Writing is not Enough

The Story:

My immediate boss modestly relayed to me that our super boss has some few comments on our wordings in the report submitted for his review. He mentioned that our vocabulary was limited, and he recommended a dictionary. In my mind I said, WTF??!

I felt upset on what I've heard. I mumbled to myself, "Kaya nga ako ngba-blog eh! Para gumaling ako sa English!" It is painful to know that blogging is not an assurance that you would be ace in English. And I realized it the hard way!

Thinking about it, I asked my husband about this unsatisfactory comments. And he advised me to read business news, and learn from it. So now, I make it to a point to read at least one business article each day. Does this helps? I don't know. But the confidence in me started  to build up again.

The realization here: to be able to become the best, you need to exhaust ALL the available remedies. For example, if you feel like you are fat, and that you wanted to be slim, it is not enough to skip meals. You do exercise regularly. You eat healthy foods. You sleep enough. You drink lots of water, etc. And that's where you can achieve your goals.

And if you fail, never give up. You are lucky enough to know that you are heading the wrong way, and that there's still a room for recovery and advancement .

Although blogging is an easy going form of writing, and doing a business report, on the other hand, is a formal (and sometimes legal) writing, it is imperative that we are not impeded to unlock other potentials on hand.

xoxo.arabella.

To Bloggers: An Open Letter

I honestly admire those bloggers that log on to their account everyday, write anything under the sun, post it, and voila! It's trending!

It's always been my dream to write. When I was in early highschool, I hardly finish this Sweet Valley High book I borrowed from my classmate back then. It's cute and kilig! I remember I tried (at least!) to do a Tagalog script or somewhat like a novel or those pocket book stories (with Aleia Martinez being my Bida Girl). But I never got the chance to even finish one Chapter. How loser am I!

Today, it's Wattpad that's keep those teenagers dreams to write come true. I can say that it's natural for teens to write and express their feelings through writing some fictional stories where they can relate. And thru this, Pinoy are getting more and more inclined into reading local writings which I think plays a big role in the publishing industries. Oh, my makabayan heart started it over again!

Back to bloggers!

I can say I am a frustrated journalist. Being an accountant as my profession now is definitely not within the immediate circle of writing. But hey, I love numbers too! Though it's not a perfect combination - if you know what I mean. Numbers and letters sometimes don't mix well. If you are good with Math, probably, English is not your favorite subject in school and vice versa!

Bloggers are definitely talented. They have other things to do too. Some of them work, or study, or manage businesses. But writing something significant to life is a never-easy-to-do-hobby. It takes a bulk of passion and interest for a writer to describe something in their blogs.

And with that, Kudos Bloggers!! I hope I will become one of those trending Bloggers like you!

Anyway, please vote for your fave bloggers on the annual social media congress by Blogopolis called “BLOGOPOLIS: Shifting Gears”. Here's the link! http://www.blogopolis.ph/awards/

Big Day Countdown: What to Do?

My BabyCakes is enjoying her stay in my tummy. She is already 40 weeks and 3 days but no spontaneous contractions are happening to me in the mean time. Although my doctor said it's normal, my excitement just keep on getting higher and higher. I have a lot of acquaintances who also got pregnant last year just like me. Seeing their FB page now with photos of their babies surrounded in their arms makes me a bit jealous and frustrated.

On the other hand, my husband, Jeryl always keep on reminding me that we must patiently wait for the will of God. That it is only Him who will decide on our girl's birthday. With that in mind, I always pray for God's guidance on my safe delivery and good health for our baby Athena. For now, I will just enjoy every kicks and punches of my BabyCakes while she is still inside me. Such a blessing! :)

Counting down the remaining days, what a mother like me has to do and accomplish?

• Check the finances - I always hunger for independence, not just physically, but also financially. Though we already have our baby's hospital bag prepared a month ago, it's harmless to always check the things to bring on my baby's big day. Today, we haven't bought her infant milk and diaper stacks as there's a need to see if our baby will have allergic reaction to any of those. This is also a way to avoid unnecessary expense on our part. It is also wise to double check our money reserves for the labor day. Albeit the fact that we already know the estimated costs in the hospital, some extra cash on hand will give us some peace of mind.

• Keep close to families - Comfort and relaxation will help us flush our exhaustion caused by the pregnancy. Most of the mommies who are expecting a child take their maternity leaves to spend time with families and the baby. I, for instance, took my leave a week before my estimated due of delivery to have some quality time with my immediate family, husband and my baby. It is very helpful that I am surrounded comfortably with people who are very supportive of my giving birth.

• Pray - Many mothers-to-be are experiencing mood swings during the latter part of the pregnancy that they become more emotional than before. Some are becoming excited and frustrated at times. Some are getting conscious about their body changes due to hormones. Nevertheless, it must be noted that these emotions are not permanent. We must keep our mind focused on our baby's big day and the concentrated on the happiness it will bring to us. Just like the saying, we should "Keep Calm and Stay Cool". Prayers are very helpful. In everything we do, we should pray. And during these times that we need to keep our faith to God more than ever.

Dress me Anew!

Since I'm trying (big time!) to keep up with my blog updates, I'm now starting to customize the display of my blog. 


What makes a blog beautiful at the eyes of the surfers and readers are the moving things. It may be a flash or a marquee, or simply a video. These items add varieties to the topics and news embedded on the site. Well, some  can contribute to the site, making it look full and abundant with information.


Another is that, the colors and its combination should neither be dull nor overly shining! I may be needing some help here. There's a lot of styles and themes available online. I have the sample template and it's gonna be really hard choosing and picking! Should you have some great ideas to share, feel free to comment me! 

xoxo,
Arabella

Create a Catchy Blog out of a Trending Topic

There are money money money!!! Well here's the deal. You can earn money while simply doing your hobby. Nowadays, browsers became bloggers, and games became blogsite! Before you decide to follow their tracks, keep in mind some few reminders. Here's the list.

•  Get online. This is the fundamental and the primary source of blogging. Get your laptop, or even desktop, have a good connection on the web and voila! Everything was in your hands now! Make sure you have access to different social networking sites by creating accounts. It is not necessary, but it would be advantageous for you to connect to the internet once in a while, e.g., thrice a week, to get some updates on the hot issue the world is talking about.
• Be resourceful. Basically, it’s not only on how good someone into writing, but where he gets the ideas and insights he include in his blog. You tried to read other blogs and be inspired on how they create such. Pictures and video links are also important as it would appear bigger on the screen rather than text. A lot of online sites offer free customization of own sites which include themes, backgrounds, font styles, and more. Fire that search engine blazing hot!
• Become passionate. If it is something that you would do regularly, and it’s off the work, go for something that interests you. It could be a frustration, an outlet of emotions, a dream failed to fulfill, or even just a hobby. The essential thing is you become a slave of your own heart.          Further, love for work helps so much on striving to be the best, thus, continue on sharing the thoughts you have.
• Put respect on top. Everyone is responsible to everything they say, write, and do. Much of a hassle, it would be worthy to be careful on words you say online, rather than be carefree and create troubles over troubles. Ensure to specify your target readers- be it a group of teens, couples, working professionals, gamers, politics etc… Design a site full of information that most of your target viewers will appreciate and understand.

There are still lots of things to consider in blogging. As for beginners, it would be much helpful to go around these suggestions before you start anything. Don’t hurry and don’t get greedy. Take some time on creating your own site. You can earn money on this but become independent on that.