Mira's Joint Anniversary Give-away Contest!!

Random Thoughts and A Moment to Exhale, A joint blog anniversary contest is now going on, on Mira's blogs. For more info on how to win these fabulous prizes pls. visit her two blogs as mentioned above.



1st PRIZE -
$25 - c/o Random Thoughts
Customized Blog Layout (blogger platform) c/o My Web-Blog Designs
1 Swarovsky Bracelet c/o Yen's Handmades [Click here to see the ITEM]
$20 + 2000 EC credits c/o Windmill on the Hill
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o My Life's Journey to Success
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Things I Did Not Know Before
$10 + 500 EC credits c/o Unique Ideas For Your Beach Weddings
2000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Night Clicks
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o NetFreeSource
3000 - EC credits c/o Random Thoughts
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Dashing Beauty
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Tales of a Pinay Single Mommy
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

2nd PRIZE
$20 - c/o Mira's Web Journal
2500 - EC credits c/o Mira's Web Journal
2000 - EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
20GB Web Hosting c/o http://angelic-melody.net/ + 500EC credits
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o My Countryhome
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Live Love Pink
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Samantha's Own
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o 1716 South
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Garage Sale
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweety Tots

3rd PRIZE -
$15 - c/o A Moment to Exhale
3000 - EC credits c/o Big Boys Have Toys Too
2000 - EC credits c/o A Taste of Both Worlds
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Kharlota dot Com
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o A Girl for All Status
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o A Fil-Am Journey
1 year text link ad c/o http://glamorous-heart.info
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Symphony of Love
1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Sweepstakes Girl
1 Photo Pop Art Make-over c/o Sweet...Pretty...Naughty

4th PRIZE -
$10 - c/o My Barefoot Journey
2000 - EC credits c/o Mommy's Little Corner
2000 - EC credits c/o My Online Paradise
2000 - EC credits c/o Kinda Life of Mine
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Just About Anything
1 month text link ad Thomas Travel Tales
1 month text link ad Great Finds and Deals

5th PRIZE -
2000 - EC credits c/o Wife of a Warrior
3000 - EC credits c/o Life's Sweets and Spices
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Simply Irresistible
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o My Sweet Haven
1 month text link ad Work At Home Jobs
1 month text link ad Erlinda‘s Wandering Thoughts

6th PRIZE -
2000 - EC credit c/o The Solitairy Love
1500 - EC credit c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o My Kitchen Table
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Kalidadis
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Cooking is Fun
1 month text link ad CompTechGadgets.com
1 month text link ad Healthy Living and Lifestyle

7th PRIZE -
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Simplement Belles
1000 - EC credits + 1 month 125x125 ad space c/o Moi et mon univers!
1000 - EC credit c/o Scrappy Mommy1000 - EC credits c/o Dashing Smiles
1000 - EC credits c/o Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink
1000 - EC credits c/o One at a Time
1 month text link ad Thomas Web Links
1 month text link ad Bohol Paradise

8th PRIZE -
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from My Daily Sunset
1000 - EC credits c/o My Kitchen
1000 - EC credits c/o My Life and Family Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o My Whole New World
1000 - EC credits c/o Definitely Maybe
500 - EC credits c/o I Thought So
1 month text link ad Batuananons

9th PRIZE -
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from Lovely Pink
1000 - EC credits c/o Small Side Bits
1000 - EC credits c/o In His Steps
1000 - EC credits c/o Moments of My Life
1000 - EC credits c/o My Crossroads
1 month text link ad Filipino Online Community

10th PRIZE -
1000 EC + 1 month 125x125 ad space from Hobby and Such by Carlota
1000 - EC credits c/o My Life's Adventure
1000 - EC credits c/o Wonderful Things In Life
1000 - EC credits c/o The Joy of Life Forever
500 - EC credits c/o Life's Journey
1 month text link ad from Nita's Random Thoughts

11th PRIZE -
1000 - EC credits c/o Medan Daily
1000 - EC credits c/o Wiehanne Lounge
1000 - EC credits c/o Simply WP
1000 - EC credits c/o Everything Under the Sun
1 month text link ad from Nita's Corner

12th PRIZE -
1500 - EC credits c/o A Moment to Exhale
1000 - EC credits c/o My Barefoot Journey
1000 - EC credits c/o EastCoastLife

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Baby, It's cold outside, Brrr its cold? We are experiencing yet another cold days again here in New England. Ahh, we still have to go out, go to church and do some errands. Bundle up again...Just curious to know, What is the coldest temperature you have ever felt? Mine, its -10 (wind chill not included.)

A to Z Alphabet Tag

Thanks to Lanie of My Whole New World for sharing me this tag.


Here's the tag (just simply choose):
A - Attached or Single? - Married
B - Best Friend? - Crystia
C - Cake or pie? - a cake maybe, not really a fan of both.
D - Day of choice? - anyday my DH is home
E - Essential item? - a very small brown purse & my eyeglasses
F - Favorite Color? - green & sky blue
G - Gummy Bears or Worms? - Gummy Bears
H - Hometown? - Phils.
I - Indulgence? - can't think of anything
J - June or July? - July
K - Kids ? - Yes
L - Life is not complete w/o - Family & friends
M - Marriage date? - Dec. 20
N - Number of magazine subscriptions - 2 (National Geographics & Popular Mechanics)
O - Orange or apple? - Both
P - Phobias? - none
Q - Quotes? - No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
R - Reason to smile? -My family
S - Season of choice? - Spring and early Fall
T - Tag people - Shy, Samantha
U - Unknown fact about me - ??
V - Vegetable? - okra, eggplant & a lot more
W - Worst habit? - procrastinating (now that I'm a SAHM)
X - Xray or ultrasound? - X-Ray
Y - Your favorite foods? - tender & juicy steak, eggplant parmesan
Z - Zodiac sign - Pisces

My little girl's favorite toy

Of all the toys she has these wooden blocks become her favorite. We spent a lot buying toys that we thought she would enjoy but this one makes her happy. These blocks are really price less. This proves that you really don't need to spend a lot of money to make kids happy. Her imagination is the limit here. She had those when she was 2 years old and still enjoying it until now. These were obtained as a fire starter, a huge sack for a couple of dollars, but she insisted on playing with them when she saw DH make a little stack to start a fire in the wood stove.

Surviving severe cold weather

Much of the country periodically experiences severe and sustained cold weather, with snowfalls interspersed with periods of melting and freezing. This can inflict considerable damage on homes.
Here are some tips and steps you can take to make insurance losses less likely during extended severe weather.
*Keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free from snow and ice.
*Watch for ice dams near gutter downspouts. Keep gutters free of leaves and debris so melting snow and ice can flow freely. Ice dams can cause water to build up and seep into your house.
*Keep the house heated to a minimum of 65 degrees. The temperature inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 65 degrees will not keep the inside walls from freezing.
*Identify the location for the main water shutoff in your home. Find out how it works in case you have to use it.
*Open hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly. Keeping water moving within the pipes will prevent freezing.
*If you haven’t already, make sure all hoses are disconnected from outside spigots.
*If your garage is attached to your house, keep the garage doors closed. The door leading to the house is probably not as well-insulated as an exterior door.
*If ice forms on tree limbs, watch for dead, damaged or dangerous branches that could break and fall because of ice, snow or wind and damage your house, a car, or injure someone walking near your property.
*If you use fireplaces, wood stoves and electric heaters, watch them closely and make sure they are working properly.
*Remember to close the flue in your fireplace when you’re not using it.
*If you have to leave your home on a trip, ask a neighbor to check the house regularly. If there is a problem with frozen pipes or water leakage, attending to it quickly could mean far less damage.
*If you plan to be away for an extended period of time, have the water system drained by a professional to keep pipes from freezing or bursting.

A worst-case scenario

*If you discover that pipes are frozen, don’t wait for them to burst. Take measures to thaw them immediately, or call a plumber for assistance.
*If your pipes burst, first turn off the water and then mop up spills. You don’t want the water to do more damage than it already has.
*Call your agent or company as soon as you can. An insurance adjuster doesn’t need to see the spill before you take action. However, he or she will want to inspect any damaged items.
*Make temporary repairs and take other steps to protect your property from further damage. Remove any carpet or furniture that can be further damaged from seepage.
*Make a list of the damaged articles.
*Save the receipts for what you spend—including additional living expenses if you must leave your home until repairs are completed—and submit them to your insurance company for reimbursement.
*Standard homeowners policies will cover most of the kinds of damage that result from a freeze. For example, if house pipes freeze and burst or if ice forms in gutters and causes water to back up under roof shingles and seep into the house. You would also be covered if the weight of snow or ice damages your house.
*However, most policies do not cover backups in sewers and drains or flood damage, which can also happen in winter. To be covered for flooding, you need a policy from the National Flood Insurance Program, while coverage for sewers and drains is generally offered as an endorsement to a standard homeowners insurance policy.
*If your home suffers water damage, it is important to make sure that it is properly dried and repaired to prevent any potential problem with mold. Remember, mold can not survive without moisture.
*Check with your agent or company so you’ll be sure what your policy covers.

What trip would be complete without a gooey cheese steak?

Our trip to Philly won't be complete if we don't stop by at either Geno's or Pat's steak house. About 150 people were lined up just to eat the famous cheese steak in Philly. My DH was one of them.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

After 3 weeks of a very long school vacation, my DD was so excited to go back to shool again. It was icy this morning and the walk way was so slippery. It was so hard for us to get to the car so I decided to carry her just to be safe. I was surprised when she said "thank you momma, you really know what to do to make me safe." I felt so good and hugged her tight, being appreciated for the small thing I did to my 5 year old DD made my day.

Merry Christmas!!

Kids love snow...

Ice storm in Central Massachusetts

It was midnight of Dec. 12 when we heard the loud noise from branches and trees breaking and falling. Power was off. About once a minute there'd be a loud BANG followed by a rustling sound and finally a crash as a branch or tree broke, fell through other branches and landed on the ground. It was eerily quiet between the BANGs. It was continous loud sound that made us awake the whole night. DH go out to investigate, and start a fire in the wood stove, knowing from experience that the power would not come back quickly. He investigate headlights stopped in the road.
People were stopped because of a large birch blocking the road, all was OK, sort of. They had a friend with a chainsaw coming.

In the morning, ice covered everything. No power, of course. The birch in the road was cleared, but another tree mostly blocked the road, but people could drive around it on the shoulder. DH decide to cut it enough to clear the road and get the chainsaw. The saw brought out two neighbors and they all worked to remove the tree.
Lots of large branches down in the yard.

I kept on visiting my littlegirl's bedroom because of the sound and the branches that fell off the ground made me worry so much. Our house was surrounded with trees, luckily no trees near our house fell down except the big branches close to the garage and the barn. The storm left us 8 days without electricity. Damage was severe in the city and some parts of Fitchburg still dont have power. We are lucky enough to have the firewood stocked up last summer. I am glad DH went crazy this summer cutting firewood, although the reason he did so was that he expected heating oil to cost $4-5/gallon this winter.

Bouncing Bananas!

Did you know the banana plant is not a tree? It's actually the world's largest herb! There are two types of bananas: the fruit or sweet banana and the plantain. The fruit banana is the one we are most familiar with. We eat it when it turns yellow and develops a sweet taste with the soft texture. The plantain is a cooking banana that contains less water and thus tends to have a dryer texture.
Banana seem to change from green to yellow to black almost overnight. This change in color represents the ripening process of bananas. Unfortunately, many kids don't care for bananas once they get those dark spots. Once the banana has turned yellow, you can slow down the ripening process by placing them in the refrigerator. The skin will turn black, but inside the banana is still fine for up to about two weeks. Another option to save those browning bananas is to peel them, cut them into chunks, and then wrap them in plastic. Tuck them into the freezer and use as needed for smoothies, or defrost and masah for baking. I usually wait until banana is overripe so I can make a delicious banana bread which is my DD's favorite. When baking, you can substitute an equal amount of pureed banana for the same amount of oil in the recipe. For example, if brownie recipes call for 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, try a 1/2 cup of pureed banana instead. You'll save 120 grams of fat or 1,080 calories in the recipe.

Computer Problem...

For the past few days I can't do anything with my computer, it makes me nervous 'coz I have new files and pictures that are not save yet. I didn't do anything with my PC until my DH got home last night to fix the problem and had him back-up all the files. He did it but now it takes forever to load and dropping EC takes time. Anyways, to my co-bloggers who visit my site I will reciprocate as much as I can.