A Movie Fasting Monday, July 27, 2009

Henry and I finally got to watch another movie after so many months of not watching movies on the big screen. It was nice, especially since we also got to share the experience with my sister Elena and Keisha.

We watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in SM Valenzuela and we were there a few minutes after the mall opened. We were able to catch the first screening, which was what we wanted. We wanted the movie house not crowded, and since we were the first people there, the movie house was also very clean.

I'm glad I got to share the experience with all the people I loved. If only Nicole was bigger, everything would have been complete.

Resigning Soon Friday, July 24, 2009

I will be resigning from my job at VXI which I've had since January of 2008 soon. My mom in law's visa interview is set for August 19, and I'm sure that it will be approved, no doubt. I just want to spend as much time with her as I can because she won' t be able to come home for a period of 2 years.

I am just wondering when I should file my resignation and ho the entire process works. I know I'll have to get clearances signed, and then I'll have to go back for my back pay. I wonder how much my back pay will be, lol! And of course, a pro-rated 13th month pay will also be included.

In a way, I am both happy and sad. I am happy because I'll have lots of time with my kids and my mom in law until she leaves, but I am also sad because I'll miss the friends I've made at work. But having more time with the kids and Henry makes me think that everything will be all worth it.

Vietnam Super Sale! Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Accor Hotels is currently having a Vietnam Hotel Super sale from July 7 - July 13, and from July 17 to September 30, 2009.

Hotel rates start as low as $45 for stays in between the dates I mentioned above. Some of these hotels that offer hotel stay rates at $45 are Novotel Dalat with the address of 7 Tran Phu Street, Dalat, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-63)3825 777, Novotel Ha Long Bay with the address of Ha Long Road, Bai Chay Ward, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-33) 3848 108, Novotel Nha Trang with the address of 50 Tran Phu Street, Nha Trang, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-58) 3685 6921, and the Novotel Phan Thiet Ocean Dunes & Golf Resort with the address of 1 Ton Duc Thang Street, Phan Thiet
Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-62)3822 393.

There are also two hotels that offer stay rates starting at $75, and these are the Grand Mercure La Veranda Phu Quoc with the address of Ward 1, Duong Dong Beach, Tran Hung Dao Street, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-77)3398 2988, and the La Residence Hotel & Spa - Hue with the address of 5 Le Loi Street, Hue, Vietnam and can be reached at tel: (84-54)3837 475.

There are also two hotels that will be opening in August and September. The hotel opening on August 1st is called the Mercure Hanoi La Gare with the address of 94 Ly Thuong Kiet Street,
Hoan Kiem District Hanoi, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-4)3944 7766. The hotel opening on Spetember 1st is called the Mercure Hue Gerbera with the address of 38 Le Loi Street, Hue City, Vietnam and can be reached at tel : (84-54)394 6688. Both of these hotels offer stays starting at $45 only.

Busy to the Max! Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A couple of weeks back when I got diagnosed with pneumonia, I was able to stay home and do tons and tons of online writing jobs. Most of those online jobs were thanks to oDesk, and I am really glad I came across that site.

Now that I've been back to work, I am really having a hard time managing my time with the deadlines I have for the online writing jobs and my own day job. I barely have time to sleep and I always exhausted. Not physically exhausted, but mentally exhausted.

I don't want to give up on online writing because when my mom in law finally flies off to Hawaii around September, I'll be quitting my day job and I'll just stay at home with the kids. I'll be writing more stuff online then, which is why I don't want to lose the job providers I already have now.

I guess I really just have to learn more about managing my time because from now up to the day when I resign from my office, I'll be busy to the max!

Off to Hawaii! Wednesday, July 15, 2009

My mom in law received an email from the National Visa Center regarding her petition. We have been waiting for several months already and now, she already has a schedule for her visa interview! Her interview is scheduled at 8:30AM on August 19.

I am going to accompany her sometime after the 23rd of July for her medical exam at St. Luke's. She's very excited and nervous at the same time. I am glad that finally, her dream of migrating to the US is very, very close to reality.

I will miss her, though. But I think it's OK. She has a life of her own and it's just natural that she live her life.

Scrubsmag - A Review Sunday, July 12, 2009

I recently came across a site called Scrubsmag, and as one can guess, the site features a whole lot about the life of a nurse. From Scrubs to diets to work tips from veteran nurses, there's a lot of information that can be found on this site.

Being a nurse can be a stressful job, and nurses often neglect to take care of themselves because they're too busy taking care of other people. We've heard of the horror stories where nurses end up spending 16 hours or more on double shift. And with so many things to do like visiting patients, running errands, and giving patients their medicines, looking good can be last on a nurse's mind.

On the web site, I found this really helpful article for nurses especially during the hot summer season. The article I found is entitled Wake Up Looking Younger and it has a lot of useful tips on taking care of one's self, especially one's face. Here are these tips as itemized in the article:

1. Get clean.
It's a simple rule but its something we often don't do either because we're really tired from a hard day's work or we're simply too lazy. Just make sure you don't sleep with makeup on.

2. Moisturize.
With the hot summer seasons stripping off our skin's natural moisture, don't forget to moisturize. No one wants to end up looking like a prune.

3. Sleep right.
One's sleeping position affects one's disposition when waking up. Sleep on your back to avoid any body aches in the morning.

4. Be kissable.
Give your lips a little exfoliation. While brushing your teeth, give your lips a little brush and see what it does.

5. Tame stray hairs.
Don't forget those eyebrows! Always keep stray hairs tame.

A New Job at oDesk Sunday, July 12, 2009

I just wanted to share how things at oDesk are turning out for me.

A couple of days ago I landed a job as a writer. The job provider asked me to write 5 travel articles with the places she provided. The payout is $10, $5 upfront and $5 after the job was completed. I submitted the completed work and waited for payment.

But more than a payment arrived to me today. The job provider did send the remaining $5 payment and also sent another job. This time, the topics are about health and the payout is also the same. She also left me a great feedback on my oDesk provider profile which everyone will see.

I'm really happy things are turning out great at oDesk, and now I'll have a lot of earnings for this month, hopefully I'll surpass my blog earnings in June.

Do You Care? Saturday, July 11, 2009

With everything that's going on with the world right now - not so great economies and the AH1N1 outbreak, what do you care about the most and why? For me, I'm really looking forward to a vaccine that will help us avoid AH1N1 so that my kids will be safe from this pandemic scare.

PayPerPost v4.0 Thursday, July 09, 2009

My First oDesk Job Saturday, July 04, 2009

I finally have my first oDesk job and its about writing. I write about a lot of topics ranging from travel, mobile phone reviews, airports, and other information. The pay is quite low compared to the writing jobs I land at PayPerPost and SociaSpark, as this job pays $0.50 per 250 words. In short, I need to write 500 words before I get paid $1.

But what I try to explain to my husband Henry is that these jobs are constant and the pay is every Saturday. This week, I earned a total of $32. If I manage to keep the rate of work I am doing right now, that would sum up to a total of $128 or about Php 5,888 (converted to $1 = Php46).

For me, its not bad at all because I just sit in front of my computer and I get paid for it. Plus, if I add up other blogging earnings like from the sites I mentioned and from the music blogs I've been writing for almost 3 years now, I'd total to more than $200 in a month.

This would be a great supplement to my family's income including me and my husband's salaries at work. An additional Php9,000 monthly would be more than enough to cover my light and DSL bill monthly. There'd still be a lot more left for extra groceries and we'd afford some personal luxuries. I'm glad I have the job I have now at oDesk. I'd prefer a regular low paying job than a high paying job with no security when I'd have another opp.

You're the 1, Goldilocks! Friday, July 03, 2009

I always like to celebrate special occasions like birthdays, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day, and any other special day with a nice cake decorated with a special message. Like this Father's Day last June 21, we celebrated it with a Choco Chiffon cake from Goldilocks as seen below:

Nicole's 2nd birthday last June 28 also marked another celebration where we had to have a cake to make the celebration complete. Here's a picture of her Goldilocks cake with caramel sauce:

Here's the video of Nicole blowing her 2nd birthday cake from Goldilocks:

My eldest daughter Keisha's 5th birthday last October 29, 2008 was also celebrated with a Goldilocks Choco Chiffon cake. Here's a video of her blowing her candle on the said date:

Special occasions are made even special at my home with Goldilocks cakes. For the 25 years of my life, my parents have always celebrated my birthdays with Goldilocks cakes and I am keeping this tradition with my own kids. My mom in law always tells me that when my husband was younger, a Goldilocks cake made the celebration special. So now, even though we're older, we make sure that we have a Goldilocks cake whenever we celebrate any occasion.

You're the 1 Goldilocks, because for my family you always make celebrations extra special. You just made Father's Day unforgettable for my husband, and you made all of my kids' birthdays memorable. I am looking forward to more years spent with you and your cakes. Maybe this year we'll try the Spongebob Squarepants birthday cake for my eldest daughter's 6th birthday!

SpitzTunes -- Ya Gotta Love It! Wednesday, July 01, 2009

What do you think of rock music songs that are about love? Do you think it is right to sing about love loud? I've loved songs like Love Song by The Cure and Stand Inside Your Love by Smashing Pumpkins, but what do you guys think?

Nicole Blowing her 2nd Birthday Cake Wednesday, July 01, 2009