Boggle Me Thursday

If you like to play Boggle, then you can join this meme. It is fun and it improves word skills. To participate, just click on the Boggle Me Thursday button below.








It's been a while since I joined Boggle Me Thursday.  I thought I'd take a break and have a little fun with this today.  I found 34 words.  As usual, I use Wordle to create this presentation of words

Playing on the words - Use in a sentence (silly or otherwise).
Anyone who can line a pile of peas with his lip on the tile and sane enough to ail like an ape and sail inside a tin pail is my pal.

How to Use Common Office Supplies to Make a SUPER Office Supply!

Image from Office100.com

Here's a post about how I can use and combine three common office supplies to help me organize my reminder notes at home or in the office.  For this project, I will use

• Clip-Tabs - These come in 3 different sizes (S, M, L) and various cute colors.  There are also preprinted hearts and polka-dots design available.
• Magnetic Tape Roll - These are flexible magnetic tape with adhesive which you can use to magnetize photos and craft projects
• Note pads - You can use any small paper also or stationery if you wish

All I need to do is take a clip-tab, cut about an inch of magnetic tape roll and tape it on one side of the clip-tab.  The clip-tab is also writable so I can write on the other side the name of each of my kids.  I can use their favorite color, too.  Now, that the clip-tab is magnetized, I can attach it to any magnetic surface like the white board or on our steel cabinet door.

Image by paav-o, Stock.xch

I actually thought of this Super office supply for 2 purposes.  The first is to help me organize my notes about the schedule and to-do lists of my 4 kids who go to school.  This would include their schedule of quizzes and due dates for different projects.  Added here are the things that they request to buy for school. I will also make one for my personal to-do list.  With lots of things to remember, I can be forgetful, you know.  There were occasions that I missed teaching my kids for their quizzes because I forgot or overlooked it.

The second is to help me organize my notes in the kitchen.  I like to put my favorite recipe notes posted on our fridge door.  With this handy clip-tab, I don't have to fill-up our fridge door with post it notes.  Only one clip tab and I have about 30 pages of recipe notes in one place. 

Do you think this is helpful?

Ideas for Kid's Packed Lunch to School

Photo image by sykospike, Stock.xchng

School has been ongoing for more than a month now and I feel a little guilty about the packed lunch I prepare for my kids to school.  It has most often been rice meals with fried or processed foods like fried chicken, chicken nuggets, fried fish fillet, hotdog or longganiza.  Though sometimes, I prepare sauteed vegetables together with the fried items, and at times I prepare spaghetti or adobo.

I need some new packed lunch ideas or dishes which are easy to prepare and cook (because my mornings are time pressured); not quickly perishable (because they bring it to school in the morning so it has to be safe to eat until lunch); budget friendly ( I have 4 kids going to school so it should be cost friendly); and of course healthy meals to sustain my active kids.

I used Google search and one of the top sites that came up Home Packed Lunches Your Kids Will Eat offers 2 sets of 5 day packed lunch menu.  The other site Lunch Box Ideas also gives a variety of healthy options for preparing packed lunches like tortilla/wraps/burritos, burgers, pizza, pasta based meals.  Hmmm....I think I need to take cookery classes which is actually not a bad idea at all.

I need to find a cookery school  like Seasoned Courses in our place where I can learn basic cooking and practical skills of preparing food in a variety of food groups like meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and pasta.  It's good that they have 1-3 days cookery courses, perfect for busy moms like me.  They also say that with their courses, "you will learn how to make good, tasty food with minimal cost, fuss and time - so you can prioritise other things!"  That is simply what I'm looking for.

I actually have been wanting to take short course cooking lessons for a long time.  I'm thinking not only using it for preparing for my kids' meals but also it can blossom into a home-based business.  I've read of an inspiring story about a mom who instead of just preparing packed lunches for her kids, ended up preparing packed lunches for other kids in her child's school.  That is a profitable idea, isn't it?

Anyway, for now let me just share this video with cool packed school lunch ideas.  Hope this post was helpful.

PeopleString Paid Me

Finally, last July 19, 2010, I received my first payment of $26.78 in my AlertPay account from PeopleString after a year of joining, though I've just been active for only 6 months.  Here's the payment proof. 

It was really not that difficult to earn with PeopleString, it actually blends into my daily activities online.  I do not spend anything here but I get to earn using the program and I learn something, too, from the friends I get to know there.  Check my previous post about PeopleString to know how I earn here or check out my other blog PeopleString 101.  Hope you can also join me at PeopleString (note: this is my referral link).

5 Ways to Save on Birthday Parties

Kristel just celebrated her 6th birthday!  Thank you, Lord, for blessing her through the 6 years!  I pray that she will be even more blessed this year with wisdom, good health and safety.  We had a lot of fun, though we didn't really spend that much.  That's good, right?  To add some more value to this post, let me share with you some ways to save when celebrating birthday parties.

1.  Host the party at home, in a park or as in Kristel's case, we asked a friend if we could celebrate the party in their place because they have a pool.  It's just so hot that everyone likes to have dip in the pool.  If we went out and rented a resort, that would cost us way too much.

2.  Cook the food yourself, that is tedious (I know), but you get to save a lot.  Think of food to serve that you can prepare a day ahead, like lumpiang shanghai, chicken macaroni salad or your desert..  If you can't cook, ask someone, a nice friend or a cook, to cook it for you, just buy the ingredients.  Even if you pay the cook, it would still come out cheaper than ordering food from the restaurant or a catering business. 


Want to make your own birthday cake?  Need some birthday cake ideas?   Check out birthday in a box for lots of helpful birthday cake ideas.

3.  If you would be having games for kids, just prepare with a friend a list of games the kids can play instead of hiring an entertainer.  The Amazing Moms have a nice list of party games for kids but it didn't include the popular hit the palayok and pabitin games of Filipino children.  Then, buy simple game rewards like stickers, chocolates / candies or simple toys.  It would be a good idea to have some printed coloring pages to keep the kids busy as well.  (Note:  We didn't have any games, the kids just can't wait to have fun swimming in the pool.)

4.  Party decorations?  Be creative and resourceful.  Use what you already have from the house like the poster of your son's favorite character displayed in their room (just borrow it first).  Get a cartolina and post several  photos of your son then write a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (print an outline of the letters and color it, if your handwriting is not so good).  You can dazzle it with some glitters (use glitter glue for less mess).

5. Keep your guests to a minimum.  You don't have to invite everyone you know especially if it's a children's party.  Close friends and families in the party will keep the party warm, manageable and fun.

Would you share some of the budget ways you celebrate your birthday parties?

Contests to Join - Win $50+ and Cool Gadgets

I'm talking about 2 ongoing contests that bloggers can join.  One is super easy while the other will require some artistic talent.  Let's talk about the super easy contest first.

It is the contest being hosted by Elevated Design Group with theme Sizzling Hot Summer Promo 2010.  The mechanics of the contest is simple, just grab their badge, put in on your blog's sidebar and sign-up for the contest.  Take note that to qualify, your blog must have PR1 and is updated at least twice a week.

There will be 3 winners who will take home $50.  There is also a referral promotion side to this contest, you will get $1 for every PR2 Blog you referred (only for the first 200 blogs referred) to join the contest.  So please, if you decide to join the contest don't forget to put my name Chin chin and blog name Stay at Home Blessings in the referred by info. 

To join the contest, just click here.  Hurry, the contest will end August 23, 2010.

The second contest is one being hosted by Sulit.com.ph, one of the best places online to post your free ads and promote your business.  It's one place I have been successful at getting referrals for my affiliate programs like PeopleString.  If you're not taking advantage of using the services of this site for your business, you are missing a lot.

Anyway, they are having a banner making contest that will run from July 5 to August 8, 2010.  If you think you're artistic enough to create an outstanding banner for Sulit, try to design an entry, you might just win an Apple iMac, or a Blackberry cellphone (3 will be awarded) or an Apple iPod Touch.

This contest is open to all members of Sulit.com.ph.  So, if you haven't joined Sulit yet, click here to join now.
Here’s a summary of what you have to do if you will join the contest:

1. Create a banner creatively displaying and depicting the new tagline of Sulit.com.ph: “Buy It! Sell It! Sulit!”
2. Post the banner you created on your blog and link it to http://www.sulit.com.ph.
3. Once published, submit the URL of your blog post to promos@sulit.com.ph or reply to the forum post where  you can get all the contest details.  Click here to see the forum post.

Having a Better Organized Home

As of now, we (take note we are 7 in the family) live in a one-bedroom house which we rent.  Can you imagine how we sleep on our bed?  Or how we can squeeze all our things in such a small space?  If you chance upon our house and find it really neat and tidy, that's a miracle!  It's quite difficult to keep things organized for long because of having 5 small children in the family.

Having said that, I still dream of the day when we can have a home of our own - a better organized home.  I envision it not to be like a big mansion; just a simple house, but it must at least have

• 3 bedrooms: 1 for my husband and me, 1 for our sons and 1 for our daughters  
• a small library because I love reading books and that can also be a home office for us
• a kitchen that have enough space because I like baking and cooking especially when I'm in the mood.                  Photo image by barunpatro, Stock.xchng

To help better organize all our stuff, it would be great to have built-in shelves for our library and built-in wardrobes for the bedrooms.  That wouldn't just look   gorgeous but also makes organizing things easier and clutter-free. That would also maximize efficient use of the living space.  If our budget would still allow, fitted kitchen shelves and appliances would be great.  Who wouldn't be motivated more to cook delicious meals in a kitchen like that?

For those living in North London,  it is quite easy to find professional carpentry services that is able to do just that.  Visit L.A. London Carpentry's website and see how beautiful their finished projects are.  From the bedroom's built-in wardrobes to the bathroom and kitchen fittings, they sure deliver high standards of workmanship and services. 

As for carpentry services like that in the Philippines, I think I will scout for that when the time comes for us to build our dream home.  Hmmm.  I wonder when will that be?

7 Ways to Save on School Expenses

Since June this year, we are sending 4 of 5 of our kids to school.  If we don't think of ways to save on school expenses, we might spend more than what our budget allows.  So, I'm listing here some of the ways we're saving on school expenses.  Hope this helps give mommies and daddies out there an idea to save some money.


1.  Reuse old school bags.  I don't have to buy new school bags if their old ones are still usable.  I'm glad that the bags our 2 boys used last year are still good to go.  I just have to wash or clean them so they can use them again this year.

2.  Hand-me downs.  Are you accepting charities?  Well, my kids usually receive old stuff from our friends who already have bigger kids.  Would you believe that the first owner of the water bottle and lunch bag that my Janel use is already 13 years old? 

One thing that I like about having kids that have 2-3 year gaps is that the younger can use the older's stuff like clothes, shoes, etc.  Good thing that my kids aren't that picky, so we're saving money in using those school uniforms, socks and shoes (unless of course they're too worn out, in that case, we buy).

3.  Buy from second hand stores.  Well, items from second hand stores are cheaper.  Just look at these Hannah Montanna and Lulu Caty bags I bought.  They still look and actually smell pretty new when I got them.  They just cost me about Php120 each.  That gave me about Php500 savings compared to buying brand new ones. 

You can also buy text books or reference books from second hand stores.  Though now, most of the books of my children need to be new because they write on their school books.  Unlike long ago, our books have separate text book and work book.  Now, publishers have combined both to make worktext book. 

There are also second hand stores that buy used books.  So, if you have some old books that you want to sell, you can make some money out of them.

4.  Reuse old notebooks.  My sons' old note books still have a lot of blank pages.  What I did was to collate all the blank pages, staple them all together, put a new plastic covering and ... presto... I've saved on about half a dozen notebooks.  I remember when I was still studying, I used the spring bound notebooks.  When classes are over, I remove the spring, collate all the blank pages, and sew them all together with a yarn.  See, even while young I've been frugal... good huh?

5.  Bring packed snack and lunch to school.  Not only do I know if my young kids are eating at school, I also find this less expensive compared to buying their food from the school canteen.  If I buy their snack in bulk from the supermarket, and cook their lunch myself, I save on food expenses.

6.  Give allowances in buying uniforms.  When we buy or custom-made uniforms for them, we give size allowances so that they can use the uniforms for the whole year.  Kids really grow fast, and I don't mind saving some cash by not having to buy another set of school uniforms in the middle of the school year.


7.  Lastly, we have to teach our kids to take care of their things.  We have to teach them to fix their things like pencils, erasers, crayons, etc and make sure that they have it in their bags before going home.  Having to buy extra little things like these can add up.

Well, that's all for this post of mommy savers tips.  Feel free to add more ideas to the comments section.

How Can VoIP Help Me Save Money?

I've been seeing lots of advertisements about how VoIP can help lessen your communication costs.  Some even claim users can make free calls.  What is VoIP anyway?  VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol.  It is the general term used for technology which delivers voice communication over IP networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks.

How can this benefit me?  If you want to cut down some expenses especially for those long distance calls, you would want to use VoIP.  Instead of using a traditional telephone line which charges per-minute or second for long-distance calls, why not use the internet connection.  VoIP calls are charged per megabyte or per amount of information sent over the internet and not according to the time connected.  Hence, costs are lower.  If you already have a PC and internet connection, you can greatly benefit from using VoIP.  I've been using VoIP for making lower cost long distance calls, free chatting with friends online and even sending free SMS anywhere in the world.

Don't know how this VoIP works?  I found this site called TruVoIPBuzz.  It gives all the tips and tricks that you need to know about VoIP and gives reviews about services that will truly give you the most value for your money or get them free.  Check out this user-friendly site and start getting answers to all your VoIP questions.