Sunday, June 28, 2009

I Earned My First Toner Online!

I know, I know. This sounded so childish. But it's really something for me. Coz I finally realized my dream of earning something from this blog - one of the very main reasons why I started my own blog 2 years ago.

Blogspot has grown so much from the time when I first started blogging for my child. I couldn't log in as myself when I wanted to blog from my perspective. But now, it's no longer that way. So I could choose to blog from whoever's perspective as I deemed appropriate. Well, with this new feature, I don't really need my own blog, do I? Wrong. I still need my own blog, since there's another reason - I would like to earn some extra income for myself. I’ve watched many of my friends earning something online. It’s really tempting. But since I’m not a frequent blogger, my application to PPP got rejected. Ouch! That was it. I don’t think I could catch up to really get paid to blog about something, looking at my back-dated posts. But hey, I found another way. Although it’s just a one time deal kind of thing, but still, it’s something.

So, here I would like to share with you this easy money-making scheme. I believe good things should be shared. It’s really simple, you just need to submit your blog(s) here and they will assess your blog(s) and come back to you with an offer for a link(s) at your blog(s), of which the size depends on your blogs popularity, page rank and age. I could have made more with my baby's blog, but I chose to maintain my standpoint that I would not commercialize my baby's blog. It's solely for their memories when they grow up next time. Well, unless I get really desperate, which I hope I won't!

There are a few rules that you need to follow, though.

The blog must be written in English
The blog must be updated regularly
The blog must be over 3 months old
The blog must have original content
The blog must NOT have explict content


So there, go on and make some money for your blogs! Good luck!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Birthday Psalms

I am lucky to share the same birthday as St. John the Baptist. I have once wondered, if I was born a boy, would I be called John. Anyway, I got an sms from my sister, who shared this beautiful prayer to God with me. It's really meaningful especially when said on your birthday, which was also the responsorial psalm for St. John the Baptist's birthday liturgy that day.

Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15.


O Lord, you know me;
you have scrutinized me.

You know when I sit and when I rise:
from afar away you discern my thoughts.

You observed my activities and times of rest;
you are familiar with all my ways.

It was you who formed my inmost part
and knit me together in my mother's womb.

I thank you for the wonders you have done,
and my heart praises you
for your marvelous deeds.

Even my bones were known to you
when I was being formed in secret,
fashioned in the depths of the earth.


It seems, everyone has their own birthday Psalm, but I still couldn't figured out mine yet. I chanced upon some websites which said that every year of your life has a corresponding Psalm. It's your age + 1. How true it is, I'm not sure. For now, I'll settled for this...

I thank you for the wonder of my being

This has hit me so powerfully because it gives me a sense of worth, something which I have long overlooked. God made me for a reason. That I'm sure. But for what reason, I'm still searching. The news of Michael Jackson's death jolted me, he's 50, and his birthday is on 29th June. He could have made it to 51 in another 4 days. That struck me. Life is so short. Did we make full use of it?

We made new year resolutions, what about birthdays? God has given us another year, have I make good use of it? Did I make another friend or another enemy this year? Have I touched a life, make a difference to the people around me, or do something which I could be proud of? Well, these are the questions that flood my mind now. Maybe next year, instead of looking forward to things from others on my birthdays (birthday wishes, present, meal treats, etc..), I should be the one giving, and reaching out.

I do noticed that I was a little different this time, though. Last time, I used to wear new clothes, eat something special on my birthday, and do little little things to make it more perfect. But this year, I didn't get any new clothes for myself, I wore a broken shoes on that day, and eat like any normal days. Those were the physical thing, I guess. I spent my voucher discounts on health products, not only for myself, but mostly for my loved ones. Well, that's something different. I would have bought presents for my loved ones too, if I've got time to shop around. But I didn't get to do it this year, because I was in a hurry.

I guess, I didn't need to wait until a special day to do something different, because every day is a special day. Birthday is just a checkpoint, I'd say. To evaluate if we've done the things we wanted to, or a reminder to go do that thing before it's too late. That thing could be anything - really. That's where the birthday wish come into the picture.

So, it's only very right that we should praise the Lord for giving us another year, to love and be loved. That our being is really very special, and we should cherish it, and live life to the fullest.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

License to Splurge

It's the time of the year again - where we kept getting lots of discounts, vouchers, etc. Some are so tempting that I just couldn't resist it. Really, it's up to me to twist it the other way round - instead of thinking that it's a way of wasting (or spending) money, I'll call it saving (more of a long term thing, I guess). Spend less, save more, didn't that sound so right?

And that gave me a license to swipe my card like no one's business this month. Coz everything just expire end of this month. But of course, I only buy those that I needed most, not things that I don't need in the first place. If last year saw me giving myself treats on clothes and beauty products, this time I found myself spending more on health products. Could it be because age is catching up? Or I'm more health conscious nowadays. Anyway, I just need to make sure that all the money is wisely spent, if not I'll have a hard time clearing my debts next month!

Guess the sales gimmicks out there are really too smart for us, yeah? They just know when it's the right time...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

While I was pumping...

I love reading, since small. Unfortunately, I hardly have the time to indulge in novels or books after I had my girls. I envy people who could still do so many things as if they're having 48 hours a day. Try as I may, I still couldn't find those time, whatsmore some me-time. Well, things began to change 4 months ago, when hubby presented me with this gift.

I realized that I could still read - while I was doing my early morning pumping. I only pumped once a day at home, first thing in the morning. Twice in the office during weekdays, but during weekends, I breastfeed directly.

Well, it took me about 1 month plus to complete this book during my ~30min session. And it's really inspiring, things that they share. I think this website summarize it rather well, what it's all about. No doubt that some were mere common sense, but there are some points which I find helpful. One good example is the trick to get both kids to share. For my case, Jie Jie is the big bully who doesn't always want to share. So when this happen, I’ll tell her to count 1-10, then let Mei Mei try it. It worked! Well, of course she’s smart enough to count slowly for herself, but very fast when it’s Mei Mei’s turn (since Mei Mei still doesn’t know how to count yet), but the switch of toys into different hands after the reach of 10 excites both girls and no more quarrels followed. Phew!

Other things that I find appealing include organizing each section of the house with a corner for toys within our toddlers reach. In that way, we could still do the housework while taking care of them. Apart from the tips to manage things (some which I have been practicing, like pre-pack the bags needed for different activities in advance so that we won’t miss out anything when in a hurry), it also emphasized the importance of maintaining good relationship with your other-half. Like taking half-day off for a movie or date to strengthen the relationship. Then this nurturing thing that we could do for our own me-time, like a few hours break for ourselves so that we won’t end up too exhausted. A break once in a while is certainly refreshing! Just last weekend, I managed to give myself a good workout while taking care of my toddler. Yes, I was running while pushing her on her tricycle, it’s a good exercise for me, and she also enjoyed the fun. I took a break when I was tired by letting her play in the playground, and after awhile, I continued with the jog.

So, if you want some inspirations on how to juggle and balance life with several hyper-active kids around, read on! You’ll learn something from there, if not it’ll be a good reminder for you to start do something about it!

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