Big Money Opps

By now, most bloggers might have heard of PayPerPost’s new segmentation system which awards bloggers with high traffic blogs who gets the chance to take up opportunities paying as much as US$1000 for a single post!

Personally, I think the segmentation system benefits not only advertisers but good popular blogs as well. Advertisers has the option to set some criterias such as the minimum page rank and Alexa ranking that blogs must meet before bloggers may take their opportunities. Thus it enables advertisers to offer qualified blogs more attractive payments. While this is no doubt good news to bloggers with mighty and high traffic blogs, will those with lower ranking blogs see it as a big blow as they could only watch higher paying opportunities go by? I guess instead of seeing it in a negative way, one could strive harder on writing quality contents to boost their blogs popularity and ranking.

Eventhough my blog is not one of those high and mighty ones, there are opportunities from PayPerPost that I could take up every now and then. Whether your blog has low or high traffic, PayPerPost rewards all bloggers alike. I am just grateful to be given the chance to make some pocket money by blogging about anything under the sun.

PayPerPost strictly requires a disclosure for sponsored posts which I think is only fair as I would like visitors to my blog know for sure if a particular blog entry is sponsored and that I am getting paid for it.

PayPerPost also charges only 35% service fee unlike ReviewMe that charges a 100% markup. This simply means that qualified blogs would be able to get higher paying opportunities from PayPerPost more often and get to keep most of the money.

Garden Edging

Garden Edging
March 27, 2007

Haven’t got the chance to check out the new shopping complex yet. We decided to go to two landscaping supply places and to Flower Power, a plant nursery instead. I guess when something is just so near your home, we take it for granted that it’ll always be there and there is no rush to it.

We looked at some pavers for garden edging, calculated the costs, hmm figured that the cheapest method would be the typical brick-like pavers. But the only place we could get that type of pavers that best match our house roof and brick colours would be from Bunnings Warehouse. Each paver costs AU$0.84. We bought 10pcs of pavers and a bag of ready mix concrete. Kiwi G wanted to try it on a small area to see if he would be confident enough to handle the big job (front and backyard) all by himself. Will post in detail in my DIY blog if we are successful.

Mold

PPP: Mold
March 27, 2007

I didn’t know mold could cause health problems until a friend in the USA told me how her three children often fell sick because of mold in their house. They had to thoroughly clean the house and did a bit of renovation to rid the mold. That was a lot of stress to them.

If anyone wishes to avoid the stress and trouble that my friend had to experience, one could contact the New Jersey Mold Removal that does mold inspections, mold remediations and mold testings so one could get rid of existing molds in the house or just to be sure there is no mold hiding in the house which could lead to poor health for the kids and us too.

New complex opened!

Kmart near our home has opened and we weren’t even aware of it until we drove to the supermarket last evening (because I haven't had the chance to read the local free newspaper that was delivered to our house) and I saw the “Now Open” words on the humongous balloon at the roof top!

The new shopping centre was closed at the time (about 7pm when we went to check it out after leaving Coles supermarket). From the main road, we could see other stores such as the Curves health fitness club, a Chinese restaurant (already opened for business .. I walked in and had a look at the food on the trays .. yummm) and a grocery store busy stocking up (probably Greek). Couldn’t really peek what’s inside the complex. Saw a nail salon, Sport Stop, Noni-B, shoe shop and couldn’t see what else. Have to check it out. Yay yay yay, a new place to lepak.

Well, well, looks like there is now a good reason to take evening strolls on Thursdays eh? hahah (coz malls in Australia close by 5pm on other days and by 9pm only on Thursdays). Will try to capture photos of this place as I am sure it would be easier to imagine with some visuals but probably during cooler months though. We don’t like to go outdoors much due to the current hot sticky weather eventhough it is now Autumn.

This morning we went to have a look at a lawn nursery. I think we've made up our minds which type of grass to get ie one that requires less frequent mowing *LOL*. We learned so much about the different types of grass ever since we've been getting ready to lay the lawn. We also took notice of the neighbourhood's grasses which helped us narrow our choices.

After that we went to our usual shopping mall and the Asian grocer. By the time we got home it was already 4pm ... no point in checking out the new shopping complex near our place. Maybe tomorrow? Anyway, it was super hot today ... 33C where we are!! Gave me a headache. Tomorrow's temp is forecasted to be 21C ... phew!

Vonage VoIP Forum

I never knew there is such a large and informative site dedicated to Vonage VoIP product and services until I heard of Vonage VoIP Forum through PayPerPost. I browsed through the user friendly and easy to navigate Vonage VoIP Forum website and am certainly overwhelmed by the vast amount of information available. It has all the latest news (easy to read updates on the main page itself), reviews and every detail on Vonage VoIP Phone Service as well as an active forum catering for many topics. This is a must visit website for anyone who is new to Vonage VoIP Phone Service or considering signing up (there are links that lead you to sign up too - current promotion one month free of phone service upon sign up).

Spider Nest

Spider Nest
March 23, 2007

Photos - WARNING ... not advisable to look if you've just eaten.

I think I have finally found the source of spiders in the rumpus area of our home. I saw two tiny black baby spiders running on the hood of the baby rocker that was placed near the rumpus window. Bee was holding on to it to pull herself standing like she does most of the time.

I took a tissue, killed them and flushed them down the toilet. As Bee was again playing with the rocker, I decided to check it thoroughly to ensure there are no more spiders! Lo and behold, I found a spider nest on the folds of the hood!!! Gross!!

I took the rocker into the garage and killed another baby spider running on it. I left the nest there until Kiwi G came home so that he could see for himself.

So far, I have not seen any spiders in the rumpus anymore. Not sure if I got rid of the source or maybe it just so happen that the spiders didn't come visiting yet!

Cisco Business Solutions

PPP: Cisco Business Solutions
March 23, 2007

It is important for companies these days to improve and grow with technology otherwise, they may be left behind and possibly lose potential businesses. But with so many new things coming into the market, it could be a little difficult to source the best solutions to meet a company’s requirement.

This is where Cisco could help in various key areas such as wifi – its secure and reliable wireless networking and mobility solutions that enables companies of all sizes to increase productivity, workgroup collaboration and responsiveness by providing excess to employees at work, at home or on the road.

Sometimes it could be impossible to gather key management staff to attend meetings to resolve important issues that requires immediate action especially if key personnels are located in different branches throughout the country or globally. Cisco’s video conferencing enables meetings to be held without the need for staff to be gathered physically at any one place. This will help save time, travelling cost and most importantly, urgent corporate issues and decisions can be made instantly.

Other excellent services provided by Cisco are voip, secure networking and data centre

Long time no write

Long time no write

March 23, 2007

Wow, it's been awhile since I PPP-ed *LOL* Just been too lazy and all I wanted to do during my breaks (Bee's nap times) is to clear other stuff or think about napping myself but never did all the time. "What? Got free easy money also don't want? Dropping from the sky wor!"... hehehe that's what most people must be telling me. And no, I am not rich.

Well let's see if I could get into the mood of PPP from now on.

Target buying frenzy

Stella McCartney's designer range caused a buying frenzy at Target stores in Australia, tsk tsk! Full story from the Sydney Morning Herald. I've never taken note of Stella McCartney's clothing style - will need to see for myself next time I visit any Target store (next weekend maybe) and see what the hype is all about eventhough I'm not a fan of designer labels.

Feeling burnt

Just one of those days when I'm feeling burnt ... soooo tired, hehehe. No lah, not preggo, no plans yet. Been taking naps for the past two days after Kiwi G came home from work and he looked after Bee as well as took her out for walks - the weather has been cloudy and cooler lately.

Need to pay my 2005/06 tax soon! 3 more months and it'll be time to lodge the 2006/07 tax return - too quick!! Everything taxed, taxed, taxed including interests earned from bank's Term Deposit (FD as known in Msia) savings as if the bank's monthly charges of AU$6 per standard savings account isn't enough already :(

Oh and congratulations to Gene !! Very well deserved. Way to go, girl!

Free Cellphone deals

Cell phone, who hasn’t got one nowadays? From being a luxury item, it is now a necessity in life. Shopping for one at shop fronts can be a real headache often requiring much time checking out different outlets. With Wirefly, we can shop for cell phones at the comfort of our own home at anytime we like ... with a bag of chips and a can of coke nearby, no one will complain!

Wirefly’s free cell phone deals are worth checking out such as the Free Motorazr + $50 cash back and a bonus free Bluetooth headset with service activation. Other great deals on offer include the sleek T-Mobile V3+, Motorola RAZR V3 Black , LG Red Chocolate, Motorola RAZR V3m Pink and many more!

Not only are the prices unbeatable, they also offer free Fedex shipping and free return shipping. With a 100% satisfaction guarantee statement, it gives us all the more reason to shop there.

Their listing of top ten most popular free phones on its website helps make it easier to decide which phone to consider and eliminates the need to browse through each individual phone if one does not have that much time to spare.

Wirefly being the internet’s #1 one stop shop for cell phone deals, you can easily find the best phone plans that suits you. With a click of a mouse, you can check out the best Service Plans or Family Plans that suits you or perhaps you might prefer the prepaid plans which is also available on their website.

They have a wide range of accessories to choose from and you can even purchase ringtones there.

Wirefly has it all. Browsing through their online store makes me feel like a little kid walking into a candy store! Everything is so tempting with their excellent prices and free shipping + returns! I think I would need more than just one bag of chips and a can of coke to look through the many amazing deals on Wirefly.

Instant HarMee

Instant HarMee
March 08, 2007

Wow I never knew HarMee is available as instant HarMee these days! What a find, I saw it at the local Asian grocer last weekend. Of course I grabbed two packs without hesitation (encouraged by Kiwi G as he knows how much I love HarMee).

Each pack cost AU$2.60 and has 5 individual packets which makes it AU0.52 per individual packet. This is cheaper than Maggi's curry flavoured noodle!

I tried a packet already and I give it a thumbs up! The noodle is almost like any other instant noodle texture. The magic is in the flavouring. It does taste almost like the authentic HarMee soup, spicy and savoury, slurp, slurp!! Now, what next, instant nasi lemak that comes with instant sambal ikan bilis? I am waiting ...

My earnings

When I started this blog in year 2005, I have absolutely no idea that one day it would be possible to make some money by blogging about anything under the sun especially our own day to day life! Thanks to PayPerPost (PPP) for such golden opportunity. I haven’t earned much due to time constraint. In fact I have taken only four opportunities thus far (since my blog was approved back in Jan 29?). I have earned US$11 which has been paid into my Paypal account, a far cry from what I read on other blogs.

I can’t say I could do much with this small sum at this time but perhaps by the end of this year, the earnings would hopefully accumulate to a more substantial amount as I continue to take on opportunities. I could then use the money to make several people happy with Christmas presents! This will include getting my little girl, Phoebe to place gifts under those charitable Christmas trees usually located in shopping malls!

And of course, PPP has an option for us to donate some of our earnings to two charities which I MUST do so by end of this year. I must say, when I first signed on to PPP, I was very surprised yet happy to see the “donate to charity” option in PPP. It is nice to see such initiative by a large company!

Unpacked my clothes

Unpacked my Clothes

March 07, 2007

After close to a year, I have finally freed my clothes from the six suitcases! I can't believe all six suitcases contained my clothes alone! i don't need to buy new clothes for the next ten years - that is if the impossible happens ie my body doesn't expand sideways, hahaha! Photos below show the pile of clothes in the bedroom while I was sorting them out. Thick winter clothing occupies the most space!

The ugly old tallboy has been moved into the walk-in-robe as we have bought a new one.

Free AntiVirus Software

These days it is difficult to avoid spams and nasty emails that contain Trojan viruses designed to steal information from computers. We cannot possibly read through each email in detail in order to find out what’s safe and what’s not. This includes visiting webpages too. Yes I have had viruses infecting my PC while surfing onto webpages which were designed to spread viruses (I didn't know any better and I was Googling for information only)! Thank goodness there is Norton Antivirus to clean my computer of the viruses and to filter/quarantine nasty email viruses!

The best thing is, you can download free Norton Antivirus. Here is a screenshot of how it works. PC Mag and CNET have given good reviews on it too. It is worth checking out lots of other software freebies from this site, such as Ad Aware, Google Picasa, Gallery Player, etc.

Autumn Rain

Autumn Rain

March 06, 2007

For the past two evenings, it's been raining cats and dogs with bolts of thunder! My lil one was twice shocked by the thunder. They were really loud and the flash lightning was constant as if Angels were taking photographs of earth from the sky above! Spectacular yet frightening! I remember those days back in Hornsby before we had Bee. We just stood at our apartment bedroom window and looked at the lightning fireworks in the sky!

Autumn began on 1 March and the news said we can expect a wetter than usual Autumn this year, which is good!! The days has not been that much cooler. It usually doesn't get nice and cool till around May.

My weight loss is going good ... from 58kg the last time I blogged, it's now down to 56kg yay .... lots more to go. I told Kiwi G, when (as if I could make it???) I reach 50kg, I'd have a bag of chips ALL to myself, no sharing, hahaha!!

Beautiful Bulgaria

I have often marvelled at the beauty of Europe! One such country is beautiful Bulgaria. Everything about Bulgaria is so picture perfect. It would be a dream come true not only to visit Bulgaria but also to own one or two Bansko properties as holiday homes or even for investment! Bansko is absolutely breathtaking, it is located in the mountain range with the most popular ski resort in Bulgaria! Everyday would be like living a fairytale there! Bansko will definitely be in my wishlist for countries to visit!


Credits: Beautiful ski photo from Bulgarian Venture