ugh!!

I hate dirty dishes! I hate washing the dishes. sigh.....

what you shouldn't be cheap on

Recently my husband and I have experienced some trials with purchases.  There are a few things we have learned not to be cheap on, and we feel we have learned it the hard way.

Mattress: We have been using this same old mattress given to my husband from a neighbor a long time ago and we never had a problem.  But recently since we've moved our neighbor had a bedbug infestation that had migrated to our apartment.  Sadly enough our old mattress was the perfect place to harbor our neighbor's stray away bugs.  My husband and son got bites all over.  My son's bed was also from my mom's house and the mattresses were also old.  After throwing out the old mattress and buying all new bed furniture and new mattress, we also bought hypo-allergenic mattress covers and pillow cases to keep those bedbugs out.  Since then my son hasn't gotten bitten since. Ofcourse we did a thorough clean up and inspection of the apartment too.  Get a good mattress that has not only comfort but function.  They have great options these days with washable covers and hypo-allergenic material that keeps bugs and dust out.

Couch and living room furniture.  The same concept of a mattress holds true for other cloth furniture around the house that has cushions.  Buy a couch that has washable covers not just for the cushions but for the whole couch where the covers are easy to remove.  IKEA has a wonderful selection of simply such options.   There are two advantages of this.  One, you can thoroughly wash you furniture and, two, you have the option to buy new fabric, colors, or styles to replace your old once once you're tired of your old one.  Be wary of furniture from second hand or thrift stores.  That's how our neighbor got his bed bug infestation when he bought a couch from a thrift store that harbored these hard to kill bugs.

Pots and pans, silverware, and knives:  I was always amazed at how they have such cheaper pots and pans sets now.  I remembered when i was a child that my mother would only get the expensive ones, TFAL, as her favorite.  I really thought she overspent.  But over 10 years later my mother still uses those pots and pans and they are still strong, not peeling, or falling apart.  The fact is that when you buy from places such as Walmart, you might get a good deal on those non-stick pots and pans but they only last a few months.  We have had ours for less than a year and they're already stained, warped, blackened, or the non-stick part is already sticking. That's like eating some chemical when you cook in it.  Read reviews and warranties when you buy these items.  They can last you a long time, in my case, my mom's cookware has lasted her, well, around 15 years and going. The same goes for silverware.  you want to buy a quality silverware that doesn't rust.  Otherwise you'll be eating rust. Knives can just as easily rust as well. Don't buy them cheap because if you get cut by a rusty knife, you'll be experiencing more than just "ouch." I love the Rachael Ray knife set because you hardly see an orange knife set. Hehe

Bath soap:  Unless you want to have dry or irritated skin, be picky on bath soap.  My husband has dry skin and most soaps aggravate this problem.  Not only are moisturizing soaps good for dry skin but they smell amazing too.  Try out the bath soaps and find the best one for you.  You only have one body, make it as comfortable, and as fresh feeling as a baby.

Conditioner:  I learned this the hard way.  I'm usually a Pantene kind of girl but they had this sale at Costco for Tresemme conditioner.  I had never tried it before but i thought it was a great deal.  Well, no matter how much conditioner i put in my hair, my hair still ended up hard, matted and difficult to brush.  Never again.  Better to get a good conditioner that only a small amount in your hand does the work than buy a lot of conditioner on sale but you also have to put a boat load of it in your hair to hope it actually works.

Dish soap:  There's this company that distributes soaps and many other products from a pyramid type business.  The problem was that their products just didn't cut it.  Dish soap had to be able to remove all that greasy stuff, that hard on stuck stuff, and disinfect your dishes as well.  Not being able to do that, we had to use a lot more dish soap and a lot more scrubbing to get rid of the residue.  It took more time and in the end cost more money.  Invest in a good powerful dish soap and if your hands get affected, wear gloves while washing.  I always have a box of gloves on the kitchen counter-tops not just for washing dishes but for general cleaning with harsh products.  If you're into using a dishwasher, i recommend not holding back on the rinse agent.  Your dishes will not only be water spot free, but they'll look much cleaner and less residue sticks on the dishes.  I always use the heat-dry setting as well so that it doesn't allow any water spots to dry overtime.  The rinse agent makes the glassware much more sparkly as well.

Trash bags:  We tried using the grocery store trash bags once because we ran out of our usual one.  Well, as you would already have guessed, it leaked, ripped and didn't hold.  It would take two or three trash bags to hold all the messing trash than it would for one with our usual one.  We get the Kirkland brand from Costco.  It's sufficient enough without all those expensive add-ons that more expensive trash bags have but it is just as sturdy and can hold in those smelly juices from your kitchen trash with no problem.  Just as long as you empty the trash on a regular basis, it's more than sufficient.

Vacuum:  If your home has carpet, it's always good to invest in a good vacuum.  The cheaper vacuums may do the job but you'll end up buying a new one in a couple years.  They also tend to lose suction therefore will have to buy a new one in a couple years again.  A good vacuum not only lifts the dirt off your carpet but also the microscopic ones that can cause allergies, harbor bugs and other pests.  We recently invested in a Dyson ball vacuum and we use it for everything from the walls to the furniture.  It certainly doesn't lose suction, it's very powerful, it has all these easy to use perks with it, and it can be used on other surfaces not just carpet.  We may have spent about 500 dollars for it but most household spend about that much or more for 3 vacuum purchases over the years.   

Always research and look up reviews of products before buying them.  Make sure that if you're buying things cheap, you're considering if it's use will be effective for the price.  Sometimes the cheaper products will actually become more expensive in the long run.  Don't make the mistake that we did.  Start out thrifty for the long run.

What I have become

I used to be this active and lively person.  Full of life, of ambition, of talent, of optimism.  All of which i felt truly myself, comfortable, and never a worry about who i was supposed to be.  But over the years things have changed.  Once I got married i realized that there were some rules to be followed, which in the beginning was just fine with me.  I wasn't much of a church goer, and because my husband is a pastor's son and his convictions have been strong since childhood, i am now an avid church goer.  I obviously abide by rules of the church and principles that i truly believed in.  

But, despite the uplifting spiritual enjoyment of my church, i have experienced the most political disappointments in my church as well.  Politics is amazing in a small church.  Your task is to not offend anyone, to compromise, to save your words, to guard your feelings, to hold your thoughts, to keep temperate your emotions for the sake of others.  Which in all due respect is all good, to some extent.....  But in the process I've become more skeptical, less lively, less passionate.  

Compromise is an amazing thing.  It can make or break a person.  In this case i believe that it has broken me.   For now i know that i can never truly be myself in church.  I can never truly show my heart and passion in church.  That all this is sometimes for the show and the real reason to be in church is not there.  So my conclusion has become, to never show who i really am in church, to go for spiritual matters and to not involve myself in anything that can show who i am or any talents i can contribute.  It just isn't worth it to me.  I'll go there for one reason, for my God and for the sake of my family.  But in all this i'll have to sacrifice my heart and personality for their sake.   It's so disappointing it literally puts a pounding pressure in my heart.  What a disappointment.  May i focus only what really is important.  I will never put my soul out there to man, for man lies ultimate disappointment.

We will never forget... what made us stronger!

We will never forget... what made us stronger!
Here's an amazing testimony for September 11th

Food: the good and the bad

You ever get that feeling when you first taste a dish and you will never ever forget?  Then everywhere you go you can't help but compare to the original best?  Well, here's  my take on two foods that I truly enjoy.

1.  I have always been a Quaker Oaks fan.  How could anything top Quaker Oaks?  That cylindrical box, the man on the label.  Since i was a child that was all i knew.  Then one day, my husband comes home from his grocery trip to Costco and brings this home.  COACH'S OATS.  At first i was just keeping an open mind.  Still thinking ofcourse that it can't be all that good because i had never heard of the brand.  So, we try it the next morning................and, to my surprise, it is soooooooooooooo good! Way better than Quaker Oats!!  Smoother, finer, and more palatable to the tongue.  I must say, this brand will be embedded in my mind as one that toppled my loyalty.

2.  On another note, I love love love Thai food.  It has all the Asian exotic flavor i want with the spiciness i crave.  This place, SED THEE, in Glendale, looked pretty impressive.  Amazing ambient lighting, beautiful interior decorating with a modern Asian Flare, rich private booths and impressive bar.  What was even more impressive was the price.  So, we were excited to have dinner.  But with all this impressive-ness, there was hardly any customers on a Thursday night.  Maybe two tables were occupied for a large place that must have had a seating capacity of 200 or more.  But the food must be amazing right?  And they had purple rice!   My favorite dish of curry and my husband's favorite eggplant dish was available.  My son was thrilled when he saw his Pad See Ew!   I was even convinced to have some freshly squeezed orange juice in addition to my pineapple juice.  So we pray, extremely hungry at this point, and dig in.......................... and that was when the enthusiasm faded away like a slither of smoke on a windy day.  My curry wasn't spicy and was watery, my husband's dish tasted more like onions than eggplant, and the only thing that i actually enjoyed was eating the Chinese brocolli off my son's Pad See Ew dish.  The orange juice was even bad, like somebody decided to pick the most bitter oranges to squeeze.  I guess i couldn't help compare it to my favorite restaurant in Pasadena, PATAYA (which is less fancy looking and less expensive but truly more taste worthy).  The price didn't really make it all any better.  

Well, i guess that goes for comparison.  Some things don't always have to look good to taste amazing. And some things appear to be good and just plainly.....well, how can i say this nicely.......totally suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!