Analou's Place to Remember: September 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Our recreation room

We are very fortunate to own a house. It is not very big but it is enough for me, my husband and our big dog, Bones. We have a small backyard and a recreation room with roofdeck which is separate from our main house. The recreation room is large enough to be very useful. Inside we have our new 55" flat screen TV with a complete surround sound system, a sofa with glass table, a pool table with complete accessories, a bathroom, an office area and a washer dryer. Our recreation room is spacious enough to hold a party to accomodate many people. What I also like about this room are the large photos taken by my husband that are hanging on the wall. When our guests come to this room they will always be mesmerized by my husband's work.

Behind the sliding doors is our washer dryer

I am just glad that during the last party that we had, none of our guests seemed to notice our washer dryer that is just behind the light blue sliding doors which is adjacent to the bathroom. My husband was very creative because when he purchased our house more than ten years ago, he did a lot of renovation and one was to put sliding doors where our washer dryer is located. He built it by himself and I am really very impressed with my husbands sense of creativity and resourcefulness.

Although the major projects that we want for our house have already been accomplished, we still have some other chores that we need to do. We still have to clean our rooftop deck and garage, change the paint in the bathroom, plant flowers for the winter season and probably change the 6 pocket baskets of our pool table because all of them are ripped. Hopefully we will be able to accomplish these things before this year is over.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Mellow Yellow Monday....Aimee

It's been a long time since I last participated in Mellow Yellow Monday. My entry for this monday is my niece, Aimee

Aimee is my first and only niece. She is very sweet, so curious and loves to wander around in our neighborhood there in the Philippines. She has a lot of friends and not to brag very popular probably because she is very pretty and a meztiza (half-Filipino and half-Icelander).

This photo was taken at Mantangale, Alibuag, Misamis Oriental when I visited my family in the Philippines last March. Aimee was wearing a yellow blouse with a small Philippine map printed on it.

Another cute photo of Aimee wearing a yellow blouse

Another photo of her holding a yellow Daisy flower. She is wearing a white and yellow dress and a denim hat.

My younger sister Mayeth and her daughter, Aimee. This photo was taken in May 1, 2010 when Aimee celebrated her first birthday. Aimee is wearing a red and yellow dress (like the dress of Snow White but different color), a crown, two yellow hair clips, a white sandal and a white and pink socks.

Friday, September 16, 2011

He prefers an electric razor

My husband was using a disposable razor when he shaves for more than 30 years. But more than two years ago I talked him into switching to an electric razor because it is much easier to shave, very easy to operate, convenient, less messy and it doesn't require a lot of preparation like using a shaving soap or a shaving cream. Although electric razors and replacement razors blades are more expensive than disposable razors in the short run, eventually you will get your moneys worth in due time. Besides, electric shavers are good to have for men who are always on the go like my husband.

Unlike disposable razors, electric shavers are usually dry shavers. The hair you want to shave should be dried so that the shaver will glide smoothly along your skin making the whiskers easy to cut. Although it is not necessary to use any pre shaving products when you use electric shavers, some men prefer to use a pre-shaving lotion that is specifically designed for electric shavers to let the whiskers stand straight up, making it faster to shave.

Most men will probably use an after shave balm, an after shave lotion or a moisturizer after they shave to smooth their skin. Just make sure that these products will not clog your pores. Always read the entire label before using the product and follow the instructions carefully.

Also, a very important reason why I want my husband to use an electric razor is that he has very sensitive skin. He just can't use any product that he wants without knowing if he is allergic to that product. With his electric razor, all he has to do is just turn it on, shave and he is ready to go. Since I got him an electric razor he has never gone back to using a pre-shaving lotion, a disposable razor and an after shave balm and he is happy with the results.

Some people may not like an electric razor and still prefer the traditional way of shaving. But according to my husband the electric shaver is the way to go because he says it is simply faster and he can still get a very close shave.

(I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated. However, the views and opinions are my own)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Covering the Plants

This post is supposed to be published few months ago. I did not realized that I forgot to make it live.

We usually covered a part of our plants with plastic wraps when we know that we will be having a very cold weather. We put most of our delicate plants that are in a pot inside our garage. We don't want these plants to die without even trying to rescue them. Plants are very expensive and by doing some extra work during colder weather we were able to save dollars because we only have to buy those plants and flowers that are usually planted in the ground and did not survive when the temperature drops. My tomato plant is still alive and has fruits although it is not looking good right now. Hopefully my tomato can make it until spring. I usually just cut it back and for some reason it grows again. It may not be as healthy as the first time I planted it but it still bear fruits.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

You maybe qualified for a Low Income Housing

Many families are affected by what happens with our economy. I recently heard horrible news that a family must leave their home because they can't afford to pay their monthly mortgage anymore. The most common reason why they have to leave their home is because either the husband or wife is laid off in his/her job. Consequently they can no longer support many of their needs, especially the mortgage. Thus, they must have to make sacrifices in order to survive.

In order to help individuals and families who can no longer afford to keep their house, low incoming housing is made available to qualified individuals or families whose annual income is less than $40,00 a year. This amount can vary depending on the area where you live. This program is not only possible through the government but also non-profit organizations and foundations, and even private property management and real estate firms.

This is a good time to take advantage of this program. I am sure that those individuals and families that are affected would rather live in a house or an apartment that they can call their own than living with a relative or a friend. The Low Income Housing Authority features the most up-to-date housing directory with over 50,000 properties. Check them out and see if you qualify.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Environmentally conscience

Guest post written by our friend Mason Abbott

I have always been someone who believes that it is our job to take care of the environment. I recycle everything that is possibly able to be recycled, and my wife and I do our best to be responsible with the resources that we use daily. I find it so aggravating that so many people do not share my sense of responsibility for the planet on which we live. This planet will not last if we continue to treat it poorly. I recently heard about fixed-rate energy, and my wife and I are going to give it a try. I found some useful information about this at reliant energy houston. We also recently bought our fist electric car. It is a hybrid, but its usage of fuel compared to my old car is off the charts. Although it was fairly expensive, I will be saving literally thousands of dollars on gas over the next five years. I also feel good about driving a car that is environmentally friendly. I firmly believe that the resources we use up will only further damage the world we leave to later generations.

Pandesal Recipe

I would like to say thank you to a friend of mine who shared with me a site that has this Pandesal recipe, the Panlasang Pinoy website. I was happy with the result for my first time attempt but more than happy with my second try.

So here's the recipe from Panlasang Pinoy:

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups bread flour

½ cup white sugar

5 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp baking powder

1¼ cup fresh milk, warm

1 pouch rapid rise yeast

1 tsp salt

1 cup bread crumbs

1 piece raw egg

1 tbsp cooking oil

Cooking procedure:

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk and stir until the yeast and sugar are fully disolved

2. In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients starting with the flour then the sugar, salt, and baking powder . Mix well by stirring

3. Add the egg, butter, cooking oil, and yeast-sugar-milk mixture in the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients then mix again until a dough is formed. Use your clean hands to effectively mix the ingredients.

4. In a flat surface, knead the dough until the texture becomes fine.

5. Mold the dough until shape becomes round then put back in the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with damp cloth and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour

6. Put the dough back to the flat surface and divide into 4 equal parts using a dough slicer

7. Roll each part until it forms a cylindrical shape

8. Slice the cylindrical dough diagonally (These slices will be the individual pieces of the pandesal)

9. Roll the sliced dough over the breadcrumbs and place in a baking tray with wax paper (makes sure to provide gaps between doughs as this will rise later on)

10. Leave the sliced dough with breadcrumbs in the tray for another 10 to 15 minutes to rise

11. Pre heat the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes

12. Put the tray with dough in the oven and bake for 15 minutes

13. Turn off the oven and remove the freshly baked pandesal.

14. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!

This is what I did differently in my second attempt to which I personally like the result better:

* 2 pouches of rapid rise yeast

* I used 1/2 cup powder milk and mix it with 1 1/4 cups warm water (I was out with regular milk)

* In the first cooking procedure it did not say how much sugar you have to put. I used only 1/4 cup and set aside the other 1/4 cup for the second cooking procedure.

The Panlasang Pinoy website has also a video on how they cook this Pandesal. Just visit their site if you want to watch this video. Happy baking!

Hubby went through two surgeries

My husband went on two surgeries last month. He had three kidney stones but two of these stones need to be removed, but the third stone was not a threat to my husband's health according to his doctor and the chances of him passing it out would be very, very slim. Each stone was removed in a week apart. Every surgery that my husband had I was not there to accompany and be with him. His doctor, the assistants and the nurses even asked him if somebody will be there in the hospital during his surgery. I really felt bad for not being there with him when he needed me the most. But since I can't drive him to the hospital because I am still not confident to drive that far, my husband urged me not to ask for the day off because the surgery and the recovery period in the hospital will last for more than five hours. So, he preferred for me to work during his first surgery and stay at home during his second surgery. For both times, our friend was the one who picked him up at the hospital because he was not allowed to drive by himself nor take a cab without somebody with him.

According to my husband, he was really overwhelmed with the surgery procedures. At least four people wearing medical scrubs asked him the same questions over and over again even up to the last minute before he went to a very deep sleep. The two procedures really cost us a lot of money even if we have insurance. I saw the billing and the Information of Benefit Payments from our insurance company and unfortunately they did not cover everything. We still have to pay almost 10K if I am not mistaken with my calculations. I don't know if we can pay the hospital at once. But I am very glad and thankful that the procedure went well and my husband already felt great. His health is more important than anything else. If we have to sell our house, we will do it just to make sure that he is heathy.

How I wish I got the same insurance coverage that a friend of mine have. She told me that every time she and her family had to go to the hospital or to a doctor that they only pay the co-pay and the rest was being shouldered by their insurance provider. I was curious where she works and so I asked her. She told me that she works in a hospital and she gets her insurance from them. I told her that she is very lucky to have a good insurance coverage. This conversation like this will always remind me that I really want to go to medical school not only to earn good salary but also to help my husband and other people as well. Unfortunately, I can't do it at the moment. Money is very tight these days. It would not be that difficult to go to school for any medical related courses because there are many schools that are offering this course. It is just like there are so many good quality scrubs at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/ which I and those people in any medical field will be able to find one that will fit perfectly for their taste and style. There are really times wherein no matter how badly we want to do something, it just won't happen because of some unforeseen circumstances.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

A Good Night Sleep Begins with a Good Quality Mattress

According to what I saw in the ad on TV, if our mattress is over 10 years old it's time to replace it. Most of us may have taking for granted in replacing our mattress because we may think that it is still usable and in good shape. But it is not only uncomfortable to sleep in a mattress that doesn't have the support anymore but also it will cause an excruciating back pain overtime. If the reason of not replacing your mattress is because it is very expensive, how about visiting the Coast to Coast Mattress. They have mattress sale from leading brands right now. These mattresses comes in various sizes, styles and comfort to accommodate everyone's needs.

If you are not sure what kind of mattress to get, Coast to Coast Mattress has an Advisor tool where you can put what you would like your new mattress be and they will give you a suggestion of the kind of mattress that is best for you. It could be one of the Serta mattress or any other brand of mattresses. They even have a Sleep Specialist that you can call all the time if you have queries about any mattress that they carry. They have intensive information about each mattress they sell and that is really a good sign that Coast to Coast Mattress is dedicated in giving their customers the best mattress possible.

Coast to Coast Mattress has joined with Serta and Autism Speaks foundation in the fight against autism. For those who doesn't know what is autism, according to the dictionary, it is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by great difficulty in communication and forming relationships with other people. If you purchase one of Coast to Coast Mattress luxury autism mattress sets, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Autism Speaks Foundation. Would it be great that while you feel relax and recharge with your new mattress you are helping at the same time the people with autism?

Please feel free to look through the Coast to Coast Mattress website for more information. They even carry bedding and linens and any other sleeping products. They have a hassle-free shopping and a free delivery nationwide on every order you make. Their website is very easy to navigate and they have a good deals on the products they carry. So before you go to bed tonight, why not check them out. A good quality and comfortable mattress does make a big difference in the way you sleep and feel the next day.

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