Contagious Lifestyle

My fellow Twitter Bebot friend, Faye, of Quicker8.com is holding a cool giveaway contest on her blog where she’s giving away the following as raffle prizes:

1st prize – Fossil Ladies Chronograph (big face) watch

2nd prize – Kate Spade kikay kit (orange)

3rd prize – Kate Spade kikay kit (floral)

This is open to international readers.  Contest runs until September 8, 2010.

Head on over to her blog for the contest mechanics and other details of this contest.

I love rebates, discounts and freebies that’s why whenever we shop our weekly groceries in our favorite supermarket store, I make sure to bring my rewards ID to earn points that will be consequently converted to rebates and sometimes, freebies. Usually, these retail stores come up with such offerings to gain loyalty and to lure the customers to keep on coming back and shop at their stores.

This is also the exact mindset of the people behind popular online poker rooms and sites where they offer a Rake back point for every play and time spent on that particular room. This type of reward system was initiated to prevent new players from just bonuswhoring or the practice of signing up in a particular room then just leave after earning the sign up bonus. That was the behavior in the past leaving the poker rooms empty and ailing. Having a Poker rakeback also gives a player higher chances of earning more profits. That’s what Rake Back Codes is actually for. When one signs up for rakeback through Rake Back Codes, a player instantly earns a rake from the moment he signs up and the earnings can be tracked daily. To maximize one’s playing time, signing up for a Full tilt rakeback is the best thing to do.

Over dinner tonight, the husband and I had a little discussion about my current online job, the status of our my receivables from it then it graduated to tackling of our finances and expenses over dinner. Well, it really is tough discussing negative and depressing thoughts over meal times but on the other hand, the food eaten, especially if sumptuous just like the Pork Giniling Soup we had, can serve as an antidote against the negative vibes. Somehow, it makes the mood and serious discussion, even how heavy the problem seems to be, lighter and brighter. 

It started as a light money matters discussion but it gradually turned into a more serious one. I just mentioned in passing that we must brace ourselves for the upcoming bill expenses next month especially that the monthly amortization of the house is highly probable to start next month.  Then our credit card bills are something to anticipate too because of the big purchases we had in the recent weeks specifically the weekly grocery expenses.  It can really be nerve wracking discussing budget and expenses but as a homemaker and the household’s manager, it’s a task that I have to do.

Nevertheless, we are still lucky as we can somehow manage and can cope up with these never ending expenses. I just hope and pray for a steady stream of online works then it would be enough to augment the husband’s 15th and 30th paycheck.  A cash advance or a payday loan are his ready options should our budget fall way short. That’s what I appreciate about my husband because he would always be ready with a game plan.  He’s very well knowledgeable about these money options. I just know that our family would surpass all these money obstacles as long as we have the wise husband by our side.

Life isn’t all about work.  That’s why it’s necessary that, once in a while, we let our body and mind get the rest that they need after toiling so much stress and exhaustion at work.  There is no better way to relax and unwind than go on a trip or vacation.  Aside from the weekly work breaks, it’s also advisable to take a grand vacation religiously each year.   There are tons of attractive destinations worldwide.  Whatever the preferences are in terms of the climate, culture, people, continent, food, activities, etc, the options are limitless.

In terms of rates and tour inclusions, there are also varied travel packages that a tourist can choose from.  There are cruise ships, luxurious hotels and trip packages to Europe for the more affluent ones, while there are also good deals on vacation rentals and even transient homes for those who are on a budget travel. 

A vacation rental is a fully furnished single-family home property like a villa, apartment, condominium, cottage, beach-house or a cabin that is offered for short term lodging for a reasonable amount of rental fee.  As tourists are leaning towards doing a practical travel nowadays, more and more people favor to stay in a vacation rental over a hotel when travelling in groups like with families or friends or even when on a honeymoon trip.

The advantages of staying in a vacation rental are as follows:

1.  Flexibility. Less charges, the ability to cook and come up with your own meals, less restrictions.

2.  Privacy. Private pools and hot tubs can be enjoyed without having to worry about restrictions.

3. Rates. While there are luxurious vacation rental properties, most are geared towards the average travel spenders, thus, affordable rentals are available in almost every popular destinations worldwide.

The secret to finding the best vacation rental that can make a vacation truly worthwhile, hassle-free and memorable, is researching and canvassing vacation packages ahead of time.

Ever since we acquired our Little Mansion, browsing home interior designing blogs has become a great interest. In fact, my feeds reader and my web browser have become filled with so much blogs, inspiration sites and shops that have to do with home decorating. Before we shopped for furniture, we scoured the web first and we got plenty of options and inspirations. Since most of these are abroad based shops and ordering online is not feasible, we just saved pictures and that’s where we drew inspiration from when we started shopping furniture.

Aside from furniture, window shopping for home ornaments and decorations like country curtains and of different types, themes and styles also busied me whenever I’m online. Now that the Christmas season is approaching, we’re excited to shop for fall and christmas themed decorations especially that we will be celebrating Christmas in our new home for the first time.

Country Village Shoppe is a recent discovery where I saw these candle sleeves and stockings. Too bad fireplaces aren’t a thing here in the Philippines, such items can be perfectly placed on such. But nevertheless, these are just great Christmas pieces too that I can adorn our living room with. There are so many other home country stuff like country quilts and country shower curtains and even handmade and artisan style wood country items that will surely elegantly embellish any one’s home. It is a must check shop by those who are planning to prettify further their homes through ornaments and embellishments.