'Goodbye, Summer' Lunch.

Since tomorrow officially brings with it the Fall season, we had a sort of last hurrah for summer during lunch today (much like how Tessa welcomed Summer before).

On the menu:

Grilled Pork Liempo

Ensaladang Itlog na Maalat (with tomatoes and some cilantro for crunch and spice)

Of course, paired with steaming, white rice.

I'm proud to say that I whipped it all up from scratch in about an hour, largely due to our spanking new lean, mean, fat reducing, grilling machine. (Although I don't know how much fat you can really reduce when you start with cholesterol-laden liempo in the first place :0P)

While eating, I looked at Mr. A and asked:

L: What's missing that would really complete this meal?

And without missing a beat, he answered correctly:

A: Ice cold Coke!

I love it when he does that hehe :0)

Sad to say, the preggy lady has given up caffeine so we had to make do with ice-cold water :0P Still, it was a very satisfying meal that brought back memories of summers spent at the beach :0)

Living within (or better yet, below) our means.

The past week was a frenzy of one thing bad thing after another in the financial world. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the takeover of Merrill Lynch, the federal bailout of AIG all resulted to a big scare for the ordinary investor like us.

There was a time when I was clueless about the goings on in Wall Street and I couldn't care less. A time when Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, subprime or even mortgage didn't make a blip in my everyday life. Gone are those days of sublime, worry free ignorance.

I don't even deign pretend that I understand a whit of what's going on or what has happened. What I do know is that the past week will affect our retirement funds much like how the past year had -- negatively. The only consolation is the fact that we are still a few decades away from retirement and hopefully, have enought time to rally and bounce back. I shudder to think what the people who are just 5 to 10 years away from retirement are thinking and feeling.

Contrary to the doomsday atmosphere that you get from the media, a lot of financial blogs and columns advise the ordinary investor to practice zen in the midst of all these chaos. In other words, instead of pulling out your money and selling stocks like crazy, they say, stay put. Dont' panic. If you do have to do something, then make sure that it's to ensure that your assets are well diversified.

The best advice I've read is from the most recent issue of Time Magazine and I quote:

"Coping in this new world will require adjustments by millions of Americans. We all have to start living within our means -- or preferably, below them. If you don't overborrow or overspend, you're far less vulnerable to whatever problems the financial system may have."

Simple yet brilliant.

Time's a-flying...

Just like that, half the weekend's over. My, my. I really don't know where the days are going lately. Seems like I just celebrated my birthday the other day and then, poof, it's October already.

I was actually dreading September and October since it meant more work for me due to another student intern rotation. Contrary to what I was expecting about the days dragging due to added paperwork, they seem to whiz by as fast as the paperwork piles up on my desk :0P Next week's mid-evals already. Before I know it, it'll be time for the final evals.

With the time flying by, I can't help but think about Bebe's arrival. I'm getting excited, and, truth be told, a little bit apprehensive about giving birth. Technically, I still have 3 more months to go. Time enough to get everything, including myself, ready, right? Sigh. With the way things are going, I won't be surprised if he's here before I can even list down what we need to accomplish :0P

Shopping with my man :0)

I really enjoy shopping with Mr.A. It wasn't always that way, though.

I remember during our Japan trip (way back nung nagbobolahan pa lang kami hehe), everytime I ask for his opinion about a certain bag, shoe or clothing, his standard reply would be: "I'm not sure, hindi naman ako gumagamit/nagsusuot nyan." :0P Well, thanks :0P

Nowadays, when you ask for his opinion, he actually has something to say. For instance:

(Me, wearing a striped multicolored dress which I tried cinching with a wide red belt)

L: What do you think, Babe?

A: Umm (looks me over). I think you have too much going on.

O di ba?! Natututo. Although not all his comments are as helpful. Or as nice. Consider:

(Me, trying on a shabby chic pea coat in linen at Old Navy)

L: Ok ba?

A: Mukha kang mahirap.

There was also one instance at Zara where I was trying on an off-white trench coat.

L: I like this.

A: Okay lang.

L: You don't like it?

A: Para kasing taga-UST ka na dumaan ng Lawton ng tanghali. Makutim sya. Labang-poso kumbaga.

I don't know what's worse, him dissing the coat I like or him comparing me to a UST student. Haha! I kid, I kid!

But seriously, I think my hubby is learning the fine art of shopping. Let's say he is slowly developing an eye for things as evidenced by his lament to me a couple of weeks ago:

A: I went to Macy's trying to see if I can get you a bag for your birthday.

L: And?

A: The thing is, ever since you started taking me to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom to windowshop, it seems like the things at Macy's just don't measure up. Parang ampapangit na nila coz I've seen better.

Haha! Ang taray!

I think this is actually good for me but bad for his bank account in the long run :0P

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing.

It's the night for mixed emotions. On one hand, we're happy that everything went smoothly. On the other hand, we're sad to let go of what has been a part of our family for the past several years.

Tonight, we closed on the sale of our CR-V.

I think Mr.A took the loss harder than I did. I can't blame him. The CR-V was his first car here, his baby. The buyers were really lucky because his TLC showed on how the car looks, and how it runs. I hope they show it the same kind of love that we've shown it.

I know, I know. Seems silly getting worked up over a car but this one shared a lot of our firsts :0)

Anyway.

We're actually pretty lucky at how fast the whole process was. We listed it at Craigslist last Friday and closed the sale tonight. The couple who ended up buying it seemed to appreciate how much the car meant to us.

Paring down to being a one-car family seemed to be the most practical thing to do nowadays, what with the cost of gas and the rocky economy. It won't be as convenient but it won't be as much of a hardship for us since I rarely drive even before. It'll be interesting how we'll figure the logistics out once Bebe's here and I'm back to work. We'll see.

The trade-off though is actually nice -- we'll be able to pay off the Civic (2 years in advance) with the money from the sale. Plus, one less car insurance payment will provide us with some more wiggle room in our budget. With no car payments and no credit card debt to think about, and just the utilities and mortgage to budget for, I think we're at a good place to be starting a family :0)

Change

"She had just realized there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar. People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same."

- from The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

No time to dissect. Just a reminder to myself.