ISP foregone...

We got rid of our Internet service provider weeks ago. I think it's more than a month now. That ISP was really slow and most of the time intermittent. We basically were paying for something that we rarely use and could hardly use, so it's such a waste of money if we keep it. A week after I called their toll free number for customer service, Michelle went to their office to cancel the service.

Since we don't have Internet at home anymore, we usually do our blogging chores at an internet cafe. It's not convenient for us though, because we still have to go out just to update our blogs. It's actually a hassle! I hope we could have a new ISP setup soon!

Kalilangan Festival 2009

Today is the beginning of the week long celebration of Kalilangan Festival in my hometown - General Santos City. If Lainy wouldn't have mentioned it earlier on her Kuerdas blog, I wouldn't have remembered it.


Kalilangan Festival is an annual celebration wherein the Generals (people of General Santos City) commemorates the landing of the City's founder, General Paulino Santos, along with the first settlers from Luzon at the shores of the Sarangani Bay. Today is marked the 70th Foundation Anniversary of the City. Government officials have prepared a lot of fun activities in a week for the Generals!

This is one of the festivals that I miss most about General Santos City. When I was back there in my hometown, this is the time when we, the Kuerdas Band, were busy doing a lot of gigs. There was even a time that Me and my cousin Jayson, (who ignited my passion for music), along with other artists in General Santos City performed the Kalilangan song during the opening of the event! I remember singing it with great pride!

Kuerdas is on a Roll at a street party tonight sponsored by SMB (San Miguel Beer). For sure a lot of people will flock on their concert. Geez! I miss the fun and excitement on stage! Well, I'll just wait for Lainy's posts of photos and videos about the gigs and other activities of this year's Kalilangan Festival!

Way to go Generals!!!

sources:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2008/02/29/feat/kalilangan.festival.2008.html
http://www.gensantos.com/2009/02/10/the-2009-kalilangan-festival-schedule-promises-more-pomp-and-pageantry/

Feeling sorry for myself...

My mom's birthday is coming up and unfortunately, I won't be around for her birthday again. Phew! How sad! I really feel sorry for myself. I wonder where she's planning to spend her birthday this year. If I only have enough money, I really would want to go home and spend that special day with her. Maybe we could even go for beach vacation rentals where we can spend our family time together or invite our relatives and friends to celebrate with us! But that's not going to happen this year. I have to stick to my plan on saving money for a few investments. I know my mom will understand.

However, I'm going to make it up for her next year though! I'll make sure of that I could come home and make another party for my her! Just like what I did on her 60th birthday which was really memorable! I just hope that she'll be happy on her upcoming birthday.

An Award and A Tag!!!

The Award :


Nice braces! Hahaha! That's the Perpetual Smiling Blogger Award from the amazing blogger Windy of Windmill on the Hill. He is a man who never runs out of great ideas!

I am so grateful to have met a friend like you, Windy! Thank you for this award!

The Tag:

Once again my lovely cousin Lainy of Our Journey to Forever tagged me! Thanks Ate! This tag is named "Very Hard to Resist Meme". Well, it indeed is!

The Rules:

Copy the questions below. Simply use the first letter of your name/nickname as your answer for each questions. You can't use any answer twice and don't use your own name for questions # 3 & 4. After you're done, tag 10 people.


1. What is your name? Ally
2. A four letter word: Arts
3. A boy's name : Alexander
4. A girl's name : Annabelle
5. An occupation : Architect
6. A color : Apple Green
7. Something you wear : Anklets
8. A type of food : Afritada
9. Something found in the bathroom : A-soap! (hahaha!)
10. A place : Australia
11. A reason for being late : Arthritis
12. Something you shout : Aaaawwww!
13. A movie title : A Walk To Remember
14. Something you drink : Apple Juice
15. A musical group : Abba
16. A street name : Abanico
17. A type of car : A-limo! (Boohoo! Can't think of any)
18. A song title: Angel
19. A verb : Answering

Whew! I know I cheated on the 2 questions! I just can't think of answers that starts with the letter A! hahaha! It was fun, though!

Now I want to tag:

1. The Fitness Diva
2. My Piece of Paradise
3. Stuff That Matters
4. How To Save Your Life
5. Ask Ms Recipe
6. Moments Of My Life
7. A Journey For Life
8. Thru My Eyes
9. Mystique's Moment
10. My Pink Shoelace

Have a happy weekend everyone!!!

Favorite Grocery Store

Me and Michelle usually buy our groceries at a store near the church. We often do this chore every Sunday after the church service. The store is actually jam-packed with customers since most of the products there are more affordable compared to other grocery stores nearby. Even though the queue on the cashier is quite long, we don't mind at all since we were able to save more money when we buy goods on that store. The store is equipped with barcode scanner anyway. That makes the tally of the purchases a lot faster and easier.

One other reason that I like buying on this particular grocery store is, I get to see my "crush" buying his stuffs over there as well! Lol! I don't know his name yet but I believe he also goes to the same church that Michelle and I attend to. I hope I could get to know him someday! Hahaha! Wishful, aren't I?

What's up?

My weekend wasn't that fun, neither was it boring. Mostly, I spent it doing household chores and then my "dropping" chores, watch my favorite TV shows and slept for hours. It just went pretty smoothly but on Sunday evening, Michelle, her boyfriend and I went to see the movie Push. I got a review about the movie here.

At work, I feel a bit stressed out since yesterday because we already started taking calls for hours. Being a newbie on this account, I am still having a hard time dealing with all the tools that we are using. I get a little panicky when I don't know what I will be doing next on my call. My hands get shaky and cold and I can definitely feel the butterflies on my stomach every time a call comes in. I am really having a hard time suppressing my uneasiness. I just hope I could get used to the tools sooner. Despite my discomfort,I'm still glad that we are already taking calls while still on training because we can get off the phone after a call ends and take a deep breath! We can even ask help from our trainer, Shellani, whenever we have problems with the our calls. I'm thankful because she's patient and understanding!

Whew! It's still Tuesday! I wish this week is gonna end sooner! Lol! May God help me with my calls tomorrow...

Have a blessed week everyone!!!

Come What May This Summer '09

My colleagues at work have been talking about where they would spend their summer vacation this year. I usually make a lot of eavesdropping lately since we discuss a few lessons already on the last week of our training. Anyway, they talked about going to the same place that they went to last year and then later on murmured about how they would work harder so they can save money for their upcoming summer adventure. I thought to myself, our company should also be spending this kind of leisure trip to their employees at some point, like setting us up for Orlando vacations! Lol! How I wish!

I quite envy that group I was listening to. They made me remember the wonderful times I spent with my friends before. I'm sure they will all have fun this summer. As for me, since I have no plans for summer yet, just come what may!

Another Lemonade Award...

Barbara Rae of Goal for the Green have given me a Lemonade Award!!! Isn't she sweet?? She even said that she "really enjoy" my blog! Whew! That definitely brightened my day! Thanks a lot my friend! And oh, I can also make use of the lemonade cart when selling my sandwiches! Lol!


Goal For The Green is a blog that talks about para educational materials, green living, and a bit of politics thrown in. You will really learn a lot from this blog! Please visit Barbara Rae's page by clicking on the badge!

Here are the rules of the Lemonade Award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate 10 blogs that show attitude and/or gratitude.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on a post.
5. Nominate your favorites and link to this blog.

The blogs that I nominate are as follows:

A Journey for Life
The Certified Fashionable Chic
Welcome To Your New Lifestyle
Sandy's Spot
Soulful Scribbles
Bryan Karl - Everything Online
I'm In Culture Shock
Writing With Wings
Letters
Stuff That Matters

Imagining a Summer Getaway

Summer time is fast approaching. A lot of us, especially those that live in the city, have different plans for a getaway this summer. Living in the city is stressful and exhausting. We have to think of a place that will make us forget about the hustle and bustle of the city for a while.

Imagine a place with cool breeze, blue water, white sand and shades of plum trees that are beautifully lined up at the side of the road. Of course most of us would love to go to the beach this summer! That basically what comes first in mind when thinking of a summer escapade with friends, family or colleagues. It will absolutely be filled with fun and excitement!

Hmm...I wonder where this summer will take me.

Sandwich anyone???

I have been selling tuna and egg sandwiches at work lately. It began when me and my friends Madeline and Lovella agreed to contribute for the sandwich expenses. I was the one tasked to make those sandwiches from day one. It helped us save a lot since we won't have to buy from the cafeteria or any fast food chains for our breakfast. As you all know, work starts at 6 o'clock in the morning so most of us haven't had our breakfast when we come to work. When our colleagues started asking about the sandwiches, that's when I got the idea of the sandwich "business"! Lol! I enjoy doing it because aside from their praises about how good my sandwiches taste, I am also earning a little from it. Even if I have to wake up as early as 4 in the morning to make the sandwiches, I don't mind at all. Profit goes together with a little bit of sacrifice, anyways.

I got my business mind from my mom. She actually did some sort of little businesses apart from working as a full time employee in a pineapple company in our place. She's a single parent that's why she had to do that to make ends meet for all 4 of us. Since I was her only girl, I was the one she brought along with her whenever she sells her products. We did not rent a place where we can display those products so we have to go to each houses in the neighborhood just to sell. Later on my mom trusted me with the selling of the goods and also the collection of payments.

So here I am, once in a while living the businesswoman in me. I just love making myself busy sometimes. And since I'm planning to invest for gadgets, I really need some extra cash. So... Sandwich anyone??? Lol!

Friends at work

I have 2 friends at work whom I have been with since day one of our training. They have also been my teammates on my previous account. Their names are Lovella and Madeline.

Lovella is happily married and is in her 4th month of pregnancy.

Madeline on the other hand is single and just like me, contented of being single as of now. She's so fund of her pets which are a bunch of cats and dogs. I even went with her one day and bought a few cat supplies and dog foods at a mall.I sometimes tease her of ending up as an old maid because tending her pets is always her alibi whenever we ask her out.

Both of them have are different in some ways but I like the way they are. I hope they feel the same towards me. And I hope we will stay friends even if we won't be on the same team at work anymore.

All we need is love!!!

Another Valentine's day has come and gone, well, just like all the other V-days, I never had a romantic date. Most of the time, Valentine's make me feel lonely because it always make me realize that I am alone and single! Lol!

But hey! This year's V-day is not at all that lonely. Wanna know why? Because it seems like their are a few good souls who thought of me in this time of the year! And I thank you so much guys!

Beth, Windmill, Lainy and Mize has given me LOVE through this Valentine meme!!! I love you too guys!!! Mwaahugggs!!!

Rules:

1. Once you're tagged, install the corner banner at your blog as a third party html code. (The corner banner need to stay at your blog for at least 2 weeks).
2. Post about this meme, Valentine's Love.
3. Add your blog/s with link/s to the Valentine's Lovers list and leave a comment at this post HERE.
4. Tag all your special friends.
5. Please remember to update your list regularly so that you would not miss out anyone in your Valentine's Lovers list.

And I am spreading this love tag to:

DorothyL
Schizoshrink
SoloflightEd
Twerlerm
Polly

And I also want to thank Anna Aaron for giving me this Love Ya Award... Thanks girl!


Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who can choose eight more and include this text into the body of their award.

I am passing this award to:

Sheila
Rita T.
Shawie
Carol
Kirsten
Doi
""rare*jonRez""
Twinks

It's love month! All we need is love so keep spreading it!!!

Not A Fan Of Cold Weather...

I hate cold weather!

I am not ranting about the weather right now here in Manila. Besides, the temperature is quite warm (up to 86 degrees F) that I can even feel the sweat whenever I walk for a few kilometers. I can definitely feel the warmth of the approaching summer season.

I am only saying that I am definitely not a fan of very cold weather. I couldn't bare living in such cold places for a long time. Not even in Baguio City which is the coolest place here in the Philippines. Although I took vacations there every now and then especially during summers but I couldn't imagine myself spending my whole life over there.

I once spent my New Year's eve in Baguio City and stayed at my friend's house for 4 days. It was excruciatingly cold at that time that my head ached most of my stay there. Worst is, the house isn't equipped with shower heater. I had no choice but to endure the cold water for a bath. I actually can't spend a lot of time going around the City of Baguio since most of the time I was found lying on the bed and tried as much as I can to keep myself warm since I also wasn't provided with heated blanket. I just contented myself cuddling through the available warm sheets.

Yet I'd still go back to Baguio for vacations. I would love to visit my friend who lives there and also would love to see the Beauty of the place once again! But then, I'm going to make sure that I won't be taking a cold bath anymore! Lol!

Medical Certificate

I had an appointment with my doctor last Tuesday. I was so excited with that appointment since it was my last day of medication for Tuberculosis. I have mentioned about this illness a few times here in my blog but I never really elaborated them. I was quite embarrassed for having that disease but I've already got the hang of it now. I want to share, anyway.

I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Tuberculosis with TB Adenitis. It started with a severe neck pain which I thought was a normal stiff neck. When the pain got more excruciating (that was about a month already), I decided to have it checked with a physician. I had a run-around in the hospital at first so basically it took a while before the doctors finally got the right diagnosis. The lymph nodes on my neck have become swollen. And after the x-ray and CT scan results, my doctor confirmed that apart from the TB Adenitis, I also had Pulmonary TB.

My employer allowed me to be on leave for 2 moths. So I went home to recuperate and then after 2 months, went back here in Manila. I have been religiously taking anti-TB medicines in the last six months and last Tuesday was just a confirmation of whether or not I should go on with the treatment.

I was x-rayed and finally the film gave a negative result! I was cleared! Lol! It was a relief knowing that the TB was gone and that I won't have to take medicines anymore! Although it left a few scars on my lungs and neck, I don't mind at all. Being able to survive that dreadful disease is my greatest achievement this year. Thanks to my family, relatives and friends who have been there in that lowest phase of my life. And most of all, thank you, Lord for healing me.

When Doc handed me the medical certificate and said "congratulations!", it felt like a graduation. The medical certificate is like the diploma! Hahaha!

My doctor said that I should be more cautious of my health. I still have to go back to him after 6 months to check on the scars of my lungs. He told me that if I want to get rid of the scar on my neck, I should have it removed through plastic surgery. I just smiled politely and I thought to myself, "Why would I be spending for plastic surgery when I'm not even annoyed with that little scar?" Lol! Yeah, it looked like I was bitten by a vampire! I can actually deal with it. As long as I don't ponytail my hair, no one would ever notice the scar!

I want to share a few facts about Tuberculosis. Please take time to read so you can somehow prevent this disease.

*************************************************************************************
Tuberculosis (TB) is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB usually attacks the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, bones, joints, and even the skin.

Classic symptoms are:

* chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum
* fever
* night sweats
* weight loss

Treatment: difficult and requires long course of multiple antibiotics. Contacts are also screened and treated if necessary.

Prevention: screening programs and vaccination - Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG vaccine).

Tuberculosis is spread through the air, when people who have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit. One third of the world's current population has been infected with M. tuberculosis, and new infections occur at a rate of one per second. However, most of these cases will not develop the full-blown disease; asymptomatic, latent infection is most common. About one in ten of these latent infections will eventually progress to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than half of its victims.

A rising number of people in the developed world are contracting tuberculosis because their immune systems are compromised by immunosuppressive drugs, substance abuse, or AIDS.
*************************************************************************************

Whenever we feel sick or if we feel that something's wrong in our body, let us be careful and as much as possible, check with our doctor. As the cliche goes: Prevention is better than cure.


Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis; http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-symptoms-of-adenitis.htm

Hoping For My Brothers' Success...

I spoke with my Mom over the phone last weekend. I called to check how she was doing after she learned that my younger brother, Florante, wasn't able to pass the Nursing Licensure Exam. I was expecting a sorrowful mom but to my surprise, she was quite fine when we spoke. We were even laughing because she cracked a lot of jokes while we talked. She even said that my younger brother can still try taking the next board exam and will still be willing to support him financially and of course, emotionally. She also informed me that my older brother, Alexander, is doing a self-review since he's going to take an examination next month which will qualify him to work for a government agency in the future.

I just hope both of my brothers are going to succeed on their endeavors. If not, then they can always do an admin job search over the internet or the newspapers. That then would be their next resort. For now, my mom and I hope and pray for them to achieve their goals!

Not quitting!!!

This week at work has been stressful because we have already been taking calls while still on training. I have been to different accounts in my call center life and even though I'm already a tenured call center agent, I still get nervous on my first calls.I am really having a hard time familiarizing the systems that we're using. In addition to that, I still can't memorize all the codes that I'm supposed to memorize!

This account that I am with now is way too different on my previous account. Two of my co-trainees have already resigned and most of us are thinking about quitting, too. Yeah, I was thinking about that lately. I just feel like I'm really not into this new account. But when I watch the news, read the papers and read other people blog about the global crisis, they make me think twice about resigning. With the economy going down these days, I'd rather keep my employment at Convergys. Therefore, I'm giving myself a chance in this account. So help me God!

Business Plans

Doing business has always been an option for me instead of doing an 8-hour job as an employee. With businesses, I am my own boss! But then having my own business will involve an ample amount of money for capital investment and I don't have that yet. Geez! I still have a long way to go before I can save that much! But I can always start with small businesses like buying products in wholesale prices here in Manila and then I would ask my beloved Mom to sell it in our Province. That would be a great idea, isn't it? Yet, I still have to save money for that! I got too much business plans on my head about businesses but I don't have money to invest for it! What a shame! At least I have ideas! Lol!

He's Got A Name!!!

I got 7 people who commented on my previous post and 6 of them suggested names for my teddy bear. Yet I have to choose one. So I guess... VAL will be great!!! Yeah, since it's a Valentine gift from my best friend, why not give him that name instead?

The winner for 1000 EC credits is...

Kirsten of The Soccer Mom
Please click on the badge to go to her page...

Her blog is entertaining and fun! Check it out!

Thank you for the name Kirsten! It definitely suits him!

And I also would like to thank these people who gave time in helping me figure out the right name for my teddy bear.

""rare*jonRez""
Carol
SHIELA
doi
Scotty's Princess

And to Windmill who thought I have amnesia! Lol! Glad to hear from you Windy!

So everyone meet my cuddly baby VAL!!!

My search is over...

I wasn't brought up in a religious family. Both my parents claimed to be Roman Catholics but they never brought us to church when we were still kids. I knew little about God so when I met my childhood friend, Anne, she and her family brought me to a Children Bible School which was a few blocks away from our home. The Bible school happens only during summer. Most of the parents would enroll their children here so that little ones still get to do something productive while on vacation.

I learned a lot about God in that place and I really had fun there since I get to play with Anne and all the other kids in the neighborhood. We were given books that has illustrations of Jesus and his disciples and when we don't put colors on some books, the teacher show us Christian videos.

While I was growing up, I felt the need of searching for the Truth. After jumping from one religion to another, I finally ended up being a member of Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). In this church I found peace, contentment and I felt closer to God. My search is over. I can really say I'm proud being a member of Iglesia Ni Cristo!

Name me please....

Thank God it's Friday once again! I basically need a breather after this week of boredom at work. Oh! I'll take that back! This week wasn't that boring since I went out with my bestfriend Czarina on Wednesday. I was actually late for a quarter of an hour on our meeting at the mall. When I got there, I was quite surprised because my bestfriend wore makeup! She blamed it to my tardiness! Lol! While waiting for me, she wandered around the mall and was convinced by those sales ladies to do her a makeover while she was looking to buy some beauty products. The makeup wasn't bad. She even looked prettier. She's just not used to wearing make up since she doesn't need one! She's still stunning without it.

After we bought coffee at Starbucks, we immediately went to the theater to check if Brides War was still showing. It wasn't so we ended up watching Marley and Me. Please click on the link to watch the trailer and synopsis on my other blog I'm Walking on Sunshine.

After the movie we ate pizza for dinner and before we parted ways, Czarina gave me another cute surprise - a Teddy Bear!!! I finally got one! How sweet, isn't it? Czarina said it was her pre-Valentine gift for me since I don't have any boyfriend in a Valentine's day, again! Silly Czarina! Anyways, here is my cute teddy bear!!!

Name me please...

Isn't he adorable? Sadly though, I don't have a name for him yet. I'm thinking about February... Is it lame? Lol! If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment! If ever you come up with a nice name for my teddy bear, then I'll give 1,000 EC credits and of course, I'll feature your blog here. How's that for a reward? It's not that much but I would really appreciate if you could help me get a name for my teddy bear...

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Despite eccentricity...

I have written some posts about my mom in this blog. Most of them talked about how I love her despite her eccentricity. My mom is not like other moms. She seldom cook for us when we were young, she doesn't attend PTA meetings (Parents and Teachers Association), she didn't know how to draw a cow when I asked her to when I was in kindergarten since I didn't have the talent in drawing. I remembered how disappointed I was at that time and that was actually the first and last time I asked help from her with my assignments. I painstakingly did all my homeworks myself and didn't ask any help from her since that incident.

I know she tried so hard be a great mom but it might have been so hard for her since she's a single parent and have to work so hard to make ends meet for all of us. But as a kid, I never understood most of it. I might have put a lot of pressure on her especially during her menopausal stage. I was on my pre-teen at that time and I was even rebellious. There were a lot of things I never understood. And I regret most of them. Maybe it comes with maturity that I came to understand everything about my mom. We also lacked communication that's why a lot of things got out of hand.

But then when I was growing up, we finally had the chance to talk. She told me about menopausal and that involved irritability, mood swings, irregular periods, vaginal dryness, all sorts of allergies (she's really having a hard time dealing with this until now), anxiety, depression, a lot more! She said it was really a hard phase of life and that she has to deal with it whether she liked it or not. It's all part of life, anyway. She also told me that I will also go through all of this when I grow old.

I felt sorry about how I treated my mom when she was going through that menopausal stage. If only I was a bit older or a bit more matured and sensitive, I would have helped her get through to that. But she's a strong woman and I am just so thankful that we both were able to surpass those trials in our relationship. I still end up to be a decent girl and my mom, still eccentric but now that she has retired, she tries to make up from all her shortcomings. Every time I come home, she cooks for me and always takes all the chance she could get to hug me, let me sit on her lap and brush my hair with her hands and kiss me. Uh, oh... I'm beginning to miss her again.

I love my mom because she's unique and she's the reason why I am what I am now. Strong and steadfast like her. Thanks to you Nay! I love you with all my heart!!!

January top droppers

Here are my top 10 droppers for January!!! They make my blogging more fun and exciting!!! To those who does frequent visits, please continue to do so... And please don't grow tired of dropping! LOL!!!

#1 Everything Under The Sun - 31 drops
***About life, relationship, church,people.
Anything we can talk about under the big big sun.***

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#2 Random Ramblings - 31 drops
***Personal observations on a wide variety of subjects.
Photographs of creatures and things that are taken on seeing the unusual
as well as everyday things.***

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#3 Computer Aid - 31 drops
***Interesting PC problems encountered
by a Computer Tech. Plus some other stuff :-)***

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#4 Entreblogger - 31 drops
***Making money online***

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#5 Prove Me Wrong - 31
***Proving me wrong does not make me less
intelligent or smart...But in so doing,
my world will be a lot easier to understand
and I'd be able to share to the rest of
the world everyone's wisdom...***

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#6 The Way I See It - 31 drops
***My thoughts, opinions and personal observations
on a wide variety of subjects, sometimes mixed
with humor and including travel, retirement,
opinion, politics, child sponsorship
with Children International and life experiences.
News and views from my perspective.***

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#7 Losing Weight Intentionally - 30 drops
***Losing Weight Intentionally***

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#8 Lainy's Musings - 30 drops
***A blog showcasing my mutterings, random rants,
raves and whinings on life's daily maneuvers.***

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#9 The Ad Master - 30 drops
***Tons of Tips and Tricks to help you
advertise online. From lists of free traffic resources
to advice on keyword placement and link building.***

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#10 The Journey To Forever - 30 drops
***A personal blog which talks about daily life's mutterings,
rantings and whinings may it be in the category
of love and relationships, health and home, travel,
fashion and lifestyle, sports and a whole lot more!***