Ruthi's breathingSpace

Blogging Frenzy

2008-11-25T15:46:00.000-08:00

It’s crappy the whole day today. We have a storm and it was raining non-stop since last night. The temperature though is warm at 42 degrees compared with the 12 degrees we had a couple of days back didn’t make a difference to me because I was inside the house the whole day. I didn’t go out anywhere today.

I stayed home and did what a good blogger should do… drop Entrecards to other droppers to return the favor, campaign and advertise my blogs in other blogs, post comments on other bloggers’ posts left and right, leaving messages on cboxes, shouts and other message boxes that I can find at the blogs’ sidebars and participate in social network communities’ online activities like tweetering, plurking and making new virtual friends. To sum it up, it was yet another crappy day of blogging frenzy.

Advice on Wealth

2008-11-19T11:10:00.000-08:00

This is not my personal advice on wealth. I am not qualified to give advice on wealth because obviously, I am not a wealthy person. I am just like any typical struggling citizen who 95% of the time is thinking how I can make extra income to help pay our bills.

This advice came from Warren Buffet and not from me. But I want to share it here to remind me [in particular] that life is what I make it and of course, so that I will not forget.

These advices are simple and no non-sense. These are just simple things to live by to make life live-able and worry-free. These are just practical rules that we already know but always forget to do.

Warren's advice to young people: "Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:

A. Money doesn't create man; it is the man who created money.
B. Live your life as simple as you can.
C. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel good.
D. Don't go for brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on those who really are in need.
F. After all it's your life so why give chance to others to rule your life."

And his idea of excellence is something that we need to ponder too. "I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's Business"

Life is indeed a challenge. Life is a constant struggle to achieve what is good. Life is what we make it. Let's make the best out of it. Cheers!

Say it with Pictures

2008-11-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have been blogging for quite awhile. I have 9 active blogs that I manage on a regular basis. Alright, alright, I say it over and over again. And to say the least that I am a frustrated blogger is the understatement of the year because I already wrote about it too. But what can I do? I love to write and I love people to read what I write.

But here is the thing. And it is a good thing, I promise. I have found a new hobby. Photography! [Not necessarily me taking the photos but me downloading the photo.] If you have noticed, I love inserting photos on my blog post. And here is one interesting thing, I found a site where I can find cool blog pictures too which I can insert in my blog posts. Yup, a website where thousand of images are hosted by it… a website where the images are already optimized and resized according to my preference… a website where there is a larger and better library for copyrighted and licensed images… and more importantly, a website where I can download the images for free.

Yes, Acobox.com is the coolest and the newest website for hosting quality pictures for bloggers. I just signed up for it and instantly, I was able to copy and paste image code without downloading, resizing and uploading the image file just like this one I have here. So tell me… how cool is that?

Do You Want to be a Millionaire?

2008-11-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

I was browsing on my old e-mails searching for something when I stumbled upon this e-mail sent by my friend Carol. It was entitled “Interesting Aspects of the 2nd Richest Man in the World”. Well, from that title alone… the word “richest” is the one that really interests me. With this ailing economy and with all the bills that we need to deal with everyday of our lives… who doesn’t want to get rich? The idea of being rich, much more the illusion of being tagged as the richest person in the world is everybody’s dream or aspiration.

Now, here is a story of a man who is rich and didn’t get rich by winning in a lottery.

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life which I want to share with you here:

1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he ought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.
6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules.
Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money.
Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.
8. Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

I always buy lottery ticket hoping that one day I will strike the jackpot. Well, the odd of winning the million is of course… 1 in a million too. And everyone knows that but still we all keep buying and hoping that one day we will be lucky. Then one day it struck me. Someone asked me… “What will you do with the million dollars if you win it?” And I can’t answer it right away. Sure, I will be buying something… a house, a car, jewelries, travel the world, and the list goes on and on. Then she asked me next… “Then what? After you do all that, what will you do next?”

I Won!

2008-11-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

Last month, as I was browsing and looking for free blogger templates, I stumbled upon this cool website that offers FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES. Next thing I knew, I was downloading some templates from the said website and uploading each one of them to all my Blogger accounts that I manage [I have 5 of them], my brother’s [he has 4] and my cousin’s [she has 2].

Since then I kept coming back to that side to check out on new template designs and download those I like for future use. Then one time I read about their contest. Here is what I read.

We're opening up a 2nd contest to showcase your blog here for a week. The closing date is 31st October 2008. Here's a link to the 1st contest and the winners to get some details of the contest we've run.Here are some statistics about ourblogtemplates.com:

PageRank: 5
AlexaRank: 88,679 (3-month average), 53,043 (1-week average)
PageViews: 6000+ daily

What you have to do is use one of our templates for your blog and write a review post about Ourblogtemplates.com. Then tell us about your review post by linking to us in the 'Links to This Post' section under the comment section below.

We'll select 3 winners based on the overall blog appearance and your review post. Each winner will be featured in a single post linking back to your review post to give you some of our PageRank juice. These feature posts will stay at the top of the main page for 7 days to give you a chance to grab in some of the 6000+ daily hits coming to us.

Next thing I know, I joined the contest. Next thing I know. I won the contest. Yes, I won. I won second place. This blog was selected as the 2nd winner of the 2nd Contest: Show your Blog Here of ourBLOGGERTemplates.com

I am so happy about this achievement that I earned. Not bad for a newbie. Not bad for a non-computer-savvy gal like me. Not bad for an "HTML Dummy" like me. And I would like to thank ourBLOGGERTemplates.com for the award. You guys rock. More power to you.

Siblings Conference Come to Order… Online

2008-10-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

I talk to my brothers more often now that I used to. I know what is going on in my hometown as if I never left home. And I am most updated with news about people and situations back home than my brother who is actually living there. That is the power of modern technology. With a click of the mouse you hold the world’s greatest discoveries and gossips.

It has been more than a year now since I left home and so far I don’t miss any of the things and people I left behind. Hahahaha. Just kidding. But it’s true, I don’t miss my family and friends because I talk to them more often now, than I did in the past and when I was still with them.

I talk to my brothers online everyday. I have two brothers, one is working in China and the other is working in the Philippines. This is the very first time that we were apart since birth. And just like every morning [my time] the 3 of us were talking to each other all at the same time and catching up on our latest shenanigans.

My youngest brother [who is in the Philippines] was in his office’s lounge, I was in my bedroom [here in the chilly Pine State of New England] and my other brother [who is supposed to be in China] was sitting on the street curb in Hongkong people-watching and waiting for the bus with his laptop on his lap. So what did we talk about? We talked about the husband of our late cousin who is now having an affair with a much younger girl from a nearby beerhouse. Oh well, you can’t keep a secret nowadays.

Oh You... Men!

2008-10-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have nothing against men. I love men. I grew up with two wonderful guys in the world who adore me, my artistic designer brother Gary and my sleep-deprived-caffeine-fueled brother Japol. I was a daddy’s girl, a grandpa’s apple of the eye, and the uncles’ favorite niece. I was lucky to be surrounded with adoring men in my life who somehow have great influence on my upbringing. Don’t get me wrong but I love my mom too. It was just strange that we didn’t get along well. Maybe because we have the same orientation with men [my mom was an only daughter too] that was why we always clash.

Anyway, I found this email sitting in my inbox for quite a long time and thought of sharing it with you. I know some of you might have already read it somewhere but still I guess it won’t hurt a bit to read it again.

This is a list of note-worthy, intellectually funny and hilariously cute similes for men who could turn from a hot dude to an annoying dud or from a sympathetic guy to a pathetic chap or a mixed concoction all of the testosterone-powered-egotistical qualities that are inherent to the male species.

And this I guess… is just retaliation to what was previously written about us women by men who have a seemingly thorough knowledge of the hormonal-packed-and-dangerously-vindictive female species. Hahahaha

For all those men who say, "Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free?" Here's n update for you: Nowadays, 80% of women are against marriage, WHY? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire PIG just to get a little sausage.

1. Men are like... Laxatives. They irritate the crap out of you.
2. Men are like... Bananas. The older they get, the less firm they are.
3. Men are like... Weather. Nothing can be done to change them.
4. Men are like... Blenders. You need One, but you're not quite sure why.
5. Men are like... Chocolate Bars. Sweet, smooth, & they usually head right for your hips.
6. Men are like... Commercials. You can't believe a word they say.
7. Men are like... Department Stores. Their clothes are always 1/2 off.
8. Men are like...Government Bonds. They take soooooooo long to mature.
9. Men are like... Mascara. They usually run at the first sign of emotion.
10. Men are like... Popcorn. They satisfy you, but only for a little while.
11. Men are like... Snowstorms. You never know when they're coming, how many inches you'll get or how long it will last.
12. Men are like... Lava Lamps. Fun to look at, but not very bright.
13. Men are like... Parking Spots. All the good ones are taken, the rest are handicapped.

Oh Men! I still believe that not all men are the same. You can still find a rare gem that is worth keeping and a treasure worth believing. Love you Guys.

Out-blogged by the Carpenter’s Wife

2008-10-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

My Bad!

I have been blogging left and right but never realized that this baby is not being blogged lately. I mean the last time I posted here was last week. It’s very unlikely of me. But I have an alibi. I was blogging somewhere else. Nah! That was not good enough. I have 9 blogs so I am responsible for all of them. No alibis!

Oh well, that is why I am so blogging now. I just realized it now when I signed in to Blogger and saw that I have 72 posts here in Ruthi’s breathingSpace and I had 83 [to date] in a Carpenter’s WIFE’s tool box. And it was not like that before. Ruthi’s breathingSpace was always ahead with a Carpenter’s WIFE’s tool box. And yesterday, I posted 6 write-ups in ACWTB alone. How crazy was that?

Oh well, blame it to the PR. I am still licking my wounds on PR thingy so spare me on this one.

on PR and what not

2008-10-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm still crazy and all psyched up about this PR thingy we have here on cybernation. It’s still a big mystery to me or perhaps to lots of bloggers who like me… has no clue what’s going on… what’s its significance... and how it affects our total blogging vibes and predisposition.

Ok, I am whining and ranting about my PR because if you can see… if you hover your mouse on the PageRank icon at the top of the page, the phrase… PageRank is Google’s measure of the importance of this page (0/10)… still pops up. It’s driving me crazy. You see, I have 5 blog accounts here in Blogger. Four of them have PR values except this one.

Anyway, last night, I decided to post a write-up on GREGOIRE Construction [the blog I made for my Hubby for his construction business] after 3 months of being untouched. Last night too I showed him the post and the renovation I did on that blog then left him to explore the blog himself. When I came back, I was surprised when he told me his blog got PR1. What the heck?

The “a Carpenter’s WIFE’s tool box” [my personal diary of my everyday experiences as a stay-at-home wife] got PR3… my “sa puso at isip” [my only blog written in my native language which is Tagalog] has PR2 and the “my REFUGE” [my reflections blog which I seldom post articles on too] got PR1 before and now awaiting another pagerank update. But this “Ruthi’s breathingSpace” is still zero… nada… nothing. It has been PR0 since birth. And this is the first I ever conceived. This is my first-born.

Oh well… I need to wait another couple of months or so and see if miracle will happen. And for now, I just sulk and whine and rant, as usual. [*sigh]

a major facelift

2008-09-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

THIS BLOG UNDERWENT MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION... for the Nth time.

I was in a designing mood the entire week last week that is why my blogging frame of mind took a back seat for the moment. I was using the old blogger template since I signed up here [the one that is readily available when you create a blog account here] but I made a few customizations here and there as I learned the rope of html codes and their significance. Somehow I was able to do few drastic changes in the entire template lay-out [like changing the 2-column template to 3-column] through some helpful websites that give simple and easy tutorial lessons like Dummies’ Guide to Google Bloggers, Blogger Buster and Tips for New Bloggers. I also learned to design my own header and did a lot of them for my former school (5), my cousin (2) and my baby brother (4). And I added widgets left and right too.

Then, one day when I signed in to this blog the entire page was blank except for the blog title, the categories, the blog archives and the widget clock. I freaked out. I wasn’t able to find any of my posts. Then I checked my brother’s blog [which I am officially babysitting] and it has the same fate as mine. I freaked out some more.

So I googled… I googled more… and I googled hard. Then I found ourBLOGGERTemplate.com and found lots of FREE blogger templates. This is the best blogger template website that I've ever found in google. All the templates are cool and easy to install. It has tutorials on how you can customize the tamplates to your own style that will suit your personality and taste. They have tips that you can use to enhance and improve your lay-out.And they have updates on everything about blogger. In other words... ourBLOGGERtemplate.com rocks... to the max.

And so, I downloaded tons of templates [I have lots of blogs of my own and more adopted ones, remember?] and decided that it’s about time to make a change. Why not? Even Obama is calling for change, right? And I did. And this is the result of that drastic decision I made last week. It was painstaking but worth it. I single-handedly copied all the important data in notepad especially my friends’ blogroll [that task almost killed me] and re-installed them one by one. So, all of my 4 blogger accounts – a Carpenter's WIFE's tool box, My REFUGE, sa puso at isip and THIS ONE… had major facelifts courtesy of ourBLOGGERTemplate.com, now I need one myself… literally.

my roots

2008-09-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

One day, my brother who is based in China asked me if I was aware that we have a family crest. What the heck is a family crest, I asked back? I had no clue whatsoever. It turned out that he did a research about our family name and its origin. It turned out that the ORONAs came from Ireland and that we are the descendants of Ronan. It also turned out that ORONA is a jewish surname which originally came from the Hebrew word AHARON

Out of curiosity, I googled it and voila… there it is – the Orona Family Crest or what is more popularly known as… the coat of arms. Yes, we have family Crest and a motto too which is – For he is our maker [whatever that means]. And I am using that crest for now on to uphold my roots.

Do you want to know where your family came from? Search House of Names.

feelin' scrappy

2008-09-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

I got my hands full with scrapping that end up with another blog. Yes, another blog. Well, I have an alibi. I need a new blog to post all my finished work. It will not be the normal blog thingy that I need to give my full attention to. It's just a simple un-assuming blog that will disguise itself as my Photo Gallery for my scrapbooking venture… sort of. Oh well, life’s a scrap so let’s decorate it.

And oh by the way, it's in a the newest blogging community in the blogosphere. My friend Vienna created it... it's called blogxi.com. You might want to create another blog account with it. It's very new, it's free, it's very promising, and it's a nice place to grow old with. hahahaha.

designing mood

2008-09-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Much to my desire to be productive, I suddenly decided to put on my creative apron and tried my hands into digital scrapbooking and design some headers for my cousin Shiela who just came up with a new blog "Ang Best of Me" [using my convincing power]. Well, sort of.

I recently downloaded lots of images, backgrounds and designs from different scrapbooking websites like shabby princess and visit some of my friends’ websites like Viel's scrap crank and Design by Viel and my web-blog designs by Carlota for some creative ideas. And here are what I came up with.

I usually use Powerpoint for designing them and not the usual Photoshop that most digital scrapbookers are using because I have to admit... I don't know how to use Photoshop just yet. But so far I know I am doing alright with that.

not another alibi

2008-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

First things first. My apologies dear friends – to those who keep on sending me messages… I’m sorry that I didn’t have the time to reply back. To those who never get tired visiting me here… I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to return the favor. And to those who are always reading my posts here [assuming]… I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to update it on a regular basis. Yes, you guess it… I have an alibi. I HAVE ANOTHER BLOG!

Yes, I have another baby called “changing seasons” at Today.com. and it is just 2-day old [as of this writing]. This new baby will feature everything about Maine – my new “home”… its changing seasons, unique culture, amazing people and breath-taking landscapes. It will contain much of the photos from my ever-growing collections. And as usual I am very excited about it. I am very excited not only because I am a true-blooded-blog-addict but because this new blog is an income generating baby. Wink! Very interesting huh?

And so my dear friends… rest assured that it’s “business as usual” since changing seasons is already well taken care of. I will try to reply to all those messages you sent me… visit your blog to return the favor… and will post new articles again as often as possible. And since you are reading this… I am inviting you to check out my new baby. Check and I guarantee you that you will find a new opportunity in earning $$$ through blogging [or just click on the icon/image below of this post.] See you all there and Get paid to BLOG at Today.com

a PR for my Post

2008-08-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Vienna yesterday and according to her one of my posts – The Thing of the Past and The Present, at BizarreMarriage.com earned a PR value and she wrote something about it in her other blog. Wow, that was the first time I heard about that. I didn’t know that an individual post can earn a PR. Of course, I was happy. I was happy that after all my effort has been acknowledged.

Well, I would like to thank Vienna for the trust and for letting me write for Bizarre Marriage. It was really an honor.

just perfect!

2008-08-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's a nice day today. The sun is out. My laundry is done. The kitchen is clean. The bathroom smells good. The whole house is perfect. So what's the catch?

The word PERFECT! That's the catch. I have been living in this world for 40 plus years and by now I know for a fact that there is no such word as - perfect. And when things seemed to be perfect... there will always be something that will stick out as otherwise. There will be one thing that will go the other way. And there will be one teeny-tiny bit of thing that will make the word and the world - imperfect.

And so everything seemed to be perfect... until I step on the scale.

Now... with this tiny detail... everything is just so... perfect! Oh well, that's the spice of life.

Spiderman is arachnophobic

2008-08-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

My nephew Toby loves Spiderman so much. So much that he has all things “Spiderman”… from shirt to shoes… from PJs to toothbrush… from school bag to pencils. He watched Spiderman movies [all 3 sequels] for a million times I guess that he can even say his lines word for word. Such kids!

What do you expect? When they had the United Nations presentation in school, he was dressed as an Arab Sheik and supposed to introduce himself as… "Hi, I am Toby I am from Saudi Arabia". But when he finally went up the stage and introduced himself… he said… "Hi, I am Toby and I am Spiderman" [with matching “Y” fingers seemingly spinning web]!

Oh well, all boys will become Super Heroes at least once in their lifetime and they will fight aliens, robots, and bad guys to save the world and bring peace on earth. All boys will be wearing silly Super Hero costumes even if it is not Halloween to impress a girl or two. But all boys will never out-grow thinking that they have super powers and will forever keep their super ego. Wink*

Toby with his Spiderman Mask.

I miss Toby. He is cute. He is adorable. He is charming. He is funny. And what is so funny about Toby is that… among other things… he is arachnophobic. Yup, he is afraid of the spider. So come to think of it… he is the only Spiderman who is afraid of the spider.

Let’s pollute the cyber-world!

2008-08-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

Enough already! Satisfaction! It’s a harsh word. No one is ever satisfied. No one is ever contented. No one is ever happy with what they already have? That is why aside from the word “satisfaction” we also have the word “accumulation” to justify that nothing is enough.

Okay… let’s do this without the drama and I’ll go straight to the point. I HAVE A NEW BLOG. Yep, a new blog! I know! I know! Please don’t point fingers on me. This baby has been in the oven more than a couple of months back and I have been giving you, guys, subtle hints of its impending birth [or did I?]. Well, it’s official… I am announcing the birth of www.ruthilicious.com and just so you know, this baby will kick hard once it’s out of the incubator.

Yeah, there are still a lot of nursing to do and has to undergo some minor surgeries but it’s doing ok. Mama here, on the other hand, has already come up with a good header and this is what it will look like…

So there you go. Let’s populate the cyber-world. Let’s pollute the cyber-world with blogs to reach out to people and make friends. Let’s make blog-hopping our part-time job or for others like me… our day job. Let’s make friends all over the world and spread peace on blog-mankind. After all… it’s a lonely place if you don’t have long list of blogs in your blogroll.

So Friends... Ladies... and Gentlemen... I want you all to be the GODPARENTS of my new baby - RUTHILICIOUS. I will appreciate it very much if you will have an extra space for my "new baby" in your blogroll and link her up too. Thanks in advance Mga KUMARE at KUMPARE [translation: Godmothers and Godfathers].

Payday Loan: The quickest way to instant cash

2008-08-03T05:06:00.000-07:00

In this weakening economy, people need help to augment their monetary resources to make both ends meet. Life is tough wherever you go and it becomes tougher when you only have limited resources. Monthly mortgage, endless bills, food for the table, insurance payments, and countless other things to pay or buy always put someone in almost hopeless predicament especially if they are already living in a paycheck-to-paycheck situation. When you need instant cash for emergency and your credit card has been maximized it sure is so frustrating.

In this weakening economy, it is a good thing that there is Payday Loan. It is definitely a life saver and the quickest way to get the cash you need to solve your immediate financial problem. PayDayLoansMania.com offers an easy and hassle-free cash loan online. It is easy because you can be approved for payday loans just by meeting the few simple requirements. It is hassle-free because your past or present credit standing is not an issue here because they don’t even ask about your credit history.

In this weakening economy, you no longer need to worry about cash when payday is still a couple of days ahead and you need money now. You don’t need to worry about asking friends or relatives for cash loan and get rejected. You don’t need to worry anymore about the bills you need to pay because payday loan is the quickest answer to your problem.

need a link? contact the babysitter

2008-07-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, I was able to convince my baby brother to make his own blog. I have been nagging him about it for quite awhile now but he has lots of alibis. But last week, out of the blue, I told him again as-a-matter-of-factly, and he did! He just did!

And as a doting big sister, I taught him every step of the way to come up with the best blog that fits him. He was such a good boy [very unlikely of him though] following everything that I said. He liked it. He liked it so much that the following day… he asked me how to make another blog again. Yup, he has two blogs two days in row and he is writing like crazy… sharing his inspirations and whereabouts to the blogging world.

Technically, I created a problem. You see, my baby brother is a dependent dude especially when big sister is around. Though he knows what to do but knowing that sissy can do it for him… he would rather not do it. So, I am babysitting my baby brother’s blogs QUEUE-less and sleep-deprived... caffeine-fueled LIFE for now. Yep… I thought I’m done babysitting him… now I am babysitting his blogs. The only thing he does for the blogs is to write the post. That’s it. And my job includes but not limited to – editing… inserting images… fixing the lay-out… designing the header… adding page elements and what not… managing the traffic… linking other bloggers… and everything in between.

There you go. So friends, if you want to add traffic to your blog… just visit my brother’s blog… give him a holler on his message box… or ME (a.k.a. babysitter)... and I WILL LINK YOU UP. Promise!

QUEUE-less

sleep-deprived... caffeined-fueled LIFE

NOTE: This is not a paid advertisement... just doing my job as a good big sister.

my shoes and I

2008-07-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

I have a huge collection of shoes. What do you expect? Every woman has an imeldific side to her… so don’t ever ask or complain. My collection is forever changing… endlessly accumulating… constantly updating. I am a woman – to the max… so don’t ever question it. I just love shoes and everything that go with it… like bags… accessories… clothes… etc… etc… etc. I am a woman, I told you, didn’t I?

The world will be a lonely place to live in without shoes. Shoes make me happy. Shoes give me joy in times of great depression [not that “depression” in world history]. Shoes save me from drowning in my personal sulking mood and weird moments. My shoes and I have a certain kind of bonding that only “real women” can understand. Oh well, I know there are some of you who can relate to it. So there you go… this is my tribute to my – SHOES! Love them… and never ever hate them. Shoes rule!

Hubby is happy with his work boots

2008-07-28T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hubby came home from work the one night complaining about his legs and feet. He was complaining about his old work boots. He has been working on the roof most of the time and his work boots were giving him a hard time. They were already old and worn out. He badly needed a new one. And he was telling me that since last month but he didn’t have time to go with me shopping for shoes. He hates shopping for one and he has no time to go down the store for another. So as usual, I had to convince him to look for work boots online, and he found WorkBootsUSA.com and ordered his work boots online at real low price. It was delivered in no time with free shipment. Now hubby is happy and when hubby is happy… I am happier.

something ain’t FISHY here

2008-07-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

I have been knocking my head off hard enough just to come up with the best header design for this blog for quite sometime. I wanted to have the best design that fits my blog but I can’t come up with the best idea that I suit it. And if you are a regular visitor to this blog you must have noticed it. You must have noticed how the header constantly changing and so with the lay-out and color scheme as well.

It’s not only the header that I was trying to format but the column and color scheme too. And after several painstaking attempts I almost gave up until I bump into Amanda. She helped me with the formatting of the 3-column lay-out with her Blogger Buster. Thanks, Amanda!

And now, I finally came up with the best I could come up with. So you may ask... what's with the FISH? I don't want to state the obvious but I am a Pisces, the most romantic sign in the Horoscope. And it is very significant to me because the painting was my personal gift to my Hubby on his 49th birthday. I painted the picture myself in water color and it is the only painting I did in water color. It was inspired by the photo of the school of fish that Hubby sent me on e-mail which he took in Puerto Galera, Philippines during one of his scuba diving stints back in 2004.

And one thing more, I came up with 4 more headers for my 4 other blogs.

1. The “a Carpenter’s WIFE’s tool box” which is another personal blog where I wrote everything about my role as a wife, step-mother, daughter-in-law, friend and an “alien”… my life in Maine, the adjustment period, struggle to fit in, the changing weather, and what not… and everything in between.

2. The “my ReFUGE” which is the blog where I keep all my old write-ups and those long ones that nobody wants to read. Here is where I also post those write-ups that don’t fit in any of my other 4 blogs.

3. The “sa puso at isip” which is my only blog written in my native language [Tagalog]. This is my other “breathing space” where I can think without limitation and where I can post all those nagging thoughts I had that I can’t translate in English.

4. The “GREGOIRE Construction” is the blog I made for Hubby. This is the website for his craft and to promote his trade.

Yes, that’s me… when I get inspired… I can get going and going and going. Hope you like my new header [and the others].

boys will be boys

2008-07-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

My brother came home one day smiling and in cloud nine. It was very unlikely of him because most of the time he is grouchy and cranky. Anyway, with the positive attitude that he is displaying that time I knew he was up to something. So, nosey as I am, I spied on him while he was talking on the phone with his buddy and found out exactly the answer to my suspicious observation… they are talking about paintball. They just came from the “war zone” [as he and his buddy put it] and were planning to “capture the flag” again the following day. Hmmmmm… paintball? - was all I muttered to myself. Obviously, I had no clue and the only way for me to find out about paintball is to google it. And presto, a lot of information about paintball is there. Apparently, paintball is now one of the most popular sports among men today. Yes, I am talking about real… big… and matured men

Paintball according to Wikipedia “draws a wide array of people and is one of the safest sports with fewer injuries per exposure than football, soccer, basketball and baseball.” And the Sporting Goods Manufacturer’s Association estimates that over 10 million people play the game in the US annually. And when it comes to sporting goods Ultimate Paintball sells the top of the line BT Paintball online and offers the best prices and free shipment. They got the top selling guns from Tippmann A-5, Tippman 98 Custom, Smart Parts Ion, Spyder Pilot ACS and all other paintball gear from a wide list of brands.

So if you [or your "guy" loved ones] are into paintball... Ultimate Paintball is the best place to go to find all your needs for this popular sports, because we have to admit... boys will always be boys.

Online Dating 101 Series

2008-07-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know, I have been blogging for a dear friend’s blog for quite sometime now. And I am really having fun doing it. In fact, I wrote longer articles there than here in my personal blog. I don’t know but I am knocking my brain off real hard writing articles for Bizarre Marriage because I made a commitment to my friend. And I know, when you make a commitment you have the responsibility that you need to take care of.

Well, one of the topics that I wrote for Bizarre Marriage is the Online Dating 101 Series. They are some of my personal self-help articles written for 40-ish women contemplating online dating and who are ready to jump on the last train going to Marry-land via Cyber Highway. Warning: The articles are subjective yet provocative… opinionated yet impartial… profound yet amusing.