Last week I announced that I will be giving back some love to those who visit and comment on my entries. The past week saw four commenters. They are:

• Ryan of Villa Moraira
• Yette of Yettezkie’s Doodles
• Tim of Aldiss and More
• Sourav of Life Rules

I used random.org to pick the commenter who will be featured on my sidebar.

Thanks, guys, for visiting and commenting!

The blog has been relatively active lately, and I am even more motivated to shake things up and bring the blog to a new level.

I noticed, however, that there are very few comments on my entries. Oh I know, I know. Most of the entries are how-to articles and very few posts are open-ended enough to encourage discussion. I understand that.

So, I have decided to give love to visitors who comment. How?

Have you seen the Recent Comments section on the right most sidebar? The name of the commenter links to the commenter’s URL, not the post. So, that would be some link love for those who are sweet enough to leave comments.

I have also started using the Comment Plugger WordPress plugin. Another link love for all of you.

Finally, I will collect all commenters within the span of one week, and randomly select ONE commenter. The chosen commenter will have a 125×125 ad space in my sidebar for one whole week. It will be placed above the Entrecard widget. How’s that for exposure? When the week is over, this commenter will have a permanent link back on my Links page, using their chosen keyword.

Oh I know it’s not much. But this is one way I can give back some love to those who visit my blog.

So comment now and get some comment love right back!

Every Sunday at 10PM, Philippine time, I will be using Random.org to select which among the week’s commenters will have FREE ad space for a week. All you have to do is comment on any of my recent posts!

One of the things I do on a weekly basis is grocery shopping. There are three supermarkets within walking distance from my home, and I just love the ritual of getting up in the morning, having my breakfast, taking a shower and going to the nearby supermarket when it opens at 8AM. I love doing grocery shopping in the morning because there aren’t a lot of shoppers yet, so I can walk around and push my cart slowly, savoring my time going through shelves and comparing brands and prices.

I have some sort of a system when doing my grocery shopping – from doing a pantry/fridge inventory, menu planning, listing what I need to buy and the actual shopping itself. Over time, I have somehow gotten used to this system that it just seems to work for me. I am more efficient at grocery shopping and, best of all, I am able to cut down my expenses.

Tricks for Hassle-free Grocery Shopping

• Schedule your grocery shopping and stick to it. Shop every week, and on the same day each week, without fail. I choose to do grocery shopping every Wednesday morning. Mornings are great because there are very few other shoppers in the supermarket – no pushing and shoving, no crazy ass long lines at the checkout counter.
• Plan your weekly menu the day before grocery day. It will allow you to have a clearer view of the things you need to buy. When you have a weekly menu planned out, YOU WILL be forced to do an inventory of pantry and your refrigerator, and YOU WILL be forced to list down what you need.
• Make a list of the things you need. The usual stuff – Veggies, poultry, meat, milk and other staples. Make sure to only list the things you need. NEVER ever list down the things you want, the things that you don’t need.
• On grocery day, have a full stomach before you leave. Really. If you leave the house on an empty stomach, believe me, you will be tempted to spend on eating out, or worse, impulse buying on junk food and other stuff that you don’t need. Your budget will be ruined.
• Stick to your list. Stick to it. Stick to your list.
• Do a mental math while shopping, so you have an idea how much you will need to shell out at the checkout counter. If you somehow forgot to have a look at how much an item costs, supermarkets usually have a barcode scanner every few aisles. Doing this will also help keep you on your toes, so that you will learn to control yourself from getting whatever item you can put your hands on and placing them in your cart. It helps you be conscious of your budget.

Well, that’s it. Very simple, really, yet very effective. Try doing these simple grocery shopping tips. They have helped me a lot in cutting down my grocery shopping expenses, and I hope these tips will help you, too!

There are days when we wish we could just get out and head somewhere relaxing. Anywhere, actually, just to get away from the daily grind. Work, chores, work, chores, pay bills, work, chores, pay some more bills. The cycle doesn’t stop, right? And it can get very tiring. You can get burned out.

And once you do, it’s a path to destruction. Self-destruction. Really. If all you do is work and chores, never giving yourself a personal time off (or day of), you will sure crash and burn.

So how about going to the beach? Or maybe even ski vacations (the snow-capped mountains are a beauty)?

But let’s face it, we all don’t usually have the luxury of a weekend holiday. Chipper up! You can still take some personal hours. Sort of a “me time”.

It’s never easy landing a spot in the workforce. Lately, diplomas are really not the only things that will get you that job. There are so many other people coveting the spot, and all of you are qualified for the position. It’s time to put your best foot forward. The perfect weapon and shield – resumes

Ok, first things first – the 411. The most basic, but relevant information needed in the resume are the following: your name, age, address, contact number and Social Security ID. This is how potential employers will contact you in case they are impressed with your resume and would like you to come in for an interview.

Career objective is a very important part of the resume. In a nutshell, this is where you will have to express why you are applying for the position. Make sure to put a strong, clear goal – a specific goal. Not some general, cookie-cutter goal. Answer the following questions, “Why are you interested in the position? Why would you want to work for the company?”

Enumerate your previous experiences including highlights. What have you done great for your previous employer? What company goals have you achieved? What were your contributions? These things will help potential employers assess what you can contribute to their company.

Show some references and recommendations. List your certifications, your degree (or degrees), as well as contact numbers for references like your previous bosses. Having someone to back you up to strengthen your run for the position you are aiming for.

Show that you are a well-rounded individual. Include your interests, hobbies, and other activities in which you participate. Are you a member of a local organization? Do you do volunteer work on your spare time? Put these on your resume!

Always remember, make sure that your resume will put your best foot forward! Good luck job hunting!

Hello and welcome to Mommy, Make it Better. This is a “homemaking made fun and easy” blog. I am Xenia, and I’m a single, stay-at-home mom.

What prompted me to start this blog? Well, let’s just say it’s my new-found love for homemaking. In all honesty, I was not one for doing chores when I was younger. But you know, ever since I became a mom, I changed. For the better. And I don’t like it any other way.

With this blog, I would like to share with you the things I’ve learned in homemaking – tips and tricks to make everyday family living easier, more enjoyable and stress-free! My mom had this very thick notebook of homemaking how-to’s and she passed it on to me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned to this notebook when I have problems with stains on clothes, odors in the kitchen, baking dilemmas and many other situations concerning homemaking. I can’t wait to share them with you.

I would like this blog to be a two-way street, and, if I may be bold enough to dream about it, a community. I would love so much to hear your own homemaking tips and tricks.

I hope you’ll visit this blog again soon, and visit regularly, because I will be updating this every day.

Mommies, let’s make things better in our homes and our communities.