paint the town white

Snow is very rare in the South of France. Husband told me his first snow experience was on February 1987. And in my 11 years in Marseille, mine was January 2008 wherein the city got paralyzed because locals are not used to it. That year was really a heavy snow as hubby went to the office which is one and one half hour drive and this blanket of frigid powder has started to enveloped the city. He passed thru the tunnel and get trapped for 6 hours, while me and the kids went out to make a snowman and enjoying the powdery stuff. Some teenagers went to the hills to try snowboarding, it was just fantastic! Although snow is beautiful but it could be catastrophic at some point especially when you need to go to work, school or do errands and cannot go back home because you are stuck somewhere, that really sucks !

It's been two consecutive nights snowing in the South of France. Here we go again a very rare vision of my city under a big white blanket. Snow is like magic and as I watched my Chiara gaze at a dusting snowy white makes her definitely excited. As you could see the snow is not particularly thick as it started to gradually disappear especially today with the sun helping us out to clear the way. Good thing, I wouldn't get to shovel them off the ground. I hope it will stop snowing because tomorrow is Monday so almost everybody needs to go out working, schooling, errands and because I don't know how drive in the snow...the fear !

macro shot of laurel plant

My laurel tree

My garden

the football field just behind the house

the other side of the football field view from my bathroom


entrance gate

My frozen Yuka plant

new year ends

I normally post during Christmas and New Year but since I'm really really inactive on the blog sphere I haven't greeted anyone here. So I am greeting everyone a very belated Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year (anyway it's Chinese New Year so am not yet late for some lol) . Let's therefore brace 2012 with lots of hopes, a happy heart and more positivity.

Our new year was a bit of a disaster. How about you ? No fireworks, no good food only sick people. We were supposed to spend the new year with friends in the French Alps and expected to return home January 2. Unluckily, our three kids were sick all at the same time. You heard me right! We urgently needed to go home 31st of January as we didn't want to contaminate everyone. Home at 8 o'clock in the evening and we all bid farewell to 2011 tired but at least it was only gastro and not something worse . We all went to bed at 10 o'clock exhausted. Me, contemplating that whatever happened last year good or bad I still consider them great experiences as I often learn from it. I consider learning is always "good" because it signifies wisdom. Keeping in mind that I need to expand my awareness and perspective, make a new track and change what is necessary, and be more patient.

And what about 2012 ? Well, I don't want to be anxious about what 2012 has in store for us. As I as often do, I live each day, stay optimistic & spontaneous, and be the master of my life !

more on moving home

Moving home to most of us is one of the most stressful in our part of life….that means BIG changes. Social circle, school, job, kid’s activities etc. But I still consider myself lucky to move just down the block, thus only small changes. We have preserved almost everything like kid’s school, social circle, activities, my husband’s office which is an hour and a 15 minutes drive stays the same. It makes our home moving uncomplicated because we have anticipated almost everything since it’s not a question of changing world of work or company. From choosing the place where to live although we have considered looking somewhere which is completely out from the town we’re in. The packing which I started 6 months before the D day. Along with de-cluttering helped me to unburden all the old stuffs and could finally bid goodbye to them. My kids were really cooperative while de-cluttering their toys and that’s less job for me.

A big turmoil that is as we often stressed out thinking if things will get inside the house depending how wide the windows and doors are. Trying to gauge whether stuffs will fit in. I was surprise that moving went very smoothly, unfussy and stress-free. A stroke of luck, we have 3 entrance to new abode so we have choices where to get ahead of our stuffs. Having an easier access is something vital in a house. Grateful to many friends who came to spare free time to help us move our stuffs. And to my so called “second family” in my second home who kept my two big kids during the move. While I look after my baby and continue doing my last packing. Moving stuffs came very handy despite of our massive canapés. Friends were very supportive from A to Z. Moving turned out perfectly well.

grateful too all of them

a friend who brought his own company truck to make the move faster

Just to give you a brief hisrotry of home, it was built during the 1950’s and it is called “La Village de Picheney” . During that time there was an aluminium factory in that district. The employer built 12 houses for his of employees with families. The factory has been closed since 1988, if I am not mistaken. And so houses were sold from one person to another. According to the old owner we are the 4^th holder of this house so that’s one good thing as we can see house is taken care of.. Our home is just fit for a brood of 5. The house is very functional, we have 3 big rooms, 2 toilets, bathroom, laundry area, big salon, a veranda, a garage, a garden enough to enjoy a nice meal during good season and a stock area. Plus we have a very rich apricot tree.

our new home

About our location and setting, home has an easy access to local community such as “Maison de Quartier“, commercial areas but we are still isolated from the heart of busy stores. Accessible to highway, transportation, football field and parks. Parking is very easy except if one of the neighbour celebrates and have visitor then it could be a bit harder. And since we love trekking we have a nice trek to do right on our nose. We haven’t explore it yet as we are still into fixing, arranging and improving our new abode. Along with juggling to manage three kids, activities, and errands.

So dear bloggers, sorry I cannot visit you or haven’t got enough time to update my blog but I am still here. I know, I am a bore!

step by step

Buying a house is not like buying a pair of shoes that if it doesn’t fit you right you could bring them back to the store. It’s the major and vital financial decision in life. It could be lengthy, complex, exciting and stressful… name it ! It’s a maze of legal work, bidding, opting for a good mortgage arrangement. Most importantly finding the right home of your choice. More than anything else, financial situation is important to purchase a house. However, being emotionally & mentally prepared are also the keys to start an important project and seek for a home you can really afford. With all the aforementioned, now I can say we are ready !


I then started to check real estate magazines and internet for houses, apartments or even lands for sale in our district & neighboring cities. Our house hunting didn’t take long as we personally opted for direct selling. First, we needed to look at our budget that will fit into our financial condition. Second, real estate is costly so our friend who is an agent/owner recommended us to wait until the housing prices plunge. Third, we still have 4 years mortgage to complete the payment of this flat (but that’s another story) to keep or sell. Those are many reasons why we have waited to squeezed in for the meantime but not for so long.

Plus, we have already rubbed off the idea of buying from real estate agencies, reality is to keep us away from over exuberant cost as housing market still seems pretty bleak. I was surprised that the whole process only took us a year to finalize everything from searching for the perfect home in the right neighborhood, to verify our financial means, to moving and settling in.

Thanks to our financial consultant all is being scrutinized from bank statements to appraisal, financial budget and calculating future monthly mortgage. Plus, we asked if it’s possible to keep the flat as an investment without out having to worry about financial stability if we have them both. We make sure our credit history is as clean as a crystal water. Good news, we were pretty much able to pay the rest of the credit to make this flat ours. Finally, a good benefit that will help us keep a good eye on fixed asset or long term investment..

We are tremendously grateful for some professional help that we received from my husband’s childhood friends :

Guillaume - Real Estate Agent, from guiding us the entire procedure so as to avoid some of the most frequent risks, the pros and cons of home-buying. He will also take care of this flat to look for a renter.

Xavier - The Architect, who helped us to check the house’s condition like public safety and building codes. What to avoid and to get rid of some little things that are useless and gives us some pretty good ideas for future repairs.

Jérémy - The Notary who takes care of all the legal works such as signature witnessing, deposition, confirmation of acknowledgment, oaths and affirmation and to journalize everything.

That’s what I call team work! After several months of visits we finally found a home that suits our taste especially our budget. In no time, we will move to our new home and things will be more easier and comfortable for everyone. I can’t wait to be home soon.

room sharing : a good delimma

Our first born child (a boy) was the motivation why we bought the apartment of two bedrooms since November 2002. After 2 years and 4 months to be exact, I gave birth to our second child (a girl) and we are still living in that same apartment of 65 sq. meters. It is located in the city but off from busy streets. My husband wanted us to move to a bigger place after having a baby girl. He was thinking there wouldn’t be enough space for them. Told him why not share a room besides they are still young? I said to him kids of not the same sex in the same room is not bad at all. Siblings are suppose to share whatever things they have and sharing a room is one of them. It promotes a closer sibling rapport. They would learn, develop and adapt themselves in different situations along the way. I was joking about it too, that he married a Filipina and so we should live like an authentic Filipino family. I do not see anything wrong with it. I grew up with my brother and sister in the same room and it was a no big deal. We liked it all together even if we fought over something. It was a joke but it is true! Sharing spaces is part of a Filipino way of family life. Of course, there’s always an exception if you belong to a rich family then you’ll have your own private room. Apparently, he agreed with my point of view and we didn’t move since then.

April 2010, I gave birth to our third child ( just for the record it’s an unexpected or should I say "SURPRISED" pregnancy). And we are still living in that same 65 sq. meters flat with our three kids sharing one room and we are all happy. We choose to wait a little bit to move to a bigger place as we don’t want to be in a haste. We both don't like rushing to get things done! Most especially we do not want to buy a house because of pressure that we get mostly from our entourage.

Certainly, I admit that family is growing therefore we absolutely need a bigger space as the flat starts to be small for a brood of five. I admit, sometimes staying at home all day in that small flat is a bit tedious. But we are getting used to it, it’s just a matter of finding interesting stuffs to do to forget about the space problem. Good thing, we love outdoor activities and so during weekends we are mostly out and enjoying.. Active children need activities throughout their free time. During bad weather we still manage to do other indoor activities like playing chess, drawing, assembling puzzle and sometimes playing Nintendo DS (but this has a limit). We also have a big garage in the basement’s residence and they get to rollerblade and bike there. We also found a new sports that kids love so much and during bad weather you will find them there. Of course, they also watch television, some cartoons and interesting documentary about dinosaurs, natures and animals and all about earth. They love that kind of program.

On the other hand, we are perfectly aware of the upside and downside of room sharing. My son who is an 8 years old urgently needs his own space to do his homework. Otherwise,he couldn’t concentrate because my daughters could be noisy sometimes while playing. Above all, he is growing and the only boy, thus, privacy matters could make sharing principally complicated. Honestly, I am proud to say they never really squabble because they share a room but it’s more of fighting over a toy or asking who will arrange the mess. Obviously, they both do the tiding up….no choice they only have one room. That’s one advantage of room sharing! We discussed all about these pros and cons, and it motivated us much more to buy a house with a bigger space for our children to value privacy and solitude. Besides, they already know the importance of cooperation and sharing, to negotiate and compromise.

For eight years, we are fortunate to have lived in this flat as it is near a public park and not buildings & commercial zone. Grateful that we are not confronted of dirty streets, noisy stores and not having to struggle to find a parking space. Plus, we have a superb terrace just enough to stay and enjoy a fine day and gaze upon the verdant green cliffs, trees and plants right on our nose. Nice neighbours, there may be one or two bad apples but not everyone. I will surely miss this flat !

the view from our flat