Nothing is more fulfilling than seeing your written works published. However, that feat becomes even more sensible when you start getting paid for your works. If you are a writer or aspiring to become one, then one of your main goals must be to earn from your hard labor. There is one site called Ekikrat that is constantly looking for writer who have fresh content to contribute. You may even get paid for your contributions. You might want to check it out so you can start making your writing profitable.

Today I met up with an old friend whom I haven’t seen in ages. She currently lives and works in London and she just came home for a short vacation. We tried our best to catch up with the goings on in each other’s lives and she was very much interested when I told her that presently I work from home as a freelance writer. Then we got to talking about my other passion which is blogging and she told me that she has been trying to look for more information about uk web hosting for the longest time because she wanted to set up an e-commerce site.

Well, since I know a few things about web hosting being that I rely on web hosts to help me maintain my websites, I told her of a very reliable web host, JustHost. I told her that the company is known worldwide for its superb performance. If you avail of their services, you get access to unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts, unlimited SQL databases, and it’s also possible to host an unlimited number of domains under one account. Their control panel is user-friendly and best of all they offer one of the most affordable prices for web hosting. I suggested she read Justhost user reviews so she can see for herself how amazing their service is.

Since these things, wetting up a website and acquiring the service of a reliable web host, are all new to my friend, she needs all the help she can get and I know I can only offer pieces of advice based on what I know. So I told her to visit the site so she can read the many hosting articles found on JustHost’s website which basically explains how hosting works and other things associate with it like backing up files and a lot more.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TABASCO® Original Red. All opinions are 100% mine.

There was a time I decided to step out of my comfort zone, so to speak, and became more experimental with the food I eat. That’s about the same time I started using TABASCO® Original Red on my food. Since the first time I tried it, there’s been no turning back. TABASCO® Original Red is now a regular part of my meals. I especially love using it on my pizza. I just love the way it makes my pizza more flavorful and tangy. I even have small complimentary bottles of it which I fondly call “my Tabasquito” and I bring it along with me when I eat out! Just this morning, I cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast and what I did was pour in small drops of TABASCO® Original Red while I was beating the eggs. The result was tangy, oh-so-yummy scrambled eggs! Tabasco has a certain way of bringing out the best in food. It has a way of enhancing the flavor of food unlike other sauces that overpowers the original flavor of the food. Oh, and since football season is in the offing, why not make TABASCO® Original Red your condiment of choice for those game night parties with your friends? You can get party ideas from the Game-Day Party Menu. Or you may simply opt for the Pizza Perfected. Suffice it to say that when you try it, you'll start saying "I love it RED hot!"

As most of you know, I work from and have been doing so for the past 4 years. Quite frankly, I enjoy working from home. I can’t say I don’t have deadlines because I do. I also answer to someone. Actually, I have two bosses! But the atmosphere at home is much different from that of an office and also, there’s less pressure here. Well at least that’s what I think. I still wake up at 8 in the morning each day because I have to “clock in” for one of my bosses at exactly 9am. But even so, I can work and take a break whenever I want to without anybody breathing down my neck!

However, if there is a disadvantage I see in working from home, it would have to be that I am not covered by my bosses as far as my benefits as an employee go. Before, all statutory deductions were automatically applied every pay day. All those employed in the company I worked for were also covered by temporary health insurance. But now, I would have to make my own contributions if I want my Social Security and Medicare benefits to continue. Not that it’s too much of a hassle for me to take care of. It’s just that it’s harder to keep track and be diligent in paying the contributions when you have to do everything yourself.

I know I need to look into those contributions because I might just need them in the future. I also need to find out if there’s a provider of short term health insurance that I can contact while I shop around for a company that offers affordable health insurance. I’m not getting any younger so I need to make sure I’m well taken care of in case something happens.

Whenever I'm working (writing, rewriting, spinning articles), I always have my Facebook account open because that's where I go when I need a diversion. Anyway, I subscribed to the feeds of a local TV network through Facebook so I regularly receive breaking news from the network's news program throughout the day.

One of the sad news I received this afternoon was the bus bombing that took place in the commercial district of Makati. The explosion took place around 2PM (1AM EST) and left 4 people dead and 14 others wounded. An IED or improvised explosive device was used. Police are still investigating but they are not ruling out terrorist attack.

This incident only underscores the warnings issued by some foreign embassies about three months ago when they said that there appears to be a heightened risk of terrorist attacks directed at the Philippines.

This is bad news. What's happening to the world?

It’s already 2011 but I still haven’t gotten around to going on that much needed vacation I’ve been talking about for the longest time. Holidays came and went but I never saw an opportunity for me to travel so I can take a breather. Now, I’m about to start a full-time home-based job with a new client and it might take a while before I’m able to go on an extended vacation. But still, I’ve opted to see the silver lining in all this. With a new (additional) job, I’d be able to save more money and perhaps take a trip to Bali, Indonesia. I’m sure I can find bali villas for rent that can accommodate my family and I and make our stay comfortable.

Just the thought of it is enough to get me all fired up. I’ve always wanted to experience the Balinese culture. I’m particularly intrigued by the festivals that the Balinese celebrate almost every day and I want to try their food! I also know that they have a very rich history so I’m sure there are lots of good museums in Bali field with historical artifacts. Not to mention their white sand beaches which I’m sure would be perfect for getting a tan.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we last went on a family vacation. Since my parents just got back from the USA after being away for 6 years, I feel we still have a lot of catching up to do and Bali, Indonesia might just be the perfect place to do that. Who knows, I might even be able to convince my dad on a bali real estate property so that we wouldn’t have to rent the next time we go there, right? That’s wishful thinking on my part but nothing is impossible with a little hard work.

I have a fetish for sunglasses. I especially love bug eyes, you know, the ones with huge lenses. But I must let you in on a secret. I don't just buy the first pair of sunglasses I see. I actually go for and collect Designer Sunglasses. I'm partial towards Prada, Gucci and Versace when I need sunglasses that I could wear with formal and semi-formal dresses and when I'm wearing casual and even rugged clothes, I usually wear Ray Ban wayfarers or Oakley. I'm planning to add more to my collection and it's a good thing I found a website that carries designer sunglasses. The best part of it is that they often have sales so I can get sunglasses from my favorite brands at affordable prices. They even have an on-going end of season sale where prices are slashed 50% off! So if you're looking for designer eye wear that meets your budget, visit the site now.    

I think I've mentioned a couple of times already in this blog that I usually suffer from allergic rhinitis. I've had an on again, off again relationship with allergic rhinitis for as long as I can remember and I've grown accustomed to it that I don't really take anything to relieve myself of the symptoms.

However I had no choice but to take antihistamines early this morning because I had to work...work on a Saturday. One of my clients sent me a project brief yesterday and although she gave me 5-6 days to complete the assignment, I decided to work on it because I will be starting work for a new client on Monday. Anyway, I couldn't work continuously because I suddenly started sneezing my guts out and my eyes got watery so I succumbed to the pressure of taking antihistamines. LOL!

Each tiny capsule was 25mg and I took 2. I figured, the packaging says the pills are non-drowsy so I won't have to worry about dozing off on my job.Why 2? Because I don't trust antihistamines too much. I've tried so many and very few of them seemed to work! So anyway, a few minutes after I took the pills, my eyes started to feel heavy and I could barely keep them open! I still tried to work but I started seeing double. LOL! 

Now I know better. I should not be judging all antihistamines based on a few that didn't work.☻ 

I have been having dizzy spells lately. On top of that, my eyes feel strained all the time and then there's the occasional headaches. I know what they are signs of but I'm too stubborn to admit it. I need glasses. Again. I used to wear glasses but they were too much of a hassle to me so I stopped wearing them. But now that I spend more than half of the day in front of my laptop working, I think I need to have my eyes re-checked. I have a feeling that my eye condition has gotten worse. If that's the case, I might start wearing contact lenses. I know a website where contact lenses are being sold at affordable prices. So I definitely would visit that site again and probably even become a regular customer!

Got tagged for this award by Liz and Lee.☻ It's actually been a long time since I last received an award and this is surely one awesome way to start my year (er, it is still January so we're still at the start of the year).

Thank you so much Liz! You're one terrific friend and I'm sure you know what I mean. You've helped me in so many ways. Lee, thank you! This was something unexpected but very much appreciated.☻

Rules for receiving this award:
1. Thank and link back the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 great bloggers you know. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven things about myself:

1) I'm scared of cats. Dogs are cool, cats terrify me.
2) I don't know how to ride a bike.
3) I don't have any vices. Oh wait, is shopping a vice?
4) For someone who's named Sunshine, the sun is the bane of my existence. LOL!
5) Lately, I'd rather sit in front of my Purbly than watch TV or movies. Except when there's a good basketball game or tennis match.
6) I have a kind heart and I'm helpful. Really, I do. LOL! Not too many people know that. They assume otherwise.
7) I'm the queen of procrastination. But I'm trying to remedy that now.

Now I'm supposed to tag 15 other bloggers for the same award. I'll try my best to come up with 15 but just in case I don't feel free to tag yourself for the rest of the open slots.☻

1) Mommy Rubz
2) Red
3) Vera
4) Mhel
5) Eihdra
6) Grace
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)

Slots 7 through 15 are free.☻ Have fun grabbing!

I consider my hair as my crowning glory. Well, who doesn't right? It's one of the first things other people notice about us. I have the tendency to be vain about my hair so there are times when I try all sorts of products to dye my hair, apply highlights or straighten it. I guess most people are the same as me when it comes to their hair. If you have treated hair, you should use products like Goldwell for hair and scalp to keep them healthy. Goldwell is a trusted brand when it comes to innovative hair cosmetics and intelligent products for professional hair care. So if you think you need one, go ahead and visit their site for affordable hair care products.

We’re planning on moving to a new house before the 1st quarter of the year ends. Nothing is wrong with our present house but since we got this house while my parents were away, my brother and I chose a house that’s just perfect for a tiny family. When my parents got back, they saw that although the house was spacious, it wasn’t big enough for 6 people.

Mom wanted a garden, we didn’t have one. Dad wanted a family room, we only had a hallway that’s loaded with boxes and some other stuff at present. So we went to look for houses last week and we found one with a pocket garden, a big family room and lots of space outside for my nephew to play in.

I have to say that the house is perfect for us. It’s well-ventilated because there are lots of windows both in the ground and 2nd floors. But of course, too much of something is not good all the time. In this case, the house is too bright! We would be need roller blinds that we can easily draw down or up, depending on what the need may be. I’m going to have to start looking for affordable but beautiful blinds we can use for the house.

I have said time and again that if there’s one continent I want to retire to apart from Asia, of course, it would have to be Europe. When I hear “Europe”, I instantly think about romance. Call me a hopeless romantic. I won’t argue with you because that’s a fact. But of course, before I do decide to settle down in a European country, I would need to get a feel of the place first. With that said, I would need to take a vacation or a short trip to my country of choice.

I want a place where I’d see snow-capped mountains, crystal lakes and mountain springs. Sounds like Austria, right? Just the name of the place is enough to send me to a “Sound of Music” phase. I wonder how much austria holidays cost? I heard that there are lots of park holidays in Austria and I’m sure my small family would love to spend time there.

Of course, being that an Austria holiday would be a whole new experience for me, I would need to plan properly and start looking for affordable holiday packages the soonest possible time. I just hope there are cheap packages being offered for Austria. I can already hear myself singing a la Julie Andrews, “The hills are alive with the sound of music!”

In the old days, people preserved memories through pictures. But the advent of digital technology has immensely, if not totally, decreased the need for printed photographs. Nowadays, people simply save their pictures in their cell phones, computers, and flash disks or on SD cards. Nothing is wrong with that. But if you ask my honest opinion, I’d still say that nothing beats the thrill of looking at photographs and even placing them in photo albums.

Call my philosophy old school, but that’s just my honest opinion. Okay, so maybe photo albums are a thing of the past. In that case, I would say that I’d rather preserve wonderful memories in a photo book. It’s basically like an album, except that I won’t have to put the pictures manually. I can even choose different designs, layouts and even share it to friends and relatives online.

Not only are photo books perfect for preserving life’s precious moments. They can also be given as gifts to your friends and family. I remember holding a blog contest in the past and one of the prizes was a photo book which someone personally handcrafted for one of the winners. Suffice it to say that the winner loved the prize very much. So if you want to start preserving memories, try having photo books printed.

I have been seeing this badge on quite a number of blogs (during weekends) and I got curious so I decided to take a look-see. The home of this caravan is Mommy Rubz' blog. 

Hence, if you want to start following awesome blogs and if you want to grow your follower base as well, be sure to join while there's still over an hour left of the weekend!

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It has been more than two months since dad and mom came home and in those two months, dad has been operating his travel agency remotely. Thanks to the reliability of our Internet connection, he’s able to transact with his clients real-time.

Since his business is thriving, dad is looking for ways to attract more customers and one area he’s looking into is to promote his brand through printed materials like letterheads, envelopes and others. He’s even thinking of having his company checks personalized and printed with the name of the travel agency so that he can still promote the business even when making payments! Actually, dad has a two-fold reason for wanting personalized company checks. He says that such checks often come with fantastic security features. For instance, a special kind of paper is used to create them, paper that’s chemically sensitive and has invisible fluorescent fibers among others.

Come to think of it, company checks with security features are a good idea especially nowadays. I have already looked around for a company that could gives us quotations for the checks. Dad specifically wants the checks to be “tamper-proof” and he wants them in such a way that we wouldn’t have a hard time keeping accurate records.

Outsourcing is the practice of contracting with another company located overseas for the acquisition of workforce that is able to provide services that may otherwise be performed by the in-house employees of a particular business or company. Most multinational companies outsource because it’s more affordable – less overhead expenses are incurred and there aren’t that much employee benefits to take care of.

One of the most popular types of outsourcing is BPO or Business Process Outsourcing and one of its main components is online date entry. As the name implies, data entry is the process of entering information into a data file. Most everybody can do it and even stay-at-home moms can become data entry specialists because all that’s needed is a personal computer or laptop, internet connection and sometimes, specialized software.

Most businesses that operate globally have to deal with large amounts of valuable data that are important for them to maintain their competitiveness among the throngs of businesses in the global marketplace. So what they do is resort to outsourcing so that they can get data management taken care of and they can focus their attention on more complicated tasks at hand. Through the use of modern and state-of-the-art technologies, they are able to delegate the documentation, sorting and maintenance of their data to skilled specialists who are off-shore.

If you work from home, you’d be surprised to know that you can make a career out of online data entry. BPO companies often prefer hiring people who are home-based because of the reduced costs on their part. Besides that, they know that home workers are able to contribute to improved productivity since they get to concentrate better on their job and they work in a pressure-free environment.

Working as a data entry specialist is not really hard but specialists are required to be accurate, efficient, fast, and effective and they must know how to work their way around the Internet. They must also have an idea about the different types of data entry – data capture or captcha, data entry from handwritten materials, numeric and alphanumeric entry, typing and copying and pasting.

How much does one get paid for home-based online data entry? The rates vary. Home-based data entry specialists must be aware that they won’t get paid as much as those who are based in office. However, they would still get a lucrative compensation. If the data entry work consists mainly of copy/paste tasks, for example copying the information or link of the employer and pasting it on an online form or the likes, the worker may get paid for every click on the information they submitted that results to a conversion. Now if the data entry involves research or entering data in a format-specific file, the worker gets paid either by bulk or for every successful entry.

Here’s a word of caution though: not all outsourcing groups turn out to be the real deal. If the company asks any payment of sorts from you as part of your application process, take that as a cue that you’re dealing with scammers. Contact the company if you want some clarifications and if they are more than willing to explain things to you, you might be well on your way to becoming a data entry specialist.

Aside from his collection of Thomas the Tank Engine and Chuggington trains, my 4-year old nephew Keoni is crazy over anything remote controlled be it cars, helicopters or boats. He even goes out of the house to play his remote controlled car and helicopter. When he gets bored with trains and he’s done with his online pre-school activities, he immediately asks for his RCs.

Buying him such toys is not very frugal, I know. At 4, he doesn’t really “know” how to play his RCs. But his grandparents spoil him too much and there’s pretty much nothing his parents can do about it. Indeed, kids’ tastes in toys have drastically evolved in recent years. Even the younger kids are now interested in hi-tech toys, gaming consoles and the likes. Keoni even demands that his RCs be “upgraded”! Where he got the idea, I would never know.

So his parents are now looking for RC accessories for him. I suggested Nitro Remote Control Accessories to them because I know they have a wide range of RC accessories available, at affordable prices to boot! Since Keoni has lots of RC toys, he would definitely benefit from the choices being offered by Nitro.

I have often said in some of my past posts how much I want to go on vacation. I want to travel to some place where I can relax and just forget about everything even for just a short period of time, where I can really let my hair down.

But the thing about traveling out of the country to some foreign land is that you have to have enough Travel Money, money that is on the currency of the place you’re traveling to. But amidst all the travel preparations you will be making, taking care of your pocket money often takes a back seat. I have experienced it in the past when I went to Hong Kong where I barely had enough foreign currency to pay for airport fees and the first thing I did before heading to my hotel was look for a currency exchange place. It was so much of a hassle.

It’s a good thing that there are international currency exchange websites nowadays where people can buy foreign currency online, securely and with the best exchange rates. Some even offer prepaid currency cards that you can pre-load with your travel money so you wouldn’t have to bring huge sums of money when you travel. That’s what I call smart and hassle-free traveling.☺

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Yes, my heart aches terribly for the innocent 9-year old girl whose life was snuffed out by a person whom I believe to have only hatred, anger and wrath in his heart. I'm talking about Christina Taylor Green who was among the 6 people killed in Tucson, Arizona last Saturday. A gun shot wound on her chest snuffed her life out.

Photo Credits: Yahoo News

My dad and I were watching Fox News the other day and I learned of the death of Christina who only went to that fated supermarket last Saturday to meet Cong. Gabrielle Giffords because she wanted some sort of inspiration on how to be a good leader, she being newly elected to the student council of her elementary school.

It's quite ironic how Christina's life began and ended with national tragedies. She was one among many children who were born on the same day that 3,000 people were killed by terrorists - September 11, 2001 - and she was even featured in a book entitled "Faces of Hope" and then she lost her life on January 8, 2011 in the hands of a demented, heartless killer who had no qualms about taking the lives of innocent people.

My heart goes out to young Christina and her family and I'm praying that justice be served for her and the rest of the victims.

I am not a sporty person. My friends used to say I have poor (as in very poor) eye-hand-feet coordination and I believe so, too. But I do love watching telecasts of sports competitions, specifically basketball and tennis. I think my love for tennis was influenced by my parents who loved the sport. They seldom miss TV coverages of tennis matches especially back when Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf still ruled the courts.

The past few days, we were glued to our TV set watching the Hopman Cup. It was my first time to watch John Isner, a young USA player, in action and I must say I am now a fan.

That's him on the court and during the 2010 ESPY Awards. He is starting to make his presence felt in the world of tennis with his big serves and immense hits. I'm not sure what seed he is now, his website says 23rd in the world but I think he's seeded 19th now. He is also a member of the US Davis Cup Team and I think he's the only player to have played a record-breaking singles match in Wimbledon which lasted for 11 hours straight!

With the rate he's playing, I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the next Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi.☺

I have mentioned it here that I have a sideline job as a data miner. That's apart from the regular writing jobs I do for my clients. I normally mine for data around midnight since that's when most websites handling tax liens in the USA update their system. Anyway, in the data mining website I joined, there are two ways to earn: as a qualified data miner and as a qualified 411 specialist. A data miner, like I said earlier, looks up tax liens and enters pertinent information in the system. A 411 specialist looks up phone numbers of businesses and individuals and enters the numbers in the system. Earnings are not enormous but because of the high volume of tax liens and phone numbers that can be entered in the system, it's easy to pile up the moolah to qualify for payout.

As you can see from the screenshot, I already qualify for payout.☺ I'm still thinking if I should request for it already. I don't need it as of yet, really. I'm just happy to see the fruits of my labor.☺

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Well, at least for me.

I say officially because this morning, er very late morning, I checked my inbox to find an e-mail from my Italian client. She's ordering 4 300-word articles to be submitted before the day ends. This is her very first order for 2011 that's why I'd like to think that it's only now that my work is officially starting again after more than 10 days of "hiatus".

Of course, I still spent those 10 "vacation" days working, albeit all article writing jobs were put on hold. In those 10 days, I concentrated on one of my sidelines, data mining.

I'm halfway through the 1st article but I found myself at a quandary so I decided to write this post first. LOL! It's a good thing we're ahead by some 6 hours, I think, over Italy so I am not really under much time pressure. Nevertheless, I have to go back to work now.

Will just blog hop, Adgitize and drop ECs later.☺

As if that's a phenomenon, huh? Well, I'm just overwhelmed because bloghopping is something I haven't been able to do since November of last year. Yes, November! In some of my past posts I've mentioned that my parents came home from the US and things have been pretty hectic, not to mention we've been in and out of sickbed most of the time. In fact, my gastric flu is still acting up but I feel I'd get weaker if I just stay in bed so here I am, working and bloghopping and playing FB games on the side, just like the old times!☺

Oooh! I missed this! Hopefully, things will go smoothly from this 6th day of 2011 onwards.☺ Oh well, gott drop those ECs and Adgitize now. Until tomorrow!

I was all hyped to start 2011 right but something happened on the 3rd day of the New Year which made me slow down a bit. Early Monday morning, I was roused from my deep slumber by a terrible tummy ache. I tried to ignore it but the pain was terrible that I had no choice but to wake up at 530 in the morning. After spending what seemed like an eternity in the bathroom, I went back to bed. Not more than 10 minutes after, I woke up again and this time I felt the urge to throw up. So off to the bathroom I went again.

Thus began my day, half of which I spent inside the bathroom. I was so weak but I still managed to go online and work. I also did some sleuthing and found out what was happening to me were symptoms of gastric flu. (http://stomachflusymptoms.net/gastric-flu-symptoms)

The common symptoms of gastric flu are vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, loss of appetite, general weakness in the body and bloody stools. Some times after vomiting patients tend to feel that they had released the entire contents of their stomach. The symptoms are visible for two days and the complete recovery takes at least 6-8 days of time duration.

Until now, I'm still having terrible stomach pains and am still suffering from loss of appetite. Quite frankly, except for the stomach pains, I find the loss of appetite part favorable to me. LOL! My mom said I seemed to have lost a few inches off my big tummy and I'm loving it. Hahaha!

So, yeah. I may be suffering from gastric flu but I'm still optimistic, not just with my weight loss plans for this year, but with every aspect of my life for the year 2011.☺