journal of rj's mama

nothing to write?

2012-01-31T08:26:00.001-08:00

There are days when I can’t think of anything to write, like right now.

I can categorize my blogs into personal and informative. I have two personal blogs and this is where I write my most inner thoughts as well as the daily happening in my life. The info blogs, I have 8, are niche blogs where I share information that I myself have just read or learned. More time is needed to write a single post on my niche blogs compared with my personal blogs. For my niche blogs, I have to do some extensive research so as not to give wrong information to people. My personal blog, all I have to do is recall the things that happened to me and voila - new blog post!

As I’ve said, there are days when my mind goes blank - can’t think of anything to write. So what do I do when that happens? For my personal blog, I turn to twitter and read my previous tweets. There was a time when I tweeted about copper craft and it gave me an inspiration on what to write.

For my information blogs, I update my iPod’s news applications and sync it to my Read Me Later app and I’m good to go - even without WiFi connection. My favorite news apps are Pulse News, Flipboard and World News.

Do you have days like mine also? What do you usually do to solve the my-mind-is-blank-today problem?

twitter apps that i love

2012-01-24T06:32:00.001-08:00

I use different twitter applications on my iPod Touch. I rarely use it for tweeting new blog posts because Windows Live Writer does the job for me. It automatically tweets newly published posts, complete with hashtag (like if my blog post title is Marcus scrub tops, #MarcusScrubTops is included on the tweet) and url link to the post. Will explain further on a different blog post. So back to the twitter apps that I usually use...

I love echofon, I get to stalk conversations of other tweeps. And it automatically gives notifications of new mentions and DM's, no need to open the application first. Good search results also for users and @ mentions. Easy editing of following lists.

UberSocial is another favorite. Because one: it has twitlonger and two: the Uber Channels.

My newly downloaded iPod twitter application is TwitBird. Twitlonger, emoji, url shortener, hashtag search, and it can fetch and post the music on your ipod's song list and whatever music is currently on. And lots of other apps on this awesome app!

They say twitbot is the best twitter app there is. But it's a paid app, I'm not that into twitter, so not the app for me.

What twitter application do you usually use? Any favorites?

Willie Revillame, good person?

2012-01-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who works at TV5. He's with the TV5 Kapatid Foundation team. He posted on Facebook, a few weeks back, that Willie Revillame is in CDO and is apparently giving away 2 million pesos to flood victims. That's his status, that's his wall, he's entitled to idolize and be amazed with Willie. I can't help but leave a comment though. He of all people should know, that money didn't come out of Willie's own pocket. But the way he wrote it, he's giving the impression that the 2 million is from Willie's personal fund.

I was doubly amazed how there were a lot of comments applauding Willie's generosity. Oh well, that’s how Pinoy's are, so fond of idolizing the wrong people?

Strict Mommy

2012-01-17T02:59:00.001-08:00

As much as I don’t want my son to hate me, I also don’t want him to wear eye glasses yet. Last time I had my eyes checked, wanted to know if I need reading glasses already, doctor said I still have a 20/20 vision. I’m already 35.

My son is only 10 years old. And I’m worried that too much television, computer and handheld games will destroy his eyesight early on his life. So yes, he can hate me now because I know he’ll thank me later on, in the near future, for being a strict mom. Less time from using the above mentioned technology is being strictly enforced in our house. When I say less time, it means none-at-all during weekdays and 3 hours only on Saturday, Sundays and holidays.

Do you have rules like this in your household?

The Hunger Games

2012-01-17T02:19:00.001-08:00

I first heard about this book, The Hunger Games trilogy, on twitter. It was named one of Publishers Weekly's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008 and a The New York Times "Notable Children's Book of 2008".

The Hunger Games, the first book of The Hunger Games trilogy, is a novel written by Suzanne Collins. First published in 2008, the book is about sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. In the book, the Hunger Games is an event held annually where one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol, the central city, are selected to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.

Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, said, "I was so obsessed with this book....The Hunger Games is amazing."

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, said, "closest thing to a perfect adventure novel."

Stephen King compared it to "shoot-it-if-it-moves videogames in the lobby of the local eightplex; you know it's not real, but you keep plugging in quarters anyway." He gave the book an overall B grade.

Just got an ebook copy, will put it on my iBooks right about now…

Have you read the book? Is it included in your “must read” list? Why or why not?

Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling

2012-01-17T01:32:00.001-08:00

I am reading, for the second time after more than ten years, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. To those whose not familiar with this book, my eyebrows are raised in disbelief right now, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.

Me and my sister C bought the book for our youngest sister H around eleven or twelve years ago. I wasn’t actually interested in reading it but bought it for H because I heard a lot of good reviews about it. Finding myself with nothing to do one day, I hesitantly read the book, just look at the book cover - only a grade schooler will buy that book, and the rest as they say is history.

After more than ten years, I've actually forgotten the story. I'm getting to know Harry Potter all over again. I am reading an ebook, using what is the best ereader in the market right now, so I can read it outside the house without the burden of carrying a heavy paperback everywhere I go. Paperback or ebook, it doesn’t matter. It still is a page turner.

Golden Globe 2012 Winners

2012-01-17T01:04:00.001-08:00

And the winners are…

Movies

Best Drama
The Descendants

Best Comedy/Musical
The Artist

Best Animated Film
The Adventures of TinTin

Best Actor in a Drama
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical
Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Actress in a Drama
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Screenplay
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen

Best Score - Motion Picture
The Artist - Ludovic Bource

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
"Masterpiece" - Madonna

Best Foreign Language Film
A Separation, Iran

Cecil B. Demille Award
Morgan Freeman

Television

Best TV Comedy or Musical
Modern Family

Best Television Series - Drama
Homeland

Best Mini-Series
Downton Abbey

Best Actor in a TV Drama
Kelsey Grammer, Boss

Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Best Supporting Actor in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Best Actress in a TV Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland

Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy
Laura Dern, Enlightened

Best Supporting Actress in TV Series, Mini-Series, or Made-for-TV Movie
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Best Actor in a TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther

Best Actress in a TV Movie
Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Valentines Day

2011-12-29T03:09:00.001-08:00

Christmas Day is over, New Year’s celebration is in 2 days. Two more months and it’s Valentine’s Day. Have you bought gifts for valentines day for your loved ones already? I haven't yet but I'm planning to hit the mall when prices go down after the Christmas holiday.

I really don’t like to go shopping when the mall is so full of shoppers also. And I don’t like last minute shopping. Better to buy those gifts early. I ought to make my list already.

Thankful

2011-12-29T02:51:00.001-08:00

Instead of asking "WHY?", we should instead be thankful. God gives us more than what we ask for and more than what we deserve.

This is how I dance

2011-12-28T04:35:00.001-08:00

Saw this on somebody’s wall while checking my Facebook account.

So funny! There should be another one about “singing”.

Noche Buena Feast

2011-12-28T03:16:00.001-08:00

Noche Buena is one of the many Christmas traditions that our family practices every year. Not a single Christmas eve passes by without doing this yearly tradition. At the strike of midnight on Christmas, the kids are woken up to check their Christmas socks for gifts from Santa. More gifts are also under the Christmas tree for the kids and adults to unwrap. The adults start to take turn singing their favorite songs on the Karaoke machine or playing bingo for cash games. More family games are done while feasting on the sumptuous meal laid out on the dining table, right after saying grace.

our Christmas dinner
forgot to take out cake and salad from the ref
siomai - gone in 50 seconds

But before the Noche Buena feast, preparing for it is very tiring and stressful. The gifts are bought two months before the celebration. It’s purposely done that way, bought way ahead of the December month, to save on the high prices that shots up during the holiday season and to avoid the Christmas rush.

Next on the to-do list are the clothes. We have a theme-color every year for Noche Buena and the Media Noche, New Year family dinner, as well. For the Christmas dinner, most of the time, we usually wear red, green or red and green - the Christmas colors. The next year’s “color of the year” is usually the theme-color for the New Year dinner.

A small family meeting is done for the planning of what to prepare for Christmas dinner. Usually with a bottle of wine, and sometimes non-alcoholic “wine”, and chips. A list of the menu is then done, as well as the list of the ingredients that needs to be bought a day before the Christmas dinner.

The day before Christmas. The morning of December 24 is done visiting the grocery store to buy the ingredients needed for Christmas dinner. Last minute buying of gifts is also squeezed in on the schedule. After the usual dinner, kids then prepare Santas cookie and milk, put it under the tree then they got tucked in bed at around 8 pm. Excited kids, read: my son, begin snoring at 10 pm or 11 pm already.

Before midnight, someone has to take a big bite on the cookie and drink some of the milk. When midnight strikes, the happy chaos begins.

cough and allergy season

2011-12-28T00:43:00.001-08:00

December is not just Christmas season on my side of the world. It is also the time when cough, cold and allergies zap out the energy out of even the most energetic people. If you already have the symptoms, here are some ways to zap them out of your system right away.

- Visit your doctor at the first sign of symptoms.
- Gargle with salt water to sooth sore throat.
- Double up your dose of vitamin C.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid sweet and cold food.
- Keep warm.
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep.
- Rest, rest and more rest.

To prevent the spread to people around you

- Always cover you mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough.
- Avoid crowded places and too much contact with people.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water.

Ironing day

2011-12-19T21:00:00.001-08:00

Sunday night, right after I tuck RJ to bed and he's already sound asleep, is when I iron all the newly washed clothes needed for that week. I used to iron our clothes as-needed. But because of the high electric rate, ridiculously high compared with other Asian countries, I now try to iron our clothes once a week. I have this foldable ironing board, as big as burton snowboards, that fits well on the side of the cabinet in our small condominium space.

There's no significant decrease in our electric bill but a few peso decrease is good enough saving that can be used for the next month's utilities.

Lawsuits in the US

2011-12-19T19:52:00.001-08:00

According to surveys, 82% of Americans believe that personal injury lawyers are more interested in making money than in helping their clients. Apparently, 45% of medical malpractice lawsuits are groundless. Do you want to know more? Read below, a very interesting read indeed.

Click for Zoom

8 Commonly Misused Words

2011-12-19T19:36:00.001-08:00

It's and Its, do you know how to use these words correctly? A lot of friends and acquaintances misuse these two words whenever they post something on twitter and facebook. So before you embarrass yourself on social networking sites, read and learn about the most commonly misused words below.

Click to Expand

picture memories

2011-11-30T01:08:00.001-08:00

I was browsing the files on an old USB and saw some pictures of RJ when he was still a toddler. I’m glad I saved those because his baby pictures got erased when my sister P reformatted an old PC, good thing I printed out some baby pictures of RJ already before she deleted everything. Sad that I was only able to print a handful.

Back to his toddler pictures. I can’t believe how small he was then! I was comparing his pictures then and now, looks the same and different at the same time. Physically, his facial feature all looks the same but he has grown taller and thinner, he was a chubby little boy. If I only have a Genie, I’ll ask for epson projectors right this very minute. To view a slideshow of all the pictures, chronologically, will most definitely bring more tears to my eyes.

How to attract visitors to your site

2011-11-20T21:20:00.001-08:00

I am trying to ~~unhibernate~~ slowly go back to blogging. Hopefully, starting today, I get to publish at least one new blog post everyday. I have 10 blogs, will I ever publish 10 posts everyday? Good luck to me.

my food blog

Blog hopping first, but is getting annoyed with blogs that are taking so much of my time. This is one of the things that I hate when I blog hop, some blogs doesn’t load fast. Why? Because of too much “things”, which are not really important at all, on the sidebar/s.

Here’s one tip for you to have loyal blog readers. Delete unnecessary links and badges on your sidebar. A blog that loads fast will surely attract repeat visitors.

Business Ideas for Christmas 2011

2011-11-19T02:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas is a season of joy. But it is also a season of too much spending. So how can we solve the problem of going broke after the holidays? Think of money making ideas this Christmas season.

Here are some that you might want to try:

1. gift basket - Busy professionals does not have the time to go shopping for gifts. Take advantage of that and market this business to friends and family.

2. craft ornaments - Make unique crafts that can be used to decorate a home for a more Christmas-sy feel.

3. food catering services - Big families plan big parties. If you have the cooking skills and the ability to handle pressure, this business is for you.

4. car check-up - Families gather together during Christmas. Some people often travel long distance to be with their family. Car check-up and tune-up’s are necessary for this long travel. Those who have money to spare visit auto shops that has auto body estimating software. You can market your services to those who are on a tight budget.

5. freight forwarding - For the gifts to arrive at the right place, at the right time.

6. money lending - You can help, and earn a few, friends and family members who are on a tight budget.

7. event hosting - Not a shy person? Use that skill.

8. photo and video coverage - Have a high-end camera, offer to be the official photographer and videographer on family gatherings. You can partner this with #3 and #7 and earn more.

9. gift wrapping service - Give your services to people who doesn’t have the time to wrap their gifts.

10. venue leasing - Do you have a garden huge enough for family gathering, lease it this holiday season.

Happy Holidays and Good luck!

Signature from Disney Characters

2011-11-19T01:14:00.001-08:00

We went to Hong Kong Disneyland last weekend. It was my son’s first international trip. We waited that long, he’s now 10 years old because one: I don’t want to waste an expensive vacation - he’ll surely forget the experience if he’s still too young and two: I don’t like the idea of carrying him around, I also want to enjoy the trip.

I’ve been to Disney World in Florida a few years back. Hong Kong Disneyland is just a quarter in size compared with Disney World. But still, I had more fun in Hong Kong because my son was with me.

He bought a notebook, autograph booklets were out-of-stock, where the Disney characters can put their signature. He doesn’t actually want to have his picture taken with the girl characters but why waste the chance of me and him and Minnie Mouse together, right?

What is a transcriptionist

2011-11-19T00:44:00.001-08:00

My sister is a work-at-home mom. She is a business, sometimes medical, transcriptionist. Transcriptionists convert voice recorded reports to text formats. Sounds easy, right? Actually it’s not as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re listening to a person with a heavy accent.

You might have found your way to this post while searching for instructions on how to become a transcriptionist or you’re looking for transcription jobs. I can help you with the former.

1. You need a computer, AH-D1100 headphones, a software called Express Scribe that you can download for free and a foot pedal.

2. Download some sample transcription reports and practice transcribing it.

3. Improve your typing speed.

4. Learn “how to read between the lines”, for speakers heavy accents you definitely need that skill.

5. Ready? Start applying for transcription jobs, many can be found online.

Good luck!

PhotoHunt: Wet or Rain

2011-11-19T00:18:00.001-08:00

Our front porch after raining the whole day…

learn to swim

2011-11-19T00:00:00.001-08:00

I have scoliosis and my Auntie S has been urging me to learn how to swim. Swimming she said is a good exercise and it’s usually helpful for people with scoliosis. Don’t have any idea what scoliosis is? It’s a medical condition wherein a person’s spine is curved from side to side. Yes, I have a curvy spine.

Back to swimming. I want to enroll in swimming class but my problem is I don’t know how to float. I have tried a lot of times, floating in the pool, but I’ve failed a million times already.

Maybe I should just buy a swim spa. I can practice floating at home, don’t need to embarrass myself in front of other people in a public pool right? And when I have finally perfected floating, face down, side float and back float, then I can try enrolling in swim class again.

Whatdyathink?

Five Question Friday

2011-11-18T23:19:00.001-08:00

First time I'm joining, hope I'm not late. Here goes...

1. Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?

Yes, I wanna be a billionaire! Who wouldn’t feel good being, or at least dreaming of becoming, a billionaire one day?

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?

Fake one. Don’t have good pine trees, in this country, that are small enough to fit in our house

3. What are you thankful for?

Right now, I’m thankful for crackers. I forgot to eat lunch and it’s already past 3 in the afternoon. Good thing I have some crackers in the pantry.

4. Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?

Nothing really.

5. Do you wait until the "low fuel" light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?

I don’t drive so this question is not applicable for me?

Drop by Five Crooked Halos if you want to join in the fun!

fashion forward

2011-11-18T22:51:00.001-08:00

I wonder whether we, the Philippines, will ever be ahead of other countries in terms of fashion? With the increasing number of Filipino designers making it big in other countries, I think we have a fair chance of one day being dubbed as a fashion-forward country.

Although a fashionable snow shoes, like redfeather snowshoes, will never be trendy in this country, no snow here, boots has become a trend this year. Gone are the days when black boots peeking underneath flared jeans is fashionable already. Boots were only available in black 10 or more years ago.

Yes, we do have a chance. We’re slowly, but surely, inching our way to becoming a fashion forward country.

korean fashion

2011-11-18T21:52:00.001-08:00

I don’t exactly have a style icon. I also don’t go with any fashion hype -not at all. Whatever is comfortable and fashionable enough, sans the metals and glittery things that young people wear these days, -that’s my style.

But I do like Korean fashion, well some -not exactly all. Comfort comes first on my check list. Here are some images that I found online. Looks very chick, yet still looks comfortable to wear.

This sleeveless dress is comfortable enough for the Philippine weather. Denim combined with lace, sexy!

This rose-collared creased dress looks fabulously demure.

I can carry that outfit! I just have to lose ~~some~~ weight. Don’t you just love the whole look? Looks so fab!

I close this post with this outfit that I’ll never have the courage to wear in this humid country.