California Visit

I love summer time. It gives us a chance to relax when the kids are out of school. Last year we went to the Philippines for a 21- day vacation. That was our first after 3 years of living here in the US so it was really memorable. This time we opted to visit my niece in the West. We went to California for a five-day vacation on June 20 - 25. Yes that was just less than a month ago. I greatly appreciate my niece Jonna and George for letting us stay in their house for the five days of stay there. We also visited a new friend who is also a blogger named Comely. She's a relative of a dear friend from New Jersey. Jonna live in Northern California up in the mountains which has a breathtaking view. Day 1 we went to see the Golden San Francisco Bridge. It was a 2-hour drive. A rather long drive but worth it. We never expected it to be foggy and cold so we ended up buying some sweaters. It's a good thing there are a lot of stores along the streets. We ate lunch at the Californian Restaurant where a lot of Hollywood stars have dined in. Day 2 we went to the Bear lake just a 30-minute drive from my niece's house. Day 3 we went to the Discovery Kingdom in Six Flags. We had a lot of fun. We saw a lot of animals and there were a lot of rides. After that we decided to stay at Comely's house and we had karaoke. Thank you also Comely for being such a good friend to me and my niece. You're awesome!We also went to the pool the next day back at my niece's house. It was just a 15-minute drive so basically we went there twice. The ride going back to South Carolina was long. The plane stopped for a little while in Phoenix to pick some passengers. Then we changed planes at Tennessee. From Tennessee to Charleston our final destination then drove home for another three hours. I'm glad we reached home safe and sound. I hope we can go on cruise the next time around.

Addicted to Coupons

I have been watching how others coupon to save some money. You know how it goes with money nowadays. it won't take long to spend a hard earned dollar. It amazes me how they save so much so when I started to do it that's it I got hooked with coupons. We went to target today to get a dozen eggs for free with a coupon. I let my son line up so he will know how it feels to coupon with a 100% savings. On the other hand me and my daughter used a coupon for her hair color. The Revlon hair color cost like $3 something and she ended up paying 83 cents with the use of coupons! How awesome! And then we went to CVS my favorite store. I paid $11.02 and saved $46.97 for a whole bunch of stuff. I am posting a pic for you to see. So here's the breakdown 8rolls Bounty paper towel 10.00 on sale for 6.49 - .25manufacturer coupon 2 Crest toothpaste 3.00 each on sale for 2/5.50 - (2) .75 mfr coupon 1 gallon 2% milk 3.89 2 tide 5.97 each - (2) 1.00 mfr coupon and $3 cvs coupon 2 dawn .97 each - (2) .25 mfr coupon 3 nivea cream in tin .99 each - (3) 1.00 mfr coupon 1 nivea skin firming 10.99 - $3.00 coupon 1 greenville newspaper 2.50 I also used $21.50 Extrabucks as payment. I saved more than 85%. Do you wanna save money too? Get your sunday paper and start couponing!

I Passed

I'm so happy. Finally I passed the test for my CNA! I am now certified to work as a nursing assistant. I took it last Saturday. This was the second exam I took since I failed the last one last month. There are only three attempts and if you won't pass you will go back to school again. I made sure that I pass. I practiced with my classmate Shauntae almost everyday the week before the exam. We took the effort and I'm glad it paid off. Thank you so much Shauntae for helping me. You are very supportive of me. She even came to my classroom to morally support me on exam day. How about that. We laughed, we ate, we prayed so hard. It sounds like a book right but this is for real.

New Neighbors

Guest post written by Christine Duncan

Early last week, I noticed that a realtor had come to the empty house across the street and put a sold sign across the for sale sign in front of it. I had been watching the in and out activity there for the last several weeks and knew it was close to being sold. I love that house and I miss my friends who lived there and were my neighbors for many years. The economy is so bad that I wondered if they would be able to sell it for a profit or if they would have to unload it at a loss because they wanted to purchase another home in their new city. When I saw the sold sign I called my friend and she told me they made a small profit and were pleased that they didn’t take a loss on the property. And she told me I would like my new neighbor. So when I saw her in the yard yesterday, I went over and introduced myself. We talked and she said she had looked into http://www.expertsatellite.com/ because she had seen the previous owner’s satellite dish when she viewed the house. She has decided to go with them for her service. Good choice, I told her!

Failing

I've never ever failed before. I always study hard and pass. When I took my CNA test I failed in the skill test so I can't have my license. I was shocked. I got so worried about a friend if she's gonna pass or not not knowing I am the one who failed and she passed. It made me feel like an idiot so should I cry over this? I held back the tears. Failing is not easy on my part but the truth is it teaches me to be humble. To accept the things that are happening beyond my control. I'm a failure? Oh no I can't accept that. I need to retake again to prove myself I'm not a failure. I plan to take nursing after this so I should really study harder and not just keep chilling out. I got the naces schedule today. First plan is to take a leave to focus on my review for the exam. I am going to take another exam on the 21st. Mind you I will pass this time. I am writing down all the skills. I usually absorb some words when I write it down. What kind of a person is that? I don't really know the term. I just know I learn and remember better when I write it down.
Wish me luck folks.

Online Shopping

I love online shopping but I don't have the time yet. I'm cramming up with this Licensure test. After the test I'm really going to do so to get myself something nice. I studied late last night but still got nervous. I reviewed the test with with a friend early in the morning. Our CNA test is composed of two parts written and skill exam. I passed the written and sadly failed the skill test. I did four out of five but they said I need to perfect it. What? My emotions diving I went home really frustrated. i definitely need to go shopping in the comfort of my home but not yet because I went to work after the test like nothing really happened. Good thing I did not encounter nasty customers. The past two days have really been hectic since I went to work and studied a too little. At six thirty tonight thank goodness my day was over at work.

I went home and got the kids ready for a dinner out. The first thing I ordered was a sangria. Yes I got myself one to ease my nerves. My niece gave me a generous gift card for my birthday that we spent. Thank you Inday Jonna. We went to Olive Garden which is very near our house. It's a family activity to dine out every weekend just to break the monotony of eating in the house every single time. Food was ghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifood so dining out tonight was awesome.
When we got home I kicked my shoes and relaxed. It's time for me to relax and go online shopping. I saw this pretty night stand lamps that can help beautify my bedroom. I need something pretty to look at in this old dungeon. I also see a kitchen step stool chair. I really need this since I am short and could not reach the cupboards and the upper part of the pantry. The possibilities, ideas, and what to buy online are endless. There are a lot of things you can see when you shop online like this panel ready refrigerators that seem to go well in the renovation in our house in Maryland. I love this because it will camouflage with the rest of the cupboards in the kitchen. Our humble abode would really look neat, clean and a little bit spacious. I wish I have all the money to buy these stuff all at once. For now my focus is passing and acing this skill test to get me a job so i can buy what I want.

Joining the Mango Tours Photo Contest

I'm joining the Mango tours photo contest about Philippine Vacation. I hope you will visit and like my photo taken at Boracay. This is nice because I will have a chance to win a trip to the Philippines and the person who likes my photo will have a chance to win a fantastic overnight stay at Microtel at Mall of Asia. Im so excited!
Please click the wordlink photo below to reach my facebook photo page guys. Dont forget to like it! Thank you so much!!!
My photo looks above is what I submitted.