Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What does the color dark green make you think of?

Moss. And men in the Army

Soup
How many cousins do you have?

First degree = 28.

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

7. There are times that I just shut up and hold myself because:

• I might aggravate the situation.
• I am not in the position to say things about what.
• I fear that I could hurt somebody’s feelings.
  

I have a lot to learn about honesty and tact.

Main Course
Name something that is truly free.

Air. Love. Gentle encouraging words. Criticism is free, too.

Dessert
Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

She presumes Robby inspires nice girls.

Mirror, Mirror, Tell Me What's He Doing

My other WW post is here. Also please visit 5minutesformom for more participants.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone!

Enjoy the egg hunting activities. Or whatever activity you are having with your family.

Me and my family are off to a nearby pool and will be back later in the afternoon. :-)

In Need Of Stylish Yet Functional Tables?

For the past 50 years, Burgess Furniture has been creating durable and stylish tables for some of the best hotels in the world. The Marriott. The Hilton. The Crowne Plaze. These are just few of the hotels where their furniture have graced - be it in conference rooms or dining halls.

Today, I want to mention four noteworthy designs from their six complementary table collection. These are the following: Flip-Top; Light-Fold; Slim-fold and System C.

The Flip-Top collection is composed of storable and collapsible types which are ideal for conference and meeting rooms. These pieces come in various shapes and layouts with chrome-polished steel underframes.

The Lightfold designs are round catering tables ideal for homes and party venues. I can imagine using them for garden parties because they are made of sturdy yet lightweight plastic.

Slim fold designs are those linking and folding tables which one has the option to assemble to create a bigger circular table or move to make an open ended round table or de-link to make separate single tables.

System C designs are stylish easy-linked tables for conference rooms. It is available in various sizes and finishes, depending on what fits the design and lay-out of the conference room.

I must say most pieces in their collection are functional and stylish. But you can see for yourself and check their designs of tables for banqueting, conferences and hotels. I'm sure you'll love their modern and traditional-structured tables.

Giveaway: Max Lucado Books

Angie at The Knightly News has wonderful news over her blog. She is giving away not one but 3 Max Lucado books!

Isn't that great? Drop by her blog and leave a comment here if you're interested. Goodluck and Happy Easter, everyone!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Given the choice, would you prefer to live in the country or in the city?

How about suburban?

Soup

Who is the cutest kid you know?

This is soooo obvious. My son Matt!

Salad

Fill in the blank: I couldn’t believe it when I heard ___________.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard my son say "Mama, beautiful." *chuckle* He did say that.

Main Course

If you could star in a commercial for one of your favorite products, which one would you want to advertise?

Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion. Because I am using it and it's effective on me.

Dessert

What type(s) of vitamins and/or supplements do you take on a regular basis?

Honey and Vitamin C.

Watching

My other entry is here. For more participants, visit 5minutesformom.

Meme Today

Nuttygal tagged me to do this meme, which is called the Kind Fives and you have to list five kind things you do for yourself; five kind things you do for your closest friend, partner or child and five kind things you have done for a stranger. You then have to Tag five people.


Five kind things things I do for myself:

1. I try to clean our house whenever I can. A clean house keeps me sane.
2. I take a bath and try to make myself presentable.
3. I indulge in the pleasure of blogging.
4. I pray.
5. I try to live a healthy lifestyle. Y'know, eat the right food. Get enough sleep (which is impossible!) . I'm really boring.

Five kind things I do for my son:

1. I fix his broken toys (and other things that he breaks). Trust me, I do this all the time that I'm already so good at it.
2. I try to give him healthy food only.
3. I clean and clean and clean our house (Matt is very allergic to dust, etc...)
4. I sing to him (always), read or tell him stories (all the time) and rock him to sleep (when necessary).

5. I hug, kiss and tell him Iloveyou many, many times in a day.

List five kind things I have done for a stranger:

1. Give up my turn in favor of them in long queues (sometimes!).
2. Give them food.
3. Give them directions, like when they seem lost.

4. Exchange my cash for their gift/cash certificates.

5. Give them the chance to friendship.

Now, I'm tagging Amy, Maiylah, Grace, Serena and Liza.

New York, New York

Are you interested to enroll to any fashion school in New York? Here’s a tidbit for you. Do you know what these famous names - Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan - have in common? All three are New Yorkers. And that must speak something about fashion in the streets of New York.

So for those in the lookout for New York fashion schools, keep that in mind because fashion schools New York may just put that dream of yours into reality.

Congratulations Pacman!

Not only did Pacquiao win the fight by split decision against Marquez, he solved the traffic condition today.

Fight Venue: Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino.

Official scorecards of the Pacquiao-Marquez fight: Jerry Roth, 115-112 (Marquez); Duane Ford, 115-112 (Pacquiao); and Tom Miller, 114-113 (Pacquiao). Read story here.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?

6. Do you have a hard time reading the doctor's penmanship? I could effortlessly scrawl like that. Really, that's one department I need to improve.

Soup
Do you prefer baths or showers?

Both. But it's practical to use showers.


Salad
What was the last bad movie you watched?

It's so bad I forgot the title. And it was so so bad, my officemates laughed at almost all of the scenes. But now that I've thought how it made us all laugh, it can't be that bad, ey?

Main Course
Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.

Blogging. It consumes me. My time. My thoughts. But it has brought extra money in my pockets, too.



Dessert
Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?

The guitar.

I'm Sorry I'm Late

I hardly say that because I don't usually come late in parties or gatherings. But today, I come in late to the Ultimate Blog Party at 5minutesformom. (It's March 14 already in the Philippines) . I really don't want to quote that cliche about getting in late now because 80% of the time, I don't agree with it. But today, I'm in the 20% position. Of course, I can come up with lots of excuses but I'll spare everyone with that. I guess what matters most is I'm here. I'm joining.

I'm Mama Meji. Others like to call me ZAM. You can call me that. Or Zenaida. But whatever name you call me, it doesn't matter except for this one word. I work in the telecoms industry. If I'm not working and mothering my two-year old son, I am blogging. I am a certified blogging addict. I also blog in the office (don't tell my boss please).

My other half is someone I'd like to call Houston. He also works in the Engineering field but he's doing designs and works an hour flight away from home. He is actually the reason why I started blogging.

But Houston said, this kid is the reason why I should blog (so he can read updates of our lives and Matt's development).



This is Matt. And he works so hard to make that tummy bulge -asking "Mama, rice, rice, more rice," "I want to eat pleeeaaase" etc... once too often. Eating is really the least of my parenting concern. I'm more concerned with his antics that drive me nuts (which reminds me that I have to blog about how he brought the CR door vent down). But I love my one-kid demolition team so much.

Welcome to my party! Welcome to my life.

And the food and drinks? We can always visit any one of these restos. I'm not being modest if I tell you I'm not really a good cook. That's the truth. But I could make killer salads and few desserts. Wink.

***

You can also read my interview at 5minutesformom

***

The Ultimate Blog Party has lots of prizes to be given away. And I'm amazed that even bloggers outside of US have a chance to win some prizes. For instance, here are some cool prizes that I'd love to win:

INTL 9 — Pocket Place Mat which is provided by Comfort Joy Designs

INTL 5 — Adventures Along the Way e-book provided by Bobbie Howard

INTL 3 — Ebook Prize Package which is provided by Melissa O. Markham

Lasting...

My other entry is here. For more participants, visit 5minutesformom.

Something About...

You might have read one of my Thankful Thursday post at Makimeji where I mentioned about financial opportunity. I purposely left the specific detail out but few days ago, I had this burning desire to blog about it. Not so much to brag but to say my thanks for the people or group of people instrumental to this blessing.

One goes to Maiylah, for introducing it to me (or me to it). Another to Elina, the moderator, first for taking me under her wing (accepting my blog Verb even without a PR rating to speak of) and for giving me a chance to be a part of a growing community of bloggers who have taken the great leap to monetize their blogs - now collectively known as the Blogs Do Make Money community.

Yes, I was referring to BDMM in that post. For the most part, that is. I’ve worked for them c/o Elina for less than 2 months and boy was I satisfied. I am satisfied. I am really grateful to Elina and her team for coming up with good projects for everyone. Although one cannot have it all, I’ve been real blessed to have been able to avail of some great project slots.

*******

A month ago, I was in this blogging crossroad of deciding whether to keep Verb or not. I have just started Makimeji then and on top of mothering and keeping an 8-hour job, I just had too much on my plate. (Can you hear my mother already screaming in the background and my son threatening to push the power button again?)

I still do the stressful balancing act from time to time, but I have decided to keep Verb. One because this is where I first started. I know, I know, I’m silly sentimental. Second, I just discovered the wonders of auto-posting with Wordpress (Makimeji) so it's easier to manage both blogs. Lastly, I’m honor-bound to keep Verb alive because of an advertiser who has bought “space” in this blog for a year period (and hopefully it’s going to continue ‘til I grow old! Heheh. Wish!). But, imagine to be paid in advance – again thanks to BDMM (time of payment is never an issue).

I Found My One True Love

(..oh well, before Matt came along)

This is a quick meme I decided to get over and done with today because and I wanted to participate to Meme Monday at LivinWithMe but I don't have enough time to get some memes answered. CheH tagged me a long time ago with this one and also Regina and maybe others -I just couldn't remember now (my apologies -you may holler in the comment page so I can get some Linky Love your way).

Besides, this is a very timely meme. You'll see the significance of this in my other blog maybe tomorrow or on Wednesday -but maybe you already have an idea. Wink.

So here goes:

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Black Friday Shopping

I was never familiar with Black Friday or Black Friday shopping. Though I’ve read about shoppers' experience last year –and even saw few photos of shopper turn-out, I was completely lost because we never have Black Fridays here. Well, we have mall and store sales similar to Black Friday but we never call it that.

So today, I looked it up and found out that:

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving (which falls on the fourth Thursday in November) in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employers give the day off, increasing the number of potential shoppers. And it’s one of the busiest retail shopping day of the year.

So it’s basically a HUGE, HUGE Sale and most stores usually open as early as 5AM! Now, I can very well understand the long queues and traffic jam a day after Thanksgiving. (Okay I did mention that I’ve seen photos and read bloggers’ account of what transpired last year.)

But what amazes me most is though Black Friday is still a long way off, I found out that as early as now, there are already thanksgiving ads about store sale information. But isn't that a win-win marketing strategy? This way, shoppers can scan items in advance and get more discounts.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?

Jessica Biel. Whoa!

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?

9. My work requires me to "work" over the phone always. Love it. And I'm in the telecoms business, it's hard not to enjoy the privileges.

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).

Nothing specific really. But I love going to orphanages -although it always breaks my heart to see the kids there. I'd like to focus my attention more on institutions that take care of street kids, abandoned kids, orphans, abused kids...

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?

Grilled squid and fish.

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

No one. I hope no one in the family will get sick with flu this year.

Win a Nintendo® Wii™

Click Here for a Chance to Win a Nintendo® Wii™!

This is hot! A Nintendo Wii set - consisting of a Nintendo Wii Console, Wii Stand, 5 Sports games ( Boxing, Baseball, Tennis, Golf and bowling), a Remote Controller, a Nunchuk Controller, a Sensor Bar, a Wii AC Adapter and 1 Wii AV Cable – will to be given away by Charter.com. No purchase is required to qualify to enter this contest. Really, you don’t have to do anything except to enter the Win a Wii with Charter Sweepstakes.

There are two methods to join. One is by logging to http://connect.charter.com/forlife/ and the other by sending a mail entry (yes, snail mail). If you opt to mail your entry, please hand print the words Win a Wii with Charter Sweepstakes, your name, address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, age and e-mail address on a 3" by 5" card and mail it with an envelope addressed to Charter Communications, Win a Wii with Charter Sweepstakes, c/o Online Marketing Department, 12405 Powerscourt Drive, St. Louis, MO 63131.

This is open to any legal resident of the 29 states of the USA who is at least 18 years old. A lucky winner will be drawn on March 31, 2008.

If you visit http://connect.charter.com/forlife/, you also have a chance to bid on receiving Charter High-Speed® Internet for Life.

I'm Not A Cheapskate (daw!)

Saw this around -can't remember exactly. Maybe I saw it over at Melanie's or at Nutty Gal's. I'm quite sure I'm a cheapskate but lookie, lookie...the result says otherwise!

You Are Not a Cheapskate

When it comes to money, you're very fair. You're generous when you can be, and you never cheat anyone out of what they deserve. If you have the money, you enjoy splurging. But you never overspend.

Are You a Cheapskate?

Buzz Your Contents Now

There are billions of sites and thousands of contents released in the Internet every day. With that, it’s a tough feat to market your original work or drive traffic to your site.

Now, Buzzfuse.com has devised a way for you to get maximum exposure by rating your work based on "interaction." So for every high-scoring content you have that gets in The Daily Top 10, Buzzfuse circulates this to all of its users worldwide. Fair enough, ey? Also, Buzzfuse is free so sign up now and see what it can do for you. I just did, too.

Wordless Wednesday: Straight

My other entry is here. For more participants, visit 5minutesformom.

Me = Oregano

Again I saw this at Pam's:

You Are Oregano

You have are charming, funny, witty, and smart. You love to party - and people love to party with you. You are always friendly and warm. You are able to help people get along.

What Spice Are You?

Why I'm Not Switching Credit Cards

I’ve been in a barrage of telemarketers lately which makes me think that the marketing world is ganging up to annoy me. They are mostly representative of credit card companies offering the best credit card deals. Because I am so diplomatic, I never tell them to get lost straight out no matter how much I wanted to. Almost always, I give them time, no matter how short, to deliver their generic marketing spiels.

But reality is I never wanted to switch cards or add more cards to my name. One is enough and the thing is, I am contented with the services of my card company. Apart from the fact that I am assured their system is secured and protected, their online banking service is superb. And that’s means a world to me.

Meme Monday

I'm participating again to Meme Monday which is hosted by Melanie at LivinWithMe. I actually hope to participate every week if time and my cute boss permit (since I'm home every Monday as it is my dayoff from work).

****

Chuck tagged me to list 6 unimportant or quirky things about me.

1) I spend longer time in to-do shops than in a clothing store.
2) Pressing clothes is not my favorite chore.
3) My favorite chores are those that involves water.
4) My fingernails are always boring short and not painted.
5) The last time I had a manicure was (almost) 4 years ago.
6) I can eat like there's no tomorrow. Really. Shush now.

First Crucial Step

As we add more years to our age, our bodies change. Our organs age and at their worst, malfunction. Sometimes we need to re-tune them, re-condition them. And what better way to do that to first consult an expert – a trusted doctor so he can recommend the better course of action.

Like, there was a time my father had trouble urinating. When he had himself checked, the initial finding was prostate trouble but the doctor didn’t advise any prostate therapy or prescribed medicine. Instead, he endorsed a thorough examination for him which thankfully yielded negative results. Had things been done differently, we'd have wasted more than what we could afford.

Contest Galore #4

• Wanna win a Home Soda Machine? Check contest mechanics here.
  


• There's a Polkadot Papoose Sling Giveaway over at Queen Baby Bean. Simply comment for a chance to win. Deadline is March 3, 2008


• Handmade jewelry anyone? Head over at Rare Birds Finds because they are giving away Sharma Designs
  


• For an interesting book giveaway for parents, click here.


• A Pangea Organics Facial scrub will be given away at Petit Elefant. Just comment to enter the contest.


• Win $50 dollars via Paypal by joining the contest at Blogetition.com.
  

• Another jewelry is to be given away here. It's an exquisitely designed Lucia Necklace by MILARA DESIGNS.
  


• 5minutes for mom has a Dunstan Baby Language System giveaway. If you're interested, head over there now.

That's all for now. See you again next week for my weekend contest round up. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Prepare for the Coming Digital TV Switchover

From February 2009, analog signals will be turned off and only digital TV signals will be transmitted over the air. Cable-based systems should not be affected since cable companies should continue to offer analog signals for most basic cable channels. Satellite systems already transmit digital signals and should not be affected either by the switchover.

If you happen to have a TV or device with an analog tuner you have two choices. You can buy a converter box and possibly use a government issued coupon to get a discount or you can replace the old analog-based TV with a brand new digital one.

A converter box will most likely be the cheapest solution, but you'll have another remote to deal with. Some DTV converter boxes are already available like the Insignia Digital to Analog Converter Box which costs around $60. The federal government is offering $40 coupons that consumers can use on a basic converter box. You can request up to two coupons per household now through March 31, 2009.

Gawd! I'm 60% Obsessive

I saw this at Pam's and again I'm checking to see how obsessive I am. It's worth a try -just for fun or for reality check.

You Are 60% Obsessive

You're somewhat obsessive, especially when it comes to a couple things (like horrifying thoughts or cleanliness). As long as your quirks aren't interrupting your life, it's all good.

How Obsessive Are You?

Eye Candy For The Day

Didn’t someone say –and even sing- that diamonds are girl’s best friend? It must be true – because even a simpleton woman like me loves them (although that doesn’t mean I own lots). I just have one word for diamonds: lovely. And I have to say that I have yet to meet a woman who doesn’t love diamonds.

Eye candy. They truly are. And I saw some of these “candies” today from Gemz N Gold. Here are two pieces that caught my eye:



This is a 14K Solid Gold ring with Natural Diamonds and Sapphire. And here’s the Lever Back Earring (still with Natural Diamonds and Sapphire) to match the ring. Of course, there are other jewelry pieces displayed there, from stud earrings to tennis bracelets to necklaces. Also, there are other gemstones to choose from like Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst and so much more.

But I chose these because when it comes to jewelry, I like them simple and not flashy - and diamonds set in white gold is just perfect. Also, sapphire is my birthstone. So talk about some luck. Now the only burning question is –do I have money to spare? (Or will someone reading this take this as a hint? =) )

Friday Feast #1

Appetizer

Who was the last person you hugged? My son


Soup

Share a beauty or grooming trick or tip with us. Get enough sleep and drink lots of water ( like a gallon perhaps? Heheh)


Salad

What does the color yellow make you think of? Happiness (I love yellow, next to green)


Main Course

If you were to make your living as a photographer, what subject would your pictures revolve around? Kids. Food. Landscape. Anything.


Dessert

What was the longest book you ever read? Maybe an Engineering or a Math textbook.

For more participants, click here.