Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Christmas with the Lords.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Christmas is not just for the kids. Well, I'd like to believe that otherwise Santa would not bother to get me something for the holidays, lol! But I do believe that kids should come first on Christmas time. So with the help of Santa, Caleb received all the nice toys a 3-year old could have asked for, lol!

I still miss the way we do celebrate Christmas in the Philippines though, but I now have my own family and I think our little guy deserves all the special things on this day. I cooked some Filipino dishes so I won't have to feel so homesick, lol! Opening of presents was awesome especially for the little kiddo. I thought he had the best day ever. It's a joy to watch him jump from one present to another. I was happy with the presents that I got on the other hand. Hubby did great. I got everything on my wish list. Yay! Below are some photos taken during the holidays. It was indeed a great Christmas for us.








Friday, November 29, 2013

Happy 6th to us.


This was a long overdue post. I haven't had the chance to talk about our 6th wedding anniversary in the U.S. which happened last month. We were married for the first time in a small Christian ceremony in Arkansas in 2007. I said for the first time because two years after that, we eventually got married in a grand Catholic wedding in the Philippines. But that's not what this post is about, lol!

Many may have known that our love story was one of those precious, time-tested long distance relationship. We endured the hardships and struggles brought by a long-distance, 2-different culture love affair. But we made it this far, don't we? I think it's just sweet to reminisce those early days when we were together. And one special part of it was our wedding. I am just grateful to God for giving us each other. Surely, the road wasn't all smooth and straight but that's how it will make your love stronger and your relationship deeper. And after 6 years of being together, we now have an exuberant 3-year old, lol! so it's a great blessing. All three of us went out and have a nice dinner at my favorite chain in town, Chili's. It was simple yet wonderful because I was with my two favorite persons in the world. Below are some of our wedding photos. People would say when you're truly happy, it radiates in your aura. When I look back at these photos, I can honestly say that we do look happy and content with each other's arms. Thanks for reading!


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving Day...From our family to yours!


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. I love holiday celebrations but would prefer to keep everything simple and easy as far as meal preparation is concerned. Well, we wanted to have a whole turkey this time. We’ve had turkey breast before but I thought it would be a nice new experience cooking-wise if we would try a whole bird. So that’s what we had last Thanksgiving dinner. I have scoured the web for a good roast turkey recipe and I decided to give Alton Brown’s recipe a go. His recipe involves brining which was cool because I really wanted to try that. However, two days before Thanksgiving I have talked to my sister and I decided to follow her method of brining instead, lol! So anyway, I love how the turkey tasted. I could not believe how much difference brining does to the roasted bird. It was just amazingly juicy, tender and delicious.

Our dinner was quite simple and small. After all, it was just the three of us anyway, which was just as well because I didn’t think I’m ready to host a big dinner for friends and family, lol! I’m not really good at it even back in the Philippines. I hardly help as far as preparing food on Christmas and New Year, lol! I just thought it’s too much hard work. But now that I have a family of my own, I thought it would not be fair for my little guy and husband if I wouldn’t at least try to make a nice dinner for the three of us. It wasn’t that bad actually. I had some help from hubby and we were able to eat at a decent time. We were quite stuffed right after the meal. We were nappy but we chose to watch a movie on Netflix instead. It was a lovely, relaxed holiday for the three of us. Looking forward to Christmas now!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Burlap gift bags.

Speaking of Christmas, have you done your shopping yet? As of this writing, I am actually drooling over the idea of hitting the mall right after work today. I’d like to take advantage of the huge Black Friday sale. I am not sure what to get for hubby yet but with the huge selection of cool items in the store, I’m pretty sure I will find something that he might like. Sometimes the presentation of the gift matters, lol! I mean a couple of years ago, I got a nice gift set from sister-in-law. The gift bag was a gift itself. I mean it just looked gorgeous. So yeah, every little detail counts. I have been checking out burlap gift bags here and I must say I really am tempted with the idea of getting one to stuff my Christmas presents in. They’re simple yet classy. Not to mention it would save me some time from gift-wrapping which I must admit I’m not very good at. Using a gift bag just sounds so simple and easy.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Tools for him.

We just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and I was glad that my favorite store has a better selection this time as far as gift ideas is concerned. I was able to score a great deal on a nice racheting screwdriver set for hubby. I will start my Christmas shopping real soon and I’m thinking of getting some tools again for hubby. He’s a handyman and I’m sure he’d appreciate tools as gifts so I’m giving him that, lol!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

A year older...a year wiser!

After I turned 29, I kind of quit paying attention as to how old I am, lol! I still do look forward to my birthdays though (6th of Oct) just because I am lavished with gifts and love by hubby and my family in the PI. This year is no different. I woke up to a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers, a card and a nice bake ware set from hubby. Then when I went online on Facebook, I was surprised to see that my family have taken the effort to buy a nice cake from Red Ribbon to celebrate my birthday. That was really nice of them to do that. We may be miles apart but their love for me simply shows. I miss my family very much.



My birthday wouldn't be complete without hubby baking me a cake, lol! Nothing fancy but I appreciate the effort so much. He does that every year so we can simply call it a tradition in the Lord's household, lol! This year was fun because my little booger was the first to devour the cake. It's as if it's his birthday, lol! It was just really a simple celebration but it means a lot to me because everything about that day showed how much I mean to my husband, my kiddo and my family in the Philippines. We concluded my birthday with a nice family dinner date at my favorite restaurant Chili's. :) What else could I ask for, right? I mean it was indeed a perfect birthday for me.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Is it the safe way to light up?

I consider October as my favorite month. It’s because I get to receive gifts from hubby twice, lol! Aside from my birthday, our U.S. wedding anniversary falls on this month as well. So it’s practically like a prelude to Christmas for me, which is pretty exciting, don’t you think? Just today, I did my shopping for anniversary gifts for hubby. I’ve always found it difficult to get something for him. Not because he’s meticulous or picky, but actually, it’s the contrary. He’s too simple I guess. Even just the right kind of book would make him happy. But I didn’t want to just get him a book, I wanted something special, fun and personal but it’s hard to pick the right choice. Sometimes I wish hubby smokes because that would probably give me more gift ideas, lol! I saw some cool lighters in the store today that I would have bought for him if he had been smoking. But of course I can’t get him that because he had quit smoking ten years ago. Not that I’m complaining, don’t get me wrong. I’m not sure if I’m okay with the idea of him smoking in all honesty. I don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke to be honest. It feels like it constricts my breathing. So I think it works perfectly that we both don’t smoke.

I know of some people that wanted to quit smoking but just couldn’t, so I guess it must have been really hard to stop craving for tobacco. However, I have heard about the e-cigarette fad. The makers of e-cigs claim that they are the new alternative for smokers. They say that e-cigarettes are green since there’s no pollution of the environment with this product. E-cigarettes produce a vapor that looks and feels like smoke, but without the offensive odor. Even some Hollywood celebrities have been open to admitting that they use e-cigs. So this could be the future way of smoking, who knows. Now whether they are safer to use than real cigarettes is an unknown fact. Those claims have yet to be proven. As a matter of fact, electronic cigarettes draw criticisms from FDA and other medical groups. Personally though, since it’s the secondhand smoke odor that really bothers me, I think I’d rather have someone smoke an e-cig than a real tobacco cigarette. Oh well, just saying…

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Karmadillos

I love to try new food and new places to eat. So when I heard about Karmadillos, a Southwestern Mexican Cafe in the southwest corner of downtown, I thought I would give it a try. I went there on a Friday work week to have lunch and I thought their pork rice bowl was pretty amazing. The cafe itself is pretty small but they set up a nice dining area outside which makes you enjoy a hearty meal with a spectacular view of the mountains.


It is located on Reeder's Alley, an oldest piece of early Helena. The walk to the restaurant was actually quite interesting because to get to the place, you have to walk through an historic alley with pathway that resembles some kind of cobblestone. For some reason, it gave me the feeling that I was walking on Diagon Alley in Harry Potter books, lol! Alright, I don't know why I said that, lol! Going back to the restaurant I was talking about.


It was late summer when I first ate there and I must say the wonderful view adds to a nice dining experience.


I think the menu is pretty much affordable. I have heard some great things about their rice bowls so that's why I tried them first. And I like it.





The first time I went there, I ate alone but since I like the place, I thought I'd invite hubby for a lunch date on one of his Fridays off. It's actually funny since we have not had much of dates ever since we had Caleb so it was kinda a weird but nice feeling to be able to finally go out and have brief but memorable dates again.


Oh wait, I guess I must have liked this place so much because I went back for the third time yesterday to have lunch, lol! I thought I'd go all out this time and ordered their dundee rice bowl with beef, pork and chicken. That was awesome! I felt like a tick after, lol! It's a shame that I had to go back to work and felt worthless since all I wanted to do was crawl under my desk and take a nap, lol! That was how full I was. Then when I went home I found out hubby stopped at Taco John's after work because he was craving for Karmadillos rice bowl and thought he'd find one there, tsk! Of course not! So he ended up getting some tacos instead. Du'h! So imagine how jealous he was when I told him I had lunch at Karmadillos that day. Haha!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Adirondack-inspired lawn chair.

I'm just so proud of hubby's first woodworking project for me that I couldn't help but brag about it on my blog. A couple of weeks ago, he completed a lovely Adirondack-inspired wooden lawn chair painted with Lavish Lavender by Sherwin Williams. I have always wanted to have my own wooden lawn chair specifically Adirondack style. And I saw one at Costco but thought too ordinary for the price. I got lucky that I have a handyman husband. He said he will build one for me. And I thought that would be fun. I helped him pick the color of the paint. I googled for some inspiration and lo and behold, I found this beautiful purple colored lawn chair that I thought I must have, lol! I was really excited and thrilled on how this project would turn out.


He had spent most of his weekends and a few hours after work for like almost a month to complete this project. I know he enjoys woodworking a lot so even that alone was really worth it.


Personally, I think there's really something special about a furniture that's designed and made specially for you. And that's exactly how I feel about the whole thing. I mean from the paint color down to the right angle of the chair's back was made for my comfort and style.



I really really love the way the chair came out. I know that hubby loves woodworking and he had done some pretty cool stuff before we met but I mean this is the first time that he has done one for me. And I must say I was definitely blown away. There's no denying that it was one great quality furniture and of course the labor of love was there. Aside from the lavishly pretty paint color, lol! I love how sturdy it is. It's built to last for a very long time. I am just so glad I didn't settle for a ready-made, cheap-quality chair from the store. This is definitely way more better. I can see love written all over this furniture, lol!


Ok, enough said! Let me share with you more pics of my new chair. Now I have more reason to look forward to next year's summer season, lol! Luv it!




Friday, October 4, 2013

Swing sets

Summer is definitely short here in Montana. The temperature lately has been in the 40s-50s already. We got lucky this weekend though, it got around 70, sun is out and it’s just perfectly beautiful to be out and about. I can’t help but wish that it will stay this way all year round, lol! Anyway, there’s always next year’s summer, you know. It won’t hurt to plan early on how to spend the short summer here in our state. I’ve been thinking of getting a nice playground set for the little guy for next year. I saw these beautiful swing sets in virginia beach and I think their designs are great. It may be a great woodworking project for hubby, lol! There are tons of great design ideas and it might not be that easy to DIY this kind of project.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Break Time.

As I've promised, I will blog more about my new experiences as a working mom. I apologize for not updating my blog as often as I would have liked. While this has been a fun and exciting journey for me, things have been very busy as of late. But still allow me to take you for a ride to my new world.


At work, we are given two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute or 1-hour lunch break depending on our choice. So I usually spend my morning break at Sweet & Savory. It's a cozy little cafe right across the street from where I work. Like Starbucks, they do have free Wi-Fi access so it's an added charm to this little place. I like the fact that they are not really crowded especially in the morning. It gives me some quiet time while I enjoy my cup of flavored latte while checking on Facebook updates, lol!



This is a shot of the cafe's interior. Actually, the upper level houses some of the private offices. The building is old as you may have noticed but still has that charm which probably makes the cafe a nice place to hang around.


This is another of my favorite from this cafe. If I remember it right, it's some kind of a frappe loaded with ice-cream, whipped cream and what-not, lol! So fattening but sinfully divine. I don't get this very often just because for some reason, my tummy feels weird after I drink this, lol! Nevertheless, it tastes so good.


On my afternoon breaks, I usually just stay in the break room. It's deserted most of the time so I kinda like that brief moment when I can just be by myself and play Candy Crush, lol! We do have Wi-Fi access at work too so occasionally I would also go on the internet to browse and FB. Oh yeah, FB is still so much a part of my life even if I am in the office. Funny but true! :)


Monday, August 26, 2013

Aqueous Engineered Cleaning Systems.

One of my favorite TV shows to watch is How It’s Made on Science Channel. It’s basically a documentary series showing how common, everyday items and industrial products are manufactured. It’s quite interesting, it would always leave me spellbound especially with the use of those neat machinery and industrial equipments. In one of their episodes, I found it amazing how those brilliant machineries could turn a thick aluminum sheet into thin aluminum foils that we use in the kitchen. They are so precise, neat, fast and reliable. If I didn’t know any better, I would say they are more brilliant than human being but since men made those fancy machines, obviously we are still superior compared to them.

As a matter of fact, like so many things in life, these industrial equipments and machinery could also break if not handled well or taken care of properly. I must admit that when I first heard about an industrial parts washer, my initial reaction was, "You gotta be kiddin' me!" I mean I thought only clothes and dishes go in the wash, lol! But apparently even those machinery parts, be it big or small, could use a little cleaning as part of maintenance routine. Since they are expensive and hard to replace, you don't just use any washer though. It's necessary to choose the right kind for your needs. Companies that have been in the industry of engineering and quality manufacturing should be experts when it comes to stuff like this. So whether you've just started acquiring industrial machinery for your business or been doing this for quite a while, it does not hurt to look into trusted engineering cleaning system companies. You might wanna start with AEC Systems, LLC.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

My new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Tablet!

I never thought I'd ever need a tablet. Besides the fact that I hardly keep up with the latest gadget out there, being a stay at home mom then I really didn't think I could use one. I have a laptop for all my computer needs so there really wasn't a need for a tablet or one of those techie smart phones. But that had to change when I went back to work. Being in the office 8 hours a day does not mean I have to cut off my ties to the social networking world. I do get two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch break so I needed to have something to use to keep up with what's happening out there. So I thought the need to have my very own tablet was well-warranted.

With all the IPAD hype and all, obviously that was my first choice, to get an IPAD. But I wanted something handy, small, but still can deliver what I need as far as playing games, facebook, picture and video uploading, watching movies and all other cool apps are concerned. So I was deliberating between the IPAD Mini or the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. I did my research and I have decided that the Galaxy Note 8 Tablet should be my new toy. Now the higher price tag as compared to IPAD Mini kinda threw me off for a little bit. I asked myself if this tablet is really worth paying $50-70 dollars more than the IPad Mini. And I think my honest answer would be "Yes, Definitely!"



Now what do I like about this tablet. Running a 1.6GHz quad-core Samsung Exynos 4 Quad processor with 2GB of RAM, the Galaxy Note 8 is fast and powerful. The expandable memory is a huge plus for me as well. It's great for storing videos,pictures and music. The display looks pretty sharp and crisp, while the screen size and aspect ratio combined with the broadly curved corners and thin top and bottom bezels make it a very comfortable device to hold in landscape orientation while watching video or playing a game. Another winner feature for me is the S-Pen. This is the only one of these tablets designed for use with a stylus and the S Pen software is well integrated, with dedicated programmes S Note and S Planner, but you can also use it to draw on web pages and documents. Awesome, isn't it? Another cool feature of this table is the Dual Screen View. Simply put, you can have two apps on the screen at once, so you could watch a video and write in a document at the same time.


I am sure there are still more cool features in this table that I have yet to explore. I am just glad that I ended up buying Galaxy Note 8 as my first tablet. For $399.00 dollars, yeah, it's pretty pricey but very much well worth it if you ask me.


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Are you living the American Dream?

What does living the American Dream mean to you? To most people perhaps, it means having a white-picket fence house, driving an SUV, getting married at 20 and having 2 or 3 kids. I remember when we apply for a housing loan last year, the loan manager asked us what properties did we own. She started asking if we have a boat, RV, motorbike and the like, to which we replied “None” to everything, lol! Then she said “Not living the American Dream?” Well, if that’s the norm for the American Dream, then we probably aren’t, but at least we’re not indebted up to our eyeballs, lol! That to me is living the American nightmare, lol! Sadly, a lot of people are in this situation. But that’s not the end of the world for them I guess. Because here in the US, you can avail the service of free bankruptcy lawyers. Now that’s probably not the wisest route to take but if you think you’d be better off filing a bankruptcy, then make sure you know the game and hire a lawyer.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Now a working mom.

If you have been frequenting my blog, you must have read that I have just embarked on a new challenge in life, lol! From being a full-time stay-at-home mom and wife for two years, I have decided to embrace my desire to be part of the corporate world again. Hence, I am now a working mom and I'm proud of it. I wouldn't even try to deny the challenges that comes with it. But that's just part of living life to the fullest in my humble opinion. I enjoy my new job immensely despite the struggle to manage time in between work, family, chores and finding precious time for myself. I know eventually I would come out of my shell and work again. I have not thought of myself as an effective full-time housemaker for the rest of my life. I know I would yearn to work in the office again, interact with peers and learn more about living each time. Like all changes, adjustments are part of it. And I'm surprised at how well my family and I have coped with the new setup. Indeed, life is good. And while being a working mom requires so much of my time, dedication and energy, I can honestly say that I don't have any regrets. So from then on, let me share with you little bits and pieces of my new world as a working mom.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Functional Bathroom Design & Decorating Ideas

The bathroom is perhaps the most heavily trafficked room in any home – it needs to be able to stand up to a lot of wear and tear so bath and shower hardware should be top quality. When you add in the elements of moisture and humidity, surfaces can get slippery and hardware can easily corrode so it’s best to go with brass hardware, which can be chrome or nickel-plated. Even the shower curtain rings or hooks are best made of a good quality plated metal so they slide easily which results in less wear on the shower curtain itself.


It can be tempting to go with plastic in a bathroom and for items such as bath toys or shower caddies plastic is fine. For items such as a toilet tissue holder which will see regular use it can be a good idea to spend a little bit more for something substantial; the same holds true for towel bars and rings. Anything you are likely to pull on or hang things from should be sturdy and of good quality; it is even possible to replace the plastic flush handle on your toilet with a metal one which both looks and feels better when you handle it.

Bathroom clutter poses a slip and fall hazard so where possible, floor and counter surfaces should be kept clear. Install wall mounted soap, shampoo and conditioner dispenser inside the shower or tub enclosure; install a toothpaste dispenser to eliminate waste and reduce messy spills. A wall mounted lighted magnifying mirror can be helpful for grooming and more useful than a handheld or counter top mirror; consider installing a fogless shower mirror as well.

Fix Attention on the New Rolex Day Date in 2013

In 2013, many new Rolex watches had been exhibited during the Baselworld and watch collectors from around the world have already fixed their attention on those internatioanally famous luxuries. One of the best known is the Oyster Perpetual Day Date which is made of the purest metal such as 18 ct yellow gold. A noticeable and distinctive feature of this luxury watch is that its case and strap keep consistent in color. Besides, because of the precious materials like crocodile leather, the level of comfort is ensured. I do think that you should focus on the Day Date watch Oyster yellow gold case 36mm whose Reference code is 118138 among all newest Swiss Rolex watches. Both the sunray finish dial and leather strap are green, looking vigorous and glamorous. The self-winding Perpetual movement ensures the accuracy of this Rolex Day Date.

Without any doubt, you ought to spend time and money on the latest Rolex Day Date watch. If you wear it on the wrist, for sure you can instantly become more elegant, appealing and confident. A fact is that many customers immediately heave a sigh when they catch a glimpse of the high prices of Rolex watches on sale. As a matter of fact, purchasing replica designer watches can effectively minimize the expense and equally importantly, imitation watches today really have good quality. The above content tells that you should take rolex day date replica which features not only a low price but also satisfactory performance into account. There are great varieties of knockoff watches for sale on the Internet and what you are suggested to do right now is to seek out a replica Rolex Day Date watch that enables you to feel content and then pay for it without the slightest hesitation.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Television stands.

I have been thinking of getting a new TV stand for the flat screen set that my father in law gave us last year. I want dark-colored wood stand but so far the ones that I found are kinda expensive. I’m wondering if there’s television stands sale going on right now. I know Costco would sometimes have good priced stands but right now they are mostly displaying items for the summer season. I guess I’m just gonna have to look more online and see if I can find one that I like but not too expensive.

Friday, July 12, 2013

iLuv my new earphones.

I have started going back to walking on the treadmill as of late. It has been a while since the last time I did exercise so I'm trying to keep things slow and steady. After Caleb goes to bed at 8:00 pm, I changed into my workout attire and head down to the basement for a 30-minute brisk walking on the treadmill. I don't know but for some weird reason, I am more motivated now to do it even after an 8-hour workday at the office more than before when I was just staying at home and somehow had more time during the day to workout. On weekends I do walk around the neighborhood for a change of scenery. And I try to spend my two 15-minute breaks at work going back and forth the "walking mall" here in town. Hopefully though I can keep this up. I mean I don't expect drastic changes but I just want to maintain the motivation and desire to exercise.

To help me enjoy my treadmill routine at home, I bought some new earphones so I could listen to some good music while walking. Honestly, it does help with the boredom at the same time it keeps my mind away from looking at the timer, lol! I did have an old pair of earbuds but they didn't seem to have the power that I've wanted for an earphone. I want some decent bass sounds so I could enjoy the dance and pop music better. But I didn't want to spend much on those expensive, high-end brands either. I am glad that I found these in Amazon. I got these for a little over $6.00 bucks, lol! Yeah, I know I'm cheap. Haha! The reviews are great though so I thought I might give it a try. To be honest, I don't own a whole lot of earphones to really give a comparison but for the price, oh yeah, these are amazing earphones. I love the sound quality. I definitely love the color, they also come in blue, pink, silver, black, white and green as well but I do love orange to match my IPod Touch case so that's why I picked this.

The package says explosive bass in-ear earphones and they are not kidding. The sound is clear, very strong bass and I didn't have to turn the volume all the way up just to appreciate the music. They are amazing. Also, I love how they fit in my ears. Unlike my old pair, this one does not fall off even when I'm running. Great bang for your buck!




Friday, July 5, 2013

Cyndi Lauper at Beacon Theatre.

I love to watch concerts. As a matter of fact, I have been to several good ones in the past. One memorable concert event that I have gone to with hubby was Divas4Divas in Dallas, Texas. It’s not a secret that I totally am a fan of Regine Velasquez, so when I had the chance to watch her again perform on stage here in U.S. this time, obviously I couldn’t afford to miss it. So I dragged hubby along, lol! And I was glad that he enjoyed it as well. We had front row seats and the price of the tickets was very well worth it.

I was excited when I learned that Cyndi Lauper is soon to have a concert in New York. It’s one of the states that I have never been to but would definitely love to visit someday. Coincidentally, Cyndi Lauper was one of my favorite pop artists back in the 80s. So I thought this might be a good chance for me to do both at the same time. I am actually intrigued on how she looks now at 60. Most importantly, I think it will be fun to watch her sing her old hits so I have been scouring the net for great deals on Beacon Theatre tickets. This is the venue of her concert and I was hoping to score some cheap tickets for this event.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Thoughts on proper waste disposal.

Maintaining a yard isn’t always fun and easy. It takes a lot of effort, dedication, time and patience. I found that out the hard way, lol! Although we don’t really have a huge backyard, doing its upkeep takes up a lot of our time and energy, specifically for hubby since he’s the one cutting the grass, trimming the hedges and trees. Moreover, since we wanted to start a small vegetable garden, he has been doing some digging, shoveling, and getting rid of those rocks underneath the ground. Between all these things, it can easily make the yard look unpleasant.

The branches that have been cut off the trees and the shrubs alone can pretty much put a damper on the progress of the yard work, especially since we don’t think we can dump it all in the dumpster provided by the city. While I’m pretty sure there are companies out there that are willing to take unacceptable waste, but I don’t know if it’s really worth contacting one since ours are basically just yard waste. It wouldn’t hurt to look though and I came across with this link http://www.yellodumpster.com, which takes care of all other kinds of waste your regular dumpster wouldn't.

Also, we have been wanting to get rid of some heavy stuff from our cross-country move. Summer is here so we might just have to do a yard sale or something but in case no one would be interested to take our junk, lol, then we may be needing the service of professional dumpster rental.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Smart Tea Maker Review and Giveaway

I like to drink tea every once in a while. When I feel so stressed out and wanted to relax, or even when I just feel like my body needs some toxic cleansing, I do reach out for a cup of good tea. Hubby on the other hand, does love tea and when given the chance, he would gladly drink it everyday, lol! However, we only buy tea bags though and I have heard that loose leaf teas are much better in quality and taste than tea bags. Not to mention you can actually steep loose tea leaves multiple times. So when Enjoying Tea.com sent us their popular tea sampler in loose leaves along with their cool Smart Tea Maker product, we couldn't wait to give it a try.


Actually, this awesome tea maker is so practical and simple to use. You just place your favorite tea leaves in the tea maker, add boiling water, and let your tea steep to your taste and liking. Once done, you place your Smart Tea Maker on top of a cup and let the tea drain into it. It does flow really fast so you need to pay attention, otherwise you could overfill your cup and waste your precious tea. To stop the flow, you simply remove your Tea Smart Maker off the cup. Voila! Your tea is ready to serve! This is perfect for quick and easy tea fix. No mess, small and portable that you can actually bring it to work or on the road if you're traveling. It is made of BPA-free durable food grade plastic and it is dishwasher safe. Even though it comes with a coaster, it doesn't leak while brewing or when you are finished dispensing tea. I simply love their unique and convenient tea dispensing feature. It seems pretty easy to clean as well, although I wish the stainless steel filter is removable. But other than that, I think this cool tea device is a great product to have especially for tea aficionados out there.


This is the tea sampler that we got from "Enjoying Tea" company. I tried the Vanilla Chai first, a top grade Indian tea. This delicious tea includes black tea, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, calendula, and daisy. I mixed it with milk and sugar and oh boy was it comforting and great tasting. Enjoying Tea.com offers a variety of great tasting tea from high-quality handpicked leaves. Besides being delicious, drinking tea everyday has tons of health benefits.

Tea contains a small amount of natural flouride so it is actually good for your teeth. Some tea may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and reduce body fat. Polyphenols (the antioxidants found in tea), may have cancer-fighting effects. Green tea specifically, activate detoxification enzymes that may help protect against tumor development. Contrary to old misconception, tea can hydrate the body just along with water. But since tea has caffeine, it is still a good idea to drink caffeinated beverages moderately. Some research has shown that tea can also lower the risk of having heart problems. White tea has been found to be effective at fighting infections caused by staph and streptococcus bacteria, pneumonia and tooth decay. So yeah, tea should be part of our daily liquid intake as it has more benefits than we could imagine.


Now having read all that, wouldn't you like to sample some great-tasting tea yourselves? The people at Enjoying Tea.com wants to make your tea drinking experience a pleasure so they would be giving away a "Smart Tea Maker" and a small canister of tea to one lucky reader. If you're interested, please join via Rafflecopter below. You can earn multiple entries by doing most if not all the contest requirements asked by Rafflecopter. This contest is open to all U.S. residents only.

Thank you everyone for joining. Good luck to you all!

Disclosure: I received product for free in exchange for an honest review, which may differ from yours. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I used personally, and believe will be good for my readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Splash of colors in our yard.


I considered ourselves lucky because our house which we bought last year has mature landscaping. There are trees in the front and back yards, the grass is lush and green, tall hedges surrounding the perimeter of the house adding security and privacy as well. But I have not realized all these until spring came this year. Winter in Montana tends to be longer than other places so it is only just recently that flowers have started to bloom. I do not have a green thumb which I wouldn't deny, but I do appreciate plants and flowers in all their glory. So it really has been a delight for me to discover new flowers blooming in our backyard these past few weeks. I do not know what kinds of flowers the previous owners have planted here but I must say they did a really great job. I just find them soo pretty that I couldn't help myself but take photos of them whenever we discover new ones blooming. I have noticed some empty spots especially in the front yard so I was thinking of planting more this year. It might take another year before I would see some progress but at least I have something to look forward to come spring and summer of next year.