Hello and SMILE!!!
Got this from Renz over at the Live the Life of A Dreamer! Thanks, friend!

The qualifications to receive this award are:
A. Display a cheerful attitude.
B. Love one another.
C. Make mistakes.
D. Learn from others.
E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world.
F. Love life.
G. Love kids.

The Rules:
1. Please link back!
2. Post the rules
3. Choose 5 people to give it to
4. Recipients must fill the characteristics above
5. Create a post to share this
6. Thank the winners

So now I am giving this to my other SMILING friends:

Maria

Rechie

Kcat

David

Misty

Thanks for your friendship!

yes, for many days now it’s been like this. nice eh? i keep going out of my office just to feel it … and to take a deep breath and inhale the “holiday” season … alas we do not have a holiday here just for that so … we will still be in office. we can take leave though. i am still thinking about it. gonna bake those oatmeal cookies for giving away. i still have to get the recipe from my friend who baked some a couple of weeks ago and they tasted nice. i hope they will taste the same when i bake them. soon there will be plenty of parties – christmas, year-end/new year, farewells, retirement, etc.

below are photos taken during our farewell party for phaung who left to work in singapore. good for her. these were taken months before, though!

lei, phaung, me

with laksiri & pop

cida-ait/sea-uema project team

What do most people do on a Saturday? Unless there isn’t one in your town, I bet most people go to the mall. Last Saturday we went to a new one in Bangkok. It’s new for us as we have never been there before. It’s also new to the city as it opened only last July 08. Guess what mall is that? It’s called Chamchuri Square.

I have written something about it at my Sweet Carnation blog.

Read more …

To all Kinaray-a speakers, lovers and supporters of the culture & language out there:

The Karay-a Arts Festival will again be held this October (24-26) at the EBJ Freedom Park in San Jose, Antique, Philippines. So if you have time to spare come and join. Wish I can, too, but I will not be in Antique during that time. Hope the organizeres can provide updates through the Binirayan Foundation website. This is a celebration of the creative spirit which keeps the Karay-a culture alive through the years. The festival will feature folk arts and crafts, murals and paintings, performances and poetry readings, launchings, bazaars and al fresco dining and cafes at the Art Circle of EBJ Freedom Park.

Of course, this is not the only effort being done to promote Kinaray-a culture and language. There is also the Dungug Kinaray-a Sugidanon Contest, which is now in its second year. This is organized by the Dungug Kinaray-a soon-to-be-foundation. This initiative promotes story telling, literary writing and declamation in Kinaray-a. This year’s theme is “Japanese Occupation in the Philippines“.

Another effort which has a global reach is the kinaray-a.com website which aims to reunite Antiquenos all over the world. This is being administered by the Kinaray-a.com, Inc.

stirling, scotland

October is the month I love the most! Because this is my birth month. And, ehems … I have a secret as well related to October. But I think that secret is not bloggable so I won’t write about it here. Not yet. Anyway, October was already my favorite even before that secret So ok, it will be my birthday soon. I will be counting and adding another year to my age. Just a number. Well, what do you think? When I was in high  school I had a classmate who was born on the same day. Her name is Pansang, nickname for Esperanza. Such a nice name. She is a sweet girl with a nice singing voice. Always smiling, with a delightful laugh. I remember her clearly ‘coz we have the same birthday.

Christmas away from home...

So back to the month of October. I know I am a bit late about this but I want to write about it just now, since it is October. It is now the “…ber” months, and in the Philippines, it signals that Christmas is approaching. Actually starting in September, people start doing some Christmas stuff already, i.e.  playing carols, writing gift lists, practicing for Christmas shows, etc. Even though I am not in the Philippines now I can still celebrate Christmas. I have learned a long time ago that it is not in the decorations and the trimmings, but in the heart, in knowing the truth of Christmas, that we can feel the true essence of the season. So no matter where I am I can still feel the spirit and joy of Christmas. It’s of course fun and nice to be with family and friends and especially to be in the Philippines at Christmas time. No doubt about that.

Beautiful!

In temperate parts of the world October is the start of autumn/fall season, when the leaves change into a variety of colors. It is a nice sight and gives one a feeling of awe and amazement. When I first experienced that in Scotland it gave me a feeling of peace and silent joy! And it was good since in Scotland it was so cold and sometimes dark but the colors bring some brightness to each day. This is God’s way of saying that despite the dump there is something brighter; despite the despair there is hope, always.

I was amazed that such amount of money can be won! Check it out at GH Fever’s! The blog owner, Danny, has set some guidelines how to join, as follows:

• Subscribe to the RSS Feed (required; 1 entry)
• Comment on this post (required; 1 entry)
• Digg, Technorati, Stumble or Reddit this entry (1 entry per site)
• Blog about this post (5 entries)

So what are you waiting for now! Go and visit GH Fever’s now!

I’ve read so many news articles, accounts and blogs on the “Made in China with Melamine” case.  I’ve even received a few emails detailing what other products out there are being checked for melamine contamination. I have to read labels of food products I regularly buy, just in case. But what about those using raw materials which could be contaminated? The labels do not inform us where the raw materials come from. What if? It gave me more shivers especially yesterday when a friend wrote in her Cogito ergo, scrap! blog about her experience when her kids had some stomach problems after eating some biscuits. It’s frightening that things could happen right there at our doorsteps. Just because some unscrupulous businesses are so greedy. They do not know the repercussions of their actions on the innocent. Let’s be vigilant and be aware of what we take in all the time.

How was yours? Mine was, as usual, full of activities, movement and color; but there was time, too, for relaxation and savoring the moment of freedom from Mon-Fri stresses. The weekend is usually for doing things which we could not do during the week, when we are at work or at school or other activities related to our professional lives. That is, for us who do not have to work during the weekend. There are others I know who could not enjoy the weekend as some of us due to work commitments, or they just could not say NO. For them, everyday is a working day which might not be good as we need time to rest. Even though we still keep doing activities in the weekend at least they are different from routine, and the break alone is good, especially the change of pace. That includes the change in scenery, such as different views and faces of people J.

So last weekend, despite the enjoyment there were some glitches. One was when we went to the Lifestyles Thailand office at Ocean Tower in Ratchadapisek to pick up our Intra orders. It took longer than usual as there were many people. My husband who was waiting in the car just in front of the office got bullied by the guards. That was terrible especially when one particular guard threatened to hit our car with a gate pole. What was annoying was there were other cars parked there, even much longer than us and why could they? And then there were more cars coming in who were also allowed to stand by. Such arrogance. People in the service industry who do not know how to do service have no right to be in that profession.

Inside the Lifestyles office I was talking to my friend (a kababayan) and she told me that she has actually stopped being in the loop of this MLM business. Like me, she is now just buying the products for her own personal use, and to serve others who order from her. Purely for health reasons, availing of the discount we already have as members. Aside from her lack of time to network with people and potential customers, she said that the “unfriendliness” of the office itself to foreign members discouraged her from actively participating. Oh well … I have experienced this myself several times when I dealt with this company. That is why I would just often order from my upline instead of directly from them. There is too much hassle as probably there are language and cultural barriers. Thai businesses are well-known not to care about customers anyway, as it is in their culture not to complain.

This was the major glitch last weekend. For a while it leaves you seething but what to do in a situation like this? It is safer to just let it be. I believe that when people are so nasty with us and we might not be able to pay them back an eye for an eye, vengeance will come to them somehow. In some future time, in some way, these nasty people will get what they deserve. Not through me, but through others or through life itself. There is a Higher Being who knows all things, sees all things, and judgment will be ultimately His.

So let’s just hang on and enjoy life. It’s too precious and short to be wasted on things that do not matter. And especially the weekend is so precious and short, gotta make use of it well. So that when the new week comes, we can enter it with rejuvenated bodies and renewed spirits, so we can keep going and fulfilling the purpose of living.

There are so many nice blogs out here in the blogosphere … really interesting, colorful, insightful … and am sure each blogger/bloggie/blog owner considers her/his blog as precious. One such blog I came across today only is called “…my precious niche…”, and today is its first blogsary! So happy 1st blogsary to you, Eds. May you keep blogging … and keep adding some nice things to the readers’ lives day by day!

http://www.birthdayjoys.com/graphics

Hello to all bloggies! Come and join the Blog Love tag and know more bloggie friends around the world. In this way we can continue sharing thoughts, ideas, talents, experiences, anything worthy to share with one another.

Just copy the tag and put in all your blogs and spread it to all other bloggers. Link back to me, and spread this tag to others. Don’t forget to go to Jenny’s blog to inform her where this tag appears in your blog. This is gonna be fun!

{Start Copy Here}

Rules:
1. Don’t remove the credits when you post the image
2. Please link back to the person who tagged you and pass this tag to many of your friends
3. If you have more than one blog, please post this to all of your blogs so your other blogs can be listed to the master list too.
4. Remember to come back here at A SLICE OF LIFE (pls. don’t change this link)and leave the exact post url so I can add you to the master list to help increase our rankings and improve our Technorati Authority.
6. Spread the BLOG LOVE FEVER!!
BLOGGERS:

1.Scraps & Shots 2.) Simply Jen 3.) This and That 4.) Bargain.Sales.Deals. 5. A Slice of Life 6.) Aussie Ta22>The Salad Caper 12. Winding Creek Circle 13. InkBabyStudios 14. Me and Mine 15. Creative in Me 16. For the LOVE of Food 17. Little Peanut 18. Pea in a Pod 19. It’s Where the HEART Is 20. Around the World 21. SugarMagnolias 22. Nita’s Random Thoughts 23. Nita’s Corner 24. Nita’s Ramblings 25. Batuananons 26. Thomas Web Links 27. Filipino Online Community 28. Thomas Travel Tales 29. Bohol Paradise 30. My Wandering Thoughts 31. Arts and Entertainment Center 32. Great Finds and Deals 33. Make Money Online 34. Entertainment News and Beyond 35. Erlinda’s Wandering Thoughts 36. TnT Kit 37. Aha Mama! 38. A Zone for Digiscraps 39. RazorianFly :] 40. WebGeek Journal… 41.All About The Memories 42. Spymama 43. Alamak OiOi 44. HasH’s Personal Blog 45. MommyAllehs Up-Close and Personal 46. All About Kawaii 47. My Photographic Sketch 48. Embrace Simplicity 49.WilStop 50. Fun.Fierce.Fabulous 51. Kidd Designs 52. Me,Myself+2 53. Anygen’s JourneyUltimate Food Cooking Guide 54. 55. Moments of My Life 56. Insights from the Grocery Cart 57.Beauty of Life 58.Jona’s New Life 59.Money Maker 60.Creations 61. Quicker8 62. The Daily Matters 63. 77. Unique You 78. My Blogging Experience 79. Pinay dot US 80. My Blog Entry 81. Byaheng Pinay 82. A Pet’s Life 83. My Journey to Momhood 84. Straight from the Heart 85. Anything and Everything in Between 86. Living A’ La Mode 87. My Crossroads 88. A Beautiful Life 89. Race Corner 90. Moms… Check Nyo 91. My Wanderings 92. Picture Clusters 93. Tech Stuff Plus 77. Unique You 78. My Blogging Experience 79. Pinay dot US 80. My Blog Entry 81. Byaheng Pinay 82. A Pet’s Life 83. My Journey to Momhood 84. Straight from the Heart 85. Anything and Everything in Between 86. Living A’ La Mode 87. My Crossroads 88. A Beautiful Life 89. Race Corner 90. Moms… Check Nyo 91. My Wanderings 92. Picture Clusters 93. Maiylah’s Snippets 94. Free Blogger Templates 95. joys IN LIFE 96.Life is What we Make it 97. Pinay WAHM 98. Life Realities 99. Hailey’s Domain 100. Hailey’s Bits and Beats 101. When SAHM-one Speaks 102.Jean’s Live it Up… 103. Motherhood Unscripted 104. Ivory Tasks 105. I Play Mom 106. Juls Random Thoughts 107. A Grateful Heart 108. The Real Deal The Real Me 109. Biz-N-Honey 110. Aeirin’s Collections 111. Blessings and Beyond 112. Mommy Earns Money Online 113. Pinay Mommy Online 114. Pinay Mommies Community 115.Everything Has A Reason 116. A Moment to Exhale 117. Room of Sphere Ideas 118. Jenny’s Wandering Thoughts 119. Rumination 120. OnlineBiz and Resources 121. Digital Life Scraps 122. Lourdes’ Mia 123. A Matter of Perspective 124.My Colorful World 125. Heartish 126 My Not So Pvt. Space in th Web 127. Rosilie: My Blog 128. Changing Lanes 129. Lost in Love 130. Pinay L0ve 131. Captured on time 132. Pit of Gadgetry 133. Me, the Islands and the World 134. Startin’ A New Life 135. Startin’ A New Lfe Too 136. Filipina Web Designer 137. The blog Presher 138. Webline Help Desk 139.Treeennndddzzz 140. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 141. Watchamacallit! 142. Nellypie’s Chatterbox 143. Meishien 144. Food on the Table 145. Simply Me 146. My Heart 147.Ang Kinabuhi ni Lakandiwa148. Lovin’ Life 149. Cooking Momster 150. Simple Life 151. Anything Lah! 152. Perfect Gift From Above 153. Memoirs: * Cross mY Heart 154. Little Prince 155. Our Little Princess Gwen 156. Chen Xi & Mama’s Blogs 157. LovelyMummy 158. Our Journey 159. Spy Mama 160. 3B’s …baseball, baking, and books 161. of soaring & dreaming 162. Carnation 163. ADD YOUR BLOG HERE
{End Copy Here}

*********

OK have fun with spreading the Blog Love tag!