A Random Post

Thanks to a thought that randomly flashed across my mind, I am directed to check out this blog, which I have not updated for a very long period of time.

I am lucky to have not forgotten my log in details, and I was still able to get into this account and write about how I missed blogging so much.

And so, I don't know what to say or write about at this very moment.  I feel very nostalgic reading upon my previous posts, and it was really nice to reminisce that it has been years and years ago that I expressed myself out here.

I hope I could come back for good, I would really love to write again.  But given the bulk of work that i have right now brought about by increased responsibilities, I don't have an idea if I could still come here on a regular basis.

If this blog still has readers, I am very much grateful that you dropped by and took the time to check out what I have to say.  Till next time!

Making It To 11

Last Saturday, August 4, 2012 was my wedding anniversary.  I am already 11 years married to a person who has been with me through ups and downs, who has been instrumental to the many emotions I have felt  through all the years.  Honestly, I never thought I could reach this far in my marriage life, considering that I am a kind of person who is not articulate and talkative and who might be a bore for some people.  Fortunately, my husband somehow managed to make our home really fun.

Looking back for the last 11 years, I could say that I am indeed blessed to have my family. Each of us may not be perfect in our own ways but I am confident to proclaim that we are all perfect for each other. I learned to accept the flaws and appreciate their over-all beings.  Life is not all pleasant and to date, we are still struggling to achieve our hopes and dreams for the family.  It may still be a very, very long way to go, maybe another 11 years, we really never know.  But as long as we keep our hopes up and stick together, there is no problem.

Anyway, no grand celebrations were made during the said day, just an intimate bonding with the kids made it all worthwhile.  We planned of having an out of town getaway, but it is just so hard to leave the kids behind.

Battle It Up With Tetris

Whenever I go online, it is imperative for me to check on Facebook to know the updates of friends and relatives.  I am pleased to go over their pictures, videos and status posts.   Likewise, one thing that I look forward to doing is playing Tetris Battle.

My whole family is already engrossed with the game.  We often compared among ourselves who is on top of the leaderboard.  As of this writing, hubby is on top at Rank 25, while I am stucked at Rank 21.  

Well, I am not worried.  this is a challenge for me and I will climb up that ladder soon. 

Back!

It has been more than a year since the last update on this blog.  Just opening my dashboard made me really, really guilty for not giving this a portion of my time.  Things has been very busy and it was difficult to go online most of the time if you have no stable internet connection at home.  Now that we have once again made it to the worldwide web loop, I do hope I could make posts more often.

It is just so nice to be back.  Everything is new but I am taking this challenge to learn everything.

Till my next post . . .

Great Health

Getting the optimum state of health is one of the things that I will attend to this year. I know this will be very hard as I have seen a lot of areas in my physical self that needs more nourishment. I have to prevent my acid reflux and mild hypertension to recur so that all the coming days will be smooth sailing. I could possibly do this by losing weight, as what my doctor have advised.

Anyway, I am already alarmed with my current body weight. Aside from the difficulty that I had on finding chic clothes that would fit me, I also felt so heavy that there were times when I catch my breath only after a short period of activity. I may resort to bodybuilding to sweat off the excess pounds but I have to consider diet too. Undergoing diet is really hard, but I have to try to go through it this year and have my system get accustomed to eating healthy and in moderation.

I am an avid desserts-muncher, and I have to cut back my intake on such sweets since they quickly build up sugar and eventually become stored fats in the body if not used up in rigorous exercises. I promise to myself to eat more fruits and vegetables so I can be sure that I will regularly dispose off wastes and toxins from my body. Likewise, they are rich in vitamins and minerals that will definitely give me the glow that I wanted. Of course, food supplements are everywhere and I plan to take grapeseed oil extracts and vitamin E supplements.

In order to reduce my body in inches, I need to do some exercise and other physical fitness activities. I saw on TV last night that it is best to jog or run for at least 45 minutes three times in a week and that is what I am going to do as soon as the series of rainfall in our area comes to a halt. I should be getting back to dancing as well, as it is my most loved physical activity in addition to my most obvious talent (as they say!). By summer vacation, I know I can very well sweat off to the highest level since it will be our agency sportsfest and time to say hello to volleyball and badminton once again.

Well, my fingers are crossed that I will be able to materialize this plan of mine. All of the above remain to be seen in the coming days. So help me God!

Welcoming 2011

2010 has finally made its grateful exit and I realized that time flies so fast indeed. 2011 is now on its take off and this year marks my 10th year as a married individual, my 12th year as a government employee, and my 34th year of human existence.

Now that the New Year is here, we really never know what blessings and challenges we might be facing as the days go by. Everyday is a wonderful surprise for us so it is best to live one day at a time in order to fully cherish the moments that go along the way. Meanwhile, we are often asked for our resolutions for the new year, which are sometimes mistakenly deemed as wishes. Personally, my resolution would be to no longer make new year resolutions, but just to organize things for myself this year, I am jotting down some items which I think I need to give attention to or continue to pour out more time for. Here are my resolutions for the New Year:

1. Get my kids the occupational therapy that they need.
2. Focus more on my online endeavors so as to expand my income streams. I realized that if we rely only on our monthly income from our work, then we would be having a hard time meeting all our monthly expenses (and wants).
3. Shed off more (and more) excess weight. I shouldn't be dragging this here on this post since I have been ranting about this a lot of times already. Anyway, I think I need to sweat out for at least 30 minutes a day and cut back on rice and other carbohydrates-rich foods. This will be a great struggle to undergo but I have high hopes that I will be able to carry this out this year.
4. Smile very often. This is a very simple thing to do, which I usually overlook on a lot of instances. Smile is an effective method of keeping a cheerful disposition and it's free.
5. Eat more fruits and vegetable. I have already started this last year and planned to continue doing so in the next years to come. My system is slowly adapting to the change the eating of fruits and vegetables has brought about and I am actually seeing magnificent results.
6. Consider entrepreneurship and start a business. I wanted to become an entrepreneur for a long time and this year, I wanted to pursue that dream. Well, it's nothing big really and I will start at small things - - a step a time that is.
   
7. Read more books. I have been an avid reader in my high school and college days and now that I got married and have kids, I was not able to find time to read anymore. Thanks to some book-lover blog friends, I made a list of books worth reading that will soon find their way to my shelf.

I am intentionally putting them here for my friends and my visitors to see so I will be inclined to totally practice them. So easy and simple as they may seem, I know I couldn't do all these things without the grace of our Lord. I pray that He will bless this year for me and my family financially, spiritually, physically and emotionally. I am welcoming the new year with wide open arms and with the wish that each and everyone will be prosperous and blessed as well.

So what's your New Year's resolution?

My Christmas Wish This Year: A Nokia C7

I am just simply amazed how technology has fared nowadays. A lot of remarkable items are circulating around the market and I could only stare at them in awe on how significantly they render all the conveniences to consumers.

With every new technology introduced, it is such a delight to learn they have a number of impressive features - - although it may come to a point when we get confused already which one deserves the most praise. Anyway, as far as features are concerned, I am quite keen on the camera and the data. A camera is very useful for capturing moments especially when you least expect them and a handy cellphone with an 8 mega pixel camera and high definition video could very well do that job. Likewise, I also go for gadgets that are capable of 3G and Wifi connectivity. That way, I could check on my emails and other internet related matters anywhere very conveniently. Remarkable entertainment features like Web TV, DivX players and much more certainly add flavor to my overall kind of menu. I found all these features on the new Nokia C7, which was recently launched few months back. It also has a full-touch glass display, something that I have not used yet and is therefore a must have for me.

Unfortunately, I was not born with a gold spoon in my mouth and have to work my way to acquire such a very exquisite phone. Budget has been tight as well as most of our monetary inflows went to our daily expenses for the kids and new home. This Christmas season, all I could do is wish for a heavenly intervention and that before I know it, this amazing product is already within my grasp. I couldn't ask for a more astounding phone!

Have a blessed Christmas to everyone!

Uh-Oh, White Hairs

I have lots of white hair. There may be a huge quantity of factors leading to this kind of state but there is only one thing I am sure why I have them - - hereditary. Most of my relatives on my father's side have white hairs. Not that they are very old, but even my cousins who are still young have them already.

I can no longer fight off what's hereditary and so my best remedy for this dilemma is hair dye. I personally suggested to myself that it is ideal to have a regular dye at least every quarter of the year. As much as I wanted to implement this hearty suggestion of mine, I am sorry to admit that I have been failing immensely in this area - due to a number of reasons (procrastination, budget or busy schedule). But maybe if I could have a loreal professional do it for me, then I guess I could have it done on a semestral basis only. Time and money is practically saved then!


One thing I really do hate about my physical self is my hair. It tends to get messy easily, even just the slightest gush of wind. I know I have to make an effort to make it healthy-looking.

On Web Hosts And Opportunities

This may have been on for long, but I just have noticed recently that most blog opportunities go for blogs having their own web host. Free hosted blogs like this one has very limited number of opportunities received nowadays. Of course, I don't have the right to complain because it is the advertiser's prerogative to choose which blogs they wanted their links on. If I were in their shoes, I would also simply go for blogs with high page ranks and own hosts as well.

Anyway, a number of opportunities still prop up once in a while for this blog, to which I am still thankful. The monetary values I received were no longer as high as before but at least they were not gone. That is what's significant, and still worth this blog to keep.


It has been three years since I created this blog and during those years, it has been my great solace online. I am grateful for the great things it has derived for me, like friends gained, income generated and insights gathered. There is just one thing though that I felt I should have done from the beginning, and that is to have its own domain and web host. There sure are a lot of budget host providers which I just have to scout for.

I guess it is still not late then . . .

Raining Cold and Christmas

As I am writing this post, rain is pouring hard outside. The sky is gloomy and I could not see a trace of the sun's mighty rays or any indication whatsoever that it will come out later today. The weather is so cold, which I am loving it.

The cold rain is a clear reminder for me that Christmas is not too far away and will come knocking our doors in no time. I have been looking forward for this kind of weather so I could cozy up in our room, face to face with the laptop with a brewing hot cup of coffee on the side and a pack of Cheetos perhaps. I would be listening to Glee's Christmas album on the background which I enjoy very much while maybe doing some Christmas shopping online at Sulit.com.ph.


Well, I expect this cold weather to linger on for months. How would you spend it then?

Bathrooms In Style

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am very certain that most of us really do want to have the most comfortable toilet and bathroom in our homes. The most personal things we do are done inside this four-walled portion and it is just imperative that we do it on the most convenient way.

If I could only have it my way, I wanted a toilet and bath room that is modern and stylish at the same time, aside from being clean and fresh. It may cost me much amount of money but I know it will be worth it since all the conveniences in the world go with it. Especially for hubby who often reads inside the toilet, I also wanted it to be conducive too.

Since our home is still new, having the wonderful bathroom that I wished for is still far off the priority. But if we are to realize it right now, we would surely grab those sophisticated suites from www.betterbathrooms.com and put them in place in our home. I could really make a show off to friends with their great and wonderful designs. And what made them more of a steal is the fact that they are affordable with the great discounts and sales offered.

Well, if you think you are in need of a new and stylish bathroom suite, then please head on to www.betterbathrooms.com and be amazed at their great products that suit your budget.

New Couch

We need a new couch.

I pity the one we have right now because some portions of it were already torn, courtesy of my two sons who always jump, stomp, glide and run through it. It is another hand-me-down item I got from my parents since they bought another set for their living room. It still looked very neat and great when we have it transferred to our new home though, but now rips and tears were already visible.


I will still try to save it, there are a number of furniture shops out there who offered repair and upholstery services, otherwise we will get a new one. Those rips and tears were clear indication that a new western furniture should be in place at our living room this time. This therefore calls for another money-saving endeavor, and with bonuses coming forth in the next days, maybe this will be quite possible at all.

Oh well, I'm keeping my hopes up. This couch replacement surely is included in my wish list for Christmas.

Entrecard And Blogging

I have been blogging for three years already. The nice thing about blogging is that I get to express my emotions, thoughts and insights about things, and everything about the world we live in. I am not a very outspoken person and therefore I express things through writing.

I could not believe years have already passed and I am still into this. This endeavor started out only as my personal outlet on my fancies and fascinations, now I am happy to note that this blog has earned me already a lot, in monetary and social terms. I have not counted the financial inflow this blog has brought, but I could say it was already considerable (for me). I have gained a lot of acquaintances too through this blog and that is something important which I hold dear.


One thing that helped this blog reach out to the rest of the blogosphere is the Entrecard. It's been years since I signed up and I am reaping good results. I have to admit that most of the visits here could be attributed to Entrecard. They brought great traffic to this blog through returning my drops or clicking on my adverts. What is nice about Entrecard as well is that they serve as a venue for easy browsing of blogs. I get to read other interesting posts and enjoyed it a lot, aside from dropping. Moreover, I also came to know a lot of other great bloggers. And now, they are giving out credit to anyone who joins their contest!

Anyway, I am grateful for the things Entrecard has done for my blog, to which I am hopeful that they will continue indefinitely.

Healthy Teeth And Smarter Kids, Is There A Link?

by Dr. J. Saladin

Pediatric Dentist

As you likely already know, our Greater Sacramento public schools have responsibly informed parents of groundbreaking legislation effective since 2006 which requires children entering public school in either kindergarten or first grade to present proof of having obtained an oral health assessment. So why is the law so concerned about our local schools? Well, this new legislature is actually a national policy. Nationally, over 51 million school hours are missed annually to dental disease, the most widespread chronic childhood disease. Only prevention, as this policy promotes, can help keep our children healthy and help keep them in our schools. As a local pediatric dentist specializing in children’s oral and dental health, every little thing counts towards a child’s overall well being. Therefore, in the spirit of prevention, I would like to contribute a little education to help parents understand the importance of baby teeth.

Many people ask me, why are baby teeth so important if they are all going to fall out regardless? The notion that our own legislature feels so strongly about children’s oral health has much to do with the cost associated with the complications that arise do to dental neglect. The costs are not only fiscal but also social. These complications reach far into a person’s lifetime, effecting learning, speech, physical growth and self esteem. This domino effect of complications is clearly understood by dental professionals, especially those who have specialized in pediatrics. Yet, our public may be less informed of these issues. The personal effects on a child can be briefly addressed below:

• GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Baby teeth are an important component in maintaining the space for permanent teeth to erupt normally. Premature loss of baby teeth due to cavities can yield detrimental effects on the growth and development of a child’s face and profile development.

• NUTRITION

A healthy mouth is important towards maintaining a healthy diet. It’s common to see children who suffer from chronic untreated dental cavities also suffer from malnutrition. Children simply can’t chew food if they suffer from premature loss of teeth, chronic infections or chronic pain. This has a long lasting impact on how a child physically develops through adulthood.

• SPEECH

Premature loss of teeth can lead to poor speech development because certain teeth may be missing that aid in proper pronunciation. As a result, many children are not only delayed in their speech progress, but are also delayed at their schools.

• SELF ESTEEM

Healthy smiles can help a child feel better about themselves and the way they interact with others.

Ultimately, our children’s education depends on a number of factors from good parenting to good health. This legislature is a step in the right direction towards awareness and prevention, helping our children stay healthy and confident in our schools.

Financial Freedom

Aren't we all want financial freedom?

We all have our respective hopes and wishes, be it for the family, career, social relations, or personal growth. We hope that we can be able to meet our daily expenditures or set aside a proportionate amount for the future, but however simple these wishes are, they still require that we have enough financial resources. Every concrete thing we wanted could easily be acquired if we have them.

I came across a website that promises a freeway to success. They offer a whole new way of attaining the financial freedom that we deserve. Here's a video that shows you how:

You can check out their site for more details by clicking HERE.

Getting Fit

I have decided for the nth time that I would lose weight and be fit again. I don't know if I could make it through this time but I am certainly praying I would. Last Friday marked my first day of the new diet I am doing. What prompted me to do this diet is my brother, who has lost a considerable amount of weight while undergoing the same diet. He is slimming down so much that I could say he lost about 15 lbs. So, I asked him to email me the diet plan and now I am on the fourth day of struggle!

I am glad to have undergone this diet anyway. It makes me feel light although I haven't noticed yet if extra pounds were actually shed off. I am still halfway of this 7-day plan, so I guess I just have to wait until the 7th day to see for myself if I actually lost the targeted 10 lbs. The diet consists of mainly fruits and vegetables, and I am thrilled to note that I have stayed away from rice for 4 days already (being an avid rice eater myself!). I hope I will lose about 10-15 lbs of excess weight, just as what the diet plan promised.

On top of the diet, I thought of doing regular physical exercises as well to make myself fit. I haven't been playing volleyball for over a month now due to my busy schedule but I planned to have at least 30 minutes of dance exercise daily at home just to sweat out. I already have a lot of dance songs ready, all that is lacking is my time, lol! As soon as my hectic schedule goes light, I may go over those personal training business cards I have on file and choose which one would best suit me.

I will update soon on the outcome of this endeavor. Best of luck to me!

73 Days Before Christmas and I'm 33!

We are nearing the half of October and before we know it, it will soon be Christmas! Well, there's 73 days more left before the awaited Holiday arrives. This last quarter of the year certainly fills up my daily life with fun and excitement.

I turned 33 yesterday too! I didn't get to celebrate it with a party or the like, budget was just tight nowadays that it would be impossible to throw a party for friends. Sad as it may seem, it was a happy one anyway since I have my family with me intact. They greeted me first thing when they woke up and it was already overwhelming. My daughter gave me a card she personally made and that made my birthday all the more meaningful.


I could certainly say that this is the first time I haven't celebrated my birthday. Well, it's the first time I haven't invited friends over, or made a treat for everyone. I then realized that celebrations don't really matter, as long as you are happy and satisfied from within. I was worried at first because I very much wanted to invite friends or treat them but financial constraints prevented me from doing do. Nonetheless, a lot of friends have greeted me through text messages on my cellphone and wall/private messages on my Facebook account. Those greetings were enough for me to feel blessed with good friends and be special on my birthday. I feel like I've gotten myself a short term insurance already!

Well, my kids still have the party they wanted since my cousin and her baby (whose birthdays fall just like mine) decided to celebrate their special day at my parents' house. So off we went to our former abode and had a blast with the children's party. The kids enjoyed the games being played, what with their countless prizes received. It was indeed so fun-filled.

Life could very well be so meaningful as long as the people that matters to you are there for you too.

Plants In Our Home

Having just recently moved in, we certainly needed some greens around our new home. Aside from 'pretty-fying' the house, plants are indeed necessary since they absorb most pollutants and gives off oxygen. Moreover, plants literally bring food on the table, since we reap their produce if we just take good care of them.

For the past three months we have been in our new home, I am happy to notice that certain plants have started to grow on their own. I don't claim myself to be a green thumb, but I am glad that some of the seeds I have thrown on the ground have eventually grown. I remember when I was still with my parents, my father loves gardening and every time he is in the house, we know where to find him - - in the yard. Now that we are on our own, I delight to the fact that I could actually make a seed grow.

I am looking forward for these plants to fully grow, that is why I am personally taking care of them. Here's an inventory on what spurted out of our soils for the months:

jackfruit

tomato

papaya

watermelon

Aren't they fine? Well, for me they are exquisite! The watermelon has bore two lovely fruits already but we have yet to wait few more days before they could be harvested. Unfortunately though, one fruit (the one on the picture) was stolen and now we have only one. Hope there will be no more theft this time, otherwise we won't be able to taste the fruits of our labor and anticipation.

I am planning of putting more plants into our home, unleashing the gardener in me!

Monday's Blessings

I would just like to round up how my Monday went yesterday. This is something I seldom do (the rundown, I mean), but it was just so overwhelming for me that I need to jot it down here.

You see, a number of wonderful things took place yesterday, and these are not concrete things. I now realized that great blessings do not come in tangible forms, they are seen and felt from within.

So to start off, I received a great email message from God through Bro. Bo Sanchez, which was about conflicting wishes. He explained that we often do not get what we want because of conflicts in our desires. We have to be firm with our wishes and not be confused whether we really wanted them or not. He added that we have to pray for these wishes constantly, not because God does not immediately hear us, but because constant prayer would help us be firm in our wishes.

This message is very timely for me because I wanted for several things to happen in our life and that would definitely be realized if I don't have conflicting faith towards these wishes. With the number of wishes I have in mind, I guess I have to document them down through a Dreambook, which Bro. Bo did with his wishes.

Another blessing I received was the improvement of my daughter's academic rankings in their class. It was not a major jump in the ranks though but I am very glad she made it to the list of recognition-worthy pupils for their Grade 3 class. Many have congratulated me, since they very well know how my daughter struggled to get to where she is now. And for that, I am proud of her and still hoping she could maintain it and improve even more in the coming days. (I'm pretty sure those classmates of hers she has stepped on on the process would strive hard as well to topple her again).

After I learned about my daughter's academic standing, we proceeded to a birthday party my cousin has organized for her grandchild. We had a blast thereat and had a little chitchat about life in general. Out of the blue, our topic went to matters about health and my cousin's husband testified how good his body is right now since he stopped smoking and drinking. While he was sharing his stories to us and as if God has touched him in some way, my husband, who is a heavy smoker, suddenly decided to give it a try on quitting. I was so grateful about his realization and this is another wonderful blessing indeed! He gave me the remaining cigar packs for my disposal and today is his Day 1 towards bondage freedom.

Thank you very much Lord for the blessings!

Daily Giveaways From Georyl

I am counting myself in at Georyl.com's wonderful contest, to celebrate another blogging achievement. This will be my first contest participation in a very long time - - like two years. This is quite exciting because every day a winner is announced and will be receiving a prize, of course.

Anyway, what's at stake on this contest are as follows:

Daily Draw (1 winner per daily draw)

Draw dates: October 1 – 2, 4 – 9, 11 – 16, 18 – 23, 25 – 30
One winner of 1,000 Entrecard Credits

Weekly Draw (2 winners per weekly draw)

Draw Dates: October 3, 10, 17, 24
One winner of $5 Paypal Credits and one winner of 2,000 Entrecard Credits

Grand Draw

Draw Date: October 31
Three winners of $5 Paypal Credits,
one winner of 5,000 Entrecard Credits
One winner of 3,000 EntreCard Credits
One winner of 2,000 EntreCard Credits

Special Prize

October 2010 Top Commenter
One Year WPWebHost Rookie Plan WordPress Hosting with Free Domain Name

If you feel that is contest is so cool, just like the way I do, click on the badge above to further learn the details.

Have a happy weekend!