Bohol is really peaceful and the people are friendly. Did you know that Tagbilaran City, the capital of Bohol, was named The City of Friendship? I didn’t know too until I saw the sign just before leaving the airport.

I promise to tell you all about our wonderful experience in a series of posts in a few days. For now, I just have to get some rest and finish uploading our pictures at Photobucket.

So yesterday, husband and I had a meeting to plan our family goals for 2012. We have been married for eight years but as I’ve said this is the first time we’ve done this. I don’t know how we survived the past years without having one but I’m glad we have finally taken this first step.

I want to let you take a peek at our goals. It’s nothing really out of this world. I’m sure we might have been thinking of the same goals. But by actually making the time to write it down and plan together as a husband and wife, we hope that it will make a ton of difference and make our plans more concrete.

Our Family Goals for 2012

1. To have a God Centered Family.

2. To have a healthy and physically active family

3. To have three streams of income.

4. To reach our financial goals in budgeting, savings and investments.

5. To launch Sander’s EP Demo.

6. To help Z improve his concentration and confidence.

7. To help Zack improve in his development.

Planning our goals only took an hour. Aside from the 7 items we listed, we also broke it down into smaller steps that we can do every day or every week in order to accomplish those goals. Like for Goal #1, we will be having a daily Bible reading and story telling after dinner. We will also do a family exercise three times a week for Goal #2. My eldest and I will do something different this year and that includes going to museums and historical places twice a month for his homeschooling. That’s for Goal #6.

I am using Cozi’s Calendar and To Do list.What I like about Cozi is that it’s online so I can access it anytime using my laptop or the iPad. What I don’t like about it is apparently, they experience some down time (it lasts only a few minutes though). Anyway, it’s still highly recommended for me so if you’re planning to do this too head over to Cozi.com. I didn’t receive any compensation from Cozi but I like them so much I don’t mind telling people about them.

Take a look at what Cozi’s calendar looks like with our schedule. I can set it so that we will receive individual email reminders for each task. Just ignore the FlyLady logo on the lower right. I signed up through them that’s why my account has that logo.

Floods came like a thief in the night

A few days ago, a flash flood took the people of Cagayan De Oro City, Iligan, and Dumaguete in the Philippines by surprise. It came like a thief in the night while most people were sound asleep. People who escaped were only able to save the clothes on their back. Some people lost their lives and won’t be able to celebrate Christmas like you and me.

Some of our BC Blogger friends, Grace, and Karen were from those areas and I’m very happy to report that they are alive and well. Unfortunately, like most of the people from their area they lost their belongings to the flood. I hope we can all drop them some message of comfort in their blogs.

I did my research on how we can all help. I found out that the best way we can donate is through Philippine Red Cross. You can donate as little as P5 and as effortless as getting your cellphone and typing some letters. So if you can spare a few pesos please grab your phone right away and donate. Don’t do it later lest you forget. Act now!

For Globe subscribers:
via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED <amount> and send to 2899 – valid donation amounts are P5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 (For ex, RED 10). Transaction is free.
via GCASH, text DONATE<space><amount><space><MPIN><space><REDCROSS> and send to 2882

For Smart subscribers:
via SMS, c/o Red Cross – text RED <amount> and send to 4143 – valid donation amounts are P10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500, 1000 (For ex, RED 10).

You can also donate via Paypal or Credit card here: http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow

I am also appealing to you to make a blog post about this tragedy and encourage people to donate. Let’s not turn a blind eye because we can all help in our own little way. Other people are not aware of the gravity of their situation. I understand because Christmas is coming and everyone is busy. But if we can just inform and reach out to as many people as possible maybe we can make a difference.

Some kids didn't make it for Christmas