GRILLED TOMATOES

Our trip was canceled during the break because of the typhoon, so we had to come up with some last minute ideas as to where we can take the kids around the city or the outskirts of the Metro. It would be helpful if the day out would be inexpensive, educational and enjoyable at the same time. 1. National Museum (Free) Entrance is free for all visitors, thank you very much! :) But if you have toddlers better make sure they stay close as they have precious works of art irreplaceable when broken. Introduce some culture and nationalism in you and your child's life by introducing him/her to the works of our national artists. 2. The National Planetarium (P50 for adults, P35 for children) The girls enjoyed this very much as they almost believed that they were traveling into space.  Just like the National Museum, the Planetarium is closed on Mondays. Arrive early for the show times and check the schedule ahead of time. Phones are definitely NOT allowed in the Planetari...

In our post from way back in 2016, we had a list of indoor playgrounds in Trinoma Quezon City. There have been some changes and it's time for an update: 1. Kevin's Toys and Library,  KidZone, 3rd Floor Kevin's Toys and Library moved to where Gymboree was previously located. it's now bigger and better, with more space for your child to run around in.     Rates are as follows: WEEKDAYS: Php 210 per hour 30 mins extension - Php100 Unlimited playtime: Php460 Guardian - Php20.00 Socks: Php35.00 WEEKENDS: Php 230 per hour 30 mins extension - Php110 1. Kira's Box Toys and Library,  KidZone, 3rd Floor A newer playground, with lots of girly toys, located beside Cinema 7 in Trinoma.  Rates: WEEKDAYS: Php 210 per hour 30 mins extension - Php100 Unlimited playtime: Php460 Guardian - Php20.00 Socks: Php35.00 WEEKENDS: Php 230 per hour 30 mins extension - Php110 490 unlimited Tips: If this is ...

Crypto Basics. Blockchain, Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. It was in Singapore when I first heard about bitcoin back in 2011 from an online article that I came across saying something about this coin reaching parity with the US Dollar. Like most people, I didn’t pay attention. I had zero knowledge and did not even bother researching about it. Probably because I was having fun trading the Philippine stock market back then and experimenting with the Singapore market at the same time.  I chose to ignore every milestone until last year when Bitcoin broke $10,000 for the first time. I decided to read up about it and of course, Blockchain, which is Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies underlying technology. So, what is a crypto-currency? Unlike the physical paper money that we are used to (also referred to as fiat money), crypto-currency is purely digital. They do not physically exist. There is no actual coin to pick up and put into your pocket. Cu...

The Philippines is considered as the "Franchise Capital of Asia".  We see many establishments opening their businesses to franchisees to expand their enterprise. If you are thinking of franchising one, please pick one properly and scrutinize every single thing that they have to offer. If you are thinking of franchising a food cart, you may find that there are many advantages to it compared to other types of businesses. You may check it out in my other post The Advantages of Franchising a Food Cart. 1. Check on the system and operations. Most of the people interested in setting up a business do not know how to run an establishment hence they franchise. A big part of the franchise fee is paying for the system of operations. Most of the successful franchising companies have studied and established a method on how they run their organization. This is one of the very important things that you should look for. Our first franchise, after paying for the all the fees, gav...

Hi! I guess you're here now because you're thinking of franchising a food cart. Our food cart, Grub to Go Rice Toppings , have been in the business for five years now and slowly we are in the process of expanding the business. If you're thinking of investing in a food cart, here are the plusses that we found operating several branches for the past years. So why invest in a food cart? 1. Relocatable. To be honest, not all food carts will click in certain locations. If you find yourself setting up one but can't seem to attract enough customers after many advertising and marketing campaigns, you can easily relocate. Find another place for your food cart and continue operating from there. Most contracts do not tie you in one place and it will be your sole discretion where to set-up yours. 2. Minimal Investment. It does not take a bunch of millions to franchise one. But you have to be careful since many have found ways setting up pseudo-franchises in the count...

The 26 th AFAD Defense and Sporting Arms Show will be held at the Megatrade Hall next month, July 12-16 and as usual, there will be a PNP Caravan wherein one can process the LTOPF and PTFCOR. My target would be to complete other requirements such as NBI and Police clearance then upload them online. I would then go to the first day of the caravan for the Neuro-Psych exam.  So yes, one of the requirements is an NBI Clearance. Based on past experiences, it isn't much of a breeze to get one. With my name being so common, I got hits and I had to wait. But this time around my experience is much different. 1. ONLINE REGISTRATION, BOOKING, AND PAYMENT The first step is to register online:  https://clearance.nbi.gov.ph , book a schedule and pay via internet banking .  I paid P130 using my bank account. I wanted a morning schedule and the earliest available date is June 6 which I immediately took. Note that I made the online booking on June...

1. Sell online. As the years go buy your kids get older and their stuff turns into heaps of disarray. Find time to sort their things and declutter. Clean them and sell them online. The world wide web has many sites that you can offer your second-hand items and there are many parents willing to buy your products for a reasonable price. Our kids are now turning six and we started selling the belongings that they didn't need. Strollers, cribs, baby carriers, breast pumps, shoes, clothes etch have a market out there. On top of their items, put on sale what you don't need too. Since the start of the year, we were able to make an extra income of around 5000 a month selling online. Our goal was to declutter and sell. For tips to sell online, click here. 2. Teach English. Teaching English to Koreans and Japanese is still a need these days. If you're good at it, try applying for a job online so you don't have to deal with the traffic and avoid getting stressed with ...

Your kids are getting older and you find yourself amidst so many things that are no longer useful.  All of a sudden you become sentimental and you don't want to let them go but then you realize there is no use for them anymore. I was in this situation many times but the time came when I ran out of space and most of these items were getting so old and rusty. They were beginning to rot away and break and it registered to both me and my husband that they could be of use to someone else. That's when we started selling our things online. We started by posting the kids items, most of which they barely used and we found that there could be a lot of extra money in exchange for these things. If you want your clutter out (or maybe you have your own products) and get money doing so, here's something to help you start with putting your items on sale online: 1. Organize your items first. After decluttering, I suggest that you organize them into categories: Footwear, formal ...

There are so many ways wherein one can make money online and one of them is teaching English at home. This post contains a list of some of the companies who are looking for online teachers. Some of them may require some certificates and experiences. Keep your resume handy and check your internet connection speed. Rates vary from P45 to P220 per hour. Good luck on your job hunt! 51 Talk 51Talk hires part-time online English teachers and their students are from China. They have offices in Pasig, Cebu, Davao, and Baguio. The company has been around for more than 5 years and have thousands of teachers across the world. Earnings are based on the number lessons you will conduct and your performance. Bizmates 40F PBCom Tower Ayala Ave cor. VA Rufino St., Makati City info@bizmates.ph Bizmates is one of the companies that offer good compensation to their teachers. You must be at least 23 years old and above with working experience and/or a college graduate. For mo...

June's Happy Meal Toys are in today! Get all 8 toys My Little Pony and Transformers collectibles from your favorite branch. My girls love My Little Pony and Friends and we got all four of them today.  Rainbow Dash moves with its wheels while Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie come with combs and Starlight Glimmer is a wind- up toy. See Starlight Glimmer in action!

We had a visit to the doctor for last week because the twins were coughing like crazy for over 3 days. One of them is starting to get better but we haven't seen improvement with my other daughter. She's been nebulizing and taking her anti-histamines to make sure she's not having asthma attacks. It does help her breathe a lot better and she asks for it before sleeping at night. Admittedly, this is the fourth pediatrician that we approached for check-ups. The first one we had was in St. Luke's and her consult's a bit too pricey. Plus she wasn't always around. The second one was better but it's still in St Luke's Quezon City. Her schedule collides with the twin's pre-school hours and we weren't able to go back when they started school. We tried one from Medicard and another one from Lung Center....and it just didn't click. There wasn't any spark at all. I mean, if you're handling kids, I expect them to be a bit nicer than usual, n...