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Heard about the blog and book "1000 Awesome Things"? I just learned about it recently (*facepalm*). As the name says, it lists the small, taken-for-granted yet AWESOME things around us. I visited the blog and it makes me grateful and happy where I am.
#25 Awesome thing: Kindergarten class photos. Remember your first ever class picture? :)
I have a thing for peacocks. Whenever Hubby and I are in a zoo, I strike a pose with a peacock. Haven't got one where his feathers are shown in all its glory though. I love its cobalt blue feathers that turns emerald green at the end.
Dreaming of our future house, I want to incorporate some peacock influences in the decor.
A carpet perhaps?
A cross stitch on the wall?
Dinners on Mondays look like this plate.I'm trying to live up to the Meatless Monday campaign. I want to live and eat healthier. Don't get me wrong. I lurve my meats but I have to consciously make the decision to skip eating them on Mondays. Even for one day a week, I can curb my carnivorous side.
What do you do with those 5- and 10-centavo coins? Leave them in a coin jar or piggy bank? Put them somewhere around the house? Me, I keep them in a small box. After a few years, that small box is brimming with these copper-colored coins.
I thought about what I could do with them since I have accumulated lots of them. I can bring them to the bank but they're not light to bring. While browsing through DIY blogs, I saw pennies used to create a wall art (another one here), decorate a whole wall, and even the floor! I can do the same thing. Not the wall or the floor thing, but the wall art.
I'm at a point where I'm thinking about what to do in a few months. God-willing, we will be able to construct our house by August or September, before Hubby arrives. He aspires that by that time, I have left work in the city to manage a small business in the province or pursue a work-at-home career. Much better he said if I can just focus on our future family life since he can provide for all our needs. The last statement is very tempting, but as my late Nanay (grandma) said, women should work so you don't need to ask your husbands to pay for your makeup and whatnots.
A friend told me that it's easy for me to do any of those options. Unlike her, she said she has "no choice" but to stay working in an office that overworks but is unappreciative (financially and emotionally) of her. She has two kids and her husband's income is not that big. She can't change companies anytime soon just because she's unhappy with her current work.
It got me thinking. Does having kids give you no option for change career-wise? Will you be really tied down to whatever gives you income eventhough it sucks the joy out of you?
From what I know, "fostering" means taking care of a child (who is not related to you) temporarily. I guess this is what my family is doing now.
J, a child of my father's friend, is staying with us in the past month. Her mother just gave birth and as the mother spends time healing and taking care of the newborn, J was brought to us. Her mother is unemployed and her father had occassional jobs. They live in a small room and they barely make ends meet. We have met J when she was just 2 weeks old and she spent 2 Christmases with us. She is treated like a family. We adore J like our own.
A neighbor told my mother that it is good karma to foster a child, even if we are not adopting her. She said that if I'm having difficulty getting pregnant, maybe fostering J will help add up good karma points. People in my community believes that adopting a child or even fostering one will tell the Universe that a couple is capable of bringing up their own child. There are many cases in our community wherein couples who've been trying to conceive for several years have adopted instead, thinking they would not be able to have a child of their own, and then a year or so later, got pregnant. It also happened to my colleague. They've been together for 10 years and had no plans of having a child and then she got pregnant after adopting a baby. They were not trying. The Heavens gave them their own baby.
Some people might raise their eyebrows at us for taking care of the child. It's hard work but we want to help and our house has so much joy now that J is there. Inay said I should "practice" taking care of a child. :)
We know that her parents will take her back soon. Parting with her will be difficult, especially with my parents. I guess this is what foster families need to go through.
I learned about Citiseconline through Bo Sanchez' newsletter. I attended their free seminars and got interested in investing in the stock market. The important term here is "investing". When you invest in the stock market, it means letting your money stay for a certain period of time. Regardless whether the market becomes bullish (up) or bearish (down), you will NOT take your investment until you reach the allotted time you set for your investment. You have to learn the skill to "invest and forget". To know more about EIP, visit www.citiseconline.com.
In 2009, I received my salary loan from SSS. I've heard that SSS members should make their SSS accounts active by applying loans so as to avoid other individuals of using your accounts. This is scary, if true. I received the check, already subtracted with 10% interest. I thought about whether spending the money or investing it. I decided to invest it.
In a personal finance article I've read, I've learned that when you get a windfall or extra money (as what happens to most employees), you should save it or better yet, invest it. Since I had no expected large expense in the horizon, I invested my SSS loan in EIP.
Every three months, I deposited a fixed amount to my EIP account until the loan was fully invested in the market. I only bought shares of a food conglomerate. This investment is for my retirement so I have no reason to withdraw my investment anytime soon.
Fast forward today. My shares now gains double-digits! I've beat inflation and the 10% interest from my salary loan. I cannot get this profit in a bank. This is an example on making my money work for me.
People I know now wished they tagged along when I opened my EIP account three years ago. If they did, they would be able to experience the thrill of seeing your money grow, with only minimal effort.
I've been quiet for some time here. The truth is I was sad and felt alone in the past months. When my Hubby started working, I asked myself, "What now?" We were not able to get pregnant and we would only have the time to do so again after 9 or 10 loooooong months. Holidays was spent smiling to everyone but myself, not attending family lunches and hiding from relatives and neighbors who would ask me the dreaded question, "Buntis ka na?"
The pregnancy and childcare books were left unread at the drawer. I stopped tracking my cycle and going to Sister Regina. I lost the drive to start a new phase in preparing myself for pregnancy. I did those things last year and still no baby. It was like studying very hard for an important test. And then failed. Again. Yes, I was close to depression, if not in that state already.
Now I'm trying to regain the joy in my heart. I'm reading (again) "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren and "Everyday a Friday" by Joel Osteen. These books are helping me realize that all is not lost. Now is not my time to have a baby. And as always, God's plans are always good and perfect.
To all my fellow TTC ladies, keep your head up!
