What Simply Works!

Up to now, my daughter loves to chase these friendly birds.  We briefly didn’t see them during winter time but now that it’s spring, we see them everywhere.  Too bad, I don’t know what type of bird they are, it would be nice to teach my daughter its name.

I didn’t access my blogs last Saturday since we were away on a day trip so when I got the chance to check them the following day, I found my two “working blogs” with -1 PR.  That means less opportunities for me to work on.  What surprised me though is that the Mighty “G” didn’t put both blogs to NIL ranking.

At the same time, the husband has requested me to minimize my blogging activites (read as: stop paid blogging) and I just promised that I will be less active and just allot an hour or 2 at the most for these in a day.  There’s no point in earning a few bucks at the expense of a good night’s sleep.

How do you take care of your mattresses? For me, I just vacuum it regularly, that is, before I replace the sheets. However, I’ve read an online article which says that vacuuming alone is not enough. To treat bed bugs, there are options such as steam cleaning and exposing mattress covers in extreme heat or cold. Steam cleaning proves to be the most efficient way though.

With my photography class out of the way, I can now focus on my other house-related to-dos. I’m in the process of creating a shortlist of apartments or houses that we hope to view this coming weekend. Also, I need to ask our friends for mover referrals so that I can prepare the quotes later on.

We also need to buy boxes for the stuff that we want to put away, permanently that is. We have yet to decide whether to send them back home or donate them here in Sydney. All these tasks are pretty easy if only my daughter would me finish them. Hee.

Yesterday, the family went on a day trip to the Hunter Valley Gardens. With the temperature at about 27degrees C, it felt like we were being roasted! It was impossible to survive the whole day without the basics, water and sunscreen. Thankfully, there was no humidity but just dry heat. Just the same, when we got home, the three of us wanted to jump in the tub and open the shower faucets in full blast.

I am expecting to spend yet another long night in front of my computer today. Not to blog but to do our final project presentation for tomorrow’s photography workshop. I feel a bit sentimental that tomorrow’s our last day of the 8th week course. It’s too soon to end!

I enjoyed every bit of time I had in the class immensely. And I realize after this course that there’s so much, much more to learn. I crave to read more and practice more. There’s this fire in my belly that just won’t die. I love photography.

And tonight, I expect that along with the photos I’ll post produce overnight will be those annoying and ghastly acne that will show up on my forehead. It almost always happens when I lack sleep. Oh well.

A very important tip that I will always keep in mind when buying camera lens is that “never scrimp on glass (professional photog’s term for lens).  if you can’t afford to buy the best yet, wait even if it takes a year for you to save on it.  and then buy.”

That quote is from my workshop instructor.  And I agree with him.  That’s why even if it takes me a year or more to save up on a wide angle lens, I’ll wait.  Who knows?  Maybe by then another model might come up and it will more affordable?  (Yea, in my dreams.)

Currently at AUD$1899.

The sudden change from cold to warm weather has a big impact to no less than my skin. I see tiny growths on my forehead as some parts of my face are getting pretty dry. Aside from the usual moisturizer that I apply religiously, I think I need the help of the best acne products out there in case the tiny spots on my face will turn into acne. Oh no!

I’m feeling lethargic today. It must be because I’ve been staying up late, I’m taking more coffee and missing meals every now and then. In fact, I’ve lost the few pounds that I gained since we came to Sydney.  I don’t intend to be thin, as in really thin. It’s alarming when you know that your body can’t cope with day to day responsibilities.

While others are working towards losing weight and taking lipovox, mine is the opposite. I want to gain some weight and to keep fit. I’m planning to start some sort of exercise regimen at home with the 3 yoga DVDs I recently got. Well, I prefer cardio exercises like kick boxing or taebo, but yoga is a good start.

It would be nice to feel “fit” once again. My age is surely catching up on me and I better do what I can to take care of my health.

Sa paghahanap ko ng litrato ay nakita ko itong nag-iisang bulaklak na kinuhanan ko sa isang park ilang buwan na ang nakakaraan.  Naisip kong iwanang may kulay ang bulaklak habang ang lahat ay itim at puti.  Sana ay maibigan ninyo ang aking lahok.

Maligayang LP!

~oOo~

While looking through my photo files in search for an entry to this week’s Litratong Pinoy, I saw this photo with a little yellow flower from one of our visits to the park.  To be in line with this week’s theme, which is black and white, I changed the grass to mono color and left the flower as it is.

At the start of winter this year, our little girl experienced occasional nose bleeding. The first time it happened I panicked. But after a quick doctor’s consultation, we were told that our daughter’s nostrils get really dry, hence, the bleeding. We were advised to get a dehumidifier, which we should switch on whenever we use the heater.

The same way now that it’s spring and summer season, we need a photocatalytic air purifier. There’s a heavy construction near our apartment and unfortunately, the whiff of the chemicals they use to treat the land reaches our area. It smells really bad.

Choice Nutritionals offers a number of health products ranging from supplements, air purifiers to household maintenance gadgets. They have shipping services and gift vouchers, too. Their products are perfect gift ideas this coming Christmas. I found a book on their website called Vitamin Code. It explains the myths and mysteries about multivitamins. I heard before those taking vitamins regularly are more susceptible to certain diseases. The details of which is not quite clear to me but I know that that news circulated for a while in the past.

Anyway, for those interested to get any of these health products, check out their website now!

Before I decided to buy my 40d a month ago, I read many forums which discussed and compared this unit to a 50d.  The highlights of the new model include a very high ISO of about 3200 (40d’s 1600) and the 15.1mp.  I’m glad though that I stuck with my gut and chose 40d.  Right now, it is just what I need.  Besides, with the 50d’s price of 1,799aud for the body alone, I got a 40d body and a 17-85mm IS USM for 1,599aud!

The yummy 50d.

I have heard one too many times that the latest US financial crisis is unmatched since the Great Depression. Sounds really scary, isn’t it? Some homeowners sold their homes for fear of fluctuating interests that would be difficult to manage. Some pensioners want to pull out their investments to hold on to their cash.

Although we feel the effect on the prices of oils, commodities and services, the impact is still softened as we are without major loans to take care of. In the future, when we are ready to buy our own home, we will be very careful with the whole process starting from getting mortgage quotes. We will make sure that we will not be buried paying very high interests that will eat up chunks of our finances.

Although I would rather purchase my much coveted wide angle lens and flash, I think I have to prioritize my laptop first. My current Dell laptop has been extremely slow since I installed a trial version of a photo enhancement software two days ago.

In my dreams, I would get myself a MacBook Pro. But to be practical, I just might get myself a new Dell. I just wish the MacBook Pro is not that expensive. Boo.

MacBook Pro

Dell Studio 17

We are getting pretty excited for our friends who will purchase a new car soon. Because that means they can join us on our next road trip here in Australia. Yey! We love road trips.

They told us that they are just waiting for the auto financing process to pull through. What I forgot to ask though if they applied online for it or not. A lot of auto loan companies nowadays have this service and that makes it a lot easier to get approval. Nonetheless, cars are a necessity here and as I’ve earlier mentioned, we are happy for them in making this important purchase.

Guess what? I recently bought my 4th domain and created my 6th blog. Crazy, isn’t it? I was so encouraged with my current month’s paypal funds that I thought why not add 1 more to the pool?

But a week after my purchase, I feel that my decision was made out of haste. As it is, my hands are full with motherhood slash wifely slash photographer-wanna-be activities that I hardly have time to blog-hop and leave comments.

Ayayay, what do I do now?

Spring signals the arrival of flies into the neighborhood. Here in Australia, I’ve never seen flies as “daring” and huge. Yep, it’s my first time to see a fly as big as a piece of raisin. Yikes. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter ants during the latter part of summer early this year. And I hope it will be the same this time around. Otherwise, I would check out controlfireants.com to learn about its prevention.

I don’t know if others have used the terms “shopping project” but I’m coining that to mean that I need to plan and save up for my next must-buy.  First is a wide angle lens.  Second is a license for a photo enhancement software (no pirated versions please) and third, a Mac.

O dear Santa, hear my plea.  Let me have those three for I’ve been a good girl this year. Hi hi.

After our first attempt to do our apartment hunting online, we realized how taxing this will be for us. One property we checked out is situated in an area that we really like but looking at the apartment details from the photos, it looked like the place is not properly maintained. There is a stainless steel mailbox located just outside the apartment and even the safety of your mails seems doubtful with its very old design and built.

Of course, we know that higher standards mean higher rent. But definitely, we are not looking for a place with blomus stainless steel fireplace accessories or sleek stainless steel dining trimmings. All we want is a neat and comfortable place within reasonable rental fees.

With barely four weeks left for apartment search, we might end up renewing our current lease. We’ll see in a couple of weeks if our online hunt and viewing activities will progress. Ah, the thrills and challenges of rental living.

I’ve always believed that we are never too old to learn a new skill. That is why when I’m being asked whether I’d be interested to shift to a new career, my answer is always “Why not?” Especially if that “new” career is something I’m passionate about. The passion when combined with God’s grace can come out to be something really beautiful and fulfilling.

People who spent years in nursing school must have both passion and God’s blessings. They have the strength to endure the tough medical subjects, the rigorous training and the board exams that can give so much stress and pressure. But the rewards are worth the sacrifice and hard work for sure.

Nursing-school.org is a good source for nursing related schools and jobs in the health care industry. For those interested to shift to this field will find the website helpful in terms of getting a good school directory listing of and up-to-date information regarding nursing careers.