I got an email comment notification in my inbox from one of my blogs and when I checked it, the commenter was saying something about Real Writing Jobs and whether I wanted to join the team or not? As curious as I was (and of course, it's a writing job, who won't get curious?) I checked their website out.

Apparently, Real Writing Job, from what I read in their website, is a web service that caters to people who aspire to become freelance writers. Real Writing Jobs is not only a middleman between you as a writer and the employers but they will also offer you training on how to be more effective in the craft of writing.

A lot of employers today are looking to outsource some of their projects and jobs to save more, even small businesses and internet marketers outsource their content or articles since they themselves are not capable of good copywriting. Certainly a lot of people as well turn to freelance jobs to earn some extra cash and some even make it as a full-time freelance writer. Real Writing Jobs is one website that offers their service to both such parties.

Here comes the juicy part. Like I said, I am as curious as a monkey. So I read further. In order to get into the system, you need to pay 4.79$ by either credit card or paypal account. You will be given a 7-day trial with that amount. After that, you can opt to either continue the service or cut it off. If you decide to continue with the servive, you need to pay 77$ for a life time membership.

And so, I thought... I could probably earn that much in a week... why don't I go for a trial run first?

And so, I registered, opted for paypal instead of credit card. While processing, it opened my paypal. I signed in  with my username and password for that account. And before checking out, it asked for my two credit card details which was found when I opened my paypal to register.

The thought of them getting into my paypal account and getting all the info horrified me. And so I quickly closed the website and quickly changed the password for my paypal account. I guess it's worth doing that, securing my information.

Sigh.

Now I won't know whether Real Writing Jobs is a scam or not. I need to yet find it out.

Have you heard about this company? Is it a scam? Is it legit? Does it really comply its promise that you would earn up to 100$ for an article?

When you do paid blogging under wordpress blog, I know it is a nightmare when one day, you can't access your blog and it says:

your blog is under suspension, you have to delete all your paid posts.

You can imagine my horror when two of my blogs under wordpress had this notification, three years ago.

Actually, that's where self-hosting came in... which I'm going to talk about later.

And so, to avoid having your blog under wordpress completely deleted, you transfer your domain (yes, even when you have your own domain but if it's still in wordpress platform, you are not allowed to do paid blogging) to a self webhost. The first thing you need to do is: do a wordpress blog back up.

I did mine manually. I don't know how to otherwise. :D

So how to do a wordpress blog back up manually?

It's as simple as that of doing Blogger blog backup.

• Log in to your dashboard
• On the left side bar, you can see tools
• Under tools, you can see import, export blog.
• Click export blog. You know you are in the right place when you see this page:

• Click download export file button
• Save
• Rename the file to the name of your blog and the date of the current export

Read more »

I started blogging in blogger.com, under the free hosting with .blogspot.com. Then later I decided to buy a domain for it, still under blogger.com.

I have read that some people have blogger blogs and wake up one day losing their blogs.

Now, we don't want it to happen to us, do we?

And so what do we do?

Read more »

I really can't get enough of Nando's.

Two days ago, I and my friend went to 1 Utama for our planned girls' day out. It was a bit of a bummer but I guess everything worked out for good.

"Everything works together for good to them that love the Lord," remember? And so we enjoyed our day just checking out some clothes, accessories and shoes.

And the food? Nando's. Again.

I liked it lemon and herb better. It means I'm not brave enough.



My friend ordered extra hot.

Read more »

We had a total weekend madness last week. It was filled with family activities. And to think my husband was away in Penang for a work meeting. So my husband had to arrange transportation for us.

Usually we go to Subang Parade for family fun on weekends. We would never give MPH bookstore a miss. The kids would be pulling us to go there.

Read more »

I just got Samantha's Communication Book from her school. Coomunication Book is for parents' notification from the teacher or from the school. it is to announce to parents kids' activities that would be happening.

Today, we got a school year calendar. I looked at the holiday dates and started dreaming of one of those Branson vacation packages. It is our goal that our family goes for a break once or twice a year.

And so this year, we have planned for one family trip. Not sure what we're going to do for our second one.

And it's always nice to get notification from the school about their school break so we could plan our family holiday properly. I wouldn't want the kids to miss school just because we're out there holidaying.

I'll just have to check Schenker's block off dates so we can reconcile our family breakaway with both of their school holidays.

Last year, while I was planning a holiday with my friend, I was using my husband's phone to communicate with her. I guess she wasn't comfortable doing that. The next time we met, she gave me her HTC desire. Probably, if she gave it to me now, I'd be more ecstatic. :D

But I dunno why, that phone just died off. When I went to an HTC service center, they said it would cost up to 500RM (almost 2 hundred bucks) to fix it. But I can trade it in for 100RM. It's kind of cheap to trade it in... might as well buy a new blackberry bold, right? Oh well...

I didn't want to do that. I mean, the trade in of my friend-given HTC Desire. So right now, I'm still keeping it, hoping that one day it will "rise up" again. LOL!

My husband, on the other hand, had to buy a new phone because his phone battery died and he was short of time to get its battery again. He bought an old model Nokia. But when he replaced his phone, he gave this Nokia to me. Just in time to communicate with my other girl friend for our girls' day out.

With me using a gadget like this just to communicate, it doesn't matter what phone I am using. As long as I can get the message across and receive some in return, I'll be fine.

For now.

I was just complaining in my previous post about me cheating on my diet. While I was "lurking" (again) on my facebook, one of my friends is having a midnight snack. I didn't feel so bad after all. LOL.

I guess when we're hungry, we just eat. The only thing though is that we should be aware of what we eat. I had coke and instant noodles. One of my friend's snacks today was a puto (rice cake) with cheese. Awww. I miss that so much. Some more others are showing what they eat... like Vietnamese beef noodles cooked in coconut juice. Woah. Can you imagine the sugar in it?

I guess some people are just born to eat. LOL. Probably these people are the ones that can be seen reading alli reviews. LOL. What to do, some people are just having slow metabolism. (Am I giving another excuse again?) LOL.

Anyways, I'm going to hit the sack soon. My eyes are a bit droopy already.

Good night, everyone!

I have been doing a less carb diet. I guess I have been good so far with the exception of occasional binging of rice. LOL. Well, I have an excuse sometimes... it's my dad's birthday, it's my nephew's birthday, etc., etc. Well, one can always find excuses just to cheat, right?

Tonight is my cheat night.

I have a lot of work to do.

I ate early with the kids (chicken stew plus celery dipped in homemade thousand island dressing).

Prepared the nephews for pick up, prepared kids to bed, then I started rolling up my sleeves again to check fb. LOL. Actually, I have some work online to do. It's just that I need to warm up first, get some ideas on what to write, etc., etc. (that's a good excuse too). Then I felt in.

Hunger pangss.

I checked my cupboard, there's no more roasted nuts to snack on. I didn't wanna eat celery again. Then I remembered I still had a cup of noodles. And my hubby just bought us a couple of cans of coke for our movie date tonight when the kids are asleep.

So yeah, I cheated.

Arg!

I hope this won't happen again. A can of coke and a bowl of noodles? For a midnight snack? It does spell trouble, doesn't it? Well, there's always alternatives... but do diet pills work for me? Would it work if I still continue with my not-planned-midnight-snack like this?

Sigh.

But as a consolation, I really loved that noodles. Yum. LOL.




d

One of the things I want accomplished this year 2011 is to read books (at least one per month). It's already January 21, 10 more days to February and I haven't lifted a page yet. I forgot to count magazine as one of the things to read. I would have filled up this month's goal... and for next month's. LOL. Yup, Cleo and Women's Weekly are a pickers for me.

Anyways, it's always good to set goals for self improvement. One can never be too old to learn. And besides, distance is not an issue nowadays. You can even take bsn online. Also, I keep getting emails about psychology degree classes that I could take from home. As if they know what I really wanted to take. LOL.

Anyways... I guess I set too many things to do for 2011. Right now, I am stuck in bettering myself in my blogging career. But I have 11 more months to do them all. So yeah! Bring them on!

Yes, my dear readers... another blog giveaway is brewing. I am definitely sure it's going to happen and it's going to be soon. In fact, you can count the days on your fingers. LOL.

How do you like strutting your get up with a red scarf like this?



I just wanna quote something I overheard from my girl's drama school:

Teacher: do you know what this is?

Students: a scarf

Teacher: What is a scarf?

Students: to put around the neck when you feel cold.

Me: surprised that even 8 year-old kids and below could tell the purpose of a scarf.

Teacher: Very clever answer. But do you know I can wear a scarf just for a style?

LOL.

And my point?

You can use a scarf just for a style. And with this Thai silk scarf, you can wear anytime. And yes, i can only afford a scarf to giveaway and not an electric blanket for a really cool weather.

And so, if you wanna try your "luck"... watch out for my blog giveaways. (I have more coming) And I am excited. Woot!

And so what happened to my bloggy earning in 2010?

First, let me tell you what happened to my bloggy earning in 2009. I used it mostly for traveling. In 2009, God has opened an opportunity for me to travel and I have traveled to 10 new countries.

• I was able to take my family (and my parents-in-law) for a Macau - Hongkong - China trip in April-May 2009.

• My parents came for 2 months in August - September and I took them for a short trip to Hatyai, Thailand.

• I paid my own way to London, UK (when my husband had to go for a conference in Bogota, Colombia) and then to Bogota, Colombia. I thank God that that time, there was an Air Asia promotion to London. And from London, we took Air France. So the airfare was not that heavy to the pocket.

• And at the end of 2009, God provided for my fare to go to US with my husband .... and the blessing was brought forward to year 2010...

Which I can start the 2010 now.

While in the US, we had a side trip to Mexico. Then on our way back to Malaysia from the US, we have a 5-hour tour in Seoul South Korea.

Then I vowed I wouldn't travel with my husband for the rest of 2010.

And so the bloggy earning was used to buy 2 dslr's.

• Sony A380 with twin lens (I thought of selling but later decided against it. Sony produces a very good quality pictures. I am keeping it for my son)

• Nikon D90 with kit lens.

• And a primary lens 50mm f/1.4

• We had some small time family trips in Malaysia and in Thailand and I took care of the finances.

• We had a big time party for family in November last year, too. And of course, I helped out a bit in our family's needs.

• And some earnings for 2010 will be brought forward for 2011 as I have booked a family travel for 2011 and bought my parents and sister's airfare from the Philippines to Malaysia for July - September. And booked a small time holiday for me with friends.

Phew! Finally I was able to evaluate how I spend my earnings. And so, to say it briefly:

1. 2009 was a year of travel
2. 2010 a year of photography

I consider bloggy earning as a blessing from God. I stay at home only and can't help much. But the good thing is that, I can earn something and yet I can stay at home and be hands on with my kids.

I wonder how others spend their bloggy earnings?

Do you post your bloggy earnings online?

That has been the latest discussion in the forum group I am part of. In that group, I guess 99 percent are doing paid blogging. So it's natural that this kind of topic would come out and discussed openly.

And so... from what I gathered, some of them do post their earnings online for the purpose of encouraging other bloggers in their pursuit to earning from their blogs. Some said they are too shy to do that as they have too little income coming in.

Some people think that when you post your bloggy earnings, you are bragging on what you have.

Me? I get inspired when I see co-bloggers earning.

It motivates me to work hard also.

And so, I guess I could do a monthly evaluation of how much I earn online whether by paypal or by company checks. It doesn't really matter as either is an income.

I do annual evaluation though...

And guess what. I have earned almost a double portion from what I have earned in 2009.

2010 was a blessed year for me and I thank God for the opportunity to write and earn at the same time.

As if 7 active blogs is not enough, I have created another blog. Hahaha. This blogger is having frenzy blog make over and blog creation. I guess I am just taking advantage of me in the mood to blog. Some of my posts don't relate with my blogs and so yes, I have created another blog, bought a domain for it and read some hostmonster reviews. Just wanna know whether I need to buy a new hosting. Oh no, I am not planning to changing my hosting provider. It's just that I am almost reaching my bandwidth usage. And so it's better to know whether I am needing another one or just keep having one. Need to consult my hosting provider for this also.

I am just excited for this new blog as it includes all that I know about blogging.

Once it's ready, I'm going to put it on public.

For now, it's still in the making.

And oh, I might start a blog giveaway from my other blog at Janet Speaks. If you're keen to get one of these:

uWalk Osim. It's a pocket pedometer that you can use to measure your step count.

please watch out for my blog give away.

What are the chances of meeting Ivy again?

9 years ago, I was in Subang Parade browsing through cosmetics department, hoping of all hopes that there was hope for my skin. LOL. There was a free skin consultation and with a special apparatus, my skin was checked and I found out I had combination type of skin, meaning oily on the T-zone and dry on the rest.

I went to the Clinique counter and asked for advise. She was very nice, the lady I approached on. She gave me so much information that got me finally convinced of using Clinique for my face. I bought the 3-step skin care. She gave me lots of Clinique product samples. I was elated at the thought of finally using a good product for my skin.

I'd usually buy in bigger portion. They'd last for more than a year. Then I'd go back to her. I only saw her three times then she left.

I never saw her again.

But I continued on using the Clinique.

Until it was too much for my skin, I needed a special kind of treatment. My beauty specialist gave me Beaubelle but thought I would like to change back to Clinique when it's finished.

Then last month, as I was going to buy Clinique again, my husband suggested to try other products... like Bobbi Brown. I would never know the result until I tried it, he said. And so, as obedient wife as I was (yeah, right), I passed by Bobbi Brown first, hoping to get some samples.



The sales lady approached me.

She looked familiar.

Then I saw the badge.

Ivy.

I was thrilled. I thought I'd never see her again.

We talked again and found out she resigned from her job due to some illnesses. She was on medication that made her really fat. She said if we saw her two or three years ago, we wouldn't be able to recognize her. So we asked her how she became so thin again. She said she took some kind of special weight loss drinks but I cannot remember the name already. I may have to ask her again. :D

Anyways, what were the chances of meeting her again... this time that I wanted to try Bobbi Brown for the first time?

Like the first time I met her at Clinique, she gave me samples of skin care for Bobbi Brown. Fantastic lady she is.

But really I consider meeting her a blessing in disguise. She was there 9 years ago when I wanted to use Clinique for the first time.

And she was there when I wanted to try Bobbi Brown for the first time.

Coincidence? Perhaps, perhaps.

One of my goals for 2011 would be to be a better blogger. I felt that I have neglected my blogs for the past couple of years. And I want to build them up now, for the better. And so what are the ways to become a better blogger?

• Read more. The more you read the more you know more things. The more you know thins, the more vocabularies you will have in your vocabulary bank. And it would show in your writings as well.
• Try to write in inverted pyramid style. I have read somewhere... I am really sorry but after all the many links I have read, I forgot which link it was I read... that in order to write better, you should learn how to write the inverted pyramid way. I saw the sample and I kinda realized that that's how I write. It pleased me that all along my style is in one of the rules in writing. You may google how you can do it.
• Be precise. Consider brevity. Beating around the bush in your writing can bore your readers. So be direct to the point. Too short a post won't help either. Too long will bore your readers, unless you have something that would interest your readers.
• If possible, post one or two photos to illustrate your writing. Photos do attract attention. Sometimes, I go and check my friends' blogs because of the photos they write... but errr... I am guilty of not reading the whole article, especially when it's too long. But then again, if your target is to have better traffic, photos work well.
• Go out. Take a break. Sometimes, you get inspiration on what to write when you're out there in the real world.
• Try to stick to your niche. I know that paid blogging can take you off course sometimes, but hey, there are second chances. You can post new one and make it stick to your blog's niche.
• Try not to be negative. I stay away from blogs that's filled with complains. They complain on just about anything. Positive posts inspire me and make me smile. And I'm sure to go back to your blog when it inspires me.
• Don't preach. You sound preachy, I stay away from you. I want something uplifting and encouraging.
• Spell check and grammar check. I am always guilty of this. I will try to check my spelling and try to correct my grammar early on.
• Best of all, enjoy blogging. You can always tell when a blogger enjoys writing.

And so, I have written this for myself too. I am not a perfect blogger. But like I said, I want to be a better one. Listing down on what to do to be a better blogger would help me a lot in this journey.

Oh... I don't mind you bragging about your blessings. It cheers me up and inspires me, too.

What about you? Do you have more tips to share on how to be a better blogger? I would love to learn more. You can post it on your blog and let me know so we can link each other's posts. Together we learn.

Together, we aim to be and become...

A better blogger.

I just booked our mommy getaway and I am excited. It's going to be next month already. I tell you, before I made the booking it was a challenge to set the time when we can be free to go out for a few days. You know we have to take our kids' schedule and our husbands' schedule into the consideration. And so, last week, we have finally come up with the dates that would coincide each other's free time. It's not that we are free on those days. It's just that on those days, we could compromise some things, leave them, and give ourselves a break.

We started talking about this as a passing comment before. And as we joked about it, we became more and more serious and talked about setting up the date to make the plan concrete.

And also, we talked joked about daring a challenge: to wear two-piece swimsuits. You see, we're all mommies and we're all struggling to get back into our pre-pregnancy figure. At least i do. And so we'll probably click here and see whether we need to really use some pills to help us lose some of those extra pounds we gained. Hahahaha. I am not sure how the other two girls are going to take it if we really do that challenge. I am more on a thick-skinned type and I don't care what people say about how I look... so if I have to do that on a dare, I would. Promise. LOL.

I was checking out my wardrobe the other day in search for a favorite top that was given to me by my husband. I really liked that red top from British India and I wanted to use it (with my new skirt) for a special occasion that will happen next month. And guess what, after hours of searching, I finally found it, but sadly it would not fit me anymore. Yikes.

The top was still the way as I remembered it, deep red, beautiful and classy, and it made me want to use it more. Now, all I just have to think of is how to make that top fit me again. I considered using diet pills, but what do you think? I think this is what I need to make what I want (for the top to fit me) happen. I stumbled upon an article on phentermine reviews, and I think this might just work. I will try it, and in a month, I will be able to see how effective it is.

Or maybe I'll just buy a new red dress? What do you think of this one?


I can just imagine me rocking this red dress with a gold dangling earrings and oversized bracelet, my gold Elle purse and a pair of sexy stilettos, in gold too, pls. Woahhh... My husband would be speechless when he sees me in this one.

Somebody once said: If you think the grass is greener on the other side, cultivate your own lawn. Bloom where you are.

I guess I have neglected to cultivate my own garden for awhile now. This year, I want it be greener.

I want to be a better blogger.

Right now, I am doing whatever I can (as much as I can) to make my blogs better. I know that I don't have much time because I am also very busy with my mommy duties, especially now that the kids have started going to school again. But like I said, my aim this year is to take care of my blogs... and be a better blogger.

And so, I have written a post on how to increase your blog readership. I wrote that because I need to do those for my blogs. Those are the only things I could think of. I am sure there is still a lot more to do to increase your readership. But I am taking it one at a time.

After all, it's our own blogs we're taking care of. I have been blessed through my blogs. It just makes sense to be a good steward of it. And make it better is even better.

And so yes, my fellow bloggers, let us all bloom where we are.

The US is not my homecountry but it’s a place where I feel at home, a place I’m comfortable, a place I’d enjoy friends, a place I love to escape to. The US is one place I don’t mind sitting in the plane for 23 hours, no matter how irritating, or talkative my seat mate is, although at times I wish I wasn’t sitting next to that person. The US still thrills me, and excites me. It looks like I am visiting the US again. I can’t wait!

Whilst there are multi ethnic cultures, and mono-cultures, both of these entriques me . It’s just so interesting to watch people, and see how different they may be even though the share the same culture. Needless to say, I enjoy the food very much , simply because the meals are a lot bigger in portion.LOL. It looks like my trip in April is going to be a lot of fun. I am going to be going to Colorado Springs , and spending a week there , and later fly in to Texas, probably to Austin and Fort Worth. I’ve got some really good friends in Austin. I think we are going to be renting a truck to drive around Texas.

One thing I may have to do is, we will need to have some information in hand on Texas truck accident attorney just in case some unforeseen accidents happen, we will have some contact in hand. I remember reading from the internet the Law Firm of O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath, I think they are known attorneys for truck accidents.

Well, I am going to leave this to my friend in Texas to arrange all that, all I want to do is escape , and enjoy some downtime to rest & relax.

Here I come, Texas!

I have a friend who is new in blogging that wanted to know how to increase his readership. I thought of a few. I know there are many ways to increase readership but I can share with you the little that I know and remember. It doesn't mean that I do those. And so, how does a blogger increase the readership?

1. Write good articles. People will come to your blog and come back again if they find your posts to be helpful.

2. Blog frequently. By frequently, how many times do we have to blog? Some would say that you can post a few times a week. But I just read from a blog somewhere (I forgot the link, sorry) that to post frequently means to post twice a day.

3. I don't have a lot of friends that come and visit my blogs but I do get visits from google. Yes, google sends me traffic. By this, I say, use a lot of good keywords in your posts.

4. If you're into social networking, use it to your advantage. You can post your latest blog updates on Facebook or Twitter or other social networking sites. Or better yet, you connect your blog to these sites. I just created a networkedblogs app for my blogs and when I checked my sitemeter, it does indeed send me traffic.

5. Register your blog in directories. You may register for a entrecard account too. It can give you traffic, especially if you have a very catchy niche.

6. Bloghop. Leave comments. Network yourself with other bloggers. I am sure they will come and check out your blog too.

7. Work on using good grammar. (I am working on it until now. Sometimes, I write too fast that I miss correcting my spelling and my grammar). The good news is, you can always edit.

8. Enjoy blogging.

My husband goes on a boys' night out once a year with his college friends. Yes, they finished college for a long time already but until now, they're still keeping in touch, even for just once or twice a year.

And so on December 30, they decided to meet up for seafood. I, on the hand, thought if guys can have boys' night out, I could go on a girls' day out too.

And so I invited my friend to go out with me. We planned to watch movie and window shop. And so, we did. We watched a movie and window shopped. No, it's a lie. We actually shopped. LOL. We were in a departmental store in Sunway Pyramid and when we were checking out, we noticed that the customer service lady was looking really tired. I know customer service jobs are very tiring, especially come at the end of the day. But it says in front of her counter "a service with a smile," Both my friend and I looked at each other and said: The irony of it all. And so, I said, nowadays, customers must understand that sales ladies and customer service people can get very grumpy too. Lol. Yes, it's really ironic. Malaysia has this kind of service, even though in front of them, there's a sign that says: service with a smile.

Anyways, we didn't let it get to our nerves. We just ignored and walked away happy with our purchases.

I can't wait for our next day out. :)

This time last year, my husband and I celebrated our birthdays while attending the Passion2010 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was such a great experience for me. I mean it was my first time to go to the US. If my husband wasn't around at the airport terminal with me in Atlanta I would be confused on what to do there. The terminal was sooo... long? I mean I had to walk so long to get to where we picked our luggage up. I guess there were many people doing airport jobs there. It was so huge they need a lot of people to maintain it.

Anyways, today is also the last day of Passion2011. We didn't go this round. But I can imagine students being blessed and pumped up for Jesus as they go back home today. I pray that they will be a blessing to their family and friends.

I just watched the replay of the session 2 of the Passion Conference that is being held now in Atlanta, Georgia. Beth Moore spoke on "minds." As an introduction, she talked about some scientific explanations on how brain works.

Then eventually talked about our minds, renewing our minds. We cannot tell our minds to forget about the old things that had happened. But we can think new thoughts on the old things.

It's an eye-opener.

Coming up is Francis Chan.

Can't wait to hear him.

On the queue is John Piper.

Amazing line up of speakers. Great people of God sharing God's message.

Here's the link to the live streaming of Passion 2011 Conference.

We had family gathering yesterday to welcome the New Year 2011. Each family prepared a dish or two. I prepared baked potatoes. It was loaded with butter and cheese. My entry for Yummy Sunday: