You Can Get A Lesson or Two from this Skater

I just wanted to share this video with you. Mao Asada a figure skater from Japan fell during the very beginning of her routine but ended up to be the World Champion. I think it's very inspiring and you all probably know why. Just watch and see.

A Holy Thursday Thought

It's been a while since my last post. I have been quite busy recently but I know I should have at least a little time with my blog. I would like to thank the people who keep visiting here, I will make sure to return your visits in the next few days.

Also, every once in a while, I do my soul searching, figuring out if I still have been doing my share as a Christian, and I found out I am not. It's such a shame. I should do better than this although I know whatever mankind do, we will never be able to reciprocate the love that God always give us but we still have to do all our best to be worthy of that love.

So, today is Holy Thursday, a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper, Jesus' washing of his apostles feet, the agony of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Judas Iscariot. This day until Saturday was really dark time in Jesus' life and for the life of the Christian people but these days were the blessings in disguise because of Jesus' sacrifices, we are saved from our sins. Then Easter Sunday follows, a very important day, just like Christmas, Jesus raised up from the dead fulfilling the Old Testament.

As we remember the very important verse in the New Testament of the Holy Bible: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."-John 3:16, we should also remember to always be thankful for this season and praise God for everything that he's done.

Most of you probably know this song already but I believe this is a really good song for this season: Click the title for the music

"Tell The World of His Love"
Jamie Rivera

For God so loved the world
He gave us Him only Son
Jesus Christ our Savior
His most precious one
He has sent us His message of love
And sends those who hear
To bring the message to everyone
In a voice loud and clear

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked astray
And lead them home
Fill the world’s darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

Our Lord our savior our king
Emmanuel prince of peace
Begotten of the Father’s love
Born to set us free
Let heaven and earth sing His phrases
His righteousness proclaim
Let every heart rejoice in His love
And magnify His name

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked astray
And lead them home
Fill the world’s darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

(Tell the world of His love)

Let us tell the world of His love
The greatest love the world has known
Search the world for those who have walked astray
And lead them home
Fill the world’s darkest corners
With His light from up above
Walk every step, Every mile, Every road
And tell the world, Tell the world of His love

(Tell the world of His love)
Tell the world of His love

Have a good Thursday everyone! God bless you!

Tagged with Friendship Chain

My new bloggerfriend Vhiel tagged me with this:

~~Begin Copy~~
This is the easy way and the fastest way to :
1. Make your Technorati authority explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Make more new friends.

Rules :
1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3.Tag your friends as much as you can.

***************************
1. Picturing of Life
2. Juliana’s Site
3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.
4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space
5.My Family is my Life
6. The Simple Life of a Baghag
7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today
8. House Everything
9. The Creativity in Me
10. Travel and Photography
11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
12. Nora’s Notes
13. Noras Family Treasures
14. Fil-Oz Blog
15. What A World
16. More on Health
17. Everyday Life
18.Pinaywifespeaks
19. Pinaywife Atbp.
20. Laugh Out Loud
21. Life’s Lessons
22. Kerslyn’s Comfort Zone
23. Borski and Nai
24. M A R I K I T
25. Mommy's Little Corner
26. Cebu Lands and Homes
27. ..just ME being RANDOM
28. Can of Thoughts
29. Let's Random Thoughts
~~End Copy~~

I'm tagging marilyn, moccalyn, and dezz
Have a blessed day, everyone.

Get Paid to Blog with Smorty

I have been looking for ways to earn some extra cash online and have been meticulously choosing which ones I should try. Since I really enjoyed blogging, and reading other people's blogs I wondered, why not blog for money sometimes? I would get paid to blog about products and services that interests me by just voicing out my opinions through my blog posts. Then, I stumbled into Smorty, a service connecting advertisers with bloggers like me. The advertisers are paying the authors of the blogs that have approved posts about them and with links back to their sites. Most of my fellow bloggers who have been using this service for quite some time now are really happy that they signed-up for this and claiming it is really reliable source of extra income.
The sign-up was so fast and easy and just and within 72 hours, you'll know if they have approved your blog and you can start earning and get paid for blogging, mine was just less than 24 hours and most of all, it's free. Then if you are a blogger who would like more exposure to get more traffic on your site, you can also advertise on blogs that are members of Smorty. The bloggers can promote your blog or site to their readers for you. I believe, using this system is an effective way for blog advertising. So, for those who are interested with this kind of monetizing blogs, why not try Smorty?

A very Informative Forum Especially for Work-at-Home Moms

I found this forum from some other forum I went to but forgot the name. I was just browsing about scams and everything when the moderator of this forum posted something and I saw a link there that I clicked. I was so glad I did because it's really a one-stop forum for everything about working at home. Although I'm not a mom yet, I'm also considering earning extra income from the internet. They have several posts from getting coupons and free gifts to making money doing surveys and blogging as well. I am not a very active member because I have a lot of things going on in my mind that cannot focus on doing just online stuff but I bet you, this one's really beneficial the members are all very supportive to think that the most active members seem to be really busy earning something online.
Check it out and be a member:
itsfree.proboards43.com
And also visit the owner's website, it's very helpful too.
Katies Hugs

My Pen

I am amazed
How this pen I have had chased
Away went my pain and sorrow
To the big dark hollow.

I never had a friend like this
And I didn't even notice
That since childhood I'm with it
Always partnered with a single sheet.

In the vague world I'm into,
It's quitely pushing me through.
In the world where nobody sees me cry,
Its ink is my weapon which uncovers a lie.

Every stroke, a drop of emotion;
Wether I'm in love, out of love of under devastation;
Wether I write or I draw,
It cuts the burdens like a saw.

A Poem for A Friend

My Bestfriend
A friend who always listens,

I never heard her refuse;

She takes away my burdens,

And leave me unconfused.

She knows me inside out

And everything I have in mind;

I trust her without a doubt,

'cause she never was blind.

Even though she cannot talk,

I love to be with her always.

She's my companion where ever I walk,

In my life, forever, she stays.

No one can be like her,

'cause she's not a human being.

She's my diary made of paper,

With a pen, I can tell her my feelings.

I wrote this one long time ago when I was still in college. I wrote a lot of poems those days and it was really easy to rhyme and jot down the right words, unlike now. I have another one dedicated to my pen and paper as well. I'll post it tommorow. I know it seemed like I was so lonely back then but the truth was I wasn't. I had a lot of close friends and I was with my family. It was just the deep and dark silent nights when I was alone that I was more like talking to my paper.

Sorta', Kinda' Day

Well today, our clocks sorta kinda sprung ahead again.. Daylight Saving Time... it's just my second year for this, and it's still kinda new to me and it's just my husband who's adjusting the clocks and everything else. Since I got here in Iowa last 2006 I didn't really care too much about time because I was just at home sitting around and just look at the calendar to be sure I take out the recycling bin on the right day or if I have a doctor's appointment which was so many last year. In the Philippines, I used to just kinda rely on the position of the sun sometimes if I was just at home but here, it's still sorta weird for me. Maybe I stayed home too much that since now I got a job already, I kindda panic a little bit because now, I have to be aware of the exact time and everything that's related to time and schedule. I really need to learn how to manage my time now so I can still have time to wash the clothes and blog, of course.

Since I started my job last week I kindda lost track of the happenings in my favorite TV shows as well, so I now spent almost my whole Saturday keeping up with those.

First in the list was "Project Runway" - I really like this show since season one though I had never religiously watched it except this last season's. I used to dream of auditioning with this show and become a fashion designer but I'm kindda impatient when it comes to sewing, I just love designing or drawing clothes.
Well, sorta not so surprising finale for everybody since the winner- Christian Siriano is probably the majority's favorite (but I'm not one of them). This fierce little gay guy is only 21 years old but proved that creativity and confidence doesn't know any age. Although, I was hoping for Jillian Lewis to get the most nods during the fashion week, she didn't have enough of that winning attitude prevalent on the designs Christian has nor does Rami Kashou who was reportedly the celebrity favorite.
So, good thing somebody recorded this show for me to watch even though I didn't get to see it on the day it aired.
Another thing was, Victoria Beckham was the guest judge for that finale and I'm glad she smiled. hehe That's a rare occurrence you know.

I watched American Idol and a lot of other shows as well. They're not so interesting yet because most of them just started their seasons this month so they're fine.



I also tried to keep up with the Filipino shows I love to watch especially the unique soap opera "Lobo". I got so hooked, I would rather forget to eat than miss it.

The thing that frustrates me is watching the local news in the Philippines, the political instability is just getting worst and it's a shame that all the controversies are hampering the economic growth of the country and tainting the beauty of it. I hope it's gets better there. I'm looking forward to visiting with my relatives, hopefully soon. I'm kinda thinking maybe I can find some pictures of Boracay beach I can paint someday. That beach is really a pride of the country, breathtaking.

To all women, Happy International Women's Day(though I'm a little late). You can visit this website to learn more about International Women's Day.

please click the image:

Hint of Spring

On the 20th of this month, Spring will officially begin but it doesn't seem to be near yet as the weather meteorologists still forecast some more snow. I can't wait for this weather to be over as you have read from my previous posts.
Today, I looked out to the backyard to check how thick the snow is out there and Lo!
and behold! this lovely little bird, I think it's called a cardinal, I'm not really sure. It's sitting on the branches of one of our pine trees. The last time I've seen it was during the fall and now he's back. I don't really know if it's a domestic pet or it's a free bird. It looks so lovely so I took pictures but my camera isn't too good in low light(it was really cloudy).

I'm also happy to see a wonderful comment on my previous post motivating me to go on with my drawing. It's exactly what I need right now. Thanks for that, Pandora Wilde. You really made my day.

And also I want to share with you the condition of my little fish that was terribly sick, he looks much better now. I posted a video of him while panicking, running all over the place looking for answers coz I thought he's really gonna die fast but he's still alive and it's been like more than two weeks now. He developed some spots on his sides and those covered a wide area but now they seem to disappear slowly, it may take a while but I'm happy he's still alive. My husband and I call him "Spots" now. lol. I hope he completely gets better.

Here is the link of my post about him when he still had white spots, now he doesn't have any spot anymore. *clap, *clap, *clap.

My Goldfish

A Lazy Friday Thoughts

I felt so cold today. I haven't done much but slept and tried relaxing with not so relaxing ways. I was also thinking of setting up a new blogsite for my arts alone but I don't have enough collection yet to put them up on a blog of their own. All the artworks I've done before I got here in the U.S. are left in the Philippines, probably just sitting on the bottom shelf of a cabinet, accumulating dusts. I was thinking, I shoulda' woulda' coulda' duh. Since I got here, I didn't really find time to draw or paint anything even though my husband bought me a two-hundred-dollar plus easel and some other stuff I could have used everyday but I didn't. I felt like I wasted too much time. I just started going back into it lately, like last month when I realized I should update my blogs, I started last 2006 and probably monetize it(which I find so difficult and complicated). I was also thinking of just working at home so I can find enough time for whatever things needed to be done here in the house(our house is a mess) but I just can't find any. So, now, I'm looking for a real-world job(or whatever you call it) and might have found one already that will possibly hire me. I need a lot of money for my meds coz I'm a sick fat cat.(lol) the thing is, as I said I just started going back to my passion and just started this blogging life, will I still have time when I get a real job? Well, that's my Lazy Friday thoughts.

Well, yesterday, I wasn't so lazy so I drew a portrait of this cute little girl, her name is Chloee.

I used a soft 4B Charcoal pencil on a drawing paper. The size of this portrait is 9" x 11 1/2".

Uhm, vocabulary test?

Well, I know I'm not tagged with this, I just grabbed it from somebody and tried it. I'm kindda suprised of the result so I thought I'd just post it here. I'm not bragging or anything, this just motivates me to read and read more. Have a nice day everyone!

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Book I'm Reading Right Now: Sister Freaks

I'm still halfway through this book but I just want to share how I love reading it so much. It's all about women who serve God whole-heartedly and faithfully that they let Him lead their way no matter what happens. They sacrificed everything for God and are never afraid of the outcome because they know God will always be with them. The stories are so touching, they range from the stories of women like Joan of Arc and others from the biblical times and of modern times. They are really inspiring. This book tells me that the best life can be found in living with faith in the Lord and in serving him above all else. I know I can never serve Him enough, I'm not a missionary or something for that matter and I chose a different path in life but I'm praying that in my own little ways, I can at least give some service to Him.

If someone wants to check this out, the information is:

"Sister Freaks: Stories of Women Who Gave Up Everything for God" by Rebecca St. James.

Just Two of My Old Sketches

Yesterday I was really busy cleaning up some mess around the house so I can have a little space to put my easel and hopefully to use as my little studio. Our house is so full of everything I just don't know what to do anymore. As I was looking through those stuff on that area, I found a lot of important papers that would have been a cause of a chaos in this house had I not meticulously scrutinized each one. What's delightful is that I found some of my sketches from a couple of years ago. They immediately brought back memories. The one at the top reminded me of those times I was dreaming to become a fashion designer wishing I can at least audition for Project Runway. The next one made me smile. I draw that last year when I was reminiscing of those times my friends when we were supposed to be studying for our final exam but instead we wasted our time chatting about stuff not related to our exams at all. Ahhh... nostalgia... I'm looking forward to reuniting with them soon. (That drawing was just my imagination and don't look like any of my friends).

I found more sketches from that area and they all convinced me that I shouldn't stop drawing, I shouldn't stop what I like to do just because I don't have enought time. Drawing is like my yoga, my meditation....

Midnight Blues

It's already midnight here right now but my eyes are still wide open and my mind still wandering around. It's crazy that it's hard not to post on this blog anymore. It's like I'm gonna get punished if I don't. So I would.

Sunday was really a nice day. It was sunny and warm with the temperature in the 40's. It felt like spring for one day. Yeah, just for one day! Come Monday morning, a snowstorm will hit again that will probably last until Tuesday afternoon and the forecasters said that we might get to a foot more snow on our 5-foot pile white little crystals. They look nice from the inside of the house but so nasty when you're outside. I guess I just have to look at the positive side of this, "no matter how long winter seems to be, Spring will come and it never snowed in June".

Another thing, my linker on my sidebar seemed to be dead. I don't know what happened to it. I hope it comes back to life so I can retrieve those links that was put in there. They're not much yet but still, you know. I actually forgot the url of that linker. So to those who wanted to link with me, just leave a message please and I will link you in a little bit here. Thanks.

Have a wonderful Monday to all!

Goldfish: My Oil Pastel Painting

I missed the original appearance of my favorite goldfish because he is terribly sick right now. I hope he still gets better. I just thought I would make a portrait of him last night using oil pastel. I just imagined his previous looks and I based this painting to that. It's just sad that he's loosing some parts of his tail and fins and he's got dark red spots on his side now.

Time Lapse Video of The Portrait I Posted yesterday

This is the video of how it the portrait I posted yesterday came to be.

Portrait of my Mom and Sis

Portrait
Originally uploaded by letjim

I paint this portrait using oil pastel sticks. It's my first try on using oil pastel in painting faces. I don't do justice to the beauty of my beloved mother and little sister but I did my best. I am looking to trying any techniques in painting using this media because it is somewhat difficult to maneuver without using spirits. I am also looking for a better camera to capture my artworks.

I have been looking for topics on this blogs since it's just for random thoughts but now I realized, I am a self-proclaimed artist, why not blog on this topic: ARTS. Well, it's still gonna be random but more on random postings of my artworks and artistic thoughts now.

I'm so glad I'm finally inspired to share with you what I really love to do. I hope you guys like this Portrait of two of my inspirations so I can keep going with posting more about arts.

Please leave a comment.

The Wealth called Friends and Family

What does "Wealth" mean to you? What is it's essence in your life? How about "Friends"? "Family"?

Everybody has friends, even the pauper on the street, the man convicted of murder, even animals have friends. But friendship in humans are very important in the core of our existence and well-being. Real friends are our motivators, our shoulders to cry on, our cushion whenever we fall and the list goes on and on.

In this digital age and fast-paced, profit-motivated life, we have been unknowingly ignoring the importance of the real people in our lives, those that we were suppose to share parts of our lives with, those that we call our inspirations, our bestfriends and love of our lives. Instead we're stuck in front of a machine trying to figure out how to get rich so we can buy anything we want to, may it be for real or in the virtual world of internet games, or for most people, working 24/7 to pay for that entertainment showcase in the basement. No wonder anti-depressants are selling like hotcakes and the world is having numerous issues with healthcare. We lost touch of the real thing that makes us healthy and wealthy - the companionship and friendship of the ones we really value, the ones we are actually neglecting. We're so focused on giving them the material things that we tend to loose sight of the more important aspect in life - people's emotional needs - they need to be met first and everything else will be more rewarding.

A Hug or any simple gesture of gratitude and love can be shown everyday to slowly correct this imbalance in our lives. Do this to your mom, your dad, your spouse, your bestfriends, and anybody who had impacted you life but had never been reciprocated for it yet, and, everytime, make sure to look at their faces and you'll surely see the true meaning of wealth.

As for my friends, my family, my beloved husband, and those people that are literally strangers but have been giving me inspiration and motivation in life, "THANK YOU". My heart is always with you and I will see all your smiling faces soon.

Need Advice on my Goldfish

I have been looking around and browsing the net about what our favorite goldfish really afflicted with. I hate to loose this one on the video below because he's got really nice fins and he's getting bigger now. Sadly the fins and tails are the first ones showing symptoms. We thought he would grow healthier than he is but too bad he's having some disease we aren't really sure what. That's why I'm seeking any advice from anybody who knows about these stuff and those who had an experience like this. We thought it's Ick so we started the treatment with those tablets that we bought from the pet store, we're on the third day now but it seemed a little different from the symptoms of Ick that I read about. Or is it Fin Rot? Yesterday he started looking like he was really tired and just wanted to stay and sit at the bottomof the tank and then after a little while he would swim like normal again. I hope it's not too late yet. We really want to save him. Please share some insights about my situation. Thanks.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I just wanna greet all my family and friends, and my readers as well , a very Happy Valentine's day! May your day be filled with love and happiness.
It would be nice if everyday is Valentine's day and everybody will be appreciative of the love other people give them. See, it's not just about lovers expressing love to each other, most commonly by giving gifts, it is also about the people who love and are being loved by anybody in their life. Showing more love is how it should be celebrated, not just by giving material gifts. But however you show that love is up to you and if it's heartfelt, it will be receprocated.
Me, I'm just thankful to God that He loves me and is always giving me people in my life that shows me how to love and love me sincerly. I hope you guys reading this have the same feeling(being grateful).
God bless you all!

Earn Some Rewards and Cash Online!

I know there's a lot of blogs about these stuff already but I just thought maybe it would be nice to share some of those legitimate ones I'm sure would also be helpful for those who just started looking into these, just like me. These are my top 3 favorites so far. Please click the links or icons to visit the site.

1. Answer Questions and Earn CASH: http://www.guessnow.com/show?signup&refID=cheesy143
I'm really having fun answering questions on this one. They even gave me extra points for answering expired questions and correcting grammar and spelling errors. I got hooked! I think it's only for US residents.


2. Read Mails, Take Surveys, Shop online: http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=cheesy143


Out of all the survey sites I've checked, this one is really easy and reliable. Their clients are big companies like ebay.com, homedepot.com, and a lot of legitimate merchant websites. So I highly recommend this.

3. Play Games and Get Rewards: http://club.live.com/
Well, this one is by Microsoft. I already got 2 1-year subscriptions of very good magazines from them. I'm now playing to get Zune mp3 player. It's really fun and informative. So try it.

To those of you who know more sites I may be interested to try, please post a comment here or PM me. I hope these are also helpful. Thanks for the time.

My hand-made Valentine's Card

I made this card for my mom-in-law for Valentine's day. Just thought I would share it with you guys. I used watercolor for the rose and most of the colors on the front.

I just so hope she'll like this.

Color and Mood

Well, maybe you already know that somehow color really affects what you're feeling on a particular moment but I just want to share more in-depth facts that I learned recently from reading a newspaper's article about wall decorating but it would be practical to apply this knowledge on some other things as well, not just the wall of your house. The color may help you sell your product or service, it may help you attract people when you're wearing a particular color of clothing.
You should always remember that in selecting colors, that each has specific psychological value. A color can make a person feel relaxed or the opposite.
As we all now a color's meaning may differ from culture to culture but these basic examples have general effects on the mood regardless of your belief:

• Red - studies show that this color raises blood pressure and heart rate. The same as pink, it tends to trigger a very sharp emotions like anger and rage. They said this color when applied to your wall stirs up excitement and energy and encourage conversation but if a person's already edgy, he better avoid seeing this room before he calms down.
• Blue - warm blues have calming effects, e.g., periwinkle and turquoise when used in a room but very dark blues may cause sadness to a person.
• Green - this color is the most restful color for the eye and has a calming effect when used in a room.
• Yellow - a very happy color that uplifts the spirit and makes small spaces look wider and brighter but too much of this color causes irritability.
• Orange - same as red, this color elicits excitement and energy and some believe that it stimulates appetite so if you're dieting better avoid looking at orange walls or decorations or anything for that matter.

• Purple - just like blue, this color can be restful but unlike blue, it has less effect on making you feel down and sad.

Ok, that's it. I just thought I would share to you people what I've been reading lately. A newspaper article that isn't really a news. But of course, it 's nice to know these facts. I might be able to use it for something productive in my life and yours as well if. Alright, have a nice day.

Anyway, I'm gonna try putting more entries here that will mostly be informative, I hope since I wanted to draw more people to read my posts. Thanks for the time. I hope you learned something. Gotta face the cold day here again. I hope this frigid coldness ends soon. See yah!

My Chocolate Escape

Hey guys! It's been so cold here in Iowa these past few weeks, as in the coldest I've ever felt in my entire life. Yesterday we had a wind chill factor of -20F and it's probably the same or possible lower. It gives me headache every time I go out. So I probably won't even dare to step outside until it gets a little warmer. I'm never used to this kind of weather and I think I would never be. Even inside the house is terribly cold, we might probably need a new furnace but well at least it's still working. So my past time this past week? (until now actually): I eat, drink and breathe chocolate. Well, not literally breathe but just smell them a little bit before I actually start licking them. lol. Hot chocolate is the best during this kind of a weather. We have Swiss Miss, Ovaltine(with malt), the Wal-mart brand of Chocolate Milk Mix, etc.... I recommend to those who are the same situation to of course bundle up and drink really really hot beverage and of course my husband's favorite - Hotstuff! Add them to your food or eat them raw if you can, they surely help warm up the senses and your internal organs.

Oh man! How I wish I am in the Philippines right now. I'm so done with this biting cold but well, what can I do except try to live with it? Anyway, what's up with this long rant of mine? hehe I better head back to bed, turn up the heated sheet's warmth and bundle up with 3 layers of goose-down blankets. 'Till next time. Thanks for dropping by.

You Gotta See This!!! Renaldo Lapuz's audition in American Idol

Bwahahahaha!!! They should have given him a chance to go to Hollywood though. I'm sure he made their day. He sure is a youtube sensation now coz a lot of people uploaded this video.