Saturday, November 15, 2008

The book when it was first sold

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That is how the first edition looked like, in colors red and yellow. I was trying to keep printing costs low with this 100-page book. The pages were immaculate and quality book paper was used. The first printing was for 2000 units. 900 were sold out in a year.

I'm also glad to say I went the extra mile and registered this material for copyright at the National Library of the Philippines. I thank myself, otherwise I would be sorry by now if I had not done so.

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Please find the status of the book at the National Library of the Philippines. You may check the status on the Search Form by keying in: Teaching Your Child How To Read In 90 Days.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Top Ten Entrecard Droppers for October 2008

This is the first time I will post this, although I've been a member for months now. My apologies to all.

But many thanks to all droppers! I have enjoyed visiting your blogs very much as well! It's a pleasure to meet new bloggers through Entrecard, which reminds me I'll be featuring the "newbies" I just met.

So here goes:

1 Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

2 Proud To Be Filipina's Corner

3 Subjective Soup

4 ADHD is the culprit!

5 JDBelle's insights

6 Random Thoughts

7 Communication Exchange

8 Prove Me Wrong

9 100% Batangueno

10 It's My Party



Thanks to all and congratulations! Hope you keep coming back =)

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Friday, October 24, 2008

I Love Senator Santiago!

I love the feisty Senator Santiago I saw tonight on tv! Even the usually lax Secretary Raul Gonzales, who usually fidgets in his swivel chair when being interviewed, looked snappy.

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The reason, plenty. Most importantly, Retired PNP comptroller (retired) Eliseo dela Paz was then a no-show at the Senate Proceedings, despite his assuring statement on the news. Sen. Miriam Santiago was upset: "Why isn't he here?Why doesn't he come out. ... The innocent is as bold as a lion!"

It was just one of those ordinary evenings that I didn't want to spend sitting infront of the tv, not even for the evening news. But her words caught my attention and made me sit on the sofa watching the news for more. I love her for she has a quick mind, speaks eloquently and doesn't dilly-dally on matters like these.

I chose not to comment on the case of the "euro generals" involved in the 6.9M found in Moscow on Dela Paz. I'm just, of course, a bystander. What I would like to commend here is Sen. Santiago's no-nonsense attitude. I like her when she is so mad at crooks and exposes their wrongdoing. Surely you would love her too when she is on your side and if you share her point of view. She reminds me of my mom who just says what she wants to say =)

Watch her here to see what transpired during the proceedings.

Photobucket uh-oh, if I was the bad guy involved, I would worry...


Photobucket PNP chief pondering his next move

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Flashback muna, I once saw her guesting on Mel and Jay years before on the issue of philandering husbands. No, her husband isn't the philandering type but she was there to give her funny anecdotes. I remember her saying, " If I find out that my husband has another woman I would give him a slap left and right and throw the cabinet at him" Of course she was just being funny.

When I was in my teens and she was the Immigration Commissioner (an office I dread to face) She made raves then of weeding out crooks in the department, hurray for her! Sana may ganoon uli na tulad ni Sen. Santiago and would listen to our "foreigner living in the PI" story. And of how we cope with our immigration concerns. oops, just a little rant, but I'll stop now.

The news today made me look hopeful that justice will be served. I dread to see more situations where there is news of corruption and the perpetrators were caught off-guard and exposed - yet you still see them out in public many years later.

May the Lord God bless and guide our leaders!

(images courtesy of Inquirer and GMA.tv)Bookmark and Share

Thursday, October 23, 2008

It's my son's 14th birthday today!

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zwani.com myspace graphic comments
Happy Birthday Graphic Comments


Thank God for another amazing year of his life, I pray that God will continue to bless him, guide him, give him good health, favor and all the wonders of being an adolescent.















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This picture was taken on his elementary graduation in 2007 wherein he was on the honor roll. (Honestly, he doesn't like me posting this picture)


He's 14 today! Just like each and everyone of his brothers, Hans also has a special place in my heart. I thank him for being a responsible son, waking up at dawn to do some household chores (which is really my job). I thank him for he adds the bling to some of our friendster accounts. I have plenty of things to thank of.



Since this is my first year of blogging, I am writing this blog entry to post something about Hans and the amazing events in his life so ar.

I could still remember the surprise I've had when I found out I was pregnant in March 1994. My hubby and I already made plans for our wedding when the unexpected surprise came up. Health-wise, it was not such a good time for me because I was undergoing treatment for deep-seated depression and anxiety; I was on Prozac and Xanax. It was horrible, I was occasionally having panic attacks those times and always praying for healing. I definitely think this event was God's answer to our prayers, that I be free of medication.

It was imperative that I get off meds, and so I did. Most times I just stayed home due to my fear of crowds. I would occasionally go out naman, even go to church. Everything was going well until I had to get out of the country despite my condition. (will blog about that soon) It's perhaps because of this that I had a difficult pregnancy... one panic attack episode, hypertension, and was checked into the hospital once for bladder infection. Despite that, prayer was always the order of the day. I prayed and prayed so hard that it won't get difficult. That's how it was indeed.

I was due on November 24 but I may have miscalculated the months. October 23 in the morning I felt just slight pains which I thought were symptoms of that bladder infection. So I called my doctor, who, oh no - was out of town. I was told by her husband to just check into the hospital and she will see me the next day. So we just did, actually feeling silly why we had to. Turns out I was 8 cm dilated, amazing too I hardly felt any pain nor difficulty when Hans came into this world. What is more wonderful is he is okay, just small for a newborn and weighed 5.8 lbs. God is very good to us. While Hans was growing up, he turned out to be intelligent, inherited the genes from my mother and father.


I praise God so much for His grace and His help. I praise God most for the miracle He has done in February 3, 2006 when Hans got hit by a speeding van and miraculously survived.

Happy, happy birthday dear Hans. Count your blessings! May God bless you more and more!

It's my son's 14th birthday today!

Photobucket






zwani.com myspace graphic comments
Happy Birthday Graphic Comments


Thank God for another amazing year of his life, I pray that God will continue to bless him, guide him, give him good health, favor and all the wonders of being an adolescent.















Photobucket

This picture was taken on his elementary graduation in 2007 wherein he was on the honor roll. (Honestly, he doesn't like me posting this picture)


He's 14 today! Just like each and everyone of his brothers, Hans also has a special place in my heart. I thank him for being a responsible son, waking up at dawn to do some household chores (which is really my job). I thank him for he adds the bling to some of our friendster accounts. I have plenty of things to thank of.



Since this is my first year of blogging, I am writing this blog entry to post something about Hans and the amazing events in his life so ar.

I could still remember the surprise I've had when I found out I was pregnant in March 1994. My hubby and I already made plans for our wedding when the unexpected surprise came up. Health-wise, it was not such a good time for me because I was undergoing treatment for deep-seated depression and anxiety; I was on Prozac and Xanax. It was horrible, I was occasionally having panic attacks those times and always praying for healing. I definitely think this event was God's answer to our prayers, that I be free of medication.

It was imperative that I get off meds, and so I did. Most times I just stayed home due to my fear of crowds. I would occasionally go out naman, even go to church. Everything was going well until I had to get out of the country despite my condition. (will blog about that soon) It's perhaps because of this that I had a difficult pregnancy... one panic attack episode, hypertension, and was checked into the hospital once for bladder infection. Despite that, prayer was always the order of the day. I prayed and prayed so hard that it won't get difficult. That's how it was indeed.

I was due on November 24 but I may have miscalculated the months. October 23 in the morning I felt just slight pains which I thought were symptoms of that bladder infection. So I called my doctor, who, oh no - was out of town. I was told by her husband to just check into the hospital and she will see me the next day. So we just did, actually feeling silly why we had to. Turns out I was 8 cm dilated, amazing too I hardly felt any pain nor difficulty when Hans came into this world. What is more wonderful is he is okay, just small for a newborn and weighed 5.8 lbs. God is very good to us. While Hans was growing up, he turned out to be intelligent, inherited the genes from my mother and father.


I praise God so much for His grace and His help. I praise God most for the miracle He has done in February 3, 2006 when Hans got hit by a speeding van and miraculously survived.

Happy, happy birthday dear Hans. Count your blessings! May God bless you more and more!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Where I first started with my website at Geocities

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This was screenshot of the website at geocities. It used to be found at http://www.geocities.com/book_wagon/teach_reading

It's what I call my "bread and butter website" because it's one of my online selling websites where I sell so well and I take joy in it for it has helped my family since 2001.

I came a long, long way in selling. As I may have mentioned before in my previous posts, it had it's ups and downs because of my trial-and-error strategies.

Hardly believe that it's still doing well despite all the odds and to think that I just gradually developed it by just visiting other leading websites where I got more ideas. Who would believe that back then I didn't have my own computer and merely worked on this thru my frequent visits to the internet cafe in town? Yes, I spent hours and hours online, thinking how I can improve the website - and my online selling skills (which,honestly, I'm not really good at.) But thank God, the time I spent paid off.

I thought of putting up this website on Geocities (because it's also free!) so I can accept orders easily and at the same time give instant information to the interested parents/ teachers. That way they won't need to text or email just to inquire more about it, unless truly necessary, because it's all there.

Also, since I'm offline most times, I added an automatic order form which they can fill out in a jiffy. I got it from Createforms. This, too, is free. Purchasing customers can fill in their Name, Address, Email Address, Preferred payment method and book format. Two order forms are necessary to fill out and complete the purchase:

ORDERFORM1 and ORDERFORM2

This way, no request or inquiry is missed and every customer is attended to.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

How I began selling online, the "a-ha!" moment

I was still so new in the business of publishing and in dealing with book traders. Admittedly, I felt I was stuck in a rut as my dealings with store owners were dismal. Either someone would ask for a 40% from my sales or someone would take longer to collect receivables from. The private schools were good to me though and they helped me a whole lot better in promoting the product. But, sad to say, I was near my giving up point. Before all else would fail, my knowledge of the internet revived me. Simply browsing websites, checking emails and posting my personal thoughts on forums gave me the idea that I can possibly earn here. Here's how the a-ha! moment came up...

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I've been an active member of alumni.net and a regular visitor at that. On one of the alumni webpages I spotted the bulletin board where former schoolmates get updated with alumni news.

I also posted a "find a classmate" bulletin when I realized I can try posting an advert since it was also allowed. I posted about 5 bulletins on each school I came from. Days later I was surprised when a few parents replied to my ad and emailed me to order. It brought good results, and it was fairly easy doing so. Most especially, I no longer needed to pay for expensive ads at the local daily!

Yes, I agree, it just brings a few customers to purchase but the results are far better than with advertising on the newspapers. The most advantage I get is that it's free and I can post on as many sites or forums as much as I'd like!

It was a lot of help from posting ads at alumni.net, then later on other satisfied parents posted ads for me too on other forums and email groups. Since then this book gained sales thru free advertising.

know more on my next post...

Friday, August 1, 2008

Looking back... the letter adverts I used to mail and hand out

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Where I got the idea and how it just grew :)

How this all started is a long story, with a few gaps in between the years that passed. Basically I just thought of the concept when my eldest was 7 years old and a struggling reader. During those times I was always on the lookout for books that can help him. But well, we lived in the province in 1995 when there were no books or materials that can really help. And believe me, I think I bought all the pre-school books that were labeled "For 3-5 year-olds" and still it didn't work out. So to help my eldest in his learning, I think this is unusual of me - I wrote all the sight words and words with the same phonograms to fill one notebook just so he could practice reading and eventually read well!

That alone didn't work so I searched more from the teaching resources in the libraries and some bookstores. There were plenty of articles to choose from, but mostly I would get tips from the non-conventional teaching and Montessori methods. The write-ups from the parenting magazines were a great help too. I compiled all of those write-ups, most of which back up the studies of teaching experts that phonics is still the simplest method in learning to read and is best suited for children between the ages of 3-5.

I saw this on a parent's viewpoint and thought of the idea that if the method was simplified then it would be easier to learn reading.

This is the story of how I, with the help and advice of my teacher-friends, came up with the reading concept of this material.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

How I Helped Host My Aunt's Elementary Batch 1952 reunion



<Seated 1st row from L-R> Leticia De Guzman, Lorenza Serafica, Cecilia Mejia, Cecilia De Vera, Bernarda De Guzman, Francisca Lalata, Ana De Guzman, Marcelina Ranoli, Mr. (Principal), Azucena De Vera, Miguela Cabrera, Teodora Barrozo, Librada De Vera, Lourdes Castillo, Angelita Ariola, Jesusa Ariola; <Seated 2nd row from L-R> Salome Magalong, Cornelia Bautista, Leticia Cabrera, Eduvijes De Guzman, Brigida Biagtan, Eduvijes Magno, Caridad Lalata, Teresita Gonzales, Ingracia De Guzman, Emma Revilla, Leonarda Mamayson, Carmen Costes, Angelita Ibasitas, Maria Biagtas, Narcisa De Vera; <Seated 3rd row from L-R> Fidel Biacan, Efren Revilla, Jose Gotoc, Rogelio Frialde, Benjamin De Guzman, Ruperto Fabia, Norberto Dizon, Perpetuo De Guzman, Henry Cabanlig, Jose Mangonon, Daniel Biagtan, Crisostomo Frianela; <Seated 4th row from L-R> Dionisio De Guzman, Gregorio Biagtan, Lorenzo Biacan, Rodrigo Frialde, Armando Cabanlig, Fortunato Biagtas, Antonio Revilla, Domingo Bautista, Ruperto De Guzman


Elementary Class 1952 of Embarcadero Elementary School was held last February 29, 2008 at the Town Cresh Resort, Nibaliw East, San Fabian, Pangasinan. This reunion was organized by the coordinators Mrs. Lourdes Castillo-Soriano, Mrs. Francisca Lalata-Zipagan, Mrs. Bernarda De Guzman- Prestoza and Mrs. Azucena De Vera- De Guzman.


I'm so glad to be a part of this event though I'm not one of the batch. It's my aunt's elementary school batch that she told me to help organize. The goal was just to have an open communication with all the members of this batch, wherever they are, whatever they are now, as long as they see each other again. My aunt said before that some of them were not fortunate enough to go on to high school and had to stop schooling due to economic circumstances. Some went on to high school, some were even fortunate to work abroad and are permanent residents there.


It was a great day for the reunion, the weather was great... not too hot as we first prepared for. And every former classmate invited was present : Gil De Vera, Miguela "Mely" Cabrera-Ungos, Teodora "Dorang" Barrozo, Librada"Lib" De Vera-Estrada and Rudy Estrada, Lourdes Castillo-Soriano, Francisca "Paring" Lalata-Zipagan, Cornelia "Orel" Bautista and grandchildren, Bernarda "Bening" De Guzman-Prestoza and Tito Prestoza, Eduvijes "Duvy" Magno, Narcisa "Celing" De Vera, Fidel Biacan and wife, Efren Revilla, Rogelio Frialde, Benjamin "Ben" De Guzman and Azucena "Celing" De Vera-De Guzman, Crisostomo "Tommy" Frianela, Rodrigo Frialde, Ruperto "Ruping" De Guzman, Fred Tamayo, Emma Revilla, Pepito "Pito" Aquino and wife Kagawad Soledad Aquino, Jovita Garcia, Benjamin Sanchez,and Leonardo Cendana.










It was an enjoyable day for everyone!

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