Our remodeling efforts have continued over the past few days. Recently, I removed the existing tiles from our kitchen backsplash. We put them up only a couple of years ago. They were brushed nickel and copper style tiles. I think they looked pretty good, but on reflection, they also looked cheap. Thus, it didn’t take long for us to agree that it would be a good idea to replace them with a granite and marble backsplash. Once we finish with the trim and molding in our family room and dining room, we will focus our attention on cutting and installing the backsplash.

Thanks to Jonathon Woods

 My brother is always stalking pittsburgh directv for new channels. To me, it seems like we already have every channel possible! There is no way we could watch everything that we have, but he is always searching for something anyway. What I want him to search for is a network that runs my favorite shoes. I really like the show Arrested Development, but it was canceled. I also like the show called Damages. It is really different from many other shows and really puts me on the edge of my seat. If there were a network that combined comedies and thrillers, that would be perfect for me. I keep telling my brother to try to find a channel like that and he always tells me to just watch the Hallmark channel or something. That is definitely not the same as what I like to watch. I have watched that channel and some others that are similar when there was nothing else to do. I do not understand what my brother is looking for, though. Every time I make a suggestion, he does not listen. Sometimes, I think he is the most hardheaded person in the family

I love shoes. Now that the weather is cold, there is nothing better than sitting in the comfort of my home and looking at all of the nice styles that are available online. I especially like fashion shoes. Although I didn’t mention it to my husband, I was sort of hoping that he might pick up some new leather boots for me as a Christmas gift.
Speaking of boots, I have had my eye on a pair of blowfish shoes for a while now. I especially like the Blowfish Arielle. You see, I have never previously owned a pair of knee high boots. I think a pair of these would be a nice introduction to the style to let me find out whether I am comfortable walking in them. It also helps that they are currently on sale for less than fifty dollars.
Another brand that I have had my eye on is old gringo. The make some western style boots for women that have some very interesting and eye-caching embroidery featuring flowers and other plants. Although they do not appear to come in knee high styles, I suspect that their rugged construction would be both warm and comfortable in the winter time. Hopefully I can make up my mind soon and decide which purchases to make.

I usually have this weird chocolate craving once in awhile. And I don't know if it's related but it's kinda chilly outside so maybe that makes my crave stronger? I can't help it if I got a sweet tooth! Haha.
I'm reminiscing to that christmas time, when I received 2 boxes of Ferrero Rocher (32 in total!) from a good friend of mine (thank you!!). Lucky me! I probably beat a World Record or something. As you can probably imagine I was VERY sugar high after eating them. I calculated it and I ate more than 6000 calories...can u believe that?...I don't know when or if I'll ever get to eat that much Ferrero Rochers in one sitting. Especially because they are so expensive- one of the most expensive chocolates around. But yes I really enjoyed that maybe-once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now you know what one of the things that make my heart melt and my taste buds satisfied. It's very divine. And my craving continues! Until we meet again Ferrero Rocher! I love you! ;D

I got up early this morning because I had so many things to share and to write.  When I started typing however, my little one started crying. Thus, I had to stop and attend to her.  As we now have kids who range in ages from a newborn up to six years old, it is easy to observe how kids develop and become more independent.  Our six year old is now perfectly content to awake in the morning, have breakfast and then spend the remainder of her day watching cartoons or playing with her Playstation portable.  Our two year old is happy to watch certain shows aimed at kids like Pingu or Pocoyo. Whiles our three year old, who is relatively new to technology, is happy to play with my husband’s Kindle Fire.  I think the touch screen interface is what really spurred her interest in technology and video games.  Previously, when the only choices were our Playstation and Xbox360, she was less interested as she could not understand how to use the button-based controllers.  But with a touch screen, the interface is much simpler.  Now she would seldom put it down. 

It is now a certainty that my husband will be changing jobs within the next month. When that happens, we will need to make a lot of changes relating to our retirement and insurance coverage. Our retirement savings doesn’t worry me so much because we already have a pretty comfortable savings – at least by the standards of my homeland. However, the insurance issue may be tougher. Currently, my husband receives free life insurance coverage through his job. It would not be enough to retire with, but it would be enough to pay off our home. That will need to change soon. Thus, we are now in the market for a good term life insurance policy. This time, I think we will aim for more substantial coverage that will ensure that I can raise and send our kids to college in addition to keep our home and cover my living expenses.

We have had a lot of snowfall here in the Washington, DC area over the past few years. 2009 was the year of the historic Snowmageddon. During that winter season, our area was hit with several feet of snow – including two snow events that involved nearly two feet or more of snow. Last year, we were away on vacation for much of December 2010, but upon our return we learned that there had been two major snowfalls and we experienced a couple more as we proceeded through the month of January. Thus far this year there have only been snow flurries, but no measurable snow. Hopefully we will get a big snowfall soon so that our kids can use the new snow sleds that they got for Christmas.

I had a thought last night with our new daughter. Although the night she started out easy enough, by 11:00pm she started to get both restless and irritable. For much of the night, it seemed as if nothing I did would comfort her. I gave her a bottle, and she would drink for a while then start shouting again. I tried to breast-feed her, but she wouldn’t accept it. Ultimately, I found myself awake for much of the night. She didn’t really begin to sleep soundly until it was almost time to get our oldest daughter ready for school. Hopefully, thing will be better the remainder of the week.

Happy New Year Everyone ! Lets Welcome 2012 and Ended 2011 ... Best Luck and Wishes with joy and a bountiful New Year !

I recently learned that there are small business grants. that a small business can pursue as an alternative to certain private funding. I think using a grant program to fund business growth is an excellent alternative to the high cost and often high risk funding avenues that businesses traditionally pursue. Although venture capital funds, banks and angel investors often tend to have greater available resources and, therefore, are able to make more substantial loans, the funding often comes at a very high cost. This cost generally goes well beyond the interest rate charged by these sources. It is often the case that venture capitalist – in particular, but also banks and angel investors often require some degree of business control in exchange for their investment. If you wish to avoid such outside involvement, a grant program offers an excellent alternative.