We have been living where we live since May 2008. Up to now, we have no cable nor landline phone. And yes, surprisingly, we survived. It could get frustrating at times, but thanks to mobile phones, people who matter can reach and communicate with us. Thankfully, we have a strong (and surprisingly fast most of the times) internet connection. It has made things bearable when we are far away from close friends and relatives – they are just an e-mail or chat away.

I clearly remember we lived without TV for a long time, maybe three years, when I was little. But me and my siblings survived. I was never one to go loco when we don’t have TV, I was always upstairs reading books or listening to music (and dancing). During those years, me and my siblings bonded over music (I also remember it was the time of long power outages). And yes, we survived.

This is proof we can live without things we think we “need”.

Something to think about during Holy Week.

BUT, if ever utility billing would be as efficient here, we would definitely sign up with the Time Warner High Speed Internet bundle. Not only do you get the Time Warner Internet Service, you can get cable and phone service bundled up as well.

Time Warner Internet = Digital Cable + High Speed Online + Digital Phone for as low as $124.85 a month for a year!

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And now we are talking about our real house, not House MD, the TV show

Speaking of House MD, I am still on Season 4 – don’t have time to squeeze in some serious TV time (I mean serious like 5 hour watching spree serious ) and cannot compete with two kids who fight with each other over TV .

Now speaking of our real house, we have new curtains thanks to my Mom. We prefer having curtains over wood blinds because it lets more air in – we have an enclosed house (especially in the living room) so any way to have more air come in is preferred.

We need to schedule spring cleaning again. School is finished so that means I need to give away books and notebooks, recycle returned school supplies from the school and find an area to be converted to study areas for the two kids.

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I wish I had more time to blog about what has been going on with life lately but I try to finish work from Mondays to Thursdays so I can be free of the computer once the husband is home. Our weekends are almost always packed, running errands like going to the bank, shopping for groceries, talking over finances and which life insurance policy to get, and trying to give the kids what they lack four days a week – a dad.

Two weekends ago, we saw Alice in Wonderland in theaters and it was our first movie as a family. Martha enjoyed it.

Last weekend, we treated Kuya Matthew for his recognition awards and he bought 4 Archie comic books and a Scrabble board game (Gosh, the original board is so expensive!). We got Martha her clay (again).

We also dropped by a bike shop as we will be getting the kids bikes. Everything just adds up when you have two kids. You have to buy two things all the time. We were supposed to buy them last weekend but we opted to wait for the cheaper one to come by next week so we can buy two bikes instead of one.

April will be no going out month. The kids’ enrollment will be at the end of the month so we need to make sure we don’t touch the money set aside for that. We also need to find a suitable summer class for the little girl to prepare her for school.

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(Sorry emotional post ahead)

Today was a proud Mama moment. Matthew was the fifth among his batch and got two awards – Best in English and Best in Math.

But it actually wasn’t about that.
Today I realized the my son, as different as he is from other boys, is one of a kind. He is not really into sports, reads the dictionary like a pocketbook, loves talking to adults instead of his age-group and likes Josh Groban instead of Justin Bieber (Ugh I dunno why kids go gaga over him).

But he has a sensitive soul. He gives way, even if he doesn’t like to, to his sister every time. He is always the first one to notice when I am sad or have a problem and each and every time he has hugged me tight and asks me what he can do to make me feel better.

My son has a kind heart. That is what the school directress told me. My son had a kind heart.

And for someone to tell that to me, makes me wonder what have I done to deserve such child.

Proud Mama Moment.
Love you Mato.

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We actually have a HUGE garbage problem in the city where we live. We do not have garbage collector trucks come by to collect our trash. Yes, you have heard it right. We have been living here since 2008 and I have not seen a garbage truck in the streets ever. When we first lived here, I was shocked, aghast and outraged. How do we dispose of our garbage? But we have learned to adjust, be smart and even recycle. We pay someone to collect our trash every week (He is responsible enough to throw it to a big hole dug up by a neighbor) and everything we can recycle, we recycle. These days, all plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles get sold to vendors. Papers are recycled (I have a toddler who loves to doodle). Our landlady has a lot of dogs we can give our leftover food to and as of late, we have taken interest in the compost pile our landlady maintains for her lot of land beside our house.

I would love to give her a more advanced garden composter bin. She still employs the traditional method – digging up a hole, dumping all organic and leftover food scraps and wait for it to turn into fertilizer. With a garden composter bin, the compost will be turned into rich fertilizer faster and it is more sanitary. It comes in all shapes and sizes and even has a little caddy for you to put in the kitchen so just need to put the leftover peeling from food preparations directly into it.

A  Worm Farm will even be a better option. Worms help decompose organic material faster and they make it odorless too. Having them in plastic bins makes it a perfect place for the worms. All you need to do is buy the  worms and put in into the Worm Factory Composter. It looks like this:

This is known as vermicomposting and the rule here is for every pound of garbage from the kitchen you need two pounds of worms. And the worms are not ordinary worms – it needs to be the red worm and red wrigglers. When you put your pile in the bin and put the worms in, you should see them burrowing into the pile – and you can now safely assume they will be doing their job well!

You should even consider getting a  composting toilet especially if you live in a place with scarce water. I have read the waste in flushed toilets have 90% water in them. Think how water we waste every single day. The toilets I see online are sanitary and very easy to install and maintain. They evaporate the liquid and turn the solid part in wastes into salts which can be used for fertilizer too.

That is what we call full recycling!

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There is more than going through a pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, which now sits on the country known as Israel. Part of pilgrimage trips is a tour of the Dead Sea, which plays a significant part of Jesus’ life in the bible. The Dead Sea, which actually is nominated to be one of the seven wonders in the world, is called such because no fish has been reported to be able to live with its high concentration of salt. In fact, it is known for having the highest salt concentration (32%) by any water body on the Earth. It is also the lowest point on the earth, being 1,320 feet below sea level. Because of its location, its waters contain 21 minerals including magnesium, calcium, bromine and potassium. Twelve of these are found in no other area and some are recognized for imparting a relaxed feeling, nourishing the skin, activating the circulatory systems and for easing rheumatic discomfort and metabolic disorders. The area around the Dead Sea has been occupied with hotels promoting healing and wellness, as thermo-mineral springs abide together with natural mineral spring water. Dead Sea hotels have more to offer than any other hotels in Israel – health, beauty and wellness are the most popular reasons. The Dead Sea is the only place where you can sunbathe for hours without getting a sunburn because of these layers: an extra atmospheric layer, an evaporation layer that exists above the Dead Sea and a rather thick ozone layer. Because of the high barometric pressure and constant evaporation, it has approximately 8% more oxygen than anywhere else on earth thus making breathing easier.

Of course, the signature element of the Dead Sea which has been commercialized to no end is the black mud. It is a is homogeneous mixture of Dead Sea minerals, important organic elements from the shoreline as well as earth. This what dead sea hotels offer to their clients as well – you get to experience your own Dead Sea Oasis. The most popular of all Dead Sea hotels and one of the first located directly on the beach, the LOT SPA Hotel, is located in the heart of the Ein Bokek hotel district. They offer the modern lotuSpa which brings relaxation and rejuvenation. They have rooms which provide a great view of the Dead Sea as well.

When you get the chance to travel to Israel, consider staying longer and try the hotels along the Dead Sea and experience what really is relaxation about.

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For once I am on time with this one!

1. Summer travel trip for the family

2. Matthew’s recognition in school – he is the top five among his batch in his grade level. WTG Mato! We find out what are his awards tomorrow.

3. Gold slippers and shorts

4. A reply from a position I applied for online. I am now racking my brains out figuring out how to make sure I am accepted.

5. Monggo + Daing na bangus + one small cup of rice for lunch – naks diet! (coffee + oatmeal = breakfast)

6. My gift from Glo – a fink Kate Spade wallet

7. My gift from Diane – red and hot pink iPhone cases

8. Edil applying me as his supplementary in his card (It’s about time!)

9. Enough work for me to get paid but not so much that I am drowning

10. Dibeedee time – watched Percy Jackson, Blind Side, Valentine’s Day and Lovely Bones in a span of four days.

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Summer vacation officially started today in our household. My son had his last day of class yesterday and brought home good news which I will blog about before the end of the week. I am now always thinking of ways to keep my kids occupied. We have extra funds to enroll them in summer classes but my son didn’t want to, he says he just want “rest” aka bum around the house. Since I won’t be enrolling my daughter without his big brother, their summer classes in school are scrapped for the meantime. I will let the kids decide what they want to do – I just need to be on “standby” and ready just in case they decide on something. I plan to learn how to drive this summer, not officially (driving lessons in a driving school) but through the husband (let’s hope he can be patient with me!). I want to get the kids bikes so they can learn too. It would be great exercise for them. We all would be spring cleaning the whole month of April – preparing for two kids who will be in school (I think I need to really prepare their study areas – studying and doing homework on the floor will no longer do), getting rid of small and old clothes, repairing appliances and getting new ones (hopefully on sale).

By May we will be out most of the time since our maid will having her vacation (let’s hope she comes back!) and I know it will be so hard for me to keep the kids company, busy while keeping a clean house and working. I don’t know how will I ever entertain myself. Online Roulette is something that will help me sleep during the nights the husband is not at home but I don’t think online games will be easy on the pocket. I haven’t tried Blackjack Online though but my friends play it all the time!

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