Chikadis

Cheers for the New Year!

ces@terapad.com — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:46:00 GMT

It’s been a week since 2009 knocked on our lives. Another year that will surely give many surprises.

My holiday has been wonderful. I was able to meet some of my friends, god-children on Christmas day (who would have missed that!), and a very good friend of mine which turned out to be a surprise.

New set of snapshots can be seen in my gallery. Everyone wants to have something left for memories. I don’t have the full album yet, so here are some photos from my cam.

N.B. I have a strong weakness with these things, so please bear with my goofy shots. :D

I had a wonderful holiday! Hope you had a good one too.

Merry Christmas

ces@terapad.com — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:51:00 GMT

Inexpensive Gifts for Christmas

ces@terapad.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:27:00 GMT

Christmas has always been a rave all over the world. A well celebrated holiday of the year is always accompanied by colorful Christmas decorations, shining lights at night, enchanting Christmas carols, and Christmas-themed displays fills the areas of malls white it awaits for busy shoppers buying gifts. In spite of all the logs going around, the spirit of Christmas will still flourish in our hearts. The feeling has always been the same - everything is on bliss.

Gift-giving is by far a big part of the Yuletide. It’s overwhelming when we see that winning smile of our loved-one while unwrapping your presents for them. It’s the thought that counts – so make the thought brighter by giving that super cool stuff they’ve always wanted. It hasn’t had to be expensive. They may have just been sitting around the corners of your house or on one of the oldest stores in your area. This needs a little research – just remember the times when you’re together and think of the things that makes them happy or bring-out their child-like wonder.

Here are some inexpensive treats you can give to your loved ones.

1. Plants on pot or gardening tools - If they have a green thumb and gardening is their thing, they will surely love these gifts.

2. Books – A popular gift on Christmas. If they love books, it doesn’t need to be their favorite author. Find the plot of the story they enjoy and get a book with a similar plot. A health book is a good option too especially for elders to improve their health.

3. Tops – Choose something that’s in their style or better yet their favorite color.

4. Homemade cakes – I have a sweet tooth so I will surely have a big smile when I receive one. Anyone who wants them too?

5. Vintage photos – Find their oldest of their old photo collection and frame it just to tease them.

6. Spoof Shirts – It’s always fun to see spoof shirts and they will surely smile when they receive one.

7. A bag of lollies – Kids will surely love this. Everyone seems to be giving toys to them and to make you different, give them a bag filled with candies. You can use Santa’s socks as a substitute.

8. Spa gift certificate - Very indulging gift for your loved ones. They will surely love it especially after the busy season.

9. Bath and body gifts – Give them something they can use to indulge their bodies. A basket with a body wash, shampoo and conditioner, lotion, bath salts, hand wash and soaps is all good.

10. All Personalized – Give shirts, bags, mugs, calendar or anything that can be customized to have the personal touch.

10 Basic SEO Techniques

ces@terapad.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:06:00 GMT

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a practice of optimizing a website in order to increase its traffic and rank higher on search engine results. The higher the rank is, the greater the chance of attracting visitors from the target market. SEO helps to ensure that a website is accessible to visitors and web crawlers as well.

Learn the techniques that can help you in climbing Search Engines results.

Anchor Tags. Anchor tags are used to create links to pages on a website. A good keyword combination inside an anchor tag is important. In order to get your readers’ attention, your links should be interesting to gain clicks. Links within your website is also a good practice to point your readers to related topics in your site. Spiders that crawl websites love to jump on links to another.
H1, H2 and Strong tags. Headings give weight to your text especially if it is inside the H1 tag. Use H1 for the main heading or your target keywords and H2 for sub-headings or sub-topics. These headings show the spiders that these are the main subjects on your site, helping your content to be indexed.
Strong or bold texts also give emphasis to a series of words. Just like the h1 and h2 tags, they also weigh more than the regular texts. Make sure that your headings are related to your content. Again, a good combination of words pays a lot.
Titles. The title tag is one of the most important parts of your website. Your target keyword should be used on your website’s title. Different title tags on each page should also be practiced.
Alt tags on Images. Being said that texts play an important role in SEO, alt tags should be placed when you use images on your website. Oftentimes, we use images to further illustrate our subject and give life to our content. Since spiders cannot see these images, use alt tags to describe what is being shown. Here’s an example: < img height="70" width="120" src="banner.gif" alt="Free Websites" />
Choose your domain wisely. Spiders also read domain names when they crawl. A relevant domain pays more on your search engine rank. A number of factors should be considered when choosing a domain (or sub-domain) name. Most of the time, the domain of our choice is already taken. Don’t lose hope. Try to experiment by re-arranging the words or adding a new word to generate a new domain related to your first choice.
Quality Content. Pay attention on the quality of your content rather than quantity. A long post might bore your readers making them leave your site instead of staying longer. An efficient practice of writing a blog post is by summarizing it in bullets just like this post. In this way, your readers can easily see the important points clearly. It is also necessary that the keywords you used in your Meta tag can be found in your content.
Usability. Bear in mind that in websites, ‘First impressions last’. If you give your visitors a good experience during their first visit, they will come back. Simplicity is the key to usability. If your goal is to rank well on search engines, set aside some design factors. A simple interface with a simple menu is effective because your visitors can immediately see where they can navigate. If your site is not user-friendly, your visitors will lose patience and leave your site.
Update Regularly. Spiders love to crawl on new information so it is important that your website is updated regularly. Content is king! Make sure it is composed of unique and relevant information. Duplicated contents that are copied from other sites do not help on your rankings. In addition, a minimum of 250 words is necessary to get to higher spots.
Use SEO Tools. A number of SEO tools are available for free. These tools can help you monitor if you’re making progress and analyze your website. Avoid using automated software that promises to help you rank well or build links for you. It is important that you’re hands-on to the whole process. Few samples of free online SEO tools are, Google Analytics, Keyword Suggestion Tool from SEO Book, Alexa Traffic Analyzer, and Google Webmaster Tools.
Patience is a virtue. SEO is not a one-night miracle technique. It takes time before you can see results. The more you improve your content, the greater the chance you can get noticed by spiders. Avoid overdoing anything that is beyond the rules of SEO. Avoid black hat SEO techniques that promise quick results and increase your site’s traffic. Hidden texts, link-farming, spamming and duplicated contents are a big NO in SEO.

These are just basic and easy techniques to help your site be indexed by search engines. It is still all in your hands on how you apply these changes. Never stop learning. Learn new ways in optimizing your site. It takes time to get decent ranks on search results so do not be disappointed if you can’t get it soon enough. Good luck on your SEO quest!

7 Ways to Slash Stress

ces@terapad.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:31:00 GMT

An article from Dr. Maoshing Ni

Chronic stress seems to be our national disease, especially these days. Millions suffer from symptoms of stress: nervous tension, restless sleep, difficulty focusing and remembering, irritability, and health complications. Generally speaking, stress speeds up aging. Learn the ways to manage stress, and you will look and feel younger.

1. Start your day with meditation
Spend time every day in meditative relaxation, with calming music if you desire. Start with five minutes and work your way to 15 or 20 minutes each day. Meditation is your number one way to reduce the output of stress hormones and avoid adrenal exhaustion, serious threats to your health.

Try this Stress Release Meditation: Breathe consciously, relax, and with each exhale focus on relaxing each area of your body in sequence, starting from the top of your head and moving all the way down to your toes.

2. Manage your mood with diet and herbs
Chinese Medicine considers the liver to be the center of your emotions. To allay stress and balance your emotions, keep your liver healthy and happy:

• Every day, eat lots of green leafy vegetables, barley grass, seaweed - anything high in chlorophyll - to keep the liver in good health.

• Take 500 mg dandelion daily for a month or longer to cleanse the liver and help release built-up anger.

• Take 400 mg white peony root daily for 1 to 3 months to soothe the liver and balance your mood.

• Schisandra berry protects the liver from chemicals and calms the spirit. For emotional anxiety, take 200 mg daily for a month.

Take these herbs anytime during the day and before bed in tea or capsule form. All the herbs are available from health food stores and Eastern medicine practitioners. Many of my patients have had remarkable results with Calm-Fort Elixir, an all-natural formulation of herbs to calm your spirit. For more information, click here.

3. Suppress stress with positive thinking
Instead of letting your thoughts run wild with anxiety, say affirmations to yourself, such as "I can handle the tasks I have ahead of me. I enjoy my responsibilities and fulfill them well." In fact, repeating positive affirmations can actually suppress the cortisol that the adrenal gland releases in times of stress - leaving you peaceful and calm.

4. Get stress out of your head and on paper
Writing in a journal every day can help you release thoughts and emotions that are causing you stress. Write from the position of an observer, recording your thoughts without any judgments. Just write it down so that you can see clearly what is going on inside. The next step is to identify the source of any anger or stress so you can begin to make changes. Looking into your thoughts give you the opportunity to gain insight into your feelings and reflect the underlying issues.

5. Unblock tension with exercise
The constant pressures of your job and family can lead to chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is a direct cause of muscle and joint pain. Clenched jaw? Lump in your throat? Chronic back and neck pain? These can all be manifestations of stress in your body. Release physical tension and clear these emotional blockages by using massage therapy, exercise, yoga, tai chi, or qi gong to get the circuits moving.

6. A Retreat to Avoid Burnout
Overloading your brain is a recipe for stress and health problems. Information overload is particularly harmful at midlife because we have less tolerance for stress, which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. Press the "reset" button on yourself. Give yourself a retreat from the stresses of modern life. Take one day out of the seven-day week to minimize "screen" time. Don't watch TV, don't check email, and don't look at the news - it will be there tomorrow, and after a day of rest, you will be refreshed and ready to look at them.

7. Perspective from the Natural World
Use nature to reduce stress. Go outside, hike in the woods, walk on the beach, anything that puts you in contact with the natural world. It is difficult to feel stressed when you are surrounded by nature's abundance of vitality and wonder.

I hope you find the ways to have less stress! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

A Loving Father

ces@terapad.com — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:29:00 GMT

I was deleting some of my emails that were in my inbox for years. I have been keeping some forwarded emails that are worth reading. At a glance, I saw the folder labeled 'Inspiring Stories' - a compilation of inspirational stories forwarded by my friends. I opened the oldest email and read the touching story of a father and son. Reading this brings back a lot of memories when I used to be a 'teen'.

Spend few minutes of your time reading this old but meaningful story of 'A Loving Father'.

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible.

Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him.

He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible, and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words ... PAID IN FULL.

The World’s Billionaires

ces@terapad.com — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world. According to forbes.com, Warren Buffet is now the wealthiest man alive - a friend and a bridge partner of Gates.

Here is the list of the top 10 richest man in the world as of 2008. Lucky for them to have lots of money. :)

1. Warren Buffett - Net Worth: $62.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States
Age: 77
Source: Berkshire Hathaway
Industry: Investments

An American investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is one of the world's most successful investors and the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Often called the "Oracle of Omaha", Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.

2. Carlos Slim Helu - Net Worth: $60.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Mexico
Age: 68
Source: Telecom
Industry: Communications

A Mexican businessman largely focused on the telecommunications industry. Slim has a substantial influence over the telecommunications industry in Mexico and much of Latin America as well. He controls Teléfonos de México (Telmex), Telcel and América Móvil companies. Though he maintains an active involvement in his companies, his three sons Carlos Slim Domit, Marco Antonio Slim Domit and Patrick Slim Domit head them on a day-to-day basis.

3. William Gates III - Net Worth: $58.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: United States
Age: 52
Source: Microsoft
Industry: Software

4. Lakshmi Mittal - Net Worth: $45.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India
Age: 57
Source: Steel
Industry: Manufacturing

A London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and resides in Kensington, London. The Mittal family owns a controlling majority stake in ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company.

5. Mukesh Ambani - Net Worth: $43.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India
Age: 50
Source: Petrochemicals
Industry: Manufacturing

He is an Indian businessmanthe chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector enterprise and a Fortune 500 company. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%. His wealth is valued at US$43 billion (according to Forbes), making him the fifth richest man in the world and the richest in Asia. Mukesh and younger brother Anil are sons of the late founder of Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Ambani. Mukesh also owns the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians.

6. Anil Ambani - Net Worth: $42.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India
Age: 48
Source: Diversified
Industry: Diversified

Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Capital, Reliance Communications and Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Energy, and was formerly Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited. His personal stake in Reliance Communications is 66%. Reliance group is India's largest business house, founded by Anil's late father Dhirubhai Ambani (1938-2002). His mother is Kokilaben Ambani. He is married to Tina Ambani (Munim) who was a well known Indian Actress in early 80's, and with whom he has two sons, Jai Anmol and Jai Anshul. He has been linked with buying Newcastle United and Everton premier league football clubs.

7. Ingvar Kamprad - Net Worth: $31.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Sweden
Age: 81
Source: Ikea
Industry: Retailing

Ingvar Feodor Kamprad is a Swedish entrepreneur who is the founder of the home furnishing retail chain IKEA. The acronym IKEA is made up of the initials of his name (Ingvar Kamprad) plus those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born; and the nearby village Agunnaryd.

8. KP Singh - Net Worth: $30.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India
Age: 76
Source: Real Estate
Industry: Real Estate

Presides over DLF Universal Limited, India’s largest real estate developer. It has an estimated land bank of 10,255 acres (42 km2) with about 3,000 acres (12 km²) being in prime city locations such as Delhi NCR, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

9. Oleg Deripaska - Net Worth: $28.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Russia
Age: 40
Source: Russian Aluminum
Industry: Diversified

A Russian billionaire, and a member of the Board of Directors of UC Rusal, a Russian aluminium industry company. Deripaska is the sole owner and a Chairman of the Supervisory board of Basic Element, a diversified investment company established in 1997 with assets in Russia and abroad. Basic Element's main assets are concentrated in six sectors - Energy, Resources, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Construction and Aviation.

10. Karl Albrecht - Net Worth: $27.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Germany
Age: 88
Source: Aldi
Industry: Retailing

A German entrepreneur who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. Karl and Theo Albrecht were raised in modest circumstances in Essen. Their father was employed as a miner and later as a baker’s assistant. Their mother had a small grocery store in the worker’s quarter of Schonnebeck. Theo completed an apprenticeship in his mother’s store, while Karl worked in a delicatessen shop. Karl also served in the German Army during World War II. After the end of World War II, the brothers took over their mother's business (1946). The first Aldi (Albrecht-Discount) was opened in 1961.

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10 Brain Damaging Habits

ces@terapad.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:42:00 GMT

The brain is the center of our nervous system. It controls the body temperature, blood pressure, the heart, breathing, physical motion, thinking, emotions and basically everything that we do. All of the tasks are coordinated and regulated by the organ that is about the size of a small cauliflower – the brain.

Oftentimes, we are not aware that there are some activities that we do that can hurt our brain. It is important that we should be aware of the different habits that can damage our body’s big boss.

No Breakfast - People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
Overeating - It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
Smoking - It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
High Sugar Consumption - Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
Air Pollution - The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
Sleep Deprivation - Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
Head covered while sleeping - Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
Working your brain during illness - Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
Lacking in stimulating thoughts - Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
Talking Rarely - Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

Faceyourmanga: Create your avatar on the web!

ces@terapad.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:38:00 GMT

It is amazing how people have started to love the generation of web 2.0. Everybody seems to have fun on using the free (and even paid) services that websites offer especially when it involves social networking. Who would have missed the fun of using websites like MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Ttwitter, Youtube, Flickr, Digg, Multiply, etc.? If you love one of these sites, then you might also like the latest addition to the list, faceyourmanga.

*image from Laughing Squid

Faceyourmanga is a flash-based tool that allows you to create a cartoonized version of yourself. Creating your avatar is a piece of cake. It lets you choose the shape of your face, eyes, nose, ears, hair, clothes and whatever features you can add on the avatar to make it more realistically you. If you have tried using Yahoo! Avatars, then you would not get lost on this site. Within few clicks of your mouse, you’re done!

Once finished, your avatar will be delivered right on your mailbox by providing a valid email address. If you are worrying if they will spam your email, you can choose to save the image by right-clicking on the finished avatar and save it right on your computer. I haven’t received any spam yet so I believe they are spam-free!

See this avatar on the left? That’s what I’ve done using faceyourmanga. Still it has some differences with how I look but it is fairly acceptable. How do you think you will look like if you are a manga character? See it yourself and give it a try.

Mama Mia: How Can I Resist You?

ces@terapad.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:14:00 GMT

After the successful stage musical comes the film adaptation of the book of Catherine Johnson. Mama Mia, a comedy-drama, is based on the songs of pop group ABBA.

It is about the story of an independent single mom Donna (Meryl Streep) who raised her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) alone on a beautiful island of Kalkairi in Greece. Donna runs Villa Donna, taking no day-offs from repairing and maintaining the small hotel. Sophie is about to marry her fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper), with a Greek celebration on their small town. She secretly invites Sam, Harry and Bill, the three men whom her mom had an affair. She suspects that one of them could be her father that she has been searching all her life.

Playing to be a film critic, I can say that the movie is fun but can’t get a two thumbs up. I like the way that they were able to connect the songs of ABBA as the lines of the characters. I love how the stories within the story were delivered. Specially the part when Donna and the Dynamites sung ‘Dancing Queen’ with the girls of Greece. I had goose bumps while I was watching them sing it. They were successful to bring the message to their audience – that girl power spirit every woman has even if she has wrinkles on her face, fats all over her body and has seen her better days.

I was disappointed on the wedding ceremony of Sophie though. I was expecting it to be the highlight of the film but the scene was spoiled when the Donna interrupted the priest to introduce Sophie’s father. That was annoying because it can’t happen on a real wedding. I won’t go into details of the movie, see it and you might have a different opinion.

All in all you will enjoy the film. You will find yourself tapping your foot and smiling while watching. Like what Joe Baltake, a Passionate Moviegoer, said 'Mamma Mia!' Is Like Taking a Tiny Vacation.

5 Easy Ways to a Beautiful Hair

ces@terapad.com — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:29:00 GMT

Ever wondered how shampoo commercial models got the hair you have always wanted? Did you ever spent thousands just to get a shiny hair? Have you tried all the treatments in the salon but still no luck?

Not all are gifted with the bouncing shiny hair that everybody dreamt of. In fact, 2 out of 10 women are fortunate to be satisfied with the way their hair looks. It is sometimes difficult for us to maintain our hair healthy especially nowadays that almost all things are in a rush.

Having a beautiful hair would not require you to spend all of your paycheck to achieve it. Sometimes, the ingredients are just there sitting in your kitchen – waiting for you to notice them.

Here are five easy ways on how to get the lovely hair you have always wanted.

Shiny and beautiful hair requires a lot of water. A dry and frizzy hair can indicate that you don’t have enough water to fuel your system. Remember what health advisors always say? Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day. It is good for your body because water cleanses the toxics stored in our body.
Blowers, hair irons and curlers are a big NO-NO. Hair blowers can extremely damage our hair making it dry and brittle. If a blow dry is really necessary, make sure that you skip a day on shampooing letting your hair to take a rest from a stressful activity. Experts say that you can use conditioners alone just to have the healthy smell.
Eat a balance diet. Follow the food pyramid guide to make sure you are getting all the nutrients that your body need. If you are not getting any vitamins, then your hair don’t get them too.
Trim your hair at least every three months. I know that getting a long hair is difficult to achieve – but hey, if you let those split ends live, you are just wasting your time waiting for your hair to grow. Split ends if not treated, will only go its way upwards, damaging your hair even longer.
Lemon juice and coconut oil can substitute hair conditioners. After shampooing, squeeze a small lemon on a bucket of water and pour it on your hair to get a shiny hair. If you have a lot of time everyday, lather some coconut oil on your hair 30 minutes before taking a bath. It is believed that it moisturizes your hair just like what you can achieve from a hot oil treatment.

These are only few points that you can do to get a healthy hair. It sometimes require effort to get the hair you’ve always wanted. Before you undergo a hair treatment, make sure that it would not damage your hair. Do some searches and ask some friends who have tried it before taking the risk. Most importantly, a hundred brush strokes before getting to bed helps in releasing the natural oil of your hair.

Shih Tzu Breeding: Think about it first!

ces@terapad.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Just today, I read an interesting article from Superness sharing her experiences on Shih Tzu breeding. She has pointed out that breeding a Shih Tzu, or dogs of any kind, should not be considered a business but more of your passion and love for dogs.

My baby Miqi will be turning one tomorrow. Few months from now, she can conceive babies but I am caught between a yes and a no if I will allow her to be matted. Articles like the one from Totally Shih Tzu can help first time owners like me.

"So think twice before you breed your Shih Tzu. Breeding is not that easy. If you are not responsible enough to care for your Shih Tzu and her litter, then don’t breed. Always remember that breeding your Shih Tzu entails a huge responsibility. It requires extra time, effort, money, knowledge and care from you. Should you feel incompetent providing what your Shih Tzu requires, just try to keep out and make the best option to have your pet spayed/neutered." - Superness

To read the full article, click here: Totally Shih Tzu

You're a dog lover if...

ces@terapad.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:19:00 GMT

You use the term potty in place of other urination terms.
You refer to your dogs as your children.
Your dog is in your family photo.
You go buy a king sized bed so there is enough room for pooch to sleep comfortably too.
You tell your chat partner to hold on while you play tug-of-war with your dog.
You get your dog a pet cat.
When shopping for a new car, your first requirement is that your dog can easily get into & out of the vehicle & she has her own window.
When house hunting, you consider houses with BIG fenced in yards so your dog has somewhere to play.
When you don't think it's the least bit strange to stand outside at 4:04AM chirping "Pee Maggie...Pee for mommy", while Maggie tends to play and forget Why she's out there.
Whenever your dog barks, you say, "uh-oh -Gotta run -My dog wants her supper and belly rub now."
You share ice cream cones with your dog.
Your dog eats cat *poop*, but you still let her kiss you.
You always look for dog corners on every mall you've been to.
You always buy something for your dog everytime you shop.
Your dog is a member of the family.
You care more about getting your dog's supper ready on time than yours.
You allow your dog to join you in the bath.
You don't mind sharing your pillow with your dog.
Your bedroom door has a doggie door.
Your dog owns more clothing and toys than your neighbor's children.
You have more pictures of your dog than of any other family member including yourself.
You share your popsicles with the dog.
You decide to get more dogs so your baby has playmates.
Your have gifts for your dogs.
You won't visit your family if the dog can't go too.
You spend all your free time (after playing with the dog, etc...) online at dog related sites.
You won't eat on a restaurant if there's a sign saying 'No pets allowed'
You would think twice on having a vacation because your dogs will be left with no one.
You think hotels that don't allow dogs are cruel.
You can stay dirty all day because you and your dog loves to cuddle on the floor and roll.

I am PROUD to say I have checkmarks on almost all of the items listed above. How about you?

Am I famous now?

ces@terapad.com — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:16:00 GMT

I was born today. One of 10. My daddy was very famous. I have lots of half brothers and sisters. My mother is very famous. Since she got famous, she has only had puppies. No more loving hands, no more fun trips... just puppies. She is always sad when they leave her.

I left home today. I didn't want to go, so I hid behind my mama and my three littermates that were left. I didn't like you. But one day they said I would be famous. I wonder; is famous the same as fun and good times? So you picked me up and carried me away, even though you were concerned about me hiding from you. I don't think you liked me.

My new home is far away. I am scared and afraid. My heart says be brave. My ancestors were. Did they go to good homes like mine? I'm hungry because I can't eat too much because it will be bad for my bones. I can't bite or snap when the children are mean to me. I just run and play and pretend I am in a big green field with butterflies and robins and frogs. I can't understand why they kick me. I am quiet, but the man hits and says loud things. The lady doesn't feed me good things like I had with my mother. She just throws dry food on the ground, then goes away before I can get too close for touching and petting. Sometimes my food smells bad but I eat it anyway.

Today I had 10 puppies. They are so wonderful and warm. Am I famous now? I wish I could play with them, but they are so tiny. I am so young and playful that it is hard to lay here in this hole under the house nursing my puppies. They are crying now. I am so hungry. I scratch and worry my fur. I wish someone would throw me some food. I am also very thirsty. I now have eight. Two got cold during the night and I couldn't make them warm again. They are gone. We are all very weak. Maybe if I take them out on the porch, we can get some food.

Today they took us away. It was too much trouble to feed us and someone came to take us away. Someone grabbed my puppies, they were cryin and whimpering. We were put in a truck with boxes in it. Are my babies famous now? I hope so, because I miss them. They are gone.

The place smelled of urine, fear and sickness. Why was I here? I was beautiful, like my ancestors. Now I am hungry, dirty, in pain and unwanted. Maybe the worst is unwanted. No one came though I tried to be good.

Today someone came. They put a rope on my neck and led me to a room that was very clean and had a shiny table. They put me on the table. Someone held me and hugged me. It felt so good!!! Then I felt tired and laid over the last one who cared. I am famous now. Today someone cared.

How to make a dark chocolate syrup

ces@terapad.com — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:29:00 GMT

Since the last post was about chocolates, why don't we follow its aroma? Let's make some dark chocolate sauce to have a delicious dip.

Here's what we will need:

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
6 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar (use 1-2 tablespoons more for a less-bittersweet sauce)
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Now, here's how we should do it:

Combine chocolate, cocoa, sugar and coffee granules in a food processor. Process until finely ground, about 1 minute. Stir together water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; bring just to a boil over medium-high heat. With the food processor running, add the syrup mixture, then vanilla. Continue processing until the sauce is smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. (The sauce will seem thin, but will thicken during cooling.) Transfer to a container and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. Stir well before serving; if the sauce seems too thick, stir in a little water.

Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Per 2-tablespoon serving: 71 calories; 2 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 1 g fiber; 13 mg sodium.

My cough's is almost on its last days. In few days, I shall bid goodbye to it and say hello again to may favorite ice cream. I'm making sure I'll pour dark chocolate sauce over it. Hmmm, feels like heaven!

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