Want a FREE Blog Makeover?

This entry is on Sticky Mode and will be on top of this blog until 15 Jan 2010. Please scroll down to read my recent posts :)
Ok CONTEST CLOSED! A total of 19 participants! Stay tuned for the winners later today :D

This is my 100th entry since I started blogging in November 2008..! And by now I think most if not all readers know that I have never organized any form of contest. Well, there was one mini-giveaway..itu je lah :P
I don't know, this year-end feels kind of "festive" to me...so read on as I'll soon reveal how you can win a FREE Blog Makeover OR a 1-2 hours photoshoot!

A little bit on why I started blogging and why I like it..

What made me start this blog..?
I started blogging in November 2008. I had a few cloth diapers that Zuleyka has grown out of and I wanted to sell them off..so I started a blog. A few months before that, i joined Diapers Asia Forum and was amazed at how more than half of the members have their own blogs! "How do they find the idea and the time to write?" I used to ask myself. I didn't have the guts to start one yet..till I had those diapers I wanted to sell. So selling preloved diapers was my first blog entry.

What I love about blogging..
That we can actually write whatever we want to write (if people don't like what they read, it's fine as long as the owner/write of the blog loves it). I was thinking of a theme for mine, so I thought to concentrate on how life is like being a WAHM with a SOHO while still resuming the *more* important role of a wife and a mom to four little ones. Search punya search, I settled with A SOHO Mama's Diary.

What I learned from blogging..
LOTS! Antara kebaikan-kebaikan ber-blogging yang I dapat:

1. I made lots of FRIENDS! Eventhough mostly "online" or virtual friends..the important thing is that these friends stay in touch with me..have a lot of things in common with me, understand me..and even give moral support to me when I needed it most!..

2. The fantastic thing about this is that I have never met most of them in person, let along talk to them on the phone..! We connect through reading each other's blogs, emails, Facebook, Twitter. SO many good people out there :)..and so many knowledgable mommies *yayy untuk kaum wanita hehheh*

3. I get more knowledge and information about anything that concerns me or my business i.e. cloth diapering, babywearing, being green, homeschooling..if it wasn't for the internet and my online friends, I would never have cloth-diapered my kids and used cloth pads myself. And this is crucial for a "green mama" like me!

4. I fell in love with breastfeeding again. With my boys, due to work and cetek ilmu dulu-dulu, paling lama I bagi susu badan sampai they all umur 8 bulan. Lepas tu I malas. And I thought that formula milk is the best-est milk in the world for children. Wrong! Alhamdulillah I am still breastfeeding Zuleyka and she is about 18 months old now :)

5. I am more grateful and bersyukur with all the rezeki that Allah s.w.t has given me and my family. Dan lebih bersyukur kerana Allah nampak usaha-usaha I dan alhamdulillah memberi ganjaran di atas usaha-usaha tersebut. Sometimes I read other people's experience and I wonder, "will I be that strong if something like that happens to me?".

Mungkin ada lagi kot, cuma sekarang otak tengah beku sikit. Maybe I need a coffee break..*again*

So now, the contest! The terms & conditions of entering are:

1) A Malaysian residing in Malaysia (kalau menang photo shoot tapi tinggal kat Australia ke, susah pulak kan he hee)
2) My adik-beradik and ipar-duai tidak dibenarkan menyertai contest ini :P
3) Have own blog (remember..the other prize is a blog makeover..?)
4) Follower of A SOHO Mama's Diary (so click on FOLLOW now!)
5) Fan of AZ Gift Baskets Facebook page (easy - just click on Become A Fan on that page) OR Follower of AZ Gift Baskets on Twitter (lagi senang ni - click je Follow)*either or lah ni, sebab ada yang takde akaun Twitter*
7) One entry per person, please :)

Done all of the above? Good! Now the following step. How to get those prizes? You just have to:

1) Copy and paste this contest badge on to your blog, along with a short entry on why do you read this blog of mine . Short entry only :)


2) Then hop over to www.azgiftbaskets.com.my, have a quick glance through and in your entry, tell us which gift category or which particular gift/gift baskets that you like most.
3) Lastly please leave a comment here to say that you've done your entry..so I can jot down that YOU are in the running for this :)

Easy peasy so far, right? Don't forget to link this contest entry into your blog so other people can join in, too!

This contest will start now 28 Dec 2009 and will end 12noon, 15 Jan 2010. Method of selecting the 2 winners:
1) Let my kids do cabutan pemenang! I'm sure they'll have fun doing this.
2) Two draws..meaning one for blog header prize & another person will win photoshoot prize :)

Prizes are:
1) I love simple but pleasant blog layouts..and I love my new layout! So, I'm "sharing the love" and giving away a FREE Blog Makeover by Jiji as the first prize. Worth RM100 and includes;
- 1 Header
- 1 Template
- 1 Blog Badge
- 2 Blog Pins 125x125
- 2 months ad in Triple Colour Life (worth RM50..this is courtesy of Jiji herself!)

2) I still have not fully explored my 37th birthday present from The Hubby, a Canon EOS1000D but I admire those, especially mommies (and daddies) who can really capture awesome moments with their cameras. So, the second prize is a photoshoot package worth RM50 by Deep Blue Lense. Package details:
- 1 to 2 hours
- 100 to 150 shots (+ 50 edited pictures, in CD)
- photoshoot location around Putrajaya or Shah Alam

Ok guys and gals..I hope you like the prizes and hope that this is not too complicated for you all..have fun while you're at it...and will see later!

*feeling good*