Why John McCain?

If I could only vote this year's election, my guy is McCain.

A Blue Star award from ebay


Just want to show off my blue star award I got recently. I've been selling on ebay for quite a while now, and have been doing it SERIOUSLY for a month. A seller's stars changes its color once they reached a number of feedbacks. For me, I just reached 100 the other day, and from blue I got a turquoise now!!! wooo hooo!

I shop on ebay for items I find cheap, especially my favorite clothing brand, Zara. I love Ralph Lauren and Harley Davidson too. I'm more of a seller than a buyer. I make some money here too, not a lot but it could be more if not for fees that goes to ebay after a sale, oh well.

Long Distance Marriage, are you in too?

Another Tuesday have passed. Another day without hubby with me. He went back to Iraq after a two week R&R, and it's been a month since he flew. Every single day, I miss him terribly. My heart's breaking into pieces everytime I remember him gone, I miss making breakfast for him, and getting his lunch ready for work, I miss washing his dirty clothes, I miss seeing him working on the cars, I miss him playing with our dog. I miss every single thing about him. Wish he could come home sooner for good.

It's just hard. Sad. But we have to deal with it, for sometime...

This kind of situation is never new to us. We have withstand years of long distance relationship back when we were dating, back then it was already hard. But this one is tougher. Don't you wish you're always with the one you love? On January, will be our first year anniversary as husband and wife, I'm glad we would be able to celebrate it together... but that means we'll miss our 2nd Christmas and New Year together.

It's ok, I love him with all my heart. Just missing him.

*sigh*

Just got my New Passport!

After a day of shopping on my favorite stores, there's this small UPS package by my doorstep.. I had no idea what it was, thought it's something I ordered online, but there's none, so I was like 'what would it be?' I didn't even read what the sender's details is.. I just ripped it off, and there you go, my old and new passport!! I was so happy! here's how it looks like. (sorry for blurred pic).

It didn't took 6 weeks like it say it would, I actually got it just 3 weeks after I applied! wow, speedy service!

Ready for Haloween?

Halloween is just around a corner! Halloween-decorated houses and even offices are sure a sign of upcoming holiday, I never experience doing trick or treat when I was kid, because we don’t attend such things then. But I realized how fun it is when I have seen little kids on their not-scary but adorable and cutest Childrens Costumes with their candy bags on their hands, and they’d knock on your door for treats, ain’t that precious thing to see? As for adults, they often hold parties, and attendees would show off their Adult Halloween Costumes they have bought so ahead of time, yeah excited. I have seen a lot of those went I went to the mall yesterday, and mothers and kids were busy looking for their perfect outfits, and accessories. I went up online, because I was thinking, what about Halloween costumes for couples? And so I found Sexy Costumes online! Mmm hubby would love this, I could be a fairy, a princess, a waitress, a maid or I could be a batman’s batgirl. Everything is online, getting it online makes it more convenient especially if you have a lot to choose from. It’s just so fun to think of what should I shop, now I feel like a kid, what would I get, a trick or treat?

Philippine Passport Change Experience at Washington DC

This trip wasn't really a part of our plan. As you know my husband will only be home for two weeks, this is his first R&R since we went back to Iraq. And plans has been made as to how are we going to spend that short period of time, together. Going to Tennessee for a couple of days is one, and probably go to Myrtle Beach on South Carolina too, heard that's a good place so yeah, I want to go! I'm thinking he must have planned something to surprise me on that one. *sweet*

Anyway, I told him that I want to go to the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, to get my passport information changed, change my last name to my married name, since this is the only time I could do this, him being here. So we included DC in our plan. I was surprised he told he's never been there!! That made it perfect, because we both never been to that place, and we enjoyed our one day trip there.

So we're in DC on Monday. We woke up early, was so excited. The embassy was probably just 50 steps away from our hotel, so it was so convenient! I was so thrilled, because I'd be seeing a part of my country, where I can see fellow Pinoys, and I can freely speak tagalog all I want! And to my surprise, they do flag ceremony on Mondays! It's so cool. I can't even remember when was the last time I attended a flag ceremony and said my "Panunumpa sa Watawat" (Pledge of Allegiance to the Phil flag), do you? Felt like I was a little kid as I sang our national anthem, and I'm happy as well because my husband was there with me, now he have seen how we do the ceremony. Glad I was able to share it with him. I felt so proud. The ambassador was there, and so the rest of the employees, and "early birds". So, my advice, go on Mondays if you want to experience this as well.

After that, everyone went inside, time to work! We're already in line, when I realized, I have to go outside and get my passport pictures taken. So I asked the fine lady at the counter, she said CVS is just a walk away from there. I never had the time to get this done before we went to DC, oh well. Another tip, get your pictures done ahead of time, make sure you get the best shots! Because I didn't like mine. Back to the embassy; the whole process just took less than 30 mins. actually, it was quick. What took me so long was the time spent filling out forms, we also did "Report of Marriage" application, that's why. See, I had to legibly fill out 4 Forms, all handwritten, nice. And done with that, the lady at the first window checked my forms, and pictures, and directed me to the next window, the Cashier, where I paid $83 for all. And then I was told to proceed at the left side of the embassy lobby, where another woman checked my Passport application form's information, if they are all filled out and spelled correctly. She printed a copy for me to check for errors,and had me signed on the signature part of the printed form. She printed one again, and had me signed again. That's it! She took all the forms, pictures, my old unexpired passport, and said expect the new passport with my old one on mail via UPS after 6 weeks. I really don't want to give her my old passport, for I don't have any identification with me at all, aside from that, but then it's a requirement, so let it go. I never heard of lost passport yet being in this process, so I guess I shouldn't worry. So there, all I have to do is wait 6 weeks. After that, we went back to the hotel, and went on our Washington DC sightseeing. See my next post!

Oh here's the breakdown of what I paid: $83
$50 - Passport Application (the maroon one)
$25 - Report of Marriage
$ 8 - UPS carrier fee

Passport Application requirements (change of last name)
1. Old Passport
2. 4 pcs. passport pictures, royal blue background
3. Application form
4. Photocopy of Old Passport's biographic page and back, date of US entry stamp
5. Photocopy of Marriage Certificate
6. Certified Copy of Marriage Certificate (needed for validation only)

TIPS
* Get your set of pictures taken wherever (CVS, Walgreens, Walmart etc,)get the best picture you could get, remember this will be your passport for years! (until you renew again)
* Get the requirements all ready in hand before leave your home. That just make things easier and faster.
* If you're going to file "Report of Marriage". Print out the form online and make copies of it (4). My mistake, I forgot, so I wound up filling out 4 forms there!
* Go on Mondays, before 9am, so you'd be a part of the flag ceremony, trust me it just feels great!
* You can pretty much go anytime of the day, because there's no long lines.
* Plan your trip. Washington DC is so beautiful, never miss to explore around!


For more questions, please leave a comment so I can address your concern, Thanks!



**UPDATE: Just got my New Passport!

his first R&R!

Im so excited, husband's coming home soon! He just got his R&R dates and flight schedule today. He'll be flying home on Sept 2nd!! wooo hoo! I'm so happy, can't wait for that day! Oh I miss him so much!

Who loves Jason Mraz? He's Yours!

I love this live session of his. I don't know anyone who don't!!

The Bedroom Project

I have decided that yes, I'm going to re-design our bedroom. And I have to finish that and have it ready before my husband gets home. And that will give me 3 weeks wo work on everything. I'm sticking to a blue motif, since we have a light blue painted-wall, and I have purchased a bed duvet sheet set on ebay. It's blue and brown. Then yesterday, since I was in Walmart, I bought queen pillows to go with my pillowcases. Now, I'm working on getting a Siberian goose-down comforter and a 1200 or 1500TC white bedsheet set. I know this is an expensive project, but my husband deserve it, and me too.

I just can't get myself motivated to re-arranged the furnitures inside, and finish this all.. oh well, I think I'll put this up on my things-to-do lists for the weekend. Just feeling lazy.

And top of that, I need to find my passport. Of all the things that I have misplaced, this most important thing is the one I think I lost! grrr, I hope to find to find this or else, this is a big paper work to deal with AGAIN..

Goodnight!

Interior Designer Wanna be..

Yeah, I'm a frustrated interior designer wanna-be. That was my first choice of career that I want to pursue when I graduated from highschool. I love decorating my bed and even envisioned improving my parent's house. And now that I'm married, I have my space to play with. Before we moved in this house, my husband spent a lot of money on renovation, like what you call, home improvement. He was in Iraq and I was in Philippines when this house underwent renovation. My inlaw was the one in-charge with everything, and she did a great job. The shopping is the fun part here, but if you don't know where the cheap stuff are, then you'd end up spending too much on something. If you don't know where to go, then google is your friend, you could easily find the best deals if you're up to online shopping. Things like house paints, tools you need, and supplies and projects accessories, you can easily find better deals and bargains if you know the stores to get it from. Nothing beats a wise shopper you know, take it from me, I'm an online shopper too!

Letting someone go..

I had a long day yesterday, not to mention, a very emotional one. My inlaw and I went to our favorite stores, mailed boxes at the post office, went to visit and had lunch at her new friend's house, had our groceries done.. It was a busy day, a long one for me, I don't even have the time to finish my online job.

What happened? On our way home, we decided to take the dirt road. As we pass by, we saw a grown hound dog, sick, skin-and-bone kind. Mom stopped the truck, and can't help to see herself leaving the dog. I admit I was having second thoughts because it's a stray dog and who knows he might bite or attack us. But when I saw him and his gloomy sad eyes closely, my heart sank. I hate the people who just dumped him there. He's so weak that he can't even jump up the truck, so mom had to carry him. When we got home, we fed him and gave him water. He is so thirsty. After he ate, he turned to a happy boy, I;m sure I saw his face lightened a bit, and he wags his tail, like saying thank you.

Mom said she heard that people dump dogs and puppies there, mean people who don't know what to do with them. This is the 4th time she saw a dog. One time he picked up a Jack Russell puppy scared and lost. She took care of him, and find him a home. She wants to keep him, but she knows she can't afford to. Keeping a dog is just as expensive as having a baby here, as they say. I wish I could keep the hound dog too, but I just can't. Earlier this morning, we drove to the the county's animal shelter and turned him over. I know someone will take care of him.

I am hearbroken. I'm sad for him. I know we did the right thing, give him to right place. Wherever he will be, I know he will be fine. My inlaw and I were crying when we left the shelter.

I don't know who's to blame here, but one thing I know, I hate those people who doesn't have a heart and did that thing. *sigh*

Pimp that Bedroom!

So, I have decided to turn my bedroom into a master suite, and make it complete before hubby gets home on September. And I found a perfect bed set for the queen bed on ebay. Hubby loves blue and I'm so into earth color, so this pieces is really perfect for us. I'm watching this one and planning to bid on the last minute. I love this set and I have to get it!!

I need HELP. Please help me decorate our bedroom. It has light blue wall and ceiling paint, and beige carpet. I'll post pictures soon, I'm still in the middle of re-organizing everthing. Right now, I need websites where I could find ideas for color mix and matching, stuff to accentuate the bed etc. I just want it to look cozy and inviting, relaxing and the best room in the house..

The answer to my cravings..

Bought some stuff that will make me happpy for the rest of the week..

Arroz CaldO (rice porridge) - Sine I can't make my own..thanks for ready mixes out there!
Mango candies - I thought they were dried mangoes, oh well this will work, at least it's mangoes
Salted Duck eggs (itlog na pula!) - if paired with chopped tomatoes and rice, oh wow, ulam na ulam!
Dried Squid - I've been craving for this one for like months already! $6 for 6 oz. of it!! mahal... a crunchy fried dried squid will make my day for sure.

I got those, where else? at the Filipino store! Went there this afternoon to mail a balikbayan box to my family at 'Pinas, paid $100 for it. And since Im there already, I shopped quickly for something to eat, snacks that Walmart doesn't have or anywhere, but here. I'm so happy the box is gone. Glad my inlaw's here to help me with all this chaos.. lol

ciao!

Trade Show-biz

Whether you're new or been on business for years, marketing your services or products, advertising should always be there. I have seen newcomers's baby businesses booms initially with displaying their items thru trade show exhibits. I have been to a number of exhibits before, from weddings to cars to food trade shows, I've seen very appealing table covers and met friendly sales representives (that aren't pushy), and you know from that, you're sure the products are well introduced in the market. And from that, the next success stage of marketing is thru word-of-mouth. With me who could easily be swayed with colorfully designed table top display, I'm one of those few person that will help you drive business in your business. Oh well.

Rabbit Meat for a Gourmet Meal??

I would say I have an adventurous palette, I could be a vegetarian or a carnivorous on one hand. But eating Rabbit Meat for a meal? NO way. I love watching Food Network's Iron Chef America. Hubby and I always watch it, well any show about food we do watch it..does it show how much we like food huh? Well, I always get to see this episode, featuring rabbit meat as their secret ingredient, everytime. I think I have seen this for like 5x already! I'm getting sick of it.

IMO, a rabbit will always be a pet, not a delicacy, or a meat that you can eat. It's just awful to see them cooking it, Urghhh! I had a pet rabbit when I was a kid, and I love them so much. I can't eat this. I asked my husband if he do and he said why not, he eats it. Dang!! what's wrong with him?? lol I guess being vegetarian is the way to go.

Do you eat rabbit meat? oh please say no..

A Cheap Trip

I remember when my husband and I were still dating then, we love staying at hotels. Most of the time I'm the one who picks a hotel for him to stay at, of course I get the most romantic one I could get. Sometimes it's a little pricey, but it's worth paying for, but it's just a pain in the wallet. There are cheap options though, Cheaperthanhotels and such. If you're up for travelling, and let's say you want to get Cheap Manchester Hotels or Cheap Edinburgh Hotels, you could always get a deal that's right for your budget. Who doesn't like cheap good deals anyway? I'd rather go get something reasonable priced hotels than go splurge in a suite or something. If you're spending a holiday with your family of friends on a foreign country,get the best deals on rooms that you could get, I mean you'd be out all day anyway exploring and touring, and you only need a room to sleep at night, right?

Oh me, I want to go see Prince William, where do you go for Cheap London Hotels?

Batman was at Domino's today!

I didn't know that Batman's The Dark Night movie will be out on July 18th until I got a slice of Domino's Cloaked in Pepperoni Pizza. Batman's promotion is really effective, making it the cover it the cover of a pizza box?? But guess what, this is the best Pepperoni pizza I've ever had! I thought Papa John's was the best, but this one took my number one spot for pizzas.. Wish I could see Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger on the 18th, if hubby's here, we'd go. I think I'll just wait until it's up on Netflix.

Pedicure, the US style

After a week of working to the bone, finally I had the time to pay myself off with the hard work I did. The price? a day at the Nail Salon!! Got myself a nice pedicure. My mother-in-law and I decided today, we'll get one. For the record,this would be only my 2nd time to have it since I got here 8 months ago. First would be the day I got married last January, where my hubby paid $50 for a mani-pedicure package. Yeah, kinda pricey. Well, today's experience is great. The salon had undergone a little renovation, and one noticeable change are those big automated massage chairs, that I love!! You could choose whether you like a soft or hard massage, speed and stroke. I had fun. I thought maybe I could buy one of this chair in the future, so I asked my nail tech, how much this masseuse-chair costs. Wow, a whooping $5,000!! I could buy a good second hand car from that.. oh well





Paid $23 for pedicure, $7 for getting my eyebrow waxed, and $6 tip (don't forget). What a pleasurable, a little pricey pampering day..

I love Jewelry

I happened to stumble a jewelry website one time, while I was looking for wedding suppliers for my friend Rachiel. I have checked their engagement rings line, and my eyes are stunned, and wished I have one of everything. They are extremely beautiful! This site is a great online source for different high-end kinds and styles of rings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces you could think of. And it’s educational too at the same, it explains what you need to know about diamonds, gemstones and silver and gold, and cleaning tips and care. You can shop the price range of your choice, as well as by product you need and material, i.e. pearls, stones, silver, gold or even your birthstone. You can even buy items under $100! They have this bargain of the week and clearance center, everything is affordable I must say, it tells you how much you save on every item. Check out their diamond earrings! Don’t you just love them? They also offer free gift packaging and free FedEx delivery, 30day return and you can talk to a jewelry specialist if you have questions- great customer service really. I just signed up for their newsletter for exclusive offers.

20 Questions to know more About ME

Thanks Ynnuh for the tag!!

Here are the Rules for this tag:

Remove one (1) question from below and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag eight (8) people on your list. List them out at the end of this post.

1. What is your favorite food?
- Buffalo wings, Fried Chicken, French Fries, Chinese Food!

2. What was your happiest moment when you were a child?
- Family either goes to grocery every week or dine at Shakey's after a mass.

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
- I love the beach..

4. When was the first time that you feel the real love?
- San pa ba? with my hubby David

5. When you encounter a sad moment, what do you do?
- Tell hubby im sad, and get a big hug from him./ Call a friend.

6. What are you afraid to lose the most?
- My husband.

7. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
- Pay debts! Build a resort in Boracay and travel around the world.

8. What is the saddest moment for you last year (2007)?
- I left Philippines, happy and sad the same time.

9. What item do you wish you could buy next?
- a pink laptop

10. How do you cope with boredom?
- Shopping

11. When was your first kiss?
- a long time ago, cant tell the whole world, hellllo

12. What type of person do you hate the most?
- Control freak

13. What is your ambition?
- Be happy and healthy.

14. If you had one wish, what would you wish for?
- Husband to go home and stay for good.

15. How did you celebrate New Year?
- 2008? celebrate it with spaghetti and chicken alfredo, with hubby.

16. What has been the craziest thing you’ve ever done in your whole life?
- maybe cheat on a boyfriend? it's not even crazy.. haha

17. What do you look forward to in 2008?
- more money!

18. If your life is a song, what title best fits it?
- Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

19. What is your inspiration in life?
- husband and parents.

20. If you were to change one event in your life, what would it be?
- I should have had a big wedding in Philippines before I went here, US.

I want to pass this to Ellheym, Julie, Jhaney, Qtcotzkie, Mocca, Dezzy, Rossgirl, Lala

Bitch Stole My Fish

I just want to share you this picture that my brother sent me as a comment on my friendster. This is so funny! If you cant even smile on this one, then you have a problem! haha

Anyway, it's been a while since I posted something AGAIN! June have past without a word on this blog, poor me. My husband leaving have made so sad that I cant do things in a happy motivated mode, feels like my life has no excitement at all, boring solitary life.. not for a long time, oh Im so glad! We're counting the weeks almost everyday until he gets back on September. So theen, I'll be a happy girl again. He's working in Camp Bucca, and according to him it's a hell on earth kind-of place. Im glad he already have his own room to sleep with A/C. Before he's sleeping on a tent with 10 people, yeah no privacy at all. It sucks. I feel bad just thinking about it. Food is not good, he cant sleep good, what's worse, you have to walk out if you need a bathroom break. Yeah, shower room/toilet is a walk away.
Wish he'd just go home and work here instead. But like we agreed on, this is what he needs to do,for a little while and everything will be alright. I love my husband, Im so proud of him. Gosh, miss him soooo bad!

Feels like a marine's wife

It's been 3 days since my husband left for Houston, Texas. But it feels like forever! He will undergo training, medical and orientation there, then after 7-10 days, he'll fly to Iraq for work. I told myself I won't cry the day we drove to the airport, last Sunday. I cried all my heart out, I already missed him, given it has only been 30minutes since the last time we hugged. I'm so sad, so so so sad. It feels like my heart's breaking into pieces everytime I remember he won't be home for dinner, that no one will annoy me, hug me, kiss me, and the worst is, I'm going to sleep alone in our bed. I don't know what to do for me to get through the day. Hope I would feel better as time goes by. It will be 4-6months, then he'll be back, then another 4months until next year,hopefully sooner than that. I tried shopping the whole day with my mother-in-law for me to forget to be sad, but no, I would be cheating if I say I was ok. Tell me, who'd be sad shopping?? me!

Hope I'd feel better soon, I know this is hard for him too.

My online Boss(es)

I never thought having an online job could be as fun as well. It's always a continuous learning experience for me. I have a data entry/researcher job at Odesk and as a Virtual Assistant in GAF.

My buyer #1 -- He's an entrepreneur and holds a business website that tackles legitimate business opportunities that you can find online. He hired me straight away from an IM interview(chat). He said I could work on 40hours a week and gave me a 80hours limit! WOW. He's nice, and I can see myself working with him for a long time, as long as he needs my service.

My buyer #2 -- He's a writer/journalist. He's a contributor writer to major newspapers. He's from Berlin. Out of 89 people who applied as VA for him, I guess I'm the lucky one to get picked. Or maybe I did good with his sample research he gave out to each candidates. I work 20hours a week for him, sometimes more, and I get paid weekly too. And I can tell that this is a long-term job.

wahh, proud of my jobs! Not only it is a true learning experience for me, it also helps me in terms of time management and discipline. And it's great, earning $5 an hour is not bad.

Ramiele's gone, it should be Brook..

SAD. Not a lot of people remembered her name, on voting.

She got booted out. And Randy agreed so. I missed watching her performance the other day, but hubby had set the DVR the first week Amercan Idol started, so it's all recorded. I was expecting at least Brook or Jason, but unfortunately it's my girl. This is the only week that hubby missed watching the show since he worked overtime with one of his guy, and with him, he always get through the phone lines for voting. So I was thinking,maybe Ramiele got axed out because she didn't get any votes from hubby. lol

Maybe people didn't remembered her name, like her song goes,"Do you remember my name" by Dolly Parton, so she got less votes. Or maybe, people got tired of supporting her because she never get that "the right song yet" like the very critic Simon would always say. Oh well, the doors of having an album in Philippines is now open for her!

Xmods, the latest craze

My husband has always been a car aficionado, and it's always been his interest. Buying cars is a big thing I know that. But he has this latest addiction, he calls it a hobby, but I call it an expense.lol. He's into XMODS, like crazy. It started from buying one, only because his workmates have this. So we bought one on ebay, my thought was we wasted $50 for that. Okay he's happy with it, so it's ok with me. Then that RC didn't even lasted for 2days, it's broken. So, we bought a new one(the Black Transformer Barricade), at Radioshack. It still runs he said, but I don't see it here at home (maybe it's broken too hehe). And then the next week, he bought a set, like one of everything, it's used though, but it costs him $114, because of people bidding on it too. Here's the mess..

I admit, I play with it too. And it's a little interesting because you can customize or pimp it the way you want to, like you can buy chassis, tires, wheels and batteries etc.

XMODS delivers the ultimate in customizable RC. You can upgrade motors, tires and suspension, and get completely tricked out with hot body kits and graphics from the A-List names in aftermarket parts, including Versus, Sparco, Eibach and Bomex just to to name a few.

Oh well, boys love cars and women loves shopping!

busy as a bee

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted something!

I'm neglecting my blog, just been gone busy juggling 2 online jobs, 1 online store, dropping off stuff for sale at consignment stores, being a wife and a homemaker. Now this, would really take all your time. To add to that I do mylotting too, which you could earn more cents and dollars than waiting for your google adsense to reach up payouts.

Anyway, I'm happy with all this busy stuff I've been doing, I promise to update my Innocence once in a while. It's just been hectic this past two weeks..

Not your ordinary Jeep

My husband and I were driving on Hi-way 17, on our way to his doctor's appointment for a breathing test,that's for his doc to find out what has been going on with his system, aside from having high blood pressure at the age of 28. Speaking of doctor's appointment, I'll have mine a month from now, from calling for an appointment a month ago!! yeah two months for a new patient, that's how long it takes! Oh well, welcome to America! lol but you know, they have the best doctor here and a variety of specialists..

Ok, going back to HiWay 17, hubby and I just suddenly thought about our baby, our jeep back in 'Pinas. We miss driving it. It isn't just an ordinary jeep FYI, as you can see. it's a full stainless steel ,all polished up with great interiors with a 5-speed Saturn engine! yeah, on a jeep!
I tried to inquire how much will it take to ship the jeep here, the cheapest cargo business office I've went to, quoted me an almost whopping $3,900++ for a 20' container!! And where on earth will we get the money for that??

It's not only the jeep that I miss back in 'Pinas.. It's really hard fighting back homesickness, if someone of you could relate to me, I know what Im talking about. I miss my dad, my little sister, everyone back home, my dog Roxy--even I never pet her ever, because she's wild, I miss her! i miss the foods, foods that I can't eat or buy here--the streetfoods, that to-go meals at canteens, riding tricycles and jeepneys, the pandesal(filipino breakfast bread), going to church every Sunday, the showbiz gossip, Tudings, Jollibee.. and the list goes on, oh I forgot, I miss my friends.lol

Who's your American Idol bet?

Who else?
Ramiele Malubay!!

My husband has never been interested with watching any singing competition on tv, but guess what, he voted for Ramiele 10x last night!! haha I only just got through the AI line 2 times, so there, we contributed 12 votes for her, hope she gets enough votes for her to make it at top 12 tonight. I am so going to watch it! I am so proud of her,all Filipinos are, and all asians(I guess), she's the only asian who's in the game right now, and a pure Pinay! woohoo! Im not being biased or something, only because she's of the same blood, well you've seen her performances, and heard judges's positive remarks everytime (except for that comment of this-is-not-your-song thing). She has the voice, the talent, and stage performance, she got it!

Ok let's talk about other contestants, my other favorite would be David Archuleta and Danny Noriega and Carly, Syesha and Ramiele. David A. will surely make it, he has the ultimate voice, he got Simon to comment to him being the best vocals in this competition, I so agree. As for Danny, he's hot!! there's this speculations of him being gay over the web. But he's not, my husband said he is so gay. I don't know gay or straight, I love Danny!! If you'd check his profile on AI, lotsa girls wants to marry him, loves him, adores him.. oh well he have this unexplainable appeal. Is he in any way a half Filipino?? hmm..

Got an online job, wooohooo!

If you noticed, I haven't posted anything lately. As much as want to, I just never had a time. Im busy every Tuesdays and Wednesdays because that's my husband's rest day and we have a lot of chores to do at home. And that's the only two days I could spend all day with him, so he comes first. He just celebrated his birthday last 25th, and two days ago, it was our first monthsary (first month anniversary)...sweet..sweet.. He greeted me first at past 1am, I was so surprised he remembered.

The On Demand Global Workforce - oDeskAnyway, what kept me busy was that I got hired recently on odesk. It's my first online job! It's been two weeks since I lodge in my application there, and now I got my first project. My employer is nice, and says Im doing a great job,nice huh? Im just so happy with it. Ok, Odesk is an outsource for web programmers, and other jobs. Well, there's a variety of jobs there that you can choose, whichever you have a real knowledge and experience on. It's a legitimate and secure site, and it's a sure pay once you've done your task, and you get paid hourly, or by fixed price. Your hourly rate will depend on you, set your own, could be $2-$20, depends on the job difficulty. Since this is my first online job, Im doing the best I can to make my employer happy, you know happy means you could get a bonus! woohoo. So sign up now, help me some get some bonus too, if you sign up with me referring you.

Got headache?

I know this blog isn't updated than it used to be. I'm get headaches lately, like everytime I would stay on for hours in front of my PC, my temple will just hurt like it's being grinded. It's so horrible. I was busy searching online about stuff to sell, famouse clothing brands, their prices, marketing strategy and all that. Also, I signed up for a forum that pays, see it here. My online business has been doing good, I had my first taste of profit this afternoon. My mother-in-law and I set up a meet at downtown Jacksonville so we could meet our buyers.. I'm such a bad seller, I have a $10 investment with all the item I bought, and have a 200% profit for selling it all off, nice huh? Well, there's bunch of people who has a lot of money to spend for an item, and they don't care how much it is. They just go and buy it. And that is business for me, oh yeah! haha

My husband's birthday's coming up, I have to think of what to make for dinner. Too bad he has to go to work on Monday and can't have an off. Ok, im logging out and lay down to rest, this headache is killing me, Advil works but I would still have headache the next day..oh geez

6 Quirky Things About me

6 Quirky Things About Me

Thanks to Jhaney for this tag. I still have one tag to make from Mocca.. Im not good with this tags, who invented this anyway?? ok here goes

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog.Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Unimportant things/habits/quirks about my self.
1. I organize my clothes by hanging them using one color of hanger for my formal wear, one color for casual, one color for shirts. Then I just fold my sleepwear.
2. I don't like wrinkled clothes, if I have iron it, I will.
3. If I have to much to do in a day, I would end doing nothing.
4. Trash and clutter drive me crazy, I like everything clean.
5. It takes me an hour and half to get dressed up and ready before going out of the house.
6. I prefer wearing PJs and shirt when Im just at home.

I'd like to pass this tag to Ynnuh, Julie Ann,Moccalyn,Lala, Ross_girl! have fun

Jonathan, the little drummer boy

I happened to stumble upon this video of a very adorable talented little boy, and he is just 4years old! He played drums for one whole song.. he's from Sweden, and his dad said he doesn't even know where he got the talent from!

It's so cute that I kept on watching him over and over again

free website traffic

I just noticed, people are going gaga with maximizing their blog's traffic. I admit I'm one of them. Ain't it fun looking at your traffic stats going up and up everyday? And what could be more crazy is to have regular readers and avid ones who would subscribe to your feeds? People have different ways to drive all of these on a successful way. So here's my share of things I did that so far that improved my traffic:

1. Submit your website to major search engines- This will include Google, MSN, and yahoo. By doing this, it will allow the search engines to crawl your site and index it accordingly in the natural listing.

2. Marketing your article/s- simmply write articles that interest you and submit it it squidoo, ezinearticles, newsletters, PR Web,or to any of famous online blogs that invites free article submission. Of course,you'll provide your link and website information together with that. Now if someone find it interesting, there, you get an instant visit/s.

3. Exchange links- you get some outright from you blogger friends! easy..

4. Forum posting/ Blog commenting- hey, I'm so good with this, I'm a member of a number of forums of my interest. Just put your URL on your signature line and everyone who would read your post would check your blog out and see what you have.

5. Email marketing- Add up your website to your outgoing signature, simple as that.

6. List it! - social networking websites is free, like friendster, myspace, facebook, flickr, stumbleupon, imeem, etc. see how many friends you have, and friends of friends

7. Don't forget widgets- entrecards, twitter, mybloglog, blog catalog, cbox or tagboards etc. You don't have to have this all in your blog. Just make sure your site don't look cluttered with all these.

8. Classified advertising- IF you have money, major search engines will always be there to sell an ample space for you. This sure will drive traffic, but of course, for a price

But you always have to remember, your articles or posts should have to have depth and quality, to earn regular readership or fans if you want to call it that way. Speak your heart out.

share your lists, did I miss something?

Playtime with Mother-in-law

It was playtime again. My mother-in-law and I drove to our favorite thrift store. It's been a week and it's about time to go and check out what's new in my store. I don't feel motivated to do much today and so I called her that we need to go and spend our quarters! As usual I got myself some books again, it's like my therapy, it adds up to my sanity, it's just weird, seeing books piling up in my office makes me happy, even though some of them would go to my online store. It's a blood rush when you see your items selling out. It's really exciting.

Birthday greetings to my bes Anthony!! Stay happy man and God bless! hmm getting older again haha

Got flowers, you?


Hubby said he can't give me anything this Valentine's, we just paid off some bills so money's a little tight. It's not a big deal to me though, what's important is we're together and this is our first Valentines as husband and wife; well we never celebrated it together ever since, he's in Iraq and I was back in Pilipinas.

Then today, I was in the middle of my get-my-big-belly-thin exercise, when a UPS van pulled over in front of the house and honked its horn, I was like it's must his shoes he ordered online a week ago. I stepped out of the porch and then I saw this 1800-flowers box sitting outside.. *big grin* Im so surprised, he really can't missed giving me flowers on Valentine's hehe


Just started my store!

I just listed some items in my Lejeune Yard Sales. Now,this how it goes here, should you find something you want, it's either you come to my house or we'll meet downtown Jacksonville. Now let's say you're from California or Kuwait, dang! that's not gonna work..But I'm willing to ship the item for you wherever you are, for a minimum shipping/handling fee. I accept paypal payment.

NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE, CHECK BACK AGAIN

Lejeune Yard Sales was built for Camp Lejeune garage sales fanatics, as well as those who love Camp Lejeune rummage sales, Camp Lejeune flea markets, Camp Lejeune moving sales, Camp Lejeune estate sales, Camp Lejeune auctions, and all-around good deals.

Looking for new template

hmmm, I feel like my template looks cluttered up. And im not happy with my font style, trying to change it the way I want it, but no success.. here's what I want:

change my header--> which is a lot of work, which I have to do some photoshop
change the whole template--> but make room for friendly ads (..yep)
I just want it not to look bland and out of color, I want it a little girly..grrr

this sounds like a big project

Shrimp Fettuccine

How about a good treat for husband tonight? Im cooking Shrimp Fettuccine. He loves anything shrimpie. Me? I love Bubba Gump, I miss eating there at Greenbelt Makati. Ok, I got this recipe at foodnetwork, and it's really delicious!!two thumbs up, you better try this, ok here goes the ingredients:

3/4 pound fettuccine pasta
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large sweet red pepper, halved, cored, seeded and cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 small onion, cut lengthwise in 1/2 and thinly sliced crosswise
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds medium-size shrimp, shelled and deveined
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook pasta in large pot of lightly salted boiling water until al dente, firm but tender, about 12 minutes. Add the green beans to the boiling water for the last 6 minutes of cooking; beans should be crisp-tender and not limp.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet red pepper, onion and garlic; saute for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the shrimp; saute 2 minutes. Add the wine, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are opaque, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp.

Whisk together the chicken broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until well blended and smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the skillet. Bring to boiling; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the parsley.

Drain the pasta and green beans in a colander; turn the pasta into a large bowl. Add the shrimp mixture; toss until well combined. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

thinking business

Mom-in-law have come up with an idea of something we could get money with,and that's making handmade soap and soap petals. Aside from the ebay and lejuene yard sales business that I'll starting soon, that would something that will add to the income. Anyway, we made a bunch yesterday, it's really lovely to look at, petals in red, white and pink; all in time for this week's Valentines day..I'm thinking of giving some free sample here hmm...Oh yeah, nice idea..

no blog title..

I just don't know what to blog today, I'm feeling lazy and crabby.. There's just so much to do today, but all I wanted is to lay in bed and sleep all day. I have to wash clothes, clean the kitchen from last night's midnight snack we had, honey and I love jalapeno poppers and curly fries at night.. I'm just so glad that I don't have to work on my office, because I got it done yesterday, it's all clean now, ready for some job to do. I love my office, I have a stack of books, shelves of things to sell online, my own pc, my little studio and set of cameras; and guess what my wall and ceiling is painted pink haha! be jealous.. lol


Oh I just checked our mailbox yesterday, guess what I got? A 2008 Jollibee calendar!! wooohooo! For those who don't know, Jollibee is a food chain counterpart of McDonalds in Philippines. And when it comes to fried chicken, oh yum, they have the best, aside from KFC of course..Actually there's a lot of food I miss back home, there's:
kare-kare(oxtail in peanut butter sauce)
dinuguan ( pork stew in pig blood sauce)
itlog na pula (red egg--salted egg)
kwek-kwek (fried boiled egg drenched in yellow batter)
isaw (bbq'd pig intestines)
proven (deep-fried chicken skin)
Yeah i love this foods,it sounds nasty to you but it's heaven to me. Dave dislike it all, and would say I eat gross stuff..lol oh well, I think my palette is a little adventurous compare to anyone.

Oh, I shouldn't miss this thing to blog. I got a forward message from Christian, my highschool friend, it says HOW TO STAY YOUNG: read on..

HOW TO STAY YOUNG....

1. Throw out non-essential numbers.
This includes age, weight, and height.
Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.
(Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

3. Keep learning
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

4. Enjoy the simple things


5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with her/him !


6. The tears happen:
Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with us our entire life, is our self.
LIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love:
Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.


8. Cherish your health:
If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall, even to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.


10. Tell the people you love, that you love them - at every opportunity.


And if you don't send this to at least four people - who cares?

But do share this with someone.


Ain't it cute?? feel free to pass this on! have a great day, stay young!

WANTED: an english bulldog puppy

My husband and I have agreed on having a dog soon. I prefer a puppy, he likes an adult dog. I prefer small cute dogs like chihuahuas or shih tzus, which I can just put in my bag while I'm shopping, and he wants a medium size one. Our preferences really don't agree. And so I had a change of mind, I said,.."honey, how about a big dog, like chow or lab?" and he said it's too big, like it could grow bigger than me! Ok then we compromise to settle on medium size dog,not too hairy. A friend of him knows someone who's giving her english bulldog pup for free and ask if we want it, we're like ok sure, without knowing that this puppies are costing from $1600 to $2800 each! I don't even know what they look like,so googled it up..And it's been 45mins late when someone took the puppy already..we could have got it if only we're earlier.

Now we're looking for one. We tried looking for cheaper one,and I found some classifieds online, there's one that says he's only charging for the shipping fee $400, because he wants someone to take care of the dog..yeah, that was so good to be true..so I emailed him using husband's,we got a reply so fast and it says;

he's currently in Nigeria and he just want to give the puppy away for free...

Like any Nigeria spams you have heard and got from someone, it's the same thing. And how did I know it's a hoax? I replied to 2 different ads saying they're selling pups for only 300-400,I enquired about how the process goes blah blah blah.. and guess what I got the same email but the guy is using a different email address. And the other email but of different person says he's from US but currently in China and he'll ship the dog through Virgin airlines the very next time he gets the money, now does this sound real?? you can't even buy the same puppy with special needs for as less as 300...

So beware of scammers, and don't get carried away with cheap price. We could have lost $300 for nothing..Oh well, we'll just wait until we saved up for that, we really want one.

How about this one?

Superbowl fever

I'm not a football fanatic,so seeing a live football game is the last thing on my mind. I've watched some game on tv, but never really paid attention to it, all I know is "touchdown" and players who'd turn the game to boxing..lol But what's up with this year's Superbowl??

I never thought that this event is so famous until my friend Jackie told me about it, Dave and I supposed to get a hotel room at Palace Station, Las Vegas (where she works) for dates Feb 2-5, and we're not going there for the game dear but for the Shot Show 2008. Supposedly we'll get a discounted room with her, but 50 days before that she informed me that rooms are already all fully-booked on those days and that is because of that Superbowl. Not only that, she said most hotels usually jacked up their prices as high as 150%, because fans doesn't care how much it is, all they want is watch their favorite team to play. Well, our Las Vegas plans didn't push through because of that, and the wedding we just had. Honey and I just agreed on putting it off somewhere October, where Barrett-Jackson auction show will be.

Btw, how much are Superbowl tickets?? Dave looked it up on ebay and it is 3,000 for 6seaters, and there's one up for sale for 4,999 for 2 seats!!! wow

tag from Ynnah

Thanks girl! Happy New Year to you

After serious and cautious consideration…your contract of friendship has been renewed for the New Year 2008! It was a very hard decision to make. So try not to screw it up!!!My Wish for You in 2008 May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires! May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words May 2008 be the best year of your life!

Officially M A R R I E D


ღღ Just Married ღღ
I'm the happiest woman in the world right now . It's now official, I'm Mrs.Bethel now in US and Philippines. We got married at a methodist church where he is a member. We invited few, just family and his friends. My family wasn't there but I know in their hearts they're there. I also invited few friends but they were'nt able to come due to distance, they'd be all coming from the west coast. A few came from those few invited, and it was surprising. But doesn't made me and my husband sad or what. I was more of thrilled and nervous, and teary (but Dave's more!) And of course very happy. The ceremony lasted for like 30mins, shorter than we thought. It was very solemn. Then a lovely reception follows, and that I would give kudos to my mother-in-law, sister-in-law Ashley and Ms Debbie for all the help they did for the preparations. Mom Helen cooked the food oh the best pasta ever! I want to eat more but you know I can't because my gown's getting tighter..lol

Some pics to share:

all smile


smoochin'

2 days before the wedding

just an update with our preparations for this sunday's wedding.. we're almost done with everything, helped my future mom-in-law with groceries and flowers. I never thought I'd so stressed out thinking about all what must be done before sunday comes, so you know the ceremony would be the one I (and Dave) picturing. I am happy I'll be marrying the man I want to spend my whole life with, and that's 2 days from now.. Sad as well because my family would'nt be able to witness that event. Don't you wish you have the best of both worlds?

Thrift store tour


Fond of ukay-ukay shopping?? it's a.k.a. thrift store shopping here. The difference is that stores here have variety of things to sell, from clothes, to toys, furnitures, home decors, books, and even fitness equipments! all at a very low price and sometimes they're branded! in Phils., they only sell shoes, clothes, and toys.. here, it's even way cheaper than you could think of. Today, I had my playtime with mom-in-law at Helping Hands thrift store, clothes are on sale, for only $0.50!! yeah fifty cents. With $20 in my hand, oh I took all what I could put in my cart, and here's what I bought:

Victoria secret sleeping top
Ralph Lauren green long sleeves
L.L. Bean collar shirt
GAPs and Old Navys shorts and mini-skirts
Tommy Hilfiger's pink long sleeves
Nike basketball short
Esprit white tennis shoes
Bratz and barbie dolls (w/o clothes)
Aeropostale cotton shirt
Mudd gray 3/4 sleeve
etc..

nice huh?

Barrett-Jackson

Sold! for $72,000!!
I was watching the 37th Annual Barret-Jackson collector car auction show on tv. And this is one of my favorites, well aside from the million-dollar-worth cars yesterday. I'm still loving pink. I'd bid on this one if I'm there, and if have the money of course.

It's my BEERDAY :-)

And so I got some coffee mugs for free yesterday! It was NAVYFED's annniversary, 75th or 76th, can't remember. We went there to signed some papers and the lady who assisted us was so accomodating. Honey said they have the best deal as to checking and savings account so far compare to banks, and as I can see it, they offer reasonable interest rates for different kind of loans. I could have open my own checking account but I forgot what's my social security then, I think we'll just wait after the wedding, so we don't have to go back there and change my last name.

Oh, it's the 18th today.. it's my birthday! *yay* I'm getting older now, and that makes me an older woman to Dave by 38 days. And he always jokes about him marrying an old woman on the 27th. I thought it's not a big deal, and when I realized that our ages will be on the marriage contract, oh well, oh yeah it is for me now! haha

I have some wish list; aside from good health, more love, an english bulldog this year, more money so we could go back to Philippines next year and most of joy-filled married life. For material things (of course!) click on the right, it's all in there :-)

Im getting a Saturn!!

so this is the car I'm going to have, it's a 2001 Saturn SC2. I have no knowledge that honey was looking for a car for me, and he talked to this lady who's selling her saturn (with busted engine) for not even a thousand dollars, for the reason that she just want to get rid of it! and yeah, that's a great deal. And so we went to her place this morning, just few miles away from here to check if it's good or not. Dave is a professional mechanic, so he knows what's wrong with a car with just simply touching it..lol can't say anything more, he loves cars and he knows how to take care of them. So there, here's the picture of what I'm going to drive soon. All he have to do it replace some parts and voila! the car will run again. Car's interiors are still great, power windows, sunroof..well of course some visible sign of wears at bumpers but that's not a big deal for me, so it's good! yes, we're getting it!!! we'll pick it up later, I'll post more pics.

Got Marriage License

We just applied for a marriage license today! It was quicker than I thought, we only spent 10mins at the Register of Deeds and that's it, we have a paper saying we can marry within 60days. And the wedding date is set to the 27th, yeah 11days to go and im changing my last name to his. Im so excited, thrilled with the preparations. It's a simple wedding with few people invited, and that's the way I wanted to be. I have met some of people that is like a family to him, and everyone's great and fun to talk to.

Change topic. Have you heard of the Onslow county marine murder case? that was so horrible and disgusting, a heartbreaking case. I hate to talk about it but it is really something to let everyone know. I live at Onslow County, and Camp Lejuene is just 20miles away from here. Latest news update can be found at WITN. The suspect marine is still at large and reward is at stake of who could tip where he is right now.

drift cars myspace layouts



I'm thinking of myspace layout again, I find mine very gothic, how boring? lol... I googled and this are of my few choices, now help me decide

Black eyed peas on New Year

Happy New Year to y'all!!!
So how did you spent your new year? Oh mine was totally different from what I'm accustomed to. In Philippines, roads are often blocked for street parties and for setting up fireworks, not to mention the famous "media noche", where you share a dinner with your family and invited guests at 12:01 midnight. We always have superstitions and beliefs that became a tradition for all years, mostly are adapted from Chinese culture.. oh well, all of this are truly missed..My 2008 celebration is different. Despite that, I'm still happy, because I'm spending it with my honey, it's our first ever.

Ok here (NC), there's a ban for fireworks, so no loud pla-pla, superlolo, or even a fivestar here, or else you're going to jail once caught.
Second, no 12-midnight feast. Yeah, it's a little sad,but we and his friend Eric did it, we ate Chicken Alfredo and Spaghetti at midnight. Good thing, they have xbox to play with while waiting for that 12:00 dinner! poor guys..but I appreciate them doing that, it made me feel like I'm at my country.
Third, it is a tradition here to eat Black eyed peas on January 1st on lunch (or dinner). Those peas symbolize money that you'll get for the rest of the year. So it's like, the more you eat, the more you get. Dave cooked it with ham, and it was so good!

 
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