Caroleen’s Treasures

Just tonight I got a message in my cellphone informing Donald to report to work on Monday before 6 AM. Well we are kinda happy that finally he got a job but at the same time worried how to handle the business minus Donald. Just last week we got nanny/house-help because there are orders that I cannot fill because Eman is becoming more and more handful. And as we are still enjoying the days with less stress because we got a good nanny….we will be facing days business days minus Donald. So now we are thinking of moving near our store and make some new arrangements of our schedule. Now the man of the house is grinning from ear to ear because he will soon afford to buy me gifts. LOL And oh maybe a short vacation (if not any of the Branson vacations). He is the happiest man on earth now.

She was over the moon the day when she first wore her GSP uniform.

We can’t believe how fast she is growing. We now have a Star Scout and soon she’ll be a Girl Scout. We attended her Investiture Ceremony last August 26 and it was something that she cannot forget. I remember when I was her age, Mamang has a salary as grade school teacher but she was frugal because life was hard. I was rarely bought new stuffs. I usually wear hand-me-downs and incomplete uniform. So when Ella told us they are going to wear GSP uniform, Donald and I (along with the little guy) went downtown to buy. She was even glad that I forgot to bring her extra clothes. We went buying some stuffs for the store after the ceremony and she was beaming with pride each time someone notices her uniform. I wish she won’t grow too fast because Donald and I dreaded the time when we will be shopping not for little girls clothes anymore but for prom dresses and shoes.

Wow it’s been ages since I last made a post. I was meaning to write about our little business that kept me and Donald away from the computer the whole day. We opened our little ukay-ukay store in Mintal market last August 29. To some of my few readers here are some photos.

We are on our 20th day today. So far so good and we are loving it. We are buying bales of ukay-ukay from the US. They are big sizes but a lot better than the ones from Japan and Korea not to mention the signature items we can find in the bales. What I love to open is the children’s summer wear bale where you can find baby clothes that are like new and brand new with tags. We are committed to bring to our customers great finds from the US at a fair price. So if you happen to visit Mintal market, please drop by and check what we have in the store for you. We are located at Santan St., Mintal, Davao City. Ummmm, we are easy to find. No one sells ukay-ukay as good as what we have so if you see a little store that has nice pieces, that’s us.

Donald got his dream watch. Not that very expensive though because my sister’s Crislyn’s friend is selling stuffs at a very good price. She’s been buying stuffs from clearance sales so she is passing the discount to her buyers too. Now he has been wearing his watch when he goes to our store. I don’t understand what is with that watch that he likes. It is very huge and heavy for me, like I am dragging my arm when I walk. Well, he is a man and he has more muscle strength than me. If I’d be lucky in my sewing business, I would like to get him one of the IWC Watches. They have the rarest and the most unique timepieces which Donald would definitely love.

I have just wrote about health insurance which is something that I wish Donald and I could get a decent one for our family. He is already a PhilHealth member and is paying religiously after learning the lesson the HARD way last year (when Eman got hospitalized three times in a span of one month) but I honestly doesn’t feel so secured with it. Our next goal is to get another health insurance plan like the medicare supplement plans to make our minds worry-free for any untoward incident that may occur. We were caught off-guard when Eman got ill that is why we are not taking any chances now.

I haven’t blogged yet that we are opening a store soon. We are going to be selling ukay-ukay again and part of the space will be for my handmade stuffs (cloth diapers, baby slings, jewelries and my gift items). Donald and I are so excited. I can’t even sleep because I am itching to open the bales of ukay-ukay. You know how I love the smell of the ukay-ukay from the US. Stocks are all in and we have already bought all the stuffs needed (glass showcase, racks, hangers, mannequins and such) and tomorrow we hope we can get the store ready for the opening on Sunday. I wish I have the time to prepare small give-aways as promotional products for the first few customers but since we are swamped with all the work, we can do that in December.

I am not yet through the idea of me digging gold bars in the yard, it made me daydream of things I would want to buy! Here is one that I would really really want for the kids.

This is one of the biggest wooden swing sets and it would occupy our whole home lot! So I’d go buy a huge house with a huge yard where we can put this play set for the kids and their friends to enjoy. I would also want to install a swimming pool with a sun shade so we can go swimming all day without getting sun burned. Wohooooo! I really have to start digging now. Gotta buy a shovels for me and Donald.

We are starting a small business and Donald and I are pretty much excited. We both even dreamed about it last night! Talk about being so excited. LOL So we will be very busy the next few days, weeks and months…I hope years too! I was just afraid from the day it was planned that we cannot easily take a day off to the beach or to the mall. But we have to set aside the “family time” and start working, working, working so we can pay for our house which will soon built. Working long hours will be just fine with me but I wish we can save up for a short vacation sometime next year. We want to go to Hongkong Disneyland but we are beach lovers so I guess to dream for a Royal Caribbean get away would be it. Dream on!

Yes, we did! Last Saturday was the first time I tried bowling and it’s Ella’s first try too. I was afraid I will just put myself in shame. I imagine myself getting gutter balls from start to finish but Ella was the one so excited about it. She keeps on bugging about when will we go there etc etc while we were still killing the time at the mall before the agreed time. LOL It was actually an activity of the youth group of our congregation. Donald and I are not youth members and Ella and Eman are not either but we just went anyway because we feel we still belong with the group. LOL

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So it is Monday again! Whew! I am such a lazy blogger. I even cannot remember what happened the past days so I went to check the photos I took. Last July 31, we decided to cut Eman’s hair.

Although I don’t have problem with the hair on top and back, I didn’t like the hair touching his ears. So this time, I brave the feeling of missing his hair. The first haircut which was done at FunCuts went quite smoothly. No fuss, no tears on his part but I cried a river after realizing he is not baby anymore and I missed his hair so much. LOL This time I was okay with it but we had one wailing kid at home. Donald held him while we play UP, his favorite movie. I was in charge with the razor and it took us almost forever to get it done. He went ballistic probably because our razor makes a very scary sound. I do not know what the neighbors were thinking and if we live in the US, a social worker was surely at the doorstep in just a few minutes after we started cutting his hair.

So here is, back to his old happy self. I love his hair! He is so darn cute! I am looking forward to his third hair cut. And oh I also did Donald’s hair afterwards. They now have the same look.