What Simply Works!

Appetizer

When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

Not all the time.

Soup

Describe the flooring in your home. Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

A mix of vinyl and carpet.

Salad

Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

Chocolates Can Cause Cavity and Chubiness

Main Course

Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

Yes.

Dessert

Name 2 blue things.

The shades of WP 2.5.1 and my mouse pad.

I have been with X webhost for over 3 years. I don’t know if it is true for all re-sellers but this company has had many downtimes as I could remember. Since I share my space (for free) with 10 other bloggers, I found it too stressful to deal with these downtimes – especially so when their customer service is rather poor.

You might ask why I stayed that long with X webhost. Well, those 3 years were pretty eventful for me. Aside from my busy work schedule, life happened. I had a baby. Anyone (parent or not) can imagine how busy a new mom can get. So X company should be thankful that I didn’t have time to manage my blogging life then.

But enough is enough. After reading various articles and opinions of popular bloggers, I came to decide to move my domains (right now I have 3) to Go Daddy and get my hosting from Dreamhost. Although I had to deal with 3 companies at first, X, GD and DH, I thought that I’d rather go through the birth pains of organizing my websites and eventually settle for what’s the ‘best’ (this is relative of course), rather than take the easy road and regret my choices (again) later on.

With the help of a techie-blogger friend, I was able to move my first blog to DH and I am now in the process of moving my domain to GD and remaining blogs to DH. I am excited to see the end of all of these.

Deciding on which webhost to choose is not easy and I believe there really is no perfect choice. But in the end, what matters is where we will be confident that our sites will be 99.9% up and running and that we are getting the service we are paying for.

I should do a review in six months’ time to see how this setup is working out.

More blogging tips here.

I took a stab at this online quiz and found out how cool as a cucumber I can be in dealing with holiday stress. I tried my best to answer each question truthfully and got this.

Your Holiday Stress Level Is Low

You take it easy over the holidays, and you only take on what you can handle. You know the holidays are about celebrating and fun – not standing in line at the mall!

Hi-5 star Kellie Hoggart tied the knot with production manager Addam Crawford this month. One can tell how much they want to get married when all they needed was 10 weeks to prepare everything!

Kellie’s long time relationship with Hi-5 co-star Nathan Foley ended in 2006 months before their planned wedding date. I scoured for articles on the internet regarding the split-up but there was nothing that divulged the reasons.

Despite the break-up, both Kellie and Nathan performed professionally on screen. I can tell, my daughter loves Hi-5 so much that we’ve been followers of this group for over a year now!

[Photos snatched from: Woman’s Day and News.com.au.]

I started blogging in 2004 using a simple blogging tool called Bravejournal. A few months after, I moved to Blogger and with my increasing demand for flexibility, I finally moved to self-hosted Wordpress. There is no turning back now.

And guess what? Wordpress will celebrate its 5th birthday in May 27! I’m sure the guys at WP will have a fun party and they should! They deserve every pat on the back and all the love we could send their way.

I am enjoying the latest 2.5.1 version and it is just N.E.A.T! If you would like to self-host your blog and use Wordpress but is still unsure of what to expect? Sign-up for a free wordpress.com account and be impressed!

Happy birthday, WP! I heart all the guys and gals behind this wonderful tool!

More blogging tips here.

Back in 2005, when Kylie Minogue openly shared her battle against breast cancer, many women came rushing to hospitals and clinics to get mammogram screening. This is how the term “Kylie Effect” was drawn.

She said in one of her interviews that if she has had a second opinion then the cancer would have been treated earlier and would not have caused her the pains of undergoing treatments. What happened then was that the first doctor she saw brushed-off the idea of her having cancer and it was at a more serious state when the cancer was discovered by another doctor.

You might ask what is the “twist” about in my post title. Last month, one news feature covered the spillover effects of Kylie’s proactive campaign on breast cancer awareness. One doctor said that there were a big number of women seeking to have mammogram tests although they do not show any signs of a probable cancer — signs like lumps on the breast, discharge, swelling and many more. Somehow, the Kylie Effect has brought unwanted fears along with her aggressive campaign.

[photo swiped from BBC]

I am not proud to say that I have a bad set of teeth. Well, what I am trying to say is that my teeth have been in the hands of many different dentists, most of whom ruined my teeth. When I was in college, I wore braces. Not to waste time (and more money) in travelling from our province to get a more experienced orthodontist in the city, I fell in the hands of this doctor who pulled out my two molars. Yes, my two precious and innocent molars.

After I took off my braces, the same dentist just left the “spaces” in between my teeth and asked me to continue using my retainers. After years of seeing her, she eventually left the clinic and moved elsewhere.

All the dentists that came after made a hit and miss procedure (that includes a root canal!) and it was only in December last year when my light and shining armor in the form of a lady dentist explained all the procedures that were done (and should not have been done) on my teeth. I will never forget the day when I was (un)comfortably sitting on her dentist’s chair for the routine cleaning and filling because it was my birthday!

On our next trip to Manila, I shall see her again. She recommended that I wear braces again to save what needs to be saved. Oh, she also asked (or rather demanded) that I use an electric (or battery operated) toothbrush, which will help with my weak teeth enamel. I checked the internet and this one looks like a good buy — an Oral-B Triumph Professional Care 9400 Power Toothbrush

About seven universities in Australia have started publishing tutorials and research work over their websites. This means that students would never have to miss class or miss out on important lessons or publications.

You know how it’s called? It’s Itunes U! It was successfully launched in the US last year and seven of the largest Australian universities followed suit. Before, it was just distance learning and now we have Itunes School!

This can only get better.

My in-laws like to send articles about health through our family e-group. Among the many that I received, this one particularly got my interest. It’s about toothbrush care. But before you go on to read the excerpt, how many of you out there use a toothbrush cover? Do you leave your toothbrush in a cup, a holder or just beside the sink? Is it placed near the toilet bowl or you hide them inside the cabinet? Read on.

“Take your commode: There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at University of Arizona. When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 FEET, settling on the floor, the sink, and yes, your toothbrush. Shutting the lid, of course, is probably a smart move, but at the very least, put anything that goes inside your mouth behind closed doors (your medicine cabinet will do just fine).” [source]

Gee, the thought of toilet bowl germs landing on my toothbrush just grosses me out! So, if your toothbrush is “exposed” to your commode, time to move it elsewhere!

I like George Clooney. He looks so suave, confident and handsome. Until his 2-minute Nespresso commercial aired. Na-turnoff ako. He looked so old and sickly.