Why I Bid Goodbye in Purchasing Belle de Jour Power Planner or Acquiring a Free Starbucks Planner

I am a great great fan of planners ever since I set my foot in the corporate world. From that time my boss gave me a Guess planner, I am really hooked up to the help it gave me for my day-to-day life.

Am I addicted to always have this kind of notebook? Yes! I feel so incomplete if I do not have a planner. I can't live without it but mid-year of 2013, I decided to shake off that feeling of emptiness and left my 2013 BDJ planner at home.  

Here are the reasons why I do not buy any planners from now on:
1. I realized that the Starbucks or coffee cafe free planner really costs me a lot of money, yes it is free but for me who is not fan of their coffees, it will take me about a thousand pesos to have that for free.

2. BDJ Planners is a very cute planner and a lot of vouchers inside. I saw the 2013 issue and I am really disappointed. Dati sa Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Ace Water Spa bawi mo na yung almost Php600.00 mo. Ngayon, di na ganun kaganda and valuable ang mga vouchers inside. 

3. Planners are so heavy inside my bag, taking it out made a big difference on the weight. Now, I just use the S Note for my doodles or save the links I need to remember in my phone.

4. The ultimate "why" I bid goodbye ay, now that I am already married, its my duty to let my husband know my schedules and vise versa. So instead to buy a pocket planner for him, I went back to my college days where I do not have money to buy those planner and yet need to have an organise myself to finish all my projects before the target date.
From June 2013, we use my own version of calendar. I usually use recycled paper  then use excel to create a table. No fuss, just spend for a small amount of ink in the printer and tadahhhhh! Two persons, in one piece of paper, can see all the events. We can give way to each other and not compromise any schedules.

Maybe this will help the couples out there. 

Oh, this is just above our light switch so we can see all the must-to-do before facing a new day!. :) 

MONSTERS UNITE

Yes! I am a monster.

I am a strict and all-must-know girlfriend. He do not have any privacy on me and I have the "I am the only right attitude". I nagged him, even our neighbors heard I am cursing him.

No-secrets policy. Before he does anything he must ask for my permission. If I cannot go to an event or place he should stay home too. I want phone calls before he sleeps and a ring before he could open his eyes from slumber. I want a date weekly, monthsary letters and surprises. I am super sensitive. 

I am not a touchy person, public display of affection is a big NO. I am not a pleaser. I want all my commands will be executed in a second. Everything should be done for me and only me.. I want to be his center of love and attention.. No other people must penetrate our space. 

...And I met Abbey, again. A self-made monster!.. A sensitive, "us" policy person, must know all, he wants all of my attention and time, loves surprises, missives are overflowing, respect is a must. He never went to a place or event without me, communication is compulsory, pleaser, fond of PDA, he wants to be always prioritized. A commander. 

Yes we are both monsters... monsters united in love.

My Card ... Our Best Friend

I know guys that you know that credit cards really create magic. Just a simple swipe all things you want will be instantly yours. But do you know many people now suffer because of using of those plastics and many are maximizing and enjoying having it? 

I am BDO credit card holder for I think almost 8 years but my credit limit never increased. I can feel their fury on me and I am loving it  haha. Every time I swipe my card, I see to it that I have already the money in my bank account. Why? I want the amount to stay there until end of month to increase the deposit and could make more savings interest. Then I
will pay it in full. No balances is equal to no interest, no extra charges and fees. I also demanded to waive off their annual fee, and they agreed. 

Here in Singapore, my husband have Citibank SMRT card. Since it is his first time to use one, I educate him how to manage it. With a good credit background many banks now offering him to get a loan which we always refused. We also received great points that we can redeemed for dining and grocery vouchers.

I treat my card as my best friend. Never borrow money unless really necessary and always pay all your debt or else the friendship will be torn and wasted. 

You? How do you treat your credit cards? If you don't want your life a living nightmare do not use your credit card to spend today your tomorrow's money.

Target Achieved

This May was really a mind-blowing month for me and my hubby.

When 2013 stepped up on our lives, I told my husband that on this year we must focus more on our careers and money matters. Last two years of our marriage, we promised to enjoy and spend time with each other's company. We traveled, explore different kinds of foods and attended events, and this year we agreed to focus on our jobs and investments.

I really thought that it will take us a year to achieve our career target, but only 5 months, Almighty One blessed and granted the desires of our heart. Abbey was promoted as team lead in UBS, I am so happy, I know he deserved it...I am envy of him, while I received a salary increment and Abbey is so envious of that. Haha!

In investments, Abbey now religiously buying shares of his choice, while I am still torn between two companies to complete my "Power of Five" firms. I received dividends and Abbey may received his second on last week of June. Another investment is now materializing, we are expecting that to be finished before October. :)

Our hopes were blessed. I am so lucky to have Abbey.... to have him on my side while placing each piece of our puzzle for our target retirement age.

Thanks to our employers and colleagues who believed on us. Thanks to the community that keeps us informed, well educated and updated. And most specially, gratitude to our family & friends for continuous prayers and support on our plans.

The Power of Giving

Do you want to receive more?, then give more. I am not saying that you must only give to people you wish to receive something, well where is the wisdom and holiness in that?

You want to be loved? Learned to give more love unto others?

You want to receive a ton of blessings? Be a blessings to others.

You want your business to be successful? Give the right benefits for your employees.

You want to acquire a great knowledge? Teach what you already know.

You want to be respected? Respect even a child.

You want to be happy? Be happy for your enemy's achievements.

You want to be successful in every aspect of life? Pray to Holy Above and take care of your parents.

Be a generous giver and you will be a great receiver.

Paulo Lapuz Design

Do you need logo for your blog, company, wedding or birthday?Do you need people who will design your articles in magazines or newspapers?

Well many of our readers astounded when we decided to create a facebook page for our blogs, they are not shocked by the idea of creating a fb page but the logo I posted as a display photo.

As they were really happy to see the new logo as Abbey and I called it, inquiries also poured in. Maybe they are thinking that me or hubby designed it, haha. Well they are all wrong, we both do not have an imaginative mind to think about that and also we do not have an artistic hand to portray it.

It was designed by Paulo of Paulo Lapuz Design. He is one of Abbey's cousin based in Long Beach, CA. Some people asked how much we pay him, well he crafted this logo for us free.

Please do send this kind guy an email at paulo@paulolapuzdesign.com. Hmm, maybe he can give also free service. Haha!

7 out of 10 Marital Break Ups Are Caused By Money Problems

Yes, you read it right 7 out of 10 couples breakup is due to money. So, are you one of those who broke their vows? Are you just a couple for better and not for worse? Well, this is not limited to legally married, boyfrien-girlfriend relationship is not exempted with these.

A lot of girls jumping out once they saw a wealthier man that they can be with. Now love is not so important unlike the last decades, how much someone is earning is more valuable in finding a partner now. The common term for this is "practicality".

Couple finances is a big issue as of today. Who will handle one's money, who will do the budgeting and how much they will help to each other's family. Me and my hubby never talked about this before tying the knot. Unspoken words is better than setting many rules.

Me and husband have different accounts, we handle our own salaries. We shares our blessings with our own pockets. But everything we do regarding money was placed before the scrutiny of each before we do the dealings.

As I can say, the key thing here is communication. Let your partner know how much you both earn, how much you spend. Transparency will never be a hindrance for a clearer future as husband and wife.

Miles Away

Isn't nice to see all your siblings, hug them, sing along with them, play jokes, laugh and reminisce together and I am really glad to see the big smiles and grins from my husband's face when he saw his sisters, brother and parents. He really did missed them a lot.

Sis Abi is staying at Chicago, Sis Beth at Bulacan and RJ works at Abu Dhabi, now Mama and Papa's Visa for America is out and now getting ready for their flight. Abbey's happiness faded and the sky of Singapore cries with him from early morning until night of 19th of January '13.

I can say that messengers and photos helps cure homesickness but cannot deeply suffice the space in our hearts.

Now, I appreciate more that my parents and siblings are just only 3 hours plane ride, that anytime I can or they can visit us here in Dover.

All the best Ate Abigail, Kuya Victor, RJ, and Jhen. We'll see you soon Ate Beth, Kuya Bong and DomDom. Everything will be okay Mama Sweet and Papa RS. We are looking to be with all of you, in HIS perfect time.

Make or Break

Social networks will either make or break you. The primary vision of this sites is to you unite and connect each people we want to, but some of us abused the functions of those.


I heard a lot of story how a long lost people saw and talk each other again, many people got their love story through facebook and many news and discoveries were read due to daily updates on their walls. But all those good things have an opposite and dark side of this facebook. Many people's heart was broken up, many studies was failed, many friends separated their ways, families on angst, many identity theft was done, many lies, and so on.

There are few times that I want to delete my account, why?,  all I see on people's update are their rants about their siblings, parents, studies, job and most specially about their relationship to opposite sex. Even the TV patrol and 24 Oras pages were unliked due to almost every hour updating about negative things in Philippines.

Several times I asked my husband but he opposed the idea of deleting the account, this is the easiest way to connect and have the fresh updates from our siblings and families and to propagate what happening in our blogs. So the solution we took was to unchecked all the news feeds that coming from unnecessary people in our accounts.

I hope many people will use networking sites correctly. Think hard before posting guys. ;)

Blessed To Have An Options

Luck? No! I am blessed... So blessed to have an outstanding parents, a very hardworking mom and dad.

To tell all my readers, I have three siblings and they were given each a lumber store to manage. Well I am thankful for that family business that was from my grandparents, from there we grew up and exposed in managing people and money but as the saying goes, mother knows best, and here I am, stressing all my effort to work for a company that I didn't own. In short, they don't gave me a store to manage. Haha. It's okay, doing business is not my forte. :)

So yes, I work for different companies, yes all the success and yes, all difficulties from it was seen by my parents. They knew how I tried my limits up to the extent that I can be jailed from it. Haha.

So when I went here in Singapore, as I told to my last post, I had culture-shock and tried for months to cope up, but my grip on the happenings is not enough, and when I knew that I am totally burned out, I called my parents, tears flowing non-stop and all I can say was "Can i resign?"; they answered, calmed as ever, "You can. Go back here. Rest. Still we have a living to support you." When I am breaking up to my firm stand. my parents are always there to catch me. Now,  I am married, the Almighty added another person to take care of me. That time when Abbey entered our room, saw me talking with my parents and clearing all the tears, he just looked at me with soft eyes and before I hang up the phone, he asked me to hand it over and  talked with my mom and dad. He wrapped his arms around me tight and say, "We can live here even you don't have a work. Print a resignation letter. Take your time to rest. It is okay for me if you do or do not have a job. I will do everything to provide all your needs." After hearing that, water flows again on cheeks and I felt the security from my ever loving husband.

I am really blessed to have an options, work or not to work, but after 4 months staying at home, I felt so idle, so dumb and then when offer came last December, I immediately grabbed with Abbey's approval.

Prayed to have kind boss and easy-to-get-along colleagues. Answered prayer. Another experience to ponder. Truly blessed, my life... my career, my love and my family.

3 Days of Blindness

What a wonderful world!, isn't? But how will someone say this phrase if they are blind. Black all around. I was moved by this article of Helen Keller  first published last ---. Helen made a list a of the things she wants to do if she'll be given a sense of sight in three days. Reading that, I am quite shocked, there are so many things that I am taking for granted. Actually almost everything around me was not appreciated.

I know, these eyes is a vital part of human being but If Almighty will take out my eyes, what will I do in three days. Just thinking, my gosh, all negative thoughts rushing down in me. But I need to look on a brighter side.

Okay, on the first day, I will wake up 7am and stay at my room, I will embrace the full hour of silence. Then I will ask my husband to come near me and I will try to memorize his face features, I will try to communicate with him and ask him all questions I can ask and memorize the ups and downs of his voice. I will try to determine if he is happy, sad, sincere through the words and voice that will left his mouth, that will last until noon and my whole afternoon, I will ask my niece and nephews to gather around at my parents place and all I want to do is hear all their voices. All the shouts of joy of the kids and laughter's of reminiscing. We will take dinner and savor all the aroma of the foods. I will eat all the food I can take and slowly chew every bit of it. In evening I will ask my husband to play some Mozart music and ask him to teach me how to find my boxes of teas and how to prepare it for myself.

Second day, I will ask my friends to bring me to a beach, I will sunbathe. I want to feel the morning rays of the sun and  hear the sounds of gushing waves. After lunch I nap just outside a cottage. Why outside? I want to feel the summer breeze. Around dawn I want me and my friends help me to stroll along the shore, I want to feel the hotness of every grains of the sand on my feet. On dinner I will ask them to build a bonfire and have a dinner and sip some red wine. I will spend all my time to listen to their stories and I will just move mouth to speak once they ask me. Haha.

On my 3rd day, I want to be one with nature, I want to go to a park and want to conquer my fear to lizards. Eeeeeee! I want to inhale fresh oxygen from the plants. My afternoon to my last hour of darkness, I want to be with my husbands arm. I want to listen to the Words from Bible.

As I made a thought for that idea, who says darkness is sadness? Now, I will start to appreciate more on the things around me before the unseen comes. Why? everything I can see here in earth is temporal and the unseen is yet to come and eternal.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. - 2 Corinthians 4:18

What are you looking for?

How will you define happiness for yourself? How will you know if you really like something and it will suffice all your needs.


In life, many people are so sad because they are telling to themselves how unfortunate they are having such miserable life. They are always coming up and compare what they do not have to what others have.


As I always say to my friends, "you can't have it all". So why drowning yourself in a shadow of enviousness? Maybe you can't have it because the Almighty sees that you cannot be a good man if HE will give that things to you.


Stop comparing, work harder for what you want and be contented of what you have for now. Or you can do what I had done. You choose, give up one thing and ask for something you really dear to have. Then pray hard with all your heart and explicate. You might not get it as soon as you want or you might not get it at all. But at least you tried. Sacrifice one, then win one. As they say there three answers in a prayer... Yes, not now, and HE have a better idea.

But be careful what you wish for. There is no space for regrets. :)

Burning Bridges

No, I am not just talking about man-woman relationship, this is to regard on all the relationship we are having. Pero oo nga, medyo mas applicable ito sa mga mag-on tapos naghiwalay.

Burning bridges is to permanently and unpleasantly end your relationship with a person or organization.

So why burn all the communications and all the past? Bakit? Hmmm, am I acting weird if I will say that I am still talking with my exes? Not constant but still we can talk anything under the sun. Even big quarrels we had eh nakakatuwa na  napaguusapan. Mga kalokohan at gaano kamahal ang isa't-isa nuon. Siguro di lng tlga ako marunong o di ako sanay na bigla ko na lng di kakausapin ang mga dating nakarelasyon. 

Sa office, hmmm, customs or import/export business is not so big, and I am thinking gnun din sa ibang field. Bakit mo puputulin ang magandang relasyon sa mga ka-officemates mo nuon dahil lng sa pagreresign mo? Ahmm, unless you do a huge mistake with your jagorns. Well, I am just thinking, I resigned sa company but not as a good colleague. Sabi nga sa pier, maliit lng ang customs, magkikita kita pa din tyo sa lamesa ng mga customs officers. Haha! 

You will never know what will happen next, so do not burn bridges. Masarap kaya na madami kang masasabi na khit hndi matalik na kaibigan eh mga taong makakausap at kahit papano ay kapalagayan mo na ng loob at kilala ka bilang tunay na ikaw. Nakakatuwa!