What Simply Works!

I wrote on this blog earlier that I pulled out my online order of a Photoshop software package. I thought I had to wait until next year to get one. But a good friend sent an email this week and to my surprise, she found someone who is willing to help me get a cheaper, student license instead! Yipee!

As soon as my other Internet tasks are done, I will finalize my order. I can’t wait to get my hands dirty on Photoshop! Hee hee.

We moved our first batch of belongings to the new rented property this morning.  So far, we’re not feeling any tension yet during the move.  I hope everything goes smoothly especially tomorrow, when the movers arrive to bring over bulk of our appliances and furniture.

I’m having problems settling the cleaners.  I only have one contact so far and each time they promise to call back, they won’t.  I guess that says so much about their customer service.  More updates on the move in the coming posts.  For now, it’s pa1d blogging break for me. Ha!

When I started to blog actively again this year, I noticed that my writing has gone from bad to worse.  It’s not just the usual sentence construction and grammatical errors that I notice to be very obvious in each of my posts but I also lost spontaneity in my writing. I struggled to put my thoughts together before and I struggle more now.

Back then, I wasn’t so conscious thinking that not many people view my blogs but now that Google, Yahoo and other search robots frequently caches any article posted on the web, I realized that any one can stumble upon my blog and discover my poor writing skills!  Bleh.

Anyway, the few bucks that I get from sp0nsored p0sts and the joy that I get in sharing my love for photography in my other blog are enough reasons for me to keep enjoying what I do.

At this point, I still don’t know when I will join the workforce again. Unlike before where I find myself getting anxious thinking over it, now I rest my cares and know that it’ll happen in God’s time. In fact, I’m pretty excited on what the coming year holds for me. Will I continue my career in IT? Will I have my own business? How about the many franchise opportunities out there? The possibilities are endless. And like a child, I’m waiting for things to unfold with much anticipation.

The first few months of being a stay at home mom, I thought of taking advantage of small business opportunities to keep me occupied. But true to what many moms have shared to me, that once my daughter becomes a toddler, my days will be insanely busy. And it’s true. So I thought of things to do other than chores and child-caring duties. Now I’m thankful that I found happiness in photography, blogging and digital scrap-booking – the three hobbies I’m passionate about.

As expected, we didn’t get the apartment unit we viewed last weekend. We were about 50 people (no exaggeration) that day and the odds of getting it were pretty slim. And as we planned, we went again for one viewing today, this time for a landed property. There were about 5 or 6 who went and I tell you, we were all serious applicants!

It is actually a villa that’s one level with a small garden at the back of the house. It was just about the size we want and the location is pretty good, too. We’ll know the owner’s decision by Monday. The rental property market here is very, very aggressive!

With two weekends left this month, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with my tasks list.  There’s just so many teeny-weeny things that needed to be done. We’re also waiting for the outcome of our rental application, which hopefully we’ll know tomorrow.  If it pushes through, then gosh, I’ll be one busy mama!  So, I better finish my blogging activities now so I can move on to the next item on my to-dos!

I finally purchased a 2009 calendar kit for my mini Christmas project.  I plan to put in my daughter’s photos and a few of our family photos there, which I will give us gifts to our families back home.  I still have to look for nice CD cases and ribbons for the packaging but for now I intend to finish the kit first by end October!  That means I only have a little over two weeks to finish it. Whew!

Last night, just out of the blue, my husband said that he’ll grant one of my wishes for Christmas. I didn’t ask him to get it for me (I never got used to “asking” him for stuff) but I guess he knew how much I wanted it. He said though that the gift will cover Christmas, our wedding Anniversary and my birthday and it’s no problem with me!

He said I should receive it in January and that just heightened the excitement! Now I have something to look forward to when we go back to Sydney after the holidays. Wee!

My current favorite show is The View. This ABC show is hosted by Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd. They are all witty, funny and intelligent. I look forward to 12 noon each day to catch these ladies on TV.

What I find interesting is how they put across varying opinions without being rude to each other. They discuss (and dissect) issues that matter most. Today’s episode had Whoopi on a roll when she said her piece about AIG. She was so upset yet she made funny anecdotes about the big wigs of the company. This will probably be a hot topic of the show for a long period of time.

Today we officially started our house/apartment hunting.  We liked two out of the four places we checked out but we haven’t decided yet whether we’ll make an offer or not.  This is an important decision for us that requires a lot of prayers and analysis.

We don’t have a lot of time to ponder on this though.  The rental market is still very aggressive these days and so we are left to decide in the next 24 hours.  Ho-hum.

I’m quite happy with the change I made with my personal blog. I’ve been planning to change it to a photo blog for the longest time but never got around to, until I started to attend the photography workshop.

I just came to a point that I’m no longer eager to share so much stuff about my private life online. So I thought that my blog will be a better outlet for me to share about my journey in learning photography instead. Of course, it will not be without photos of my two charms.

So I hope that I’d have more opportunities to practice taking pictures and share the beauty that I see through the lens.

It’s getting really hot these days.  Today’s max temperature is at 35degC. Whew!  It’s time to hit the beach and enjoy the sun!  Tomorrow, we plan to go to Bondi beach, which we’re thinking might be pretty crowded.  We better think of a plan B (or an alternative beach to go to) just in case.

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.

Last week surprised us with very warm weather reaching 24 degrees at the earlier part.  Although this is a welcome change from wearing jackets and long pants, most of us we’re affected by the sudden up-shoot of the temperature. Leaving our friends with cough and colds.

It is only Spring time and we’re already feeling the heat of Summer.  But I hope the threat of a 40 degC during last year’s Summer will not happen again.  Right now, we’re making plans to hit the beach.

I had to forego watching my favorite crime shows on TV since my husband is away on a business trip. You see, I get very sensitive and affected with what I see on the telly. And after immersing myself in shows like CSI, Criminal Minds or Law and Order, almost always I will have negative thoughts in my head (that makes me feel scared) for the duration of the night.

Is it just me or have you noticed too how these crime shows have invaded television? It used to be just Law and Order, now each local channel and more so on cable TV would have its own investigation/crime show. Is it safe to say that more people are inclined to watch these types of TV programs over “happier” shows?

In my feeble attempt to organize my to-do list that is computer slash internet related, I will list them all here. I can’t focus on my paid opps because of these! Arrgh.

1. Upgrade Mozilla Firefox – done!
2. Clear desktop of files - done!
3. Remove unused programs - done!
4. Upload pics in PC to Smugmug. – 60% in progress
5. Copy pics from PC to CDs – 60%
6. Upload video clips (nearly 100 of them) to Multiply – 20%
7. Copy video clips to CDs – 20%
8. Search for plugin that can hide categories and posts from all pages.
9. Change What Simply Works’ theme
10. Reply to LP, WW comments
11. Overhaul Strawberrygurl
12. Sign-up WSW to other paid sites
13. Schedule keyboard replacement

I’m sure there’s a few more that I can add here. However, my brain is going on cruise control headed for La-la land! *yawn*

I’m getting tired of my blog template now. I liked it for its simplicity and functionality. However, I feel like making a change. I’m still eyeing a three-column theme, hopefully with a splash of color.

This theme has become rather dull-looking especially so that I’m blogging about a variety of topic and would be best presented if I have a more cheery and colorful looking template. For sure, the coming nights will be spent on searching for the right one again.

We have this habit or attitude called “ningas kugon” in Filipino, which connotes a behavior or action not meant to last*. This has been my feeling towards blogging this year. I’ve had the grandest of plans for all my three blogs. I want to:

1. Share my (personal blog’s) domain to other bloggers.
2. Put up a photo-blog.
3. Initiate the SEO tips and tricks on all my blogs.
4. Post regularly on my working sites.

I have started work on all four, but to date, I haven’t finished any of them. Boo. There are even days when I slack and let paid opportunities pass by. Silly me. I know others miss sleep just tracking their accounts for assignments. I should change my attitude. Soon. Now.

Time will come that I have to drop personal and paid blogging all together and now that I have the time, I should enjoy it. What I promise to myself now is to implement the changes I want in the coming days. All it takes is prioritization and time management.

[*Source: www.seasite.niu.edu]

My feet are itching to travel. Apart from our vacation trips back home in the Philippines, we haven’t had a family trip to somewhere far and new. Since we are here in Sydney and ticket prices are ever soaring especially if we target the US or its neighboring country Canada, I must be realistic in our travel goals.

I would love for us to see and experience New Zealand and Hawaii. For local trips, I hope we can visit Melbourne (especially during Australian Open season), Gold Coast (this time with our daughter) and Brisbane someday.

I can’t wait for our daughter to grow a bit more so we can bring her anywhere we please. Our passports are raring to be stamped!