Yard Sale in the House

We have launched our garage sale last week, but we decided to get it relaunched last Saturday. We will open our garage again this coming Saturday and will add on some more stuff that I dug out from our house, that have been in hiding for the longest time. Several ceramic decoratives that are just gathering dust, no matter how pretty they are to look at they just have to go. I want more space and I don't want to stick on clutters anymore.

One of the major stuff I am had the hubby carry outside is the black entertainment rack. It used to house amplifiers, VCR player and recorder and an old DVD player that fails to play anymore. Agh! I don't know why we kept it for so long. It should have been junked a long time ago! Now our CRT TV sits pretty on what used to be our little guy's baby closet. Nope, I don't think it's an eye sore. We had to take the baby closet out of his room to make way for his brand new study table that his father is painstakingly working on. :-)


I am getting busy today to do some more house clean up. I will just finish some online jobs then I'm off to getting rid of half of the clothes that are just in the closet.

Great Eyewear

With the recent eye strain I have been experiencing, one good news I could use is that of those incredible stylish new frames from Zenni, primarily because they are ultra affordable. Imagine, Zenni Optical $8 Rx Eyeglasses, now that's a real steal. No wonder Zenni Optical was on FOX news!

Look Alikes

I have received this a number of times from random people in my mailbox. I recently just viewed this and it gave me quite a laugh. I especially like the Joe de Venecia look alike! It's hilarious! Check out the doggy and the baby with lotsa folds... and Gollum, too! :-)

Quality At A Low Cost

Are you looking for non-expensive but high quality eyeglasses? The variable dimension frames from zennioptical.com is probably what you are looking for. They are completely UV protected, with thin and light 1.57 index lenses and includes a quality hard eyeglass casing. Visit their web site and choose from a wide variety of designs.

WW: Stone Fish

This is one of those interesting fish specie we have seen in those great aquarium in Ocean Adventure we went to October of last year. I wouldn't have had thought this was anything more than a stone. The label on its glass said it was a stone fish and we really had to have a closer look to see for ourselves. It's really a fish! Now, I wonder, does this fish ever move.

July 17 Show

Say what? Are you asking who Glenn Beck is? Well this man is an entertainer that enlightens people with his funny approach to current issues. In his website there are many featured videos about different topics ranging from presidential elections to energy independence. Although I may not agree with all of his views, I like the way he approaches issues because it educates or makes people aware of things we sometimes lose interest in when discussed. His Dallas show on July 17 will be broadcasted nationally to select movie theaters. Visit his site and secure your tickets now and look forward to an enjoyable show.

And Pacquiao Rewrites History

This is Pacquiao at his best yet! Pacquiao took his fourth world title in four different weight divisions. Now, that's history! We also have to give it to Diaz who has such big heart for an opponent. This is the one fight that I did not get to see. We were in church the whole day so it was only today that I got to read the papers. I know I should have seen it all, I cannot imagine how it would be like if I got to watch the fight for myself. You see I only got to read today's spreadsheets and I got goosebumps already.

It was interesting to learn how the fight has brought peace to the country. Imagine, in this crime-crazed country we are in, practically zero crime rate from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon. That alone says how passionate Filipinos are. I can only pray that we all would be as passionate for the Lord and maybe then we will all do our share for God to finally redeem us from the miry place we are in.

I'm sure that even as I have not watched the fight, that must be Pacquiao at his best. He said that this is the weight division he is most comfortable in and he sure made that manifest. It's just great that YouTube is around, now we get to see the full versions of each round of yesterdays fight.

It is such a great break for all the Filipinos the world over after the tragedies that befell our country the past week. I really pray that Manny receives Christ as his personal Lord and Savior if he still hasn't yet. May he find in his heart to give glory to the Lord despite the fame and fortune he is currently experiencing. Here's to you, Manny! God bless you more!

Traveling the Hensley Arrow Way

Almost a month ago, the hubby and I took the core members of our church to a day of planning, recreation and retreat to The Highlands in Boso-Boso. It was a real treat for all of us. The place we went to was a cool, breeze place in the Eastern part of Metro Manila.

We pray that the Lord would allow us to make this a yearly event. Our church is already five years old and this is really something that is necessary for the core group to share one vision and have one heart towards the ministry. It would be fun if we could all do a long drive to Laguna, Subic or even far North to Banawe on a neat RV or even a Hensley Arrow trailer and have every one enjoy the ride to our destination. It’s pretty much a given that with this kind of trailer, its Hensley Arrow Advanced Towing System totally eliminates what they call trailer sway. We will easily travel around with another smaller vehicle in tow.

Feel free to visit their web page to watch their video and maybe subscribe to their newsletter that promote economizing fuel and safety measures to keep in mind during long distance travels.

Oysters!

How I love oysters! This has been one of my favorites. A fresh, spanking plate can really make my day or even week, if I'd be given two plates. :-) It has been a while since I had my share. I believe it was some two wedding anniversaries ago. It's really been a while now. I can so relate with Ernest Hemingway when he said:

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” — Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

And how about a top notch oyster recipe from a top notch chef, Ernest Reynoso Gala:

Oysters Rockefeller

1. 24 large oysters; wash, scrub, remove upper shells.

2. One oven-proof serving tray; sprinkle 2 cups rock salt on a tray. Put oysters on top (the rock salt will keep the oysters in place).

3. For the topping: 1/2 cup finely chopped bacon

4. Sauce: 1/2 cup Magnolia Gold butter, 2 tbsps. each of finely chopped white onion and chopped parsley, 1 cup blanched and drained spinach or kangkong leaves, 1/2 tsp. each of rock salt and pepper, 1/2 cup fresh milk and 1/2 cup grated Quickmelt Cheese.

5. Procedure: Put butter, onions, parsley in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat for two minutes. Turn off fire and mix in spinach/kangkong, salt, pepper, milk, cheese.

6. Spoon spinach mixture on oysters. Top each with a teaspoon of bacon. Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 12 minutes. Serve one with cocktail forks. Serve 6 to 8.

7. Note: To blanch spinach or kangkong leaves, boil one cup water in a pan. Add two cups spinach leaves. Cook for two minutes until wilted. Drain.

And if you just can't afford to run the risk of failing as you you try the above recipe yourself, then you might just want to go to any of the restaurants below and gobble up those spanking great oysters without fussing over ingredients and worrying about failing.

Here are the aforementioned chef's best oyster restos:

1) Via Mare Oyster Bar, Rockwell: Top-quality oysters, some of the best in the country!

2) Heat, Edsa Shagri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong: I always line up at the buffet line to taste some of the sweetest, mouthwatering, fresh oysters you can find.

3) Mr. Rockefeller, 2nd level, Greenbelt 3, Makati City: The cheese oozes and definite value for money!

4) Restaurant Red, Makati, Shangri-La: The lemongrass-steamed New Zealand oysters with cauliflower, panna cotta, and Osetra caviar are a masterpiece!

5) Harbor View Restaurant: Oysters are topnotch and great quality. Great View of Manila Bay! Located at South Gate A, Rizal Park (between Manila Hotel and the US Embassy).

Good News for Minimum Wage Earners!

This is the first good news I have read in many years! I practically just read the entertainment section whenever I grab the morning spreadsheets. The news today has it also that Ces Drilon was finally released by her captives. Whether ransom was paid, it is not yet confirmed. Oh well, I hope she and her team learns from this ordeal. What I am afraid of is that if ransom was paid, then this will further encourage terrorists to do their thing.

Anyway, here is todays top news:

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:23:00 06/17/2008

MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed into law a bill that would exempt minimum wage earners from paying income tax and increasing personal exemptions for other employees.

Arroyo signed in Malacañang Tuesday Republic Act 9504 or an act amending Sections 22, 24, 34, 35, 51, and 79 of RA 8424 or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.

Senators Manuel Roxas, Francis Escudero, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. and Speaker Prospero Nograles were present during the signing.

The law aims "to provide financial relief to taxpayers in cognizance by the government of the hard times brought by multiple factors, including the current rice crisis, oil price hikes and the heightening inflationary pressure on commodities of all kinds and to help reduce the wide tax gap in the taxation of self-employed and professionals," according to the five-page document released to media.

Senator Manuel Roxas, principal author of the measure, said the new law would "provide relief to our workers by increasing their take home pay."

He added that the law would allow minimum wage earners to take home as much as P750 a month or from P33 to P35 a day.

"A worker in Metro Manila earning P7,900 a month will now have an additional P750 of take-home pay per month, or P34 per day. He can now spend this additional money for his needs or for his family's needs, such as food, medicine, and the tuition fee of his children, among other uses," Roxas said.

But apart from tax exemption for minimum wage earners, the law will also provide for an increase in the personal exemption of all taxpayers.

From the current P20,000 personal exemption for single taxpayers, P25,000 for head of family, and P32,000 for married individual, the tax exemption will be fixed at P50,000, Roxas said.

The additional exemption for dependents will increase from P8,000 to P25,000, he said.

The senator added that all holiday, night differential, hazard, and overtime pay would also be tax-exempt.

He added that the aim of both the House of Representatives and Senate was not only to increase tax exemption for workers but also to provide relief for minimum wage earners.

"The House focuses on increasing the exemption while I focus on minimum wage," he said.

"We have fought for this for a long time. Many Labor Days have come and gone wherein we fought for this for our workers, and at last, income tax exemption of minimum wage earners is now a law," said Roxas in an interview Monday.

For other salaried workers, the measure would allow an employee earning P455 per day or P10,010 per month to have an additional take-home pay of P472.59 per month or P5,671.02 per year if unmarried; P678.50 per month or P8,142.04 per year as head of the family; and P580.92 per month or P6,971.02 per year for those married with four children.

An employee earning P683 per day or P15,026 per month would have an additional take-home pay of P545.26 per month or P6,543.10 per year if unmarried; P1,307.18 per month or P15,686.20 per year as head of the family; and P1,190.52 per month or P14,286.20 per year for those married with four children.

Although the government is expected to lose around P14 billion a year with the new law, the government hopes to recover this through the optional standard deductions (OSD), which will "simplify the filing of income tax returns and benefits, in particular, professionals and medium, small, and micro entrepreneurs," according to the law.

The OSD will rake in P15.03 billion tax revenues annually.

The law is said to take effect 15 days after its publication in a national newspaper.

Toronto Condos and Lofts

My parents recently just got their Canadian Visas and their off to fly in the next few months. Mama still has an active American Visa and they are still waiting for Papa to be able to get a hold of his very soon. We have an aunt residing in Canada and she has been inviting relatives over to go visit the place. Ever since I got my professional license, I have been toying with the idea of applying for a job there.

This country particularly attracts me for its low crime rate and for the effortlessly beautiful place it is. If ever I will be given the privilege to stay there one site that could be useful to look into is http://www.toronto-condominiums.ca/. Their site is extremely useful and has a wide scope of info about real estate and condominiums to live in. If toronto condos are what you are looking into, then you need to go check this site out and even read through their toronto condo reviews so you are sure you land on the piece of property that you want to stay in.

I have not found a more comprehensive website for Condo and Loft that covers the vicinity of Toronto area. Their site is ultra user friendly, navigation is a breeze and you actually read testimonials from real clients. Honest to goodness testimonials that backs up their very reputation of being number one in their field. Their thousands of listings guarantees a loft or condominium that will suit your need.

Really Inconsiderate

Remember this post? As I cannot think of a better title for this entry, I will just have it sound as a reinforcing post to the above link.

The hubby and one of the mothers around the block went to talk to the person who was doing the painting of the car, he promised to finish by that weekend. Which was not good enough to start with and I believe was a total insult when he handed the hubby and our neighbor one of those cheap gas masks. As if there was anything that a gas mask can do. A week after, he was still at it and we figured this shouldn't be tolerated anymore at all. First, it was a violation of the clean and green act of the city. Second, it is just not human for this Concepcion household. Yes I have got no fear in naming them. They are one bunch of idiots, if you ask me. Whoever in their right mind would do such a thing. Selfishly doing their own thing, despite the fact that some of their neighbors have practically begged them to put a stop to it.

Inconsiderate monsters! Yes that's what they are. And three weeks after the day that their neighbors pleaded with them to stop spray painting their car, they are at it again! Tuesday this week, I felt my chest tighten from the ever familiar smell of the pain fumes. And this time around it was a different car that he was painting. It goes without saying that they are doing this deliberately and selfishly and he never meant a thing he said about not doing it again after two Saturdays ago. We have emphasized already that three of the neighbor's kids have asthma and have been having a hard time breathing because of what they are doing.

The president of our village's association said that this brood of irresponsible neighbors that we have are notorious for their attitude problems. I can only wonder from what planet they are from and if they ever practically applied what they learned from school, at all. The clean and green team came by and warned the bastards. And the staff of the city office gave us their contact numbers just in case they are at it again.

I just cannot fathom how people like these can live with themselves!

My Religious Philosphy Quiz by Blogthings

Another one of those online quizzes. It can be relaxing sometimes do all these quizzes, silly or not. Here's one of the results of the quizzes that I took today:

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion. Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu.. Your convictions are strong and unwavering. You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

My Emotional Quotient

Your EQ is 127

You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. On an average day, you're quite happy, together, and content. You live your life well. Your emotions aren't always stable, but you can go along with the ups and downs pretty well. You tend to be motivated, energetic, focused, and level headed. You see the world pretty rationally, and you don't tend to over dramatize things. When things are bad, you know they eventually have to get better.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

This is How I Pray

I have heard this praying tip from either the hubby in one of his preachings or from another preacher. It gives us management in how we pray and not forget people that are represented in each finger. This helps me a great deal in how I pray for the people around me, I hope this will benefit you as well.

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3 The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Inconsiderate Neighbors

Our neighbor has been busy painting one of their cars and have been causing all these bad fumes for almost a week now. We could not have cared less if they would wash their cars and remodel or fix their cars all day and night. But paint fumes is just another story I cannot tolerate. For Pete's sake, we have the right to air without those toxic fumes. We are in a residential place and we have this right. They don't even half consider that there are kids all over the neighborhood and even an adult such as myself can feel the tightness of my chest brought about by such irresponsible actions! If they are the rich people they are projecting that they are, then they should go rent a place where they can do all the painting they want without harming other people. The nerve of such people!

Whether through employment, home remodeling, or huffing fumes to get high, a large majority of the population has been exposed to hazardous paint fumes throughout their lifetime. Both short and long term exposure to these fumes can and will most likely affect you in a variety of ways, which are more serious than often expected. This is not just a headache or a little nausea. Some studies have suggested that excessive exposure to paint fumes may increase the rate of miscarriage, as well as increasing the risk of childhood asthma. Those who get high huffing would do well to know that the American Academy of Pediatrics says that huffing can lead to instant cardiac arrhythmia or sudden sniffing death syndrome.
So why is it that paint fumes are so bad for you? As you can probably guess, it is all related to what is in the paint itself. Paint contains a large number of VOC’s or volatile organic compounds, which are the chemicals that we as humans are allergic to. The amount of VOC’s in paint rise as the paint gets more vibrant in color. There are also more VOC’s in oil-based paint than there is in latex or water based paint. Lead based paint, which was popular in the 1950’s, has the most VOC’s of any paint.

The VOC’s in paint can affect you in a number of ways. Immediately after inhaling them, an individual may experience headaches, breathing problems, nausea, dizziness, and a burning of the eyes. Direct contact with them, especially in paint thinner may cause burning and cracking of the skin. If you start to have these symptoms and you are around paint or paint thinner, get out into the fresh air, wash up and try to avoid the area until a bit drier and safer, as VOC’s do dissipate as they dry.
The long-term effects of exposure to and inhalation of harmful paint fumes can be extremely severe. You may experience permanent brain damage, including loss of memory, confusion, seizures, and a general decrease in general mental faculties. Chronic exposure to paint, especially when huffing or through prolonged and most likely direct contact with the VOC’s in paint and paint thinner can lead to sever kidney and liver damage. These are the main organs responsible foe detoxification and elimination of toxic chemicals from the body. You may also experience major respiratory problems, as the chemicals can damage the fragile lining of the lungs.
This does not mean that you can never paint another room again; it simply means that you should take the proper precautions when painting. As previously mentioned, the VOC’s in paint lessen as paint dries because they evaporate, so make sure that you paint in a well ventilated area. If you are in an area where this is not possible, use a respirator. Remember to always store paint away from your living space in a well-sealed container. Whenever possible, use water soluble paint so you can avoid using paint thinner, which has a higher amount of VOC’s than just paint. And of course, never huff.

http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/paintfumesdang_scse.htm

A Boo-boo and A Baked Chicken

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I got so clumsy last night as I rummaged through our file cabinet for something and I got so impatient that I couldn't care less what I was digging through. I scraped the side of my pinky finger and it bled non-stop. One thing for sure, that file cabinet needs to get sorted. The scrape was so bad I have wet a whole lot of tissue, plus the blood trace on the floor and the wall (I had to turn on the light). I was shocked that my hand was already bleeding. Don't worry I will get to the baked chicken part, promise. The skin on the side of my left pinky is now in its crooked state. I'm changing the dressing in a while. The hubby and I dressed it and and have it soak around propolis ointment from Ilogmaria last night. It works wonders for wounds.

Anyway, that just about gave me the reason to bake these pieces of chicken. Baked chicken requires a lot less time and effort. Just throw in all the ingredients and Voila! All in its succulent, yummy glory! It was yummy. I haven't done baked chicken in a while. It's just sad that it had to take my pinky finger to get badly bruised for me to get back to baking chicken.

I Passed the Board!!!!!

Praise God!!!! He alone deserves all the glory and worthy of all praise! Click here to read the full story.

WW, Thursday Edition: Mama and Son

Get Me There

We move around a lot to get from one place to another -- walk, car, bus, cab, bike, motorcycle, plane, train ... let's talk about your commute.