The Blogger's Trail

Book Bouquet Gift Baskets for our Kupuna

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:05:00 +0000

Kupuna is a Hawaiian word meaning Grandparents or ancestors. It is a general term for elderly.

I had attended a Nursing Care Assistant course here in the island. The class was conducted inside the facility itself. Due to some personal reasons, I was not able to complete the course.

Serving for our Kupuna is the main goal of the facility. I can see how the whole staff were taking care of our elderly. They have activities at least 3 times a week to keep the residents active and can socialize with each other. Our Kupuna loved to receive gifts from their family and friends. It does not matter how simple the gifts are, but it's the thoughtfulness and the love counts. We had explored the whole facility and we did notice some books in their respective residents room. That's why we observed that they would really love to receive Get Well Gifts - the Get Well Baskets the Entertains.

There are many people prefer to send book bouquet baskets (books, gourmet food and gift items to create unique gift baskets for occasions like new babies, get well, birthday gifts, sympathy gifts, thank you, Christmas and more) to their friends and loved ones. If you have not tried sending book bouquet gift baskets, why not make the first order today and surprise them.

Maternity and Baby Stuffs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Most expectant young mothers are very particular in keeping their looks during pregnancy and are willing to spend lavishly on items from maternity dress, undergarments and other stuffs. They are also very excited in preparing stuffs for their baby.

Aside from shopping in different stores and malls, shopping online is more convenient and practical not only for the moms but for everybody. Some of its advantages are: you don’t need to drive and spend hours of roaming around the stores, you can easily sort prices from high to low, low to high, sale, or clearance and you can compare prices.

However, there are also people who don’t want to spend more time in searching online for maternity and baby stuffs. I can’t imagine how stressful searching for the right keywords in different search engines for your maternity and baby stuffs and still confuse among the millions search results.

Did you know that you can get all your maternity and baby stuffs in just one website? They have a wide selection of maternity clothes, designer maternity clothes, maternity apparel and more. They also have Baby Clothes, baby gear, nursery, green toys and gift cards. Choose among their featured Baby Bedding in different color themes for nursery. Don’t forget to visit the Baby Furniture link to a wide selection of baby furniture and nursery sets.

Christmas Centerpieces 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:55:00 +0000

In a retirement village here in Kauai, the residents are busy preparing for Apartment and Building Christmas Decorations contest. The judging will be based on the Individual Building Units – A, B, C buildings and the Best Overall building decorations. Judging will be on Saturday, December 13th starting 6 PM. The results will be revealed at Holiday Buffet on Sunday, Dec 14th.

We are new residents here and belong to Building A. I wondered how people made decorations this last year and became the winner? Yesterday morning, I went out for a regular walk and found out some delightful Christmas decors in front of the residents building units. In the middle of the square building, the flower garden is filled with decorations, such as three big Christmas trees, Santa, lights and ribbons.

D building is Recreation Area of the residents. It is adjacent to the swimming pool. Christmas decorations at D building are simple yet elegant and attention-grabber. I think it is because of the Christmas Centerpieces that infuse new life in the table arrangements. I’ve heard during the meeting that they are going to order more Christmas Centerpieces at 1-800 flowers.com to avail discounted flowers. The website is user-friendly; costumers can easily sort by price (low to high or high to low).

The best thing to do is to explore 1-800Flowers today and look at their Christmas flowers selection. You might also like it.

Gift Cards: Preferred Gifts for Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:53:00 +0000

I first learned how people prefer gift cards when my niece won a gift card prize for Parlor games during Christmas party last year. All winners received gift cards. While I was attending a meeting for volunteers during holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year) and after several discussions and presentations on the different programs or activities for the said events, everybody voted gift cards as prizes.

Why do people prefer gift cards than preparing gift items? For recipients, they can buy what they want. It is convenient for both shoppers and the receivers.

The largest third party provider for prepaid gift cards and the creator of Gift Card Mall™ called Blackhawk Network conducted research about holiday shopping and consumer attitudes and they found out that:

70% feel that gift cards are useful gifts for both receivers and senders.
66% think that by purchasing a gift card their money is not wasted
54% feel that they would rather give gift cards than cash
58% still plan on buying gift cards for holidays

Surveys proved that gift cards still the preferred gifts and expected to be the top gift purchase by the consumers.

So go ahead and surprise your loved one with gift cards to spend on what ever they want and surely they will thank you for the experience.

Home and Garden Products Buying Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:51:00 +0000

I am always interested in finding out what my visitors are searching or reading in my website. I have three different sites where I featured dish gardening, gardening and home improvements. I’ve found out that the most viewed and the most searched (using major search engines) contents by my visitors, are all about dish gardening, gardening and home improvements. It feels very rewarding on my part knowing that these topics drive more traffic into my site. At least I have shared useful information about gardening and home improvements.

This time is different. Aside from posting great pictures and tips on gardening, I can also share great resources of dish gardening ideas like the large dish garden filled with a variety of plants for indoor gardening. By visiting Home and Garden Products Buying Guide, you can find valuable products not only for outdoor and garden guides but also for home furnishings and decors, housewares and home maintenance guides, kitchen and dining guides and workshop and home improvement guide. The most important key in using this site is that when you search for a certain item, it will lead you to the different stores online that enables you to compare the prices or identify which item/s are on sale. How’s that? For me I rather have all the prices compared in just one search than searching each store on the net.

Seasonal Online Shopping Guides

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:08:00 +0000

While relaxing in a hot water spa, different events and occasions that happened in my life flashes back in my thoughts. My engagements, wedding, birthdays, baptismal and holidays, these were the most important and unforgettable experiences in my life where I needed to decide where to buy all our family needs for each specific occasion. If I can only turn back the time…. The time when we are looking for our engagement ring, wedding ring, wedding accessories like gowns, suit, favors, invitations, etc, I would rather have no second thought in purchasing at best online shopping that finds every store in the Internet which means you have more product options with better deals and much savings. My family might have saved at least 40% in our budget.

But anyways, I need to moved on. It is not too late, I still have more exciting events to happen, my sister’s wedding next year. I need to make sure that she will avail the most affordable and excellent quality wedding stuffs on her big day.

By the way, when you visit and register to this online shopping site, you will win an IPOD NANO, aside from that, take a look on the directory for product categories or by simply typing the name of the product in the search box and you will see the best deals from the widest selection stores online. Enjoy and avail their gift guides for all occasions.

Flash News! Korean to Start Coming to Hawaii Visa-Free

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:07:00 +0000

I got this from The Garden Island Newspaper, The State and Federal officials announced that tourist from South Korea can start arriving in the U.S. under the new visa-waiver program starting November 17, 2008.

All a South Korean traveler will have to do is carry a new passport, which is bar-coded for identification, and then register for travel authorization online.

South Korean citizens maybe travelling for business or pleasure, but mus carry a round trip ticket or a ticket that takes them to another country and may not spend more than 90 days in the U.S.

Hawaii Tourism Authority has already stepped up marketing efforts in South Korea and now has a Korean Language Website through Hawaii Tourism Korea.

Be Sun Safe on Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:03:00 +0000

"It's not just a beach thing!" A reminder from the American Cancer Society.

According to ACS, parents must take note that avoiding sunburn during childhood and adolescence is very important in reducing the risk of skin cancer later in life and sunscreen is not recommended for children less than six months old that is why we need to keep infants in the shade and protect them with clothing.

Slip! Slop! Slap!

Slip on shirt

Slop on sunscreen

Slap on hat.

Wrap on sunglasses

Limit sun exposure

Everyone is at risk for skin cancer, whatever thier skin color. Everyone needs to protect themselves from the sun.

For more information visit : http://www.cancer.org/

LP Saver™ USB Turntable

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:01:00 +0000

Upon learning this new technology that converts all of your old records to CDs, iPod, MP3 or any other digital files. All you need to do to record your records to CD is simply plug this one-of-a-kind three-speed (33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM) LP Saver™ USB Turntable right into your PC. It plugs directly into your computer using the included USB cable. In addition, it comes complete with dustcover, and all cables are included.

I remember one of the friends was worried about their wedding VHS video since it happened 15 years ago, the pictures were no longer clear and so with the sounds. With USB Turntable, the quality of the recordings will be improved by eliminating some of the old pops, hisses and static they've acquired over the years.

Thinking to give gift for your dear ones? This is an ideal gift. Wait, why not get one for your mom? I'm sure she will love it!

Seasonal Online Shopping Guides

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Latest Wii Fit and Wii Games Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:03:00 +0000

Talking about digital age, everyone knows Nintendo Wii – the world’s most popular gaming console from any form of advertisements such as newspapers, TV, radio, mobile, and the Internet. Growing number of families already have Nintendo Wii Fit with balance board at home. Family members are enjoying the services of Nintendo wii because of the different wii games to explore and to try on. Experiencing wii at home for a change is really worth trying. It is not just ordinary games that are played by your kids but for everybody. It is more than your expectations. Play your favorite sports such as tennis, boxing, bowling and much more without the actual gadgets but still having the same level of exercise and health benefits that you will get from Wii.

If you already have Nintendo Wii at home, try the latest Wii games and Nintendo DS.

What about the prices? Check the price comparison to avail the compare the prices of every item you like to purchase.

Smorty : November 2008 Income

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:36:00 +0000

I never thought that I can avail opportunities from smorty because every time I checked on their site there were no available campaigns for me to grab or take. I was just surprised one day that I got plenty of opps on the right column of their page. That was the first time I saw how their campaigns looked like. I noticed that all of the opps are $9.00 per posting. I have only successfully made post for 2 posts and after a hour all other post were taken.

For November 2008, I earned $18.00 from the two approved post. I also declined some posts because there are opps that requires not to have badges or banners from other blog marketing sites or some sponsored labels and tiny url codes.

PayperPost: November 2008 Income

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:29:00 +0000

Whew! Second month in Payperpost. Last month October 2008, I only earned $15.00 for 3 opportunities taken. This month November 2008, I earned $ 80.o2 for 12 opps taken and $10 as the highest paid post. Here are the reasons that contributes for this month's income:

Last month my Page Rank is Zero, so low change for many opps.
When I checked my Page Rank is 2, I have plenty of opps available for me with much higher amount per opps.
I also declined some qualified opps for personal reasons that were more important than posting.
In PPP or payperpost, after reserving a certain opportunity, you only have 6 hours to complete before you can avail another task/s and take note that you are only allowed 3 opps within 24 hours, so better choice the opps with higher payment.

SocialSpark: November 2008 Income

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:46:00 +0000

This is my second month for SocialSparks sponsored posts. Last month October 2008, I earned $ 63.25 for 9 opportunities taken.

This month, November 2008 I earned $ 54.01 with 10 opportunities. Here are some reasons that contributes for this month earnings:

I only got 10 opportunities taken.
The highest paid post the I got is only $ 7.50 while last month I got $16.25
My real rank influenced my qualification for taking some opps.
I sometimes declined some opps due to other important personal matters than making post.

It really takes a hard work for watching an opportunity every moment. Also there are many bloggers who were watching and if you are lucky you can get and reserved many. And that you only have 12 hours to make the post or else it will be given to another blogger. I often reserved certain opportunity but fail to make a post.

Smorty: My First Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:26:00 +0000

This is my second post for my Smorty Trail blogging. They approved my blog last November 14, 2008 and today, November 23, 2008, I have taken my first 2 opportunity but pending for review.

Honestly, At first I was discouraged to continue my trail in smorty because every time I checked smorty, I did not see any available opportunity for me. I wonder what is happening to this blog marketing site, is it down or not.

One of the biggest mistake that I ever made is that, I did not login everyday or did not check many times a day as I did in my other blog marketing site.

TODAY, I tried again, to my surprised, I saw 7 available opportunity for me all are for $9 each! So accepted one at a time. We can not reserved an opportunity but instead we must make a post and submit first before taking another one. The minimum number of words is 150 and a maximum of 400 for blog entry approval. You have 24 hours to make your post other paid blog takes 12 hours.

So guys, if you have smorty, keeping checking for your opportunity and if you have no smorty yet, sign up and enjoy blogging.

ViewBug.com : Photo, Video and Music Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:50:00 +0000

Viewbug sponsored photo, video and music contest weekly. One thing that I like about this site is that they have there own judging panel based on the artistic composition, creativity and originality of the art. Unlike other contest site that the viewers will vote or rate and some participants will just asked their friends or family member to vote and it make the world UNFAIR!

Members can upload as many files as they want. Winners will be paid by paypal and will be announced every Monday and will be paid within 1 -3 days! To know more about Viewbug.com, read the quote below:

We are a small team of young, independent and creative individuals who are
committed to offering a collaborative online environment that allows our members
to win cash prizes. We promote creativity and award originality and quality. By
providing a safe back up for media files, we allow our users to share their art
in a fun and rewarding way. We offer many opportunities to win money, which
motivates users to interact with our team and community.
ViewBug’s mission
is to continually give back to the community and our members, who are the ones
that keep the site going.

Top Photo Contest Earners

Top Video Contest Earner

Top Music Contest Earners

Actually, I uploaded a photo for the contest and here it is: Hot Love Birds

Paying Post: Referral Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:26:00 +0000

This is my second post for my Paying Post Trail. I wrote an article about Paying Post: New Get Paid to Blog Site. I have some updates to share:

They Launched a new affiliate program Advertise on PayingPost blog network .
Affiliates earns $15 for each advertiser that creates a campaign.
Referral pays you $15 per referral by posting their 125/125 banner on your site and when the referees first blog is reviewed approved and accepted.

Based on my observation, I noticed that the number of advertisers was increased and each day more and more bloggers are signing up. There are few things that I would like to emphasise:

Under my Account, the Google Page Rank is 0, the truth is I checked my PR and it's PR 2 for my Aloha GEMS site, I do not know what's wrong with their software. My payperpost account is PR 2 and all other blog marketing sites that I joined. (Solution: I login to my account in payingpost -> my blogs -> update my accounts and then my PR 2 appeared. Yay!)
They need highly qualified bloggers. For instance: if you read the requirements under each post, they require higher Page Rank and Alexa Rank.
I sometimes noticed that Blogspot and other domain are excluded. This is also true in other blog marketing sites.
Always see 300 maximum words for $5.
I found out that some advertizers required Google Rank of 1 - 2 or more. But Take note: They required an Alexa rank between 200,000 - 399,999 . What is your Alexa Rank ? Mine is around more than 2,000,000. (Updates: my Alexa Rank is more than 1,000,000, yay!)

But I will still keep visiting this page.....
Below are some of Paying post banners:

My First Cash-out from Payperpost and SocialSpark

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:12:00 +0000

It's been a month now since I successfully availed opportunities from Payperpost and its sister company Socialspark, they are both owned by Izea, Inc. And Both pays their successful bloggers monthly.

To cash - out at SocialSpark:

Look for Account button -> manage my finances

Blogger Payout Page will appear

Look at the account snapshot - you may click cash out when your current account balance is at least $20.

Check your Paypal

To cashout from Payperpost

They will send you an email to check you Paypal account once they successfully deposit your earning day by day, depending on the date where the opportunity/ies taken.

Check Paypal regularly to update your finances, to monitor your earning from blogging.

Below are my online earning from blogging, joining video contest and ebay. This proves that you will really earn online but this should not be your main source of income, just a sideline or part time for extra $. How much did you earn online so far?

Paying Post: New Get paid to Blog Site

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:02:00 +0000

When I was reading my Google AdSense, I was tempted to click for this ad, Paying Post. If you are familiar with Payperpost, Social Sparks, it works the same way. Bloggers are being paid for website reviews, product reviews, services, companies and much more.

I like their blogs, very informative, you must visit it.

My Aloha Gems blog was also approved because I have PR2, when I first applied, I was denied. They also replied quickly to your queries. I have explored their opportunity page, there are only few. The story I told myself is that this site is just new and still looking for more advertisers and bloggers. At first, I do not have qualified opportunities since the available opportunities at that time was for Google PR 5 or more. But when I login again, I found one opportunity for me, I am qualified but reserved for other bloggers. In short, I still did not availed it.

I will just keep visiting on this site to see some development in the future. And also I like reading their blogs.

Follow my Paying Post Trail for more updates:

Bidvertizer Launched New Referral Program

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:10:00 +0000

Bidvertiser has the following features:

Advertise across thousands of websites on a pay per click basis
1. Browse our categorized directory of websites
2.Select the appropriate ones for your business
3. Set your desired geographic targeting
4. Set your pay per click bids
5. Your ads are up and running!

I joined Bidvertiser for referral program last November 8, 2008. I've found out that their referral program is for advertisers who might click and signup for advertisements in your site and you will start earning depending on the amount the spent. It does not apply to websites or weblogs with slower topic but it is still worth trying. Try everything on the web and see what works with you.

I received an email from them dated November 14, 2008 with a subject 'Referral Program Launched' and the content is quoted below:

Now you can earn even more with BidVertiser!
Our new referral program allows you to increase your earnings by directing users to signup with BidVertiser.
Simply place a Referral button on your site and you will start earning money whenever a user clicks on your button and signs as an advertiser or a publisher:
When a user signs as an advertiser and first spends $10, we'll credit your account with $5.When that same advertiser spends $50, you will be credited with an additional $20.
When a user signs as a publisher and first earns $10, we'll credit your account with $10. When that same publisher earns $50, you will be credited with an additional $40.
To continue, login to your account and click the "Referral Program" link.

To sum it up, they have just launched the referral program for publishers not only for advertisers. They will help publisher to monetize their blogs when anybody will signup.

I tried it in my new blog now and see how things work.

Smorty : Approved my Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:33:00 +0000

Smorty is another blog marketing and blog advertising site like Payperpost, SocialSpark, Blogvertise and others.

Smorty has the following features:

Get paid for publishing.
Publish pay-per-click advertising on your blog to generate residual income.

Get paid for blogging.
Write your opinion about peoples products and services to turn your daily blog updates into money.

Smorty pay directly to your PayPal account. Apply with multiple blogs to generate higher income.

-Write your opinions or publish ads
-Earn top Dollars
-Select subjects that interest you
-Publish in multiple blogs to earn more
-Build interesting, unique content in your Blog
-Make residual money from your blog

The trouble with Smorty is that your blog will not be approved if your Google Page Rank is Zero. I registered to Smorty last September 4, 2008 and got an email with a subject, 'Your Blog has been Declined' last October 21, 2008.

Unfortunately your blog was declined due to the following reason(s).

Google Page Rank 0
Not enough indexed
pages

Once you fix these errors you can
re-enter your blog(s) from your admin panel under the My Account section.
Smorty

Lesson:
I need to make more posts and increase my blog traffic.

Last November 14, 2008, I noticed that I have many qualified opportunity in Payperpost, when I checked my blog status, I saw a PR 2 in the box where my blog URL is located. Then I tried PR checker and confirmed that my Google Page Rank is 2.

So, I login to Smorty Yesterday and updated my profile, finally got an email with 'your blog has ben approved' subject.

Now my Smorty Trail Starts!

Earned Blog Traffic: Google Page Rank 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:02:00 +0000

PageRank is Google's way of deciding a page's importance. It matters because it is one of the factors that determines a page's ranking in the search results. It isn't the only factor that Google uses to rank pages, but it is an important one. Google Page Rank is also known as PR.

Payperpost is one of the blog marketing sites that requires PR although even if your Google Page rank is zero, you can still avail opportunities from the advertisers who does not requires PR. BUT, if you PR is higher you will be qualified to have more opportunities and higher $$$ amount offered.

My Aloha GEMS weblog was launched last July 9, 2008. And now, November 13, 2008, finally got Google PR 2, four months! I have done readings about PR, and Google will update a page rank 3 -4 times a year and people don't know when.

While checking my Payperpost opp, I wonder why I have white opp symbol (qualified). I was surprised when I looked at my blog, I saw that my PR is 2. That answers my questions. Having a PR is a great thing because it means that the higher the PR, the more opp to take.

My personal reasons why my traffic was increased (Google PR 2):

I submitted or add my blog URL to Google and some other search engines.

I posted unique topics in my blogs when I think that people will Google it.

I posted the most effective keywords in my post Title.

I invited bloggers for exchange links. People with higher PR helps to increase your traffic.

I submitted my blog to other social networking sites.

I have technorati, blogcatalog, mybloglog, topblogsites that drives traffic to my blog.

I added a cbox or shoutbox in my blog, so people can easily leave messages and more visits everyday.

I posted in forums where I can write my blog URL in my signature.

I updated my blogs daily.

I made posts that build readers interest to visit again.

I made comments to other blogs that also build a back link to my site.

Check you Google Page Rank.

Work From Home Options

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:28:00 +0000

This is an exciting vidoe to to watch for those who are seeking work from home. Work from home salary ranges from $8 -$12 per hour and remember you are just working at home, no driving, prescribed suit/dress to wear, you are paid in your breaks, and just around your home. Spend your time wisely and start earning.

LoudLaunch: Paid Blog Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:46:00 +0000

I signup up at Loudlaunch last November 4, 2008 but almost 10 days now and my status is still pending. I wonder how long they will approved, declined or reject an application. Is LoudLaunch still on business?

In few day, my questions will be answered. So, for those who are using LoudLauch, we need you expertise and for those who are about to start using it, just follow my LoudLaunch Trail for more updates.

SocialSpark: Finally Got 2nd November Opp, after 6 days

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:34:00 +0000

Visiting SocialSpark daily and many times a day refreshing my browser to see if there are new opportunities are available. I noticed that SS nowadays has less incoming opp from advertisers as seen in their latest opportunity page.

Observing a gap of 3 days, 2 days or 1 day before a new opportunity in the market place are posted. Anyways, these are just my opinions based on my observation as a new blogger.

To sum it up. My November opportunity are only two, dated Nov 5 and Nov 11. Will be watching and observing for the whole month to see how does it works.

Follow my SocialSpark Trail for more updates.