Friday, March 27, 2009

Designer baby slings & diaper bags for fashionistas


I am so happy that my youngest sisters, twins Jherlie and Jhermie, have their babies a month apart (February and March 2009). Being fortunate enough to see them both brings such great joy and see the benefits of starting a family a bit later in life where you have more resources at your disposal.

At the same time though, it can be a bit stressful especially when breastfeeding as the child wants to be carried and be fed despite being full already. My sister refers to it like being treated as a "human dummy". But as they learn about scheduling and routines, I'm sure they will get passed through that pretty soon.

In the family, these twins are actually our fashionistas. They always arrive in style no matter what the occassion is. Now with babies, they definitely should not lose their flair.

Baby slings and diaper bags are often needed by parents especially when going out.

For comfort and durability, investing in a good brand can be practical especially if you will be able to pass this on in the future and have more kids planned in the short term. One brand that I spotted lately is the Petunia Pickle Bottom.

(those based in the US can avail of free shipping if ordered at Layla Grayce site)

When I first saw the Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags, immediately mistaken it for a laptop bag and had to read the description to ensure that it wasn't one. It's nice to have a nice bag so that even the dads and siblings will look cool carrying one.

When going out, I also recommend to use a baby sling so that the baby can rest more comfortably while being carried, secured, and give mom or dad some room to move around, especially when eating or need to carry stuff with one hand. Petunia Pickle Bottom baby slings have nice designs also that can be worth checking out.

The next big event for us is the baptismal of these two new babies in the family. This year will definitely be exciting for the family as we welcome Jamila and Ethan in our world.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Call for Sponsors: iBlog5: The 5th Philippine Blogging Summit

iBlog5: The 5th Philippine Blogging Summit is all set! We are aiming for 150-200 newbies and professional bloggers to attend this FREE event on May 9 at the Malcolm Hall, College of Law, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

Pre-registered attendees will get a delegates kit. Two snacks and lunch are also provided.

Event registration is now open in the official website.

We are now looking for sponsors. As this is a non-profit event of the University of the Philippines College of Law - Internet Society Program (UP-ISP), all fees will be paid directly to suppliers by sponsors. This includes:

  • 2 Gold Sponsors (P45,000 per sponsor)
    This includes keynote address during the morning or after session; 2 table spaces; 2 streamers posted at the event. Collateral material included in the delegates kit. Logo posted in the website, badges, posters, and streamers.

  • Silver Sponsors (P25,000 per sponsor)
    This includes 1 table space; 1 streamer posted at the event. Collateral material included in the delegates kit. Logo posted in the website, posters, and streamers.

  • Patron Sponsors (P10,000 per sponsor)
    Collateral material included in the delegates kit. Logo posted in the website, posters, and streamers.
Parties interested can e-mail
  • hermie(dot)nas(at)gmail(dot)com or contact me.
  • You can also call the UP ISP for details. Just look for Elen Arzadon at +632-927-0368.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Learning how to use HTC TyTN II

I am a die-hard Nokia mobile phone fan, especially the 9000 series because of its keyboard. As a heavy mobile phone user, I got the opportunity to get bundled phones as part of the package. My last one, and still using it, is the Nokia N95 to which I dearly love to date especially its 3G, camera, and video taking features.

Last January, I got hold of the HTC TyTN II and find myself getting used to it. Its functionality is like a mini-computer already as it has basic Internet, wireless connectivity, and MS-Office applications. It allows you to take videos and photos. It also has GPS capabilities.


As I love to use Plurk, it became important to me whether this will be nicely viewable through this phone. I'm glad that it didn't had navigation problems unlike in my last trial.

Don't forget to check out the free extras available at the Windows Mobile site where you can get free ringtones, themes, wallpaper, games, software, among others. There are also a lot of software available for Windows Mobile that can be purchased online to maximize its use.

I also encountered some issues with this device too such as:
  • It does not have a slot for the Stylus pen. Actually it does have as pointed out to me by Donna Ureta of HTC. I think seeing the stylus pen upon content inspection of package box, immediately gave me the impression that such was it. Turns out to be an "extra".

  • ActiveSync installer in the CD had trouble running and not easy to find information in the HTC website on how to go about it. You can check out the Microsoft ActiveSync site for more information and even register for updates.
You can also join groups and meet fellow users of Windows Mobile to ask for help or advise such as:

Friday, March 20, 2009

Managing currency exchange & learn forex trading

Traveling to Australia 4 times a year for the past two years has been quite stressful especially in managing currency exchange. I often find myself in a situation where money has be to be converted from Philippines pesos - US dollars - Australia dollars and vice-versa which is Australia dollars - US dollars - Philippines pesos.

Direct currency exchange is possible but I noticed, especially in online remittance sites, they hardly do this directly and often does the computation using the U.S. dollar as the base.

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One suggestion I have been getting lately is get into Forex Trading so I will learn how to play with my money better. Although similar to the stock market that has its own risks, I'll be better off knowing the game rather than keep losing from it without taking any action.

This prompts me to visit a good number of sites to get started in this area. One site that caught my attention is FabForex.com. It has a lot of articles about foreign exchange trading including market trends, comparison, doing online research, getting a good return on investment, among others. It also has interesting write-ups on how to protect myself from scams and the likes.