I was happy for my student when I found out that she is now in Calgary, Alberta. She was one of my students at Iligan Capitol College High School Department in Philippines. Time really flies so fast!

It is nice to know that your student is successful too. Now that she is starting life abroad, it will not be easy at first. She will surely miss her family back home. Good thing that she isn't alone. She has Filipino friends too. I heard that is looking for apartments for rent in Calgary.
I told her to visit RentCalgary.com. There are people looking to rent a home in Calgary, Alberta like her. Hope she could find what she's looking for. I wish her best for a new life in a new place.

Save energy with this energy-efficient beautiful home in the NorthWest Bakersfield. This 4bed/2bath home has over $130,000. in recent upgrades: solar panels, tile roof, water softener, Pebble Tec pool with fountains, granite counter tops, window shutters, tile floor and a permitted addition to the bedroom. All bedrooms have walk-in closets. Possible RV parking. Not an REO or a Short Sale. Set an appointment now! Call Frank Bienvenu 661-717-5088. Visit BuyitSellitSaveit.com too.

Guest written by our friend Katie Callahan
All the girls at work have been talking about “The Bachelor”. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I have actually never watched it. I know they are probably on their twentieth season, but I just haven’t watched it. However, last month I got cheap direct tv and I think I am going to be watching a lot more television now. Before, I was a little cheap and would only watch through the internet. I guess that makes me a lot cheap. I found I had a lot more free time before television. I do love watching all the shows and being in the loop, but I think it is starting to become an obsession. I completely understand why people watch it all the time. I have to admit that it is great being able to contribute to all the office conversations. I am finally starting to feel like I fit in with my coworkers. I am pleased with my decision to get a real television and I am finally happy to know all there is to know about pop culture now.

It was sad knowing that your family was one of the victims of the mud flood caused by the storm Sendong or Washi. But we were thankful to God that the lives of my brother and his wife who is pregnant and will due in March, are safe. It was so scary when they woke up at 1am and the house was already flooded up to the knee. They were not in panic and with presence of mind they knew which way to go to get out of the house and find a safer place. It was so dark because the storm has caused a power interruption that made the whole city out of electricity. Thus, making the victims so difficult to save properties and even lives. Good thing our house has two levels so my brother and his wife went upstairs and were safe.

We pray for the souls who have been lost and taken by the storm. For the family, we feel sadness and we extend our deepest condolences to them. Hope things like this would never happen again. It has been a great loss for our city, Iligan City. I hope we can recover anytime soon. Bacud Iligan!

Guest post written by my buddy Bernardo Graham
I have started watching the home shopping networks on direct.TV recently right before Christmas. I am usually running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to find Christmas gifts for everyone in my entire family ( including my husband) right when I get out of school before the holiday. This year I decided that I was going to have to change. I can’t handle the stress that comes with having nothing underneath the Christmas tree. I have actually gotten all of my Christmas shopping this year by just sitting on the couch. You would be surprised by how many cool things that they have on QVC and HSN. They have anything from house wares ( I got my mom a Waterford Christmas Bell) to makeup. I decided to get my sister a few different things from bareMinerals and also from Smashbox. She is always complaining that she doesn’t have any make up. I think that I will be shopping for birthdays, Christmas, etc. like this again. It is so easy and the gifts are great!

It is so sad and so depressing about what happened to my hometown Iligan City. It has been hit by a storm, Sendong, last December 16-17 and caused a great damage to the city. Also, the neighbor city, Cagayan the Oro, was affected. The number of dead people has reached 400+ now and it is now worst than the Luzon incident before. There are still missing and if you have seen the news, you can see that there are more kids who drowned and died. The survivors need so much help. Some don't have homes to live in, no food and water, no clothes. We are also victims of typhoon Sendong but we are so thankful that our love ones are safe. Our house is flooded too and all the things were not saved. Good thing that the house wasn't washed out, at least, we still have a house. We pray that the ones who really need help most will be helped. We are really in need of help. Please share your blessings and extend a helping hand to the victims of the flash flood in both cities. A $1 will go a long way! Donate now.

Christmas is fast approaching! Are you ready for gift-giving? I am pretty sure that everyone is busy right now preparing their gifts for their love ones and friends. As for me, I am not sure yet what to give as a gift to my close relatives. I am thinking of scrubs as a gift since they work in a medical field. What do you think?

I checked this site, http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ and they have scrubs for sale. I might consider shopping online especially now that there are a lot of people shopping for the holidays. I will probably get some cheap scrubs but nice online. The price doesn't matter. The thought counts the most. Even if it's cheap, these are for sure similar to the ones sold in store. The website has pretty ones and I can chose a variety of scrubs. These will be my gifts then. Hope they will like it.

I was amazed with the kind of life we have here in the US. It's really different back home where I came from. I came from a different country so I can tell the big difference there is. Take for example the fastfood here. I was happy to know that I don't have to pay for softdrink refills but I have to clean up my garbage after dining in. I enjoy eating salad and bread that comes with the entree and the bottomless drinks. Also, there are plenty of food in one serving and I can even take home some. And there are so much more aside from the food.

Life here is so much better. Most homes have dishwashers, laundry washer and dryer, hot water, A/C units, sprinklers and more. We don't have these back home. We did our landry by hand and wash the dishes too by hands. I also like the way how the junk are removed. There are people that can help us such as the Shenandoah Junk removal. If you have junk to remove, just contact them. It's like everything we need is attainable. But of course, if we have money, it's easier. Still, life here is indeed beautiful. No wonder they call it as the land of milk and honey. But to some people, it's not anymore.

I love shopping online! I think I have more than a dozen dresses now that I have bought online. I can tell that shopping is addictive especially if you get good deals on it. If I have a teenager daughter, she could have a bunch of dresses now that she can use for school gatherings. I know girls are excited for events like proms and acquaintance parties. I would love to buy her dresses and also let her use my dresses that I have saved in my closet. But if she doesn't wear plus size prom dresses, she can't wear the ones I have bought. Mommy is wearing large and plus size dresses now since after the birth of the second baby. Well, I can buy her size. Oh I can't wait for my baby girl to grow! So as for now, I enjoy myself looking and buying for dresses. I like checking and browsing online for good deals. I am excited for black Saturday. There are plenty of good deals and I bet a lot would be shopping then in stores or online. I prefer the latter since it's comfortable to stay at home and just shop online. What about you?