Hongkong Blacklisted The Philippines

Philippines is now listed as blacklisted for Hongkong. Yes Hongkong government officially stated and warned their fellowmen to avoid traveling to the Philippines. This is very sad. Hopefully many tourist will still like our country and will still go there. For sure Philippine tourism will be affected from the hostage drama occur last Monday which most victims are Honkong nationals. Hopefully the friendship that was built will remain and see them coming again in the Philippines in the near future.

Mexico's Navarrete is Miss Universe

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete (22) was crowned Miss Universe 2010 on Tuesday, beating off competition from 82 contestants including Miss India.

Ms. Navarrete, dressed in a red gown with a flowing train, impressed judges by highlighting the importance of teaching children about family values.

Runners-up

She was followed by Miss Jamaica Yendi Philipps while Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up at the 59th annual pageant held here on Monday.

Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta (21) from Kolkata did not make it to the top 15; neither did Miss USA Rima Fakih, who had grabbed international headlines for being the first Muslim American to represent the U.S. in the competition.

Asked by Olympic gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek how she felt about unsupervised Internet use, Ms. Navarrete said the Internet was important but parents needed to be careful and watch over their kids.

Ms. Navarrete replaces Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela who won the title in 2009.

As part of her winning, she will get a luxury New York apartment with living expenses, a one-year scholarship to the New York Film Academy, jewellery, clothes, shoes and an undisclosed sum of money.

“I want to give my parents a big hug. There was a lot of effort and a lot of sacrifice,” she said at a press conference after winning the title.

Second Mexican

Ms. Navarrete has been a model since she was 15 years old and is only the second Mexican beauty after Lupita Jones (1991) to win the title of Miss Universe.

Her win earned her a congratulatory message on Twitter from Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Manila bus hostage-taking ends with 8 dead

This is a very sad news and a big shame to the Filipino community. I woke up this morning and turned the tv on and this was what I have witnessed. A hostage taking took place in the city of Manila today. It was a tragic event especially for the tourist who were headed back home. It is suppose to be their flight going back to Hongkong today but were held by a former policemen. It is not only a big shame to our country but also to the police department. According to the news, 15 Hongkong nationals were held and confirmed that 8 died. This is a very sad day in our country and hopefully justice will be served to the victims.

She Said Momma

Our precious little one said the word "momma" tonight. Oh God it felt good. My husband has been telling me that she has been saying it but I wasn't around everytime she say it, but finally tonight I heard her. She can also say da-da-da-da..Even our dog's name she can now pronounced (lol). But it really felt good hearing your precious one saying "momma". I cherish this wonderful moment. I love her to death.

Cake for hubby

It is hubby's birthday month next month. I am thinking of buying a birthday cake for him. I want to surprise him but I was thinking, what if I'll bake a chocolate strawberry chessecake for him too. I know this will be may first time but I want to do it on my own and make it more meaningful. Last year I already baked him a cake but it was just an ordinary one, but this time I want to bake something that he like and hopefully I will succeed. I am starting to search online on the recipes and so far this is easiest one that I have found.

Ingredients are:

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Instructions:

In a bowl, combine crushed graham crackers and powdered sugar. Blend in melted margarine. Press into the bottom of a 9" springform pan.

In another bowl, combine the strawberries with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar; set aside.

For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the condensed milk until combined. Add vanilla and eggs. Divide this mixture in half. Add the melted chocolate to one half of the mixture. Pour this (the chocolate batter) into the crust lined pan. Add the strawberry and sugar mixture to the remaining batter. Spoon over the chocolate filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for half an hour. Remove sides of the pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Garnish with strawberry halves.

I am excited to do it and hopefully I will make it right. This cheesecake makes 16 servings.

Yummy!!!!

Egg Recall

I was watching the Filipino Channel particularly "Balitang (news) America" on egg recall. I was shocked with the news. 228 million eggs were recall because it was infected with "salmonella. The eggs which may be infected with salmonella are all produced in Galt, Iowa by Wright County Egg, but they are sold in retail stores as a myriad of different brands.

Here are the brand names that were infected:

Albertson
Boomsma's
Dutch Farms
Farm Fresh
Hillandale
Kemps
Lucerne
Lund
Mountain Dairy
Ralph's
Shoreland
Sunshine
Trafficanda

Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223.

So guys, do check the eggs that you recently purchased. Let us be more cautious of what we buy and eat and good thing they've warned the public about this concern.

Sold Items Needed To Be Shipped

I have been very busy printing some shipping labels for the items that were sold last night. It was a descent sale last night and hoping for a good one again. I am running out of stocks though and I think it is time to clean up my closet. I am planning to sell some of my winter coats since I have a few of them. Yes, it's that time of the year again and I was thinking on selling them in advance so that people could get ready for the cold season ones more. The proof sets and the mint sets that we ordered also came in today. My husband and I are planning to sell them in an auction here in our area since we did good the last time we sold some silver coins and some proof sets. So the stocks came in today and they will be put in an auction on the first Friday of the month. Hopefully we will do good on this round because we plan on doing this once a month. It might be one small business we can start up too. Well, that's all for now guys. Have a good one!

Back to School Shopping

Written by Sonny Quinn

Summer is a fun time, but it passes quickly. By August, school is only a month away, and I have to get school supplies.

I either go out school shopping with a parent, a friend, or my sister. Before I go, I always set my adt safewatch in North Carolina alarm as a precaution.

I think the best place to go school shopping is Walmart because they have everything you need for school. I usually buy the basic essentials. These include notebooks, folders, pencils and pens, a backpack, and binders.

Another place that I visit is Staples. They have a wide range of school supplies that I need. They have five subject notebooks, large binders, staplers, erasers, protractors, graphing calculators, computer paper, and so much more. Although Walmart is my go-to place, Staples has a lot of extra school supplies that I may need.

I also go to Staples because I can get packs of note cards, pens, pencils, and notebooks for a lower price. I tend to be a thrifty shopper, so I try to save as much money as I can. Sometimes the people I go with encourage me to buy more expensive items, but I always stick with what I know best.

Shopping for school supplies is easy when you have nearby stores that have everything you need. When I finish shopping, I'm completely satisfied.

Work from home

Since I am a stay at home mom, I get bored sometimes. I was used to working weekdays before but when I get to the states, my husband and I had agreed that I will just stay at home and he will provide for the family. At first I was okay with it but in the long run I was beginning to miss the lifestyle of working. What I did is I started working online specifically ebay. At first, I thought it was hard but I did learn it right away. By and by, I am discovering the tricks on ebay. What stuff to sell and proper customer service to provide my clients. I have experience ups and down in selling too but that's not unusual. There are just clients that are hard to please. I was able to learn more each day and I am loving it. So now I have been selling for almost 2 years. I can say that what I am earning is not enough because I am still on that stage that I am enjoying what I'm doing. But now, I guess I am ready to take the more serious selling profession way on ebay. What I am going to do is just list all the stuff that I do not need anymore. Firstly, I need to clean up my closet again and start selling the clothes that I don't necessarily wear and just there for a while now. I have tried this before. List some of my clothes and I was really surprise on the outcome. Little by little I am learning different tricks on ebay now and sooner or later and hoping I will master it. Right now, my status is a "top seller and a power seller as well. I was so happy to receive a certificate stating this category and made me more confident to sell more. I hope I can achieve the goals that I want to achieve with ebay. It may not be to soon but with patience and hard work I know I can achieve it. I always treat this job as my contirbution to our finances in our family and it does helped us in so many ways.

Rome Police Hold Anniversary

This video is so amazing! Their celebration is just so unique and I guess only in Rome. Way to go!

Cleaning

It's pretty nice day today. The sun is hot and a bit warm outside. I just got back cleaning the house of church member. I am a bit tired and hungry, So I will fix me something to eat shortly. Got no other plans today aside from preparing the staff that I need to mail then maybe take a nap..Lol..Well guys have a nice day.

My penchant for Asian horror movies

Guest post written by Walter Baldwin

Some of my favorite movies are Asian horror movies. But I live in America and only know the English and Spanish language so I have to rely heavily on the Internet to learn about upcoming releases.

I also live in a small town so I read a lot of horror movie blogs and stream most movies on Netflix because the only movie theater that we have here rarely plays brand new releases, unless they’re made by Disney or star Will Ferrell. With such little resources, it’s especially important that I find a good internet connection at a good price. I relied on dial-up for a while, but researched satalite internet iowa and came across blue wireless internet. I switched over and have been able to re-watch some of my favorites again at a much better streaming quality like Takashi Miike’s “Audition,” which is probably one of the grossest movies ever. But it doesn’t just rely on gross-out scenes. It truly is scary. My obsession with the region’s horror genre started because of a horror class I took in college and I’ve just found it increasingly interesting since then.

Women's Ministries

We had a great time on our meeting tonight. Everyone had a blast. This is the first time that we went out and everybody really loved it. Our Women's Ministry started last April and we meet up once a month. It's a great time to spend some time with some other women and just enjoy our alone time. Tonight we meet up in a restaurant that serves a very delicious food. I had a platter of catfish and french and guess what, I am so full. I had fun and looking forward meeting up with girls next month again. Have a great evening guys.

Her Day With Pumpkin

This is what she has been doing. Hanging around the pumpkin..Lol.. The pumpkin is owned by our neighbor and we thought of taking pictures of her with it and I really find it so cute. Look at that face still with a pacifier but still manage to look at the camera. All in all it was an amazing day with my daughter. Well, it always a great day together with her. I am really enjoying being a mother. She will be 7 months old on the 17th of this month. Wow! see how time passes by. It was like yesterday that I gave birth to a precious baby girl. That's what they said, enjoy her while she's still a baby because time flies. I am so impress with her milestone progress. She now practising to crawl and any day now she will crawling as fast as she can. Oh boy! I am in big trouble. Well that's all for now guys, have a great evening.

Battle to halt BP oil spill is nearing its end

The multi - billion company BP is now rejoicing. As I have read on the news they are now celebrating the momentum that their problem is coming to an end. The oils lick has finally stop and hopefully it will continue.

Today the President has declared the US's largest and most politically embarrassing oil spill near an end as BP said it had reached a "significant milestone" in its efforts to permanently seal the Deepwater Horizon well.

"The long battle is finally close to coming to an end, and we are very pleased with that," said the president, who was strongly criticized for what was initially seen as a slow and weak response as millions of barrels of oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico.

BP said it had completed a process known as static kill, in which heavy mud was pumped in to plug the stricken well, producing a "textbook" result.

BP still faces an as yet undetermined number of compensation claims, which Browner said the government was determined to see it meet. "We are going to continue to ensure that BP is held accountable for the damage that they did, for the economic losses and ultimately for the natural resource damages and all of the restoration that will take place in the Gulf communities and in the Gulf at large." The company also has to settle with the families of 11 workers killed in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that set off the spill.

Going Viral GaGa

Guest post written by Stephanie Noble

I’ve been a Lady GaGa fan for a while and she has amazing videos but I think that no matter what lengths she goes to, her official music videos will never outdo funny fan videos on wild blue broadband internet. But I’m sure that she’s fine with that because she always adoringly refers to her fans as her “little monsters.”

Her and Beyonce’s video for “Telephone” was beyond crazy, almost so much so that it’s overwhelming. But there are so many cute videos of kids acting it out to watch on wild blue internet packages, like one with a little girl that looks like she’s about four years old dressed up in crazy Lady GaGa-esque costumes while adult female dancers dance in the background. Then every time during the chorus she picks up a call on a toy phone from a cute little boy that looks to be the same age.

Then there’s the video of a mom filming her pre-teen son dancing and singing along to the “Bad Romance” lyrics and he knows every move and line!

But the best part about watching these videos is that Lady GaGa has probably watched them all.

Lady Gaga Says "NO" To Sex

It was all over the news yesterday when Lady Gaga says "NO" to sex. Everyone was surprised I guess because i did. that Although Lady Gaga is famous for her raunchy and sexy albums, where she does not mind to expose for her fans, but what seems to be rather funny is that now she is promoting and suggesting her fans to keep away from having sex, who have it just for the sake of it. This is really something. Well, we must respect her decision and her views on that. If she is really serious with this "no sex" thing so be it.

Lady Gaga is especially keen on educating women, telling them to keep the courage to choose and make decision related to having sex. Her new concert 'Bad Romance' is going to preach this ideology, a Viva Glam campaign by MAC's AIDS awareness, also propagated by pop star, Cyndi Lauper.

Lady Gaga said that she is single now and prefers to be so because she has no time to be in a relationship because that is not going to make her happy.

The Game Is On - Baseball Time

I am s huge fan of baseball. Gosh I just love the excitement and the thrill when the game is on. You cannot get me out of my seat when my game has already started. That is how I am when my favorite sports is airing. I do not know what's with baseball but I am head ever heels in love with this sports.

I mostly watch it on the television but given the chance to watch it live that would be awesome. I know Americans do love this sports and some would really invest on the tickets just to watch their favorite team live. I would love to go in one of the baseball stadiums here in the US and watch my New York Yankees and Kansan City Royals play. Hopefully one day I will be able to afford tickets for me and my husband and just have fun. He is a big fan of baseball too and his teams are Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers.

I might save some money now so that we can afford to buy each of those tickets. I want to purchase for New York Yankees tickets and Kansas City Royals tickets. I know my husband will still go with me if my teams are playing. This is so much fun and I do look forward to it. Since his birthday is coming up, purchasing a Boston Red Sox tickets and Detroit Tigers tickets would be a great gift. I know he will be excited watching his team live on the game and of course I'll go with him.

The Bacheloretter Finale

Gosh I watched the finale of The Bachelorette last night and I got tickled pink. Lol. It was a very sweet and romantic ending. Glad Ali had finally found the love of her life to Roberto. The couple looks good together and now engaged. They plan to live together soon and wedding has been discussed. It was nice seeing a couple ended the fairy tale of their dream like I have. Hehehehe. Yes our destiny was like a dating show as well, as my husband chooses his love for a life time which is me :). My husband and I loved watching this kind of show because we could relate to it. Hope you have watched it too but if not you can always upload it online to watched the finale.

Yellow Lobster Caught

I was reading the news today and it was all about the yellow lobster found in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. Experts said that this is very rare. My opinion, I do believe that this kind of species are very rare because I personally do not have any experience seeing a yellow lobster. They said this is one in 30 million. Wow! this is really something. Here's the video, I just thought of sharing it.

Pray for You - Jaron and The Long Road to Love

My husband shared this great song to me. It was a very fun song. Go through the lyrics and you will know what I mean. Happy listening.

Gift

It was a great service today at the church. Our preacher still teaches God's abundance and we are on part 4 now. Nothing really beats God's words and I feel great to be in his house. I also received a gift today from my secret pal. This is from our womens ministry at the church and we have our own secret pal. Today she gave me a book which is very interesting to read. The book is all about life. Of course I do not know who my secret pal is but whoever she is, I am very thankful of what I have received. I am planning to send a small token to my secret pal as well but I do not really know what to give yet but I will figure it out so that I can mail it tomorrow. Have a great evening everyone!