On House Remodeling

How many times have you dreamt of owning your own house whenever you visit a website on interior design, house construction or real estate? I know I do it almost everyday. Even the smallest banner about a nice house for sale can make me think about our very own dream house someday. It doesn’t have to be big but there should be enough space for the family and some extra for our junk. The design too should be mine and not just because I’m trying to settle. But if we’re going to buy now, it’s the only choice we have, settle on what we can afford. So as if I love torturing myself, I still visit these sites everyday knowing it will be a couple of years before we can finally purchase our dream home.

Thanks to this daily site hopping, I discovered the San Jose remodeling website. They specialize in home remodeling, residential and commercial construction, kitchen and bath remodeling and have their separate garage door division. According to their site, houses in the US have an average of 33 yrs old so replacing windows, roofs, floors are not unusual. In fact, more and more homeowners are either refurbishing or expanding their homes to accommodate their growing family . Remodeling is a great way to increase the property value of your home and the better the location, the greater the chances that you can re-sell it for a higher price. This made me realize all the more that location is really the key. We have seen plenty of houses in very nice places except I didn’t like the design or it wasn’t big enough. What I should be thinking is the possibility of the property once we have it remodeled.

So Quiet

When I got online today, it felt like the Internet world was also on vacation. My inbox says I only have ten emails instead of the usual 30-40 and Twitter was so quiet. Even my usual forum hangouts are not that congested at all. I know I should do my part and avoid Internet because of lent but I still have loads of stuff to finish before I can consider myself in vacation mode. Working too much is also taking its toll on my face. Nothing big that I’d need acne treatment but still depressing enough that I vowed not to experiment with facial cleansers again. If only I can turn on my laptop now and head to the beach. But those days are long gone. Now I have to make sure that I not only have reservations, but that the accommodations should be more than passable for my husband and little girl.

Slacking Off Days

I have never slacked off except these past few weeks. I’d probably full of remorse by now because of my workload but all I can say is it feels great! I spend time with my little girl, watch DVDs whenever I want and read three books a day. I sleep and wake up late, I don’t exercise and only eat when I have to. In short, I’m back to my old life, except it’s so much better because I have a mini-me that I can enjoy it with.

Of course it couldn’t last very long so I’m taking advantage as much as I can. My main reason now is that it’s the Holy Week here and everyone is in vacation mode. I’m not supposed to be online too but I just can’t last without at least blogging for a few hours or checking my emails.

There’s another up side to this. I am so in the mood to create that I can finish one website mockup in three hours instead of the usual five. I’m more excited to work knowing there’s no one watching my every move. There are no tight deadlines so I have tons of extra time to polish my work and come up with more out of the box designs.

Summer Art

There’s a non-profit organization here in our village and one of their projects is to give kids something to do instead of roaming the streets. Since they have tons of free time now that summer is here, I immediately thought about ceramic art education. I know kids would rather play video games than do something crafty but with the right push, I believe we can inspire them to create.

As I browse through AMACO products, I was surprised to see that the lesson plans are available for free! Their lessons on clay pottery art are huge that even I couldn’t wait to try them myself. Aside from printing the lesson plans, I’m planning on donating some materials to jumpstart the program. The products from AMACO aren’t that expensive at all. The clay oven polymer is below $60 and I could already think of a few friends who’d be more than happy to purchase them. It’s for a good cause anyway and if this works, maybe we can come up with something similar for the adults as well.

I Heart These Corners

From desire to inspire blog, where else?

Arts and Crafts Supplies

Since we’re on the subject of pottery, let me tell you about the AMACO website and its products. AMACO is one of the biggest providers of ceramic products and equipment. They also designed and manufactured the first wheel chair accessible potter’s wheel in 1982. Their best selling Brent potters wheels comes in 13 different styles which are specifically designed for school and hobby. For more professional pursuits, they have electric wheels which has the quality features of their J Model with the addition of a 1/3 hp, 5 amp AC motor drive assembly.

AMACO is the industry leader in safety for ceramic products and equipment. They make lead-free pottery glazes and talc-free moist clay bodies to ensure that you and your kids are working on safe materials. AMACO also manufactures various types of glass and ceramic pottery kiln for both studio and school that were designed to last for more than 25 years. So for your next summer activities, make sure you check out their huge range of arts and crafts products plus some free lesson plans to maximize your purchases.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You’ve got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. You’re honest and critical. You never hold back, even if you’re opinion is controversial. Okay, let’s be honest. You try to make your posts as controversial as possible! And that’s why your audience reads your posts as often as they can.

Honestly, I never thought of myself being snarky. I may have provided the wrong answers to the quiz because I haven’t met any blogger who’d be secretly afraid of me. Plus I always try to be nice so I won’t offend anybody.

So what kind are you?

Need to Create

I’ve always been an arts and crafts type of kid. My mom introduced me to arts when I was five years old. She said I loved working with paints so much that my art teacher decided to enroll me to advanced painting classes. My childhood was so much fun because of those classes. I’ve even tried working with polymer clay to create simple jewelries when I was 12. This is why I want to do the same for my little girl. As early as three, I want to expose her to all kinds of crafts including ceramic making, figure painting and pottery. She used to hate the feel of clay but now, it’s the first thing that she asks the moment she wakes up from her nap.

Finding arts and crafts product is so much easier now, thanks to the power of online shopping. There’s this company, AMACO/Brent that offers various art materials including modeling clays, art emboss, lead-free glazes, paper shapes, scrap booking tools, fabric dye/paints, art project books, and even a clay potter wheel for personal or educational use. Just seeing all the art materials from the site makes me want to do a quick project with my daughter ASAP. I guess it’s really no surprise why my mother and I love arts and crafts.

Read more…

Dressing Up Your Floors

Tired of your old rugs? Well, you’d definitely love these:

Got this idea and photos from design to inspire blog. Check it out here.

Ready for the Cold

My cousin-in-law and his family are going to Australia next month. They don’t have appropriate clothes so she asked my help in shopping online. She’s not used to online shopping, except for a couple of CDs here and there. When she mentioned that she wanted to upgrade all their winter clothes, I instantly thought about Columbia apparels. They always have great sales online and now is the best time to take advantage of what they have to offer.

I saw some pretty nice jackets and coats for women and very cute winter clothes for her daughter. The black and silver plaid parka below is so fabulous that you can wear it over all kinds of outfits. I also find the description “make the cold cower in fear of the Madison Mayhem Parka” pretty cool. I’d actually want one for myself if only I go out all the time.

This Blizzard Buster Bunting Bag by Columbia kids will be perfect for my niece. Based from the product description, this clothing should be warm enough to keep your little ones toasty. It is also insulated with 100% Microtemp™ polyester so you can both enjoy the day outside.

Columbia is now one of the largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of skiwear in the US. All their items, from apparel to beddings, to shoes and bags are made of sturdy  materials that are designed to keep you comfortable and protected.