My Favorite Things Meme - Intro</h1> <article> <h1>My Favorite Things Meme - Intro</h1> <p>Marie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:18:49 +0000</p> <p>If you already know me … you probably know that I love memes - whether I host it or join others in memes that they run in their blogs. Well … as I was trying to figure out what to take a video of … I had an idea … watch the video below - it’ll give you an idea about what I am talking about.</p> <p><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5guJHBSHKWA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param></object></p> <p>The thing about this Meme is that you are not tied down to blogging about your favorite things only on one day of the week. You can join this meme any day you wish to blog about one of your favorite things. I am not picky - you can blog or vlog - whichever you wish. If you can not vlog - at least take a picture of what you are blogging about though and let us know why you like it - a lot. If you are joining this meme - please use our official graphic for this meme. I will include the html code below. Jump in whenever you want just make sure to link this blog each time you join this meme. I will also start tweeting about it with the hashtag # favorite_things. If you tweet - join us in our conversations. If you are not a follower of mine on twitter, you can see my tweets <a href="http://www.twitter.com/marieynami" target="_Blank">here</a>.</p> <p>To get the most out of your joining this meme, make sure to leave a relevant comment here and let us know if you are joining us and if you are … where we can find your Favorite Things Post. I look forward to learning more about you and your favorite things!</p> <p>Here’s the code that you can add on your blog post …<br /> <textarea><a href="http://momsoapbox.com/?p=180" target="_Blank"></a></textarea></p> <p>If you are joining this meme … leave your blog post link on the MckLinky below.<br /> <script src="http://www.mcklinky.com/linky_include_basic.asp?id=1248" type="text/javascript"></script></p> </article> <article> <h1>Is it really on sale even if you don’t have the money for it?</h1> <p>Marie — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:23:37 +0000</p> <p>I did something really stupid and irresponsible a few days ago. I do not usually shop for myself. In fact, it has been a while since I treated myself to some new clothes. Well, a few days ago, I had a moment of weakness. As I was waiting for my prescription to be filled in one of the superstores (you know, the kind that has a pharmacy, department store and grocery store in one place) … I was tempted to walk over to the women’s apparel section of the store. The many colorful outfits caught my attention and I thought … hmmmmm, it’s been forever since I’ve gone shopping for myself and look at those prices … you really can’t beat that! </p> <p>Needless to say, I ended up trying a few pieces on and I fell in love. Ooooohhh - I look good in these, I thought. So, I went home with a smile on my face and a bag full of new outfits that I got for cheap. I was so proud of myself and thought I was shopping smart.</p> <p>Fast forward a few days later when I check my emails and got an email from my bank. Holy Crap! I screamed - How can I be overdrawn? yup, my bank let me know that my account was in the negative. yikes! I check my checking account closely and realized that I wrote a check earlier in the week and forgot to log it down. How careless! So now, my bank is charging me an NSF for $30. Oh no! My knees got “jello-y”. That was such a stupid move for me. </p> <p>Now, I have to pay the price for being stupid. I wasn’t smart after all. I will end up paying more for the items I bought because of the hassle of the overdraft fee. *sigh* I guess I just have to suck it up and learn from this experience. CONCLUSION: Things are not really “on sale” or a “good deal” if you do not have the money or means to buy it at that time.</p> </article> <article> <h1>TMT for WW: Mini Doxxies</h1> <p>Marie — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:24:27 +0000</p> <p>Yesterday, I posted a picture of <a href=http://momsoapbox.com/?p=171">my 2 mini doxxies</a> - Pepper and Buddy. The photo was taken while I was organizing my work space. My daughter had an extra set of plastic drawers that she no longer needed so I thought I’d use it to store some items that I always use/need when I am working. While I was fixing up my work space, the dogs kept bothering me cause they were in the way. You see, they like to hang out under my seat and they were just being playful. They are miniature dachunds and well … to show you how mini they are … each one of them can fit in the shelf of this plastic organizing thingie! See Pepper was on the top drawer cause he is smaller and lighter and Buddy was in the bottom. They didn’t mind being in there, actually they stayed there for a good 2 minutes before they got antsy to play again. </p> <p>Here is a short clip of them playing together. I so love my little doggies.<br /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/59dCuo01k7s&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param></object></p> <p>For more stories behind Wordless Wednesday posts, visit <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank">TellMeThursday.com</a>.<br /> <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank"></a></p> </article> <article> <h1>WW: Mini Doxxies</h1> <p>Marie — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:14:05 +0000</p> <p></p> </article> <article> <h1>Is it worth joining contests online?</h1> <p>Marie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:47:33 +0000</p> <p>YES! I think so. I do not join as often as I want to but I am proud to say that I have won a few contests myself. The most recent one is a video contest put on by <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank">TellMeThursday.com</a>. I won a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HSOFI2?ie=UTF8&tag=mommycommun0e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001HSOFI2">Flip MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black)</a> for making a video explaining what Tell Me Thursday Meme is about. You can see my entry by <a href="http://momsoapbox.com/?p=152">clicking here.</a></p> <p>Here’s a video of me thanking Chele and Annette of <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank">Tell Me Thursday</a> for my prize.</p> <p><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bhy8JFF5Q8E&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param></object></p> <p>A few months ago, I also won $100 in paypal cash from <a href="http://momstalkradio.com/" target="_Blank">MomsTalkRadio.com</a> for a blog contest that they were hosting. You can see my reaction when I won below.</p> <p><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pcCUz348Nq0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param></object></p> <p>Lastly, I entered a …. get this …. a karaoke contest. Hahahaha - if you know me, you’ll know that I love karaoke. I entered a contest hosted by <a href="http://www.contestformoms.com" target="_Blank">ContestForMoms.com</a>. I won first place - woohoo! I won some awesome books and a box filled with goodies. If you are curious to hear my entry, I will be brave by posting a link below … you can cover your ears if it ends up too much for you. I promise I won’t get offended.</p> <p></p> <div class="aaplayer"></div> <p></p> <p>Anyway, this just proves my point. Anyone can win in online contests. I love joining contests hosted by my fellow WAHMs (work-at-home moms). I love supporting them and it’s just a lot of FUN! So … if you are on the fence about joining any online contests … what are you waiting for. Go for it. You’ll never know if you win.</p> </article> <article> <h1>TMT for WW: Sleepy Dog</h1> <p>Marie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:21:18 +0000</p> <p>Yesterday I posted a picture of my <a href="http://momsoapbox.com/?p=163">sleepy dog</a> - Buddy! He is such a lazy pup. This is where he loves to hangout and sleep on the sofa headrest. I thought it was strange for a dog to sleep there … a cat maybe but not a dog.</p> <p>Here he is napping while my son was napping too …</p> <p></p> <p>It’s interesting that even if he has short legs he just jumps up the coach and walks up to his favorite spot and plops down there and takes a snooze. Even if there are people on the couch, he would walk over them to get to his SPOT.</p> <p>For more stories behind Wordless Wednesday posts, visit <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank">TellMeThursday.com</a>.<br /> <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank"></a></p> </article> <article> <h1>WW: Sleepy Dog</h1> <p>Marie — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:53:42 +0000</p> <p></p> </article> <article> <h1>WW: Beach Buddies</h1> <p>Marie — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:04:29 +0000</p> <p></p> </article> <article> <h1>TMT for WW: From Hiroko’s Kitchen</h1> <p>Marie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:05:01 +0000</p> <p>Yesterday, I posted a picture <a href="http://momsoapbox.com/?p=157">From Hiroko’s Kitchen</a> - it is actually a close up shot of an origami of a crane - we used it to rest our chopsticks on … here’s the story behind that.</p> <p>Hiroko is somewhat a “new” friend of mine. I have only known her for about a year. She is the mom of one of my son’s best friends in school. They are from Japan and are here in Redlands only for a couple years - for her husband’s job. When this school year ends, they are all going back to Japan … for good. This actually makes my son really sad because he is very good friends with Kazuoki (Hiroko’s son). </p> <p>I have really been enjoying learning more about Hiroko in the past few months. It has always been challenging to chat with her - our conversations take longer than typical conversations because she speaks very little english. Half the time, she types the japanese word in her little translator gadget and she then translate it to english and shows me the word. We laugh a lot because of this. I know sometimes we don’t understand each other right away but through her translation gadget and hand gestures (some times it seems like we are playing charades) - we manage to communicate and have fun.</p> <p>She has been teaching me how to make some Japanese dishes and I have been teaching her how to make some Filipino dishes. She has taught me how to make Okawa (Japanese Sticky Rice), Tempura (Shrimp and Vegetable), and Miso Soup - all from scratch. I took my WW pic post when she taught me how to make Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken), Hiyashi Chuka (Japanese Cold Noodle) and Katsudon (a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments). You can see our final dishes below.</p> <p></p> <p>Don’t they look yummy. I love how she makes the food so pretty. As they say … you always eat with your eyes first. I wish I took a photo of our first cooking session. Here’s a photo of Hiroko and me in her kitchen.</p> <p></p> <p>For more stories behind Wordless Wednesday posts, visit <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank">TellMeThursday.com</a>.<br /> <a href="http://www.tellmethursday.com" target="_Blank"></a></p> </article> <article> <h1>WW: From Hiroko’s Kitchen</h1> <p>Marie — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:09:32 +0000</p> <p></p> </article> </main></body></html>