Crayola Crayon Maker

Finally after 4 months, I was able to purchase the toy I wanted to give my kids. As early as November 2011, I was looking for a Crayola Crayon Maker which according to the website of Walmart was available. I went to all the nearby Walmart locations I could not get one. I guess the toy was in demand that the persons in charge of updating the inventory was not able to keep up. I asked my friends and even my brother in the USA to keep an eye out for it. I even frequent the Kijiji and Craigslist site to check if someone is selling a used one. I was surprised to see ads for it with a price range of 100-150 dollars. I decided to just wait.

Just yesterday, while shopping for something else I happened to see 3 of them in the shelves of Walmart (Queensway Branch). I immediately took one and paid for it. My kids are excited about it as they can combine different colors and make a crayon. I was a little disappointed because it does not make a full size crayon. However, melting a crayon as small as half an inch and molding it half the length of a real crayon is nice. No need to throw away the old crayons. Old ones can be used to make new usable ones.

One Hundred Peso - ARROVO Bills...

While preparing my documents and money that I will bring back to the Philippines, I came accross several Philippine 100 peso bills that I have kept for more than 5 years. These are part of approximately 1,000 error notes were released into circulation. Apparently, in an attempt to save money in printing the bank notes, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) outsourced the printing to an unnamed French Security printer. Unfortunately, the outsourced 100-piso notes (Pick 194c) delivered to the BSP bore President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s surname misspelled as “Arrovo.”

I actually have at least 20 pieces of this. I only heard about the issue after I spent ten of them. I gave some to my relatives and saved at least 3 for myself. several years ago it fetched for as high as 2,000 pesos in eBay and I am not sure if there are still some notes out there. I read that these erroneous bills are being retired as soon as it reaches the banks but they remain legal tender in the Philippines.

I might hold on to it as it's value might get higher over time .

Learning the Hard Way - SendMoreInfo a Scam...

I have been a member of sendmoreinfo.com since year 2000. It was only last year 2011 that I was able to meet the $10 minimum payout. The site is now owned or managed by Midten Media, Inc. I was hoping that I will be paid but after 2 months of waiting, I still have not received the check. The wait time is supposed to be a month only. I also could not contact them by phone. The only way is through their website. They do not respond at all. I should have not wasted my time on this. It is unfortunate that I had to learn the hard way...

Make Your Jeans Last Longer

I just read a a post by Andrea Karr on Shine from Yahoo entitled Quick Tip: Freeze Your Jeans. Apparently we can make our blue jeans last longer by freezing it.

I must admit, I do not want to wash my jeans after every wear for the reason that it wastes water and electricity. And since I do not roll on the floor like my kid does, my jeans look clean even after 2 uses.

Having read that article, I will try and freeze my jeans and see if I can extend the use to 4 or five times more as well as confirm if it will really preserve color and remove the odor.

Halloween 2011

Kyle received a Bumblebee Plasma Cannon as a gift from his Godmother Faye about 2 Christmases ago. We also got him a Bumble bee helmet that matches it. Both items does not fit him very well that time so I guess he was not very interested about it. Kyle is now almost 6 and the Cannon and helmet now fits him perfectly. When he saw the Bumblebee costume at Walmart, he did not stop until I finally gave in and bought him one. It is a good thing that it went on sale the week before Halloween.

My youngest son Lex got his Optimus Prime costume from his Godmother Wei. I guess both Kyle and Lex liked their costumes because they have been wearing them since Friday. They only take it off when they go to the washroom hahahaha!

It was a good thing my eldest son Aloysius has a creative mind. He did not ask us to buy him a costume. He said he had something in mind and all he needed was an eye patch and a face paint or makeup. He said he will go trick or treating as his evil twin. I guess he regards himself as a very good boy and of course, the alter ego is his evil twin.

Here are some photos of the boys

Be Thankful For What You Have!

When I left the church yesterday, I felt really blessed. I have a different outlook in life. And I will do my best to stay that way. The message that was imparted to us was "be greatful to what you have". No matter how small things are, we should always thank the Lord. If we thank the Lord for even the minute things that we have, He would surely entrust us or bless us with larger things.

We should even thank the Lord for the failures that we have. We might think that this puts us down. But we never know what the Lord's intention for putting us in that situation. For all we know this things could have happened to make us stronger.

So instead of hoping or wishing for more, be contented in what has been given to you...

Fried Rice With Turmeric Powder

I have cooked fried rice with bits of meat and mixed vegetables. However, I have not tried one that is color yellow. While I was attending an orientation, I happen to sit along a lady that was eating fried rice that was coloured yellow. I told her that it looked very attractive to eat and if I could learn how to make it, maybe my kids will like to eat it too.

I was given the instruction on how to prepare it and I was told that I only needed turmeric powder to make the yellowish appearance. I went to the grocery store and got a container of turmeric powder.

I woke up early one Saturday morning and prepared breakfast for my wife and 3 kids. I did not think they all liked it very much though. But eating small servings of what I served is enough to make me feel they appreciated my effort.

Following is a photo of my version of the fried rice.