Raising funds is not easy. I admire people who take it upon themselves to raise funds to help those who are needy. Sometimes it takes creativity to be able to think of successful fundraising ideas. Even the churches who goes out of their way to help the poor need to be creative for their church fundraiser ideas.
I remember one story about this. It’s actually related to the game bingo. Back in 1930s when Bingo was just gaining popularity a clergyman approached the person who devised the game of Bingo. The clergyman wanted to use the game for fundraising in their church but in order for the fundraising to be successful they need at least 6,000 bingo cards. If you’re familiar with the game bingo you’ll know that each bingo card should be unique to ensure that only one will win in the game. So they approached a mathematics professor and paid him for the task. The payment was going to get bigger for each unique number combination bingo card he devised. It was pretty easy at first but soon it became harder and harder. The professor realized too late how hard his task was. He completed all the 6,000 cards alright but it cost him his sanity. Poor guy. This is actually a true story you can go and research for the history of Bingo.
Thankfully, now nobody has to lose their minds for fundraising events like that.  We have computers now to make our job easier and we have companies that can help us think of fundraising ideas. Instead of a bingo fundraiser they can opt for a lollipop fundraiser which can be highly profitable because they are so easy to sell as well as selling funny tshirts. Whatever fundraising idea they come up with it’s better to do research first to ensure a successful fundraising event.

Hubby was chatting with his cousin at Facebook today.  We were surprised that his cousin, whom we just saw a few months back, is now working in Macau.  When I heard he was in Macau I immediately thought he was working in a Casino.  Macau is now known as the Las Vegas of Asia ever since it legalized Gambling.  We later learned that his cousin was working as a service attendant in one of the bars there.  He was encouraging my hubby to apply because he said the pay is good plus the work was not too hard.  Apparently, there were lots of jobs in Macau and he can refer hubby easily to his boss.

I was curious with his job offer but not for my husband.  I was thinking about my friend who badly needs a job.  She would benefit from this job because she’s now a single mother but before I could tell her about the job she told me she already got accepted at a job nearby.

Still hubby told me he was seriously considering accepting his cousin’s offer.   I told hubby if he wanted to work in a casino he can just apply at an Online Casino so he wouldn’t have to go that far.  He laughed and said he was just teasing me.  He knew he would never survive a day without his family and he would miss us too much if he goes overseas.  Anyway, I’m thankful that hubby doesn’t need to go overseas to get a job and because of internet he can easily find a job when he needs to.  Telecommuting is getting more and more popular now which makes it easier for employees like us.  I myself have found a telecommuting job online which allows me to take care of my son 24/7.  It has made me a better worker because I don’t feel guilty anymore leaving my son everyday.

We don’t eat mussels or tahong often because we always fear that it might be infected with the red tide virus.  However, this morning when I heard the vendor selling mussels down the road I couldn’t resist buying some.  Tahong is so yummy and so easy to cook.  Since I’m no expert cook I’m always a fan of recipes that are fail safe and that even a newbie cook like me could prepare.  The problem was hubby didn’t like eating tahong so I had to feed him another meal.  It was fine with me because that meant I had the tahong all by myself.

Here is the recipe for Mussels (Tahong) soup:

Ingredients:

garlic, minced

onion, chopped

1 t ginger, julienned

1/2 k mussels

1/2 cup water

patis

salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

Saute garlic, onion, and ginger in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook until the onion is translucent.  When the onion is translucent add tahong.  Make sure that you have washed it thoroughly first and removed those that float.  Cook the tahong and stir occasionally for about two minutes.  Add water and patis.  Let simmer until all the shells have opened. Do not overcook tahong as it will shrink.  Before turning off the heat taste the soup to make sure it tastes good.  If it’s still lacking in flavor you can add a bit of salt and pepper.

After it was cooked I was still hesitant to eat so I researched online and when I was finally convinced we have no red tide alert in our area that’s when I ate it with gusto.  It was so yummy!  I can’t believe a food like this can taste so good and yet still so easy to cook.  Aside from that, it is so nutritious and so cheap too.  Would you believe that it’s only P20 for half a kilo? This means that food doesn’t have to be expensive to be healthy and tasty.

My son just loves mangoes!  We’re so fortunate this really delicious fruit grows locally in our country.  For as low as P60 (or even less when it’s in season) you can buy a kilo of this yellow fruit.  Z loves it and it doesn’t matter if he’s eating the fruit as is or drinking it as a mango shake.  Since mango shake is so expensive at the mall – and I know they put in a lot of sugar so it’ll taste sweet – I decided to make our own mango shake.  It’s so simple – I just need a cup of mango slices, add milk, sugar, and ice.  Put in a blender and voila – a nice homemade mango shake for my little boy.

If you’re looking for a snack then try the Gonuts Pizza.  It is shaped like a doughnut but tastes like a pizza.  What could be the best snack than combining your two favorites in one?  Gonuts Pizza costs as low as P25 (depending on the flavor) and you can buy this hot and fresh or frozen and ready to go.  The box has reheating instructions so you can taste it fresh at the comfort of your home.  So go now to your nearest Gonuts Pizza outlet and get a dozen for your merienda.

Z woke up not feeling well and suffering from fever and a headache.  Since I know that it’s not always wise to rush a sick child to the hospital – it’s better to observe first for a day or two – I gave him some paracetamol so his fever will subside.  Then I was alarmed because his eyes were wet and tears were threatening to fall down.  He said his headache was really bothering him.  So I got our secret cure for headaches – Efficascent Oil!   Formulated with Methyl Salicylate Camphor plus Menthol, Efficascent Oil gives a soothing effect that is effective in treating various aches and pains like gas pains, headaches, itchiness, and minor burns.  I massage the oil on Z’s forehead while telling him that this has been used by our family for generations for treating headaches.  He must have felt so relieved that afterwards he asked me to massage his stomach too.  That was two hours ago and now Z is already fever free thanks to the paracetamol and ache free thanks, of course, to Efficascent Oil.

I grew up listening to the songs of oldies.  My grandparents collected music tapes when I was a child and we had a wall full of those music tapes.  Actually, it was my grandfather who collected those tapes but he passed away when I was just three years old.  Even though I didn’t get the chance to know him I know by staring at our wall full of tapes that he liked music – a lot.  My grandmother played some of the tapes – her favorites but not all the time so when I was old enough to put a tape in a stereo I began discovering the music by myself.  That’s how I came to know Abba, Paul Anka, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka, and many others.  I had no idea who those were I just got some tapes at random and listened and found out that I liked their songs too.  How I wish I still have those tapes.  It’s the  one thing that links me and the grandfather I never knew.

I’m happy to be 29!   Thank you Lord for another year!

…I’m rushing to finish my work. I deserve a break of course and I’m going to host a birthday party for little ol’ me for the first time in years. I’m so glad because I have friends to celebrate it this year!haha Of course, there is the usual dilemma of what we are going to cook but at least I have the option to just buy something when everything else fails.

So here I am doing blog posts in between my transcription work. I have already filed my leave for tomorrow and hubby said we’re going to buy my cake this afternoon. I want suman from Antipolo and I’m still convincing hubby to drive there and get me some. For some reason I want Filipino foods – pansit, ginataan, suman. Maybe it’s because I really miss my lola at this point. She always would cook for me my favorite food for my birthday. This is the first time I will be celebrating my birthday without her. *sniff.

A couple of months ago I heard Photobucket was offering a free upgrade for three months.  Without any hesitation I tried it right away.  Now the three months are up and I’m sort of regretting my rash decision.  Whenever I log in my account it keeps on reminding me that the free trial was up and if I don’t upgrade permanently (with a fee, of course!) I would lose some of my images’ links.  Now I don’t know why it’s not letting me upload my pictures anymore.  I can see that I still have enough space left but every time I upload it gives me an upload failed error.  *sigh  Next time I won’t grab every free trials I encounter.  I’m really afraid what will happen to all the pictures I’ve uploaded in my account if I don’t give in a pay them. So now I’m just uploading my pictures directly into my blog server.  I know I shouldn’t worry because I have an unlimited storage in my server but here I am worrying anyway.