Aloha Friday

This is my first time to join Aloha Friday.

My question for today is 'What is your most memorable vacation trip?'

For me, I have to say that our Disney Cruise trip is one of the memorable trip for me. For one, it's the first time that I cruised. I have heard so much about you can either Love it or Hate it. I'm glad that I loved it. Also we are a huge fan of Disney. We have always vacationed at Disney World way before we have kids. And now that we have kids it's even more of the reason to go there. It's just something in the water there that makes me feel like a kid again whenever I visit there. Going on a Disney Cruise did bring back the same thing. We enjoyed our time chasing after the Characters for the signature or just roaming on the ship. I especially loved the private island there.

So now we are planning another cruise to the Carribean. The reason that we didn't go with Disney again mainly is budget. But I would love to go back again.

Five Finds for Friday - Budget Travel

I want to start a new ritual on my blog. Five Find for Friday will be about five things I find useful for Friday. It will be something that will help in planning a great weekend trips or an upcoming vacation.

The first one for this Friday is about five websites for planning your vacation on a budget.

1) VRBO.com - The Vacation Rentals By Owner is a good and economical way to save on your accomodation. You will definitely get more for your money when comparing to book a hotel versus a villa at your destination. The site is in a simple design at best. Don't expect any fancy graphic or feature but it gets the job done.

2) Wi-Fi Free Spot - With the new technology you can't deny the fact that internet is part of everyday life. Even if you want to get rid of it but sometimes it becomes handy during your vacation. This site allows you to find out where the Wi-Fi free spot is on your destination. Save yourself from internet cafe charge for your souvenir.

3) Airfare Watchdog - Sign up for the weekly newsletter of home city for any deals during that week. There are deals that are unadvertised and you will be the first one to know. The site will take you to the booking site that has that promotion.

4) Budget Travel - Provide deals and round up of deal of the month. This site is easy to navigate. However, the destination information is not as extensive as other well-known destination guide site.

5) Frommers - This well-established destination guide website is based from best selling travel books publisher. You can literally find the information for any destination with well written information. I always go there first to check out the information about my destination.

So there's my find for this week. There are plenty more that I'm sure are equally good. But hey! you can't please everyone, right?

Let me know what is your find for this Friday! Check out more finds here at Frugal Friday.

Persian Teahouse & Mediterranean Cafe

This week I have been on the world tour for lunch time. Normally, I pack lunch for work (not by choice but more by necessicity). However, with the cold snap this week along with the laziness that build up in me we have been ignoring our lunch we packed in the past few days. And when we eat out, I love to eat in the ethnic food restaurant rather than typical chain restaurant. It just makes me feel a bit more like I'm on my little vacation.

I'm a very easy eater. If it doesn't taste so bad, I will probably eat it all. So I'm not a really good food critic.

First stop for this week is Papoulis Mediterranean Cafe. It's a good size, quick bite Greek cafe. The food is fabulous especially Gyro Beef & Lamb. The cucumber salad that comes with it is fresh and tasty. The deco is nicely done with a huge map of that part of the world on the wall. There is little corner with cook book, snack, cheese and other ingredients that you might find in a Mediterranean market there. Plus the price is very reasonable ranging from $3-9 depends on what you order and how big your appetite is that day. It's a quick escape to a little Greek in the middle of the South.

Our second stop of the week is Darvish Persian Teahouse. What a great place to try the authentic Persian food and take in the real atmosphere of the Persian Teahouse. The decoration puts you right in the Persian teahouse. Ok.. I have never been to one but a co-worker who came from there said it's pretty close. I just felt like I have stepped into another world away. Now, it doesn't mean that the deco will be the only thing that will impress you. The food is ... fabuuuuuuloussssss. I ate and ate till I felt the pain.

We went during lunch on the weekday and they had the buffer all-you-can-eat for $7.99. Great price considering what we had. I started off with Rice and Gourmet Sabzi (a blend of green herbs), Gheimeh (tomato stew), Kashk-o-Bodenjan (a delicious blend of eggplant in a golden sweet onion) and grilled veggie. Then I moved on to the real heavy stuff. The Kabob-e-Kubideh (ground beef), Kabob-e-Barg (tenderloin) and Joojeh Kabob.. Yum yum.. I finished up my meal with Hot Persian tea. It had an amazing aroma. That wrapped out our perfect meal.

If you go during weekend evening, you will get to enjoy the entertainment as well. I haven't tried that yet but you bet that it is on my to-do list already.

What can be better than trying a little bit of different cultures without breaking the bank! I know that it can't compare to the real experience but at least it gives me the taste of what is the real experience can be magnified once we get there one day. :)

13 Things to do in or around Atlanta

This week Thursday Thirteen I got the idea from the blog posted by the Atlanta Traveler. Since I live here, I think it's more appropriate to talk about things we can do in or around Atlanta area that are kid-friendly .

1) Georgia Aquarium - You can't come to Atlanta and not visit the GA Aquarium - The World's Largest and Most Engaing Aquarium. With its unique design you can explore the aquarium at your leisure.

2) World of Coca-Cola - This brand new museum dedicated entirely to Coke is one thing that we have yet to visit. It sits next to the GA Aquarium in the downtown area. If you are a coke memorabilia collector then I guess you can't go wrong here. Plus who can resist tasting nearly 70 different products from around the world.

3) Centennial Olympic Park - Spring is right around the corner so it's time to check out what is on the calendar at the park. With the new All Children's Playground and variety of events like Music @ Noon or Wednesday WindDown, it's no surprise that this is one of the best thing to do when you are in Atlanta. Plus it won't hurt that all these events are Free.

4) Atlantic Station - This modern mixed-use district with the concept of Live, Work and Play in Midtown is a good stop for any visitors or local. The area surrounds by various restaurants, shops, movie theatre. There are also various events throughout the year.

5) Imagine It! Children's Museum - A great place for children of all ages. Perfect to take a break during a hot day in Hotanta if you come to visit during Summer or cold day in winter. With calendar fulls of events, no wonder parents keep coming back here.

6) Zoo Atlanta - A good size zoo perfect for family with small children. It's not too big to overwhelm little kids but enough to keep them interested. Don't forget to visit the Panda exhibit! And if you feel too tired, you can always hop on the Train express for a short break.

7) Atlanta Botanical Garden - A great place to visit especially during Spring and Summer. They have variety of flowers and plants and special exhibits throughout the year. Also with little kids in mind they will get to explore in the Children garden perfect for the pint-size visitors.

8) Stone Mountain - This Atlanta Theme Park is one of the top destination for visitors. However, Stone Mountain is not just about the theme park, you can also have a good fun weekend with your friends and family in their picnic area. You don't need to pay for the park ticket but you will have to pay for the parking per vehicle. There are also lodging inside the park and golf course. This is what we call all-in-one.

9) Chattahoochee River National Park - A great park along the Chattahoochee river on the Northern part of Atlanta. This park stretch over 48 miles along the river. Visit the headquarter to check out any special activities or go on a picnic in the park. For more active families, you won't be disappointed in many outdoor activities like hiking, walking, rafting or river tubing.

10) Piedmont Park - The favorite in-town park next to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This park has everything for everyone in the family even your fur friends. The dog park, playground, picnic area and swimming pool just to name a few.

11) Fernbank Museum of Natural History - The Fernbank Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit especially with your children. They will get to explore, learn and connect with the cultures and the history around the world. Plus, it won't hurt to have the Dinosaurs in the middle of the lobby for them to check out in awe.

12) Underground Atlanta - A unique market in the heart of downtown Atlanta. It's a fun place to shop and eat. We love the chicken wings at the food court. By far, it's the best we have had and who would have thought that it's in the food court.

13) CNN Inside Studio Tour - Another tourist attraction in downtown area. It's fun to check out what is really going on behind the scene. One of the longest escalator ride I have ever tried. If you are afraid of height, brace yourself!


Here it is folks, my Thursday Thirteen. What are on your list to do around town?

Are you ready for Spring Break?

As the Winter is coming to an end and we are approaching Spring, I have been busy checking and planning our little getaway. So here are some deals I found from Expedia. Don't wait till the last minute as good deals and great price will get snatched away. It pays to start early!

How about Spring Break on the beaches:

Pacific Mexico: Flight + 4 nights from $431 - Expires 3/17/08
Hawaii: Flight + 4 nights from $486 - Expires 3/31/08
Cruises from only $199, Plus up to $100 shipboard credit - Ongoing
Caribbean: Book early and save! Packages from $441 - Ongoing

Or how about explore the Cities:

Vegas hotels from $40, Flight + 2 nights from $262 - Expires 3/14/08
Paris: Hotels from $170; Air + 3 nts from $869 - Expires 3/18/08
Orlando on sale: Save 30% on 3+ nights! - Expires 3/28/08

Remember you snooze, you loose!

7 days with Dora?

Royal Carribean is launching a new Theme Cruise - Nickelodeon Family Cruise.

Can you take 7 days with Dora and SpongeBob?

My Nemesis!

For anyone who knows me knows that I hate doing laundry more specifically folding and putting it away. It's just something that will be on my list to delegate if I win a lotto. (only if I start buying it..)

But in the meantime, I just have to come up with some game plan to make it more manageable. So far, here are a few things that work out for me.

1) Forget about sorting.. Who need to sort if you use cold water cycle. You kill 2 birds in 1 stone. Save your electric bill when you use cold water and save your own sanity when you don't have to sort your clothes.

2) Wear your PJ more than one night. I take shower every night so basically we are clean when we wear our PJ to go to sleep. So there is no reason to use it again the next night.. or the next night.. or the next night.. I will leave it up to you to decide how many times.

3) Hang everything that you can fit in your closet! First, it helps with the wringle. And second, it saves your time.

This is What Work for Me this Wednesday. Head here to check out more tips.

Cabin Fever

I'm (actually WE are) not an outdoor type person. So the idea of going on a vacation to a cabin seems to be out there for us. But I love to think that deep down I still have my youth adventurous sense within me. Recently, we had a conversation with a few friends from church and we got to talk about weekend getaway. So I let my fingers do the work and found this gem not too far from us.

The Cabin Rentals of Geogia has several luxury cabins up in the Blue Ridge area in the North Georgia Mountain. The one that I absolutely fall in love with is the Timber Fall Ridge. This is a 5 bedroom/ 5.5 bathroom lodge with the view of the mountain and Toccoa River. The picture of the family room makes me think that it's the hotel reception area. How gorgeous is this!!! The rate is also more affordable than say cabin in the Gaitlinburg area. The rate ranges from $200 - $425 per night depends on the season. But check their website for the most up-to-date information.

If you are not looking for a big lodge, there are other options as well. Like a 3 bedroom lodges which have several cabins there.

What to do in the Blue Ridge mountain you might ask! Well, for a start why do you need to do anything if you stay in this beautiful cabin that has everything from game room, theatre room, hot tub and porch. But if you must, there are hiking, fishing or sightseeing around town. Plus there is a Blue Ridge Scenic Railway nearby which I think Mr. Z will be thrilled and insisting on going.

Well, I am determined to try this cabin. So I will contact the owner and wait to see if thing will work out. If so, I will have more to report on this gorgeous cabin. Also, I do not get any commission on anything from this!! This blog is used as a collection for my traveling plan. So this is one of my plan. :)

Smart Saving on Cruising

As our cruise vacation is approaching (Yeah!!!), I have learned so much during this process. A lot of people might wonder why since this is not our first cruise. True. But this is the first cruise that I handle all the booking and planning myself. Our Disney Cruise was handled by a friend so I didn't have to worry about shopping for the cheapest one or learning other tips from other cruisers (much to my regret though). So this time, I determined to learn more and be a more educated traveler (or cruiser in this matter).

So here are some of the tips that I learned and did.

1) Book the cheapest stateroom available - This advice might not be for everyone since we all have different priority. For me, this trip my goal is to explore and enjoy ourselves outside our room. So room size or amenity is not my top priority. My budget on the other hand is on the top of my priority. For us, I went for the lowest catgeory which is IS. This is the Interior Stateroom - No Guarantee. It means we won't know where our room will be yet. It's a bit of the gamble at this point. I figure I will pack a lot of Bonnie and Dramamine.

2) Book your excursion yourself - The price of the excursion offering my the cruise company can be as high as 20% more than private tour at the port. However, I have to put a note here that I also book an excursion via cruiseline on certain port. It will depend on your comfort level. Some people just feel safer going with the cruise knowing that they will wait for you if there is any problem. For me, I book an excursion in Jamaica via the ship only because it's cheaper than if I go directly with the resort.

3) Don't try to do too much - Sometimes the best saving is to do nothing at the port. After all, the best way to explore is maybe wandering around. Again, make sure that you have good understanding on the safety in each port. I decided to forego any excursion in Mexico. We will take a cab to the park and enjoy a day on the beach.

4) Stay with friend before boarding the ship - If you like most cruisers who have to fly or drive to the port the day before, the hotel cost will add to your budget. We are lucky enough to have a few friends in FL so we will crash at their place instead of paying for a night in a hotel.

Pirates of the Caribbean

I have recently read a good tip from Traveling Mama on a fun way to expand your vacation activities by going treasure hunting. It's called 'Letterboxing'. Here is what they say on their website: LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming "treasure hunt" style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels. Click on the desktop items above to explore this fast-growing hobby.

So I head over to Letterboxing North America to check out whethere there will be any letter boxes hidden in any of the three ports for our upcoming Caribbean trip.

So this is what I found out for each port:

Cozumel - There are 3 boxes hidden on the island. One is hidden at Mr. Sancho's Beach restaurant and another two I have yet to figure it out.

Ocho Rios - There is only 1 box there.

Grand Cayman - There is also 1 box there on the Cayman Islands. It's hidden in the Pirate's Cave in Bodden Town. (Appropriate for our plan) I didn't originally plan to visit there but it will be interesting activity and unique one apart from other cruise excursions.

Now, I just have to print out and study the clue with the kids. Also we will probably need to get a journal book, our own personalized stamp (that will be a cool craft project with them on the weekend), stamp pad and a compass (or maybe GPS, who use compass this day!).

Saving with CVS

As I mentioned before that I recently took up Coupon Clipping, it has been a good experience so far. And this week I have taken one step further by trying out CVS phenom. I have heard (or read) so much about how you can save a bundle with CVS coupon and ECB system. Since I already have CVS card and a CVS store nearby I figured I will give it a try.

First of, I headed to CVS store to pick up this week ad. I didn't get it from Sunday newspaper and because I like to look at newspaper or insert instead of view it online. Then I started to scan it through my coupons to see if I can match anything up and also look for special deals especially one with ECB.

Here are some of the deals I got.

- Toothpaste - $2.99 - $2 ECB - $0.50 Coupon = $0.49

- Huggie - $8.99 - $2 Coupon = $6.99

- Hershey's - $2.99 - $2 off = $0.99

The bottom line is I paid about $23 for products worth $51. So not bad for a first timer. Pad myself in the back for that!! :)

Check out other saving tips here.

13 Destinations for my Vacation

Sometimes vacation is all about our imagination. It will be nice to get to go on a real destination on your dream vacation.

As I have so much time on my hand (apart from working, cooking, taking care of our home, cleaning, etc..), I have come up with 13 destinations that I would like to go on my vacations. These are not the finite list as I refuse to limit my own dream. I want to go places.. different places, different cultures.. Only time will tell.

For now, enjoy my Thursday Thirteen.

1) Hawaii - This is my top destination. It's just something about the beach that always attract me.


2) Italy - I want to go back there and be able to take my time and get to travel the whole country especially Venice, Rome and Florence


3) Greece - Again something about the ocean.. It's that blue sky with the crisp clear ocean. Plus Greek food is one of my favorite.


4) Australia - This might happen sooner if I can manage the budget. When we go back to Thailand next trip, I want to try to have a side-trip to Australia. After all, it will cut the flight time by half.



5) Ireland - This one is for Mr. Rojo. He thinks he has an Irish blood.

6) Switzerland - I don't know how to ski but I would love to go ski there. Does that make me sound a bit insane?


7) Japan - Technically, I have been there countless times except I only set foot on their airport. I don't think that count.

8) China - Especially Shanghai, it's the Western city of China.



9) Mexico - It won't be right not to visit and get to your our neighbor, heh?



10) California - I have been there 10 years ago. But I think my one trip doesn't do justice to that State. I would love to go back to San Diego, San Francisco and LA (this one mainly for Thai food)

11) Las Vegas/Grand Canyon - Whatever happen in Vegas, stay in Vegas. :)


12) Fiji - We can always dream, right?

13) Brazil - I would love to visit the Amazon and take in the vibrant culture.


That's it folks. My list. So where are your dream destination?

Now, this is my kind of vacation

Picture from 9beaches.com

I love to read about travel or destination articles especially beach or island destinations. One of the places that I have always dreamt about going is the On-The-Water hotel. But we all know how ridiculously expensive these type of hotels are. I mean they aren't meant for typical working mom like me but for celebrity or millionaires who can shell out $2K a night just like we buy 1 penny item in Publix.

Till now, meet 9 Beaches Bermuda Resort. Recent article (or maybe not so recent. It just happened that I just found it) on MSN Travel section gives the detail on this resort. I didn't even care to read the whole review. Just the idea of something a little bit more within reach and closer appeals to me to have to put it on my to-travel list.

There are different cabana types that you can choose from in this resort. The most expensive ones are the one that sit directly on the water. They called 'Paradise Pier Over the Water'. Appropriately named if I may. It looks like a real paradise.. The rate as of 2008 is ranged from $370-$470 per night. Ok.. It might not be that cheap but when you compare to what you will be paying in let's say Bora Bora, this seems like a good bargain to me. And the most importantly it's within reach. I just have to wait for maybe 2 years. :)

It's a wonderful morning!

Nothing beats waking up and checking your bank and found money from Uncle Sam. Well, technically it's my money all along. I just loaned it to them during the period of one year for my tax. I know that it's not a really practical or logical way to get a large refund back from IRS. But hey, I tried and I still overpaid my tax every year!

But today, I'm not gonna beat myself up about how much I overpaid my tax. But rather, I want to brag in the fact that using Turbo Tax has been a way for me to file my tax in the record time this year. E-file is a way to go for anyone. Plus choosing to do direct deposit will help speed thing up a bit as well. Now, I just have to wait for my Tax Stimulus rebate from Mr. President!

What work best for me is the fact that using Turbo Tax allows you to do your tax without paying them first. So you can put all your information and see right away whether you will owe any tax or will get any refund. And for a shopper, it will also help if you want to check whether you can do better than your overprice accountant. After all, most of them might also use the same application like Turbo Tax if you don't have any complicate situations.

Check out other tips from here.

Blast from the past - China

Today I saw an article on MSN about Planning a Trip to China. This article reminds me of our trip to China about 8 years ago. It was a trip sponsored by my company that I worked with back then. Yup, it was a business trip but my boss was very generous in helping arranging side trip during the weekend for us. It also helped that she was from China so I think in the sense she was proud to show us her country.

We were there for over a month but most weekend we had to work. After all, they flew us around the Globe to work not to take a vacation. We stayed in an industrial town called 'TianJin'.

One long weekend, we got a chance to take a train to visit Beijing. We had to take a train from TianJin to Beijing. Too bad I didn't take any digital pictures back then. So I didn't think of taking the pictures of the bathroom at the train station. However, my sense of smell still vividly remembers this strong smell. Let's just say I held my breath the whole time I walked in there and I couldn't even do my business. I just couldn't. The door was only half tall so when you squat down, you would be seeing the next door neighbor. Ok.. I know.. Too much information. Let's move on.

We took a bus to the Great Wall. I think this might be the only time I will get to visit China. But you never know. I still want to go back to see Shiang Hai and other parts of this interesting country. We took the cable car up to the Great Wall and walked along the wall. I'm glad we did this when I was 8 years younger. Not sure if I can climb it now.

Next day, we got a chance to see Tianmin Square and the Forbidden City. Growing with a lot of Chinese movies in my household, it was amazing to get to see the Forbidden City. I am still amazed now thinking about how people 1,000 years ago was able to accomplish such a large scale of contruction with details and beauty.

The fun memory I had is not only about places but people. It was fun shopping in China. Bargaining is a given. The price they gave you will be about 200% more than you will end up paying. But that's how it works. We also surprised at how Americanized the teens could be in Beijing and this was 8 years ago. I'm sure you can see even more Western influence there nowaday. We went to Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing and it was one of the fun night in my life. Being young and no worried.. Oh! how I long for those days again.

And just to prove the point that we can get Starbucks anywhere. We got this picture from that trip. China is not just another exotic country anymore. I will go back in a heart beat if my budget allows!

Recycle my old cell phone

If you are anything like myself, your old cell phone will be in one of your junk drawer. Ok.. you might not be like myself and I think it still will be in one of your junk drawer.

This morning on the way to work, I listened to a radio and heard about a good organization called 'Help Them Call Home' that help recycled old cell phone to prepaid minutes for our troop.

I'm sure some of you would rather sell it on ebay to make some money. But I am not good at selling my stuff on eBay and by the time I want to do so my cell phone is too old to sell it anyway. So it ended up in my junk drawer.

This way, I can accomplish several things at once. One is being greener by recycle. Two is to be able to show my appreciation to our troop by helping them to be able to call home with the prepaid minutes. Three is to get rid of my junk. Like they said.. one person junk is another treasure.

So this is what I tackled this Tuesday.

What can be better than Free?

Ok. Before we get into this, I want to put a disclaimer that I have no beef against Quicken or Microsoft. This is just one mom's (busy one mind you)experience and opinion.

I have been a loyal user for Quicken for a long time. I have come a long way from just putting every penny on my notebook to track my expense to the 21st century of the computer application. However, with all the bells and whistles that Quicken offered, I didn't seem to be able to keep up with my expense tracking. I mean seriously.. who has time to download each account and update it manually.. Worst of all, with my OCD I can't go to sleep till I have RECONCILED that darn penny that is missing!!!! Seriously!

So most of the time I would be updating for a few months and then didn't do a thing for the next 5 months. Then I would have to find time to update that last 5 months. So I know it's not working for me.

Until, I have found Yodlee MoneyCenter. This is a FREE, online money management program. They don't have all other fancies stuff like Quicken but I think for my purpose it's more than enough.

You might not have heard of Yodlee but this company is the tool behind several financial companies that you might have used it yourself like Fidelity, ING and well.. check out their website.

So if I have to put it, this is one of my time and money saving tool that I highly recommend to anyone who is looking to leverage their time.

That dreadful conversation

This afternoon, I have an unexpected delivery. A flower company delivered a nice flower from an Animal Hospital. It was such a nice gesture from them. As I'm sure they understand the loss of a pet. But I'm not yet ready to talk to my kids about Dakota yet. Plus my husband wasn't home. How am I to be able to do this myself.

I was hoping that my daughter won't notice it. But that will be too easy, won't it? She noticed and asked where it came from. I can't lie so I told her that it came from the Animal Hospital. Immediately, she said 'For Dakota?'... Gosh!!! Why she has to be so smart!

So here is the conversation we had a few minutes ago.

Mom: 'Honey, I have something to tell you. Do you know that Dakota has been sick and he is old? He is even older than Grandpa. So it's time for him to go to Heaven and be with God.'

Miss J: 'He died?'

Immediately, Mr. Z (my little boy) went to the basement door and opened it up and said.. 'Dakota is not there'...

Silence.... I just don't know what else to do but gave them a big hug!!!

Mr. Z said he wants Dakota back. I told him.. We can't. He is in a better place now. So now he ran upstairs and said he wants to go visit Dakota in Heaven!

On the good note, it took them about 10 minutes later to get back to play game on their computer. They didn't get to spend as much time as us with Dakota so that's one good thing that the attachment isn't that strong yet. But we will never know when they might be thinking of him again.

Must eat steak...

It has been a while since we have been out for a nice meal in a restaurant. You know.. Like a lot of families with tight budget. Eating out is not a norm here. But last week, we have had a plan to go out with a few of our friends but it didn't work out as some of them are sick. I can't help but think about it after looking at where and what we want to eat.

We have heard so much about Stoney River Steakhouse and figure it's time to take a test drive there. At first I wasn't sure if it's one of those upscale restaurants that we should leave the kids locked down in the basement.. OK.. It's a joke here don't call Social service on me now. :) I called and found out that they don't mind children since they do have kid menu.

We could have called ahead to reserve priority seating but figured that we weren't that hungry and we could wait. So we headed there around 5:30pm. And the place was already packed. When we got there, we saw a few customers were already done with their meal. Come on!!! Does that mean they eat at 4pm? Huh.. They might combine lunch and dinner in one meal. Just my guess.

The wait was 40-50 minutes.. It wasn't bad if we didn't forget to pack a Leapster for our kids. But in the end, they did pretty well. Just had to bribe them with a diet coke and game on my cell phone. Whew!! Save the evening. We figured if they started to act up we could just walk across the street to the Waffle House.

We started off with Crabcake appetizer. Too bad for my husband, he just started developing the allergic reaction to shell-fish and turned out crab cake is one of them. Sorry, honey.. The Crabcake was gooooooood.. But I think what's better is their dinner rolls. Not only, the taste is out there but you don't have to pay for it.

I ordered Coffee Cured Steak - medium rare. Hmm hmm.. I have no word to describe it. You just have to try it yourself!

My husband ordered Ribeyes.. Gosh!! Thank God I cooked our ribeye 2 night before. Otherwise, we won't be touching that after we have tasted this Ribeye.

We finished with no room to spare for any dessert. But it was a good night out and worth every penny.

Guess this was our highlighted activity for our weekend. It has been a while since we take a trip. So a restaurant trip is counted as one of the weekend trip on my book!

Friday afternoon in a park

This afternoon after the kids got home from school we headed to Central Park (not to be confused with NY city's Central Park). A few of the neighbors headed there and we thought it was a good way for us to distract ourselves from our sadness. It's hard not to think about Dakota so the best thing for us to do right now is to try to focus on the kids.

Central Park is a huge park in our area. I hardly visit there before. I have never been to the playground area before. But I think after today I will make it my routine to visit there more often. Might even make it a Pizza in a Park friday thing.

The playground area is fenced in and they had 2 main areas. One for smaller kids and another section is for bigger kids. In the middle that separate the two areas is the cover area with picnic tables and bathroom. Very convenient!!! One thing that I notice is that since this park is relatively new (built in 2001) so there aren't that many shade area. But for us, we probably won't be out when it's too hot anyway.

After spending quite some times in the playground, we hit the walking/runing/biking trail. It's a very nice trail for biking with small kids. They rode around the trail along the baseball fields. Pretty good work out for a nice afternoon.

The Sun started to come down and the temp cooled down pretty quickly. So it's time to head home.

In Memory of Our Beloved Dakota...

It was not the Valentine that we expected. It was a really really sad Valentine indeed for us. Our dog - Dakota Hopper - passed away last night. He was just over 9 years old. We will remember a good time we have had together with him. He had been with us for 9 years and 1 day.

We got him on Feb 13, 1999. He was a really sweet and energetic dog. He was always happy to see and interact with anyone. We almost named him 'Hopper'. When he was little, he always hopped instead of walking. We thought it might be because the grass in FL was too high for such a little big dog like him.

Last night he wasn't eating and moving much. We thought we will take him to the vet in the morning. But this morning he has already gone to Heaven. At least we can think that he has gone in a peaceful way..

We know that he will be in Heaven and has all the good time right now. But we will always miss him. Good bye, Dakota. Thank you for such a good years that we have had. I wish we would have more. You will always be in our heart!!!

My Coupon Clipping experiment...

Well, I have been reading WFMW carnival for a while. But I have never participated. But I think this time I have something to contribute. So here it goes..

After 3 weeks on clipping coupon experiment, I admitted that I'm pretty addicted to it. How so? Well, one Sat's night I woke up and panic that I forgot to buy Sunday's newspaper but it was just Saturday!!!

How did I do with my experiment so far?

Well, first week was a disaster. I spent a lot of time sorting it and cutting it. But the money saving has kept me going and figured that as a newbie I'm allowed extra time for learning curve.

Second week, I save over $30 in total (more than 1 trip to the grocery though). I mainly shopped at Publix. So I just shopped based on whatever on sale on that week.

So I have to say.. So far so good. Still buying newspaper on Sunday and cutting coupon as my therapeutic afternoon activity (how sad is that?)

There are a few things that I find work best for me.

1) Buy the double version of Sunday newspaper. Normally it will cost about 50 cents more and you will get 2 sets of your coupon which comes handy when you shop.

2) Always look for BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) deal and use 2 coupons. This will pretty much guarantee your saving

3) Use the check-size accordion wallet. I just create category based on the aisle in the grocery store and sort the coupon as I clip them. It takes no time to do so.

4) Attach a paper clip on the front and use that when I go shopping for the stuff from your shopping list.

Well, here you go.. my first WFMW. Hope it will work for you too! Also check out other useful tips from other bloggers here!

What has become of Valentine?

I didn't grow up here so I don't know what my childhood's Valentine would have been liked in school. But when I was young, our Valentine basically consisted of collecting the most heart-shape stickers on our uniform and maybe (just maybe) a few roses or flowers.

Nowaday, with one kid in Elementary school and another one in Daycare I didn't realize how much it has become such an event. Last year we weren't in the country so I didn't know about this. This year boy... I wasn't prepared for all the preparation I had to make. Granted it's nothing as major as Christmas season. But still.. It's just a Valentine day!

For my daughter, I came up with a simple and economic solution for her valentine for her friends. A heart shape paper with her handwriting for her friend sticking to a lollipop. Add a little bow then we got a heart flower. Then today we worked on making her a mailbox so that she can bring the valentine to her class and also possibly collect one (or many) from her friends.

For my son, since there is no instruction and probably they wouldn't care how and what we bring. I just got a bag of lollipop and a Valentine plastic tub for him. I have never thought that I will be needing a tub just like Easter and Halloween. Now I have one more tub to keep track of for the Holiday.

I seriously think that it's a plan drafted up by dentist, candy companies, and card companies... ;) Just my 2 cents.

Check out other tips here.