When Andrea and I first started living on our own, we spent several months without any clock in our home. The cheap wall clock we received as a wedding gift gave up after a few weeks and we simply had no time to shop for another one. When we finally got the time to look for one, we spent a lot of time looking at different kinds. We were intrigued and mesmerized by some really great-looking clocks. From the sleek, modern wall clocks to the elegant, classic grandfather clocks, we had trouble deciding which clock we want. We both wanted an elegant grandfather clock that looked like this:

This particular grandfather clock, the Howard Miller Urban Floor II Grandfather Clock, is a good mix of a sleek, modern design on an old-style clock. Andrea got excited when I told her that a lot of Howard Miller grandfather clocks are on sale at 1-800-4clocks.com. This grandfather clock’s original price is $3035 but is currently on sale for $2124. That’s around 30% discount! Still expensive for us right now but we really hope we get to buy one for our dream house.

We’ve already imagined placing the clock in the study room of our future house. It would fit perfectly with the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves we plan to have. While browsing for clocks, I even learned all about grandfather clocks, long case clocks, and tall case clocks. It seems that for a grandfather clock to qualify as one, it has to be a floor clock.

This valentine’s day I didn’t plan anything for andrea and me. The reason why is because my hands were kind of tied down because of two important factors - work and money. I know it sounds too common to be true, but it is. I’ve seen and heard the same thing in so many movies before, and like the many (valentine) movies where the same lines were said, I too want a romantic ending for this day.

So instead of figuring out where to eat out, or what gift to buy her, I am posting this as my valentine gift for her. So even at the risk of sounding corny, cheesy, and a trying hard poet, I’m posting this collage of pictures of her for her.

We started out as friends. We were in the same buddy circle (barkada). She used to be no more than a buddy. Used to be…

I developed feelings for her. We grew close, dated and become more than friends. What we had, we cherished and allowed to blossom into something beautiful.

Despite what we had, we worked in different worlds. She chose the corporate industry. I stayed behind and taught.

Eventually, I asked her to share a life together. She said yes. And then there she was… the most beautiful bride I ever saw.

Our love blossomed even more. What once was two now became three.

And through it all, you were always there. And when the time comes when mateo leaves us, I hope you will still be there with me… my love… my life… my one and only valentine.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

When andrea and I were still dating, we’d often go window-shopping in malls. I would usually check out sports apparels and entertainment gadgets while she would check out shoes, dresses and handbags. It’s almost always been like that every time we’d go window-shopping.

In fact, I was amazed to find out that andrea can go on for hours going through all the different shoes, bags, and dresses in all the different specialty stores in a mall. But it’s alright because at least, it’s still just window-shopping.

Her sister takes it just a step further. She doesn’t just meticulously scour each store, she specifically looks for fashion handbags and collects them. As a matter of fact, she has a whole cabinet waiting to be filled with handbags of different makes, designers and purposes. She has a couple of handbags for everyday use. She has a couple more for malling. She even has another group for formal ceremonies like weddings or balls. Name it and she’s probably got, or if not, then is probably saving up for it.

That’s why I told andrea to inform her sister about Bolzano bags which is now available in the net. It’s taken Europe and Asia by storm and is most probably going to sweep her off her feet too. I mean, if she’s willing to spend money for the bags anyway, then might as well save herself some time and effort by just browsing the products online, right?

One of the sports that I dream of playing is golf. But like they say, it’s a sport for the rich and the famous, and I’m neither.

I’m simply an average joe living more or less an average life. But I’m not discouraged. I do what I can to keep myself updated with golfing events, competitions, and even the players. In fact, I make it a habit to check ESPN or any of the other sports channels to help me with just that. Because for now, that’s the most that I can do.

But as I said, I’m not discouraged. On the contrary, I’m very hopeful. I know I’ll get to play too. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even get to play pro. (I wish!)

When I came across diabetes in college, it was, to me, no more than a topic. (I took up Biology, you see.) It was not until the condition struck somewhere close to home that I really took in how much threat the disease posed.

You see, I like sweets - chocolates, ice cream, and all sorts of pastries. Andrea likes them too, sometimes even much more than I do. It is something that we have in common, and, before mateo, something we indulge in every once and a while. Not once, did we consider giving up on sweets or regulating intake of it because I thought we didn’t have to worry. It was not until a close friend of ours found out that she has the condition when we realized we were wrong. Diabetes isn’t something that we’re invulnerable to.

Especially now that we have mateo in our family, we can’t afford to be careless with our actions. We must start monitoring our blood sugar levels to prevent developing diabetes. I know for a fact that we can’t afford the additional expenses for the various diabetes drugs, diabetes supplies, and therapies that come with having the condition. Heck, even the monitoring itself has a cost but at least it’s still much cheaper than the cost of remediation.

It’s just a good thing that American Diabetes offers diabetic supplies that provide around 30-60% savings to people like us who don’t have any health insurance yet. They even provide One Touch Ultra Strips for easier, more convenient way of monitoring blood sugar levels.

One of the gifts that mateo received on his baptism was a gift certificate at Pic-a-boo, a photo studio specializing in baby pictures. When we saw the GC, we immediately wanted to bring mateo there for a shoot, but andrea protested and said we should wait till he turns one. So a few weeks after he did, we went to SM City at The Block to use the certificate.

Here are some the pictures from that photo shoot.

Monkey boy mateo shows a glimpse of his smile.

Here he is showing off his banana.

Fireman mateo brandishing his hard hat.

After learning how to walk, Mateo is now learning the next step - climbing!

Looking at all his photos, andrea and I both agree that mateo is photogenic. What we can’t agree on is who does he take after?

Before working, I used to be a big fan of anime shows on TV. Heck, I still am but the problem is I can’t watch all the programs I like now because of work.

You see, because I am a full-time teacher, I have to be in school at 7:30 in the morning which is just way too early to catch any anime on TV. I know for a fact that the good ones start airing at around 9 onwards based on experience. And by that time, I’m already caught up in my morning class. And in the afternoon, I get off after 4 which is, by then, too late to catch the afternoon swing of the programs. You see, a replay of the best ones start after lunch and ends at around 3.

Ever since I started working, I never got to watch my favorite shows anymore… well maybe except on vacations. But now, all that is about to change. Nope, I’m not quitting work. I just came across a great solution to my problem in the net - the TiVo recorder.

It’s a digital video recorder which can be customized to record all the shows that you often miss on TV, especially the ones you like the most but can never get to see because of conflicts - such as work. Hehe! I even saw a relatively cheap one at $249 at abtelectronics.com, the TiVo Series2 Dual Tuner Digital Video Recorder. It can record two shows at once! One of its best features is the Season Pass recordings, it digitally records every episode of a series that you want and it automatically skips repeats. I can also schedule last minute recording anywhere from the web with its online scheduling. I guess I won’t be missing any anime now! The site where I found it has an amazing collection of electronic appliances. One of the things I liked with the site is their online support. They have live online chat, unlike other online electronics store so that the customers’ questions are easily addressed. They also have buying guides and customer reviews to help you if you are undecided over which item or brand you want to buy. Andrea and I are thinking of buying a digital SLR camera and her sister would like to buy a laptop soon so we might be doing a lot of online shopping soon. Good thing we discovered abtelectronics.com!