Finding People For The Reunion

Time really flies. By December, my batch mates and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary after college. And we'll be celebrating with a big reunion.

After graduation, I’ve kept in touch with a select group of friends. And they’re all going. However, there are a few classmates and friends that I've lost contact with over the years. Hopefully, they’ll attend. It’ll be fun to see how we've all changed and reminisce with them again.

A few friends already living in the U.S. and Canada are flying in for the holidays. The mastermind behind the reunion got hold of them through a free people locator online service, which is so great. She just typed in the name and state, and viola, an address and phone number was provided. It was that easy.

Now the difficult part is figuring out what to wear. I have a few weeks to find something. Hopefully, that’ll be enough.

iLASIK Is Life Changing

My family has a history of bad eyesight. Myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism -- you name it and a family member has it. In fact, even Hubby had to wear corrective prescription eyeglasses at one point. Good thing he still got into the naval pilot training program.

I've heard about LASIK technology and how it has changed lives with its success. A good family friend recently had LASIK surgery and is raving about how he can now read the fine print each and every time. I was surprised to know that there is an upgrade to this procedure that now uses two lasers instead of one to treat vision problems.

When I read the modern LASIK information, it was comforting to know that approximately 32 million LASIK procedures have been performed to date with at least 95% of U.S military personnel achieving 20/20 vision. It is the most common elective vision procedure in the U.S. So it virtually proven to be effective and safe.

It works by first using a software to evaluate the vision imperfection, making an individual blueprint of what has to be done. Then the first laser creates a thin flap around the cornea. Using your individual blueprint, the second laser makes the correction to your cornea. The procedure only takes 10 minutes for each eye and is virtually painless.

As with any medical procedure, the modern LASIK treatment comes with a few risks. It is better to talk to a medical professional to find out if you are a candidate for LASIK technology.

A Healthy Seafood Recipe

As the official chef, I try to prepare healthy meals for the family. I make an effort to serve a variety of dishes during the week by mixing up the menu to include lean meat, chicken, seafood and veggies to give them a variety. Good thing that my son eats anything, even his veggies. But my daughter is somewhat of a picky eater. Recently, she has announced that her favorite food is fish. To get her to eat more, I am including more seafood recipes in next week’s menu.

I recently visited http://www.greatamericanseafoodcookoff.com and found a great seafood recipe. It’s Mississippi Redfish Courtboullion with Seafood Dirty Rice by Chef John Currence of Mississippi. It’s one of the five recipes in the cook off challenge. The picture looks very appetizing and the fact that it’s made with rice makes it even better. We just love rice.

However, I think I’ll be using tilapia instead of Mississippi redfish and local shrimp and crabmeat. Tilapia is readily available in the local market and it’s always better to buy fresh ingredients. There was a time when I used frozen fish to cook a very simple dish. It didn’t turn as tasty it should. The kids didn’t finish their food and I ended up throwing away the leftovers. Also, I think I’ll use chicken stock instead of beer. I just finished downloading the recipe and I can’t wait to include this in next week’s menu.

Another great thing aside from the seafood recipes available on their website is that by voting for a favorite recipe, I get a chance to go to New Orleans. I just voted and hopefully I’ll be making that trip soon. So visit their website now for a chance to win a “Trip to New Orleans” prize package which includes two Southwest Airline round trip tickets, hotel accommodations, dining experiences and more. And it’s easy, just vote for your favorite recipe.

Costa Rica, the perfect getaway

Costa Rica is the Spanish term for Rich Coast. It is very appropriately named as it is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West and South and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica offers tourists a variety of landscapes and gentle tropical weather. This Central American location is the perfect getaway for that much-needed vacation.

If you’re that laidback beach bum or that adrenaline junkie, you will find something to do in Costa Rica. It’s diverse terrain means you can go hiking through a rain forest, climb a volcano, take a horseback ride through scenic trails, do wild water rafting, surf the waves, go snorkelling, kayaking, meet toucans, howler monkeys and other jungle critters or just chill out in the hot, sandy beach in the course of your vacation. It’s absolutely money well spent.

I definitely recommend checking out the Costa Rica Forum before booking your holiday. Aside from meeting people, you will get info on the best places, events and what to do. Get the most out of your vacation from surfing the Costa Rica Blogs. Who else will know more about Costa Rica than the locals?

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The Perfect Fancy Dress

My grandma's birthday is on November 1st and the family always has a costume party to celebrate it together with Halloween. Everybody is dressed for the occasion and vying for Best in Costume that my grandma chooses. My cousins usually dress up as super heroes and monsters. I plan to dress up differently this year to make sure I win. And I found something at Fancy Dress that might just do the trick.

I browsed through different costumes, the hottest picks, the more fancy ones, the super heroes, on sale items, to the novelty until I found the perfect Fancy Dress for me. I'm sure it'll fit my fuller figure perfectly. What do you think?

add value through cisco

As a stay-at-home mom, I'm concerned about getting stuck in a routine. Taking care of the family is top priority but I used to have a career before deciding to stay home. I don't want to give up work entirely and I want to get back into the workforce once the kids are older. The way I see it, one way to keep my competitive advantage is to change career paths. I want to get a job in an industry that provides for better long-term career expansion. And with the way things are going, the IT industry is my best option.

IT trends continue to indicate upward worldwide demand for IT-based products and services on a daily basis. The need for skilled and certified IT professionals is on the rise to keep up with the unrelenting need for new technology and innovation. While employment demand is solid in virtually all sectors of the IT industry, it is also highly competitive. It is not only a matter of skills, but also a matter of being certified.

I recently browsed through the Cisco Learning Network and found that they provide several network certification programs for four levels. There is an entry, affiliate, professional or specialist Cisco certification that will match and tailor-fit individual needs in routing and switching, network design, security or voice specialist area. So a beginner like me wanting to jumpstart a career in the IT field or a specialist looking to fine-tune his IT skills has much to gain from a Cisco certification.

Although getting work experience is still a major hurdle for newcomers, I am betting that a Cisco certification will level the playing field. In the competitive world of information technology, technical expertise is not the issue. It really is a matter of value. And the power comes with enhancing that value to always keep ahead of the pack.

My two cents is really worth more

I have a confession to make. I have been introduced to the wonderful world of blogging a little too late. No time for regrets, though. I guess I’m just a late bloomer. So at the ripe old age of 32, I got my first blog courtesy of a newfound online friend who introduced me to blogging.

Now that my blog is up and running, I’ve been posting left and right, finding friends and reading other interesting blogs. Through my blog hopping efforts, I then discovered an online secret: You CAN actually get paid to blog! I was completely floored. Getting paid to blog? Yes! This is an answered prayer to a stay-at-home mom like me who’s trying to earn extra gas money.

The secret is PPP. Payperpost is a venue where bloggers and advertisers meet. With all the good feedback I was getting about how happy my online buddies are as Posties, I immediately submitted my blog for approval. When I finally got that “your blog has been approved” email, I logged on without delay. And when I saw how much money other Posties were raking in, well, let’s just say it got my creative juices flowing.

The best thing about PPP is that I have the option to write about things that really interest me. Oh, and I get to earn extra cash for putting in my two cents’ worth for blog reviews. As a Postie, I don’t have to work that hard to get paid, I just get opinionated. Is that really a bad thing?