Monday Sickness

Everyone has this; the day just varies for some. As for me, I can say that my sickness have peaked as soon as I woke up this morning. Although my design tasks this week isn't that many, I have so many backlogs from sideline projects that I'm sure I'd be spending all day trying to finish them. I know we just came from a three day vacation but seeing the luxury vacations that are popping everywhere online makes me want to book a package ASAP. I wish I could go back time when I could sleep up to 11AM or have the pleasure of napping in the afternoons.

Money on Dating Programs

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Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine

Been checking Amazon books because my client will be coming home this July. He said he can fill an entire box for me so I should order what I can online. I've been dying to complete my Griffin and Sabine collection and I think this is the perfect time to purchase them.



I'm also thinking of buying some of my favorite titles in used condition. This way, I'd get to buy tons of books without spending too much. I wanted to get a laptop but figured July is too near so I won't be able to save enough money. We can always do it on November since my client comes home every four months.

Designing for Friends

I've been receiving so many design projects lately. Most of them are pro bono of course, either a favor for a friend or a close relative. There's the birthday invites and now, a graphic design to be printed on promotional pens. My sister-in-law is organizing her company's annual Employee Night party and needed to cut down on several suppliers to fit the budget. Instead of paying someone to do the design for the pens, I volunteered to make them then we'll just buy the pens in bulk in Divisoria. She immediately said yes (who wouldn't) and told me how she will never forget my kindness LOL. Honestly, I love designing stuff for my friends. It just makes the designs more beautiful because I designed them for love, not money.

Backyardigans Invite

I was assigned to design the party invitations for my godson's first birthday party. The theme is Backyardigans so I'm searching the web for free artworks that I can use (similar below).

I'm so excited to design the invites because I have so many ideas that I want to use. And since the parent is a close friend of mine, I'm feeling slightly pressured to do an excellent job. I hope they won't be disappointed though. I initially planned on doing a pop up invite but figured it will be too hard to replicate for 100 guests. Besides, I'm doing this for free and I just don't have the luxury to cut, fold and paste 100 invites. I managed to convince my friend to just go with a simple two-fold card so we can easily re-create them. Wish us luck! Now, off to find that artwork.

Junk is all around me

I'm looking for cheap custom boxes that I can use as storage boxes. We have so many old clothes, toys, books, house stuff that I want to put away but I want it to be organized so I wouldn't find any problems finding them in the future. My husband complains all the time whenever he wants to revisit his past (translation: look at old useless junk with sentimental value) because I always tell him that whatever he's looking for is buried so deep it'd be impossible to get it. It's true though. Even my old journals and drawings are now good as gone. Unless I can find a way to organize all our junk, and perhaps have the heart to throw some of the useless ones away, my stuff will never see the light of day.

Our tagaytay trip

Just sharing some photos from our Tagaytay trip. It rained so hard (what's new) so we spent most of our time inside the hotel. Good thing the hotel where we were staying has enough amenities to keep the little princess and The Husband happy. When we're not inside the room (the room was huge btw!), you'd see Sandy in the playhouse while on the other room, The Husband can be seen playing billiards. Sandy met another friend too. That's what I like about kids. They don't need any reason to befriend someone.

Everyone's Talking About It

Are you ready for SocialSpark? IZEA recently launched their new social networking tool and encouraging every advertiser and blogger to join them. Social Spark is so much different from other online advertising medium in so many ways:

1. Search engine friendly. All outgoing links are no-follow so you don't have to worry about violating any search engine rules.

2. 100% Transparency. Each post requires that you add a small code which will serve as a disclosure badge

3. Bloggers and advertisers have the means to interact with each other directly

4. Extensive reports and blog analytics

5. Option to display ads or sponsored ads.

Aside from the items mentioned above, I just love how cool the website looks. There are featured blogs, hot blogs, featured opportunity, list of latest bloggers who grabbed opps, recent comments on specific opps and many more. I absolutely love everything about this site, from the navigation to interface to interactivity. It reminds me so much of Apple website which I really like. Finding a blogger is easy too, just mouse over any thumbnail on the Blogs’ section and see the realrank of that blog. Each blog has their own profile page where you can read a brief description about the blog, demographics, categories, latest blog post and other stats like number of opps taken, posts per day, views, blog rolls and sponsorships.

Try it now! Not only you'll have a chance to make money on the side but you might meet new friends as well.

*This post is sponsored.

Gaining Weight

I gained weight again! Just when I thought I'd had enough of the treadmill, the weight that I lost came back to haunt me, literally. I'm so tired that I don't know if I'll ever find the will to exercise again. When I wake up each morning, I just have enough time to feed and give the little girl a bath before she goes to school. As soon as she leaves, I need to get started with my work. This is the most precious time of the day because no one can ever interrupt me. So you see, working out is totally out of the question. That or I'm just finding a way to get out of it.

Home Safe Home

When I was single, I never really worried about my safety that much. But now that I'm a mother, security is always on top of my list especially for our home. I've been reading online about several types of home security systems that we can install in our house. There are indoor and outdoor security systems (which we already have) that gives off alarms when someone opens a door or window. There's also the close-circuit television (CCTV) and wireless video surveillance (VSS) so you can see what's happening around you straight from your TV. These things will cost you from $195 to $1000++ depending on your security needs. Regardless, I highly suggest you install a home security system not only to protect your valuables but also so keep your family safe.

Cooking for her Papa

We were watching a cooking show when all of a sudden, she asked if I can put her kitchen inside the room. It was around 9:30PM and past her bed time already so I said no. Not one to give up easily, she explained:

"I want to be a chef. I want to cook something for Papa."

So after she promised that she will sleep in 30 minutes, I placed her kitchen inside our room.



She washed the cooking pots and pans before she used them. When she was done mixing the vegetables, she asked if I can give her a baby blanket. I gave her a cloth diaper instead and she used it to wipe the veggies. I asked her why she was cleaning them and she replied, "Because the lady chef is washing the vegetables also".

First and Last

Your First And Last.

Snagged from Aggie

* First real job: Technical Support Engineer
* First screen name: TheCrush
* First funeral: My grandmother
* First pet: Esprit - a white furry dog.
* First piercing: Ears.
* First tattoo: None.
* First credit card: Visa.
* First kiss: I have lots of stolen kisses from my elementary classmates. My first kiss however was from my first "real" boyfriend when I was 13. It was a quick peck on the cheek but it felt like heaven back then hahaha
* First enemy: I consider myself the friendliest girl in school so I can't remember making any enemies. Even when I was working, everyone loved me as much as I loved them ;)

Last
* Last car ride: Yesterday when we bought groceries and I had my haircut
* Last kiss: The little girl.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

You Are Most Like Carrie!

You're quirky, flirty, and every guy's perfect first date. But can the guy in question live up to your romantic ideal? It's tough for you to find the right match - you're more than a little picky. Never fear... You've got a great group of friends and a great closet of clothes, no matter what!Romantic prediction: You'll fall for someone this year... Totally different from any guy you've dated.

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

Trying to save

I need to open another savings account. I've been spending a lot of money, including my earnings on my paypal so I want another account where I can deposit my sideline money directly. Then I'll make sure to transfer all cash from my paypal to this account so I won't be tempted to shop online. It's the only way that I can think of to stop myself from spending especially now that I discovered ebay.ph. I really should steer clear from online shops that accepts paypal. Just because it's easy to purchase doesn't mean I have to buy all their stuff ;)

School Girl

Sandy started school last week. Here are some of her photos just before she left.



I just love how cute her legs look with her white socks and shiny black maryjanes. She's really a baby no more. She chose her own bag, preferred Princess over Barbie. Her pencil case, pencils, erasers were all from Barbie though. She wanted a rain coat with a matching umbrella but the ones that we saw were too big for her. Her papa insisted on a pooh umbrella instead because it's so much smaller. When Sandy saw it, she sort of had a mini tantrum because she'd rather have the one with Little Mermaid on it. Definitely a diva in the making moment. We didn't give in, by the way. The great thing about her growing up is she knows who the boss is. Still, it won't stop her from trying just in case we let her have her way. ;) (got that trait from me LOL

Random Questions

Feed your mind and blog with Randomness

1. What is your favorite day of the week?
Wednesday because there's only one day left and it's Friday already.

2. How do you usually wear your hair?
When my hair was long, I usually tie it in a pony at home. Now that it's short, I just leave it as it is. How stylish I know haha.

3. What is your favorite item of clothing?
My skinny jeans and long shirts. It makes my hips and thighs smaller

4. Where would your dream vacation be?
Right now it would be El Nido, Palawan. Five nights and six days doing nothing but lying down on the beach, having a massage and pigging out on food. All diets should be stopped for the meantime when you're having a vacation. You can always work out, diet or pop a diet pill when you get back from paradise.

5. Who is your favorite author? book?
Nick Bantock, Jane Green, Pablo Neruda. My fave books at the top of my head are Griffin and Sabine trilogy, time traveler's wife, Catcher in the Rye

6. How often do you log on?
Everyday for 14 hours

7. What is one of your favorite internet sites to visit?
My blogs, my friends' blogs, Hollywood gossips, parenting and technology bogs

8. Coke or Pepsi?
I'm not a soda drinker.

9. Do you prefer healthy snacks or junk food?
Junk food hands down!

10. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Is there such thing as an afternoon person?

All About Rap

You love rap music? Check out rapartists.com for your daily dose of rap genre. Read about the latest albums of your favorite artist, download ring tones, be updated with hip hop news and gossip or chat with other hip hop fans around the world through the site's forum. Getting to know your favorite rap artist is easy. Just browse through their A- Z listings from 2Pac to Beastie Boys, to Kanye West to Rick Ross. You'd be amazed on how many rap artists they have on their database. So if you want to read about Jay Z Biography or see all his albums and photos, just click on E-J and voila, you'd have access to his website, height, sign, birthday, real name and even download Jay Z ring tones. The site's design is very cool too, all black and gold reminding me of bling blings ;).

Today's gonna be a wonderful day

Not true but the night has yet to arrive so I'm still hoping for the best. Plus the title was just the result of my listening to Sandy's new Hi5 DVDs while I work. It was her latest favorite and her 12th DVD, by the way.

I'm feeling like something's wrong with me lately. I don't know if it's because I'm not working hard as I usually do (working hard is my therapy). I know I should feel great because I've been exercising for the last five days but I don't. I was running because I want to persuade my husband to do the same but I'm honestly not enjoying that much. Everyday I have to come up with reasons why I couldn't hit the treadmill but I try to stay strong and continue with the workout anyway. The extra weight is still, not showing any signs of leaving at all. Of course, it's only been what, five days but I'm thinking I should've taken diet pills like Leptitrex instead. Even if I'm not breastfeeding, I never really take anything without researching about the product. So scratch the pills. Absolutely no dieting too, I simply can't do it! The only option left - exercise.

As for working harder, there's just not enough task at work, making the paranoid side of me think that they don't need me anymore. There are tons of stuff to do for sidelines though so I'm still busy as ever. Nothing ever gets done in time though because my mind is just not up for it.

I need to get back in the groove. ASAP. Maybe I should pamper myself more or treat the family to a getaway sooner than planned.

Designs and Trash

I need to design a logo. The problem is my creative juices have totally gone dry. I just have no idea how to start. I've visited my favorite websites but none of them were even close to inspiring me. Well, except for this cool page where they teach you how to buy a bus, (see chalkboard effect on the way the notes were written), I couldn't, for the life of me design a logo. I tried to incorporate the style of the chalkboard but ended up having a design so similar it borders on plagiarism. So no, thank you. I'd just have to try again.