Sink or Swim

The personalized cufflinks that I purchased for my ex-colleague’s wedding hasn’t arrived yet. Which is why I’m now scouting the local shops online if I can order something nice for him that can arrive in 3 days. Luckily, I found some funny shirts about marriage which I know he and his bride-to-be will love. They’re both geeks, same as I, so I can imagine how much fun they’d have wearing the shirts on their honeymoon. Too bad I won’t be able to attend their wedding. It’s a 2-hour plane ride and I can’t leave work since it’s only the start of the year. I wish them well though and hope the gifts will arrive just in time.

If we get a chance to have a big backyard in our future home, I’ll definitely fill it with rustic furniture. Either a wooden breakfast table set or one of those really nice log porch swings that I always see in country homes. My dream is to have a nice porch and the photo below will be a great addition to that.

I can just imagine spending our afternoons in this swing either reading a book or just hanging out with the kids. I love outdoors so much which is why a big garden is a must for us.

Our housekeeper found a flyer about Message Therapist Jobs and wondered if I can help her get more information. She said her niece might be able to benefit from the job listings and hopefully be able to help their family from the province. I instantly agreed which is why I am looking for similar jobs online when I’m supposed to be working. I just feel the need to help them knowing they are trying to feed 6 mouths under the age of seven. If there’s one thing I wish for Christmas, I really want to have more money so I can help the kids have a good education or at least find work opportunities for the ones who can already work.

Just found some really nice titanium jewelry at teno.com which will be perfect for the ‘important’ (translation: parents, in-laws) people in our family. There are cuff links, earrings and necklaces below $100 which I would personally love to have! I also found some nice handmade bags that I know my mom and mother-in-law would go crazy about. As for the kids, that’s always been the easiest part. My daughters don’t really care for expensive things as long as it’s the one that they really want. For example, while I was checking out a $50 doll, my 6-yr-old is holding a kite with a dreamy smile on her face which only cost $8. Amazing huh? I hope I could finish my Christmas shopping before December 5th. Which also means I need to receive our Christmas bonus earlier than planned!

Saw some shamballa bracelets on sale today and was tempted to buy except I’m really trying to save money for lots of more important things. There’s Christmas which is lurking around the corner, my daughter’s 7th birthday bash and school fund next year, my baby’s educational plan and some extra for unplanned trips. So there’s really no reason why I should shop online anymore.

Add to that is the fact that our checkbook has gone awry. My husband and I agreed that we’ll not spend on anything unless it’s food. Which is why the mere thought of food is making me so hungry right now. I think I can be on the show Man VS. Food and still come out alive.

Wish I can have a breakfast like this. Compared to what I’m having at this time (coffee and stale bread with cheese), this is heaven.

To-dos for this week:

Find inspiration for graduation invitations that I need to design for a client.

Finish the WordPress website that I’m developing so the client can populate the pages.

Design new logos for a friend. This one’s a pro bono project. Something to help her on her new business venture.

Make sure all tasks are done by next Thursday so I can attend my daughter’s PTA meeting.

Forget about acquiring new projects. Just finish all my backlogs first.

I’ve been looking at Compacc.com gmax helmets the whole morning but couldn’t decide which one I should get for my brother-in-law. His birthday is in two weeks and this is the only thing that I thought of that will benefit him and his family. He has been going to work in a motorcycle for one week now, no matter how many times we pleaded, cajoled and threatened him. After all, we’ve seen too many road accidents involving motorbikes that we just can’t turn our backs on him. Luckily, his work is 10 minutes away and if he’s careful enough (i.e. wearing a good helmet) and patient enough not to use the main roads, he’ll probably be fine. We can only hope!

I have an important task today and that is to review the engagement rings that my soon-to-be engaged friend (he hopes) wants to buy. I told him to ask his girlfriend’s friends, not me because they probably know what she likes. Aside from that, I’m not exactly the best person to ask when it comes to jewelry but since it has to be a surprise, I have no choice but to help him out. I don’t like it and she may hate it but a friend’s gotta do what she has to.

Having said that, I’d like to share with you one postcard from PostSecret that is related to this.

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail
in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard