Are you ready for pets?

Whether to have pets or not is a household decision. Your kids may definitely like the idea but are they ready for it, or are you? The responsibilities that come along with pets and the physical requirements (like pet's home and where to put it) are just some of the things you need to think of before deciding. If your kids have allergies, you might need to think not just twice but many times.
We had hamsters last year, the female one even gave birth to 3 cutelings at New Year's Eve. But then because of the difficulty in leaving them when we as a family go someplace, we decided to give them away.

As a mom, I look for ways to train my kids to do their tasks and responsibilities so when we got the hamsters from the province, I assigned my kids some tasks related to caring for our new pets.But my younger one has this over giggling towards the cute hamsters. One day, I suspected that one of our hamsters suffered from broken bones because it could no longer stand up. Later that day, he died. Poor thing.
So here are some things to consider and discuss with your kids before you let those pets into your household.

Food Trip: Native Cake in a Bamboo

Back in our humble province, we call it "Tinubong." Forgive me for I could not find the most fitting translation. It's an Ilocano term for putting something inside an elongated object called "tubong" or the bamboo. It's made of ground malagkit (glutinous) rice and other ingredients. It is a native delicacy in the Ilocos Region. It is quite sticky but delectable and matches well with coffee. 
Although it can be bought all year long in certain areas, this delicacy is most well-loved during Christmas season. It is like puto-bumbong and bibingka here in Manila and the Southern Tagalog. It is contained inside the bamboo and grilled in a very meticulous manner of manually turning over the bamboo while wiping it with wet cloth (so that it won't get burned) until it is cooked. If you can see from the photo, the cake is a bit darker under, on the part that touches the bamboo but I tell you, that is the most delicious part. The basic ingredients are glutinous rice, young coconut meat, sugar, cheese, margarine. The producers make use of young bamboo or what we termed as "Bulo" - the thin kind of bamboo wood. The only way to open the tinubong is by slicing the bamboo  lengthwise to reveal the delicious tinubong inside.
Check other Ilocano dishes like Miki, Ensaladang Bagnet, and Igado.
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Your Christmas Budget

How much should you spend this Christmas? Or have you thought about it? If you haven't experienced any problem with money before, then this article may not appeal to you. But for those who have, it is highly recommended to create a budget as early as now. Some people can really get overwhelmed with the Christmas hype and spirit that they don't realize they are spending way too much than they should be. If you say that since it is Christmas, it is alright to overspend, think again. Would you really want to be broke come New Year's time?


Here is a sample list of expense items that Filipinos normally buy during Christmas time.

How to organize your child's closet?

Does your child often complain about difficulty in finding what he/she needs in the morning before going to school? Is the closet a picture of disarray and chaos? Organizing your kid’s clothing effectively is one way to avoid the chaos.  For instance, segregating the clothes and assigning certain area for each category is important so that your child can easily find what he or she needs in no time. Here are some steps to follow in organizing your child’s wardrobe.

(Photo source)

 If you haven’t done yet, buy a closet that has lots of division and big enough to hold your kid’s clothing.  This will help you in the organization department. There are quite a few options if you have a small closet with only 2 to 3 shelves inside than if you have more compartments in the closet.

Home Idea: The Charming Italian Home

I've got to make a post to show off some photos I took from my travel to Italy last summer especially that of a house up in one of the hills surrounding the breathtaking Lake Como. I've always liked the Mediterranean style. I say it is one ideal house that you can emulate if you are on that crucial stage of finding the perfect place or designing your own home.

The lovely house with a garden.
The Italian home with a garden is so charming. It oozes a nostalgic aura, like in a classic film. I feel I am in one of the scenes in The Godfather when I saw some small plots. The greens are so relaxing. In these times, it's good to go back to producing your own backyard supplies of veggies. I am the farming type (something I inherited from my dad, God bless his soul) so I'd rather go for a small house with a large plot of land than a big house with less garden space.

Health Issue: How much do families in the Philippines spend on contraceptives?

The Reproductive Health (RH) Bill is such a big issue in the Philippines today. As of publication time, the Senate is still in a hot debate whether to pass this bill or not. Meanwhile, people may be wondering just how much the poor can save if the government will be providing free contraceptives to them.

If the spending reflected in the Family Income and Expenditure Survey is indeed reflective of the total amount they need, we can have an estimate of how much the government will likely spend.

Health Issue: Top sources of Vitamin C and their contents

As a mom, I always see to it that my kids meet their daily needs of Vitamin C to protect them against infectious diseases. But I realize that if I am already giving them some fruits, I need not give them Vit. C supplement anymore. This is because the fruits I am giving them may already suffice to meet the minimum requirements. If their meals also contain several vegetables, then they may already be getting adequate amounts of Vitamin C.
The USDA recommended dose of Vit. C that women should take daily is 75 mg while for men, it is 90 mg. For children, the requirements are lower (see below). To help you with the right servings and fruits, here are the top sources of Vitamin C and the corresponding contents.

Home Issue:How much is the average expenditure of Filipino families on food?

I have started this Home Issues series in my blog with the average spending of families on electricity. Now, I think I should have started with food as it is the most basic need. I used the same dataset (FIES 2009) as the one I used in electricity. The FIES is a nationally representative survey of around 40,000 families conducted all over the Philippines. The 2009 survey is the most recent available Public Use File.
I found that the average family spent P74,808 in the whole year of 2009, roughly $1,570.  The typical family in the Philippines during this time was composed of about 5 members (4.7 to be exact). The typical person's food consumption has amounted to P17,554, or $368.