Have you experienced receiving something, say, a present or a package, that you’ve been expecting for quite some time and got so excited that you actually opened it as soon as you get it? I did, many times before, and I experienced it again today.

I received a notice from the post office this morning about something I have to pick up. Even if it didn’t say anything more specific, I knew right away whom it was from. So right after lunch, I went to get it. I was right. It was the prize I won last month from a little contest by Karen of My Funny Dad, Harry.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Karen.

Here’s the book that came with a bookmark.  And no rubber shoes (winking at Karen).

And because I arrived at school to pick up Jeff earlier than usual, I was able to read the first few pages while waiting.  I’ll tell you more about the book as soon as I finished reading it.  Meanwhile, this book entitled My Funny Dad, Harry is out in the market.  You may get in touch with Karen for orders and more information.

Later, people!

Finally! After two long weeks, the washing machine is now working.

There was this washing machine repairman who went to our house to fix the dryer. The dryer was fixed, but he did something that made the water in the washer to not drain. I called him and texted him many times, but either he didn’t answer, or texted back saying he’ll come over the next day. This went on for over two weeks and he never came. To make a long story short, I decided to call another company and they got it fixed yesterday afternoon. This is why instead of tomorrow (I do the laundry every Saturday), I washed the clothes this morning while Jeff was at school enjoying their Christmas Party.

Few minutes later, one LBC guy came with the Starbucks planner I won at Lagawan. Here it is!

Thanks again, Audrey!

And lastly, the two-week holiday vacation starts today! Yesterday was the last school day of 2008 and classes will resume on Jan05, 2009. Sweet!

I’m having my lucky week because I won two contests in a row!

First, Karen of My Funny Dad, Harry had this guessing game contest where I won a free autographed book she wrote in memory of her Dad.

Second, AudreyRose of Lagawan held a Starbucks planner contest where I won a 2009 Starbucks planner!

Both items will be mailed to me and I can’t wait to have them already!

More about these two great Christmas gifts soon, so stick around

image from: images were stolen from their respective blogs

One of the contests I sponsored has drawn its winners.

Big congratulations to Kathie of SimplyWP for a successful contest and Matt of RagingRev for winning first prize. As part of his winnings, I have reserved a spot for his 125X125 ad button here at Only in Silence. So go over there and congratulate him by simply clicking his ad there on the top right.  To check out Kathie and her WordPress themes and for the full list of winners, click here.

Meanwhile, I am still open in sponsoring blog contests, so please don’t hesitate to leave a message or contact me when you have one.  Also, I am accepting ads for only $5/month.  For more info, click here.

Again, congratulations Kathie and Matt, and to all the winners as well

I am sure many of us have received, been given or made a ‘friendship bond’ for our own circle of friends. It is a way to tell the world that you’re best friends with your pals. But nothing beats the bond of a mother and her child. The photo above shows the ‘bond’ between me and my son who is now 10 years old and currently in 5^th grade. I still keep these pink and blue bracelets of ours that have our names on it. Our names there may fade and Jeff’s bracelet no longer fits him, but we will remain mother and son forever.

This post is also an entry to a contest hosted by Carlota of Dashing Smiles. Thanks, Carlota!

Yes, I am so happy today! My husband is now on board a flight to Manila and we are picking him up this afternoon at the airport. Our son is preparing a little welcome banner for him. He said he wants to surprise his father with it.

I am already done preparing his things here. Everything is in order now. Last night, as we were chatting, he asked for sinigang na baboy (a famous Filipino dish) for dinner. Right now, I am just taking a coffee break. I’m making some final touches here in our room.

Oh, man! Our son and I are really so excited to embrace him again! I am ecstatic, happy, excited! And so is our son, Jeff. The three of us will be watching a movie together next week, and some more other things. We are not wasting any time of the entire 51 days Dario is here.

By the way, if you want to join some contests and win some cool prizes and free cash online, check out pwengbee.com. This guy knows just where everything is happening around the web, contest-wise. So, if you want to try out your luck, visit his website.

Talk to you again later, people!

Today was just an ordinary day. I woke up with morning breath and my eyes full of muta (I don’t know what’s that called in English, but we call it muta in Filipino – you know the thing that lurks in the dark and before you knew it, it has taken over the little space in your eyes where your tears fall?) Anyway, I went on my usual routine – washed my face, gargled, got a cup of coffee, went back to my room, turned the PC on and checked my emails.

Today was just an ordinary day . . . . . or so I thought.

As I logged in to my blog to post about my newly found identity, I was surprised when I noticed a new link in the ‘Incoming Links’ section in my Dashboard. I clicked on it thinking that it was just a link from a site that I left a comment previously. It was, but not as I expected. The link said ‘Winner of Drawings – March26, 2008’ and it took me to the site where I left a comment yesterday. This was what I found out:

I won the Graphics Package and this blog is going to be pretty! So as directed, I emailed Marie, the host of the contest, to claim the prize. I am just waiting for her response.

Meanwhile, I have been asking around for some help with my little problem here. Under the category ‘the life of an ordinary earthling‘, I have 18 posts including this one. But when I click on it, it only shows 10 posts and I can’t see a ‘previous entries‘ link at the bottom. Why is that? Can anyone tell me how to fix this? I hope someone provides me with a step by step procedure because I am not well-versed with codes. Thanks so much, guys!

Update: The little problem I was talking about has just been fixed tonight. Thanks to Ivan of Mabuhay Hosting Philippines.

Though I have been blogging for a year now, I am very sure that every pro blogger will definitely refer to me as ‘kid’. This blog, under my own domain, has just been launched last month as my gift to my 31^st birthday and I am very proud of this one. I consider having my own site as one of my little accomplishments in life. Yes, you may laugh and others may think, ‘Abelle, you’re so shallow!’ But sometimes, it’s my patting my own back that makes me smile, and laugh, like nobody’s looking. (Actually, sometimes there was nobody, because my son was in school and everybody’s downstairs )

I haven’t perfected yet the art of blogging and there are a lot more that I have to learn - making quality content, getting a decent rank and all. And until now, I find it hard to get some codes working. I wanted so much to have my own header as part of my ‘branding’, as well as some banners and buttons so it will be easier to promote my blog. I know there are websites out there that can help me with this, but I don’t want to spend some money for things that I know I can’t do – I don’t know how to play around the codes in my header and I’m afraid I might mess it up. But I know someone can help me with this. I’m talking about the prize CelebratingWomensDay.com is giving away. I am entering the contest today because I wanted so much to make this blog different and succeed. With the help of that Graphics Package I’m eyeing, I know I can make it.