Blogging for Money

Blogging has become a very lucrative income-generating possibility. And the competition has become quite cutthroat. So if one is just starting out, what things should he be looking into?

1) Blog Content. Will this be a niche blog? If so, what do you know? What are you passionate about and are resources available to you? Do you have the luxury of time and inspiration to update regularly?

2) Blog Hosting. There was a time, free blogspot blogs can earn hundreds of dollars. But now, even if you're only starting out, you may have to invest in your own domain and WP hosting. And yes, you have to learn basic HTML at least.

3) Promotion. You can regularly leave links in your Facebook, Multiply, Plurk accounts to links to your posts. You can appeal to friends to visit your blog. You can join blogrolls and blog trains. You can leave links in message boards. But you may also have to employ the use of an seo software once your blog is up to boost traffic to your site. All these will take time and/or money.


So yeah, it's not that easy anymore. There are gregarious bloggers with no content really but have mastered SEO that they earn well from paid links and ads. But sacrifice content and your blogging boom will be just that, a boom that will dissipate in time. So what you want is to walk the middle ground. You surely don't want to be investing time and money on something that will not produce results for you long-term :)

PAL Halloween Madness Seat Sale

Head on over to the Philippine Airlines or call PAL reservations at 855-8888 (or just visit any PAL ticket office) to take advantage of their crazy Halloween Seat Sale.

Purchase period is between 25OCT09 and 30OCT09 and flying period is between 04NOV09 to 10DEC09 and 11JAN10 to 04FEB10 for OUTBOUND TRAVEL. Manila-Bangkok or Manila-Taipei flights are selling for just $99 (exclusive of taxes).

Hurry! In case you still don't know, November 27-30 is a 4-day long weekend :)

Crayon Rocks

A new find that I am really excited about are Crayon Rocks from Mama.Baby.Love. They are all natural soy wax crayons made from USA grown soybeans and colored with natural mineral powders. Designed to strengthen the tripod grip muscles, they are used by occupational therapists to develop fine motor skills. They're recommended for children age 3 and up, however, because since they look like pebbles and are very attractive, they still pose a choking hazard to curious toddlers. So go over to Mama.Baby.Love and order these wonderful crayons for your kiddo, or as birthday or Christmas gift to budding artists.

Check the other items too while you're there!

Minimize Allergies

Even with the sun shining bright as of this writing, BER months bring with it a better, cooler climate for Filipinos. It also brings with it allergies. So aside from eating healthy and downing your daily dose of Vitamin C, make sure you also do some spring cleaning of sorts in your home. Rid nooks and crevices of dust and cool, damp places of molds. Check your closets and drawers for things you can already discard. Check your linens and beddings which may need changing.

And have your air conditioner cleaned. Aside from saving you energy after it's cleaned, it will be working better (enough that you may wish for a heated blanket on the same thermostat level) and won't be triggering allergic rhinitis as you sleep.

And of course, make room for enough rest and sleep amid the year-end stress and Holiday merrymaking with friends.

Yaya Seminar

Lessen your worries, Mommy, about leaving your precious child behind. Enrol your yaya (even yourself, or your mom) to attend the Yaya Seminar Part 2. Detals follow:

Date : November 21, 2009 - Saturday
Venue : Wooferz Grill & Resto, Ortigas Home Depot Compound, Julio Vargas Avenue, Ortigas City

Fee : Php 1,000.00 per Yaya
Session : 1 Day; 9am- 4pm

Facilitators : Professional Preparatory Teacher & a Professional Nurse

Course Outline :
* Developmental Stages of the kids
* Importance of teaching the kids to be independent
* Tips on how to have smart kids
* Approaches to different situations
* Personality Development & Proper Hygiene of the kids and yayas.
* Emergency Situations & First Aid
* Question & Answer Portions

Inclusive of the following :
* Lunch and PM Snack with Drinks
* Modules in Tagalog-English
* Certificates and Give aways

If interested please follow the guidelines below :
1. fill up the details below and send to kids_haus@yahoo.com.ph
2. Bank details for the 50% down payment will be given.
3. Send the scanned deposit slip and the balance to be paid during the event.

Name of Employer :
Address :
Complete Name of Yaya/s and nickname/s :
Age of Alaga/s :
Contact Nos :

For more details please contact Ms. Judith Tabaquin
at 02-4115142 or 0922-8543799.

Email address : kids_haus@yahoo.com.ph

Looking for Models

The Picture Company is looking for a young FUN family with 2 kids and a large breed dog.

Model for them and get free portraits. Such pictures will come in handy for your Christmas greeting cards :) Email pics of your family to bigfamilyphotobook@picturecompany.com.ph because shoot date is already this Thursday and Friday!

Natural Acne Treatment

Did you know that the humble calamansi fruit can help clear acne? It actually helps in two ways. First, as a regular part of one's diet, it's a great source of Vitamin C which adds to overall health. As a natural laxative, it also helps us rid ourselves of toxins.

Then you can also use the fruit directly on your face by putting some on the infected marks to expedite healing. Don't rub the sliced fruit on your face because that would irritate it more, just dab the fruit on the really angry breakouts after washing your face well.

Cebu Pacific All International Seat Sale

as received in e-mail

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Asia’s third-largest low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) gives Asian destinations a boost with our all-international seat sale starting now until October 19, 2009, for travel from November 15, 2009 until January 31, 2010.

For ‘Go Lite’ P999, you can book and buy flights from Clark to Bangkok, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, and from Manila to Kota Kinabalu and Taipei.

For ‘Go Lite’ P1499, you can book and buy flights from Manila to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, as well as from Cebu to Hong Kong and Singapore.

For ‘Go Lite’ P2499, you can book and buy flights from Manila to Incheon and Jakarta, and from Cebu to Incheon and Pusan. Those with check-in luggage will just add P100 upon booking. Osaka seats are also available for the ‘Go’ fare of P2599.

We also have an ongoing promotion for 30 kilos free baggage allowance (FBA) for international flights out of Clark! The Clark FBA promo is for Clark to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau flights for travel from October 15 to December 31, 2009 only.

Fly for as low as P888 with our seat sale to all Visayas destinations from Manila, as well as for our Cebu to Clark service.

Cheaper Soy Milk

Some avid exercisers and people wanting to lose weight do not just depend on weight loss pills. They also modify their diet and lifestyle a lot. One trick i've learned that gym buffs in Las Piñas are doing is drinking soy milk a lot. And they order this directly (or almost) from the supplier. The neighborhood magtataho delivers the pure fresh milk to them in 1.5 liter containers.

And guess how much that costs? Only P60!!!

The catch is, because it's really, really, really pure soy milk, it has to be consumed within the day. I guess those living at the start of a taho route can extend their soy milk for two days if it's properly refrigerated. But then again, taho rounds are everyday so one really need not worry about running out, they just really have to consume everything so their money (and the soy) won't go to waste.

So ask your neighborhood magtataho, maybe you can have a similar setup with him :)

Scholastic Book Fair at Yu Ming School

Yu Ming School is currently hosting a Scholastic Book Fair for the students and their families. Families in the nearby communities are very much welcome as well!

This year, Scholastic Books is joined by Zaigen Ventures--a company that specializes in providing high-quality educational materials and books for children in order to build their foundation in learning and loving Chinese.

The Scholastic & Zaigen Book Fair will be from October 12 to 16, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Yu Ming School is located at 15 Ideal cor. Lee Sts., Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City.

Christmas Shopping Sales

Despite the recent upheavals brought about by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, businessmen everywhere refuse to let it stop them from earning what they can and keeping the trade and economy going. So keep your eyes out for SALE announcements. Start bargaining with your loved ones too and get a list of what they'd really like to have in different cost brackets. Ask your Mom what gifts for her would she consider most thoughtful and get your siblings to chip in for that wonderful gift.

Personally, I don't think we should splurge on anything considering our brothers who have lost all their possessions, homes and loved ones. But I also don't think we should be depriving ourselves of some sort of reward for all our hard work for the whole year. And it's always great making the people we love know that they are cherished.

Cheaper Vaccines

I received a text message from Mommy Academy. They will be offering cheaper vaccines at the 34th Pedia Talk Live. So for those thinking of fortifying themselves with the flu vaccine, or letting their daughters get their HPV vaccines, you may want to check the event out at Dusit Thani on October 17, 2009.

For a complete list of vaccines they will be selling (and possibly, how much), contact Mommy Academy at Hotlline Nos. 820.5070 / 825.7454, e-mail mommyacademy@ggproductionsinc.com or salesandmarketing@ggproductionsinc.com

Torta de los Reyes

If you're looking for a cake, a chocolate cake or a sans rival variant, then make sure to try Aristocrat Bakeshop's Torta de los Reyes. It's basically chocolate sans rival with melt-in-your-mouth goodness. It's rich and decadent and sinful and addictive without being too sweet.

The catch though is it's on the expensive side. A half block (about the size of a taisan bread from red Ribbon) already costs almost P400. Then again, you don't cut wide slices of it anyway. With more and more Aristocrat restaurants opening in malls now, it's also not that hard to get one anymore.

I just cannot find a picture right now.

Reuse Yogurt Cups

First of all, we all should reuse and recylce anyway. We're duty bound to Earth to do that.

Second of all, yogurt cups are very reusable, it will be a shame not to do so. Just wash each cup well after use so you don't attract ants. You can use it to organize coins in, or small screws in, or even thread, pins, and keys in. You can even use them to collect those pesky 5 and 10-centavo coins they give us when we shop in malls which nobody else really accept. At least you can have these exchanged in banks once you've collected a ton and not lose money.

Your kids will also benefit from reusing yogurt cups. They can house arts and crafts materials (buttons, crayons, brads, etc) and even be used as paint pots. The really imaginative can even make musical instruments from these cups!

But if you'd rather throw them away, make sure you do in bags/can marked for recycling.

Fashion Palooza Rescheduled!!!

Here's something that may just make you forget for a while all the hassles of collecting social security disability and insurance because of Ondoy:

It’s all systems go for Fashion Palooza: Fitness and Style Expo on November 13 and 14 (Friday and Saturday) at A.Venue Hall, Makati City. Shop, ramp, and dine in this exciting and most awaited fitness and fashion event of the year.

Slots are still open for interested exhibitors, designers, and food concessionaires. Take advantage of this payday weekend and be among the top-of-the-line entrepreneurs and practitioners in the fashion, wellness, and fitness industry.

For your inquiries, pls email us at fashionpalooza@gmail.com. Contact us at 09266461097 or 09175366832

Please visit http://www.fashionpalooza.multiply.com for more details.

See you all at Fashion Palooza: Fitness and Style Expo!!!

Action Station at Robinson's Place

Parents living in Manila are always looking for places to bring their kids to where they can jump, frolic, tumble and play safely. And it is rather annoying that few fast food restaurants here have a play area.

Last August, Action Station opened at Robinson's Place Manila. Located at the third floor of the mall, in the foodcourt area and just outside of the expanded wing of the still-reorganizing mall, it's offers a respite from harried parents with hyperactive kids.

First 30 minutes costs P75. If your child takes time to warm up, better pay for the full hour instead upfront (P120) rather than be charged another P75 after your first 30 minutes.

Socks are a must though, even for adults accompanying their kids inside.

New Attractions at Manila Ocean Park

Makansutra Asian Food Village is a great and affordable dining experience for those who are looking for authentic Asian Cuisine. The ambience of the place reeks of old Asian charm while the fares offered are simple and popular favorites. Now, one can have a taste of Singapore's pepper crabs without actually going there. This is a perfect date place and the area is so big, it can also accommodate family gatherings. The restaurant is located just above the...

Jellies Dancing Sea Fairies is a separate attraction from the Oceanarium in Manila Ocean Park. Tickets cost P150 each and they say, is about 15 minutes of walking through aquariums filled with these creepy-captivating creatures. You can stay for a longer time and dawdle to your heart's delight, of course. And yes, you can take pictures. I was curious but my son was adamant in his lack of desire to go in. Hubs wasn't so sure because just looking at the pictures was making him itch and have goosebumps. But still, this is a more affordable thing to do at Manila Ocean Park if you're not yet ready to pay P400 at the Oceanarium. I wonder too if they have function rooms overlooking the jellyfish aquariums because that would just be menacingly awesome!!!

Check out when the Park closes because last entry to the Jellies is about 45 minutes before closing time.

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There is also a Mermaid Show every Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (Showtimes: 10:00am and 2:00pm) and Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays (Showtimes: 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm, 7:00pm)

Visitors who purchase Oceanarium tickets get free entrance to Mermaid theater. (No free coupons from tenant food/merchandize purchases.) Mermaid Show tickets at P150/person. This schedule is until Dec 30, 2009.

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Christmas Bazaar has also already started there but it hasn't kicked off yet. You'd see a lot of Divi products being sold (assuming, at a slightly higher price) in both the bazaar and at the shops going to the Jellies Aquarium.

Makansutra Asian Food Village

Makansutra is a restaurant in the Manila Ocean Park Complex. It celebrates popular Asian cuisine, with work stations for each dish. One can enjoy popular street fare from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with the security of local Filipino favorites like bulalo and sinigang na baboy.

The decor is just exquisite! It's a photographers haven with all its woodwork and clean lines and very large space and endearing setup. One can go around first to check out all the fares they want but still order and pay for it in just one of the cash registers. And the cost of all the dishes is just plain affordable!

And the taste? Perfect. The serving proportion is just enough for one without leaving someone too stuffed or deprived. And really, everything we ordered were just tasty and wonderful and interesting and delightful and left me wanting to go back for more and more and more.

Mind you, I am not an adventurous eater. I never imagined i'd be interested to try everything there, but seriously, I cannot wait to be back!








the beverage and desserts section




Singapore fare


Filipino fare


Chinese fare








Michael Jackson drink, soy drink and black beans
(didn't try it but hubby and son loved it!)


Binagoongan Rice, very savory & interesting
(first time for me to eat this, having to get some of the pork, rice,
shredded mango and scrambled egg)


Bulalo, which was very tasty and the beef cuts, very tender


Pork Asado, with pork cooked two different ways
and the rice very flavorful (they boil it in broth)


Crispy Catfish, which didn't interest me much but turned
out to be most heavenly, the pickled green mangoes were the best
and the fish was very cripsy and tasty

Sigh. Just blogging about the food made my stomach rumble. But really, this is such a great, great, great place to eat. And because the area is so big, the atmosphere akin to fine dining is retained.

Baby Sign Language FAQs

Baby sign language has been steadily making a buzz in parenting communities as a useful parenting tool. As a signing parent, allow me to address some of the more frequently asked questions on baby signing to give you an idea how it can also work for you.

What is baby sign language?
Baby sign language is the use of hand gestures between a parent and baby to communicate. It was developed from the American Sign Language (ASL) after researchers noted that deaf parents could communicate well with their hearing children and vice versa. It takes advantage of the fact that babies are very tactile and relieves the pressure from them to be verbal before they can communicate.

Why is it a growing trend?
Testimonies from parents have made baby signing a legitimate infant communication program. More and more families realize that it makes inteactions between parent and baby more rewarding even before the child is verbally able to express himself. It helps reduce frustration and results in shorter reaction time. It also empowers a child to interact, be understood and learn about his environment. All these benefits have sold parents to the concept and different groups have started making it both an advocacy and a business.

How is it different from ASL?
It is not much different really because it is derived largely from the ASL, with a focus on ‘words’ relevant to the child’s experience (signs on feeding, feelings and everyday routines). Parents can even come up with their own signs. However, using established signs like the ASL (or in our case, the Filipino Sign Language, FSL) will foster communication not only within the family but with a bigger community as well.

Won’t it delay my child’s speech development?
That is a usual concern by parents and fortunately, the answer is NO. In fact, studies have consistently proven that sign language accelerates the development of verbal language skills in babies. It also stimulates brain development by using both the left and right hemispheres of the brain in learning the language, thus boosting memory retention, meaningful learning and possibly boosting IQ by up to 12 points. The only time signing can impede a child’s verbal development is if his parents stop verbalizing around him. Your child will talk when he’s good and ready, whether he signed as a baby or not.

Isn’t it hard to learn?
Learning the basic signs is easy for adults. It’s using them in conversations and helping your child make the connection for each word that will require effort and commitment. Repetition is key and patience is requisite since babies will learn certain words faster than others according to what they feel is significant. A lot will also depend on the child’s dexterity at the time a particular sign is being taught.

What resources are there and can I afford them?
First of all, you dictate just how far you want to take signing. Learning baby sign language is as easy as Googling for sites and videos. Parents can just watch an online demonstration, learn it, and pass on the learning to their child. There are also signing books that you can buy and signing videos you can watch along with your child which usually incorporates signs into songs.

Other highly recommended resources include:
Lifeprint.com – a website with instructions, pictures or videos on how to sign commonly used words
Signingtime.com – Baby Signing Time videos are engaging, musical and teach signing along with other values like keeping clean, making friends and eating right
babylingo.multiply.com – our very own Jaymie Pizarro teaches Baby Signing Workshops in FSL
College of St. Benilde – their School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies holds FSL classes for P2,400 (12 sessions), call 526-7441 to 47 loc. 131, 210, 164 & 239 for details
Kindermusik.com.ph – Kindermusik offers a ‘Sign and Sing’ program for babies 6 months to 3 years old

What are other benefits of Baby Sign Language?
Special needs children benefit greatly from sign language since their speech development is usually challenged by physical or psychological barriers. Signing allows babies to be more specific in their communication (how many toddlers do you know can say vegetable or grapes clearly?) and increases creative thinking and early literacy skills in hearing babies. The feeling of accomplishment being understood brings also encourages babies to initiate conversations and express interest and feelings. Babies also keep signing even in times of distress, exhaustion and sleepiness. Moreover, communication through signing is always possible in noisy crowds or during solemn ceremonies.

When do we start teaching sign language?
Six months is a good age to start because baby is more interactive and sociable. His pace, however, will be dictated largely by the amount of conversation you have with him (more dialogue means more words you can sign), his interests, and the degree to which his caregivers sign with him. Parents with older, already verbal kids can also still take baby signing up and make their kids effectively bilingual.

Communication is communication. The sooner it is established and nurtured, the more likelihood of a rewarding relationship and wonderful conversations between parent and child. So why not try out a few words and see where signing takes you.


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I originally wrote this for Working Mom but they needed something more geared towards Toddler Signing. The second article I wrote is published in the October issue of said mag.

Christmas Shopping

I know that Ondoy victims out there still need our help. The good thing is that we can still help them and enjoy little treats ourselves. After all, Christmas shopping need not be limited to really expensive items (such as orlando vacations). They just have to be really thoughtful ones.

And if we have friends who were affected by Ondoy in really terrible ways, sales allows us to purchase something useful for them to start over with again. Here is an initial list of Christmas bazaars one can check out this month of October:

Grand Bazaar 2009 @ The Big Tent
Holy Spirit Drive, Don Antonio, Quezon City
October 2-4, 16-18
10:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

The Victoria Towers Bazaar
Victoria Towers, Mezzanine Level, Timog Ave. cor. Panay Ave., Q.C.
September 12 – December 23
10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

VGCOM’s Season’s Super Buys!
Glorietta 3 Park Tent, Makati
October 7-11
Check out: vgcombazaars.multiply.com

Christmas Bazaar at Manila Ocean Park
Behind Quirino Grandstand, Luneta, Manila
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of October, November and December

Expo Kid
Rockwell Tent
October 3 re-scheduled

“Bazaar for a Cause” by Soroptimist International of Alabang
Cuenca Community Center, Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City
October 3-4
8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Fashion Palooza, Fitness and Style Expo
A.Venue Hall, Makati Ave., Makati City
October 8-10

“Bazaar for a Greener Tomorrow” by Ayala Alabang Village Garden Club
Cuenca Community Center, Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City
October 17-18
8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Source

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Meanwhile, the Hizon's Catering Food Tasting Event was moved to October 18.