Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Protect the Hearts of the Young and Innocent

It’s amazing how a simple smile can brighten the mood of the day. It’s music to the ears when a child’s laughter echoes in the room. It’s rewarding to let that sweet melody play in the air. A child’s smile and laughter have a way of soothing the heart. Sadly there are children out there who have lost all reasons to smile. Pitiful cries fill the empty, cold shell where they hide. There’s no melody. There’s only silence; broken occasionally by a soft whimper.

Children are young and playful at heart. They deserve to be carefree. Kids are entitled to fun activities like flying kites, playing tag, blowing bubbles, watching cartoons, playing video games and so much more. However, in this imperfect world, there are some kids who are forced to grow up fast. Instead of toys, they carry sacks heavier than them. Some children are forced to work to help bring food to the table. At the end of the day, their energy is drained. They use whatever extra time they have to rest and sleep rather than play outside. Youthful years fade without them being aware of it.

As parents, we should nurture, love and protect our children. We should motivate them to learn and dream. It’s so hard to believe that some parents turn promising dreams into nightmares. Some parents rule with iron fists. Why subject a child to a painful blow for a wrong deed? How can a child appreciate the beauty of life when every waking day is ruled by fear and pain?

Child abuse is a reality that some children face in their homes. They are robbed of their innocence and deprived of happiness. Physical scars fade in time but the emotional scars lie embedded deep in the heart.

Don't let your child be another victim.  

Remember that every child is a blessing. Embrace your child and let him feel special and loved. Encourage and support your child to become a better individual.  Nurture, guide and protect him as he grows. 

This post is created for The Blog & Twitter Carnival: Child Abuse Prevention.


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Monday, September 20, 2010

Undeniable Force

Life is always filled with thoughts and inspiration. Blogging has allowed me to share fragments of my thoughts, feelings and mixtures of inspiration. I sometimes take a break but later on I always find myself pulled to this same direction.  It's like an undeniable pull of force.

I'm back.

Thanks for still being there. :)

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Hi Blog Friends

I'm sorry I haven't been able to update my blog recently. I've been a little busy. I have a lot of new things to share and I'm excited to blog again. I'll come by and visit soon. Enjoy the coming weekend!

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tagged :: 7 Red Things At Home

I love red! I was tagged by Dexie to do this meme. This is long overdue. Sorry Dexie.


Here are 7 red things I have at home:
  1. Planner - It's where I keep contact info of family and friends (including birthdays).
  2. Shoulder bag - My mom gave this to me a few years ago as a birthday present.
  3. Shoes - I love this pair. It's very comfortable and ideal for walking.
  4. Babushka dolls - I saw this at the mall and made a hint to hubby that I like it. He didn't mind buying it for me.
  5. Christmas stockings - I hang our personalized Christmas stockings every Christmas and Santa fills them to the brim. :)
  6. Vanity kit - Perfect container for my face powder, lipstick, lip gloss, comb, small cologne and hand sanitizer.
  7. Baby spoon - This is very special to me because it was my son's spoon when he was a baby. It brings back happy memories.
This tag is open to everyone. Please let me know if you decide to join the hunt for red things at home. :)

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Haloscan is Shutting Down!

I received a disturbing email stating that Haloscan commenting service is shutting down on February 11, 2010. I clicked on the link and found out that it's not a hoax. Sad to say, the message is real. Haloscan is discontinuing its commenting platform because "Haloscan hardware and software is physically failing and we have no choice but to discontinue the service."



I've been a Haloscan premium member for years now and I'm very upset about this sudden announcement. I think it's unfair that Haloscan is abandoning its users like this. Members like me have been given a two-week notice to make a decision.  Yes, they are offering an upgrade ... for a price!  It's either switch to Echo, the new commenting platform (with a 30-day free trial / continue for $12/year) or export comments for free (XML format).  I'm not willing to pay an annual fee for a commenting service. The downside of exporting the Haloscan comments is the lack of importing procedure to any of the popular platforms.  Haloscan should have at least offered its members a way to transfer comments.  I feel as if Haloscan has simply abandoned me in the air.

I decided to revert to the default Blogger commenting platform. With a heavy heart, I face the fact that I have lost all my previous comments.

I feel stripped of something valuable.  I have lost a great deal and I'm very sad. :(



How To Remove Haloscan and Revert to Blogger Commenting Platform:
  1. Go to Blogger Dashboard. 
  2. Go to Layout. 
  3. Click Edit HTML (make sure you Download Full Template for backup before continuing).
  4. Click Revert widget templates to default (you'll see this below the page).
  5. Haloscan link will disappear and replace by Blogger commenting service.
     ** you will lose all Haloscan comments in the process **


edited: 01/29/2010, 8:53 a.m.:  My blog comments are precious to me. I decided to salvage my old comments by manually transferring them from Haloscan to Blogger. I know it sounds crazy but I'm desperate. I might as well save what I can. If by chance, you discover an easier way of doing it, please let me know.


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Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year!

It's a brand new year! I wish everyone a blissful and blessed New Year. May 2010 usher in many wonderful blessings for all of us.

I know that I have been an inactive blogger these past few months. I hope to pick up the pace this year. Thank you for taking time to visit despite my blogging lapse.

Happy New Year to all! God bless.

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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Please Help Typhoon Ondoy Victims

Last Saturday, September 26, 2009, the Philippines was struck by Typhoon Ondoy. I went out that morning with my husband to go to our son's school to attend a talk and get our son's report card. My husband hesitated to go out because of the non-stop rain but I insisted that we push through upon confirming from the school that the talk was still set that day. Heavy downpour made it difficult for my husband to drive. We were already on the very street where my son's school is located when we were forced to stop because of unexpected flooding in the area. Cars ahead of us were turning back. Upon closer inspection, hubby realized that the water was too high; we had no choice but to go back. I was silently blaming myself for going out in the first place but hubby didn't blame me. We decided to go to the nearby mall to have lunch and buy some groceries. Hubby dropped me off near the entrance. He was drenched when he got inside the mall. The umbrella wasn't much help in deterring the rain because of the strong wind and rain.

After eating a quick lunch and buying groceries, we decided to go home. I assumed we would be home within 30 minutes or so. We weren't prepared for what came next. Traffic was horrendous! Vehicles along Star Tollway came to a halt. We were forced to find alternative routes going home. Flooded areas hindered us from going home. It was scary because there were some places in town with raging flood waters. Some vehicles that rushed in the flood got stuck as engines stalled. My husband was more careful and decided to wait for flood waters to subside a little before heading on. What I thought was a 30-minute drive home stretched to a 3-hour journey.

When we finally reached home, I was thankful that there was no flood in our village. I was so anxious to go inside the house to see my son that I dropped my umbrella. A sharp part of the umbrella's interior sliced my left ring finger. It was a little deep but fortunately didn't require stitching.

As I applied first aid, my 6-year old son gave me a tight hug. He said that he watched the people in the flood on TV and was worried we were trapped like them. It was only at that moment that I realized how serious things were in Manila and other nearby towns. I was shocked when I saw people on the roofs and tremendously deep flood waters engulfing homes and vehicles. I realized that we were blessed because my family was safe and dry. We had a little difficulty going home but that didn't compare to the sufferings experienced by other people. I was moved to tears as I saw families with small children drenched and helpless on top of their roofs. I watched in horror as a group of people were helplessly swept by the strong currents. I couldn't believe how devastated many areas were. Some people even lost their lives during typhoon Ondoy's fury.

I found out that the 5 to 6-hour downpour was equivalent to one month of rain. Experts say that it is a result of a global climate change. It's a scary fact that stares us right on the face. It is only one of nature's many warnings to us.

The typhoon left a trail of destruction, pain and suffering to many of my countrymen. The typhoon left many homeless. A lot of families are now temporarily housed in evacuation centers like schools and gymnasiums. Help have poured in from the government, local and international private sectors but more people are in dire need of help. Please open your hearts and help in whatever way you can.


Source: www.youtube.com


Donation Links:

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Monday, August 17, 2009

Blog Break Is Over

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for being an absent blogger for quite a while. I'm putting an end to my unannounced blogging break.

I'm back! :)

I'm looking forward to visiting blog friends. I know I have a lot of catching up to do. See you soon.

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Kindness Goes a Long Way

This post is dedicated to Jo of Wits and Nuts. I would like her belated Happy Birthday and Happy 2nd Blog Anniversary. To celebrate these two special occasions, she is having a
blog giveaway
.

Jo's challenge: Make someone you personally know AND a stranger (or not so stranger) happy (happier) or feel better.

Someone I Know

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless." - Mother Teresa

I'm blessed to have a kind and nurturing yaya (nanny). She has taken good care of me since I was a baby. I'm thankful that she decided to stay with our family through the years. She is like a second mom to me.

Just the other day I embraced my yaya and whispered "I love you." I'm sure she knows how much she means to me but I'm sure saying the words aloud made her feel good and vise versa.

Not So Stranger

"When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel." - Harold Kushner

A few days ago while I was making a cheese sandwich for my son, I heard the distinctive sound of the grass cutter outside. I checked and saw two village maintenance personnel cutting the grass in the nearby vacant lots. I hurriedly made two more sandwiches and asked our household helper to give it to the working men outside. The men conveyed their thanks. It was a very small gesture but it felt good knowing that I was able to do something nice that day.

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Friday, July 03, 2009

Aloha Friday #75


Rules: Post any question on your blog on a Friday, share your answer and sign Kailani's Mr. Linky. Then have fun answering the questions of fellow participants by visiting their blogs.

Is there something you're sorry about
?

I would like to take this opportunity to say sorry to my blog friends who have recently tagged me with meme and awards. I'm sorry if I failed to do recent tags because I've been a little preoccupied. I'm afraid I lost track of some tags already and hope you won't take it against me. I hope I can make it up to you next time.

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Thursday, May 07, 2009

Super Comments Award

Thank you Alice for this award. I really appreciate it. I enjoy visiting your blog as often as I can. I also want to thank you for being one of my regular readers. Thank you for always taking time to leave wonderful remarks on my blog.
About this award: "We give and get awards for having a great blog and being a good friend. What I want to award is those people whose comments have meant THE WORLD to me. It takes time to visit a blog and leave a comment ... I wanted to recognize some special bloggers whose comments have made such an impact on me. The “You Don’t Say?” Award is awarded to these special bloggers in hopes that they will pass the award along to 5-10 of their best commenters!"
I would like to pass this award to the following blog friends:
  1. Kia
  2. donG hO
  3. Sheng
  4. Salen
  5. Kay
  6. Ebie
  7. Maria
  8. Cascia
  9. Janice
  10. Louann

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Monday, May 04, 2009

Tagged :: 100 Truths

I was tagged by Tetcha and Emz to do this meme. I'm sorry for the delay. I'm opening this tag to anyone interested.

001. Name → Rachel
002. Nickname(s)→ Rach
004. Zodiac sign → Aries
005. Male or female → Female
006. Elementary → St. Scholastica's College
008. High School → St. Scholastica's College
009. College School → De La Salle University
010. Hair color → Black
011. Long or short → Short
012. Loud or Quiet → Quiet
013. Jumpers or Jeans → Jeans
014. Phone or Camera → Camera
015. Health freak → No
016. Drink or Smoke? → Social Drink
017. Do you have a crush on someone? → Yes
018. Eat or Drink → Eat
019. Piercings → Ears
020. Tattoos → None

FIRSTS:
023. First piercing → When I was a young girl
024. First best friend → Mary Jane
025. First award → Grade school art contest
026. First crush → A
027. First pet → Spotty (Japanese Spitz)
028. First big vacation → Roxas City
030. First big birthday → When I turned one.

CURRENTLY:
049. Eating → None. It's past midnight.
050. Drinking → Just finished drinking hot cocoa.
052. I'm about to → Go to the bed after this.
053. Listening to → Nothing. The room is quiet. Hubby and son are already sleeping.
054. Plans for today → Sleep. Tomorrow hubby and I are off to watch Wolverine.
055. Waiting for → the last number of this meme to come up.

YOUR FUTURE:
058. Want kids? → Perhaps but I'm already happy with my son.
059. Want to get married? → Already married
060. Careers in mind → Writing

WHICH IS BETTER IN THE BOY/GIRL YOU LIKE?
068. Lips or eyes → Eyes
070. Shorter or taller - Taller
072. Romantic or spontaneous → Spontaneous
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → Nice arms
074. Sensitive or loud→ Sensitive
075. Hook-up or relationship → Relationship
076. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither

HAVE YOU EVER:
080. Lost glasses/contacts → No
081. Ran away from home → No
082. Held a gun/knife for self defense → No
083. Killed somebody → No
084. Broke someone's heart → Yes
085. Been arrested → No
087. Cried when someone died → Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
089. Yourself → I often do.
090. Miracles → Yes
091. Love at first sight → No
092. Heaven → Yes
093. Santa Claus → Yes (for my son)
094. Tooth Fairy → same as above
095. Kiss on the first date → Why not

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now → Yes. My son.
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life → Yes, although life is not perfect.
099. Do you believe in God → Yes
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 20 people→ Post 100 truths but opening this tag to everyone.


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Friday, April 10, 2009

Lenten Season

Hi friends. I'm sorry I haven't returned your visits lately. I will make it up to you soon. I will be taking a day off from blogging. I won't be able to join this week's Aloha Friday and Photo Hunt. I will be back on Easter.

May you have a meaningful Lenten season. God bless.

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Thursday, April 09, 2009

A Nice Reunion With Mommy Bloggers

Last Year (March 2008)

Last March 1, 2008, I met Raq and her beautiful family for the first time while they were on vacation in the Philippines. We had dinner at Burgoo (Podium) with other mommy bloggers.

L-R: Raq with daughters, Dine, Noemi, Cookie and Wenchie with their respective daughters, Feng (center), me, Lynn and Julie.


This Year (April 2009)

Raq is back in the country and last Tuesday evening was a perfect opportunity for a nice reunion with other mommy bloggers. The get together was held in the very same place as last year. It was a fun and memorable evening with friends. We missed some of the people from last year but it's nice to meet new friends. I'm very happy to meet Annamanila in person. It was also a pleasure to meet Aileen for the first time.


Back (L-R): Salen, me, Wenchie, Chats, Jane, Dine, Annamanila and Julie Front/Seated (L-R): Noemi, Aileen and Raq


I just love how blogging intertwines people and weaves friendships.


My son, Yohan was delighted to meet my blog friends.
(Photo borrowed from
Jane.)


Below are just some of the delicious dishes that evening.

Stone baked pizza


Seasoning the salad.


Seafood Caesar Supreme


Thank you Raq for the delicious dinner and the yummy chocolates.


After dinner I joined some of the mommy bloggers for a round of coffee and pastries. I enjoyed the chit chat and the laughter. I don't get to join them as often as I want but I always appreciate the moments I share with them.

Hope to see you again girls.


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Friday, March 06, 2009

Aloha Friday #61

Rules: Post any question on your blog on a Friday, share your answer and sign Kailani's Mr. Linky. Then have fun answering the questions of fellow participants by visiting their blogs.

Share something interesting you learned from another blogger?

I saw an interesting dish at Ibyang's blog a few days ago. I copied the ingredients and procedure and asked hubby if he could make the same dish at home. He said yes but didn't really say when he was going to make it.

When I got home from our son's school today, hubby surprised me with this Creamy Baked Potato dish. I love the rich creamy sauce on the bed of potatoes. You can check out the recipe at Ibyang' site.


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Saturday, February 28, 2009

HaloScan Problem

Some of my blog friends told me that they couldn't leave comments on my site today. My comment box is having a problem. I tried visiting other friends who are also using HaloScan and it seems my problem is not an isolated one. Apparently, there is a problem with HaloScan right now. :( I hope things will resume to normal soon.

For the mean time, kindly leave your comments on my chat box (located at the left side of my blog). Thank you.

edited: 5:05 p.m.:
I received this in my email:

Hi Rachel,

I just wanted to personally apologize for the Haloscan outage. We're working hard to restore full services.

You can learn about the issue here: http://blog.js-kit.com/2009/02/27/haloscan-outage/

Cheers,

Chris

Chris Saad
VP Product and Community Strategy

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Monday, February 23, 2009

Free Wordpress Theme

I have been blogging for a few years now. My passion for online journaling continues to grow stronger each year. Heart of Rachel is very special to me because it's my very first blog. I also have a wordpress account which is hosted for free by a dear blog friend as a bonus gift for joining her blog contest.

My wordpress account is very simple. I think it would be refreshing to change the theme. For those who are looking for beautiful wordpress themes, you can check out Premium Free WordPress Themes. The site offers many unique, lovely and interesting themes. The best part of all is that they are free.

BuyBlogReviews.com

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Maver's Blog Birthday Bonanza

My blog pal and grade school classmate, Maver of Gossip Gehl is celebrating her 1st blog anniversary in just seven days. She's giving away a Smart Prepaid Broadband Kit! Check out her Blog Birthday Bonanza to learn more.

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Jeanny's Birthday Giveaway

Jeanny of Starting a New Life is celebrating her birthday this coming Feb. 15, 2009. To celebrate this special day, she is giving away a Moleskine Large Ruled Notebook. Everyone is welcome to join. Click here to learn more about her birthday giveaway. This contest will run until the February 15, 11:59pm, Manila Time. Winners will be drawn via randomizer.

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Looking For Extra Income?

I was just watching the news last night and I was alarmed about the mass lay offs happening in many companies, not only in the Philippines but around the world. In fact, I was shocked when I found out that a big and well-known manufacturing company is closing down. It seems that many people have lost their jobs because of the global financial crisis. Thousands of people are jobless and many more are scared of losing their jobs this year. The rising financial instability has become a major concern for a lot of people.

Tough times call for a cutback on spending. Everyone should learn to be practical and wise with their purchases. With the unstable economy, it is best to save money whenever possible. Set aside luxury and consider what is practical and necessary.

Find ways to earn extra income. If you enjoy spending time on the computer, then make your online time fun and beneficial. Did you know that you can make money blogging? Nowadays, people of different ages have online journals, often referred to as blogs. There a lot of personal blogs and there are some that have specific topics like fashion, food, parenting, home and living. Find out more about how to submit and verify a blog and start earning some extra money.
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