GreenBucks

In other countries, the Bermuda Triangle of Holidays is said to start at Thanksgiving, then Christmas and ends at New Year.

Since we live in a country where there is no Thanksgiving, our own Bermuda Triangle of Holidays starts with Christmas, New Year and probably ends with Valentine’s Day. During this time, singles, particularly those whose biological clocks are ticking, indulge in lavish gifting for their favorite loved ones like their nephews and nieces or maybe their parents and of course, their most favorite person: themselves. In spite these things they do, their happiness seem fleeting and they go back to feeling the holiday blues.

I know of one who shops for her nephew as early as September for gifts to be given during Christmas AND New Year. I am not sure though if she looks at the offical ProFlowers Facebook page for flowers to be given to  her mom on Valentine’s Day but I am sure she gives her mom and her nephew gifts during this time too.

Shopping is one of their “therapies” to not feel depressed during these holidays. Yes, they feel sad, even if they are surrounded by laughter, gifts and lavish celebrations because they feel they are missing out on something because they are single.

How do I know? I try to read between the lines of FB and Twitter status messages of my single friends 😀 I hope they won’t hide these from me.

3 Comments »

The third Thursday of December is said to be the National Regifting Day. I missed it! 😀

Two Christmases ago, my friends and I had a regifting exchange gift. Errr… or should I say we exchanged gifts that we haven’t used but think can be of use to others. I got two towels and liquid bath soaps. Yes, we’re still using the towels.

The idea of regifting is good (for me at least) IF and ONLY IF these few guidelines are observed:

• the gift itself has not been used
• the gifts don’t have torns and molds
• the gifts are put in an entirely new package (don’t ever give a present wrapped in Christmas wrappers during Valentine’s Day! No, no, no!)
• the gifts suit the giftee (give the urinary incontinence products to a grandaunt and not to the young niece or maybe a rap CD for an nephew and not for the uncle)
• the gifts are clean (or clean it yourself if it has been left to gather dust)
• the gift did not come from a manufacturer that has long ago closed it’s books (errr… outdated things like these scream regifts!!)

So, in this penny-pinching hard times, regifting is not really tacky, just do it with class and your gifts are as good as new 🙂

No Comments »

Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?

I’m done. Done with shopping and gift lists because I don’t plan to shop nor did I write a gift list. LOL.

Seriously, with my eyes closed, I can guess a lot of receivers of laptops, tablets and smartphones will be happy come Christmas day.

This being the first day of December means I gotta hurry up and do my round of frugal Christmas chores. That being said, expect me to wish you happiness and joy, without a gift tag 😀

1 Comment »

The brother (like I have another one, I don’t) is currently taking his graduate studies. He told me that this summer, he needs to find a workplace where he can practice what he has learned and learn to do as well as delegate well Technical Recruiting Jobs. He is majoring in industrial psychology.

I once was a graduate school student, grappling with so many things to read with so little time. I studied while I was already teaching preschool.

It was not an easy task, juggling with doing lesson plans and doing a lot of research and writing a lot of papers. It was not easy then because we didn’t have the web to run to when researching nor was I able to afford a laptop at that time to be able to encode my research papers (yes, I mean it, lol)  whenever I have free time. It was my hubby who did that for me then 😀

To pursue further studies is good because one is given opportunities to make better choices, learn new things and have a network of professionals that they can work with.

To the students out there, although lessons are best learned outside the four walls of the classroom, it is also good to pursue further studies.

No Comments »

I’ve signed up to join a run in November. It has been months or years perhaps since I’ve done my morning rounds where we live. Not that I am lazy or anything (who am I kidding?) but I feel going out is something I don’t really look forward to since there are so many undesirable characters roaming the streets.

The kids and I are supposed to enroll in fitness programs but since these have started already and we will miss a couple of sessions if we enroll, hubby and I decided to defer. One of the kids want to enroll in soccer and running while the other one likes swimming. Swimming is not a good idea at this time of the year because the weather is erratic and the water could get very cold. I know for a fact that these pools raypak heat pump of any other heating system.

I still hope we can enroll next semester so we will start scrimping here and there to be able to have everyone enjoy a class. Or maybe two.

No Comments »

We are all home (except the hubby who needs to be at work today because of the 4-day now down to 3-day of no work and no school long weekend) all safe and dry.

The winds are so strong outside we didn’t let the dog out of her cage just in case debris will get flown in and she gets hit. I am worried about the two weather disturbances in the country: Mina (NANMADOL) and I-forgot-if-the-other-one has a name.

While we are being battered (by we I mean those in the extreme North of the country) the East Coast of the USA is also being all stormed by Irene, another girl name for another extreme weather condition.

As of this writing, news reports 6 people who have perished due to the typhoon. The Northern part of the country is where typhoons usually pass by. These people are very resilient and strong. They not only have to deal with extreme hot weather conditions during summer while they depend on water pumps to water their farms and get frustrated when their crops die because of extreme heat, they also deal with floods and torrential rains that destroy their crops during the monsoon season.

I will offer a prayer of protection for these kababayans of mine. I hope they will survive what these weather conditions bring to their places.

No Comments »