The Alexa Train!

Happy Monday mawnin' everyone!

I got tagged by Jean, a fellow postie. Hopefully this will increase our traffic!!!

~Start Copying Here~

Alexa Redirect Train by Carl Ocab.

Rules:Put anything you like above this list “ Chit Chat, talkies, introduce what this is. Something like that.

Start copying on the ~Start Copying Here~ and copy all the things listed without removing the links. (Of course, the train would be no use without those links.)

Move all the sites labeled "Newcomers" to the list labeled "Oldies".

Add 5 sites that you want to include in the train and make their link like this: http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.example.com then invite them to join the train.

Visit all the listed sites! (That's not much work! Remember, if you plant good seeds they will also grow good) and look at your high Alexa ranking next week!

Newcomers:
Aggie
Cherry
Nyree
Mai's Digiscrap Blog
Joyce

Oldies:
Mai
Amanda
Che
Leah
Lutchi
Jean
Julai
MWP
Yatot
Kookie
Era
Mich
Francesca
Yen
Marie
Dangkin
Cess
Ann
Liz
Bambi
jho
Glenn
Kev
Jake
Ems
Louis
Carey
Eli
Dimaks
Fingertalks
Female Gamer
Garry Conn
Pinoy Seminars
Sasha@Akoni
Bookmarks
Cafe Romanza
Blog About Money Online
Manila Mom
ScottPot
How to earn money online?
Quasi Fictional
Make Money Blogging!
Make Money Online 2.0
Nate Whitehill
Jozzua
Grow your Writing Business
CultureShiok
Gary Lee
Smart Wealthy Rich
TechZi
Make Money Online with a 13-year Old
Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur
Tjantunen.com
Hate The Grind
Earn Money Blogging
Sasha
Ate Ghee
Mousey Ju
Cai
Karen/Malaya
Devilicious


~End Copying Here~

Let's do this guys! This will help increase our site's traffic. :D

Motivator.

Not only during job interviews that I encounter the question “What are your short-term or long-term goals?” Even as a student, I have encountered this so many times and more often than not, I give out the same goals that I have in mind. Now that I’m in my mid-20’s I’m reflecting how near or how far am I to those goals. My assessment made me realize that I’m still far from attaining some of these ambitions and that there are several factors from preventing me get near it. I guess I have to re-align myself and reprogram my mind. I need to be driven and must persist this motivation.

Aside from my dear hubby who has been my “stimulator”, I have downloaded a motivation software tool called Motivator and I find it really helpful. It is a software that can help you re-program your habits, reminding you of what needs to be done, prompting you to check your behavior in order for you to achieve that dream (as per their research, in as little as 2 weeks). It will help you stay focused by displaying a little pop up text reminders to help you keep re-aligned with your preset affirmations. (Just like how your YM notifies you when someone logs in or logs out). These ‘every now and then’ reminders enable you to assess and reflect if you are forwarding to that direction. By the way, this powerful tool is absolutely free so go and check it for yourself.

Improving Alexa Rank.

For those of you who are into PPP and other Pay-Per-Blog-Post Marketing Programs, you might have issues or challenges in improving your Alexa Ranking for better opportunities, just like me. Check out these tips I got from Marketingscoop.com:

1. Download the Alexa toolbar and use it every day to visit your own website. Alexa even gives you the ability to co-brand the toolbar with your own logo and give it away. You can download the toolbar here: http://pages.alexa.com/prod_serv/associatetoolbar.html

2. Use Alexa redirection whenever you can. No matter when or where you provide a link to your website, be sure to use the equivalent Alexa redirect URL. For example, when providing a link to my website, I use http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?marketingscoop.com. If you copy this URL into your browser, it will take you to MarketingScoop.com. To use this technique, simply replace the name of my website (marketingscoop) with yours.

3. Encourage your website visitors to add their positive testimonials on Alexa’s detailed listings page for your website. This can be done by placing a link to the appropriate Alexa page on your website and asking visitors to “Click here to rate this website”. You can find your detailed Alexa page here: http://www.alexa.com/data/details/?url=marketingscoop.com. Again, just replace the name of my website (marketingscoop) with yours. By clicking on the URL, visitors will be able to reach your detailed rating page and write a review using the review link located on the left hand side of the page.

4. Write your own site reviews on the top 100 rated Alexa sites and include your redirect URL. The top 500 domains, according to Alexa can be found at http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500 When you write a review, be sure to use the redirection URL we discussed in number 2 above specifically for your website [http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?marketingscoop.com].

5. Download the Alexa ranking button, traffic history graph, info links, and other traffic counters onto the page of your website that receives the most traffic. For example, at the bottom of my home page http://www.marketingscoop.com, I’ve added the Alexa ranking box. You can do the same for your own site by visiting http://www.alexa.com/site/site_stats/signup You’ll notice that I haven’t added the traffic history graph. This is because it wouldn’t look appropriate on my home page and because Alexa is only providing detailed history on the top 100,000 sites. So if you’re not in the top 100,000, site stats would not be available.

6. Take an inexpensive advertisement out on the ExactSeek search directory for only a few dollars per month at ExactSeek.com Search engine results are directly correlated with Alexa rankings. You’ll notice that if a website is highly ranked on ExactSeek, chances are that it will be highly ranked on Alexa.

7. Get listed on as many search engines as possible by placing a free listing in DMOZ. This is the largest human edited directory on the web and is co-branded among hundreds of thousands of sites. Be patient though, it often takes up to 5 months before you see your website listed after submission. Even though it takes longer than it should, you have little say in the matter because it’s so widely used across the Internet.

These simple Alexa strategies are easy to implement and will make a huge difference in your Alexa ranking. Ultimately you want visitors to do more than visit your home page, you want them to interact with your site. Be sure to optimize your home page for SEO purposes, ease of use, and interaction. Creating a positive user experience will get visitors to return again and again.

Bid For Cool Prizes.

If you’re given a chance to win any of these free gifts which one would you choose?
A Panasonic 42" TV & Bose DVD Theater System, Bose Lifestyle 28 Surround Sound, Sunglasses Hut $500 Gift Card or how about a BMW 3 Series or a US$1 Million Cash prize?


Well, you really do have a chance to win all these by joining bid4prizes.com. It’s not actually the traditional sweepstakes or the usual auction games but as they put it, it’s a bidding game with a twist. All you need to do is register, get the lowest unique bid for any prize and you win it absolutely free. Interesting, isn’t it? Check out their site to start sending in your bid. Who knows, you might be a million dollar richer or you could be driving a new BMW3 Series in the near future.

CRM Software.

The customer is the greatest asset in any business. This is the reason why an investment to a good crm software must be prioritized to provide the best customer care which is the key to long lasting business success. Aimpromote is the best choice for increasing sales and improving business intelligence. Compared with their competitors, Aimpromote has a significantly lower cost of implementation and total cost of ownership. They have even got the CRM software better as they integrated the best parts of CRM into a seamless application that enables your sales team to focus more on sales generations rather than on learning the software. Take advantage of their 14-day free trial and see for yourself why Aimpromote is the best choice.

Shrek Happy Meal Toys.

My hubby and I drove out this afternoon to buy some stocks of copy papers for the internet shop. Although, it’s a bit cloudy this noon, the traces of summer heat can still be felt. It’s a good thing that Green Machine’s (that’s what we call our green Nissan Sentra baby) Auto air conditioning has been fixed. It was just last week that hubby got it repaired and Freon-refilled.

Prior returning home, I requested him that we drop by Mcdonald’s Drive Thru (along Tomas Morato) to buy Mc Nuggets Shrek Happy Meal. I was craving for the McNuggets but I’m craving and wanting more the Shrek Happy Meal Toys. Who says they’re only for kids? Nah. Haha! Probably the childish side of me kicks in again.


Each one of these 10 collectible Shrek toys says a line and features a little bit of posability. I started this craze last week when out of curiosity I bought one and got Fiona. This afternoon, I was hoping to get Toy #1 Shrek (who says “I’m an ogre *burp* I’m on it!) but the Toy #7 Baby Ogre is the only one available so I got no choice.

Seems like I also got hubby into this craze as he promised me to buy a new Happy Meal tomorrow. Yipee! I really hope to get Shrek or Donkey next time.

My Must-Haves Shrek Happy Meal Toys:
1) Shrek
2) Puss in Boots
3) Donkey
4) Gingy
5) Artie
6) Girl Baby Ogre
7) Boy Ogre Baby Sitting
8) Boy Ogre Baby Standing
9) Princess Fiona
10) Dronkey

2 down, 8 more to go!

Aloha Makena!

Pineapples, leis, grass skirts, ukeleles, hula dance, luau parties, Tahitian dance, limbo games, tikis – there’s only one place that automatically comes in mind that is associated with these words. It’s none other than Hawaii! I have heard lots of fascinating stories and places about this archipelago. It is the southernmost state of the US, becoming its 50th state on August 21, 1959. Quoting wikipedia, Hawaii is the only state that (1) is without territory on the mainland of any continent; (2) is completely surrounded by water; and (3) continues to grow in area because of active extrusive lava flows, most notably from Kilauea.


One of the most visited and popular among the 8 islands that comprise Hawaii is Maui. There’s a lot to see and enjoy in Maui but if you prefer the ultimate experience, Makena is the prime Hawaiian vacation destination. This area is quiet yet has a number of wonderful beaches, pristine waters, places to snorkel over an incredible tropical reef and kayak. Other activities are parasailing, paragliding, and scuba diving. Green sea turtles are within feet from the shore at Makena Landing. As Hawaii is also blessed with most amazing volcanoes in the world, a volcano adventure can be a great family experience. There really is a lot to see in Makena – from botanical gardens to historical sites to landmarks to museums to captivating waterfalls.

Whatever your pleasure, a world-class 5-diamond resort, an intimate upcountry bed and breakfast or a seaside cottage, accommodation at Makena also provides wide array of choices. Head on to hawaiianbeachrentals.com and you’ll be tempted with their cheap rentals on Wailea Makena Condos, Villa rentals which is a new vacation accommodation trend replacing large commercialized hotels and other great Makena Vacation deals.

My VisualDNA.

I just bloghopped to Joyce's new blog and I found this new widget called Visual DNA. I got intrigued and tried out myself. So without further ado, here’s my Visual DNA and get to know more about my moods, my idea of fun and love, my habits, and a lot more. I could say that the results are so ME! Read on…

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Personality: MOODS = Easy Rider
You’re a bit of a romantic and have a taste for the exotic. You love feeling the sea breeze in your hair, sun on your skin..slip those shoes off..You like to kick back. When it comes to art, you’re creative yourself, and you believe in self-expression. You can see the little masterpieces in everyday life - you can be a touch sentimental. As for music, it’s the soundtrack to your world. You like to unwind and switch off: it gives you a break from reality. Your choice of treat shows you’re a fastfood junkie – and you’re not going to beat yourself up about it. Life should be about enjoyment, so go and supersize it.


Personality: FUN = Escape Artist
You’re a bit of workaholic. You can’t help pushing yourself to the limit and can’t find that off switch. For kicks you like to indulge in your great passions. You are probably happy spending time alone, and your drive and curiosity will take you all over the world. When it comes to holidays, you reckon they should always be indulgent – a very special treat and chance to recharge your batteries in luxurious surroundings as well as spending quality time with family and friends. What grosses you out? Nobody is perfect but some bad habits aren’t acceptable; you realize that health is wealth.


Personality: HABITS = Junkie Monkey
You never have enough rest – either you’re too busy, exhausted or perhaps just a little lazy? Either way your snooze is your best friend, and at times your worse enemy! You’re not neurotic about making healthy choices. You’ve got more of an easy going and carefree approach to your lifestyle..and a sweet tooth too. As for the home, you have very cool and contemporary taste. It’s not just about function – your environment has to be as stylish as you are.


Personality: LOVE = Nice ‘N Cheesy
You’re a real romantic and a bit of a dreamer. Ok, life may not be a movie, but what’s wrong with thinking it is? When you think of freedom – you think of technology providing you with the links to communicate wherever you are, opening more doors.

iPod Video Converter.

My brother is going ga-ga over the Ipod Video 30 GB that was bought for him last week. Right now, he has only a few mp3s stored and hardly any videos saved. He can’t seem to find a good video resource which he can choose his favorite videos to download into the iPod. I told him about this new iPod Video Converter software made by PQDVD and he liked the idea. At least, he can convert by himself all kinds of videos and DVDs into iPod video with a few mouse clicks. He just needs to download and install the iPod software, launch and select the dvd or video file then start recording it into iPod format. After which, the converted file must be included in the iTune library to sync with the iPod.

My brother is enthusiastic about this and he might have probably downloaded the free trial software by this time. Now I’m sure he’ll be demented even more with his new gadget.

Hello.

Hello Philippines and hello world..hmm just borrowing the intro tagline of Pinoy Big’s Brother Toni Gonzaga. Oh well, I can’t believe that I missed blogging and hardly accessed my blog for 4 straight days. I’m not going to list down lame excuses anymore but I do apologize to my blog for the delinquency. I know it might have probably got used to the weekday absence I’ve been doing but what can I say..that’s how my life has been since I started assuming a full-time work. Even hubby is complaining and I even got my own dose of castigations from him due to my so-called “exaggerated OTs”. Arggh I hate it. I need to be lectured again with the Work-Life-Balance Rule.

Anyway, I will truly make the most out of this weekend. I noticed that there are a lot of changes in PPP and I need to be updated on that. I need to earn more moolah…yup, I already have plans what to do with the rest of my PPP $$$ earnings come December. Hmmm am I hearing HK Disneyland Theme here?

Rev It Up.

If you are into Daytona racing, you might have probably seen the Fresh From Florida logos and banners during the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Event at the World Center of Racing last January 26. They sponsored the event with the goal of increasing the number of 'Fresh from Florida' consumer impressions and to promote the brand around the world. Through this logo exposure, shoppers will recognize the agricultural products of Florida which accounts for an $87 billion contribution to the state and the farmers. It is in fact the second largest industry of the state and Florida produces by far the majority of citrus fruit grown in the US. However, Florida’s agriculture is often tagged as a quiet industry.

Monday Sickness.

Waking up on an early Monday morning is always a torture. Well, I can say, that I’m not the only one who can attest to this. This morning, almost everyone came in the office later than they usually should. Call it Monday Sickness. Don’t you just hate getting back to work after the week end? It felt so “bitin” and you can’t help but wonder how fast the weekend went by. Then, upon reaching your workplace, you’re aware of the heaps of workload waiting to be actuated upon and yet, procrastination sinks in as you ignore them and feel like just lagging. Several of my officemates were also on leave today which aggravates the sluggish ambiance. To make things worse, they have blocked the Yahoo launchcast on our server, thus, with the deafening muteness. Darn! There’s only one word that describes my Monday at work…B-O-R-I-N-G.

Whogets.com

Do you love joining and winning prizes from online contests? I do.

Whogets.com offers sweepstake giveaways with a twist. The twist is that members will vote who gets to win the prize. It offers its members the chance to win a huge array of prizes with contest prize values range from $10 to $600. These online contests are open exclusively to members of whogets.com. It's free to join and all you have to do is just sign-up. There’s no catch involved, no purchase and no spam emails will be received. Check out their site to start the fun.

On Digiscrapping.

You might have noticed that I seldom post here my digiscrap layouts, well for one, I’ve uploaded them in my digiscrap dedicated blog at The Scrapaholic Me (c’mon, check it out and please link it up, too). Two, I have lay-low a bit with my scrapping pursuit because of my heavy workload in the office. I rarely scoured my fave digiscrap sites and download freebies. Three, although I can consider this as an achievement, I haven’t shopped goodies for like weeks already woohoo!

For the past month, I think I scrapped about 7 layouts only and they were the Dedication invites of Jacque’s daughter. Then three of them were used as a template for another set of christening invites, this time for the niece of my sister’s boyfriend. If not for the TOUs of the kits I use, I could have also earned with this digiscrapped invites. Well, I honor the designers’ TOUs and they matter to me that’s why I just create them for free. Their feedbacks on how their guests love the invites are enough to overwhelm me.  And I'm okay with that already.

This weekend, amidst blogging dollar opps, I also have to create layouts for the Bulletin Board in our Office Huddle Room. Our group is tasked this quarter to design and create it, otherwise if not done, we'll be penalized requiring us to treat the whole team.  Yikes!

Bug.

It’s been a while since I last watched a horror flick. Among the films that gave me creeps the most were The Ring, The Grudge and the most horrifying of all time, The Exorcist. Have you heard that there will be a new horror film called Bug coming out soon in the US? Well, it’s not just an ordinary bug movie or a cartoon flick that was shown before.  Looking at the posters alone, it’s quite intriguing and mind-boggling why is it entitled such.

This movie by Lionsgate Films is starred by Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, and Harry Connick, Jr. The synopsis of the movie reads: A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes (Ashley Judd) rooms in a run-down motel, living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband (Harry Connick, Jr.). But when Agnes begins with a tentative romance with Peter (Michael Shannon), an eccentric, nervous drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again – until the first bugs arrive.

I’m sure this will going to be one big hit. For one, this bug movie is directed by the great director William Friedkin and he just knows how to creep people out. How? His film, The Exorcist thirty years ago is simply enough to prove it.

Check out its trailer and get a preview of this bug movie. They tag it as one of the most disturbing horror movies imaginable. As soon as it will be released in the country, I’m off to find the reason what bugs got to do with this creepy film.

A Late Rambling.

Another week has passed and I’m just so glad that I have this weekend to breathe and loosen up a bit. I know I haven’t posted our Subic getaway last weekend, the birthday bash of my hubby, and my thoughts on the election mania. Whew! I just wish I get the time and energy to religiously update my blog and recount the events as they happen. Sadly, some things just interfere with my blogging life. :sigh:

===Subic Getaway===
May 12 (Saturday) – Paul and I together with my in-laws and Paul’s siblings drove to Subic for an overnight relaxation away from the city. This summer getaway was planned for a triple celebration: Paul’s birthday on the 14th, Mothers Day celeb on the 13th and mom-in-law’s birthday on the 16th. We hit the road at about 7 am. By past 8 am, we were already at Bacolor, Pampanga to fetch and convoyed with my sis-in-law’s family. If not with the slow-moving caravans of election candidates doing their last round campaigns on the highway, we could have arrived in Subic earlier. We reached Sheavens Beach View Hotel in Baretto, Olongapo by 10:30 am. Since they’re still arranging the rooms and check in time is not until 12 noon, we just hang around the tropical garden and lounged and took some photos by the waters of Subic Bay.



After a while, we then settled in our rooms and since we were all salivating for lunch, we hurriedly scoured the main road of Gapo for a nice and cheap diner. Well knowing Gapo, obviously, pubs and beer gardens mostly lined up the main road. Luckily, there’s a resto just a few blocks away from the hotel and there we stuffed ourselves (although, food was not that great). Back in the hotel, I brought out my laptop and luckily, a wireless connection was detected however it was so intermittent and slow that I fell asleep while waiting for the page to load. Lolz.

We walked to nearby Baloy Beach later in the afternoon for a swim. Look how Paul’s nephew, Miggy, enjoyed.



Later that evening, we headed back to the hotel, freshened up and got ready for dinner. Again, hunting for a good resto was a challenge. Subic’s beach and hotels sprawled near the shoreline of Baloy are really appealing and nice but how I wish they’ll also put up cheap and nice restos to dine in. At any rate, we wre able to find in the outskirts of the highway a so-so grillery and there we ate.

We went back to the hotel, stayed up late watching TV and DVDs on the laptop, then retired the night. The next morning, we had a Jollibee breakfast, went for a morning swim in the beach except for me who was slacking of changing into my swimwear. Later, we checked out and drove back to Manila with the unforgiving and sweltering heat.

===Paul’s Surprise Birthday Bash===
May 13 - Paul knew that we’d be dining at Dampa in Seaside along Macapagal Blvd. that night. What he didn’t know is that I schemed and invited our High School Barkada whom we haven’t seen for months to join his birthday bash. There was the engaged couple, Leia & Genil, sweethearts JR and Tere and Paul’s bestfriend, Jordan. We feasted on Spicy Sauced Crabs, Baked Talaba, Liempo, Buttered Shrimps, Sigang na Miso, and Ensaladang Mangga at Kainan sa Balanghay. We chatted while we busily unshelled the appetizing shrimps and crabs.



===Election Mania===
May 14 – Paul’s birthday and the Election Day. Well, I wasn’t a responsible citizen that day because I didn’t vote. One, I wasn’t able to renew my registration with my married name. Two, we were in my in-laws’ house in Frisco that day and we won’t be in Makati where I am registered, until late evening. Three, I don’t see any candidate who deserves my vote and my trust anymore. :sigh:

Credits:
Photo Clusters by Nancy Comelab
All a Flutter Alpha by Robin Carlton
Doodles by Lively
Happy daisy paper by Shelley Chua
Comic Strips Template by Katie the Scrapbooklady

Want to Date a Celeb?

Okay guys, I need your attention. Do you want to score a date with a sexy Hollywood celebrity? I bet you do. Actually, there is an easy way to do this without joining dating shows on TV. You might probably be anxious to know but before I tell you how, I want you to check out first the free videos at GoFish.com.

Gofish.com is an internet video network where anyone can watch uploaded and shared videos of registered members. You can also compile your favorite videos and share them via email or embed them in your blog or website. But that’s not all. Right now, they have an exciting contest where you can date Mirelly Taylor with their Seduce a Celeb promo. Actress, Mirelly Taylor, has appeared on movies such as Kiss Me Again and Serving Sara and television shows including “Las Vegas”, “Punk’d”, and “Numb3rs”. To join, just watch Mirelly’s videos with three specific calls to action and create a video for each one. Your video must be creative to catch her attention and that of the viewers as well as they will be given the chance to vote for the most appealing and hip video. So what are you waiting for..grab a camera, shoot your take and upload your videos so you will be entered for a chance to win a date with Mirelly Taylor!

26 Things I Love About You.

Here's the layout I did for my dear hubby as he just celebrated his 26th birthday:

  
1. your jolly personality
2. your admirable wisdom
3. you have a positive outlook of life
4. you are driven to achieve your goals
5. you are my uplifter when I am discouraged
6. you give the most relaxing massage when I get home tired from work
7. you are a very good provider
8. you are supportive of me all the time
9. you have nothing but praises on my digiscrap layouts
10. you have the sexiest bulging tummy
11. you are a good dancer
12. you take care of me well when I am sick
13. you have a contagious laugh
14. you are a very good listener
15. you always pray with me at night
16. you always make me feel safe
17. you put up with all my moodiness and crankiness
18. you give awesome hugs and kisses
19. you make me weak in the knees
20. you play on the desktop or watch TV so I can scrap and blog in our laptop
21. you make a very good technical support when our computer bogs down
22. you give sensible advices
23. you have the sunniest smile
24. you accept me as I am despite my shortcomings
25. you are always there for me especially when times are tough
26. you love me unconditionally

Credits:
Alpha and Gettingedgy Elements by Lauren Grier
Blue Prints Paper by Katie the Scrapbooklady
Vintage Frame by Nancy Comelab
Doodlebutterfly by SSD Designs
Ribbon by Tracy Collins
Tear by Linda Billdal
Amore Heart by Shabby Princess
Love Elements by Vera Lim
Bejeweled Brad by Ashley Olson
Stringtie by Ashley Olson
Ribbon Border by Amy Cheeseman

Call Dad Abroad With Pingo.

In a month’s time, it will be the Fathers’ turn to celebrate their special day. I’m sure some of you are just like me whose fathers are toiling overseas and would want to celebrate this special day with them. My Dad has been an OFW ever since I was a kid and I recall that we often just send him a greeting card via airmail or do overseas calls to chitchat for a while and extend our greetings. With the advent of e-mails and e-cards, such special greetings come in handy and not to mention, costless. Albeit convenient, Dads would definitely prefer to hear their kids’ greetings through a phone call.

For those of you, who want to call their overseas Dads on Father’s Day, consider using Pingo Phone Cards and avail of their special deals with big savings. You get a US$5 worth of free calls just for opening a $20 account and with their Father’s Day Special promo, you’ll get an additional $5 off on sign up or recharge. That’s a total of $10 worth of free calls just for registering. Isn’t it a sweet deal? Also, you get to enjoy a $25 Gift Card Giveaway valid at 9 online merchants.

What’s even sweeter is that your website can earn you money just by hotlinking Pingo through their prepaid calling card affiliate program. Pingo is a prepaid calling card provider that offers high quality, low cost long distance and virtual International calling card service to more than 100 countries. Check out their site, specifically the Philippines calling card rates and know why is it the last calling card you’ll ever need.

Hapi Bertday.

Just shouting out my warmest greetings to my dear hubby....

Happy 26th Birthday, my baby!

I'm wishing you all the best in life. I want you to know that I love you for all you've been, for all that you are, for all you'll ever be to me.

To All Moms Out There...

Hope you enjoy this special day as you are honored and gratified for all the sacrifices and hard work you do for the family.

To my Mom, my stepmom and to my mom-in-law..thank you for the motherly love you've been giving me.

**********************

I’ll just keep this short and I have to post this right away before the intermittent wi-fi connection in this hotel totally pisses me off. We’re in Subic right now with my in-laws and the whole family celebrating Mom’s Day, Paul’s and MIL’s birthday on the 14th and 16th respectively. We’re heading back to Manila in a few hours. :sigh: Kwento and stories to follow.

See yah later or probably tomorrow since we’ll be having a surprise gimik tonight for my dear hubby. Ssshhhh. *wink wink*

Bookkeeping for Small Business.

When setting up a small business, a bookkeeping system must be adapted to help in monitoring the financial standing of your enterprise. If you know nothing about bookkeeping, hiring an accountant may be an option or you may also resort to using user-friendly and inexpensive basic software systems such as Quickbooks that allow business owners to handle regular financial accounting tasks accurately and promptly. Accurate records are needed in financial statements preparation. These financial statements determine how your business is doing and will let you know how it progresses.

Another option is trying out outsourced bookkeeping services like that of Accountingparadise.com. They will do all the hard work for you for as low as $10 flat fee per month. Services include accounts reconciliation, data entry, consultation, and technical support. They will set-up an easy system for you to effortlessly understand the numbers of your business. Check out their bookkeeping pricing and learn how their services will enable you to save time and money. They also offer a great >payroll program and other accounting services at very affordable plans.

Just To Let You Know...

...that I am still alive
...that I am just caught up with a lot of things, particularly at work (as usual)
...and that I will definitely be back soon with some updates.

Arggh! Can we stop time for a while for me to breath?

Long Day Friday.

Yesterday was a bit long day for me. I was up as early as 5:00 am to attend the NHO Training at 6:00 AM in Insular. Even though I’ve been with the company for 6 months already as a project employee, I am required to undergo this new hires’ orientation since it’s only now that I’m directly hired by the company technically. My co-trainees were all agents for an account to be based in our Alabang site. Basically, it was just an orientation about the company which a new hire must learn about. There were several video and powerpoint presentations, icebreakers and group activities as well. It was a bit boring probably because I’m quite familiar already with the information that was presented. The freezing cold temperature of the training room didn’t help either to keep me awake. The orientation ended early to my delight. I was supposed to do an errand to claim my brother’s educational plan check in QC but I couldn’t bear the scorching heat so I headed to our office. I suddenly remembered that I need to send my OT report prior the cutoff this Saturday to HR that is for crediting this coming payroll period, otherwise, it’ll be reflected late. So I opened my email and voila, the emails I received made me stay until 6 pm unconsciously. If Paul didn’t buzz me, I might have stayed late again and might have “castigated” again by my dear hubby for rendering too much late OTs lately. So with that in mind, I packed up and went home.

Redesign.

Hubby and I are thinking of redesigning the interiors of our bedroom for a change. Right now, I am doing some online research from Home Improvement websites so I can get unique, artistic and fun ideas to accomplish this project. One of the things that I am planning to do is repaint the walls with a new color or cover it with wallpaper. We’ll also re-arrange some furniture like the TV stand, the cabinet, the bed and the computer table. I still have a lot of plans in mind but I guess, I also have to consult hubby first.

I am sure this is going to be fun. I’m just thankful there are a lot of home improvement sites and tv shows to hook up tips from. As defined by Wikipedia, home improvement is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Often, a professional handyperson is hired to perform the improvements but, typically, most improvements are done on an amateur DIY basis by the homeowner. I can’t wait to have a place of our own to apply this home improvement tips on a bigger scale.

Wishing to Go Wireless.

I have always been an online freak ever since I discovered the internet a few years back. I researched about my projects and assignments over the internet, got fond of emails for connecting with friends, got hooked with online chatting, got dependent in finding our wedding suppliers online for our wedding and now, I’m so into blogging lately and scouring online for digiscrapping inspirations as well as nice goodies and kits to download to satisfy this latest whim.

Way back, I used to scrimp and depend on very frustratingly slow dial-up connections. I can still recall that I downloaded mp3s for hours and with sites take about a minute or more before it is fully downloaded. That is why I was so delighted when my Dad subscribed to a Broadband ISP. Finally, I can download a 5 MB song in less than 3 minutes and with web pages loading in just a blink of an eye. Actually, there are a lot of broadband providers out there offering ultra fast speeds of 2, 4, 8 and even 10Mbps - up to 180 times the speed of a 56Kbps dial-up modem. With these speeds, surfing the net has never been this fast and exciting. The latest big thing that was introduced is the wi-fi (wireless fidelity) technology. Wireless broadband has only been available in hotspots coffee shops, wi-fi cafes and offices before. But now it has also become available for home use at a reasonable price. With this, I am thinking of going wireless – to enjoy a portable, flexible, wire-free browsing experience.

Dropping?

Am I really seeing this? How come my Page Rank dropped a notch lower? I just hope this is just some kind of a bug or something with Google. Waah...I need a higher Page Rank! This is not a good Labor Day surprise for me. Arrgh!

An Owl Blogger.

It’s already 3 AM and I’m still freaking awake??? Well, I’m just seizing the moment. Tomorrow..oooppps, TODAY is a non-working holiday so I get to have the whole day to rest anyway. Besides, Paul is still enjoying their night swimming spree at the moment and he’ll be home in a while. Probably, I will just wait for him before dozing off. I was supposed to join their group’s outing but apparently, work didn’t permit me to do so. I finished a pile of paper works until midnight before heading home. I needed to do that or else, I might get drowned already with my tasks come Wednesday.

Humidifiers.

My officemate just got back from her US two-month vacation. She was complaining how cold it was in her sister’s place even though, spring has started setting in. Probably because, she’s used to a tropical weather here; thus, she was freezing cold there. She narrated to me how she had trouble adjusting with the weather and how she battled with a dry skin, chapped lips and a dry, scratchy throat.

I can’t imagine how hard that could have been. I also get to experience that whenever we go to the cold city Baguio and it really feels uncomfortable and a bit annoying. The main cause of these ailments is the lack of moisture present in heated indoor air. It’s a good thing that my colleague’s sister found Aprilaire furnace humidifiers on the internet and ordered right away. A humidifier is a household appliance that basically increases humidity in a single room or in the entire home by connecting to a home’s HVAC system. Depending on your preference, there are several types of humidifiers that you can choose from at Humidifierinformation.com. Should you need further information about humidifiers and for you to avoid dry skin and sore throat during cold weathers, you better visit this helpful and informative site.

Scattergories.

Ok, I wasn’t tagged but I stumbled upon this from Ksharonk’s blog and I thought I could start the ball rolling too.

The rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question...

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks!

Your Name: Mai
1. Famous Singer/Band: Mariah Carey
2. 4 letter word: mail
3. Street: Mayon St.
4. Color: magenta
5. Gifts/Presents: mobile phones
6. Vehicle: Mitsubishi
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: magnets
8. Boy Name: Michael
9. Girl Name: Mary
10. Movie Title: Men In Black
11. Drink: Milk
12. Occupation: Mailman
13. Flower: Marigold
14. Celebrity: Michael Douglas
15. Magazine: Metro
16. U.S. City: Milwaukee
17. Pro Sports Teams: Miami Heat
18. Fruit: Mango
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: hmmm..i'm leaving this blank.
20. Something You Throw Away: milk cartons (empty)
21. Things You Shout: My Goodness!
22. Cartoon Character: Mickey Mouse

I won't be tagging anyone in particular.  If you want to whack your heads with this one, go ahead and try for yourself.

Download Freak.

I never miss a day without accessing the web and checking my emails. If time [and mood] permits, I also try to update my blog almost everyday. Then, I also frequent my favorite digiscrapping forum, look for inspiring layouts, scour my favorite designers’ blogs and of course, I love searching and downloading digiscrapping goodies. My hard disk is also filled with mp3s and videos. Recently, I downloaded some free softwares such as Google Earth and updated my Adobe Reader. Yep, I’m a download freak.

With all of these online activities that I do, I can’t afford to endanger my notebook with damaging and ruthless viruses. This is the reason why I religiously update my free virus scan software and schedule a regular run to make sure that my notebook is completely protected. Virus infected PCs can be disturbing and not to mention, costly if it’s irreparable.

It's a good thing that there are free antivirus softwares that can be downloaded online. The best I found on the internet is the free Norton Antivirus from freeantivirus.com through Google. The Google Pack also includes 12 other optional free programs aside from Norton Antivirus such as Skype, Google Earth, Mozilla Firefox, Google Picasa and a lot more.