FIVE EASY WAYS TO SECURE A HOUSE PINOY STYLE

The subdivision where I am currently residing was known before as a haven for robbers. This is because most of the residents there are working in the city, leaving their houses early morning and arriving late at night. I heard a lot of robbery stories and I reckon that before we transfer I better secure the house first. 

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Install window grills. I asked a carpenter to install iron grills on all the windows, in a 40 square meter house that's five including a small window in the toilet and bath area. It cost me six thousand pesos (P6,000.00) that covers payment for labor and materials. It's not bad considering that when I went back there for an inspection after a week, my windows are secure.

Construct a Main Gate and Fence. Whether its temporary or fixed, a fence is a must in ones back and front yard.  It stops anybody from entering your property directly. Mine has to be a cyclone wire first nailed on bamboo poles. It's just temporary considering my budget at the moment. However, it's still a necessity at least to ward off dogs and if somebody decides to climb it in the middle of the night I will know. It's light material so it can't carry heavy weights. Somebody will end up sprawled on the ground and will create noise.The whole thing cost me two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) that includes labor fee, materials and transportation.I had to rent a jeepney to bring the materials to the subdivision.

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Additional Door Lock. My house got one main door and one back door with a set of     doorknobs each. I had my dad installed two door bolt on each door on our first night there and even with these simple lock mechanism, it's not high tech but I already feel safe. This one costs me around one hundred fifty pesos (P150.00). Cheap!

Install Outdoor Lights. I had an electrician install two outdoor lights in my house recently. When we go home at night, on our street my house is the only one that is dark. And it's a little bit creepy arriving in your house with no lights on...hehehe....so when my budget permitted it...I spent one thousand five hundred pesos (P1,500.00) for labor and materials.... I immediately bought the materials and had them installed. Now, from the outside one can see my front and back yard at night. Robbers are afraid of lighted places you see.

Get a dog. Mine is an "askal" (a combination of a native breed and a doberman). Bronco as we call him was brought by my dad and my daughter from our house in Hinigaran (my hometown). We have plenty of them there and they're a delight bunch. Bronco like all the other dogs we have, would accompany us to the corner of our street where we take our ride going to the jeepney terminal. And, on our way home, he would meet us on the street or at the gate. I haven't heard him growl yet since he is just less than a year old but I am expecting him to protect us from person with bad intentions ^^....by the way, Bronco is free of cost.

Movie Date

The past weekend was my son's turn to stay with us. Prior to Friday, he made sure that we will definitely watch Transformer. Of course! It's my promise and I'm standing pat on my promise even if the cinema ticket will cost me a hundred and twenty bucks each and there's three of us going. Movie tickets cost quite a lot nowadays and watching movies is not a part of my budget anymore....eversince I got married and got separated. Whew!

When I was single, movie watching is a must every payday. Hehehe!!! Sadly, when the kids came I'm just lucky to even watch one movie a year. But of course, there's dvd so I get to watch movies though late but definitely cheaper and in the comfort of our own home. Well, Harry Potter movies are an exception. I make sure that I watch each release with my daughter Michelle.  It's a sort of a tradition between us, that we must watch it together. 

Anyway, I enjoy watching movies with my kids. I can see the joy in their eyes and we get to share something in common. Thanks to the kids....things I haven't done in quite a while...I get to enjoy again. It's really different when you watch movies on a big screen. 

Carpool

Michelle and I settled down comfortably in our new house. The location is a bit far but going to work and school is really not a hassle since I found out that a neighbor just across our house does carpool and their destination is near my children's school. Hence, everyday we get to ride with our neighbors and their kids.We're like eleven inside the multi-cab van. Five adults and six kids and everyday we adults have topics ranging from hairstyle to Avon, to teachers etc. I enjoy this first activity for the day since I get to share experiences with the oldies in the car. Big advantage with the carpool, we always arrive early at my daughter's school so I get to meet my two other kids (Ceci and PJ) from Monday to Friday and share some special moments before their classes starts. After several hugs and kisses, my kids head back to their classrooms, I get to chat with the other moms for a few minutes (others I just met, others I know already when my kids started going to school) and then walk my way to the office. A 15 minute walk that serves as my exercise for the day, five days a week if it's not raining. Since we started going with the carpool I'm still yet to have a tardy record in my dtr.Whew! How cool is that? All in God's time.