Juliana’s Lair

What else is new? Nothing much really. It’s been peaceful and quiet here, so unlike my previous weekend which was chaotic and very stressful. I’d rather take this over that. Today is just like any other ordinary weekend here in our household. I did my 1 mile walk and the husband is sweating it out here at the gym, right where we live. That is after his regular routine of primping up the car. Weekends are the only days that he gets dirty, as far as the car is concerned.

Dinner has been planned for. The food is waiting to be re-heated. You know the routine here during weekends, food is either brought in or we dine out. So tonight, food has been brought in of course, by the husband. I still have the taste of that yummy Baccalao in my tongue. He took it out from a Spanish resto in Manhattan last night. What kind of food are we having tonight? Honestly, I have no clue. It’s nice to be surprised once in a while, in fact I get this surprise every weekend. It’s fun!

July 26th, 2008 | Tags: food, married life | Category: musings | Leave a comment

Branding is key to running a successful promotion and with that said,  there’s a brand behind every promotional effort. Why do companies run such effort? Because in sales and marketing, it has been widely proven that running a promotional campaign via extensive use of business promotional items work. The achievement of the set bottom line and increase in the market share of a particular brand is what all business owners aim for.

My corporate sales and marketing experience taught me that working with reliable suppliers that produce high quality promotional business items is imperative. Yes, marketing professionals do mind the costs but over the concern for budget, it is the quality of such item that helps create the image of the brand. In the end, if your business promotional item is junk, running a marketing effort negates the objective. It doesn’t pay to have promotional items that will only ruin the brand image. That is the reason why suppliers like the S & L Promotional Group have a pool of satisfied customers that go to them over and over for their business promotional item needs.

If you’re a marketing professional, don’t just do it, do it well  in order to achieve not only the business objective but also to keep or create the image that your brand deserves.

July 26th, 2008 | Category: daily chatter | Leave a comment

I’m so ecstatic to receive this award from Mommy And Me Boutique. Thanks Mommy! I really appreciate you selecting me as one of the recipients. I’m honored and humbled that you find me as a terrific blogger. I’m not even close to that, but I try to do the best I can with every entry written on my blogs. Thanks again.

The Above recipients of the Brillante Weblog are welcomed to put the Logo on their personal blogs and have the honor of passing this award to seven other bloggers.Here are the rules for passing on the award:

l. Put the logo on your blog

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog

Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I’m passing this award to In My Kitchen, Pinay Wahm My Colorful World and A Sweet Taste Of Life.

July 26th, 2008 | Tags: blogging | Category: blogging | Comments (5)

We visited United Kingdom in the Fall of 2003, and I must say that we enjoyed the week and a half of touring around. In fact, the amount of time we spent there was not really enough to immerse into the culture and take in the beauty that there is to have. I would have wanted to also explore the English West Country namely the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Wiltshire. Based on my knowledge, the area is mainly rural with a few dots of cities. The idyllic lifestyle in this part of England would have been a welcome respite from the chaotic dash we have here in the Big Apple. It would have been fitting to experience that for a few days and stay in a rural holiday cottage in the West Country.

The  breathtaking coastline of  Cornwall, with its mild warm climate and not to forget the lively folk music tradition that the place is known for, could have made the trip more enriching. As they say, Cornwall is the land of mystery, myth and magnificent scenery. They boasts of their deserted coves and picturesque villages as well as their traditional pubs and those lovely and glorious gardens throughout. It would be lovely to stay a couple of days in one of those Cornwall holiday cottages. And while already in the region, Wiltshire should be one of the stops. I’ve heard of the lively market towns and the rolling open scenery there. Besides, they have a lot of stately homes, one of them the Longleat, known as one of the most beautiful stately homes that is open to the public. It is actually an Elizabethan property and it is the home to the 7th Marquess of Bath.  And their magnificent gardens? I heard they are a site to behold! After a day of touring around, collapsing on the bed in one of those awesome Wiltshire holiday cottages would be a treat.

I’m in the mood right now and I’m just expressing my  travel yearnings. In fact, the crazy me even checked out flight details at Expedia.com. Who knows “my boss” a.k.a. husband will agree to go on a side trip even on just one of the places I stated above. It won’t be far from where we’re intending to go for our next vacation, so there is a gleam of hope for an English West Country tour.

July 26th, 2008 | Category: travel | Comments (1)

I have been hypertensive for so many years, and have been on medication since. So far, my blood pressure has been well maintained, thanks to my good doctor who has been monitoring my condition well. As of my latest periodic check-up, he was not too please with my weight gain and he is adamant I have to shed them off. I totally agree with him because I’m well aware that I’m at a very high risk to contracting heart disease. I’ve heard so many cases when people have to go through surgery to unclog arteries. I certainly would not want to go through that. It’s enough for me to be considered high risk because I’m hypertensive. That is the reason why I would do anything to comply to my doctor’s order.

It scares me to no end when I chanced upon an article from Artery Health Institute detailing the atherosclerosis process or in layman’s term the hardening of the arteries. The process is rather complicated for someone like me to understand in depth, but it is good to know that  EDTA chelation can be done.  EDTA by the way, is an arterial cleansing agent that aids in effectively removing plaque, cholesterol and heavy metals that impedes and restricts blood flow and oxygen to our blood vessels.  The chelation process is comprehensive, as EDTA clears the bloodstream of heavy metals by seeking them out and binding to them. The body then flushes out the EDTA, taking the metals along with it. The therapy can either be intravenous or EDTA oral chelation, whichever one prefers. They both work to dissolve the artherosclerotic plaque and other mineral deposits within the cardiovascular system hence, this therapy has been compared to a “liquid plumber.”

Now, are you as scared as I am?  You shouldn’t be, as I’m no longer that fearful. I know that EDTA chelation is there, a completely safe and natural therapy,  and I am now convinced I have total control of my health. Above all,  I can get miracle results for just pennies a day. Would that be a real miracle if I can finally say goodbye to Nifedipine?

July 25th, 2008 | Tags: health, simply me | Category: health | Comments (2)

I can’t believe it’s Friday already. The week went so fast, where did it go? A few days from now we will be bidding adieu to the month of July. The calendar is scrolling down so fast, and it’s inevitable, we will have to say goodbye to summer. I love the warm weather and although it gets too unbearable sometimes, I can take it over the freezing temperature.

With the changing season comes the change in clothing. This would mean I will have to shuffle the contents of our walk-in closet once again. And that also includes footwear. When that time of year comes around, I always find myself procrastinating when to do the actual switch.

Oh well, I can’t help thinking forward. Summer, please stay put for now.

July 25th, 2008 | Tags: new york, weather | Category: musings | Comments (3)

To business owners out there, listen up! I have finally found the online virtual banner stand superstore where you’ll find  renowned name brands of banner stands and accessories  such as Expand, Banner Bug, Testrite and Orbus. Not only that, you will also have access to exclusive models that are only available from  BannerStandPros whether you are interested to order rollup banner stands or retractable banner stands, non retractable banner stands or retail banner stands ; you name it, they have it.

Outdoor banner stands as the name implies, should be able to withstand outdoor elements. That is because they are outdoors, and only here at BannerStandPros can you find durable and high quality outdoor banner stands. They offer different variety of outdoor banner stands from Storm Pro, Storm Pro2 to Wind Dancer and Spinnaker and Monsoon. Every single option features heavy duty construction. If retractable banner stands interests you, just the same, they have it right for you, and  you have a couple of choices from Double sided to Table top, both in many different options.

Your merchandising material speaks volume about your business. This can make or break your marketing effort, as it creates a first impression. BannerStandPros will help you create that banner stand display that will definitely  help you achieve your business objective without breaking your budget.

July 25th, 2008 | Category: daily chatter | Leave a comment

Earlier today, this was what my camera captured in my little garden.

  Now, I have no idea why I have this flower because I’m supposed to have planted an okra. Or is this really the flower turning into the okra I know? I haven’t planted okra before that’s why I really don’t have an idea how the flower looks. All I know is that, when I saw this I was shocked. Whatever it is, it’s beautiful!

July 24th, 2008 | Tags: garden | Category: daily chatter | Comments (11)

It is disheartening to see someone close to you drown in debt. More often than not, they succumb to it not because they are not aware of the repercussions but because they think they’ll be able to easily get out of it. This same situation happened to a family friend who five years ago bought a home with one of those no money down mortgage deals. Little did we know that before they even got a home, they were already up to their neck in credit card debts. Why they bought a home was a totally unnerving decision. But because they were able to swing around and get a home for zero down they went ahead anyway. Three months after the housewarming and they were finally settled, the whole mess started to unravel and before we knew it, they were going from one relative to the next borrowing money to cover for the monthly mortgage which was a whooping $4,300 a month. And the credit card debts? Debt consolidation through Bills.com was the solution. Declaring bankruptcy was never an option because they had a home and they didn’t want to lose it. Because of this move: debt consolidation, they were able to lower the monthly payments on their large credit card debts and cut their interest rates and concentrated on raising money for their monthly mortgage.

As any bad financial decision as you would expect, they eventually gave up the house two years later, as the monthly mortgage was just too much for them to handle. Besides the fact that it was a zero down deal, we later learned it was also one of those adjustable rate, interest only mortgage.

Lesson of their story? Don’t bite more than you can chew. Live within your means and weigh in every decision that you make especially when it comes to financial commitments. Taking out a mortgage that they cannot afford was the biggest blunder of all. Add to that the fact, that they already had a huge amount of credit card debt before they even got a mortgage. Living responsibly means living within ones means.

July 23rd, 2008 | Category: life lessons | Comments (3)