House Update

Actually, “lot update”  as  there is still no house in our tiny lot but declaring by faith that someday soon our dream house will rise up there. So I was actually looking for some interior designs including flooring (which brought me to Philadelphia epoxy flooring), wall designs and paint colors. Oh how exciting it is to build your own house, choose your designs and all those things you want but the thing is we still do not have the budget.

We are still paying for the tiny lot, we are now on our 4^th year. Yey! The developer said we can actually build now as we are done with the 20% payment , how I wish we could do it now but we still have to wait and save and save and save.

Honestly, there were times (often times) that I thought of giving it up, you know sell the lot and use the money to repair my parent’s old house in the province, sometimes I get tired of that monthly pay that eats up a lot of our monthly salary. BUT I remind myself, that this is investment (true, because price of lot in that area has gone up since we acquired ours) and that this is where we will spend our retirement years, that this is where we will make more memories as husband and wife. So yeah, I am sticking to the plan, pay the lot, save up for the house.

Only if money is not an issue, I’ll start building now. I will choose minimalist design, a small garden, a trellis on the veranda, a very nice kitchen, a white toilet and bath with bath tub. It is nice to imagine all the things that you want no? I just hope that imagining will keep me and my husband inspired so we can really save up and eventually see that thought in reality.

Happy Monday!

Starting the day right. It’s Monday, new day of the week and it is but right to start happy and positive

I need to do this or else I’ll be overwhelmed with work in the office and it would be easy to get depressed and tired which I don’t like at all.

Anyways, this week starts a new challenge in terms of work. I just hope and pray I will be able to deliver of what is expected of me.

My weekend was spent with the husband and my side of the family, this not so little girl anymore celebrated her 13^th birthday last Sunday and she had her first Starbucks coffee too. I just want her to experience it because that coffee is too expensive for us (we are not rich that’s why). She’s happy that at least she was able to try it.

Speaking of my family side, my Mom is here again in the city with us and just three days after her arrival, she is asking me again when I will bring her home in the province. She is really not comfortable here and much as we want to we can’t let her be alone in that old house of ours.  First, the house needs complete renovation, the roof is leaking, and some of the wood pillars and flooring upstairs are not safe anymore because of termites. I have long been praying and hoping that we’ll be able to do the renovation soon so Mom can see it, for sure she’ll be happy about it.

Anyways, searching for pest control brought me here, and because I am not in the US maybe those who read my blog from there can benefit, check this  Orlando critter control they specialized in nuisance animal removal . Cool no? here in my part of the world, you only hire pest control and that’s it, if it’s  wild animals I don’t know, in the province some people will just get it and make it their pet. Dead animal removal, pest animal damage repair, they can do it all.

Ok, going back, pest control is not an option for our old family house anymore. Renovation is the solution and MIRACLE because where will we get the money for that?

Maybe, if I work and work and work and work even more.  Hopefully, a blessing will come and my dream of renovating it for my Mother’s comfort will become a reality.

Well, this has been a long post. Thank you for at least getting this far.  Happy Monday everyone and enjoy the rest of the week!

Lot update and Kitchen inspiration

Next month would be our last check payment for the zero interest down payment of our lot. July will be the start of our monthly mortgage which means we will be paying a bit higher than the monthly down payment. That means we need extra income to cover that amount. :) I don't want to be negative and stress myself of the need because I know we will get by and sooner our dream house will become reality. Slowly and in perfect timing.

Rather than stressing, I choose to inspire my self with lots and lots of house and home designs in the internet, taking notes (though mentally for now) of the designs I want for my own house. Soon, I'll be printing and making mood boars of my kitchen, my living room, my bedroom and the patio.

Here are the few  kitchen designs I've seen and liked. I figure we will not be needing a big kitchen thus am only looking for small kitchen designs with a square dining table like this one;

image source : www.home-designing.com

I so heart this one below because it has plenty of storage. 

image source : http://sweptinc.com

And finally, I think I will have this one someday, dining table with bench. I want exactly the same color.

image source : http://sweptinc.com/dining-room-tables-with-benches/

And if I get tired of the wood color, I can just put linens and choose the color I want, I am sure it won't be hard to Find square tablecloth that suits my mood :)

image source : http://mofur.blogspot.com/2015/03/small-kitchen-table-ideas.html

Sigh. I can't wait to have my own kitchen :) and cook my favorite dishes.

Working hard for our future home

 Posted this on my facebook page yesterday.

Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectations -Andrew Murray

I told a friend, I posted it to motivate my self  to even work harder for our dream home, for our future permanent address. You see, I worry a bit because the payment for "no interest down payment" will end up this June, which means come July we will now be paying a bit higher.

And I know, we will be needing extra income to cover that. Thus, am back to online selling, now I do sell party stuff and maybe I'll sell more items soon like this gold cross here.

Hubs said we can do it. I love his positive attitude, his cheerful disposition, it encourages me more.

This morning,  I saw this image in my news feed, and I know it was meant for me, God is assuring me that He will provide.

God is good.

House and Lot update

Actually it is still a piece of lot somewhere in the not so far away land of Cavite and no house construction yet but it is gonna be our very own house and lot someday thus the title :)

Anyways, we are already on our 15th month of the 2 years no interest down payment. But even as early as now, staff from Antel has been calling us and reminding us to start the PAGIBIG housing loan process because according to them it is not quick and easy.

We started gathering the necessary documents since last month and this week we are scheduled to go to Pagibig main office for the housing loan application form. Hopefully we can finis that application form this month and submit all the requirements as early as January next year. Keeping our fingers crossed and praying it will go smoothly.

I really can't wait to have our own place. I know it will still be years and we both need a lot of hard work for it to materialize but I know it will be sweet someday..to be sitting in a porch at your very own home...with the green plants and the smell of flowers right beside you.... haaay..for now I will just keep on dreaming.

Home Ideas: flooring and sofas

We recently bought linoleum to replace the old vinyl tiles that my husband removed from our small kitchen, it’s white and it made the room brighter,  though dirt is now more visible with it I still like it very much. In fact I am now planning to cover the whole room with the same linoleum. why? basically because it is a lot cheaper and is easier to clean than our old and stinky vinyl tiles.

Because of the turn of events (and turn of our plans) we might stay longer in our current home so I asked the husband to make it at least more comfortable for both of us. That means installing anew sink and a small counter top. He said yes of course, I just hope his yes means he’ll do it sooner than I think.

We don’t have plans of buying new furniture (since our place is small) but given the chance (meaning the extra money) I would also love to replace the hand me down couch we had at the moment. I would love to have one of these contemporary sectional sofas someday. The black or the white will be perfect for me :D

The more I keep looking for more home ideas the more I want to have my own home soon! But I know that would take a bit longer because we prioritized something else (and I hope we made the right decision there) Anyways, it isn’t bad to plan early right?

Beautiful lawn for the future home

I have always wanted a beautiful front lawn and backyard. When I was young I used to dream of having my wedding in our own beautiful lawn (probably the reason why I opted for a garden wedding) Now that, we are seriously considering acquiring a house of our own, it is one of our major concern, as you have noticed, I posted a townhouse type that we are now looking at but my husband and I are both hesitant due to the very limited space. We don’t mind a small house as long as we have a spacious lawn 

We both want to see our future kids, our nephews and nieces and godchildren playing and running around (like what I grew up to)  that nicely paved or mowed backyard with lots of flowering plants and some fruit trees and with a beautiful set of patio furniture. Look at these photo inspiration from riverside synthetic turf at installitdirect.com. 

Nice di ba? Though theirs are synthetic, it is still nice considering you don’t have to mow and watered it anymore, less hassle but I still want mine to have some real grass ( Rudolf will take care of the mowing and watering ) 

This dream (or want whatever you may call it) is giving us hard time in deciding with regards to the house acquisition. Sooner, we have to let my sister know about our decision if we are to push through with the housing loan. I still don’t know as of this time. I hope whatever we decide is what God wants for us.

Carissa Northridge in Bulacan

This is very near my sister's place as in walking distance (if you're into walking). When I saw this my heart jumped because I've been looking for a nice and affordable house (specially one that we can avail thru PAG IBIG housing)

BUT..of course we are still praying about it and still waiting for God's confirmation if this is really the house for us..

home projects

Our house mates left yesterday, they are now settling on their new home. I felt sad because our home will be empty again most of the days since me and my husband are always out. But of course I'm happy that they have their own place now and we have our privacy back :))

We have to do a lot of clean up though and a lot of fixing :( for our small place to look and feel like home again. and I don't mind that, at least I have something to make my hands busy (except with that mouse & keypad) when I get home. And hopefully all the little home projects I've been planning to do and put up will now push through.

the hanging bookshelf...(which need to be painted)
the photo gallery wall (have to print photos and I need to find all my frames)
and a lot more..

little stuff that I can do with our small space and with little extra cost. All I need is my creativity and to brush off all the laziness in me :)

Home Decor. DIY. Inspired

I'm so inspired to do some DIY home decor and design (naks!) thanks to Elle of switcheroom :) I'm hooked to her blog and been reading since last week (can't get enough of her cheap but beautiful decors and DIYs)

Okay, so I am inspired and I've been conceptualizing ideas in my head and been looking around for those ideas BUT......

Houston, I've got a problem.

I DO NOT HAVE A HOME :(

Call me crazy or weird because I know, how can someone read about home decor when she doesn't even have a house of her own?

So where to spill the ideas I'm getting from all the readings I've made?

The answer : My parents house in the province. That would be perfect! that house is old and is in need of a lot of things and I'm making it as my big big project for this year ( yes..I'm that inspired !) because the house is 4 hours away from where I currently live. I've gone crazy :D

Well, my plan is to do it one at a time, one corner every time we visit , (please don't ask how often do we visit) and I'll start next week!! We'll be there from 5th to 9th of April and I'm sure I'll be able to do something while I'm there.

First off is to change the century old wall paper.I'm bringing in some white wall paper and it would be perfect for the gallery wall (in my mind) And as I have said, I'll just do one wall at a time. I'm sure my parents will be surprised because normally when I'm there I just sleep all day and all night.

Oh..it's summer and my dream nipa hut (nipa hut is our version of gazebo or sunroom) in front of our house is also perfect but even a nipa hut is expensive and I can't afford that. I'm just dreaming.

Anyways, I hope I can do this all and not just spur of the moment project in mind :)

been a while

Oh wow.. It's been a while since I last posted. I didn't notice that though. Thought I only posted days ago but 10 days ago is quite a while.

Anyways, I mentioned our trip to Cebu on my last post and that we are going on Thursday, I'm quite excited because it will be the first time for the whole band together.

I have a little worry though because I still have not filed my leave of absence from work :( I'm quite apprehensive to ask the boss because I've made frequent absences and under time since last week of February. But I have no choice, I will have to hand him my LOA form early Monday morning.I pray he'll say "yes, it's ok you can go".

And I haven't mentioned here also that we ventured into small business with two of my friends, we are selling siomai and pares, mami and some other stuff in front of our church, we started first week of March and so far so good, as I have said it is small but we should not despise small beginnings right? We're dreaming of making it big in the food business someday.

Summer is here!! and we can definitely feel the heat. This is the time where I dream of having those very nice outdoor gliders and porch and swing in my own garden because this is the season where I enjoy eating, reading and sometimes having a nap outside the house for that cool natural air :) I'm already making plans for summer, beach outing with the family and another one with friends and hopefully all the plans will push through :)

And I hope this summer will be filled with good laughs and memories, I know my commitments are up to my neck but no one can hinder me from enjoying this season :)

How about you? Any summer plans?

Will cook tonight :)

My parents are staying with me tonight and I wanted to please them so I asked them what they want for dinner and my father said Nilagang Baka (Boiled beef) I assumed he thought it would be good to have hot soup because it's rainy. Now I wish I didn't ask because honestly I do not know how to cook nilagang baka. And certainly my husband is not the best person to ask help in cooking, I can ask him about PC Tools and gadgets but not with recipes :(

Thank you though that I can turn to Mr. Google for anything including the recipe I needed. I found one and it seems easy and I really hope it is.

Anyways, I am going to try it tonight and will post it and will let you know if it's a hit or miss. And I hope I won't forget to take pictures because it's very seldom that I cook and I have to document it of course!

Wish me the best!

House stuff we need

We still need a lot of stuff in our small home, and even if we have moved a month ago it is still not in very good order because we've been busy. we still have things in the box and I hope I could find time soon to arrange them.

We do not have a couch yet and a washing machine which we badly need. I thought I could get one now but with the recent problem we had, there goes my budget for the washing machine. :( But I'm determined to have one next month.

And not that sound bars home theater is in our priority list right now but I am sure the husband will love to have such someday and  he needs to replace the old TV too if ever. Would you believe our TV is a surplus tv we bought from the port area 4 years ago? but it is still working very well and we do seldom watch TV shows anyway. But that's a good buy!

Oh well, those stuff can wait... for now I am thankful God is providing for our every need and that He knows when we need them.

Finally

Tonight will be our first night in our new place. I feel sad though, the excitement of being just us has waned as months passed by, I think I got used to having so many familiar people around. I think I got used to having someone close to you nearby but I’m okay, I know I’ll get used to whatever is set before us. Adjustments are not easy for anyone naman di ba?

This afternoon, hubby will be moving out the last of our stuff and he’ll start fixing the new place, haven’t been there since the first time I visited. I know it’s a mess and boxes are everywhere (maybe that’s the reason I am not that happy-I guess I am too tired to arrange all our things)

We will be internet less (during evenings) for quite sometime- I am still undecided if I will buy a broadband or apply for a DSL or not to have any internet connection at all-after all I can still blog and do some tasks in the office after office hours or during breaks. So I’m reading about cissus quadrangularis extract because I can’t do that later anymore.

Oh.. the stress of moving. I hope I’ll get over with this soon.

Renters Insurance

Do you have insurance for your home? I guess most of those who owned a house especially those big and pricey houses have them insured from one of the many home insurance companies in town. It is but right to feel protected after all it’s your hard earned money invested in that house.

But what if we only rent the house or the condo or the flat we are residing in? Do we need to insure it? or should the landlord take charge of it? And if ever the owner bought insurance for it, would it cover all the stuff inside the house? Like the furniture, appliances and your other valuable belongings?

Not that I do plan to insure the house where we are moving-If I’m right I know it’s already been taken care of by our company because they own it.

I was just wondering if we need renters insurance or if anyone has that type of insurance. It would be nice though because it will cover all your personal belongings and not only the house itself. Good idea.

Bright or dark room?

I love natural day lights. That is why I love our current room where we are staying because during the day, I just open the window curtains and it gives me sunlight. Every morning, my husband will open it for me and it is so refreshing to see the leaves from the tress outside. Don’t you love waking up with the sunlight in your room? Others may not like it but I do. It gives me a clearer perspective for the day.

And I will be missing this room once we moved out in a few weeks more. It’s funny how I get attached to a room even if I only stayed in it for a while.

And though the one we are transferring to has windows and there is also natural light coming in during the day, it is not as big as this one. But I guess that will do.

I remember a friend who abhors light in his room and is a total opposite of me. He will cover all the windows of his room with thick dark color curtains, with window blinds and sometimes he even put a foil in the glass window making his room dark even if it is broad day light. Next time I see him I’ll recommend him blinds from Blinds Chalet because I heard they have the most exceptional and environment friendly blinds.

How about you? What do you prefer? Dark or bright room?

settled for the meantime

We've finally moved out from the apartment and currently back from where we first lived as husband and wife. At our church mission's house. We will be staying here until the place we are going to occupy is vacated and I hope that won't take long. Coming back here brings back so many memories during our first days as married couple, just like the first days, we do not have our own stove, a fridge or a dining table. We decided not to used some of our stuff for the mean time because using them means we're going assemble them again and when it's time to move again (after a month or so) we have to dis assemble them again. And that I do not want to do so we decided to just use whatever we can use from here. Moving is a head ache, packing and unpacking things is sure to burn more calories than the diet pills you are taking for sure.

So we are settled but not yet back to normal life for the mean time. At least I have internet connection at night and I can do some work at home.

Home Ideas

I'm sure that will be on top of my search list this year as we start planning and preparing for the project house which I will be calling "home sweet home".

And I really can't wait to that time where I will be decorating our own home. where I will be buying stuff for our own bedroom, for my own kitchen. It's beginning to sound so exciting!!

And I know, when it comes to home ideas I have very little knowledge so I need to do a lot of searching especially to maximizing space and such. I don't even know something about interior plantation shutters just learned about it a while ago and I'm sure I won't be needing such, maybe blinds but not a shutter.

And oh..my eyes are feasting on so many beautiful bathroom designs. I hope I'll have one of them someday.

House and scrubs

Everyone is in the new year's celebration mood already except me who is still at work and up to now has still no plans about new year's eve. I don't even know where to spend it. Home or sister's home are my options but if the lazy me strikes again we might stay home and do nothing (well, not really nothing, we might do a dvd marathon)
*~*
We were out last night looking for house to rent, we inquired and checked one or two houses but nothing definite yet. How I wish it is as easy as choosing medical unifroms like picking one from the many lines of nursing scrubs on sale from bluskyscrubs.com. They have cool and stylish designs, you know those type of doctor scrubs that doesn't look ordinary.
*~*
I refused to get stressed by the fact that we do not have some place to go to in two weeks. It's new year and I want to have that celebrataory mood too. And by that, I guess I have to start planning what to cook on new years eve. :)

Happy new year everyone!

In two weeks

We have only 18 days left in our present house. We have to leave on the 15th of January and until now we have no where to move to. I kinda worry now because I didn't realize it was this hard to look for a house here in the metro, well not if you have the money but I only have this certain budget for the house rent.  I thought I'll find one in no time but my golly it's like two weeks more and we're out there on the streets.

And I didn't see this coming, this house hunting at this time of the year, I really didn't see it coming.

I wish I have prepared for this like someone who would buy rain boots in a summer day but I didn't and as I have said I didn't see it coming so soon.

But anyways, my hopes are still high that soon we will be able to see that "house" God has prepared for me and my husband. I just need to spend more time looking around.