy!

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