Blogs And More Blogs

What started as a hobby and a way to update my family about our lives aoverseas has already become a 'career' for me. Yes, I'm talking about blogging. :)

Just a few years ago, I started my first blog for my li'l girl in Friendster. Then later, I found Yahoo 360 and then my friend introduced me to Blogger. It was in Blogger where I was introduced to the whole blogosphere. And with my friends' encouragement, I then joined the world of pro blogging or paid blogging.

And here I am now, trying to juggle my free time to update and maintain all my 6 blogs. I never imagined myself to have 6 different blogs ( excluding my blogs for my kids). And if you ask me if I still want to add more blogs? Yes, I have one more blog coming and hopefully, it will be the last. :) It's actually a bit costly to have many blogs, because you need to buy your own domain and webhost. But as for me, I go for the cheap web hosting. But at the end, it's worth it especially if you plan to also earn through your blogs.

So, as of now, I would like to say that 'blogging' is my part time job. It's the part time job that fun and doesn't require much time and effort. And not to mention, that the earnings through my blogs have been a blessing for our family for the past months. Thank you Lord, for blogs!

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I need more and more of these each day. And I believe all these fruit will just radiates from me if I firmly abide with my Lord. There are no short-cuts, there are no formulas but just by seeking and abiding with Him daily.

For more Word-Filled Wednesday entries, please click the badge below.

Pray for the Philippines

photo credits: reuters

My heart still grieves every time I see the photos and videos of the flood that Typhoon Ondoy has brought to the Philippines last Saturday. Having experienced a flood ( last January 3rd this year) ourselves, I could imagine the terror and the fear of the people. This time it's a big scale flood that has take 100 lives, made 451,000 people discplaced and 115,000 people in the evacuation centers.

The following days would indeed be the crucial times as water, food and supply are most needed. As children and older people are likely to get sick and diseases at the evacuation centers. I can't imagine, the thousands of people who worked hard for years to build their homes and just see it destroyed and with all their belongings gone within a few hours time. I can't imagine the cries of the babies who want to be comfortable in their own beds but are just sleeping on the floor at the evacuation centers. I wonder , what the people are thinking about now...

"Lord, I pray for your mercy and help to be upon our people. Let your comfort and strength be upon them. And even let this be the time, when they can see You take care of them, provide for them through your children."

Please pray for the thousand of flood victims in Metro Manila. And please extend your help too. You can send your donations through Operation Blessings , a Christian foundation committed to help build people's lives.

Intermission: Online shopping

Have you tried shopping online? Once you do, I'm sure you'll like it. Imagine the convenience of shopping while sipping your favorite cup of coffee. No hassles, no long queues and no waiting. Everything is fast, within the click of the mouse.

Just check out for example, zmnm.com. They've got a variety of products on wedding apparel, home and garden, golf equipment and a lot more. They are also have Discount Golf Equipment for Sale . They are actually the number 1 online shop for cheap and discount golf equipment with best golf accessories and latest designs. Check them out now!

3 Days to Go!

3 days to go and Hubby will be back from Nepal! Yehey! My 12 days without my hubby is finally over. Whew! It was not actually the first time that I'm left alone with the kids. Last year, my kids and I went ahead to the Philippines and Hubby only followed after 2 months.

But I don't know why this time is quite different. The 12 days just seemed so long and I was struggling in between. I guess it's because my kids have grown to be more active and thus more difficult to handle alone. Or perhaps, maybe I have become more impatient and less understanding.

But in all these 9 days, I've learned some valuable lessons from God ( and am still learning now). The week has been like a breaking and molding process for me. Though, I won't still pass as the best candidate for the "World's Most Patient Mom" but that's the direction that I want to go. And in my endeavor to pursue that most sought after virtue, I must constantly depend on God for His strenght and grace. Thank You Lord!

Singing Bowls

I was intrigued when I heard about the Crystal Singing Bowl. So, I immediately went to the site which sells a lot of those bowls online. I actually thought that it's a new product in which the bowl would produce music. But I was wrong, it's actually the ancient bowls that's used in Nepal, Tibet and the Himalayas for their religious purposes. I'm sure my Hubby, who's in Nepal right now, would have seen a lot of that there.

Hubby in Nepal

Hubby is Nepal right now, he is there do help conduct VBS training for the Nepali Sunday School teachers. I would say that it's really a blessing to serve God. This trip is actually not part of our 1 year sabbatical plan but God has purposed it. It all started with my Hubby's desire to go to Nepal. I didn't really think about it much especially since I know that we couldn't afford the travel costs. But amazingly God provided all his travel needs.

I'm praying for my Hubby to be truly a blessing to the people as they do their trainings. Hope you could pray with me too. :)

On Back Pains and More

My Hubby has been experiencing a back pain for the past years. Then just now, I've read about sciatica and I'm now wondering whether it is my Hubby's condition or not. As defined by Wikipedia

Sciatica (or sciatic neuritis) is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that give rise to the sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve itself. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, which is sometimes severe, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, pins and needles or tingling and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body.

My hubby has indeed been experiencing some of the symptoms above, pain in the lower back and parts of his foot. He feels pain and numbness. Because of these symptoms, his activities are quite limited, he can't stand or walk for a very long period of time or else he would feel the pain. I remember we already went to 2 doctors both in Malaysia and Thailand. They prescribed some medicine and advise physical therapy. Once my Hubby was admitted in the hospital for a thorough check up and therapy. Good thing we had medical insurance because the costs were quite high. But from time to time, he still feels pain.

And now, I've just read about 'porcupad'. It seems like a very good product to heal sciatica or back pain. A lot of people have tried it and say it works. It would also seem to be a cost effective product compared to pain medicine and physical therapy. Not to mention, it's very convenient to use and you can carry anywhere. Hmm.. I better tell my Hubby about this product and who knows this might help him relieve his pain. This product also has a money back guarantee. I just saw its refund policy video and it seems that the owner is really dead serious and passionate about it. Imagine, he had to make a special video just for the refund policy. See it for yourself.

5 Things Friday- TV Shows

For this week's theme for 5 Things Friday is 5 favorite TV Show. I don't watch much TV nowadays because by the time I'm free it's usually the kids' time to watch TV. But if I do watch, I usually go to Travel and Living Channel and watch these shows:

1) The Globe Trekker - This show is a travel documentary and I'm always amazed by the beautiful and interesting things that each place has to offer.

2) Food Paradise - I can't even remember if this in T&L or Asian Food Channel. Anyhow, I usually get glued whenever this show is on..because obviously, I love FOOD! ;)

3) Jon and Kate plus 8- I used to like to watch this because I was curious of how the couple could manage to raise 8 kids and not to mention the kids are so cute!

4) A Glutton for Punishment- Bob takes every challenge that comes his way from entering a barista competition to frying egg using the sun heat of the sun.

5) Restaurant Makeover- This is from the Asian Food Channel.. I love how the restaurant is transformed like a caterpillar to a butterfly.


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Dora Says " Abre! Abre!"

I get amuse when I see my li'l boy watch Dora the explorer because he tries to answer every time Dora asks a question. I'm not so sure if he understands the question but sometimes he does get the answer right. But anyways, it's just a Yes or No answer so, he does get a 50% chance of answering right without even understanding the question.

But what surprised me more was when he asked me to open his packet of cookies one time and he said, "Abe, Abe!" . Then, I figured out he was saying " Abre!" which is Spanish and means "open" in English. Nope, I didn't teach him any Spanish but I guess Dora the Explorer must have done a good job in teaching my toddler some spanish. LOL!

But if we have to teach him some other languages, it would have to be Tamil, Thai or Filipino first since he will have more chances of speaking these 3 languages more. When he grows up, then he can venture out into learning more languages like Spanish or French so he can for example say abris de piscine to mean shelters of swimming pools or Compte bancaire to mean bank or salle bain to mean room bath. How do I know all these? Well, I found this out from the net and I guess you would need to know these words when you go to France. :)

Thankful Thursday 25

It's Thursday once again, even if I'm a bit late for to submit my entry I know it's still officially Thursday in some other parts of the world. :)

Here is my thankful list for this week:

1) I thank God for the provision for my Hubby's trip to Nepal. Praise God for meeting his travel needs. They are going to Nepal to conduct VBS training for the Sunday School teachers. This will be the very first time for these teachers to be trained and to conduct VBS.

2) I thank God for leading and directing us for our ministry at the end of the year. It's going to be challenging but exciting as well. :)

3) I thank God for putting a desire in our hearts and we're believing that indeed it will come to pass.

4) I thank God for His strength and protection daily.

5) I'm thankful for we are just serving an AWESOME God!

What are you thankful for this week? Click on the badge above to join us.

Lyle's Going to be Two!

I can't believe that my li'l 'bouncing' baby boy is going to be 2 years old next month. We haven't made any plans for his 2nd birthday yet but then we just bought some party stuff at Giant Hypermarket today because they were on sale. There were printed party hats, paper plates, paper cups and party bags. We chose the" Knight in Shining Armor" theme for his birthday. We didn't have much choices on the theme since most of the party items are for the upcoming Hari Raya Celebration. So, the most of the promotional toys and promotional products are for the celebration this weekend. We even found some imprinted household gadgets there. And speaking of these products, you can get any items personally imprinted at imprinted.com. They are a promotional item company offering a whole line of products that can be imprinted for advertising and other purposes. Their inventory of different products is said to be one of the largest you can find online.

Anyways, back to my li'l boy's 2nd birthday, I'm just amazed by how fast he grows up. He is such and big and fatty boy now who's learning new words everyday. His words are not that clear yet and surprisingly, his big sister, Tricia can understand his words more than us. This boy just bring a smile on our faces with all his antics and 'stunts'. I think he is a born comedian but very sweet too. He hugs and kisses everyone and tells us " Lab - u" ( i love you) a thousand times a day. ;) I just thank God for this wonderful, cutee gift!

Word Filled Wednesday- Joshua 1:3

Joshua 1: 3
I will give you every place where you set your foot... ( NIV)

Joshua 1:3
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.. ( KJV)

I'm claiming this promise from the Word of God as we go and reach out to the Nations! May we be a blessing wherever we go and lift His name on alone.

For more word filled wednesday entries, you can find Mr. Linky at Critty Joy.

A Heart's Prayer

We have a deep, earnest prayer in our hearts as of this time. Thinking about this prayer to be fulfilled really brings so much of joy and excitement in our hearts.

Oh, I just can't wait, Lord! I'm just looking forward for the fulfillment of your promises!

I know I must not fret, I must not rush...but just patiently wait on the Lord. Yes, I will wait.. patiently... patiently...

Of Friends and Webhosts

This blog is not self hosted yet but my other blogs are. Actually, I didn't have any concrete idea about webhosts until I had a problem with one of my blogs . It actually got suspended for a certain link that the 'free host site' doesn't like. My friend suggested that I get a webhost for that blog to prevent future problems. And I did. It was even better because I had another friend who offers webhosting and gave me a promotional rate (it's very cheap!) . And since I don't know how this transfer of webhost and other nitty gritty things work, my friend did everything and all I had to do was sit and wait. ;) I'm just thankful for good and helpful friends.

So now my self hosted blog is up and running and I won't have to worry about future problems with it ( I hope!).

Anyways, if you would like to know more about webhosts and the best 10 web hosting
then you can head on to wpdesigner.com for a list of the BEST with ratings by Price, Server Up-Time, Reliability, Eaze-of-Use, Control Panel and Customer Support . This site also have tutorials and all the other information about webhosts. Cool!

Thankful Thursday 24

It's Thankful Thursday once again. I was not able to join last week since I was traveling to North Thailand which is actually one of the things that I'm thankful for this week. So, let me share my thankful list for this week and last week.

1) I thank God for an opportunity to have a 'Mommy Break'. I went to North Thailand ( which is actually a contest prize for me) and had a refreshing time there; We went to different beautiful places, rode an elephant, went cycling around the old city and most of was able to spend a lot of time reading books and reflection.

2) I thank God for the successful operation of my Mom. She had a 4 in 1 operation and recovering well. We're continually praying for strength and fast recovery.

3) I thank God for His protection during my travel and protection for my family while their at home.

4) I thank God for my Hubby and I celebrated our 7th year wedding anniversary last September 7. Wow! Our heart rejoices for this blessed union.

5) And finally, I thank God that I'm back home.... back to my normal routine but back to snuggles, cuddles, hugs, kisses, tickles and giggles with my babies.

For more Thankful Thursday entries, please click the badge below. You might want to join us this week too!

Quotations and Rates

When I was younger, I never entertained insurance agents. Getting insured was quite unnecessary for me those days especially when I don't normally fall sick. But when I got married and had kids, I found that medical insurance and life insurance can be very helpful in the future. If you're not yet insured and thinking to get one, then better get yourself term life insurance quotes.

The Slideshow

If not for Linkwithin, I would have forgotten that I created a slideshow for our wedding anniversary last year. I enjoyed viewing it again and I was surprised that I had a few of our wedding pictures in it. Wow! Time just flies so fast huh? But I'm just thankful that indeed God makes everything beautiful in HIS time..

Here's the slideshow and by the way, I added a few more recent photos with Lyle in it.

On Chiangmai Night Market and Ptlue.com

I just got back from my ' Mommy Holiday' yesterday. It's just great to be back with my precious ones.

We did a lot of different activities while we were in the North of Thailand. The last two days we actually free time so, my friend and I did a little bit of shopping. We were actually quite disappointed with the Chiangmai Night market because their goods were not as cheap as we expected. It has actually turned out to be a tourist area so, the sellers were quoting 'ceiling prices' when we ask them. And then the buyer had to bargain all the way down to their desire price to be able to buy the goods. It's actually quite a tiring activity. And if you're like me who hasn't learned the 'art of bargaining' then you'll end up exhausted at the end of the day.

And incidentally today, I found an online site called Ptlue.com where they sell discount wholesale products. I really think online shopping is getting to be a better way to shop these days. Aside from the convenience of shopping from the comforts of your home, there's no more haggling and 'begging' the sellers to lower their prices. Because you're assured that at Ptlue.com you can buy the products at wholesale prices. This site also has a wide range of products with great quality. Below is a sample of their pretty bags on sale. You can try to check out their site and and experience the convenience of online shopping.

7th Year Anniversary!

September 7th marks our 7th wedding Anniversary for me and my Hubby. I thank God for the 7 precious years of marriage. I know that we are not yet in the 'veterans' list since 7 is still a very small number but all the same God is the giver of this precious gift. I thank God that aside for giving my loving Hubby as my life time partner and lover, He has also added 2 more treasures; our li'l princess and li'l prince. All together, we make one happy family with a purpose.

Thank you Lord for the 7 wonderful years! Thank you Lord for this family! May we say with all of our hearts with full commitment that ' As for me and my house, we will serve You, Lord!' .