OC Pinay

Promises & Presale Codes

2009-11-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

My dad always taught me that giving your word is like making a promise. So I don't like saying yes to requests that I'm not sure I can accomplish - especially not to my loved ones.Last year, I told my husband I would get us tickets to the U2 concert. On the day the tickets went on sale at 10 AM - I had a meeting. Thinking that I would be able to get the tickets when I got back, I didn't worry

Shop for a Cause: Thistle Farms & Magdalene

2009-11-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

When I was younger and immersed in the joy of volunteer work - I dreamed of a safe place where abused women can seek refuge and rebuild their lives.I remember reading of such a place a long time ago in the Philippines - it's called The Haven. It was started by a group of politicians' wives - which probably got me started on my wishing to be a politician's wife back then. Since it had already

Mail in Those Pink Lids!

2009-11-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed those pretty pink lids on your Yoplait yogurt containers lately? Yoplait is running their Save Lids, Save Lives program in cooperation with the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. Each pink lid is worth 10 cents. Yoplait has pledged to donate a maximum of $1.5 million to the foundation if people participate in the campaign.If you love Yoplait yogurt and have

New Found Passion to Heal

2009-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

In order to spend quality time with my husband I went with him to the Mt. San Antonio College Cross Country Invitational Races. Their school was volunteering to provide medical assistance to injured runners. The medical tent was positioned near the narrow track just before the finish line, where runners are forced to run in almost single file to reach the end of the course.It was amazing to

Verizon's Droid: High Expectations

2009-10-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

I love this ad.My husband and I have been talking about switching to Verizon - I think their ads have brainwashed us into thinking that they are the biggest and best network around. There were just a few problems with switching.(1) They don't have cool phones. (2) They have a very unimpressive line of Motorola phones (which my husband absolutely insists he wants).I've seen Motorola Cliq from

Yogurt for Health

2009-10-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Our department at work is very conscious about weight gain, particularly because we found that sitting in front of a computer all day does not help our maturing bodies maintain a healthy weight. One of our coworkers even climbs the four-story stairs of one of our buildings on campus to stay fit.I also noticed that we have a new staple in our mini refrigerator - yogurt. When I wasn't exercising

Workout Review: 30 Day Shred

2009-10-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

When I was single I used to buy magazines that had workouts in them to try out at home - in the privacy of my locked bedroom. I was never attracted to workout videos because our TV was in a common area and I didn't want everyone to see me trying to keep up with the workout.I have been trying to get myself into the habit of exercising regularly, with little success. I have a treadmill, a

My eBook Reader Feature Wishlist

2009-10-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

One of the new gadgets that I have recently changed my mind about is the eBook Reader. I once took the stand that I preferred an actual book to an eBook Reader, but the escalating eBook wars is piquing my interest. Good competition often brings out great features from a gadget maker and I'm looking forward to seeing what these eBook Readers come up with next.I am definitely waiting for a

The Good Wife: Great Late-Night TV

2009-10-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

When I was a young and very naive girl, unlike other kids my age who wanted to become lawyers and doctors, I wanted to be the wife of a very powerful and very prominent public figure. I wanted to be able to do volunteer work full time and that's what I saw these wives doing in the newspapers at that time. One of the qualities that first attracted me to my husband was the fact that he was a

Daily Stress Relief

2009-10-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Last month, our company treated us to a 3-day stress reliever, a retreat in a beautiful spanish-style ranch. We enjoyed nature and immersed ourselves in spiritually refreshing exercises - finding purpose in what we do everyday. We had quiet meditation time, a delicious lunch and then fun group activities in the afternoon. We talked a lot and laughed a lot – simply enjoying each other’s company.

Neiman Marcus' Last Call: New Store at the Block

2009-10-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

Last September a Neiman Marcus' Last Call store opened at the Block of Orange. Never even actually being in a Neiman Marcus store, I decided to check it out after my aunt gushed about it at a recent family gathering.There were shoes on sale for around $300, bags at the rock-bottom price of $800 and designer gowns at half their original price at around $1,000! My aunt may be gushing, but I was

Early Christmas Card Shopping

2009-10-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Christmas is my favorite holiday. In the Philippines we start preparing for Christmas in the month of September. So my starting to think of holiday cards and gifts in October is actually late.I take great pleasure in choosing holiday cards to send to friends. When my husband and I have kids, I’m sure I'll get photo cards every year just to show our relatives how adorable they are. But in the

Learning Through Comic Strips

2009-10-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

My two sisters and I are all avid readers. My father had to install several shelves to hold all our books and they still overflow with piles and piles of books today. My sisters and I weren't always fans of reading, my mom got us started on it when she kept buying comic books for us. These comic books taught us our words, taught us how to appreciate reading and enticed our creativity.I saw

Remote Protection for Your Workstations

2009-10-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my work computer got attacked. Several windows popped up in my screen claiming that it detected a virus or a Trojan and urging me to click OK or another similar looking button. Something like this happened to my husband while he was working on our old computer and he clicked on a window that said it was our computer’s security software and our computer was never the same again.

NCIS & NCIS LA: Leaving Audiences on the Edge

2009-09-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

After several tries NCIS finally found the right blend of personalities to make a hit TV show even more interesting. The goofy DiNozzo is the perfect foil for Gibbs' serious character. The wholesome goth, Abby, is always endearing bringing out the soft side of Gibbs, playing up the cluelessness/geekiness of McGee, and pretty much throwing off the rest of the team with her quirks - definitely my

iPod Nano: Wishlist Granted

2009-09-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with the iPod Nano from the first time I saw them. It was the only mp3 player that would pass as eye candy to me - crazy for colors as I am. But I shied away from buying the earlier versions because it didn't have features I wanted in my mp3 player.Here was my wish list for the iPod Nano back then:An FM radio tuner - I wanted to listen and discover new songs on the radio so I can

Movie Night: X-Men Origins Wolverine

2009-09-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hugh Jackman kept me up last night. We had come from our weekly prayer devotion in East Los Angeles and my husband mentioned that he had already watched the X-Men Origins movie. He had rented the DVD, which just came out - and of course I wanted to watch it too! The only problem was it was already around 10:30 PM when we got back.Any attempts at watching either a recorded TV show or a movie at

Invest in Gold

2009-09-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who invests in gold. She says it's a more stable investment than stocks - which we have all seen proven in the past few months of recession.Gold coins comes in different forms like the gold American Eagles, the South African Krugerrands, the gold Canadian Maple Leaf and Australian gold nuggets among others. They do not lose their value like our local currencies, it is the safest

TutorVista: Math Tutoring Made Easy

2009-09-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

One of the side jobs I enjoyed very much was tutoring. I used to tutor K-12 students in Maths and Sciences. I find that a lot of kids are intimidated by these two subjects, but especially by Math. I look at Math as a game, there's always a solution to the problem you just have to figure out what it is - like a giant jigsaw puzzle you have to solve. I enjoy imparting that perspective to my

Nikon D90: Falling in Love All Over Again

2009-09-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I fell in love with the Nikon D90 is because of its video recording feature. Now most point-and-shoot cameras have a video recording feature - what makes the Nikon D90's different is that it is an SLR and you can do a lot of still photo effects with an SLR. Now combine those photo effects with your video recording in HD and what do you get? Really cool video clips!I must

Wheatgrass: The Health Food for Picky Pet Birds

2009-09-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

This organic wheat grass is the only fresh food my parakeets will eat. Did I ever tell you I have eight parakeets? I bought six from the pet store and adopted two from a friend. I tried getting them to eat fruits and vegetables, but however I try to feed it to them, they just won't bite. My friend said that her bird used to love plants so one day I find this organic wheat grass in the

Raves on Supernatural's Fall Season Premiere

2009-09-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched a TV series that kept you guessing season after season? Have you ever followed series whose story line never dragged or whose characters never became boring? I watched the season premiere of Supernatural last night, fully expecting that its writers would have run out of good plots by now. What else could happen to the Winchester brothers that have not happened before -

Movie Night: State of Play

2009-09-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

I liked this movie, not only because it features a blogger as one of the lead characters - but because I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story.Russel Crowe played an experienced journalist, with a huge network of sources and a 16 year old computer that sends what he writes directly to the press. Rachel McAdams played a newbie journalist/blogger who is learning the ropes of credible

Dreaming of Enterprise Web Development in Java

2009-08-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

One of the first programming language that I studied in a classroom setting was Java. It was my introduction to Object Oriented Programming, which actually means that everything is already built and you just have to know which functions to access and pull together. Then you put your finished product on an application server and pray that it runs.Back in those days, we did not have tools that

Movie Night: The Soloist

2009-08-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

When two great actors come together, they make a great movie. Give the great actors an amazing screenplay and you've got yourself a winner! I don't think anyone could have played these roles better than Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. When Los Angeles Times columnist, Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jr.), discovers transient, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), playing a two-stringed violin