Archive for the ‘About Me’ Category:
For a control freak like me, having anxieties every now and then are very common. However, I have learned to master the art of controlling this emotion but then when some major events happen in my life and I cannot seem to have control of anything, I find it very difficult to handle anxiety.
Just yesterday, I have felt some of the major symptoms of anxiety and it scared the hell out of me. My heart was pounding, my body was sweating, excruciating headache and nausea. When I try to vomit, I felt as if my jaws are about to lock like my whole body was crumbling. It was then I realized that my body was talking to me and I had to succumb to it. I turned on the air conditioning unit, lied down on my bed and emptied myself out – tried not to think of anything.
Men, did it scare me! I am fine now but the feeling has left a scar. I promised myself I had to let go. Anxiety for me is more than just emotions, it is my body’s defense mechanism against stress.
I guess I have to learn more on controlling these emotions. Now, I understand why a person who goes through these attacks end up in depression. I have felt it and if you do not recognize the symptoms, the fear can be paralyzing which may turn into a serious medical condition or a mental disorder.
The following day, I heard mass and asked for guidance and of course, forgiveness. Forgiveness because I have failed once again to let go and let GOD. I am only human and I cannot control everything that comes my way and I admit that. Accepting your weaknesses may seem very hard but it’s the first step to realizing there is something wrong and find a way to fight and turn these weaknesses into a strength. This way you let it work for you and not against you
On the other hand, nothing can beat retail therapy to fight any amount of stress 
. I just can’t help but visit my favourite department store and check out the latest in their women’s apparel section.
As my children grow, I have realized that our household expenses actually grow with them. As parents, hubs and I make an effort to give our children a better life than what we have experienced. So far, so good and we are very proud of this achievement. Although this is a daily struggle, our rewards come from the fact that our children are growing to be smart, healthy and active kids.
Life is a bliss and that is what I want to believe. Keeping a positive attitude helps me carry out the arduous but noble job of being a mother. Probably, the most important learning I have learned (and is continuously learning) is being a practical mom. Let’s face it, times are not that easy compared to the days when we were growing up. The practical side of me always go for things which can give the best value for whatever purchase I will make be it goods or services. Stingy? Kinda. However, I make sure that quality will never be sacrificed.
For instance, in giving proper nourishment to your kids, although one may find processed foods to be very affordable, this is one thing you cannot sacrifice. Because it is a fact that in the long run, eating processed foods will give you more problems.
I apply my being practical mom by looking at bargains, sale items, buying wholesale rather than the smaller packages. I believe these things give me more value for my money. Plus I refrain from being brand conscious, I get quality clothes and try to do investment dressing, where you can mix and match different clothing that can give you a different look each time.
In choosing household furniture and appliances, I try to buy them at a zero percent interest wherein I can pay monthly without being charged extra. Oh yes, how I wish I can buy design furniture but this is not feasible at this point in time. Maybe soon… trying to be positive at all times.
“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen
No matter what I buy I always try to compare prices and have managed to avail of lower prices whenever I can. Petty as it may seem, disappointment sets in if I realized that I have been buying my stuff at a higher price while I can avail of a much discounted price.
Just this morning, I dropped by Robinson’s Pioneer to buy dog food and do some errands. I find the dog food at Handyman a lot cheaper than the ones sold in the regular supermarket. And since I’m already there, I decided to go to the supermarket and do some purchase.
During this time, I realized that the brand of imported coffee which I use for my brewed coffee is a lot cheaper than the one I purchase at the grocery which I go to. I immediately shared it with my daughter and told her that I feel deceived. “Hahahaha…”, my daughter started laughing. She told me I’m so babaw (shallow).
I actually laughed at myself for being the way I am. What can I do I am just a sucker for bargain?
I frequent three grocery stores and I know which items are cheaper than the other. Even the way I prepare my day, it’s carefully planned so I get fuel efficiency. Gasoline prices are so high nowadays and I feel the need to save whenever I can plus it’s also Earth friendly.
In buying big ticket items, I carefully canvass all the stores available so I can get the cheapest price available. Can you just imagine me looking for a discount auto insurance? Oh, yes! Even that, I just want to have the best value for my money.
Yesterday, I got a message from my little sister telling me that she wants to buy clothes. I can almost imagine the smile on her face when she wrote, “I want to buy ” with a link to an online shopping site. I know that my little sis is no longer a kid, she’s now in college but we, her siblings, still consider here our baby because of our age gap.
As the bunso (youngest sibling), she still enjoys the perks of soliciting shopping money from us, mostly from my brother and my other sis since she knows that she can’t ask so much from me because I already have kids. But I do give in once in awhile.
Unlike me, my sis is the type who can stay at home all day. Retail therapy for me is when I engage my senses in choosing my shoes, clothes or even household embellishment while she chooses to go online and search for online sites.
Although I have tried to shop online, the first attempts were exciting but the subsequent tries, brought in some unexpected disappointments like the color do not match the displayed item online. I did not bother returning but I just told myself that I would be careful the next time.
I admire my sister’s persistence in looking for fab finds online. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’ll even join online auction just to get the things she wants. She will probably have her own online shopping store soon.
Early this month, me and iMoM decided to check out the newest fitness club in town, 3600 Fitness Club. At first, we were looking for a big space like the fitness club we go to and we’re quite surprised at the size of the gym. I started scanning the room for the usual machines that I see in the gyms but I didn’t see one.
We were met by Kim Tanedo, one of the owners and also the Finance Director of the club. She explained that the 360 Fitness Club is not the usual gym that uses the traditional methods of exercising but they offer circuit training. Using only free weight and exercise accessories, the 360 circuit training can give you a total body workout in just 30 minutes.
The discussion is getting more interesting. Who wants to have all those machines anyway if you don’t know how to use them? To make it more fun, why don’t we just hit the circuit?
We started off with a bit of introduction as to how we should go about each station. The 360 Circuit has 20 exercise stations, including 10 active rests that combines cardio and strengthening exercises.
Huwaaat? 20 Stations? How am I supposed to know what to do next?
That’s the beauty of this club, it is designed to be in groups and circuit coaches are there to guide and motivate you whenever you feel like giving up. Oh yeah, tell me about giving up! The whole 30 minute workout will take you 3 rounds of those 20 exercise stations.
Doing the work out with iMoM was indeed a fun experience; the “encouraging” part did not only come from the circuit coach but from iMoM as well. Honestly, I am not as fit as I used to. My last gym visit was six months ago, that’s why on my second round I’m almost out of breath and on the third… I can no longer go along with our chit-chat but they pushed me to finish the session.
Honestly, it was all worth it! Whew! According to Ms. Tanedo, the whole workout will make members burn around 500 calories. There goes my McDonald’s breakfast
I admit that one of the major factors that’s keeping me from going back to the gym is that I tend to get lonely — it is hard to exercise alone and personal trainers are quite expensive. But with 360 circuit coaches, it’s like having a personal trainer. They are not only there to motivate but more importantly to teach you the correct form to avoid injury and ensure safety.
The club also offers exciting group exercises such as Latin Dance, Kickboxing, Power Yoga, Cardio strip tease and dance, Hip-Hop Dance Off and Cardio Combat. They are also the first one to offer group TRX training exercises in the country.
The club believes that fitness is more than just exercising but it’s a way of life, that’s why they will also be offering a health bar that will serve healthy meals that are low calorie. This way, I won’t need any diet supplements to squeeze into my old jeans again.
360 Fitness Club is located at 13th Floor Strata 100 Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Road formerly Emerald Ave.), Ortigas Ortigas Center in Pasig City. Phone: (02) 577.7807 Mobile: (0917) 560.0360 or you can visit their website at http://www.completethecircuit.com/
I was so happy when I got a text message from my daughter the other day, the message goes, “I want to bake.” My immediate reply was. “Go, go, go! What else do you need?” Knowing that I still have some ingredients at home and all I needed was butter and eggs, I asked her to buy the needed ingredients and promise to just pay her when I get home.
As a mom, it gives me so much joy to know that my daughter is taking after my love for baking. I never had any formal culinary studies but for me having an interest in cooking is enough to make you want to concoct delicious meals that satisfies your palate. Well, of course, with the love for cooking comes the passion for food. A “foodie” is what I think I am. I love to experiment and taste different kinds of cuisines which make it harder for me to avoid gaining extra weight.
Just like when my daughter finished baking her chocolate chip cookies, I had to take a bite. Yummy! Especially when its fresh from the oven, I can’t help but get another one and another…. Oh, well there goes my diet.
Maybe it’s time for me to check out diet supplements at www.bestfatburningsupplement.com.
Skipping meals is probably one of the most common diet faux pas. Depriving yourself of food when you want to lose weight is one strategy that is guaranteed to fail. I know this from experience.
Here’s one reason why you should not starve yourself when you want to lose weight: When you skip a meal, your body will starve and the tendency is to eat more than what you need on your next meal. So instead of doing yourself a favor, it has gotten you into a lot more trouble. The solution is to eat small servings at an interval of time. It is much better to eat small healthy servings rather than totally depriving yourself. In between meals prevents hunger pangs and gives you consistent amount of energy during the day.
When you want to lose weight, you need to find ways of promoting faster metabolism. This is the chemical process in which our body converts the calories that we eat into energy. And skipping meals or crash dieting will not boost metabolism, in fact, it even slows it down. Why?
When you’re body does not get the right amount of food at a certain time, it is threatened and goes into survival mode. It struggles to keep the calories and stores the fat, which means it tries to slow down your metabolism which is what you do not what to happen when you’re trying to lose weight. Many believe that they still have lost weight using this approach but any weight loss during these times would mostly come from decreased water retention and most often than not, you will not be able to sustain it due to loss of energy.
There are a lot of diet solutions out there but if you are trying to lose those excess baggages or just want maintain good health, the best way is to have healthy diet and fitness routine.
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Recently, I enrolled in a basic Photoshop class with Leo Castillo of Photoworks Academy. I enrolled because I wanted to learn how to enhance my photos and with Leo as the teacher, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. I took up basic photography class with him and I truly appreciated his approach.
I was right! I learned the basic techniques of Photoshop and more– Less lecture but more on actual, hands on training. I never thought I would learn so much in four sessions coming from zero based knowledge, but I did!
After learning the basic skills, I thought it was enough but he included a couple of advanced techniques like the liquify, blur and other effects. I had fun throughout the session.
Now, I have learned that all those magazine covers are enhanced through Photoshop. It’s interesting how you can make a person appear younger just by some quick touches using Photoshop. Good thing I still wouldn’t have to do it on my own photo but if I have to, I’d probably do, just for appearance sake. But before that happens, like any other women out there, I am trying to delay the ageing process by using anti-wrinkle creams as early as now.
There are a lot of anti-wrinkle creams out there that are recognized by dermatologists, it’s up to you to choose the best that will work for your skin.
As much as possible, we want our beauty to be as natural as it can be not a Photoshop-ed beauty.
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I first saw an iPad from a friend who came from the US. At first, I thought buying one would be a luxury already since I already have my own laptop and it’s just 6 months old. My second encounter with this hi-tech gadget was with my photography teacher. He gave me a quick tour of its functionalities. After seeing what it can do, now I can say, iWant an iPad!
I always believed that the usefulness of these new gadgets always depends on a person’s lifestyle. For a blogger like me, I bring my laptop almost everywhere I go. No matter how heavy it is, I feel it’s a necessity especially if I am running after a deadline. Plus the fact that I regularly check my emails every so often, and when I am not at home, I use my phone to read them but then I tend to browse through those long emails since it really puts a strain to my eye reading those small fonts. Now, with its browsing and wi-fi capability, I can read emails anywhere even those lengthy ones.
Although it will never replace my laptop, the iPad for me will definitely be a handy tool. And since I would be saving up for this gadget, I want to secure my investment by making sure I have an ipad warranty.
Photo: Apple iPad by John.Karakatsanis on Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.
Last weekend we were chatting with new found friends who lived in the US and have now decided to settle here in the Philippines. The discussion went around with how the economic crisis affected the lives of so many Americans and how they are dealing with it. We cannot help but compare how we, Filipinos would have done it … we’ll just laugh our way through life.
Even as I watch US TV series, I seem to notice how Americans deal with problems. How common do they go to a “shrink” every time they have a hard time coping with some setbacks? Or have medications for depression? In the Phils., no matter how hard life may be, you can still see people relaxing specially during the weekends. Maybe because being a Third World country, we’re used to it or perhaps because we have strong faith and support system.
Faith is a big aspect in our lives, whatever religion you belong to – the belief that there is a higher power you can call on to, is enough to keep you going. Plus, the strong bonds of our family and friends, that whatever we are dealing, we know that we have friends and family to lean on. Even in other countries, Filipinos manifest this quality. You can see how Filipino communities abroad gather up and stay in touch with each other. It’s amazing how this trait can help you go along way, most especially when you’re abroad.
I can speak for me and my hubby who have gone through the ups and downs of life and we have managed to stay together and be strong. Laughter is a big factor in our marriage — Hubs has a very good sense of humor and that’s one thing I love about him.
Laughter has a lot of benefits. It’s a therapeutic, relieves us of stress and even healthy for our skin. At least you won’t have to waste your money on adult acne treatments, just have a dose of laughter everyday.
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