Taking zumba classes.

Zumba classes seem to be the way to go for those wanting to lose some weight. I’ve been thinking of joining one in town. But first, I have to get a comfortable pair of dancing shoes. I don’t want to hurt my feet or worse my ankles so I guess it’s really important to get the right pair of shoes. Since I don’t even want to consider taking myoswell, I think my best alternative is to exercise. So Zumba, here I come, lol!

Renovations.

HGTV is one of my favorite TV channels. It never fails to amaze me when they transform rooms from simple and outdated to modern and stylish. I have noticed that the focal point of every house is the kitchen so most people spend time and money keeping their kitchen updated. However, some would give too much importance to their bathrooms so I guess that’s the second room in the house that I’ve seen many people have spent time remodeling. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine just recently did a whole bathroom remodeling raleigh nc. She believes it would add value to the house which matters to them for they were planning to sell their house and move to a bigger one. It must be kind of stressful to supervise major renovations in the house but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end to see the transformation.

New found hobby.

I have never thought I’d enjoy driving as much as I do now. Originally from a country that has tons of public transportation, there was never really a need to learn how to drive. But I can’t say that is true here in the U.S. You need to be able to get around and learning how to drive was one of the most important things that I had to master since I became an immigrant. To be honest, it was not easy for me to build up courage and confidence to get on the road and drive. I used to dread driving. But like they always say, practice makes perfect. As the years go by, I was able to overcome my fear and starting to really enjoy being out and about without having to depend on my hubby to drive me around town. It is actually one of the things I look forward to every weekend, you know get out of the house and have some free “Me” time, do a little shopping and stuff like that. Helena is pretty much big as compared to the previous towns we’ve lived in. Hence, traffic here can get a little crazy sometimes. It used to make me nervous, you know, but I can’t let that fear overwhelm me. A simple GPS device would have been pretty handy since I am not yet familiar with every little street this town has. I know I don’t need a fancy gps fleet management system. I was thinking,  a Garmin 1350 LMT probably would be a good one to start with.

Transitioning to toddler bed.

My little munchkin just turned 17 months. Hubby and I have been debating over whether we should now transition him to a toddler bed or not. I am actually a bit paranoid about him getting hurt if he’ll be free to roam around his room. I still think a crib is the safest place for him to be. But I know it won’t be long before he discovers that he could climb out of the crib and could potentially hurt himself if he falls down. I don’t know. Perhaps, in a month, I may be able to convince myself that a toddler bed would be alright for him. I’m thinking of getting some new sports kids bedding if ever we will make that transition. I’m pretty sure the little guy would love it.

Soap Opera addict.

Have you also been following the teleserye, “Walang Hanggan”? Well, it’s part of my morning routine. I watch it on my laptop over a cup of cappuccino. I love that show. Every character is interesting. However, I’ve noticed, ever since that fraudulent paternity test of the male character came out, they seem to drag the episodes a bit too long. I mean it didn’t seem to be as interesting anymore as compared to the previous months. Oh well, I still follow the show though. Soap operas can be like that especially if they want to keep it running for a while longer. I just hope things will improve for the next week or so.

Carousel and Ice-cream.

We've heard about this carousel place and ice-cream parlor in town, so one beautiful weekend, we took our little guy out to this place. It's a nice, little place for kids and for the young at heart. However, with my kiddo, it's kinda hard to tell whether he enjoyed it or not, lol! Oh, I can see it in his eyes that he was pretty amazed with the carousel rides but when it was our time to ride in one, he was not very excited about it, lol! I had to hold him the whole time because he'd freaked out, lol! Oh well, maybe he'll do better next time.

Immediately after, we tried their supposedly home-made ice-cream. They come in a variety of flavors to choose from. I think mine was strawberry cheesecake while Jeff got the Java flavor. It was pretty good, actually! The baby had a taste of both of our ice cream and I think that made his day, lol!

Can I take it back?

Ok, now that the weather has started to get beautiful here in Montana, I began to second guess myself whether my idea to sell my pink bike was good or not. Oh well, I’ve had it for a couple of years but hadn’t really gotten much use of it, lol! That’s actually the reason why I wanted to get rid of it in the first place. However, I can’t honestly say that I have not thought about loading my bike in a bike rack, drive to the park or someplace where I can bike around to my little heart’s content. But I guess it won't happen until we'll get a new bike for me huh!

A musician's friend.

I’m very excited for Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year old Filipina Mexican finalist in American Idol this season. I’ve always believed in her just from the beginning. She just has an amazing vocals and her every performance on stage always left the crowd wanting for more. I don’t why but I’m really into great musical talents. I can’t sing to save my life, but I appreciate music and musical instruments. Unfortunately, the only musical instrument I’ve played ever though is a bandurria. It was back from my grade school days, lol! But of course I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano (little girl’s dream), but apparently it would just stay as a dream since I’ve never had lessons.

I think the new generation of musically-inclined fellas right now are quite lucky because there are quite a number of ways to learn how to play instruments without costing an arm and a leg. And in addition to that, musical instruments are readily available online with just a click of the mouse. As a matter of fact, I am quite impressed with the wide array of product selection in a musician’s friend website. Whether you’re just starting or a pro, you have access to Meet the Tech Experts Your Personal Shopping Assistants in the World of Technology. It is like your one stop shop for all your musical shopping needs. How awesome is that? They seem to have everything a budding artist needs. It's Mother's Day and they have some kind of a specials going on so you might not want to miss the chance!

Better safe than sorry.

Having a husband that works in an industrial plant is sometimes never easy. Well, I’m sure they observe proper safety regulations in the plant but it still makes me worried about him getting hurt while doing his job. He already had some minor mishaps in the past at work, no matter how much he tried to be very careful. Accidents happen. He hurt his back and cut his finger. It may not be a big deal to some but hey, the last thing you would want is to get injured. But that’s part of the risks he’s got to take by doing this job. Welding is one of the things he has to do as part of his job. Although, it’s not a daily basis thing but it’s something that’s not to be taken lightly. For one, you could easily hurt your eyes if not being careful. Using speedglas helmets with auto-darkening lens may be one good option before you even start to consider welding. Even if you only do welding as a hobby, it is still important to take extra precautionary measures.

Branching Out.

Authored by Rickey Combs

We upgraded our television package by logging onto http://www.cannonsatellite.com/. We have the tiniest little condo right now and I have enjoyed watching HGTV on it. I have gotten some really great organizational and space saving tips. We are only anticipating living in our little apartment for the next two years until my husband gets done with his residency, but being somewhere so small is a challenge. I saw a great idea on HGTV the other day. You can buy ottomans that are actually trunks. They are covered in fabric and cushions but the top opens up to lots of storage space! They even gave the website of a company that I could order it from and they come in lots of funky fabrics. Everything in our apartment is kind of boring in color because we wanted to make it look as big as we possibly could. Now, when the space saving ottoman comes in, the living room is really going to pop. I ordered a great green and blueprint. It is a little funky but I think that it is going to be exactly what we need. I have really been branching out since we started watching HGTV!

Great Old Downtown.

Amidst the chaos of moving and getting settled in, we've managed to sneak into our busy schedule a quick trip to the city's main street, Last Chance Gulch and of course to the old downtown of Helena. Like many other towns in Montana, Helena started out as a mining town. Founded by four men, all from Georgia, a.k.a. as the “Four Georgians”, these four men, rather desperate after searching throughout western Montana for gold and finding nothing, stumbled into the area that is now Helena. The gem of this area is the Walking Mall, a two block section of downtown without a street running through it. It features some quaint and upbeat shops that give residents and visitors alike a unique way to experience the history and the shopping in the area.

Before heading to downtown, we checked out one of the most magnificent piece of architecture I've ever seen. The Cathedral of St. Helena. I came from the land of great history and culture myself so I'm not new to seeing old churches. As a matter of fact, I got married in one which was built in the 1800's.

There are so much wonderful grade school memories in this church since I went to a Catholic school just behind this building so it was a really important choice for me to get married here.

Anyway, as I was saying, St. Helena's Cathedral here in Montana is splendid in its own way. I think I'm lucky to live in a city with an amazing church like this.

After admiring the intricate details of the church's facade, we head out to the great old downtown of Helena. Quite a bit different from the small towns that I've lived here in the U.S. It's obviously a place filled with rich culture and history. I can't believe I actually live here, lol! I mean this is like a place that we'd usually choose to go and visit when we want to take a break and have a mini-vacation. I can't wait for the weather to get really good so we can continue to explore the rest of Helena. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There's still so many things to explore here in Montana. And I'm excited to talk about those things in my blog.

Random memories.

There are things that bring back certain memories from the past. At least that is true for me. The other day, a song made me reminisce one of the most fun things we did back when Jeff and I we’re still dating. Baguio City in the Philippines is not just romantic but historical as well and we’re just ecstatic that we had the chance to go there. It’s up in the mountains so the cooler climate adds up to the beauty of the city. However, it’s a tourist trap so some things are overpriced, not to mention a lot of tourists flock in the most visited places so you have to be vigilant. But we did enjoy the experience. The vinyl gazebos at Camp John Hay was super nice and romantic. It truly is a place for couples that are in love.

Crossroads.

Thanks for the post from Rashad Townsend.

There are some music channels that I really don’t like because they play way too much programming that just isn’t music. One of those channels is CMT. I do like their countdown that they do in the mornings but for the rest of the day it is regular programming. I don’t understand it. One show on that channel that I do understand is Crossroads. This is a really neat concept because it pairs up two artists to play together, one is country and the other one would be from a totally different genre of music. The most recent one I have seen is Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett. At first glance this doesn’t sound like a good combination at all. How can Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett sound event remotely good together? You really need to check out Crossroads and you will understand. Just because an artist sings country doesn’t mean they can’t sing other genres they just choose not to for the public’s sake. Go to www.TVByDirect.com and find out when you can get your satellite dish installed so you can start watching Crossroads soon.

Swimming in winter.

It may have been snowing outside but it's a nice balmy 84 degrees inside the hotel's indoor pool. So we decided to enjoy the hotel's amenities. What a great way to while away the time! Caleb had fun in the water. I really enjoyed their hot jetted whirlpool. It was very relaxing. A quick dip in the cool swimming pool afterwards made me feeling rejuvenated. We truly loved our stay at the Marriott. The staff was very friendly. Caleb liked to flirt with the front desk staff, housekeeping and even with guests, haha! My oh my! We had a great time in that hotel. Given a chance, we'd love to stay there again.

Is it too late?

Have you sometimes ever wonder what happens if you seriously pursue something in your life? I’m sure most of us have regrets with the way we handled things in the past one way or another. Now and again, I find myself curious if I would have made it to some good accounting firms such as cpa raleigh nc, had I been serious with my accounting course in college. I felt that I haven't really done my best when I was still in college. I don't know. I mean I'm not really great with numbers but I wasn't flunking or anything. It's just that I didn't have the motivation to pursue that field after graduation. Now that I'm in the US, I've realized that accounting jobs seem to be a good work option. Oh well, we'll see. A little refresher course won't hurt. I might be able to do some entry-level accounting clerical work in the future. Who knows?