Praying before bedtime has already been part of Chesska's daily routine. We just taught her a simple prayer that she could easily remember. Besides, her father was a former sacristan, so there's no reason why we shouldn't.

One time, her prayer caught our attention......

Source: http://ronaldumc.org/ministry-teams/spiritual-formation/sunday-school/

Chesska's Version: 

Her prayer goes this way...

Sas (Jesus), tenkyu (thank you) dis day....

Tenkyu juice, pap (as in lollipop), bread, cake, candy, ice cream,  Jollibee! (raise her voice with excitement)....

Tenkyu mama papa..Amen....

Father, Son, Ly, Rit..Amen...

For a 2-year-old young and innocent mind, it is admirable to see her pray, and at the same time sounds hilarious especially the way she mentioned the foods she was usually eating. You see,  how famous Jollibee is?

We all love shopping, don't we? We can't avoid drooling over mall displays which sometimes lead us to unplanned purchase - branded clothes, gadgets, bags, a new pair of shoes, furniture, or anything that catches our eyes. If I were a heir of Uncle Bill Gates (lol), maybe I could shop things as much as I want. But we all know, that is not the real situation.

Since I've been promoted as a mom (which is my new blog's tagline), I have already become kuripot (stingy), which I'm only second to my husband who is the ultimate kuripot. Yes, we were blessed for having substantial-earning jobs, but we make sure we don't spend more than our income. We are not "ubos biyaya, bukas nakatunganga" type of people, not even one-day millionaires, because as we know (you and me) money would easily disappear in our pocket when we're not conscious of our spending.

So here, I will share with you our agreed-upon method in handling money.

1. Set up a budget.

Honestly, Ronan is much more financial literate than me, so his influence about handling money has infected me so much. (hehe) During in the early stage of our marriage, Ronan and I first talked about how we should handle our finances. We both agreed to keep track of our expenses no matter how small or big so we can figure out where our money is going.

How? We make a list by categorizing our necessary expenses including foods, emergency funds, house amortization, insurance, bills, gasoline, recreation, and the like. We agreed how much money or how many percent of our salary will go to each category.

This is how we classify the items under each category: Expenses and Savings:

2. We put right away our savings in the bank.

To avoid the bad money habit like overspending, we immediately put our savings in the bank. This fund is reserved for emergencies and future use like Chesska's education and for our retirement as well.

Luckily, since Ronan and I are both income generating, a certain rate of our income will go directly to our bank account. We have faithfully practiced this financial principle: SALARY - SAVINGS = EXPENSES. 

What does that principle imply? Well, it's very simple. As soon as we received our salary during pay day (take note pay day...well unless payday falls during holidays), we put right away our savings in the bank and never touch them unless, of course, when emergencies happen.  Then the money left will go to whatever our expenses.

Though at the beginning, we find this practice tough to achieve, but as time passed, we already get into the habit of saving.

If we'll reverse the financial equation to SALARY - EXPENSES = SAVINGS, for example,  what will happen then?  If you can't control your impulse by buying anything useless, you might have turned your savings into negative, as a result, you might have left indebted.

3. We avoid credits. 

As much as we want to avail credit card for easy purchase online such as booking a plane ticket, or for the sake of convenience by swiping the card when grocery-shopping,  but the idea that it is still "utang (debt)", then we decided not to avail it.

Instead, the only card we have is a debit card. Yes, we can still swipe and purchase online, well unless there are sufficient funds on it. As long as we know it is not "utang", then we can sleep well at night by not worrying about paying interest and credit card dues.

4. We invest into financial education.

Does it sound expensive? Actually, it's not. Financial education is just around the corner. We can read financial books on how to increase our financial literacy. Or we can ask advice from a financial mentor who can guide us how to handle our finances. Or meaningfully surf the net on how to manage our money wisely.

5. Lastly and most importantly, we practice delayed gratification.

While strolling around the mall, a nice dress in the boutique catches your attention. Would you stop and buy it? Or wait for a few days and think many times before you buy it?

How you answer the question would have a great impact on your finances in the future.

Delayed gratification is an important skill for one to develop in order to attain financial success. It means to delay your pleasure and to fight temptations over instant buying just to satisfy your present self or just to impress others.

Presently, I am proud to have a better half who managed setting aside his "wants" for the sake of our most important goal. I know he has long wanted to buy a new bike so he can exercise every morning, and a latest windows phone to upgrade his programming skills, but he rather opted to save so we can fully pay our house, hopefully, this year.

The same is true with myself. I want to replace my 8-year-old and cranky laptop into a new one, but then I have to control my urge until we'll hit our goal this year.



On the other hand, here are three ways how to reduce instant gratification.

source: http://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/12/instant-gratification-costs-financial-life.html

How about you mommies? How did you and your husband manage your finances? I'll be glad to hear from you by leaving your comments below.

Since we moved to our new house in 2010, my husband was fond of planting any - flowers, vegetables, and even fruits including Guyabano (soursop in English) in our yard. I had frequently told him, "atong balay mura nag lasang (Our house already looks like a forest! Even then, I just let him plant as many as he wants, anyway, we could all benefit during the harvest. Oh see.

But since our troublesome-dog,Whitey, came to the family, the flowers and vegetables were slowly messed up. He would not stop stepping and biting the plants until they slowly withered and died. We were all pissed. Can you feel our frustrations? Planted in months, destroyed in days! Since then, we concentrated growing fruits such as Guyabano, Jack fruit, and  Dwarf Coconut.


It has been two years since we planted two seedlings of Guyabanos. One was planted at the left side of our house, and the other one was planted in front of our house. Between the two, the Guyabano which was planted in front our house grows well and bears lots of fruits. This tree has completely caught attention from the neighbors who happened to pass by our house.

How many guyabanos did you see?

Freshly-picked Guyabano

Guyabano Shake

Neighbors Claim

One lovely morning, an old man who came from a brisk walk, who also happened to pass by our house ,asked withered leaves of Guyabano. I curiously asked him.

Me: Unsaon nimo ang dahon sa Guyabano nong?  (What will you do with the Guyabano leaves? )

Old Man: Akong lagaon day, nya imnon murag tsa ba.  (I'm going to boil the leaves and drink like a tea)

Me: Oh ok. 

Old Man: Diaebetic man gud ko day, mao ning akong alternative. (I'm diabetic and this is my alternative treatment. )

The following day of the same week, another old woman from the neighborhood who could hardly walk, also asked leaves. Out of curiosity, again, I asked. Her answer was the same as the old man's whom I have just mentioned earlier. But this time, she was hypertensive and just got a mild stroke.

Because of this fruit, we became popular in our block. Many neighbors near us already asked and made reservation - as in reserve not buy. Anyway, they are not for sale..lol

You see how in demand the fruit is? I just remembered when I was little, this fruit is the least favorite among other fruits like santol, mangga, and singkamas. How I love craving santol or singkamas after school. hehe


They are not the only people I know who claimed that Guyabano can cure any kind of diseases. It is actually a common belief not only from our neighbors but also across the country that Guyabano, whether fruits, leaves, or roots could treat numerous diseases including cancer.

Yes, partly, this claim makes sense! Even myself, too, has begun to believe of this claim. Well, any fruit when freshly picked and eaten immediately will provide lots of nutrients including "enzyme". Many are not yet aware that enzymes are necessary for digesting food, for stimulating the brain, for providing cellular energy, and for repairing all tissues, organs, and cells.

However, since I am a type of person who doesn't completely believe on "hearsay", but on evidence based on scientific research, then I find myself researching on the internet regarding this matter.

According to the scientific literatures gathered by Gigi, researches have been undertaken to uncover guyabano’s anticancer effects, starting in 1976 when the National Cancer Institute in the United States conducted the first study on the fruit’s supposed cancer fighting properties.

This was followed by 20 more laboratory tests conducted in various laboratories worldwide. They all came out with unanimous results: Guyabano tree extracts, indeed, proved to be effective against the growth of malignant cells in 12 cancer types. These include some of the deadliest cancer forms which have taken the lives of many around the globe: pancreatic, colon, lung, prostate and breast cancers.

According to the Catholic University of South Korea and Purdue University in Indiana, United States, guyabano tree extracts acted in a way that prevented it from harming normal cells, while successfully targeting the dangerous ones, unlike chemotherapy, which destroys all cells that multiply. The findings of the Catholic University of South Korea were published in the Journal of Natural Products. 

But, it has to be emphasized that all of these trials were conducted in the laboratory only using nonliving models, or what is called as in vitro experiments. Absolutely, no research in humans, so far.

On the other hand, here's another reliable article I've just found on the benefits of Guyabano.

Excerpt via: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-soursop-4285.html

Practitioners of herbal medicine recommend the fruit and leaves of the graviola tree to relieve stomach distress, fever, pain and respiratory problems such as cough and asthma, and for many other medical problems. Soursop contains a number of natural substances that have biological activity, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. These include fatty compounds called acetogenins, especially one called annonacin, along with other compounds called quinolones, annopentocins and two alkaloids, coreximine and reticuline. Soursop's acetogenins are the compounds that have been most studied, especially for their potential to prevent or slow the growth of cancer. The Cancer Center also says that some compounds in soursop may be naturally antiviral and antiparasitic, and may also suppress inflammation.

Additionally, my husband told me recently that he had read an article about Top-10 cancer fighting food in Yahoo, no. 1 is Guyabano. So I searched over the internet to get back the link so I can share it with you. Gladly, I found it.

Who says cancer prevention is expensive?
One may—or may not—take notice of this, but majority of the following can be found in his kitchen. By just simply incorporating these nature-given ingredients to his diet, one gets a clearer shot to living a healthier, longer life.

1. Guyabano - Otherwise known as the custard apple, Guyabano is deemed one of the miracle cures for cancer. In the study, “Journal of Medical Chemistry,” 14 structurally-diverse Annonaceous acetogenins, found in Guyabano extract were identified and tested for their ability to prevent the growth of adriamycian resistant human mammary adenocarcinoma cells.

According to a research in 1976, a chemical found in Guyabano is about 10,000 times more powerful and effective than Adriamycin, a drug used for chemotherapy.

Noticed anything new on my blog? If you are a regular visitor, you'll probably see it.  I have just rebranded my site by changing the design and tagline (the one you see beside the social icons, far left ) to sum up who I am as a blogger and what I write about.



Frankly, it has been two years before I finalized my tagline. Can you imagine how long it was? It is not because my brain was processing very slow (ha!). It is because most taglines that I wanted were already owned by fellow mommy blogs.(You see, how many mommy blogs worldwide. Hundreds? Thousands?)  Like for example, I first thought, "Diary of a First Time Mom", but then when I searched over the internet, this was already gotten.  Even my second idea, third idea, and so on, were already taken. You see, how we think exactly?


To make sure I won't be accused of "copycat", I should have come up with something unique based on who I am. Because of that, I get to combine my experiences in both areas of my life: as a previous Math teacher and a chess player.

Here's the list.

Taglines inspired from Teaching Idea:

• Firstime Mom's Lessons and Plans (which is connected to Lesson Plan)
• Firstime Mom's Corner (like Assignment Corner)
• Even a Firstime-Mom can make a Difference! (Difference is related to Math)
• Educational tips from a Firstime Mom
• ABC of Motherhood