Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thanks To This March's Entrecard Droppers

Thanks For Friendship Graphics And Comments For Friendster, Myspace


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Thanks to everyone who regularly dropped cards this March on my blog! I will surely keep dropping back to all of you this coming month, I always do. I just started the past two weeks so it's possible my drop rate on your blogs are low, but I'll make it up this April!

To all the top ten droppers, here's my linkylove....

Comatised
Captchas Fun & More
Walk On Your Life
Osprey Value
Pitsmoezen
Big Stick
Free Usable Tips For Home
Christina Fong
Enfotainer- Enfotain Your Mind!
Rambling KingLink

Also my special thanks to bloggers who've contributed largely to the promotion of my blog:

Download Film
My Piece Of Mind
etechworld
Thailand On Tours
Fashion blog
Diary of A British Expatriate in Finland
Be A Lifesaver Of Goodness
Roller Coaster Ride
Mommy's Joy Ride
Gardening And Flowers
Cook This Recipe


Yourock Graphics And Comments For Friendster, Myspace
F97YGNSP2VCG


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Facebook Like You Back #2



Saturday, March 26, 2011

Support Earth Hour 2011

Hello everyone! Tonight will be a significant night as countries all over the world will unite and participate in Earth Hour 2011. We can all do our share by switching off our lights from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Let's also go beyond the hour, so after the lights go back on, let's think about what else we can do to make a difference.




Allow me to share in what ways we in our family have done so far to help save Mother Earth:

  • Planted 1000 moringa trees at our small moringa farm. Environmentalists say moringa is sustainable and good for the environment
  • Traded junk for recycling (i.e. aluminum cans and caps, tin cans, newspaper)
  • Used natural means of warding off pests in the house and garden like oregano, marigold, milk and leftover coffee grounds
  • Regularly utilized the energy-saving version of Google - Blackle for searching on the net.
  • Stopped the rural folk habit of burning old leaves and grass in the backyard.

and more!

Caring for our environment has become a tireless way for me to help. Experiencing the past typhoons that struck our province has made me actively participate, and I still continue to share environmental awareness to others in my own little way.

Happy weekend!


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Rice Harvest

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We've been busy at home in between daily chores and errands this past week. Also added to our schedule was last Friday, March 18's, rice harvest for the first crop this 2011 cropping calendar.

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As I've said last week, the harvest commenced with the harvesters reaping the crops last Tuesday. Then it took 3 more days for the machine thresher's availability. Consider also that the farmer, Mang Juan, had to sleep at the fields for 3 nights to ward off robbers. Oh yes, there has been reports of those lately even in a sleepy baranggay like this.
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That's me, I braved enough to go near the threshing machine at the field. Tell you, before this picture, I tripped when I took my first step toward the rice paddies!Ouch, a trip is a great trip if at first I trip! I've got a bad left foot, that's why :)

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It's an arduous task of planting rice up to harvest, I realize. I salute these farmers for their patience from planting, cultivating, harvesting and also for drying the crops to make it worth much more. According to the rates, newly harvested rice grains are traded for 15.00/ kilo, on the other hand, when the same rice will be sundried, it will earn more as much as 17.00 kilo. Here below, are the workers shoveling the grains back to the sacks. My hubby helped until he felt the itch which is common in this job, whew!
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This season's grains are of great quality this time unlike that of the previous season.

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Total rice sacks filled were 87, one-fourth of which, went to us being representatives of the land owner. This season's harvest is by far the lowest despite having had no calamities that could have affected the crops. The farmers attribute the low yield due to the changing weather from humid to cold and back plus the lack of water and, for others, lack of appropriate . A close relative from the same town, in fact, lost 40% of his harvest this year from experimenting with a new kind of fertilizer that not only did not seem to work, but also decreased this year's yield.


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The 2 days at the field were so far relaxing for me, away from the hustle and bustle of chores and blogging. Enjoyed the atmosphere, almost sleepy . Took flickr photos, watched egrets flying overhead what we call "tagak", went to and fro from palay-drying to the rice traders and back to the rice mill. Even if the yield is low, still smile, looking forward to next harvest season!

More pictures in this slideshow :)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Call US And Canada With Skype

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Just found out Skype isn't just for chatting on the internet but also is another alternative to calling friends and relatives from overseas, just top-up $10.00 from your Paypal and you're all set.

The rates are cheaper compared to the regular phonecard in California $4.50 per hour. And yet sometimes the phone call gets cut-off just reporting "you have 3 minutes left" That's according to my aunt who resides there.

They've got low per minute rates which are considerably cheaper too for calls from the Philippines to overseas. At the rate of .021 cents per minute, I've been calling abroad for less than a dollar for 30 minutes. The advantage too is you can hear the conversation via speaker or headset. You don't miss the important details in your phone conversation.

My personal report: I talked to my aunt in California, called her via their landline phone, using a headset and mic for myself and the speaker for the rest of the family to listen in. It was only for 12 minutes though for that first time because I mistook the rate as .21 cents instead of .021 cents. Whoops!

Then next time I logged on, the report said my credit was still $9.67. And I thought of letting my hubby try Skype in calling his "long-lost" relatives in the US who hardly get access to the internet. They talked for an uninterrupted 30 minutes for less than a dollar. The rates are the same too for calls to mobilephones in the US and Canada.

What's more, I heard they have incredibly cheap and unlimited rates in calling your country of choice. I would highly recommend it, especially because their service is hassle-free.

I hope you try it too and let me know your personal report. Have a nice day!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Cute Cuppycake Song!


The "CUPPYCAKE" Song
(Lyrics and Music by Judianna Castle)
is actually the chorus from Amy's version of "You're My Honeybunch"
(lyrics and music by Judianna and Buddy Castle)
..
The lyrics in blue make up the short version that was first uploaded to the internet in August of 1996.
Amy sings the lyrics in red as well in the complete version:
.
You're my Honeybunch, Sugarplum
Pumpy-umpy-umpkin, You're my Sweetie Pie
You're my Cuppycake, Gumdrop
Snoogums-Boogums, You're the Apple of my Eye
And I love you so and I want you to know
That I'll always be right here
And I love to sing sweet songs to you
Because you are so dear
 
This is one of those things I came across in 1996 and I didn't know it then where to find it. It's now my message alert tone on my mobile phone. It's just so cute to listen to!
 
Please dont forget to visit the Old Candy Store :)
Remember When Booklet - 1980 Andes Mints Christmas Cards - 4.67 oz box - case of 12
York Peppermint Patties - box of 175 pieces


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And talking about cute, I thought of giving my children cute names here in my blog. (just noticed bloggers shouldn't give out too much info on their children's identity;for security reasons)
My Eldest, the 20-year-old is Brownie - that's his favorite, or shall I say anything covered in chocolate - for that matter :)
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My Second son, the 16-year-old, is Popcorn - ( no association for this, just want to call him that)
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Next is Cottoncandy, the 15-year-old - always SOFT-spoken and fair
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Next is Jellybean, my 13-year-old sophomore - anything beginning with J
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And, lastly is Cupcake, my five-year-old (of course! as cute as a tiny cupcake)
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You'll soon get to meet each one of them here, with all my parenting/buddy-buddy stories. I'm thinking of adding zest to this blog (quips, blogthings, daily stories and all) , because I really really really miss blogging and meeting new friends!


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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Harvest Time Again Soon!

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Can't quite believe it's another rice harvest season this Friday! It's our third harvest since we assumed management of my uncle and aunt's ricefield.

That picture above shows that our field is the last one to be harvested in that area.( see the yellow grains in the field) Even I can't believe the grains have ripened that quick since we last passed by last March 5 to check how things were going. It was still green then and some neighboring farmers were already harvesting their crops.


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Me and my youngest, Cupcake, beside our family's trusty motorcycle. Glad to have that motorcycle now, it would do wonders for our budget since last 2 harvest seasons we only hired tricycles to get there and paid 50 pesos per trip.Photobucket


So today we visited the farmers and gave them 20 rice sacks they need for the produce. Later this month, I'm already thinking of our visit to the National Irrigation Administration for the irrigation fees.

Praying for a great harvest this season!

P.S. Just as I am writing this blog post tonight, just on the news at NBN: NFA launches I-Rice Program


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Sunday, March 13, 2011

Readers must have thought I've gone away!

Neglect, that's what I call my blogging. ooh, I'm really sorry for the followers who keep reading at the same blog post of December! My apologies!

I realize my error now of not managing my time wisely as well as my thoughts and plans wisely. I seem to have some hyperactivity of some sort, and I must submit my thoughts and pray for discipline. There were days I planned to work on something but ended up doing another.. could be just cleaning the yard then end up planting papaya trees instead. Or clearing out the attic then end up taking photos of the antiques. It's too much that honestly, leaves me tired and unaccomplished at the end of the day.

Though I have neglected posting, I am always online ... posting items on ebay and other selling sites, facebook, twitter and checking email.




I need to take it slow this week and learn to surrender my thoughts and work habits. I think it has gone all the more awry because of facebook (admit!) but I believe I can get back on track.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Malunggay Propagation - Malunggay Pods

It has been a long while since I spent some time here at the malunggay farm. I was busy with the household chores at home and the usual online things I work on.

The trees did not need that much caring these days, so I opted to just attend to usual daily stuff more than visiting the place. As you may see, these malunggay trees were left to their own devices. Not even an ounce of water except maybe from what they get from the morning dew. Yet, to my amazement, the dry season lately made them produce more flowers and more pods!Photobucket

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