When April 1, 2011 came, I hurried myself to Bacolod-Silay International Airport and after a few hours later… I was already at the doorways of Malcolm Hall, UP Diliman, Quezon City. The first bloggers I met was fellow mommy bloggers from Pinay Mommies Community. They were all fun and accommodating.

Image Courtesy of Mhel Ignacio

As the first day of iBlog7 progressed, I was able to hear many great speakers talk about different things. One of the most memorable talks for me was about the 10 Power Blogging Tips by Carlo Ople. He discussed the following in the most profound and lively manner:

1. Maximize your best “SEO’d” blog entries
2. Social Media is not just putting a “Share Button”.
3. Be Relevant
4. Don’t think small.
5. Learn PowerPoint.
6. Build Content Partnerships
7. Go for Direct Advertisers
8. Don’t just rely on Advertising.
9. Become Better Writers
10. Care.

iBlog7 Day 1 – Image Courtesy of Fitz Villafuerte

On the second day, the talk by Roy dela Cruz on Writer’s Block was one of the most lively and entertaining discussion. He gave a truthful perspective on the reasons why bloggers or writers have writer’s block and how to deal with it. Fitz Villafuerte also shared practical things on how to create blog traffic without SEO.

Another talk on the second day was given by my kumare Ria Tirazona. She gave her presentation on Blogging, Social Networks, Online Relationships as Support System. Not that because she is one of the godmother of my daughter Bella Grace but in fairness she was great and her talk has content, humor and warmth!

iBlog7 Day 2 – Image Courtesy of Fitz Villafuerte

As the two-day summit came to a close, I was so happy and sad at the same time. My first iBlog experience was a blast and very educating. I learned a lot about many things that can surely help my blogging career more productive. Aside from that, I met a lot of bloggers that I never knew I would see face to face!!

To the organizers of iblog, Ms. Janet Torral and her staff, thank you very much for bringing this event to us bloggers. You made blogging in the Philippines more exciting and educational as ever!

My conclusion on IBlog7, all the best things in life are indeed FREE!! For iBlog8, I am already looking forward to it!!

Come to think of it though, companies make random drug testing a protocol when screening applicants because they want to avoid the ill effects of substance abuse in the workplace like tardiness, absenteeism, poor production, attitude problems, theft, and to some extent crime and violence. When employees are asked to subject themselves to drug testing by a company, they are being asked to do so not only for themselves but for the company’s welfare as well.

When potential employees Pass a Drug Test, then the company has good reason to hire them. But if they fail it, then the company has probable cause to decline an employment application and in the process, they are able to nip possible long-term problems in the bud even before things go out of hand.

I mean, you try to plan your life and expect good returns but somehow, along the way, life plays tricks on you.

I remember that when a friend of mine got pregnant, she had a pretty calm first trimester. While many women suffer a lot during this time, she was pretty okay. But when her second trimester came, problems arose when she started experiencing pain on her back. As it turned out, she had a kidney stone that got dislodged on her ureter, hence the pain. She got hospitalized twice and was home confinement until the stone came out.

On her second time at the hospital, she and her husband had a picture taking before she was released. Since they were the only ones in the room, they put the camera on the serving table and had it on timer. It was okay. But when her husband passed by the table, he accidentally hit it and the camera fell on the floor. The lens broke.

They had to buy a new Olympus digital camera as it was the cheapest at that time. Although they had to get it on credit, my friend decided to have one because she wanted her baby to have baby pictures as she was giving birth in two months. They were already drained with hospital bills and then they had to buy a camera because of a freak accident. Thankfully, Olympus cameras are pretty affordable but of good quality.

Speaking of Filipinas married to foreign nationals, I have heard countless love stories on how they met their love of their life. Most of them started as pen pals, chat mates and met through friends who have been married earlier to foreign nationals too. While some of them became members of dating communities like those who allow foreigners the opportunity on meeting Asians online.

Cross-cultural marriages are a trend nowadays especially westerners marrying Asian women. I have seen a lot of white people here in our city and carrying their half-Filipino and half-American (or whatever nationality is the husband) children walking with their Filipina wives/mom.

As for me, I always thought of marrying a foreigner when I was younger but somehow it didn’t become my cup of tea. I married a Filipino and somehow (after all what we have gone through) I didn’t regret my decision. But guess what, my daughter who is still 10 years old has plans to marry an American “blonde” guy with blue eyes!! She is young but yet so descriptive about her taste already!! Hehehe…

Speaking about getting ready for Mother’s Day, I just saw a website with a lot of resources where you can order online gifts and special Mother’s Day flowers. It will be easier for you to get prepared and get it done. So, if you are interested, you can visit at http://giftsnflowers.webs.com. There is no harm if you are always advance and prepared!

I think I wanna try those first before seriously getting an acne treatment in beauty clinics. Maybe some homemade herbal acne treatment may work for me. I may save a lot of moolah if it works.

Rules :
1. Just choose any mother’s day graphics from zwani to greet the mommies you know.
2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs.
3. Tag other mommies you know.

This is really hard…I have a lot of mommy friends and when I visited their blogs, most of them have this king of tag already. So, I am sharing this to few for now but if you like doing this, please tag along too!

| Expression and Thoughts | The Nambiars | Lalaine’s World | Pinay WAHM | Brown Pinay | Faery Dancing | Never Dainty | Just the Way it Is | Purple Sky |

Enjoy Mommies!!

By the way, I almost forgot where I saw this contest because my PC closed down. So when I was trying to retrieve the URL, I couldn’t remember. It was really nice for the owner to visit me back at my Blog Catalog profile to leave a message about the contest.

So now, here is my post at last. I really wanted to join because $25.00 is already a lot here in the Philipppines and it can really help us in our daily needs at home and for the children. I wish I could win! By the way, you might want to join too. CLICK HERE to join!