Just My Rambling

The last time I went to Las Vegas was 20 years ago while I was still in college. I haven’t been back since then. My parents just went for their Las Vegas vacations
last month and according to them, a lot has changed. They were very impressed with all the new buildings on the strip. It looks like I should plan a trip there soon. Most probably it will have to be next year since I already have other travel plans finalized for this year.

After a few days of rest, I am finally feeling better. Surprisingly I managed to lose that extra weight that I gained on the cruise. Looks like I don’t have to eat those fat burners after all. I guess it is because I was not munching on junk food all the time. Instead, I just took naps & rested. A week of mom’s cooking and dad’s babysitting duties really do work wonders. How I wish my parents would stay longer so that I can get a little more rest but they will be leaving in a couple of days. Sigh..

When I was on the cruise last week, one of the destinations was a cruise around the Hubbard Glacier. The glacier was gorgeous but it was also a little scary as we got closer to the glacier. There were lots of big chunks of ice in the water and we had to go through them. Once in a while, we would hear a loud bang as the ice hits the cruise ship. For a fleeting moment, I did wonder if I paid my life insurance this year. I did heave a sigh of relief after we passed through all the ice and got back to calm seas.

My little girl loves books. In fact, I always have one of her books along with me wherever I go especially when we eat out. That way I will get to eat in peace while she keeps herself busy with her book. Needless to say, both of us were very happy when we received 2 new books from Cedar Valley Publishing. The 2 books we received were “Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten” and Let’s Get Ready for 1st Grade”

When I first flip through the books, I really love the fact that the books are very colorful. Kids love colors, so that is a major plus for the books. I also love the fact that you can write on the pages with a dry erase marker and then erase it easily with a tissue. That means Lil’ C can redo the activities in the books as many times as she likes.

Lil’ C is 3 ½ years old. So the “Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten” book is more appropriate for her. The topics in this book emphasize on early childhood skills such as alphabets and letters, colors, numbers 0-20, money, name, address and much more. Lil’ C is familiar with some of the contents but not all. We have been learning about money at home, so the topic on recognizing the different coins came in very handy for us.

The “Let’s Get Ready for First Grade” book is a little advanced for Lil’ C but she has already started to show interest in some of the content like the punctuation and compound words. She even liked the section on solar system especially since we just came back from a visit to the Flight Museum where she learned a lot about space. The topics in this book emphasize on the pre-first grade skills.

Both of these books have received numerous awards including winners of the 2008 Best You Can Be Award for Books in Education. So if you are interested in good books, go check out these books today. You can see sample pages on their website. If you purchase books from Cedar Valley Publishing, 10% of profits will be donated to charitable organizations.

I have 2 cars and currently my I am paying a lot for my car insurance. I have not gotten a car insurance quote in a few years. I do wonder if I am paying too much for them. I think that when I get back from my vacation, it will be a good idea to get some quotes from different companies to compare the rates. I will probably switch company if I can find even a little savings. With gas prices at an unbelievable high, I will take any savings I can get.

This year we are having a very busy summer. There are a lot of travel plans and also many visitors. The best part of such a busy summer is that we will definitely be having a lot of fun. However the negative aspect is that we are totally broke now! That also means that my dear hubby will not be able to buy the xbox 360 this summer unless he gets a bonus sometime soon.

Yes and definitely yes!! Lil’ C loves playing computer games nowadays. Usually I let her play games when I don’t need the laptop. However sometimes while she is playing, something urgent comes up and I will have to fight with her for the laptop. It gets tiring sometimes. So when my dear hubby asked if I wanted to buy a used laptop, I readily agreed. All I have to be upgrade the laptop memory  and Lil’ C will be able to play games on it. Then I will finally have my laptop all to myself.

Many people told me that the best part of a cruise vacation is the endless supply of food 24 hours a day. That sounds heavenly! Unfortunately it is definitely going to wreck havoc to my weight. I am going to have to careful not to stuff myself too much and try to get to the gym everyday on the ship. Otherwise when I get back, I might just have to start taking Orovo to lose weight!

For anyone expecting a baby, there’s always a long list of items to buy before the baby arrives. Personally I feel that one of the most important items to buy is a stroller. That was the only item that I used all the time with my little girl. It is also important to buy a stroller that is durable, lightweight and compact to make your life easier. If you are looking for such a stroller, Mutsy has just what you need.

Mutsy has just launched two new products. First is the Mutsy Slider. It is compact, lightweight, and also looks very sophisticated. The cool part about it is that the handle can be reversed so that moms can look at their baby. You can also get a car seat adaptor when you buy a Slider.

Another new product is the 4Rider Next Cargo which comes with a bassinet, a separate fully-reclining seat with head enclosure, leg-support and hood. It also comes with a leather handle and 3 fashionable Cargo colors. If you love to color-coordinate like me, you can even get matching seat, nursery bag and foot bag to go with your 4Rider.

Currently Barebabies.com is offering a 10% discount on any Mutsy order by using the discount code mutsy10off. So if you want to be the chic mommy around town, go and buy a Mutsy today. You’ll be the envy of the other moms.

Father’s Day is coming up very soon and for the first time in a very long time, my father will be here with me. Usually we are in different countries on different corners of the world during that time. This year, his trip to US happens to coincide with Father’s Day. I will have to think of a memorable present for him. I would give him gold cufflinks but I think my father, the avid traveler, will definitely prefer a paid vacation to somewhere he has ever been before like Hawaii. I am sure he will love that.