How Your Smile Affects Your Age

Worried about your smile not as bright and as beautiful as before?  Cheer up, you can smile even brighter than you did thirty years ago.

Why your teeth lose their shine

Your smile turns dull as time goes and makes you look older. This is because teeth begin to discolor from stains accumulated through years of drinking coffee, tea or alcoholic drinks. They gradually lose their protective enamel and make your smile less and less perfect.

The problem with dentures

If you want to try dentures you need to know that they have an even faster discoloration; they turn yellow or gray and unfortunately wear down a lot quicker than natural teeth so you need to have them realigned after three to five years. The more costly part is you need to have dentures changed after six to ten years of using them.

It is time for dental makeovers

We know all sorts of products that can make us look younger such as skin treatments, cosmetics, body enhancements and surgery but few of us know about other alternatives. One excellent way which I would like to talk about on this post is dental makeover. If we are that particular about how to enhance our hairstyle, polish  our nails and put on the best makeup we should not care less about how to take care of our teeth. A beautiful smile makes a lasting good impression and a dental makeover helps you do that.

For a quick makeover, go for teeth whitening with your dentist.  Having the procedure in a dental clinic is safer and guarantees better results compared to using over-the-counter products. But if you want to save money you can do it yourself at home. Just make sure you know how to do it properly.

For further beauty enhancements, and if you’ve got the funds, go for composite bonding. Now that sure sounds a bit complicated. I’m sure we will have the chance to discuss it here soon. Porcelain veneers and crowns are also great options. These dental cosmetic enhancements result to an improvement so subtle people think it is weight loss or you just had a hairstyle change.

Any other suggestion for a fresher, younger smile? Share in the comment section. You can as well grab a mirror and see if you need some dental makeover now.What do you think?  Be sure to connect with me on Facebook Page and let us discuss.

Five Creative Ways to Celebrate an Awesome Birthday

You need to feel important; that is a basic need of every human being. Whether we admit it or not, we feel awesome when people celebrate us. But you can do it the other way around. Here are purposeful and creative birthday ideas – the kind that will make others feel important and makes your life count.

  1.Hold a feeding activity for hungry people.

If you have money, just for one time, buy food for street kids or people in depressed communities. Don’t serve soup or any low-cost snacks. Prepare a nutritious, delicious meal any birthday party guest will love and make it your best treat, a celebration of the life you were given. It’s worth it.

 2.Not much money? Acts of kindness will count.

Look for ways to serve. Money isn’t everything when you want to have creative ways to celebrate your birthday. Help an elderly woman cross the street. Volunteer to do the laundry of your aged neighbor. Gather your neighbors’ kids for a story telling and ice cream treat . Sounds ridiculous, but when you do these with the right attitude you’ll feel like the richest billionaire in the neighborhood.

3.Plant a tree.

Imagine if you plant a single tree for each year of your life. You will be able to take care of the environment which has nurtured you for years. Who knows, you may like to do it more often if you try. Think global responsibility.

4.Give away useful stuff.

Take that size two dress you have waited three years to snuggle into. Give it away. You will do yourself a favor because you will no longer feel stressed every time you open your closet. A rule in space organizing says, “If you survive six months without using something you consider giving away, it’s worth giving away.” This is a creative birthday idea that will give you a clutter-free home and make others happy.

 5. Do something you are good at and give it your best shot.

Can you sing? Sing with all your might – on video tape – and post it on YouTube. If you can raise funds for an orphanage through dancing, do it. If you are a gifted photographer snap the best picture you could ever take and . It’s always a principle that when you do what you are happy to do, you get the most feeling of significance.

There. Five creative ways to celebrate an awesome birthday. You can choose one that will work for you. Can you think of more to add to my list? Have you ever done something creative and different on your birthday? Shoot me a comment. Please also like my page and come back to this site to get more creative woman’s tips, solutions and inspiration.

The Rewards of a Stay at Home Working Woman

photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

It is official –  I’m now a certified stay at home working woman, are you?

It took me several weeks to finally get used to it. I have been a working woman for almost 27 years, particularly a working mom for eight years, and I loved my job. In fact, nothing could ever separate me from it whether I get paid or not; except this inner stirring to do something else, or more accurately, a lot more other things. If I were to discuss those, we would get past 100 web pages.

I used to dislike staying at home both for good and bad reasons. For one, I won’t have a monthly salary, another, I will miss my office friends and still another, I will have to quit doing what I have always done for almost 21 years. There are a lot more reasons but, honestly, the most challenging is staying home with my two grade school boys. You read it right. Two grade school boys – they jump on my toes, scribble on my books, climb on our dining table, climb our windows, play basketball in the bathroom, mess up with the neighbour’s cat, run on the stairs, play with the stove, beat each other up and run and yell all the time. The list is endless, and attempting to write it can already make me all stressed-out just yet.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my kids. They are two terrific little guys I’m starting to hang around with more often. In the midst of my most stressful adjustment days, I see a twinkle in their eyes just because I’m almost always beside them and I learn a lot of precious little lessons. I guess there is just a lot of transformation going inside. Of the things I enjoy about being a stay-at-home mom, these four top the list.

1. Get to greet the kids at the door when they get home from school

Only a few moms get to do this. That classic moment like the one we usually see on TV, when my kids run and shout, “Mama!” and I spread my arms to hug them, and then ask, “How was school today”?

I can do that every day, and still feel like a first-timer every time.  Whenever I see my kids smile their sweetest, I feel like a loving mom in a feel-good old movie. I think I need more of this loving experience because it refreshes me. I’m also starting to like it when I can closely look into their needs every day. How about the stress? Oh, well, I’d get used to it if I couldn’t avoid it. The smiles on my kids’ face are priceless.

2. Get plenty of rest both for my mind and body

I needed this one so bad. I guess everybody does, but not everybody decides to enjoy it in a world that is so busy. I still work – on my own terms, and I think I’m entitled to it even for just the moment or maybe extend it for a while. Ah, just the thought makes not only my body, but also my mind breathe. I just feel I need a long-overdue rest after 21 years. Resting is good because, as one friend puts it, I can get back to my life purpose and re-define what I am really designed to do. Rest is not only for a stay-at-home working woman, it’s for everyone.  Let me ask you, have you taken a good rest lately?

3. Get a clearer perspective on the path I’m taking

I once joined a survival camp at one of the tallest mountains in Lambunao, Iloilo. It was such an awesome adventure, but turned out more than we figured out. We ended up not quite ready to climb. I saw a fellow camper, actually a rescue team volunteer, pass out. He was pale as paper, panting and almost unable to speak at the first stop. It was a difficult hike to the top.

We found it necessary to rest in the middle of the long trek and consider two things: get all the way back to the plains and go home, or go ahead to the top where the resting place, a nipa hut, and a group of waving younger campers who made me a bit insecure for getting there first, await us. We chose to go ahead, and reached the top. When you’re on a journey, it is good to step back once in a while and get a better perspective of how far you have gone, and gather all the strength you need to reach your chosen destination.

4. Get to work – and earn when I want, where I want

The months without regular work and a regular pay are not the best. I and my husband have been through a lot. Cutting down on living cost was impossible because there was practically nothing left to cut down. I have learned, though, that when we ask God for daily bread, He does not necessarily give us money or material things because such cannot sustain nor satisfy, but He gives us creative ideas, lots of creative ideas not only for ourselves, but also for others. I’m currently working on those creative ideas and I feel like a bird free from the cage, a goldfish out of the bowl. Both ends will finally meet.

I’m getting back to my small home-based business (very slowly, but getting there), and I still have a lot more businesses in mind. I failed on these things several times, but they kept haunting me, and until now I had to face those failures. I’m back with more time, more creativity, more faith, and more hard-earned lessons in my pocket. I also can work better on my blogs now, I occasionally get clients as a freelance writer, and I just got hired to do an amazing work-at-home job (I will write about it in the following months) that fits my personal purpose, interest and skills. Now, I’m looking forward to my first pay-day.

I can go on and on, but I like to ask you about your own work experience. I know things don’t always work the same way for everybody. Which one is more applicable to you, to have a work-at-home job, or work in a physical office condition? Write a comment on this post and let us discuss, or like me on Facebook for updates on this useful topic.

Students and OFWs: Earn Extra Income by Writing Online Articles

What if you don’t have to leave your family and still earn dollars? Or what if you shorten your time away from your family by earning extra income as an OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers)? I’m going to share with you how.

Can you write? Or do you love to write? You can earn by writing online articles. It is a great alternative to applying for a job abroad as OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) or at least, earning while you wait for your chance to leave. Earning money is not the only goal of writing online articles but it’s definitely one good reason to try the job. I’d like to specifically discuss it on this post.

I was just trying to look for a place on the web to post my products when I stumbled upon “online jobs”. I clicked on the links and found (aside from malware and suspicious files) hundreds and hundreds of possible income from the web. Writing online articles got most of my attention.

It was surprising to know that there are a number of Filipinos writing online articles today. I surfed further and landed on a post (I called it a testimonial back then. I did not know anything about posts at the time) of a doctor who stopped seeing patients and wrote articles to get paid dollars. Her link introduced me to a bidding site for online jobs. It was an entirely new world for me and apart from the tips I got from that post I did not have any idea what to do. But I tried, and I’m on!

How do you go about it? The following platforms will get you started slowly but will surely teach you how to get there:

Bidding Sites. Thank God, I joined Freelancer.Com. It’s a site where you just register using an e-mail address and post some of your skills, experiences, and portfolio. Then you place a bid on projects you like. I didn’t win projects right away. You usually need to bid at least 15 times before you get your first job. I got mine after three bid attempts. I’ll tell you how to do it on my next posts. I had three clients on my first week.

Pay isn’t much when you’re just starting, but sites such as Freelancer.Com, Elance.Com, Scriptlance.Com, oDesk.Com can prove a good launching, and can train you on the following:

• Knowing how to market yourself as a freelance writer and get the best jobs
• Learning how to choose the best clients and knowing how to deal with them
• Learning to write for the web (it’s a world different from other media)
• Keeping up with submissions and deadlines
• Learning about secure payment transactions
• Maximizing your income potential

Blogging for money.  A few years ago, bloggers are just people who post their journals online but blogging have evolved from being more than just personal daily journals and musings. There are bloggers earning significant income from ads, reviews, marketing and a lot more things. We are also going to talk about this on my next posts. Money is not a problem at all if you want to start. Top free blogging sites are WordPress.Com and Blogger.Com, followed by many others. Surf over Google if you want to learn more about free blogging sites or platforms.

Profit through ghostwriting. It is basically writing a book or an article and not getting credit for it except cash. Well, kind of writing for just cash but it’s actually more than that.

A ghostwriter uses the voice of his client who can either be a company, an individual writer, or any form of business. You may find it kind of rude to let others take the credit for your hard-earned article. But after fully understanding this job, I began to look for an opportunity. Ghostwriting jobs pay around $20 to $200 per page. Some ghostwriters earn $1,000 to $2,000 per project. You can earn as much as you roll.

On my next posts, we are going to talk more specifically about these platforms but for now I want you to start doing something. Go to Google and find the sites I mentioned. See where you would want to start with your online writing career and get a feel of what I’m talking about. Should you need to ask some questions, or have any comments and suggestions, place them on the comment box below and like me on Facebook so we can talk. Following me on Twitter would be wonderful, too.

I believe in the wonderful gifts God gave us Filipinos. Filipinos write well. You will see when you start doing this job. I believe in you!