luxurious life

Last year, Ramil and I were able to visit a co-workers' ranch. The visit prompted us to dream for a similar property for our family. A ranch, a farm, or an Arizona luxury real estate would be perfect for the kind of retirement we envisioned for ourselves. It would be great to have such an expansive property, take care of animals, and have our future grandchildren play and run around. Someday soon, I know it will happen.

long weekend woot!

Yey! Ramil and I won't have work for the whole week next week! This is one of the reasons why I love working in a school, I get a lot of vacations together with the students. We will be relaxing and staying at my parents' house for most of the vacation. We should be able to use the time too to catch up with a lot of stuff we need to do.

making book reports

One of the things that most students dread is making a paper. Some of them would write lengthy posts on their blogs about their latest angst and crushes but would stomp their feet if they need to make Book Reports. It's worse since the paper requirements don't end with school, it continues with office work. Good thing there are services like MasterPapers.com, a lot of paperwork need not be such a hassle.

wanted: yaya

We are in desperate need of a yaya right now. Mateo's current yaya, Cat, has told us a few weeks ago that her older brother wants her to go home since he plans to send her back to school. This announcement has given me endless stress ever since. If only I could drop my work and watch over Mateo instead. Good thing that I only work part-time!

So if there's anyone who has recommendations, please don't hesitate to leave a comment :)

new sleeping places

Ramil and I talked about getting Mateo his own bed when he turns 1. He has started trying to climb out his crib so it might not be safe for him anymore in a few more weeks. We are planning to look at some really nice Oak Beds for him. I've seen some pictures of beds and it made me even consider replacing our own bed. Our bed right now is not very sturdy and replacing it with an oak one would be just right. Not to mention that oak really appeals to me. Also, we're planning to replace it with a king size bed so that co-sleeping on some nights would be comfortable. I guess I'm going to be shopping for beds.

happy birthday to me

Yup, I turn 26 today. I am now closer to 30 rather than 20. I now fall under the "late 20's" category. I found myself thinking about where I'm at right now. Am I where I envisioned myself at 26? Well, not exactly but it doesn't mean that I'm worse off. I wouldn't have thought that I'd be happily married to my bestfriend at this age, with a baby to boot. Life right now is good. No quarter-life crisis for me and I can't wait for whatever more life has to offer. Bring it on.

hotel lover

We love hotels. This is the place where I usually feel totally relaxed. I love being able to stay in an immaculately clean room and not worry about my clutter. The cool airconditioning, fluffy pillows, and soft sheets are enough to make sure that I spend my time lounging on bed, in front of the tv. Of course, it also helps that a lot of hotels offer good service. One of the hotels I am interested in trying out are Blackpool Hotels. I'm pretty sure I would enjoy myself in a 4-star hotel in Blackpool. I think it's about time we indulge ourselves once again by trying out a new hotel.

swimming birthday party

I am starting to think of birthday party ideas for Mateo's first on January. I initially thought of having a grand party, complete with a lot of nice things that a children's party would have. I am having second thoughts about it though because Ramil pointed out that Mateo won't really get to enjoy it very much. He suggested having the party I envisioned when he's a bit older already so that he could fully appreciate it. So I guess I just have to think about my other option, a swimming party. There's a place for rent near our house that we could use. My mama has graciously offered to shoulder the rental fees so good for us! My mind is now full of ideas for a swimming party. I might need some diet pills to help me get into a form worthy of my two-piece swimsuit. LOL. Seriously though, this calls for some major dieting and exercise! I only have two months to go!

online shopping

Starting an online business can be easy and daunting at the same time. I've stumbled upon several SAHM like me who have started selling some things online which they usually showcase on their Multiply accounts. A few days ago I played around with the idea of doing this also but doing it in a more techie way. I started brainstorming for possible ideas and thinking of a good domain name. Then I decided that if I'm going to be serious with this, I'm going to need a good webhost, learn how to be webmaster (or find one), get a shopping cart software or an ecommerce software, think about what to sell and how to be paid for them, etc. I think the whole thing has big potential. Maybe I could start with small items only then after some time, the whole thing would hopefully have diversity of products like a mall. One of my better ideas is an online supermarket for SAHMs like me, talk about a manageable shopping cart!

love for cars

Our red car is really old. It has given us more than a few headaches already and yet we still love it very much. Despite proving itself unreliable on several occasions, it has served us for many years already. Until now, Ramil and I still buy some auto accessories from time to time as rewards for the red car whenever she would perform beyond our expectations. I must admit that we've considered buying a new one more than once, thinking of just selling the red car and using the proceeds to help us pay for a new one. We still love her though and we'd sometimes think of just restoring it so that it could last us for several more years.

write in style

A friend will be celebrating her birthday by the end of this month. I have been trying to think of a gift for her. Since she loves writing and she works in an advertising company, I've been looking at some advertising pens. I didn't know that there are such things, my knowledge on pens are limited to the usual ballpoint pens. Sounds like a good gift for her though, I'm sure she'd appreciate one.

almost walking

Our little one is almost walking on his own! Almost all his waking time is now spent on the floor. He loves crawling and getting up on chairs, the couch, walls, tables, basically anything he can hold on to. I'd also catch him letting go of whatever it is he's holding and stand on his own for a few seconds. There are even few times when he walk several steps with me beside him and trying to catch him in case he loses his balance. Pretty soon, our little boy will be running around the house. Now I don't know whether to be happy or sad about it. LOL.

cleaning mission

A week-long vacation is fast approaching for Ramil and me. This only means we get the chance to relax at home and it includes clearing our house of a lot of unnecessary clutter. Looks like we're going to need some garage cabinets to remove our messy things from plain sight. Ramil and I have a lot of books and bundles of paper we couldn't throw away yet so we're thinking of where to put them right now. I guess the garage is a safe choice, just needs to look for some storage space for them.

casino love

I have a friend who just loves going to casinos. Nope, he's not the type who regularly goes to casinos and makes a habit of gambling. He would often visit a casino to play his favorite card games and slot machines. He'd often treat them as treats for himself. After sometime though, he thought of trying out a casino online. Since he enjoyed the convenience of being able to play without going to a casino, he started enjoying it so much more than a real casino. The only problem he sees with it is that he find himself playing more often. According to him, for as long as he's winning big and losing small, there's no harm in it.

cookies, anyone?

I have a terribly sweet tooth. That's also one of the reasons why I love to bake more than cook. One of the goodies I love to bake are cookies. I even have a compilation of different cookie recipes. My favorite is the chocolate chip cookie recipe, it's best when eaten with a glass of milk. With the holidays just around the corner, I plan to look for some christmas cookie recipes that I might be able to use. I had this great idea of baking and giving cookies to people instead of buying them gifts. I just hope they love my cookies as well.

Online and On Time

Why worry about whether those flowers you're looking to buy online will be delivered on time. When you go with Vogue flowers you can be sure that not only are you getting fresh flowers, but that you're getting the very best flower delivery out there. I’ve never had a moments hesitation when I buy flowers from them. Go to their site today, order some flowers, and I promise you that they'll be exactly where they're supposed to be when you want them to be there and looking great.

Doing More Than You'd Think

Creative Energy, a leader in Virginia home improvement, offers more services than most people realize. I know that you're aware of their four seasons sun rooms and vinyl siding replacement, but did you know that they're also experts at replacement window installation and custom deck building? I didn't think so. When you're looking to expand or upgrade your home, I can't think of a reason not to call Creative Energy, the home improvement experts for the central Virginia and Williamsburg areas.

rehab is the key

My cousin was telling me about her problem with one of her long-time friends. It turned out that her friend got to know a certain group of people and they are turning out to be bad influences. My cousin was not at ease from the very start with her friends association with the said 'undesirable' group. Then recently, my cousin found out that the group is into drugs. I've told her several ties to try to talk to her friend about getting into a drug rehab to be able to solve the problem early. She's now trying to look for a good place to suggest to her friend. I really hope and pray that she would be able to help her friend. It's never too late to get help.

rising expenses

Ramil and I have been talking about our rising monthly expenses. We've been especially feeling the pain of rising oil prices since we have travel far every weekend to visit our parents. It also seems that the trend will not change in the next few months. Some well-meaning friends are even telling us about some oil and gas investment opportunities. According to them, we might as well take advantage of the rising oil prices by investing in it. There are a lot more people looking into investing in oil. Some are apprehensive though because of the risks involved. Not to mention the fact that oil prices are easily affected by natural causes and political situations. Right now, Ramil and I are choosing to forego this investment option. I guess we just have to make less weekend trips.

get mail

Mateo and I were walking around our village the other day. This is one of my favorite activities because it lets me spend time with him and walk around at the same time. While walking around, I love looking at different houses. I fancied looking and comparing different mailboxes that day and I remembered looking at cbu mailboxes in a condominium before. Getting mail will always be such a treat if you have such nice mailboxes.

coupon addict

I am slowly changing from a mall sale fanatic to an online coupon addict. Since I couldn't go to malls as much as before, I settle myself with doing my shopping online. With the holiday season fast approaching, I am looking forward to more online shopping! Good thing there are a lot of coupons for people who love to save as well. I plan to visit Target for some new clothes for us and The Scholastic Store for some much-needed books for us and Mateo. I am so looking forward to the holidays this year. It's our first with Mateo and we want to make sure that it's going to be special for everyone.

check your blood

Ramil was discussing blood cells with his students the other day and they took up different diseases associated with blood. It was the first time I learned of Hypoxia or maybe we took it up in high school, I just couldn't remember it. LOL. This condition happens when there's inadequate supply of oxygen in the blood. People who have this condition are usually diagnosed using a pulse oximeter, a non-invasive diagnostic test used for detecting the percentage of hemoglobin that is saturated with oxygen. I got really curious about this condition and my darling husband gladly talked about blood for several minutes. Well, I learned a lot and it made me happy that I married a smart man. I hope Mateo grows up smart too.

start your own business

Ramil and I never don't plan to be mere employees for the rest of our lives. That's why starting our own business is somewhere at the top of our list of plans. However, we would need quite a sum of money to be able to push through with our plan. Starting your own business is no joke. There has to be in-depth planning to make sure that we are ready and capable of starting one. There's just so many things to consider. If you're one of those thinking of opening a restaurant, bar, or a cafe, it's sometimes wiser to consider equipment leasing. This would be a more affordable way of acquiring equipment rather than purchasing them. Some types of equipment that can be leased are medical equipment, heavy equipment, phone system equipment, property upgrades, and many more.

quiz me

When I was still starting to get myself comfortable browsing the web, one of the things I loved doing are online quizzes. I used to try out different personality quizzes, IQ quizzes, romance quizzes, movie quizzes, and a lot more. Now, there are so much more different kinds of quizzes, from Harry Potter quizzes to Fall Out Boy quizzes. I am starting to try out these quizzes once again though I fear getting hooked on them once more. Oh well, I'll try to do them only when I am free. Good luck to me.

are you covered?

One of the things I am planning to get for Ramil and me are life insurance coverage, even if we only get term life insurance. Having worked in the insurance industry before, I know how important it is to have yourself covered. Now that we have Mateo with us, I feel the importance all the more. We would want to be sure that Mateo will be taken care of if something bad happens to us. Hopefully, we'd be able to get ourselves covered by next year. I just need to save more and to budget it.

birthday treat

I'll be celebrating my birthday in a week. Ramil has already asked me what I want for my birthday. I've already opted for new running shoes to help me get back into shape but it would have been a real treat if we'd be able to afford some John Hardy bracelets. I love looking at their collections and wishing that we have more than enough for me to buy some. I've always loved earrings and it would also be great to get myself a pair. If not, well, there's always next year.

power off

My brother's desktop just gave out. He sent me a text message saying that he needs some help. Ramil found out that the CPU needs a power supply repair. Good thing that the problem would be easily fixed and that he could use the computer as soon as we are able to have the power supply fixed or replaced. He was scared at first that the problem might be the hard drive. He feared for all the files he has never backed up for months. Since I had files in his computer too, I was relieved as well.

ink me

Ramil and I print tons of paper every month. Being teachers, we sometimes take it upon ourselves to create exercise sheets or hand-outs to students and to just print it at home. Our solution is to bulk buy low-cost paper and low-cost ink. The problem with low-cost ink is the quality. Good thing there's CartridgeFinder.com, a site that identifies the correct cartridge for a specific printer and also includes links to sites where you can buy the right cartridge. Looking for ink has never been this easy. Learn more about the site:

CartridgeFinder.com has an easy to use interface that makes it simple to figure out which cartridges are required for more than 10,000 different models of printer, copier, and fax machines.

The site also checks PriceGrabber.com's merchant listings to find you the best price on the product you need.

our comfy room

I love our bedroom. It's our bonding area. Ramil, Mateo, and I spend a lot of time inside our room bonding and playing together. It's such a big improvement from our room before where it's cramped and hot. We even thought of installing ceiling fans in the house we used to rent to save on space while attempting to cool the room. However, Ramil and I debated the hassle of installing one and then bringing it with us when we leave the place. Good thing we decided against it, the house we moved into even has an airconditioner so we we don't really need an electric fan.

part of the entourage

Now that I am married, I don't expect to be included in a wedding's entourage list. It seems though that some people don't care whether their entourage are married or not. I still remember when we were planning our wedding. We had some difficulty finalizing our entourage list because some people we wanted to include are either away or won't be able to make it. We initially didn't think of getting them a gift but when Ramil was a groomsman for his cousin's wedding, he got a really nice gift. That's how we learned all about the groomsmen gift. It's the couples way of saying special thanks to people who have accepted special roles on their wedding day. Sounds right to me, eh?

travel frustrations

Since I love to travel and I haven't really been able to do this, I have this major frustration to visit a lot of places. At first, Ramil and I were busy trying to save up that we simply didn't want to set aside money for travel. Right now, we would love to travel and we could afford an inexpensive one but we are waiting until Mateo is a bit bigger already. We would like to bring him too to all the places we want to go to.

Hopefully, when Mateo is at least a year old, we could finally go somewhere. I am planning a summer get-away for our family next year and I can't wait. Until then, I satisfy myself with reading a travel blog to make myself feel like I'm still going places. I also like reading about different travel destinations because I get to learn a lot of things, not to mention it would help me prepare for all the destinations I plan to go to someday.

wedding season

The wedding season for my generation is finally here. I've been getting wedding invitations and they get more frequent with each passing month. I am really excited for my friends who are getting married and who are planning to get married. Married life is surely very different but I only have great words about it whenever somebody asks me about it. Ramil and I have been married for 22 months now and I've been having the greatest time of my life.

healthy weight

I know a lot of people who needs to seriously lose weight, not for aesthetic purposes but for health reasons. Losing weight is beyond wanting to look sexy. Now that I am older, I've come to realize that achieving one's ideal weight is not just for wearing sexy clothes and attracting that guy that you want. It's about living a healthier life. There are a lot of options for those who needs to lose weight. One of these is Akavar , a weight loss supplement from Dynakor Pharmacal. They will be launching an advertising campaign in Parade Magazine. The magazine will feature a weight loss product for the first time in 15 years. This weight loss pill claims to make you lose weight even if you make no changes to your eating habits. This would definitely be good for those who can't seem to control their appetite. It might be a good idea to give these to some people I know.

fashion and scrubs can go together

Ramil and I have a lot of friends and batchmates who are finally doctors. I know he'd sometimes get sentimental thinking that he could have been a doctor himself now. I myself have considered being one when I was still in high school. The whole business of helping people who are sick appealed to me. I have imagined myself wearing Medical Scrubs and working in an advanced hospital. If I had pushed through with my plans to become one, I could be shopping for some stylish Katherine Heigl Scrubs right now. There are really nice looking medical and Nursing Scrubs, not like the drab-looking scrubs they used to wear before. I would have loved to work around in a hospital wearing one of these:

Now who says doctors need to look harassed and tired all the time? I love those pink colors and the cut of those tops. The only problem is that other people in the hospital might not recognize the doctors when they see one wearing these scrubs, they look good enough for casual wear. I'm planning on getting some for my doctor friends as gifts. I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

managing people

I think one of the most difficult tasks when you are an employer is to manage your people or your employees. For a small school like where I work, putting a system in place for employee concerns is not that easy. It can be tempting not to get a human resources software since there are only a few of them but even with a small number of employees, it is important to utilize one. It helps to make sure that all areas of HR are more or less covered in an organized way. I'm sure any HR person would agree with me. Maybe I should suggest this to our own workplace.

waking up my shopping instinct

It's shopping time once again and with the length of time that I haven't really shopped, my shopping instinct needs to be woken up. What better way to wake it up by checking out Overstock coupons or ShoeBuy coupons. Getting some really good BlueNile coupons could also provide stimulation. Good thing I have lots of reasons to shop right now. Not to mention a lot of gifts to buy for Christmas. I hope to find as many coupons as possible so that I could make a big savings on my christmas shopping.

my birthday's almost here

My birthday is almost here! Year after year, even if I don't have anything planned for my birthday, it never fails to excite me somewhat. Last year, my friends gave me a surprise birthday party/baby shower. For this year, I would be perfectly happy to stay home with my two boys. Motherhood really does a lot of wonders for me. Nothing will be more entertaining than playing with Mateo. No jewelry could make me feel so special than my baby's smiles and my husband's kisses. Because of them, I look forward to getting a year older. It simply means another year of living and loving.

a religious vacation

One of my dream vacations is to go on a religious trip abroad. There are a lot of churches that in Europe that would be great to visit. Aside from the St. Peter's Cathedral in St. Peter's Square in Rome, I would also love to visit the Basilica San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica) in its own St. Mark's Square in Venice. I would take the opportunity to visit this cathedral of Venice when I get the chance to go to Venice. The attractions in this place goes beyond the Basilica, it also offers a wonderful collection of museums. Even just looking at Venice apartments would be heavenly with the kind of architecture they have. I'm pretty sure I'd love walking on the lovely bridges and admiring the nice palaces. It's slowly becoming a must-see place for me.

dealing with hair loss

A friend of mine just got a new haircut. At a young age of 25, he has been losing hair already. According to him, baldness runs in his family and he doesn't want to make it too obvious by growing his hair long. Although he seems to have dealt with his hair loss issues already, he'd also sometimes be wistful whenever he sees another guy with long hair. He's been talking about provillus, transplants, and anything else related to hairs. I know he also plans to still do something about it lest he gets really bald before he even gets married to his girlfriend.

Good thing baldness is rarer in women although my dad seems to be starting to show signs of baldness. Ramil also seems to have a tendency to go bald. So I guess Mateo might expect it when he gets older. In any case, I know my two boys are still handsome, with or without hair ;)

couple time

Ever since Mateo came into our lives, we've been missing some couple time. The summer has come and gone and yet Ramil and I haven't gone swimming AT ALL! Hearing about our friends' summer outings can sometimes make me wish we can do the same. We have a lot of traveling plans and it would be great to be able to experience London hotels since we love staying in different hotels, even cheap hotels.

Although there are times when we are wishful of such things, we don't regret not being able to explore them now. Our life right now revolves around Mateo and time will come when we can go to such places with him. Before we know it, we would be planning to go to London and asking hotels about their crib use. Hehe!

Mateo's first Halloween!

Our little boy will be having his first Halloween! I'm pretty excited for him. I've been thinking about the best and cutest halloween costume I could get for him. His first halloween costume should be really memorable. Oh, and I told Ramil we should be in Halloween Costumes too. LOL. So right now, finding a costume for Mateo would be pretty easy. It's finding costumes for us that would be difficult. Come to think of it, I haven't really dressed up for halloween ever. There are a lot of deals online on costumes right now so I might take advantage. I guess it's going to be a first for both Mateo and me. Time to look for matching costumes.

our naughty little boy

Mateo is getting more active everyday. He's so tiring to look after now. He doesn't want to be held, instead he wants freedom to roam around the house crawling and standing up whenever he has something to hold on to. It is wreaking havoc on our usually tidy house. His hand has been automatically grabbing for a picture frame, a table lamp, and basically just anything within his reach. Oh, and I know that this is just the start of it.

birthday money

When I graduated from college, it was clear to me what I wanted to do - that is to make some money! And from the moment I started looking for work, that is what I always had in mind. I know where my strength lies and that's where I went to earn the bucks.

Unfortunately, I didn't know that married life could be quite painful on the pocket. Add the expenses of having a baby and surely, even if making money could come easy keeping it is another matter. What Ramil and I did was to take on some extra job on the side, apart from our regular jobs. When Mateo came along, the problem of staying home with him and being able to earn money at the same time became an issue. Good thing blog advertising is quickly becoming the rage in the internet world, I was able to utilize my blog to write about stuff I like and earn money at the same time.

Payperpost has been such a big help to our small, struggling family. The money I earn from making blog posts lets us have a little more than what we need. Like eating out at a nice restaurant, or buying extra toys for Mateo, or even slowly saving for something expensive like a digital camera. Lately, I've been trying to set aside my online earnings from PPP for Mateo's first birthday party on January. I still have a lot of time left and by the time January is near, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to save up enough for a nice party for him. Thanks a lot PPP! :)

London, oh London

This place has always been intriguing for me. Blame it on the song London bridge is falling down. Ever since I heard the song when I was little, I told myself that I want to see this London bridge and that I will go to London someday. Since Europe has also been a dream destination for me, I am willing myself to make my dream come true.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I have always been on the lookout for hotel deals and our trip to London will be no exception. I hope our London accommodation will be affordable, nice, and stylish all at the same time. Although our dream London trip might not happen in the next few years, I know I'll get to do it someday even if only just to satisfy my childhood dream of going to London.

filling up a dream house

Ramil and I are being urged by our parents to take a risk and to avail of a housing loan. They feel that paying rent is such a waste of money when we could have been paying for our own home already. We are currently looking for our dream house and even though we haven't found it yet, it doesn't stop us from looking for Home Furniture to fill it with. A good house needs a good Dining Room Furniture and Living Room Furniture. Of course, even the most private part of the house needs to look good so our future house would benefit from a good White King Bedroom Furniture. It seems that we have all the stylish things to fill our house with. We just need a house to put them in :)

comfy beddings

I love sleeping. I could say that my favorite part of the house has always been our bed. Even when I was still living with my parents, my bed was a refuge, the best part of the house for me. I guess that's why I am very particular with how my bed looks like, feels like, and smells like. Ramil could attest to the fact that I have a tendency to obsess when it comes to fixing our bed. My mom even used to look for special Teen Bedding for me, knowing that I can be quite choosy.

For me, sleep is one of the most important activities in our daily life, along with eating. So it is important that we the quality of our sleep is really good and for me, one way of achieving that is to make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed while sleeping. Eight hours a day in an haphazardly made bed with tacky designs can be more stressful than relaxing for me!

free security

One of the threats to one's website is Cross Site Scripting. What's this? According to en.wikipedia.org, Cross Site Scripting or XSS is a type of computer security vulnerability typically found in web applications which allow code injection by malicious web users into the web pages viewed by other users. Examples of such code include HTML code and client-side scripts. Good thing there are web vulnerability scanners, which allows companies to check for cross site scripting vulnerabilities in their websites. What's better is that you could actually Download Your Free Acunetix XSS Scanner. Read more about it:

What is Cross Site Scripting?
Cross Site Scripting allows an attacker to embed malicious JavaScript, VBScript, ActiveX, HTML, or Flash into a vulnerable dynamic page to fool the user, executing the script on his machine in order to gather data. The use of XSS might compromise private information, manipulate or steal cookies, create requests that can be mistaken for those of a valid user, or execute malicious code on the end-user systems. The data is usually formatted as a hyperlink containing malicious content and which is distributed over any possible means on the internet. Cross site scripting vulnerabilities are extremely dangerous and the number of the attacks is on the rise. More information about Cross Site Scripting can be found at http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/cross-site-scripting.htm

Many a large-scale corporation has fallen prey to Cross Site Scripting (XSS), as it is one of the most common yet underestimated of web attacks. In August 2006, hackers stole the personal data of nearly 19,000 DSL equipment customers through a vulnerability in AT&T’s online store. Whereas in June 2006, PayPal users were tricked into giving away social security numbers, credit card details and other highly sensitive personal information through a cross site scripting vulnerability in the PayPal website.

A report from Mitre Corp., a US government funded research organization, issued in September 2006 indicated that Cross-Site scripting ranked first in a list of top security risks. In a study conducted by Acunetix, 42% of the websites scanned with Acunetix WVS were found to be vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting.

“Companies don’t realize the danger their web sites are under and are therefore reluctant to invest in web vulnerability scanners. Consequently, security officers don’t have the tools to protect their websites. The free XSS scanner will give security officers access to a professional cross site scanning tool, that will allow them to assess their web sites for the cross site scripting danger,” said Jonathan Spiteri, Technical Manager of Acunetix.

Scanning for XSS vulnerabilities with Acunetix WVS Free Edition
To check whether your website has cross site scripting vulnerabilities, download the free edition from http://www.acunetix.com/cross-site-scripting/scanner.htm. This version will scan any website / web application for XSS vulnerabilities and it will also reveal all the essential information related to it, such as the vulnerability location and remediation techniques. Scanning for XSS is normally a quick exercise (depending on the size of the web-site). A detailed guide how to scan for cross site scripting vulnerabilities can be found here http://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/xss.htm.

The Free Edition also allows you to sample what other threats Acunetix WVS can find by allowing you to scan the Acunetix test sites for vulnerabilities.

About Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner
Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner ensures website security by automatically checking for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other vulnerabilities. It checks password strength on authentication pages and automatically audits shopping carts, forms, dynamic content and other web applications. As the scan is being completed, the software produces detailed reports that pinpoint where vulnerabilities exist. Acunetix WVS Reporting Application allows security alerts to be presented in a document which abides by the PCI Compliance specification.

About Acunetix
Acunetix was founded to combat the alarming rise in web attacks. Its flagship product, Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, is the result of several years of development by a team of highly experienced security developers. Acunetix is a privately held company with headquarters based in Europe (Malta) and an office in London, UK. For more information about Acunetix, visit: http://www.acunetix.com; http://www.acunetix.de.

missing snail mail

I used to love writing letters and going to the post office to mail them. I even used to love collecting stamps and to think that most of my students don't even know what a stamp looks like. Nowadays though, the only mail that goes through actual mail boxes are bills and statements of account. Even these are slowly starting to be emailed by companies. I miss getting letters through snail mail.

holiday shopping once again

The holidays are coming!!! This could mean only one thing... people will be once again shopping more than ever. For someone who don't do shopping sprees anymore like me, this season could be quite a treat. Unfortunately, a lot of crooks also take advantage of this season. I bet there are higher hold-up incidents too aside from higher shopping trips. That's why I never liked carrying a lot of cash during holidays, it just makes it easier for the crooks. Usually, I bring a Credit Card or two to use for my purchases. Aside from being safer than carrying cash, it is also more convenient. This means my cards will be taken out of my wallet more often in the next few weeks. Just need to practice some self-control. Haha!

fixing one's life

An uncle of a friend has recently battled with drug problems. For years, his family tried to help him with his problems. Unfortunately, her refused any kind of help from them. He was so addicted to drugs that it ruined his family life, and also his career. They tried to persuade him to admit himself to a drug rehab facility but he wouldn't hear any of it. A few months back though, he seemed to changed his mind and told his family that he would change his ways. Right now, they are praying that he succeeds in his mission to fix his life.

holiday fun

Holidays mean vacation time for a lot of families. Ramil and I now find ourselves almost to that point. I'm sure a lot of families like us are looking at getting a fort william holiday cottage for that much needed holiday break. As for us small family, we can't wait to get away for the holidays too. Problem is, Mateo is too small for such trips. In a few months' time, we just might get our needed break too.

video talks

Every 17th of the month, I usually get fleeting images of our wedding on my mind. Sometimes I'd even look at some of the pictures that are in our laptop. There were very few times when I watched our wedding video. I just love our wedding video! Although Ramil and I didn't plan on splurging on that wedding item, we ended up getting a really good one. Not before we learned all about h