I learned from Chris of The Mommy Journey that Johnson & Johnson is giving away a designer Johnson’s Body Care Lotion gift package for free. All you need to do is to fill out a form and refer five e-mail addresses of your friends, and the gift set will be delivered right to your doorstep.

I received my free gift package last December 24, an early Christmas present, I must say.






You can get yours, too, by checking out this site.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bidazzled. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve never tried bidding at auctions, online or otherwise. My idea of bidding is this: everyone bids for an item, and the highest bidder takes home the item. This gives me the impression that only the moneyed people win auctions. Because I don’t have the means to bid at auctions, it’s an activity that does not really interest me until I learned about Bidazzled.

Bidazzled is one of those so-called Penny Auctions or Pay-Per-Bid auction websites where users buy bids in advance that they can use to bid on merchandise. The price goes up by a few cents each time someone bids, and the auction ends when no other bids are placed. What’s great about Bidazzled is that it was created to fund The Jimmy Ruch Foundation (www.ruchfoundation.com), a charitable institution that promotes awareness of small cell lung cancer.

What do users get from bidding at Bidazzled.com? Auction winners can save over 80% off retail. Those who don’t win will receive up to 50 Bonus Bids, Bidazzled’s way of saying thank you to those who participated. You can also avail of Bidazzled’s exclusive offer. You get 15 additional bids if you use this code until January 15 (Blog: BBP1202A; Twitter: BTP1202A). All you need to do is to enter this code on the registration page. This is absolutely free.

Bidazzled also has a lucrative Viral Referral program with these mechanics:
*If A refers B, A receives 5 Bonus Bids
*If B refers C, A receives 4 Bonus Bids
*If C refers D, A receives 3 Bonus Bids
*If D refers E, A receives 2 Bonus Bids
*If E refers F, A receives 1 Bonus Bid.

Christmas is and always will be a time for kids. While we are celebrating the birth of our Savior on Christmas Day, the children have only one thing in mind: receiving and opening their Christmas gifts. It is a time of great anticipation for the kids. That is why we really make it a point to give exciting gifts to our nieces and nephews. It’s such a delight to see their smiling faces when they like what we give them.

Christmas became even more fun when we already had Justin. We usually spend it with the entire family. I think this Christmas was pretty special for our son because he already enjoyed the gift-giving/receiving thing. In fact, a few weeks before Christmas, he’s been asking us how many gifts he’ll receive on Christmas Day, and he would literally count the number of people he expects to give him gifts on Christmas Day. Here are some of our family’s most recent Christmas photos.


Justin with Tita Meme and cousins Kuya Ron, Ate Em-Em and Ate Hazel


Getting ready for our exchange gift


It was a fun exchange gift; all felt like a winner when they received what they thought they needed


Gift-giving time; everyone is waiting for his/her name to be called


Justin receiving one of his gifts


Opening of gifts


Justin loving those shades, one of the many gifts he received


Our thin Santa Claus carrying all our garbage
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I had a fun time today meeting up with my small group of tutors and our two bosses for our first ever Christmas get-together at Dad’s (SM Megamall). Because we all work at home, this is actually the first time for all of my active tutors to see each other in person and to meet our bosses.


From left to right: Anton, our CEO; Leah, our CFO; Tetcha


From left to right: Resty, Noribel, Marissa, Nesa


Clockwise: Anton, Leah, Tetcha, Resty, Noribel, Marissa, Nesa
Our bosses surprised us by giving away Php1,000.00 check for everyone present (we were all present, by the way) and a gift each from Marks & Spencer. My tutors have gifts for me, too. I’m such an inconsiderate project manager because I came unprepared. I only brought along my present for our exchange gift. LOL! I owe you guys one.


Our presents for our exchange gift


The girls opening their gifts
Seeing the entire group today made me realize how blessed I am to have worked with such competent colleagues. My tutors give me headaches sometimes, but at the end of the day, I’m thankful that I can depend on them to meet our expected monthly quotas and to deliver more if need be. I’m also grateful for having vibrant and youthful bosses whom I have bombarded with a lot of requests in the past.

Merry Christmas, guys! I hope to see you all again next year.

After 17 years, I finally had the chance to see my long lost college classmates (2A1 and 3C2 and 3B2 friends, too) in our Christmas reunion last Monday, December 21, at Burgoo (The Podium). We had a lot of catching up to do, so it was really a night of endless chit-chat. It was also an opportunity to take lots and lots of pictures.


Gayle, Wenchie, Jenette, Joanne, Doods, Au, Jon, Joel, Tet, Yin, Tetcha, Celine and Dennis


Diane, Jane, Jenette and Mike


Group shot, from left to right: Mike, Doods, Jane, Dennis, Joel, Tet, Jon, Wenchie, Bong, Gayle, Yin, Alexis, Diane, Celine, Tetcha, Au and Jenette


Mirror shot, from left to right: Nicole, Wenchie, Jane, Celine, Tetcha, Jenette, Dean, Tet, Yin and Gayle
Thanks, Wenchie, for organizing this event and Gayle, too, for assisting. I hope there’ll be another reunion next year with more attendees.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children, consider participating in the NYC Half-Marathon this coming March 21, 2010. The Fresh Air Fund is still looking for runners and sponsors to join their Fresh Air Fund-Racers team for this world-class event. If you would like to run, please register here.


The Fresh Air Fund-Racers at the 2009 NYC Half-Marathon
The Fresh Air Fund-Racers are dedicated runners who trained so hard to help raise funds for the Fresh Air Fund. This summer, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers completed the NYC Half-Marathon and raised almost $90,000.00. Working as charity partners for the NYC Half-Marathon for three years now, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers have raised more than $300,000.00.

In less than a week, three of our appliances started malfunctioning. First, our LCD TV won’t open; the power light was just blinking. Then, we discovered our old TV in our bedroom has a memory problem, so it wasn’t working properly, too. It cost us an arm and a leg to have our LCD TV repaired because the entire power board had to be replaced. It’s either that module is really expensive or we had been short-changed. What do we know about LCD TV anyway? Yesterday morning, I woke up to the odd sound of our stand fan. To my dismay, the stand fan started stooping; the part that was connecting the stand and the fan cracked. What’s causing all of these dysfunctions is a mystery to us. Could there be careless hands mishandling everything in our house?

My husband and I have been planning to renovate our bedroom for the longest time. What’s preventing us from getting a jump-start on this project is budget constraints. We have agreed, therefore, to do it one step at a time, starting with our most important bedroom accessory, our bed.

You see our double-sized bed has been with us for four years now. Our son wasn't born yet when we bought it. Our bed has now gotten too small for the three of us, that is, there is now limited space to move around in our overcrowded bed. It’s about time we look for a replacement.

I’ve been browsing the Internet for three days in a row to find the ideal bed for us, and I’ve been overwhelmed with the wide array of choices available on the market. There are leather beds, wooden beds, metal beds, divan beds, upholstered beds, etc. I think I should let my husband decide. He’s going to pay for it anyway.

My favorite Mommy Moment entry is “Grandparents Bonding.” I consider it a blessing that my son had the chance to experience his lolo and lola’s love and affection. Whenever we don’t have anyone to take care of our son, we always call in my parents to attend to our child’s needs while hubby and I are out to see to other matters.


I particularly like this photo of my son and his lolo, my dear Tatay. Just by looking at their sweet smiles, you could tell they’re too fond of each other. This picture is also a meeting of two generations: the old and the new. My father is the eldest in our family, and my son is the youngest. I will cherish this moment forever.

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Do you make it a point to periodically check your credit report? You should because your credit report can make or break you. Any wrong information that is provided in your credit report can seriously hurt your financial standing and your chances of getting your loans approved. That is why you need to check your credit report from time to time.

Credit report is a detailed report of an individual’s or a company’s credit history. In short, it is a record of how you manage your finances. Lenders use credit reports in determining a borrower’s capability to pay back the loan. Have you always paid your credit card bills on time, or have you been remiss in paying? Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, or have you been sued in the past for not honoring your financial obligations? Your credit report reveals all of this information and so much more.

The three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion--are now mandated by law to provide a free copy of your credit report once a year. Take advantage of this opportunity to check if your credit report is up-to-date and accurate. Do yourself a favor. Get a free credit report online now.

Tang, the country’s leading powdered juice brand recently conducted a social experiment entitled "Do You Know Kids?" to see if Filipino kids nowadays are ready to be given more independence and if they can be trusted to make bigger decisions and more responsible, grown-up choices.

One hundred Filipino children between the ages of seven and nine years old were given Php500.00 each to spend on anything they want. A makeshift shopping paradise was created where kids can buy toys, foods, school supplies and have other options like a charity box where they can donate their money or save the money they received if they want to. More than 50% of the mothers interviewed expected their kids to spend their money on toys and food because they believe their children are too young to make responsible decisions.

The results were surprising. Ninety-nine out of 100 children saved most of their money, many of the kids gave to charity, half of them bought school supplies, and one child spent all of his money on food and toys, not for himself, though, but to give as gifts to his brothers and sisters. The parents were so proud of their kids. Isn’t it amazing to know that today’s Filipino kids aren’t what we perceive them to be?


Cyn Icasas, Kraft Beverage Category Marketing Manager, has this to say: “Tang believes that just like the refreshing results of this social experiment, today’s kids can surprise, amaze and delight us in many more ways than we can imagine. Whether it be in school, in their community or in their own families, kids can shine when we least expect them to—all they need is to be given a chance.”

Justin’s school presented its Christmas production for 2009 aptly titled “Holiday Inspirations." The show was held at the Tektite Auditorium of the Philippine Stock Exchange last Saturday, December 12, 2009. All the students, from Toddler Level to Kinder Level, performed to the delight of parents and guests alike.

Justin’s Nursery class performed “Frosty the Snowman.” I was too excited, teary-eyed even, to watch my son’s first time on stage. I’ve been getting positive comments from my fellow parents about Justin’s performance during rehearsals in school, and I couldn’t wait to see him perform.


That's my son in brown bonnet, brown scarf, brown winter gloves, and green jacket

The children and their families also had a chance to have their pictures taken with Santa. The children were given gifts, too. Everyone went home with a smile on their faces, and the parents couldn’t be prouder of their kids. We’re so looking forward to their next Christmas production.

Because we want the best for our family, we should not only think of the here and now, but the future. Do you have life insurance to cover expenses when you die, for example, and have you saved enough to ensure your family’s well-being long after you are gone? If your answer to the two questions is no, perhaps it’s time to think about getting a term life insurance policy.

Term life insurance is a life insurance policy that provides death protection for a limited period of time. Once the policy expires, the policy owner decides whether to renew the policy or end the coverage. This is the opposite of permanent life insurance where the duration extends until the policy owner reaches 100 years old. Term life insurance is less costly than permanent life insurance.

Free Life Term Quote provides you with the most affordable term life insurance from some of the finest life insurance companies. Simply fill out a form and you’ll receive instant term life insurance quotes to help you decide what’s best for your needs.

A Christmas Tag


Just in time for the Christmas season, a very creative mom came up with her very own Christmas tag. Thank you so much, Willa of Smart Mommy, for handing me this tag. Advance Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too!

Thank You for Blogging Award


I’m also thankful to Mommy Jac of Mom’s Special Diary for giving me this Thank you for Blogging Award. I’m really honored to receive yet another award from you. Thanks for always thinking of me. Now, I’m passing on this award to the following awesome bloggers: Santhy, Darly, Karen, Ela, and Nessa.

If you’ve just recently moved to the U.S., chances are you still don’t know your way around. It’s a good thing when you have families and friends who are there to help you get familiarized with your new neighborhood. You can’t always rely on them, though, as they, too, have their own business to take care of. After a while, you will have to depend on some other resources to help you get where you need to go.

Whether you’re living in California, Maryland, Georgia, or any other state in the U.S., you should know where to get your basic necessities, like food, water, medicines, and clothes to be able to survive. In cases of emergency, you also need to know the nearest hospital and police station in your area. And what if your car breaks down, for example, or you have a leaking faucet or you have termites in your house? Where do you go for help?

Just Click Local is the answer to your problem. All you need to do is type in the business you’re looking for and the state, and voila, your dilemma is solved! If you want to search for seafood restaurants in Atlanta, GA, for example, or to hire the service of a personal injury lawyer in Buffalo, NY or to seek jobs in HR companies in St. Louis, MO, you only need to click your way to get there.

For this week’s theme, we need to post any mommy moment we have that we haven't covered yet. I had a hard time finding a picture that fits this description. It was just this morning, 5:40am to be exact, that I have finally decided what to post. Justin’s first time to wear a school uniform is one moment in time I’d like to freeze. This is one of my boy’s milestones that I would always like to remember. Before Justin went to school on his very first day to wear his school shirt, I decided to take some pictures of him sporting different looks, and he gladly obliged.


The are-you-sleeping look


The surprised look


The mischievous look


The smart-aleck look

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