where the moon shines

Signing up for this coupon/discount sites has got me coupon and bargain crazy!

Today, I am drawn to two deals from two different sites (there’s more but I narrowed it down to just these two). Click on the photo to view the deals.

This 36% off for a Flip MinoHD is only up for the next five hours. Since I saw the Flip Mino on TV a few years back, I’ve wanted to get one. I’ve even contemplated ordering off Amazon. Now that it’s here and at a discounted price, I am so tempted to get it. The BDO deferred payment makes it an even sweeter deal.

So I’ve never been to a spa. Ace Water Spa doesn’t quite the same, I know. So this 62% off deal for The Getaway Spa is another tempting treat. This deal will run for a couple more days so there’s no rush, I can’t think about it more. If I really want it, I’ll purchase the coupons tomorrow.

The Flip MinoHD deal though will be over in under 5 hours. Pressure! Hahahaha.

I’m not sure if I love these sites anymore. Although there are savings in their deals, I think I end up spending more for stuff I would have normally done without! Know what I mean?

What I do love from these two sites though, Groupon and CashCashPinoy, is that they offer an easy way for Pinoys to donate to the Japan Quake/Tsunami fund. The default donation is a hundred pesos, and customers may choose to donate more (just add quantity). What’s even better is that both Groupon and CashCashPinoy pledge to top up those donation and match it buck for buck. So if you send two hundred pesos, they add two hundred of their own pesos into the pot too. Awesome! Check them out!

Help Japan via Groupon or Help Japan via CashCashPinoy! Proceeds will be turned over to the Philippine National Red Cross.

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck Japan and rocked the world on Friday, the 11th of March. It has been no secret that Japan knows earthquakes, they have technology and infrastructure to respond to the many quakes they have each year. But this, by far, has to be the worst.

Though Japan no doubt has better disaster preparedness mechanisms than any other country, a tragedy of this magnitude cannot be easy. They surely need everyone’s help. Their government and their people have always sent aid to the Philippines when we needed it. Now, they’re the one in need.

Checkout these pages in The Huffington Post and CNN Impact to find out how you can send help.

I haven’t sent any donation yet, but when I do, I’ll do it via Save the Children. I trust the organization and have faith that however small my donation will be, it will be put to good use. Both sites I have linked to gives you options so you may send help via an international organization that you can trust. But you are not confined to these online options for helping out. Check at your local church for any donation drives they might have – or your Church might have an aid organization that you can send money to.

If you’re strapped for cash and actually need aid yourself (kidding ), just go ahead and help spread the word. Post information on your blogs, Facebook wall or Twitter page. Help direct people’s attention from the disaster to the much-needed relief, rescue, and recovery efforts.

We all have a part in this.

Even Lady Gaga is rallying her fans to support Japan relief efforts. Click photo to get this wristband for your donation.

UPDATE:

Discount site Groupon/BeEconomic is matching donations sent through their site. Donate a hundred pesos and they will match that. All proceeds will be given to The Philippine National Red Cross.

I am currently going through the forms to donate what I could and I’m counting on BeEconomic to be true to their word and match whatever I can give.

They’ve made it so easy to donate – the next step is up to you.

Wow, my second digital scrapbooking post in a row. It’s been awhile since I last had back to back posts about kits or anything digiscrapbooking related, but this news couldn’t wait. I’ve always been amazed about how such an amazing community the digiscrapping world makes. Many times, I have seen designers come together to give their time and talent to worthwhile causes. It happened for Haiti relief last year, and for some other families who needed help with medical bills or seed fund to bounce back after a devastating fire, for example.

And digiscrappers rally to help by buying these charity kits where proceeds are almost entirely given to the intended beneficiaries. Isn’t that wonderful?

Here’s another one of those, benefiting those affected by the floods in Queensland, Australia.

Click on the preview to go to ScrapbookBytes to purchase this kit. Even if you’re not interested in donating funds, you’re sure to get value for every dollar paid because of all the goodies that fill this kit. So if you think about it, you’re satisfying your shopping urge for kits while you help others. Ten dollars can go a long way when put together with other tens.

From Sweet Shoppe Designs, they have this limited edition collab kit to raise funds for one of their designers who was also devastated by the floods. You can read about Zoe Pearn’s story of the flood here. Brighter Days Ahead is a kit filled with hope that they may pick up the pieces and restart their lives after the flood. It is available for a limited time so go grab it now:

this is just the preview for the papers and there’s so much more to this kit. Check it out by clicking the preview.

Now I wish I had enough funds to buy both charity collabs, as well as the Scrap Matters products I put on my cart this morning. But I’m quite apprehensive about digiscrap shopping too much because they might end up gathering virtual dust while they go unused, much like my jewelry making supplies that are just kept in a box in the garage.. Well I hope not, whether paid kits or freebie downloads, I will use my stash to create beautiful pages this year.

I noticed an image that wasn’t rendering properly on my sidebar so I clicked on it to follow the link. It was the banner for FreeRice. The banner probably stopped working when they relaunched the site recently and I never noticed. Goes to show that I don’t regularly visit the advocacy sites that I sport on my sidebar

So Free Rice is a game site launched by the UN World Food Programme where you can enhance your vocabulary and every correct answer is matched with a donation of a hundred grains of rice. So tonight, I’ve donated 1000 grains for answering 100 questions in a row. Funny how the words I learned today (as in I wasn’t sure what they meant at first) all start with ‘cr.’

Explore around the site and you can see that there’s an option to switch subjects too, I have yet to try that.

I tried looking for the new location of the banners but couldn’t find them, not even from the main WFP website. So I emailed the people behind the website about it. I hope the banners come back soon because it’s one tool we can use to spread the word.

Speaking of spreading the word…

October, apart from being the Children’s Month supposedly, is also known as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So pink is hip this month. Click this badge daily to help fund free mammograms. All it costs for you is one click per day

After clicking at the Breast Cancer site, check out the other links at the top of that page and show your support for other causes too such as Hunger, Child Health, Literacy, and also Rain Forest and Animal Rescue.

I’ve shopped at those stores in the past too and wish I still had the baller IDs I purchased from them years ago.

I’ve spent a few minutes this evening planning my newest blog, a health-themed one. I’ve got a few post topics already but I haven’t gone round to actually writing them and tweaking the template. I definitely have to launch in October though. For that new blog, I’m thinking of just scheduling posts so it would be low maintenance but still get updated regularly. That should have been my strategy for the Newbie Photographer from the beginning too.

So although you’ll be expecting a lot of weight loss related posts on the new blog (maybe even info on the different methods like hCG shots Austin), I’ll also be talking about other things that promote good health and this includes environmental issues and concerns. I’m really excited for this new project and hope it takes off soon.

This Sunday, there will be a fundraising fun run for Jon Angelo’s Breathe Hope campaign. I would so love to go, but I have work that day from 5am.

But if you have time, and you’d like to run for fitness, and help at the same time, do Run for Hope!

Check out Jon’s Facebook page to get in touch with his Mommy Tet.