Quick Bytes..

8 things I’m looking forward to:
- going to Kidapawan to celebrate my grandma’s birthday tom!
- the coming weekend! can’t wait to relax with hubby.. =)
- arrival of my parents later tonight = widescreen PC monitor! yeah!
- my youngest brother’s college graduation next week, finally!!
- hubby arriving from work everyday ^_^
- getting the “Celebrity Chef” label in Hell’s Kitchen - Facebook game, hehe
- our first wedding anniversary in 5 months! w00t!
- our Macau/Shenzen/HK family trip on October ^_^

8 things I did yesterday:
- slept in til 11am, blame the rainy cold weather! hehe
- watched the action-packed “Fast & Furious”
- watched the hilarious “The Promotion”
- watched the last 2 mind-blowing episodes of Heroes season 3
- lazed around the whole day with hubby =)
- cooked chicken oatmeal patties for dinner
- played Restaurant City and Farm Town on Facebook
- became “Cook” in Hell’s Kitchen game on Facebook, hehe

8 things I wish I could do:
- read people’s minds - win the multimillion lottery! hehe!
- clean our house really, really, really well like my Mom
- finally decide on what medical residency to enter *sigh*
- speak Japanese, French and other languages
- DRIVE without fear!!
- get smart Small Business Loans
- tour Europe with hubby and family!! ^_^

8 shows I watch:
- Damages
- Top Design
- Top Chef
- How I Met Your Mother
- Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
- American Dad
- Family Guy
- all CSI-esque shows (CSI, Criminal Minds, Bones, Numbers)

I had my first experience with online shopping nearly two years ago with the Mid-Year Sale of Victoria’s Secret. Although I didn’t buy anything on my own (told a girlfriend to buy for me), I learned something new: coupon codes! Yep, these codes are really helpful. The one for Victoria’s Secret we used was the free shipping for orders more than $100. It certainly helped a lot! Because of this I got addicted to searching for online coupons Currently I’m using a Vista Print coupon coz I have lots of cards that need to be printed by them. If you like shopping online, make sure you use coupons to save! ^_^

And I must say it’s quite an expensive hobby! Hehe! I thought before he’ll just buy a gun and that’s it. Now he’s saying he needs a mask, gloves, vest, etc. You know typical military or outdoor police gear. Of course I understand it’s for protection but hubby could have said he needs Airsoft accessories too! I could have scored a few items from Maxpedition Gear and avail of their FREE shipping and free hat for every $100 purchase! o_O Anyway I’m just glad hubby has a new hobby, an active one at that! Lately he’s just been playing PSP and online games. With airsoft he gets to exercise which is a very good thing! =)

Time for money talk again guys! I’m sure many of you are waiting for another money tip to tuck away until in times of need, hehe! This time, we’ll talk about payday loans. We all know there are times when our budget is thrown off balance by some unexpected expenditure. I’m sure even people who really budget their salaries faithfully experience these trying times. So what to do?? This is where Apex Payday Loans come in. With them you can submit your loan application online (Faxless Payday Loans) and receive a decision instantly. Their service is available nationwide with no credit checks required. Now, how awesome is that?? =)

And it’s making the health officials troubled! According to Reuters, there’s a worrying number of young adults and children admitted in hospitals and getting sick in schools than per the usual. CDC officials say around 100,000 people are likely infected with the new flu strain in the US and the 5,123 confirmed and probable cases and six deaths were “the tip of the iceberg.” YIKES! Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said of the young patients:

“That’s very unusual, to have so many people under 20 to require hospitalization, and some of them in (intensive care units). We are now experiencing levels of influenza-like illness that are higher than usual for this time of year. We are also seeing outbreaks in schools, which is extremely unusual for this time of year.”

Reuters reports that about half of all cases of influenza are being diagnosed as the new H1N1 strain, while the rest are influenza B or the seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 strains. New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden, who has been named by President Barack Obama as the new CDC director, “Unlike the seasonal flu, we are seeing relatively few cases or hospitalizations in people over 65.” Usually flu kills the elderly and people with chronic diseases. Hmm, this is indeed an unusual flu pattern! I wonder what’s “wrong”..

I’ve searched the malls here in my place and it’s either they don’t sell halogen lamps or they are out of stock. If you’re not familiar with this type of lamp, it’s usually used for displays or to accent an area coz its sharp defined beam makes it great for highlighting stuff. If you’ve been to museums, art galleries and retail stores with fab displays, this is what they’re using to highlight an artwork or product.

Now, why would I want that kind of lamp in our home? I definitely don’t have any awesome stuff that needs to be highlighted, LOL! The truth is, I just want to buy a desk lamp that I can use as a bedside lamp for late night reading. But when I went to ShopWiki.com and read their buying guide for lamps, I got enamored with the low voltage halogen lamps. Hehe! it sounded hi-tech kasi!

Their final showdown begins in about 24 hours and I can’t hardly wait!! For those living under a rock the past 2 months, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen are the last men standing in American Idol season 8. These are their brief profiles I sourced HERE. Read and be informed! Naks!

Adam Lambert, 27, was raised in San Diego, California, and has a musical theater background that led to a role as the understudy for the part of Fiyero in the Los Angeles cast of the hit musical “Wicked.” He is known for his vocal range and falsetto, for putting a new spin on standard songs and for his affinity for black nail polish and eyeliner. His sexual orientation has been a subject of debate since photos of him kissing other men surfaced on the Internet. Sometimes criticized for self-indulgence, Lambert won a rare standing ovation from judge Simon Cowell for his performance of “Mad World” last month. His fans call themselves “Glamberts.”

Kris Allen, 23, is from Arkansas and plays viola and the ukulele in addition to the guitar and piano skills seen on “Idol.” A Christian and a worship leader who has traveled overseas as a missionary, he married his longtime girlfriend, Katy, in September 2008. Allen was a business student before auditioning for “Idol” and has no formal singing training. Quiet and unassuming, Allen has won praise for his acoustic versions of rapper Kanye West’s “Heartless” and the disco classic “She Works Hard for the Money.”

Bankruptcy is one of life’s major events, albeit a bitter one. It does not happen overnight as it slowly becomes a reality as your debts add up. And in the end, mere mortals like us who are not financially savvy are at the mercy of our debtors and the going-gone Best CD Rates. If you are deep in debt right now and wanna avoid bankruptcy, you need an IVA or Individual Voluntary Agreement. An IVA will cut the amount you owe and will freeze the interest you pay. It will also legally prevent creditors taking action against you. Hopefully it will help you solve your financial problems, and put you back on track. If you hate talking to a real person about your financial woes, you can complete their IVA form online. Good luck and don’t mess with your life the second time, y’hear?? :p

It’s Moody Monday time! And the theme this week is “Healthy” and my entry is: “A healthy dose of Mama’s herbs supply keeps the doctor away!” Hehe! Yeah, I know it’s terrible and it doesn’t rhyme that much :p I must take note that herbs are a good way to stay healthy and fit. Plus it adds a lot of flavor to food, making you eat less and store less fat. No need to use fat burners like nuphedra Anyway, you can join in the photo fun HERE!

At our age and time, they say it’s a sin if you will be ugly. What with cosmetic surgery and other beauty solutions you can avail to better your looks. But often, money is the problem. If you’re one of the many planning to have plastic or cosmetic surgery but don’t have a budget for it yet, you can just go for consultation. An online friend of mine, Chikai, is residing in Salt Lake City, Utah and I thought she could help me research on a good Utah plastic surgeon. Apparently one of the prominent surgeons there is Dr. Kimball M. Crofts, board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). He is currently offering plastic surgery procedures to residents in Salt Lake City, Orem, and Provo. Interested? Hehe!