friday, friday

It's Friday.

And a ton of chores await me.

Back when I was an office drone, Friday was my favorite day of the week simply because it meant that I didn't have to work the following day.

Now, Friday is just like any other day because unlike office work, chores never end. 

There'd still be laundry to do tomorrow. 

Dishes to wash. 

Food to cook. 

Clean clothes to fold and store. 

A baby to take care of.

But I don't mind. 

I still love Friday. It's another day I get to be a wife and mom.

catch-up

I've neglected this blog for a while because real life has been keeping me lazy busy.

For starters, Ziv cut his two lower front teeth a few days ago. I was stressed out by his crankiness I didn't find myself to be in the mood to write anything. I'm so glad the teething drama is over now and he's back to being chirpy. I hope (crossing fingers!!!) the next time a tooth comes in he won't be as affected by it as the first time. 

My two-teethed boy is happy again!

I've also been trying to organize around here. I already managed to get rid of our old things and sent them to the Philippines via LBC. My sis will try to make some money off selling my old clothes, shoes and bags. I also sent back Ziv's too-small clothes and an unused rocker so we could give them to our laundry lady's grandchild. Indeed, another man's trash (not that our old stuff is in a garbage-y condition) is another's treasure!

I was able to tackle the common room too. Threw some stuff, kept a lot. Now the bed is actually a bed, not Smokey Mountain, and the floor has reemerged!

The common room, before and after

There are still a couple of things I need to figure out, like where to keep our seldom-used-but-still-needed things. Buying new cabinets for storage is out of the question so I've got to be creative, but the stuff at Organize.com are making me drooooool!

Oh, I also set up the Christmas tree over the weekend. Ziv was so happy when he first saw it. We turned out the lights and that kept him occupied for a good half hour. He just sat on his high chair and soaked all the details in.

Our humble Christmas tree at our former dining area

We hung the parol too. It worked but after a few seconds, its plug blew up! It set off the fuse so we didn't have electricity for a minute or two. That parol is three years old and made our three Christmases in the old apartment more colorful. It certainly didn't die in vain.

Now I shall leave with a video called Moments, which was produced by Everynone. I love how they captured the tiny moments we usually don't pay attention to. These microseconds actually add up and make up one big life. If we are completely present, we'll realize how beautiful those moments and our life really is.

Watch. I hope it will inspire you to appreciate every moment.

Moments from Everynone on Vimeo.

crunching numbers

Woops! There it is. 

Smacking me in the face right now is the truth our new monthly budget and it hurts (doesn't it always?). 

It's making me nervous, stressed and scared, too.  

Our monthly flat rental will be going up by 125 percent and it will be taking up a huge chunk of my dear husband's income. I've listed down all the essentials and after computing how much we'll be spending on those, we're left with zero nada zilch for incidentals, such as dining out, shopping and even emergencies. The dining out and the shopping we can live without but life's unforeseen circumstances? How can we avoid that?

Yikes!!! *faint*

I guess we could've been more prudent in setting aside for our future (kase travel ng travel at kain ng kain sa labas at shopping ng shopping!). Yes, Suze Orman, I hear yah! We deserve a serious talkin' to.

Numbers have always scared me that's why I didn't shift to economics. Little did I know I'll be lookin' them right in the eye now that I'm a housewife! Anyway, crunching these numbers made me realize I may have to go back to work as soon as possible. When that will be will of course be determined by our new boss, who will be coming on board in about two months. But that would mean taking him to day care or hiring a nanny, both of which - you guessed it - will cost money too. 

Oh dear Lord. Help us.

I am thankful though (and will always be) that we have money to spend and that my husband has been tirelessly working to be able to provide for our family (of two, soon to become three). The past is over (so no blaming for yesterday's shopping, eating and travelling sprees) and the future is ahead of us (the bun is still in the oven). We need to focus on the now because that's all we've got. This is the situation and even if it's challenging, we'll face it (as a team!). We need to prioritize our expenses and take steps to make living on a single income (at least for a couple more months) more manageable. 

Right, B? ;)

I'll definitely breastfeed so we don't need to spend on formula.

Hmmm, but I wonder if we should get a room mate. 

Or maybe I should just switch to prepaid mobile again. 


Or unsubscribe to cable TV?

Or or or or all of the above?

___
Photo: "Coins" by iprole; downloaded from stock.xchng

praying for a flat

We're spending our last 37 days here in our Upper East Coast Apartment, which has been our home for three years. Living here has been great - the area is lovely; it's close to a lot of good eating places; there are supermarkets nearby, and parks too. But our contract ends soon so the hunt for a new flat is on.


Not yet, really. The agents we've contacted so far say it's still quite early as most of the vacant flats are immediately available.


Now I summon all the forces of the Universe to help us find: 

• a two-bedroom apartment that is within our budget
• preferably renovated, or at least well-maintained and have modern furnishings
• airy and windy
• with nice neighbors
• in the following towns: Ang Mo Kio, Yishun, Yio Chu Kang or Bishan
• with a kind, easy-to-deal with landlord

I know this flat exists and is already out there somewhere. We just have to find it! 

new year cleanup

A few weeks ago, I cleared my closet of clothes, bags and shoes I haven't used for a while and rid our bedside table of books I've been meaning to read but haven't, packed them all in a box and sent them to the Philippines. The other day I deleted all e-mails I received and sent in 2009, then today I unsubscribed from the newsletters I receive almost daily, mostly from job sites. I also just removed a stack of old InStyle, Simply Her, Shape and various airline magazines from the cabinet in the living room and from my magazine holder here in the bedroom.


I wonder why I've kept my stuff for so long. I guess, even if I'm sort of zen about life and have read Eckhart Tolle and listened to Oprah, I still get a sense of security in holding on to stuff. Life is just so unpredictable after all you'll never know when you're gonna need your outdated magazines or when that size 10 dress will fit you again, right? But who am I kidding? All I'm really getting are dust and cobwebs and limited storage space.  


And so I clean. I purge. The new year is just the perfect time to do these things. Besides, we're scheduled to move house at the end of February. The baby's coming soon too and we need to make room for him.   


It feels to let go of stuff. It's liberating, and life just feels lighter and seems more spacious when there is no clutter or anything unnecessary in your midst. Letting go allows us "to finally turn the page, the entire page, not just dog-ear it, and move on," as The Universe told me today.


So this year, I resolve to streamline my life. No more clutter. Buy only what I need and will actually use instead of buying impulsively. Borrow things that can be borrowed, like books and magazines. And in general, to just stick with the basics. 


Here's to a clutter-free 2011.