There was a time in my life when all I wanted was to travel and eat delectable food. Sometimes I still get that feeling overwhelming me and my thoughts would always wander off to good ol' Italy. It's been my life's dream to visit that place and eat all the pizza I want! But alas, I cannot afford the luxury and time so I will just continue to dream about it... for now.

But allow me to share with you a story of something that just happened very recently.













Pizza Hut's Tuscani SUPREMO Pizza is perfect for men, women, and children of all ages! The perfect blend of cheese, vegetables, meat, and spices makes it the ultimate pizza concoction.


1) Because it would be easier for me to keep up-to-date with the latest about Pizza Hut by browsing their website regularly. Their specials and promos are something I keep looking forward to.


2) Easier to access social media networks like Facebook by clicking an app to interact with fellow fans of Pizza Hut and easier for me to share to my friends my latest discoveries and update them with what's happening. A big bonus also is the camera so I can take and post pictures and HD quality videos. 






Love, 

Maria Franco

xoxo,

The primary reason why I started blogging was to be able rant about my feelings and thoughts on certain things (and some people). Writing has always been a passion for me. It's how I let off steam and a method of keeping my sanity intact. From diaries to journals, and over the recent years, to blogs. I had only a few readers then. Just a couple of close friends and acquaintances from work. Honestly, I knew nothing about SEO or a thing or two about the blogosphere. All I really care is a place where I can jot down type my thoughts and post pictures of myself and random stuffs. My blog is going to be my very first memoir when I die. And that is still my goal. I want my blog to be published into a book someday, even posthumous.

Now just like technology, ever-changing as it is, my blog with all its random posts and updates about my life has also become a tool for advertising and entering contests. Luckily, I got Lady Luck rooting for me, not always though, but most of the time I should say.

AHA! So now you're probably thinking, "Hmmm. What did this igat win this time?"

This arrived via courier today.





GUESS.



That logo is such a dead giveaway. PAK!



Need I say more?

Okay, this is not me bragging or anything (maybe a little!) but what I want to convey is that in order to win something -- yup, I won an iPad (again!) -- you have to be very motivated to win. So okay, how do you do that? Easy. Well, you have to believe that "you'll never win if you never begin". It goes without saying, if there's a chance for you to win, then by all means, grab that chance. Like join a contest if you think you're qualified. Like play a game but make sure you know the rules first. Like everything else in life, as Nike puts it, JUST DO IT. Honey, you don't get anywhere if you don't move... take a step forward and it helps loads if you put your best foot forward. Don't be lazy! Mmkay?



So how exactly do you win? Being born under the Zodiac Sign Aries, I tend to be pretty headstrong and all the time sometimes too aggressive. So I motivate myself in the words of Zig Ziglar, "You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win." Of course, I do keep in mind that a loser doesn't know what he'll do if he loses, but talks about what he'll do if he wins. However, a winner doesn't talk about what he'll do if he wins, but knows what he'll do if he loses. Gets?



WOOHOO! An iPad 2!!! And it's WHITE!!!

Now more importantly, you ask, "Where did this awesome prize come from?"



Where else? All the way from Sunny Singapore...



Thank you so much, MATCHMOVE GAMES!!!


You guys need to go right now and play their GAMES! Not only are they awesome (so many to choose from!!! FTW!) but you get to win from their contests, too! And it's REAL!!! I can testify... Tee hee.


Matchmove's website on the iPad.



It's just too bad that Apple doesn't support FLASH on the iPad, so I can't play PLINK or other MM games with it. :(



So anyways, I'm off to play with my new toy now and I leave you with this food for thought: "Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” (-Wilma Rudolph)

AND THAT IS THAT. KTNXBYE!

P.S. God is good! (ALL THE TIME!)

xoxo,

 

Got a chance to take part of an awesome contest campaign... You might want to check out my TUMBLR blog to win a prize. What have you got to lose, eh?



GO NOW!




http://mrsnoodleboy.tumblr.com/post/10365853550/johnsons-my-kids-growing-up-so-fast-contest





 VAMANOS, VAMANOS!!!





xoxo,

The first half of the first month of the year has given me enough time to start a few projects. These, however, aren't meant for me to get richer or what. It's for educational purposes. In other words, I'm learning new things (investing money and time) merely for the sake of fun, creativity, and well, just to get rid of boredom. It's actually fun because I need to upgrade my skills and knowledge in this dog-eat-dog world. To give you a clearer picture...

Take a look at this site I just made exclusively for the videos and audios that I've accumulated these past few days/weeks. Or click here:
http://mymaria.podbean.com/

There's more to come in the following weeks, that is, if I don't get a new job or projects (paid, this time!) that will again take up 20 hours of my time each day. Not that I'm complaining. I actually prefer being busy than not doing anything at all. (I've done that for the first 20 years of my life! Bumming around I mean.) Being productive is so much better than possessing an idle mind which eventually becomes a devil's workshop. True.

Another thing that has been keeping me in check is my "skin project", which I have yet to reveal as soon as I accomplish this thing. I'm very excited about it and hopefully see results in the end. This one's really got me all worked up... stressed and broke. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. ;) I'll keep you posted about this one but as of now, you'll just have to wait and see... since that's exactly what I'm doing, too. Also, I'm seriously considering getting a makeover in the next week or two. There's a new salon that opened up in town owned by a friend who just became a sough after make-up artist for celebs in Manila and decided to move back home to operate a business. I guess it's another one of those theres-no-place-like-home decisions almost all of us go through at one point in time. I will definitely blog about that project when it happens.

Looking for cool contests and joining those that I find exciting, even the intriguing and controversial ones, are also still in my agenda. I haven't lost hope or motivation for this (yup, I even got time to do it) and it's pretty exciting to know that there's 12 months of contests to look forward to this year! I also want to keep my optimism in check. I could still remember that time I won TWICE when Auction.ph was launched back in 2007 or was it 2008?! I really did win two DVD players just by signing up or registering... No joke! Well, one account was under my name and the other under my mom's name. Tee hee! Another similar thing has just begun. All you gotta do is sign up for PAKYAW. Click photo below:



Furthermore, my weight project is 100% complete and I'm not sure I want to share my secret to the world. *insert evil laugh here* And honestly, a lot of my friends have benefited from it -- friends that are actually in my circle here. So cyber buddies, if you must insist, send me a message on Facebook, tweet, or email me and I'll do my best to share with you this SUPER GUARANTEED METHOD of losing weight and trust me, it won't cost you an arm or a leg. Just the usual... a bit of discipline and well, a lot of water. For more details, do get in touch with me. I'm not utterly selfish. I share what I know, but I just don't want people stealing my ideas all the time and taking credit for it. Ugh. So annoying!



I didn't get back my 25" waistline doing just nothing, you know. ;) And the Holidays just ended! But trust me when I say, I didn't break a sweat losing 3 inches off my waistline and the unwanted 12 pounds. Friends of mine (names withheld!) lost as much as I did and Noodle Boy even lost 15 pounds! But hey, if I share you my secret, then you'll have to be sworn in to secrecy and give me your first born child. LOL. I kid, I kid!

Alright, that's it for a quick blog update. I'll write some more next time when I come up with amazingly brilliant ideas for a blog entry. Don't worry, I don't suspect I'll be getting a mental block any time soon. *knock on wood*

What about you guys? What's keeping you busy and do you have something for me to do while I still have time to do it? Come on, pitch me some ideas in the comments!


xoxo,

Another year, another 365 days of cool contests online. I've never considered myself really lucky. I haven't won the lotto, right? But chances are, I usually get Lady Luck's nod when it comes to contests. I enjoy contests. I'm not a very competitive person evidently as you can see that I'm not into sports.  But as far as playing cards, gambling, and writing competitions, I've been doing it for as long as I remember. Even before the dawn of the Internet.

I come from a family who plays madjong almost everyday; hosts madjong, piat2x/pusoy, and poker sessions at my house; and goes to the casino whenever there is a chance to. When I went to Las Vegas with my mom, I could literally see the sparkle in her eyes. I wasn't really there for the games... If you know what I mean. ^_^



Well, that's just some of the photos because you know what they say, "What happens in Vegas..."

I digress.

So anyways, this year started good as far as online contests. I happen to win a prize from Yugatech's BB give-away. Not the BB itself, but I got this Globe Tattoo USB. Not bad at all! :)

Last year's lucky streak was by far the greatest I've had. Starting off with claiming the prize from Century Bangus. I truly believe that the more you give, the more you receive. So I started my own contest in celebration of my birthday, which I plan to do again this year. So watch out for that one. It's coming up pretty soon!!! And then there was the Havaianas Give-Away I hosted as a Thank You for being chosen one of the top 10 winners of the Havaianas Happy Soles contest.

There were other contests I joined but didn't win last year. Nevertheless, I always have fun writing my blog posts (no pressure really) since I am very passionate about writing. The numerous awards I've received during my academic years with my writing and speech talents plus the recognitions and positions I've held as a writer making me very skilled in this area do make blogging very easy and it comes naturally. I thank God for this gift.

I don't really think about the competition when I join blog contests. I just do my best... and of course, I join a lot of them so there's a big chance that I get to win some of them. I always tell my friends who ask me why I win a lot that it's just like the lottery. If you don't buy a lotto ticket, then what odds do you have of winning? You got nothing to lose when you write a blog post. Well, if you have time to do it anyway. There were also contests I've missed because I've been busy trying to run a business and then there's the occasional writer's block I have to deal with.

Facebook contests were aplenty. It started with the Acer Connects promo that Noodle Boy and I won together. I think he's my lucky charm. Since then I won twice with Maybelline. From a random contest and a survey, participated by hundreds if not thousands of FB fans. I also won for my mom a gift pack from L'Oreal and won for myself the Limited Edition Pilipinas backpack from Jansport Philippines. And who can forget my EPIC WIN from I Commit to Change and Pantene PRO V?

There had also been mini contests I've joined but wasn't able to get the prizes when I won them. Time, travel, and location always factor in. Like the Nokia OVI contest, the Globe's Betcha Can Remember promo, the OpenRice promo and a consolation prize which I have yet to claim from them by the way, and also I have yet to receive my prize from the PensAndLens Photo contest!

And so for 2011, I hope I have time to join more blog/photo contests and should Lady Luck be on my side, hopefully win some more. I am not a sore loser though. I have enough experience at winning and losing contests and honestly, I think these contests are opportunities for me to unleash any creativity I still have untarnished by alcohol in my system. I swear, if I didn't have a blog or a phone, I pretty much think I have early Alzheimer's. I forget a lot of things, events, and even people. Blogging my life is turning into an early memoir.

And I'm not just going to limit myself at just writing and photography for this year, I'm also exploring the world of videos. Writing and photography was last year's project/New Year's resolution. Time to take it up another notch.

So here's a recent video I made out of sheer boredom and some creativity given the light of the situation. Don't judge me! This is just for fun! Watch this:



If you didn't laugh at the video, then there must be something wrong with you. Tee hee... Now get over it because it's time to WIN some prizes! You and me both!!!

Check out my TUMBLR blog and leave some comments there and you might just win for yourself an entire month's supply of Minute Maid (granting that blog will be considered VALID by the sponsor as there are some issues that have been raised).

In any case, it sure is a FUN read. You can see I put some effort in it so spend some more time blog hopping and head out to my TUMBLR blog and enjoy the post!


xoxo,