Blogger's Day Off!

I'm posting this with a heavy heart and a tearful eye. LOL. Because I can't come. But for those of you who are fortunate enough NOT to be living under a rock or inside a cave or seven mountains far, please join chief culprit and instigator Pehpot and fellow bloggers on their day out this coming August. The date is not set, though, so you need to keep your eyes peeled for further details. I wish to participate before it becomes Her Blog Off 20. Muhahaha!

And The Blog MakeOver Winner Is....

Denise! Contact me so we can add each other up on instant messenger and go over the details of your redesign. Congratulations!



To all the others who joined, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the interest! AND the flattering words, plus the greetings! As I said in my Facebook account, growing older is SO MUCH more bearable when I have friends like you around. :) Hey, I desperately need to practice my skills in this field so watch out for another contest coming soon! Again, thank you!

Want A Blog MakeOver? Here's My Birthday GiveAway!

No. I'm not awake right now. LOL. I set this to publish at this time as I slept early yesterday in order to fully prepare for my red letter day. Hee hee. But it's not as if there's gonna be a big party or anything. It'll be just me and the family celebrating my special day. I just want to start it right by waking up early and spending the day with my family and leaving the mail-checking and other internet activities later in the day. So.

Having said that, remember my promise a couple of months (?) ago about a blog makeover happening during my birthday? Well, it's here now! Yay! As a way of giving back, I thought why not share the happiness and make another person's day happy, as well? What are the mechanics for joining? Errmm.. LOL. Honestly? I haven't figured out the mechanics up to now. Haha! But I'm pretty easy to please so if you want your chance at the blog makeover, just:


1. Follow me (if you haven't already) or add me to your blogroll, whatever floats your boat;

2. AND of course, comment below, stating why you need a blog makeover.

The winner will be picked randomly, of course, so children, don't fight, okay? LOL. This is gonna be a FULL blog makeover, meaning the whole shebang: header, footer, post footer, signature, 125x125 button, customized sidebar headers, customized navigation bar, favicon, several nifty javascripts, HECK, EVERYTHING! ya hear? WordPress or Blogger hosted, it doesn't matter as long as you want to change your blog design and believe deep in your heart that I can do it. Hehe. And Pehpot, DON'T bother to enter because I personally DISQUALIFIED you from the contest due to the fact that I still have here two of your headers that I failed to do, still waiting to be turned into TWO templates. Just you wait when I get those memory sticks for my poor, antiquated PC. Excited now to do your new domains!

The contest will run for only three days, after that period I will select the winner already. I planned to give out a ready-made template this day but I thought, I could make the winner even happier by redesigning her blog to his/her EXACT taste and carry out her wishes to a T. Besides, me running on a 512mb right now hindered me from using any of the memory-hungry demons (i.e., Photoshop and Illustrator) that I need in order to finish the blog design that I had in mind. Hee hee. But no worries, I'm getting spanking brand new sticks on Monday (or Tuesday) so we'll be good to go by then. Or if the winner can put up with Gimp, then why wait? Hee hee.

OR, if you are not interested in my contest and just want to greet me OR (this is a much BETTER idea, methinks. Muhahaha!), give me a SWEET gift, feel free to do so. Haha. Whatever people. Just show me some lovin'! *grins* Any aspect of a proper contest that I fail to mention? Lemme know also in the comment section. I'm so poor in coming up with contest mechanics, I know. Hahaha! Buh-bye for now. Be checking for entries tonight. :)

UPDATE: There seems to be trouble when I auto-approve comments and just require people to go through word verification. Back to the old method now (meaning no word verification but comments will be moderated), so everything should be fixed! :)

THIS CONTEST IS OVER. PLEASE CHECK NEWER POST FOR THE WINNER.

THE Coolest Wedding Entrance EVER!

Absolutely LOVE this video I found on YouTube a while ago. I just HAVE to share this to everyone. Isn't this a great way to start a new life together? SOOOO effing cool! I wanna get married right now if the ceremony is as fun as this!

Of Gagi and Dog Shampoo

Gagi, in case you're wondering, is the name of the dog, the ONLY dog, that we ever owned. She is dead now, much to our grief, but she still lives in our hearts like she is very much alive. So laugh now if you understand what "gagi" means in Tagalog. We thought it was cute and unique (we KNOW it's unique. Who else would name their dog like that? LOL!), so we did not bother to change it after my sister exclaimed "Ay gagi ka!" when she saw Gagi happily munching on her earphones the very first day the puppy was brought to our house. Will somebody eloquent in both Tagalog and English please explain what gagi translates to, as I am seriously at loss here. Haha. Anyways, here's a picture of her, looking all tame, but only because the time that the photo was taken, she's just finished jumping up and down and barking playfully for thirty minutes.




Anyways, is your dog itching, scratching and stinking beyond belief? Which was what Gagi did everyday after her daily afternoon romp in the garden. If you have a dog you probably know that dog washing is NOT the easiest task in the world, so it's kind of frustrating to have him thoroughly washed today just to know he will definitely smell like a stink bomb tomorrow, OR having you rinse and rinse and rinse but still can't get him completely rinsed. Worst is noticing that his skin is so dry and flaky after too much washing. Is it time to scream "HELP"? You bet it is. And if you own a dog you'll also most probably know that having the right dog shampoo counts for a lot in helping you overcome those pet frustrations.

I bet a lot of people have already told you about Dinovite and Dogosuds® but let me stress its benefits just the same. Dogosuds® is known to make your dog smell clean and wonderful for a long time. It lathers beautifully and rinses easily, as well as gently soothing, so it works well with sensitive dog skin. It contains 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oils that have natural, healing properties and is a natural flea deterrent. Here's the best part: it also works great to remove skunk odor! I haven't smelled a skunk honestly (not that I would want to, EVER), but from what I read, dog odor pales in comparison. If can remove skunk odor, then what else is better for removing dog odors right? Dinovite makes having a dog, heck even SEVERAL dogs, SO much easier, don't you agree?

About Winning (and Losing)

I posted here a couple of days ago a screenshot of the proof that I have won in an online contest sponsored by Startlike. The excitement has yet to wear off, as honestly, this is the first time in my life, EVER, that I won in an online contest of any kind. I think that stems from the fact that I, as a rule, don't join every online contest that I stumble upon. Pehpot introducing me to that contest might have been the trigger why I decided to join, but I was not sure at first how to go about it, or if I even have a chance of winning. If it depended on pure luck, I wouldn't have possibly made the list of winners, as I am already proven unlucky when it comes to chances. As it happens, the spot I was targeting depends on how much you are willing to put in, so I took the plunge and thankfully, it paid off. So thank you everyone for telling the wall that it was me who referred you. Everyone in this SHOULD win a Macbook Pro and it would've been swell, but this is the real world, so there.

NOTE: The following is not a long-winded tale of how happy I was to have won. If you want to keep believing that I won an iPhone, then STOP READING!

You're still here? Okay. Now what I'm about to tell you will DEFINITELY let you people down. I DID NOT WIN AN IPHONE. All I won was an iPHONE GIFT CARD, which is obviously not the same as an actual iPhone unit which costs around $700 here in the Philippines (I think). The gift card is worth a measly $200. BUT when you think about it, you can't pick up an instant $200 anywhere, so it's not that part that I'm complaining about. The guys at BigPrize Giveaways (BPG) told me they can't send me the gift card, and I obviously cannot use it here, so we settled on sending the money to my PayPal account, a proof of which is below:




You ask, so what are you complaining about? $200 is good money (dang, it's not even $200 because of the fee! LOL). Yes, as I believe I mentioned earlier, that part I'm not complaining about. What got into my nerves is that BPG did not mention about it in their contest details! There was no FINE PRINT to read, people. There we are, winners of the iPhones, expecting an iPhone unit when all they intended to give from the start was a GIFT CARD! How sly is that? Of course, them giving away 5 iPhones sounds much better than them giving away 5 iPhone gift cards. It's understandable, from a businessman's point of view. I mean they saved a hell lot more money giving out the gift cards than if they gave away the actual units, and further research took me to the Apple site, where you can clearly see that YES, you CAN buy a $200 iPhone PROVIDED that you WILL purchase them with a personal phone plan! WTF. Is Apple trying to sign up everyone in the U.S. under AT&T?! It seems to me, yes. And if you want to buy an iPhone that's not tied to AT&T, it costs around $699! But that's a whole other discussion and we're not touching on that right now.

Bottom line is, THERE IS A WHOLE WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between an iPhone and an iPhone gift card. If the BPG people took the time to mention that in the contest, you think I would be here ranting about it? Of course not. Knowing beforehand that we should expect a GIFT CARD and not an iPhone wouldn't have kept me from trying to win, as I said, $200 is still $200, and you don't get that easily. BUT STILL. You think it would hurt for them to make it clear for everyone and say, "Oh, just in case you suckers care to know, we're not actually giving you the actual iPhone units, as it is impossible for us, considering Apple's devious marketing strategies". I WOULD'VE UNDERSTAND. I would've lauded them for being HONEST enough and not let A LOT of people's expectations down. You know how I felt when I was informed that I was getting a GIFT CARD? Like BPG telling me, "Sweetie, you have just won a night with Brad Pitt!" and getting me all excited like a high school girl, only to find out that Angelina Jolie is part of the package and WILL tag along. Sucks big time, right?

I know I am also to blame. I am a researcher, for chrissakes. Had I taken the time to do a little Googling (I found an article at Mashable here. Almost the same scenario, with the exception of that one little detail of BPG NOT telling us beforehand of that UNIMPORTANT phrase, that is, "GIFT CARDS".), I would've been prepared for all of this, you know. Of course it also has something to do about me not being interested in mobile phones at all. If I were, I would have already known about Apple's frustratingly cunning marketing ploy. And a little something to do about me not knowing how all these online contests usually work (as mentioned at the start of this article, this is my first serious attempt at winning on such a contest). And maybe the fact that I take all things at face value. Hah. Jaded much? A little, yeah, but more importantly, "wiser" now.

What did I learn from all of this? Several things. That Apple has fantastic "marketing skills", that I should ALWAYS do my research as I am supposed to, that iPhones cannot be bought for $200 ANYWHERE, and that I should check my Facebook account more often (I got in touch with a lot of friends during this whole episode). What did YOU learn from all of this? YOU learned that U.S. originated-contests boasting of FREE iPhones is not what they appear, as it is impossible for any company to give out several actual units without breaking the bank. So it pays to ask. I am not an ungrateful little bitch. I love the BPG guys for acknowledging my efforts and giving me a $200 reward for that. I just don't like the feeling of being let down. Don't we all?

Look What I Got

I'll talk tomorrow. I'm too darned excited right now. Woot!

P.S. (a day later): I'm still waiting for my prize so I'll wait for that first before posting the update. Excited much!

Want A New Laptop?

All you need is a Facebook Account!

Aand of course a couple of other SIMPLE steps that shouldn't take you five minutes to finish. Tee hee. The idea is for the winner and his/her referrer to BOTH win a MACBOOK PRO! Sweet, yeah? Now, what do you need to do? Just follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Facebook account.
2. Go to http://www.facebook.com/BigPrize and BECOME A FAN.
3. Comment on their WALL saying Karina Mendez invited you.

That's it! Now we sit back and wait. Or better yet, you can blog about it and thus refer more friends under your name. Good luck to us!

PS: I haven't visited those who dropped by the past few days because Pehpot gave me the Macbook fever and I can't shake it off, not until the promo is finished! Haha. So I hope you guys understand. And hold on, as next week I will start visiting y'all again.

I'm Seeing Red!

But trust me. This is a good thing. Tee hee. A little background first. My cousins who live in London want to go here for a visit, so I'm pretty excited of course! I haven't seen those kids in a while. Last time I saw them, the youngest one was still bed wetting. LOL. Although her mom assures me that she doesn't do that anymore. She better. Haha! The pictures they send us hardly look anything like kids! They look so grown up already! Must be the culture there or something, and I hope that's a good thing. See the latest picture I have of them below:



Anyway, why, you ask, am I seeing red? So they wanted to come right? But they want to stay at a hotel in Manila where most of my relatives are so I decided to find the best deals for them. Seeing that I'm from Baguio and cannot personally scour Manila for hotels, the only place I can look is online, so good thing I found CompareHotel.com.my which solved all my problems in a click. Now there aren't as many choices as those under the Malaysia Hotel category, but it's good enough for me. The listed hotels will grow in time but as for now, I have already managed to find my cousins the perfect hotel to stay in when they get here.

So where's the "seeing red" part?!? Hey, you won't know unless you check out CompareHotel.com.my to find out. :p

Gelene - You Are Inspirational

It's a Monday! Well, in the strictest sense, it is already. Just checked the clock and saw it's 1:20 am. For most people Monday starts when they wake up, and since I don't sleep during the day changes, I get to post first. Yay! Or maybe I'm just making up for my 5-minute late post last week. Haha. Either way, here's my entry for this week's You Are Inspirational meme, started by Chris over at Inspirational Thoughts, fueled by Pehpot's fab idea of a bi-weekly (?) blog review. And just in case you haven't noticed, Pehpot's got a brand new layout. No thanks to me, though. She did it by herself. VERY proud of her.

This week's theme is about the VERY first blog on your list. This cost me 70% of my brainpower to remember who the heck that is. I have selective amnesia, in case you don't know. But this is one chick I'd never forget. After all, she was one of the reasons why I started blogging in the first place. After months of prodding, I finally gave in to her suggestion that I should start a blog. I was blinded (LOL) by how much she is earning through paid posts, and that was when I decided to give blogging a try. The rest, as they say, is history. Now who am I talking about? Meet former officemate and present friend (online/offline), Gelene of Honie's Confession.



Naturally, she was the first one on my blog list since she was the only person from the blogosphere then that I know, so it was more of a lack of choice than a voluntary decision. LOL. JK. She would've made first on my list anyway because of her unbelievable time management skills. Juggling a full-time work, blogging (3 sites and counting! no wonder she needs contact lenses!), social networking, sidelines (TONS OF!) and being a dear to her boyfriend of eight (*gasp*) years will be hard to deal with for most of us. But not Gelene. She carries on with these activities on a daily basis as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be barraged with such demanding routines.

So here's to you Gelene, and congratulations because your first domain's blogversary is on July 18 already! Yay! And here's to a friendship that goes beyond the walls of our work relationship.

Earn 20 Bucks in 3 Hours With IMRC

I found out about IM Report Card (IMRC) a couple of hours ago at myLot so I decided to sign up to test if it is true. After all, earning $20 for three hours of work is not that bad, right? So the basic premise is to review and grade the products, people and services listed on the site, and rate other people's comments in order to get paid. It is important to note that the site only lists Internet marketing-specific products and services and the people behind it. So if you're not into the whole earning online scheme of things, the site is not for you. On a second thought, I found several web hosting companies listed there that you can review, so you might just want to check the site out.

In order to get paid, you have to accumulate at least 2,000 points (equivalent to $20). So here is currently how you can earn points with IMRC:

Rate a review or other users' comments
---> 5 Credits

Grade a Product, Service or Person
---> 10 Credits

Add a comment about a product, service or person
---> 50 Credits + *Bonus*

Suggest a new product, service or person for review
---> 65 Credits

Report spam or other inappropriate content
---> 100 Credits

Refer another user to IM Report Card
---> Whatever THEY earn!

Looks good, yeah? So I have been working there for an hour an a half and have already accumulated 1,096 points. I stopped because I was tired. :lol: But I'll be resuming again in a little while. I just took time to post this down just in case somebody reading this is interested in earning on the side. You have to be reminded though: I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID. At least, not yet. But I'm already halfway there, so rest assured that if I DO get paid, you will be hearing reading about it from me. Screenshots, too, yes. There is another thing, though:

To cash out, at least 25% of your credits must be from new comments you and/or your referrals have posted.

If you want to test this new online earning scheme with me, please (and I do mean PLEASE!) click this link right here as it is my unique referral link. Tee hee. What do you say? Let's make money together? Keeping my fingers crossed for this one.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!
I tried logging in to the site and I cannot log in anymore! It seems that they have banned international users from using the site because of some people abusing the system. U.S. and Canada are still allowed, from what I've heard. This is so sad. Why do the rest of us who try to do good have to bear the consequences of people who get their whole region banned from a site because they don't care about a site's TOS and blatantly abuse it in the hopes of earning a quick buck? This is Ciao and Helium, all over again. Ai, por el amor de Dios, when will we learn to be unselfish? Or, more importantly, when will I learn to be unsurprised by all of this?

ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE!

They are accepting members from the Philippines once more! Quick! Sign up before it closes again.

YET ANOTHER IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Oopps. Registrations from the Philippines are not allowed again. Hee hee. This is one roller coaster of a ride. Well, for the rest of the world (except for the Philippines, India, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Singapore), it's still okay to sign up and earn money through reviewing IM products. I'll keep you posted about site updates.

Pehpot - You Are Inspirational

Hey. It's still Monday. So technically this post is still allowed, yeah? Tee hee. I didn't want to pass up the chance to join this meme. First ever meme that I had the interest in joining just because the idea is so dang great. Now, this meme is started by Chris over at Inspirational Insights (idea courtesy of Pehpot), and the concept is to feature someone who you think qualifies for the theme of the week. This week's theme is "You Are Inspirational", and Chris made this cute button for it:



My blog choice is easy. We met at Multiply, she was one of my early "followers" and "downlines" (tee hee). We moved at myLot (okay, she kept her Multiply account while I closed mine) and from the discussions that she started, I have this eerie feeling that we are spiritual sisters. We like the same things, we hate the same things, we do the same weird stuff (smelling our feet. yes, gross, I know.). And she is gregarious. She makes everyone feel like they're important, like they matter so much to her. Well, that's Pilipinas for you, a.k.a. Pehpot, the mommy behind Make or Break (and a couple of other blogs, but we are going to focus on just MorB here).



I did NOT pick her because she also picked me (yeah, mutual admiration society), I would've picked her anyway even if she chose to feature someone else. It was the most natural thing for me to do, because I admire her personality, and she makes me want to become a better version of me. Wait. That's cheesy. Erase that. But you get my drift, right? Who wouldn't be impressed by how she seems to handle everything so..so.. easily. I mean, gawd, I only have one child and I'm like crazily juggling over everyday activities already (time management. so poor.) while there she is, as pregnant as can be, with three lively boys (and two nephews sometimes) and one programmer husband, a household to maintain (yep, WITH NO household help), blogging on the side (A LOT of blogging on the side), keeping in touch with friends. COME ON. Is this mom for real?

If there is a Super Mom, it would be Pehpot. Hands down. Anyone dare disagree? Good. And who wouldn't be inspired by her humor which makes all her posts a fun read? I don't know how she does all that and more. She is just my blogging idol *eyes sparkling*. Hey, Peh, where's my exposure fee? LOL. JK. Love you Peh! Can't wait to see Sati (my inaanak! Yay!).

You Actually Love Me!

Yes, you OceanDreams. You do. You can't deny it. I mean, why else would you give me these awards so that I can write something in here, huh? Tee hee. I haven't been blogging properly the past few days and that's because I'm preoccupied with err.. stuff. So while I'm in this state of trying to finish everything that I have pending on my back, I'm going to post these two before I forget.

I know this girl from SITS. She is such a darling woman! We've only exchanged like a couple of comments and here she is showering me with awards! Anyways, here they are: the Lovely Blog and the Kreativ Blog awards. Don't feel like I'm qualified, but hey, if she thinks my blog is lovely and creative then I'm going to have to take her word for it! Haha. The Lovely Blog award requires that I post seven things that I like and the Kreativ Blog award says that I'm supposed to post six things that make me happy, so here they are:




7 Things That I Like:

1. Design blogs/sites (I've been mainly preoccupied with it lately and I am loving it!).

2. Hubby's warm embrace on a cold day like this one (especially when I snuggle to him during the early morning hours after I get off work. SUCH heaven!)

3. My daughter's kiss (with the matching mwah! sound, yes) that wakes me up from time to time. She's really sweet, that girl.)

4. The feeling that I am welcome and loved. It's the people-pleaser in me.

5. I (would) like a memory upgrade for this desktop. It's been frustrating for the past week, running on a single 512 stick. REALLY, really slows me down from finishing things.

6. Eating cereals at 2 a.m. while working.

7. Receiving comments!

6 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. When I see other people happy because of me.
2. Hearing my mom's voice when she comes to visit.
3. Seeing my daughter growing up healthy and learning so many things so fast.
4. Knowing that hubby is happy.
5. Seeing something I design come out beautifully.
6. Hearing my nephew's and my sister's voice over the phone (I don't get to see them as much as I want to because they live in another city).


Passing these on to Niko, Nadine, Aileen, Rosa, Liz, Shelly, and Sandy. I dunno if you girls have these awards already, but I'm giving them to you just the same because I think you're all lovely and creative! Have fun doing them! I know I did!

Personality Test Tag

Filler post. LOL. Thanks to Fedhz (I hope you are coming on alright with your redesign *wink*) and Genebei Faith of Her and History (I've always thought you looked like Nadine Samonte, girl. And I just LOVE your site's shade of pink!) for giving me something to do here. Anyways, here are the rules:

1. Open this website : Personality Test
2. Take the Personality Quiz (It’s very short and easy really! )
3. Copy paste the result to your blog.
4. Tag as many friends you can and link to the friend who tagged you!

Here are my results:

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

Me? Intelligent? Ermm.. You judge if that is true. I don't like conflict, that's me. Not the confrontational type. At all. I like to think that people like to talk to me, so I'd accept that. Haha.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

So true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

Agree.

The seriousness of your love:
Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Not PLENTY of dates. But come to think of it, I DID have more guy friends than girl friends.

Your views on education
You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

Is being a freelance writer slash mTurker unusual? Hmmm... I would have to disagree on the first part, though. When I was in school, I was always studying. And I didn't have practical ideas. Haha. But yeah, I follow my heart more than my mind.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

This is quite true of me. Impressive.

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

Spot on.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

VERY concerned, in fact. So much that I am a people-pleaser, which is bad, I know.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Not mature all the time. I am surprised sometimes by how immature I can react to situations. But yeah, reasonable is a good way to describe me.

I feel like I am the last person on earth who did this tag so no sense passing it on to others. But, in the off chance that you have not been tagged by this personality test, please feel free to grab it here and post it on your site. Filler post. Tee hee.