It’s all over the news (even here in Prague TV) - the Typhoon Ondoy that hit Philippines badly last week which left over 140 people dead, and displaced thousands more because of the floods.  Most of these people don’t have term life insurance to aid their families in times of crisis. I am glad that my mom and sister who are in Manila are safe in the place they’re staying. And also my dad who’s left in our house in Negros, which is very near the sea. But those who were affected by the typhoon and floods, need our immediate help. Thousands of peoples are in need of water, food, clothes and medicine. What’s worse is that while the nation is still struggling with the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy, another storm is threatening to hit the country this week.

According to the news “The low pressure area is predicted to continue to approach the country, near Mindanao, on Wednesday and move toward central and northern Luzon by Friday.”

“Since it is still far out into the ocean, it is entirely possible that it could develop into a typhoon,” Director Prisco Nilo of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration added.

If you want to help, you can send your donations here: Fund Drive for Typhoon Ondoy Victims or to any organizations accepting donations for the victims.  Let’s HELP!

Photo credits: Associated Press

Last weekend, the family went to Údolí Ticha (Valley of Silence) to relax.  I didn’t expect it to be a long drive.  I thought M was just going to bring us to a nearby park.  But the fresh air, nice warm sunny day and the wide meadow for Caity to play and run around was all worth the trip.

Here’s our little explorer, doing what she loves best - EXLORING! hehe

A lovely house, in the middle of the trees.

Father and daughter posing on what looks like a stainless steel drum from afar? Nehhh… it’s a roll of hay!

It’s my turn to pose! I’m almost 5 months pregnant, but it’s not obvious in this pic. Only in the pic. hehehe

It was my first time yesterday to use my Czech exercise book which a friend gave me. I was curious if I still remember what I have learned before from my lessons.  But somebody else was interested in my book!  I left it on my desk to prepare lunch and it didn’t go unnoticed by my nosy little girl.  Only a few minutes after I turned my back,  Caity was already standing on my chair and busy scribbling all over the page.

I was too late!  The other pages have scribbles too! huhu  I gave her some  Medicare supplement insurance leaflets and store brochures to play with instead and kept my book out of her reach.

Yehey! We haven’t been to Rome yet to visit the Pope so instead, he’s the one coming to visit us! On Sept. 26, the Pope will arrive in Prague and will be also be visiting the cities of Brno and Stara Boleslav.

We’re very blessed to have gotten hold of entrance passes for his Holy Mass in Stara Boleslav on the 28th. Even Caity girl has her own pass too!

1, 2, 3 entrance passes!

Here’s the official website of his visit for detailed information: Pope’s visit to Czech Republic

Last week, our friend L announced that she harvested vegetables from her home garden which included ampalaya (a.k.a. bitter gourd or bitter melon)! It’s one veggie I’ve been wanting to eat since the doctor told me I was anemic.

Was I happy? You bet I was. L is truly a heaven-sent. The vegetable loot also consisted of string beans, potatoes and white squash which was divided among the gang. My share were two small ampalayas and a big white squash!

Caity holding the squash. I showed this pic to a friend and she wouldn’t believe it’s a real squash.  She said it’s a balloon! hehe

The ampalaya didn’t last long.  It was my food for the whole day and the little that’s left I ate the next day. Yummy!

Not even Farm Town can beat the real thing! I hope those farmlands owned by my friends in Farm Town are real, so I can enjoy their harvest too. =)

Thanks to Michelle for pic #1!

Caity’s birthday has come and gone and we’ve collected tons of pictures of the celebration! Aside the ones we took, our guests snapped plenty of pictures too; adding it all up you can just imagine how many pictures we had of the party. That’s what happens when almost everybody has digital cameras. The nice thing about having many photographers is that you get different shots, taken from different angles of a certain subject. But for a group picture, the result is a mess! You don’t know which camera to look at especially when they all shoot at the same time!

See what I mean?  We don’t know which way to look! =)

The photographers in action.

I noticed yesterday that a tile in our bathroom has loosened from the wall.  I bet after sometime, all the other tiles will come off due to the moisture inside.  it’s because they are just glued to the partition wall!

Pretty glass tile!

I wish the owner of the flat will change the tiles in our bathroom to this kind of tiles.  It not only looks good, they’re easy to clean too.  But it might be difficult to stick it to the wall with a glue coz of its weight.  Well, its just a wish.  We won’t be staying here permanently anyway but I hope the tiles we have now will hold for as long as we’re living here!

Yehey! I am now enjoying a better viewing experience with my new 19 inches monitor. It was M’s idea to buy this, which he attached to my laptop. When he asked me if I wanted a big monitor, I told him it was unnecessary. Little did I know that he ordered it anyway. I’m glad he did, coz it’s better to watch videos and pictures in a big screen compared to the former 15 inches screen of my laptop! But I miss the soft keys of my laptop. The one I am using now is a Czech keyboard which needs more force in tapping and I have to get used to the placements and functions of some keys. I’ll have to get a new keyboard so I can fully enjoy the time spent with my computer.

As I was reading the info on Blue Advantage Health Plans, I couldn’t help but be grateful that I have my health insurance to cover my pregnancy check-up expenses. Check-ups can be expensive in Czech Republic if you don’t have a health insurance. Since my pregnancy requires many consultations with the doctor, ultrasound tests and other various tests it’s best to have a health insurance coz we only pay a little, sometimes even nothing when we go for my monthly check-up. Even the hospital expenses when giving birth is wholly covered by the insurance (that’s based on my previous pregnancy).

After researching a bit, I found in one forum where the woman claimed to have paid about 200,000 CZK for cost of childbirth without insurance. In my case, we paid a little extra coz we got a private room after I gave birth and M stayed with me for a night, but it was very minimal. Compared to the 200,00 CZK this woman paid, you can say it really pays off to have a health insurance.