picture memories

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I was browsing the files on an old USB and saw some pictures of RJ when he was still a toddler. I’m glad I saved those because his baby pictures got erased when my sister P reformatted an old PC, good thing I printed out some baby pictures of RJ already before she deleted everything. Sad that I was only able to print a handful.

Back to his toddler pictures. I can’t believe how small he was then! I was comparing his pictures then and now, looks the same and different at the same time. Physically, his facial feature all looks the same but he has grown taller and thinner, he was a chubby little boy. If I only have a Genie, I’ll ask for a very high-end projector right this very minute. To view a slideshow of all the pictures, chronologically, will most definitely bring more tears to my eyes.

How to attract visitors to your site

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I am trying to unhibernate slowly go back to blogging. Hopefully, starting today, I get to publish at least one new blog post everyday. I have 10 blogs, will I ever publish 10 posts everyday? Good luck to me.

 my food blog

Blog hopping first, but is getting annoyed with blogs that are taking so much of my time. This is one of the things that I hate when I blog hop, some blogs doesn’t load fast. Why? Because of too much “things”, which are not really important at all, on the sidebar/s.

Here’s one tip for you to have loyal blog readers. Delete unnecessary links and badges on your sidebar. A blog that loads fast will surely attract repeat visitors.

Business Ideas for Christmas 2011

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Christmas is a season of joy. But it is also a season of too much spending. So how can we solve the problem of going broke after the holidays? Think of money making ideas this Christmas season.

Here are some that you might want to try:

1. gift basket - Busy professionals does not have the time to go shopping for gifts. Take advantage of that and market this business to friends and family.

2. craft ornaments - Make unique crafts that can be used to decorate a home for a more Christmas-sy feel.

3. food catering services - Big families plan big parties. If you have the cooking skills and the ability to handle pressure, this business is for you.

4. car check-up - Families gather together during Christmas. Some people often travel long distance to be with their family. Car check-up and tune-up’s are necessary for this long travel. You can market your services to those on a tight budget.

5. freight forwarding - For the gifts to arrive at the right place, at the right time.

6. money lending - You can help, and earn a few, friends and family members who are on a tight budget.

7. event hosting - Not a shy person? Use that skill.

8. photo and video coverage - Have a high-end camera, offer to be the official photographer and videographer on family gatherings. You can partner this with #3 and #7 and earn more.

9. gift wrapping service - Give your services to people who doesn’t have the time to wrap their gifts.

10. venue leasing - Do you have a garden huge enough for family gathering, lease it this holiday season.

Happy Holidays and Good luck!

Signature from Disney Characters

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We went to Hong Kong Disneyland last weekend. It was my son’s first international trip. We waited that long, he’s now 10 years old because one: I don’t want to waste an expensive vacation - he’ll surely forget the experience if he’s still too young and two: I don’t like the idea of carrying him around, I also want to enjoy the trip.

I’ve been to Disney World in Florida a few years back. Hong Kong Disneyland is just a quarter in size compared with Disney World. But still, I had more fun in Hong Kong because my son was with me.

He bought a notebook, autograph booklets were out-of-stock, where the Disney characters can put their signature. He doesn’t actually want to have his picture taken with the girl characters but why waste the chance of me and him and Minnie Mouse together, right?

What is a transcriptionist

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My sister is a work-at-home mom. She is a business, sometimes medical, transcriptionist. Transcriptionists convert voice recorded reports to text formats. Sounds easy, right? Actually it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re listening to a person with a heavy accent.

You might have found your way to this post while searching for instructions on how to become a transcriptionist or you’re looking for transcription jobs. I can help you with the former.

1. You need a computer, headphones, a software called Express Scribe that you can download for free and a foot pedal.

2. Download some sample transcription reports and practice transcribing it.

3. Improve your typing speed.

4. Learn “how to read between the lines”, for speakers heavy accents you definitely need that skill.

5. Ready? Start applying for transcription jobs, many can be found online.

Good luck!

PhotoHunt: Wet or Rain

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Our front porch after raining the whole day…

learn to swim

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I have scoliosis and my Auntie S has been urging me to learn how to swim. Swimming she said is a good exercise and it’s usually helpful for people with scoliosis. Don’t have any idea what scoliosis is? It’s a medical condition wherein a person’s spine is curved from side to side. Yes, I have a curvy spine.

Back to swimming. I want to enroll in swimming class but my problem is I don’t know how to float. I have tried a lot of times, floating in the pool, but I've failed a million times already.

Maybe I should just buy an inflatable pool which is big enough for me to swim around. I can practice floating at home, don’t need to embarrass myself in front of other people in a public pool right? And when I have finally perfected floating, face down, side float and back float, then I can try enrolling in swim class again.

Whatdyathink?

Five Question Friday

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First time I'm joining, hope I'm not late. Here goes...

1. Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?
Yes, I wanna be a billionaire! Who wouldn’t feel good being, or at least dreaming of becoming, a billionaire one day?

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?
Fake one. Don’t have good pine trees, in this country, that are small enough to fit in our house

3. What are you thankful for?
Right now, I’m thankful for crackers. I forgot to eat lunch and it’s already past 3 in the afternoon. Good thing I have some crackers in the pantry.

4. Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?
Nothing really.

5. Do you wait until the "low fuel" light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?
I don’t drive so this question is not applicable for me?

Drop by Five Crooked Halos if you want to join in the fun!

fashion forward

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I wonder whether we, the Philippines, will ever be ahead of other countries in terms of fashion? With the increasing number of Filipino designers making it big in other countries, I think we have a fair chance of one day being dubbed as a fashion-forward country.

Although fashionable snow shoes will never be trendy in this country, no snow here, boots has become a trend this year. Gone are the days when black boots peeking underneath flared jeans is fashionable already. Boots were only available in black 10 or more years ago.

Yes, we do have a chance. We’re slowly, but surely, inching our way to becoming a fashion forward country.

korean fashion

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I don’t exactly have a style icon. I also don’t go with any fashion hype -not at all. Whatever is comfortable and fashionable enough, sans the metals and glittery things that young people wear these days, -that’s my style.

But I do like Korean fashion, well some -not exactly all. Comfort comes first on my check list. Here are some images that I found online. Looks very chick, yet still looks comfortable to wear.

This sleeveless dress is comfortable enough for the Philippine weather. Denim combined with lace, sexy!

This rose-collared creased dress looks fabulously demure.

I can carry that outfit! I just have to lose some weight. Don’t you just love the whole look? Looks so fab!

 

I close this post with this outfit that I’ll never have the courage to wear in this humid country.

 

Get a Good Feeling from Textbook Purchases

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No one ever feels good after buying textbooks, as they are so expensive. However, if you rent your books from Campus Book Rentals, you can feel better about the impact it has on your wallet and get a good feeling by helping those less fortunate than yourself. The website partnered with Operation Smile and are donating over 1,000 life saving cleft lip surgeries this year to children in need.

Operation Smile has been helping less fortunate children around the world since 1982. This organization offers free surgeries to children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. However, they thrive on the generous donations from their sponsors and others.

Now is the time for you to help. All you have to do is rent textbooks rather than purchasing them, which is bound to save you money. Campus Book Rentals offers free shipping both ways, a 30 day trial period and flexible rental dates. Additionally, you will no longer need to worry about what to do with your books once the semester is over. If you are like most student, you have tried to sell your purchased books back, only to get a few bucks back or worse nothing at all. This need not be a concern with renting your books, since you simply send them back for free.

So for next semesters books, please consider renting. It will help your wallet and children all over the world, which will give you a good feeling about purchasing textbooks.

All I Want for Christmas

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… is my two front teeth? Nah, I still have those. Not fruit baskets either.

What I want this Christmas is just to be able to rest. For the whole Christmas break, I want to just relax and enjoy. No stress on what to feed my son for breakfast or what to cook for lunch or for dinner. I want my hand to rest from washing clothes and the dishes.

Going home in the province this Christmas season will give me weeks of relaxation from the usual stress in my everyday life. I love vacations. I love Christmas.

Ten Ways to Love

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Saw this on the wall of one of my Facebook friends.

Number one is easy for me to do, it would be hard to understand what the other person is saying if I don’t give him/her a chance to speak also. Enjoy without complaint, can be done but not if it’s about something that I've paid so much and then turns out I’ve been duped. Like for example food that I already paid for that turned up to taste so bad.

Promise without forgetting is easier to do these days with the invention of gadget alarms (eg. cellular phone, iCalendar). Share without pretending, easy to do. Give without sparing on the other hand is really hard to do, what with the financial crisis that everyone is oh-so-well-aware of.

Trust without wavering? Speak without accusing? Answer without arguing? Forgive without punishing? It depends on the situation, for me anyway. What about you?

Lesson learned

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My niece’s former nanny texted me this morning. She’s asking if she can borrow a few hundreds. I would gladly give her some money but she’s asking me to send it via Smart Padala. I told her I can’t go out of the house since my son is just recuperating from stomach flu. And I don’t know where to look for a Smart Padala in our area.

At such a young age, barely even 25, she’s already a mom to two young kids. When she last visited us, she told my sister - her former employer, that she should have listened to my sister’s advice.

When she was working for my sister, all she needs to do is bring my niece to school and household chores. She just sit around the whole afternoon doing nothing, not that she’s lazy but there’s really nothing else to do.

She got married at such a young age and now works hard for a measly 200 pesos per day at a catering company. She did learn her lesson, but it’s now too late to tell her “I told you so”. I sure hope and pray that everything turns out for the better, for her and her family.

Too much books, too little space

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This is my brown for the week. Our overflowing bookshelf.

When we transferred to this new house, we already left one overflowing bookshelf in the other house. I now again need to buy another bookshelf. RJ has so many books. I stopped buying when I discovered iBooks but RJ's collection is growing everyday! The downside of having a son who is a voracious reader, books these days aren’t cheap. Last week alone, I bought 4 books for him. Can't say no since I am a book addict as well.

I don’t always buy books that he wont learn something from. Comic books and magazines, maybe once a month. But books that are informative, I don’t hesitate to buy him those.

Back to the bookshelf, I don’t think another one will fit inside our 1 bedroom condominium unit. Unless I give away our dining and living room furniture, we can fit around 5 or more bookshelves in the living and dining room area.

I guess I just need to let go some of the books.

Christmas 2011 Wish Number 1

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I go for the simple things in life. Anything too extravagant -not my taste. This is especially true with the clothes that I have. Anything that can catch too much attention I definitely won’t buy.

That dress is on my Christmas wish list. Fashionable but simple. And I’m sure that design will hide the flaws around my tummy area. Although it's a bit big, I also love the clutch bag. Perfect combination.

How to delete archived posts on your computer

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This is a guide on how to delete posts created using Windows Live Writer.

I have been using Windows Live Writer (aka WLW) for, more or less, a year already. I use it especially with my Blogger hosted blogs. There are days when blogger is very slow, sometimes it even hangs up. So to save myself from pulling my hair out of frustration, when that unfortunate thing happens, I use Windows Live Writer when I update my blogs.

Upon publishing a post, WLW saves a copy of the post in the computer. And it automatically gets saved on the blog as well. I don’t need two copies so I usually delete, after a few months, the saved posts in my computer.

Can’t find it?

1. Go to the My Documents folder

2. Click My Weblog Posts

3. You’ll see two folders : Drafts and Recent Posts

4. From there you can choose the posts, published or drafts, that you want to delete.