Is it possible to live a normal life without using a credit card? Yes. A bit. In my country. ~

Unfortunately since I arrived last December to join my husband, my world turns upside down. I used to have adequate cash in my wallet but now, each purchase I make goes through the credit card machine. As soon as I get home, I'll be rushing to go online to check if I did not exceed half of the amount of my credit limit. It's a tip from hubby so that there will always be a spare dollar just in case.

I'm thankful that God did not allow me to come to America alone. It would have been very difficult for me. I'm thankful that hubby's right here supporting and guiding me. He provided all the necessary things I needed to start and cope with the system. That's what I'm telling my sister who also plans to work in the US. Starting is never easy in this country and the bait!!! Once settled with the bank and all, credit loan offers pour!!!

I was never good in Math and I don't think I'll ever be (unlike hubby who eats Math like a snack ). Accounting is out of my vocabulary but I'm willing to learn ~ slightly....  Between hubby and I, he's the one good at budgeting.. I"M SAVED!!! 

Today, on TV and on the internet, a lot of debt relief strategies are advertised. Obviously, there's a demand on this market. The good news is that majority can be relieved through self help scheme designed by some debt relief companies. Bills.com provide credit information, credit score, credit report, home loans, bill pay, health insurance, debt consolidation loan and of course debt relief.  From mortgage to bankruptcy, Bills.com helps the consumer how to recover from debt through their articles and counseling.

I surely hope we will never reach that stage where finances go down the drain and problems with the blood sucking collection agency crawl up like tiny lice in ones head. Saving and delayed gratification are the answers to most of our problems. Being discreet in our choices matters too. So, learn to differentiate between WANTS and NEEDS ; balanced relaxation and excessive leisure recreation. Simple life. Simple wants. Simple needs.

Last Sunday morning, after a heavy breakfast at IHOP, we drove home. We turned left from HW 6 and as we near the entrance to the complex, hubby saw something crossing the street about 15 yards away. It's a turtle!! Counter to what I expected, this young turtle walked faster - maybe he knows he's not in his domain. Hubby stopped the SUV and I hurried down to help the turtle climb the pavement. As I reach him, it's reaction was to hide in his shell - that's ok, but to my surprise, when I'm about to carry it's shell, it ran. It really ran... it took only a second for the turtle to get to the other side of the SUV. Good thing an American man who's coming our way maneuvered his truck and parked at the middle of the street in a way that no vehicles can pass through - helped me catch the scared little turtle. It took a while for us but I finally got hold of it's shell when it hid behind the right wheel of our SUV. After all the fuss, the American offered to bring the turtle to the nearest park. He said it's the second one he saw that morning.

It felt good inside to be able to save another creature. Few days back before the turtle encounter happened, I saw a centipede crawling our bathroom floor thrice (is it the same one or what, I dunno..) and twice I saved, slipped it into a paper and carried it to the porch, dropped it to a plant - yeah, I confess, I killed the last centipede out of impatience! Soweeeee.... but I promise I'll be more patient next time~!

I'm a lover of nature, maybe not everything in it (I'll name a few- roaches, lizards, crocs), but as much as I can I will do what I can do to save our planet. I would love the next generation to see and witness the magical awe of God's creativity.

Lets protect earth's endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker which nestles among the mature pine forests. Humans and animals can co-exist without harming each other. Like in camping when humans can interact with animals and the trees, it's very educating. One in my dreamlist is RV camping with my families - hubby's and mine. I heard aside from Arkansas, North Carolina has a beautiful camping park. So I browsed the net for nc rv parks and saw a number of choices. I wonder how far it will take from Texas to reach rv park nc? Lemme give you a BIG sigh - I'm dreamin! Would love to tag along Cadbury too and Daffy . . on foot with these two dogs I love, hopping and giggling while we walk the long stretch dirt trail in the midst of sycamore trees - rv park north Carolina - here we come!!!!

Yesterday, we went back to Pecan Grove, about 10 miles away from our place. Pecan Grove is a residential community holding a lot of beautiful houses. From what I heard, most of the residents living in the community own a farm land. So, we drove around the place, as usual, to hunt for bargain sales. That seems to be our favorite past time every weekend!! For what,.. more than 5 consecutive Sunday mornings, we're off looking around, positively searching for a piece of furniture that's worth the effort and the money. We window shopped around furniture outlets but in trying times, we have to SAVE... SAVE... SAVE!!! Our hunt craze began when we chanced upon this bronze metal sofa table untarnished and still in a very good shape. We bought it for only $40.00 compared to the usual price. It's a good buy! Anyways,. if we had arrived earlier, we would have bought the matching Dining Set which until now, we're still on a hunt.

Going back to Pecan Grove,.. our friend is right when she told us that the community is so inviting. It's a nice neighborhood with full grown trees and large lawns. I spotted one beautiful white house with small balinese garden lamps tracing it's pathway to the front door. Just before my eyes touched the front door, I noticed ADT Security System placard, planted in front of some garden bushes, for Home Security. I turned my gaze to the neighboring houses and everybody has got their own Home Security Systems. Well,.. nothing's wrong being secured in fact almost every houses I've seen here in Texas, are loaded with alarms. I'm just amazed, can't help myself but compare my country to the first class and high-end living America. In the states, they do it with alarms, in my country, we do it with security guards... Don't ask me which one is better because for me it's just the same. It's both providing protection at a given cost.

This coming weekend, we won't be hunting. We are going out of town! YEeebbbbbaaaa!! Hello! Carson! Can't wait to see my relatives there and Donald (Duck!)..

Thanks Annalee!!! I miss you all and I miss our college years!! Thank you for remembering me. Give my hugs to everybody!! Mwah!!!

Ok, so I tried creating my own MeFile after making sure that I won't get a virus nor tons of bulk emails in my account. I'm hooked on blogging and chatting and now that I'm told I can earn money from it then I started surfing for more options. Hee hee hee One site I landed is YouData where one gets paid by just viewing the ads. That's pretty easy.. the pay is not big but anything small when accumulated makes something.. so it's ok!!

Try it out yourself!! Click the picture and you are on your way... catcha!!

I wish all of us can enjoy life like this . . .



and care less about what other people will say . . . .

Weekend is fast approaching again, hubby shouldn't be working today but their company is meeting the deadline that's why everybody is working their butts off. Me on the other hand has got nothing much to do today, laundry done yesterday, I just cleaned the bathroom, I have cooked my lunch already, returned Le's call - I missed her call yesterday because I was at the midst of putting on my clothes after a shower to driving on the road to get to Walmart where I bought some groceries. Called up Luv, my ever loyal bestfriend whom I haven't seen for 7 years now, had a chitchat while she's in the middle of her paperworks! He he he she couldn't resist me . . . hmm oh!!! This afternoon, hubby and I are going to the movie to see The Transformers... I can' forget that...

So what's in store for the weekend? I dunno maybe I should ask hubby to continue with our plans of watching a ballgame. . we were suppose to  . . I remember him calling me one day if I still want to see the Astros at Minute Maid, he told me we can do it on a weekend... but I refused thinking how hot the weather these days surely we'll be drenched in sweat . . I don't think Minute Maid will open their dome with the AC turned on, that will not make any sense at all...or they might have a mist maker or something . . . anyhoo,.. chances are I'll still be lazy to go out . . thinking.... thinking....

What about the Texans? They are playing too but I think the next schedule will be sometime in August... in this case we don't have to go to the venue, I'd rather watch it on TV or YEAH!!! a live streaming right at our laptop! (I seldom use mine, only is we are going out of town, hubby's laptop which is connected to COMCAST 24/7 is officially OUR laptop now.. we leave "our" laptop at home still connected just in case we get messages via YM or SKYPE or CHikka....) If I get it right we only have to get NFL sunday ticket through Direct TV, call them at 888-409-4351 and ask for the NFL sunday ticket price and NFL sunday ticket schedule.. gee I hope you won't think it's redundant. But it's got three words in it,.. NFL sunday ticket. They even have a player tracker! Do you think it's 24/7 too?? I wonder....

I deflect any medical forecast you have in your brain about my own addiction for I know one disease will enter your mind. The big D. I bet if there's rehab center for coke and chocolate addicts, like the beautiful alcohol rehab center in Malibu... I wouldn't mind if hubby will enroll me there. Hehehehe

Women will understand "the feeling" when I say that monthly food cravings occur within the cycle. Nowadays I'm also bingeing on banana chips! Hubby can tell when I just chomped chunks of it from my breath - banana essence flavor. For a time being I've stopped buying diet COKE, just my next best choice actually.. I think I'll die and will never convince myself that diet Coke has the exact taste and the same HIGH as what the regular COKE gives. I think 4 weeks of Aspartame is enough but not my chocolates yet. My Hershey Bars - all time favorite since the very first day it met my tongue - ahh just a sight of it in the fridge is enough to blow away my hunger induced torpid wit. Pardon me, but I don't think I am alone on this earth although reactions differ from person to person. Is it psychological attachment or there's really something in chocolates that make people crave? According to what I read substances like phenylethylamine, theobromine, anandamide and tryptophan trigger mood enhancing chemicals and neurotransmitters to be released in the brain. Anyhoo, here comes my drug rehab info: (from Is Chocolate Physiologically or Psychologically Addictive?by Gwen Slaughter)

Phenylethylamine is a chemical found in the body that is similar to amphetamine. It helps mediate feelings of giddiness, attraction, euphoria and excitement.
Theobromine is a close structural relative of caffeine, but has one-tenth the stimulating effect caffeine has. Although theobromine is a weak stimulant, it can increase pulse rate. And, withdrawal from theobromine has been found to cause migraines.
Anandamide activates the same cellular receptors as THC, the agent in marijuana that causes a person to feel "high". Chocolate does not contain enough anandamide to produce a global high like marijuana. Other researchers have found that most of the anandamide found in chocolate is broken down by stomach acid before it even reaches the blood stream.
Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, which plays a role in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is a calming neurotransmitter that makes people feel relaxed and satisfied and is essential for a well-balanced mood. Many people eat chocolate to relieve anxiety, but is unlikely that tryptophan is solely responsible for chocolate cravings or a chocolate addiction because it can be obtained from other food sources, such as carbohydrates, as well.

So, that explains why I get the "HIGH" and why I grab a chocolate bar each time I feel lonely and sad. It's just a basic scientific understanding how we got addicted to something, which causes which that when realized helps to boost the will power - which by the way in my own opinion is the primary tool to get over dependency. Oh lemme share with you a site wherein you can find addiction resource information, just in case. Just click the link and you'll get there. They have illustrations and helpful info about how the drug can interfere with the normal brain functions.

Let me close by writing a quote:

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” - Mahatma Gandhi

I swear I hate using and swiping my credit cards. I don't have big balances to pay and I don't intend to have any much in the future - according to my husband, unlike in the Philippines, here in America I need to spend through it so I can earn credit points for my sake. But given the choice, cash or credit, I would always pull some cash from my wallet. I don't know, it just gives me the jitters. How I look into it seems like a trap - a quicksand covered by bundles of leaves mimicking the usual green forest ground ready to entrap someone's feet all the time. It's easier to get loose when you're still near the surface, the sooner you get out of it the better.

I've heard too many miserable stories here in US about people who cannot go home even for a short vacation simply because they don't have extra cash to splurge. Like someone who lives here for more than 30 years and hasn't gone home since the day he arrived. They are metered by loans, credit cards and the monthly obligations they have to settle, without a job or without pay, they cannot survive. Of course, it would always depend on the person how he/she manages his/her life but in this scenario, fear will definitely be a good friend. It will save a person from being buried alive.

The good points  - In USA, one can almost buy anything under the sun conveniently - just swipe your card for the downpayment and your monthly installment plan commences. Sometimes they don't even require a downpayment especially if you have good standing credit. Buying a car is like shopping for clothes!!! Tour at cheaper rates the whole of US for leisure and fun. Credit repair - yes, there are people here who can help repair bad credit so the debtors can go on with their lives. Late payments can accumulate negative items in the credit report and those items are what they - the people from credit repair services will eliminate.

This thing that bugs me, the credits and stuff, it's already in the system of America and every people here has got no choice but to follow. There's still one question in my head that has not been seized... is life here really better than our life back home?

I was facebooking a while ago and found this site about the BAGETS and like a time machine I was whirled back in time when MENUDO songs were played on the hit list, most famous actors were seen lurking around Greenhills Shopping Center to buy Levi's jeans and Esprit tops but Benetton's the brand most my classmates were wearing those days paired with a Tretorn rubber shoes. Accessibility to buy PX goods in our province that time was only available at one store if I remember it right,.. at Tita Dulce's shop, unlike now when everything can be reached by internet, online shopping like Zappos.com makes it so convenient to find items we like.

As my laundry spins in the drier, I searched Youtube for any clips of BAGETS 2 I might chance upon and found it. Now as I write this journal I am on a respite after I finished watching Part 7, more than half of the movie I guess. My ever favorite is Raymond Lauchenco and all his songs too. I've always loved his voice. For me, nothing can beat the 80's. A lot of beautiful songs were released, foreign or local, concomitant with my adolescent years, it was when I learned the freedom of expression.

Hubby and I have an upcoming trip to LA to visit my relatives in Carson. I will be celebrating my 35th birthday in Disneyland. Hahaha I guess I need to shop a bit for shorts and shirts because we will surely walk miles and miles just to see the whole of Disneyland (I can finally date my favorite Donald Duck!!!)  and Universal Studio. I can't wait!!