This Rugged JoyFull Home

Last week, I wrote about what we teach our kids on money. There are many creative ways we have taught them about it and still continue to do so on a daily basis, but for last week I shared about  one perspective    that The Hunny talked about frequently to our kids. On the same vein, it has become a habit of ours to hunt for things cheap and things free anytime we are given the opportunity to travel. As parents, we learned that it's fun when we're intentional in hunting for such goods with our kids because they're engaged most of the time, thus, fostering a culture of gratefulness and contentment in our family.  When we moved to Moscow almost a couple of months ago, we were sure to embark on a mission to  debunk a myth that Moscow is an expensive city to live in , perhaps, when possible, one blog at a time. Expensive it may be on some areas of concern like the cost of apartment rent here, but it holds true the same way you would discover living in Ma...

Some Interesting Stats Here Based on a survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority ( PSA ) which they published on their website, there is an estimated 2. 4 million total number of Overseas Filipino Workers ( OFWs ) as of September 2015. Those with existing contract comprise 97.1 % of this total number while the remaining 2.9 % are the ones working without contract. The survey also showed that the highest number of OFWs come from the CALABARZON area ( Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon). Saudi Arabia has remained the top destination for OFWs over the last few years where one in every four would get sure employment. Other Asian countries on the top list were United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, and Qatar. The survey further showed that one in every three workers is a"laborer" or "unskilled" worker. Other working categories were named as follows: service workers, shop and market sales workers, plant and machine operator...

It never fails to amaze us that in Moscow, there's always something for everyone, contrary to what many Westerners say on the blogosphere that this interesting city is one, if not, the most expensive city to live in. We beg to disagree. While it is true that there are commodities here that are ridiculously pricy, like nuts, mangoes, and rice, there are still a considerable number of consumer items that one can buy at the grocery stores that are fair enough for lower-middle income expats to afford.  The prices of goods also depend on one's proximity to kilometer-zero of the entire Russian-dom which is found at  Red Square  City Center. The closer you are to the City Center, the pricier the commodities may seem including hotel prices and apartment rentals. A Tangent May I go off on a tangent and devulge a little secret? A cup of gourmet cafe Americano costs 100 Russian rubles ( PhP 73 / USD 1. 56 )  anywhere in Moscow. And if you're coffee lovers like us, you would q...

A Matryoshka Doll, also known as a Russian Nesting Doll is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside another. The first set of Russian doll was carved in the year 1890 by a Russian artist named Vasily Zvyozdochkin (repeat 3x for a quick tongue twist) from a design by Sergey Malyutin. The design principle behind the Russian Doll was patterned after the simple onion bulb with its skin that will reveal the same onion skin within when peeled. How exciting is that. Russian Dolls showcase the artistry and craftsmanship of the Russian people and their love for elaborate designs. Consider the amount of time involved in creating a set of Matryoshka Doll as it is carefully carved out and painted to perfection. Indeed, you can't rush art. And you can't haggle, I mean, it's a shame, haggling on a piece of art. A Russian Doll is priceless, timeless, a thing of beauty to behold, such as these squad of dolls we found at Red Square tiangge's ( souvenir stalls)...