Sem Break!

Finally it’s sem break. Now is a time off in doing assignments every night and a temporary pause buying snacks that kids will bring in school, good for my budget. This means less stress and more bonding time with kids.

CJ and Acey will alternately spend time play their PS2 and watch TV during the day and when they get tired doing such, they’ll start teasing each other and it’s always Acey who’ll end up crying and defeated. And when I get home, usually before 6pm, my kids will immediately report to me what has transpired the whole day.

I’m lovin’ the moment when my kids would indirectly tell me how much they miss me through their actions. How excited they are to watch with me their favorite TV programs both from Kapuso and Kapamilya Network.

I believe this is the perfect time that I should devote time with my kids, play and discover many things with them, ‘coz sooner or later, wether I’m ready or not, they’ll have their respective friends to play with and talent to develop on their own.

As a mom, I will not force my son and daughter to excel academically, rather, I will support and guide them discern their God given talents. I will continue to inculcate in them the values that my parents taught me over the years.

STELLAR

I was surfing online and stumbled upon Stellar, a site for accessories. Stellar is owned by actress-entrepreneur Chynna Ortaleza. Her multiply website featuring her designs has landed the top 10 in the Philippine Online Shopping Websites…totally AWESOME. Chynna and her business was featured on different magazines including Entrepreneur Philippines and TV shows such as “The Sweet Life” of my favorite Lucy Torres Gomez.

Christmas is fast approaching and these accessories are ideal gifts especially to female friends.

Enjoy viewing the Stellar website:http://stellar01.multiply.com/

Stressful Week is Over

Oct. 16 Tuesday - I brought Acey to her pedia and purchased the prescribed medicines and I have to shell out some cash since I don't have a ready P.O that I can only get from our clinic in the the office.

Oct. 17 Wednesday - I reviewed CJ & Acey for their exams at same time as soon as I arrived from work.

Oct. 18 Thursday - it's review night again with my angels, CJ & Acey. At 11:30 pm, I unwillingly went to the bathroom due to stomache pain. I almost fainted and felt a drop in my blood pressure. I fell asleep in the sofa 'till 1am

Oct. 19 Friday - I am on leave and accompanied Acey in the school at 10am. While I sit in the waiting shed, I felt hungry and so I bought a piece of banana que. After eating, I felt my stomach ached and so I hurriedly went to the girl's bathroom, after less than 5 minutes, relieved!!! When we got home, another stomach pain attacked me, I then decided to buy medicine and gatorade to prevent dehydration.

In the afternoon, I went to Apo Chapel and brought Acey to her pedia for her follow up check up, we had our dinner in Jollibee.

I reviewed CJ at 7pm for more than an hour.

Oct. 20 Saturday - Today, I woke up at 5:30 am, feeling a discomfort in my soar throat...grrrrrrr.

I hope to have a restful day off tomorrow, Sunday.

Nestle Yogurt

I brought Acey to her pedia, Dr. Ayson today right after work, due to non stop cough. It’s actually her follow up check up last Thursday but since she was okay, we didn’t bother visting the doctor again. However, last Sunday, we went to my in laws to celebrate Feast of Kuliat, CJ and Acey liberally played with their cousins. They perspired and got exhausted especially Acey, so now the unwanted cough is back with vengeance.

While waiting for our turn, I’m craving for Nestle Yogurt. I bought this product five times already and have always choose strawberry flavor. Aside from the fact that it’s healthy, I love it’s creaminess and real fruit flavor...yummy!

As expected, Dr. Ayson prescribed anti biotic and cough suppressant. Acey won’t be attending school tomorrow for a full day rest so she can be physically & mentally prepared during exam on Thursday & Friday.

After the check up, we immediately proceeded to Manson Drug & Convenience Store to buy Acey’s medicine and Nestle Yogurt. Unfortunately, the yogurt inside the chillers were about to expire in 2 days. I didn’t get any even if I’m dying to have one for tonight. While I write this blog, I’m eating Moo Selecta ice cream that has the creamy & smooth taste of my beloved Nestle yogurt.

Dandruff Problem

Everytime I buy shampoo in my favorite supermarket, I always skip anti dandruff shampoos, for obvious reason. I choose shampoo that would help me eliminate, if not, lessen excessive hair fall. However, in the past two weeks, I noticed itchiness in my scalp and so I thought I have dandruff. While seated in my table in the office, wearing black polo shirt, I kept scratching my head & scalp, small dandruff flakes were falling…yuckkkkkk!!! My eyes couldn’t believe it! It’s confirmed, I have dandruff, something I didn’t expect I will ever have. Am I not washing and rinsing my hair enough?


I made a research in the internet regarding dandruff and here’s what I learned:

Dandruff is a scalp problem that is identified by excessive flaking of dead tissue. Everyone sheds dead skin cells. A person with oily dandruff has overactive oil glands around the roots of the hair. This overactivity causes the natural shedding process to speed up, resulting in a crusty scalp, oily hair, and excessive flaking. For some people this problem even occurs on the eyelashes. In this case, the oil glands become plugged, resulting in dull, dry looking hair and dry flakes of dead skin. This dry type of dandruff can be just as bothersome as oily dandruff.

The true causes of dandruff are unknown. "Every Women's Health" says dandruff is somehow caused by poorly functioning sebaceous glands. Although the causes of dandruff are inconclusive, there are treatments for existing dandruff and methods to help prevent recurrence.

If you try a product and it does not work, you should not get discouraged. After giving a product ample time to provide results, try something different. The same article suggests using a shampoo that contains coal tar or salicylic acid. The website article entitled "Dandruff", published by Betterbodz.com, suggests trying shampoos containing sulfur, selenium sulfide, or pyrithione zinc, as well as products containing coal tar and salicylic acid. It says shampoos containing tar help slow the production of skin cells. Shampoos containing salicylic acid help remove these cells. These shampoos also help control a fungus that promotes problem dandruff. "Neutrogena" advises if dandruff is extreme or unaffected by shampoos, a skin specialist should be consulted.

"Dandruff" recommends shampooing on a daily basis. This should be done by thoroughly massaging the scalp so dead skin cells are removed. Since dandruff shampoos and products tend to be harsh, it is important to carefully follow label directions. Doing so will ensure the safest, most effective use of the product. The same article suggests alternating regular shampoos and dandruff shampoos in order to prevent the hair from becoming dry. It also recommends using shampoo containing tar if the hair starts becoming too dry.

Before going to Robinson Supermarket this morning, I made sure that anti dandruff shampoo is included in my list. CLEAR shampoo is my target. It’s the latest anti dandruff shampoo being advertised on TV. I believe that when a product is new, it is effective and true to its promise, to attract its potential market and be commercially viable. There are different types of CLEAR anti dandruff shampoo to choose from and I am delighted to see CLEAR anti dandruff shampoo & hairfall defense, this suits me best. I hope this one will work for me or else, I’ll end up trying different anti dandruff brands.

Blueberry Cheesecake

One of the favorite topic that my friends and I would discuss in group chat is FOOD. Each has her own specialty of recipe to share. I've given them my NO BAKE BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE recipe. Below is the list of ingredients needed and how to do it:

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup crushed graham honey (Php20.00)
1/2 cup butter (Php12.00)
2 tbspn white sugar

1 pack all purpose cream (Php28.00)
1 bar magnolia creamcheese (Php98.00)
1/2 cup condensed milk (small can) (Php18.00)
2 tabspn non flavored gelatin melted in 2 tbspn white or hot water (Php38.00)
can of blueberries (Php165.00 -you can make 3 9x9 cheesecakes w/ this can of blueberries)


Direction:

Do the CRUST

Mix crushed graham, white sugar & melted butter. Then chill overnight.

Do the CREAM:

Beat all purpose cream until thick & fluffy. Set aside.
On a separate bowl, beat creamcheese, slowly add condensed milk, then add melted non flavored gelatin.
Fold in all purpose cream to the creamcheese mixture.
Pour the mixture to the crust. Then chill.
Top with blueberries.

No Rice Diet

My college friends and I have been chatting online since last week. Ampy who's living in the states with her family will be arriving in December to attend the house warming of her sister. Upon learning this good news, Ezria who's working in Singapore decided to come home in the same month to spend Christmas with her daughters. We want to take this opportunity to have a get together. There's actually 6 of us in the group, Ampy, Ezria, Josielyn, Michelle, Marlyn and your's truly.

I don't want to attract the attention of my friends because of my size so now I'm pressuring myself to lose weight and look good which is why I started a No Rice diet since Oct. 06. So far so good and I think it's working. I eat anything and everything except rice. I eat ham and cheese sandwich or pandesal in the morning with a cup of coffee. I eat viand without rice, of course, or pasta or whatever is available in our canteen during lunch. And for my dinner, I'll have apple or oatmeal. A lot of people said it's difficult to get away with the staple food and I beg to disagree. I've proven it's all in the mind. There are many alternatives, you just have to get used to it, especially if you are like me determined to get slimmer in 2 months.

I knew two people who undergone No Rice diet and lost so much weight. It's not an overnight thing. It took them months or a year to eliminate the unwanted pounds but what matters most is the determination and discipline they inculcated and executed just to succeed in the end. They are my living proof and these people have inspired me without them knowing it.

There are so many diet pills that you can buy over the counter, not to mention, diet teas, some are cheap and most of them are expensive. Admittedly, I tried taking a diet pill which I don't even remember the name, recommended by an officemate, though, there were no harmful changes I've experience, still, I stop taking the pill for fear that it'll cause me side effects later on.

I'll stick on No Rice Diet and hopefully when I update you after 2 months, I already shed some pounds and feeling sexier and looking WOW.

Generic vs Branded Medicines

Yesterday morning, my colleague Bobot and I joined coach Honey, Dencio and Ryan during breakfast. Coach Ryan happens to own a drugstore in their barangay, the topic about generic and branded medicines was opened when I ask about cough and colds medicine that were banned by federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, this was featured in the news last week. Also, emails pertaining to this issue was circulating in the internet. Included in the list of banned medicine is DIMETAPP which is my daughter's favorite. I find it effective which is why dimetapp is always available in our medicine cabinet. The reason for this action is because of the antihistamine ingredient contained that can cause death.

Generic name is the official medical name for the active ingredient of the medicine whereas brand name is the trade name the manufacturer gives to the medicine. The brand name is chosen by the manufacturer, usually on the basis that it can be recognised, pronounced and remembered by health professionals and members of the public. An example would be Dimetapp which is the brand name and Brompheniramine as the generic name.

I learned from Coach Ryan that Bureau of Food And Drug (BFAD) here in the Philippines is requiring all doctors to write in their prescription both the brand and generic name of the medicines, this way, patients will have options wether to buy the branded or generic medicines whichever they can afford. And the consequence for failing to so do is losing the doctor's medical liscense, at the same time penalty of certain amount. BFAD is proactive in doing surprised and random visits to drugstores to check on the prescriptions if doctors are following the BFAD order. We were thinking doctors prefer to prescribe branded medicines because they are earning extra bucks for promoting them.

I really hope BFAD will continue and consistently doing the check because this is benefecial to majority, especially nowadays when prices of medicines is something to be taken seriously.

By the way, the name inside the box with capital letters in the package of a certain medicine is the generic name and the name underneath is the brand name.

New Headphone

Yesterday I proceeded to SM right after work. First stop, CDR King. I bought a headset worth Php75.00, unbelievebably cheap. This will be useful when voice chatting online with my husband. We can hardly hear each other and I also want my neighbors to avoid unintentional eavesdropping everytime I conversed with John. I also purchased colorful CD cases to where I can keep the cartoon DVDs of my kids, this will serve as a our collection. Last stop was SM Hypermarket for some groceries, then I went home.

On my way home, while inside the tricycle, I noticed power interruption in our street, what the F_CK!!!

Anyways, thanks to my brother, I was finally able to use the rechargeable lamp he bought me 2 weeks ago. The power interruption lasted for two and half hours, it was almost 9 o'clock when I turned on the PC and chat with John. While talking with my hubby for over 30 minutes, Acey fell asleep so I have to end the chitchat.

I'm happy that I was able to try the headset. I placed it back to its cover to make sure the kids won't play with it, so I can use it for a long time.

A Friend's predicament

Yesterday (Monday) was still my off. I woke up 5:30 am and prepared breakfast for my kids, the usual, hotdog and egg. CJ was off to school at 7am while Acey was fetched by the service at exactly 9.30am.

I chatted online with my friend Josielyn. I practiced active listening while she tell me her domestic problem, at the same time, giving her pieces of advise. Her son is picky and hard to feed, this has been an ongoing problem for years. If I am not mistaken the boy is underweight. He experienced dizziness and almost fainting. There are 3 doctors studying his condition and unanimously diagnosed the boy with vertigo.

According to Wikipedia, Vertigo, a specific type of dizziness, is a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is stationary with respect to the earth or surroundings. There are different types of Vertigo which you can find in the internet. I do not want to use this space to discuss everything about vertigo, my apology.

My friend is spending 1400 a day for antibiotic alone and they're not member of any HMO like Medicard or Maxicare.

I remember when my father told me that his priority in life is HEALTH and I agreed. Health is Wealth and I always tell my friends I'd rather NOT have millions as long as members of my family are free from sickness or illness of some sort.

Going back to Josielyn, we also discussed issues with her husband. Funny is, I've had the same issue with my hubby in the past, No, it's not about third party, well Yes, sex is involved but for me the main issue here is COMMUNICATION. The wife is trying so hard to figure out the problem while the husband is evading discussion.

The only advise I gave my friend based on my experience is, NEVER discuss any issue in a confrontational way, find a perfect timing. DON'T ever act like you know everything, men hate it. Most importantly, Love your husband the way he is. Appreciate his qualities and accept his imperfections.

At the end of the day, I realized that couple will always experienced conflicts as they discover their differences but it's how you accept each other imperfections with patience and understanding. Afterall, in a relationship, it takes two to tango.

Simply Amazing

Yesterday, my kids and I went to SM Clark not because of the mall wide sale but to apply for Smart Broadband service. We were at the SMART service center at exactly 12nn, I filled up the application form and paid php999.00 at the cashier and since I don’t enjoy bumping into a lot of people due to mall wide sale while I have kids to look out, I decided that we go to Robinson Mall in Abacan. We had our lunch at Greenwich for a change. The food in KFC and Jollibee is already boring for me and no longer appetizing. I ordered meal number 3 of their Big Time Meal promo for CJ and Acey, which consists of chicken, spaghetti, a rectangle slice of pizza and a regular soda and I ordered peach float for myself, but don’t worry guys, I consumed all the left over of my kids unswervingly and left Greenwich stomach full.



We arrived home around 2 pm and after putting the groceries in order, the installers from SmartBro were knocking at our door ready to set up our broadband connection, SMART is simply AMAZING!!! This is the fastest service I have encountered in my entire life. It only took them less than 30 minutes to complete the installation and I’m already on the internet via broadband, AWESOME!!!

Before, I was only on 32 kbps connection to check my yahoo mails and chat with my husband and can’t even attempt to surf the net, the slow connection is unbearable.

The monthly fee is Php999, a bit pricey but it’s worth it. Last night, we were chatting with my husband, he can see the kids through viewcam and I can see how pleased he was with uninterrupted online connection.



Speaking of webcam, I’ve tried different brands and all are blurry. My brother have done the same until he discovered A4tech viewcam worth Php750 only.

I now have faster connection and a clear webcam, no more reason to complain but to enjoy the internet world.

Lucky Day

Lucky Day

My hubby resigned from his previous company in Dubai Last June 2007 and came home in July of the same year because we planned that he move to Qatar to where my sister Que is currently working and residing. We thought there are better opportunities awaiting him in that country.

Prior to arrival of my husband from Dubai, I did a nine consecutive Fridays of prayers in APO chapel with a wish that John will be able to surpass the medical exam knowing his health condition. He has hypertension and used to take maintenance medicine. And that he may leave for Qatar as tourist without any problem and my wishes were granted.

He left for Qatar last September 25, 2 days after the first year death anniversary of his mom. 5 days later, he was called for an initial interview in the company that my sister is working for. Yesterday, I went to Apo chapel to pray that John maybe able to get a job at least before his tourist visa will expire. Today, John had a final interview with the General Manager of the company and HE GOT HIRED!. He signed the offer letter immediately after the interview which states the starting salary, benefits such as free accommodation and transpo and a promise of salary increase if John would perform his job above expectations.

I bet my husband would consider this day as one of his luckiest.

I thank the Heavenly Father for not failing me, for granting every little wish I ask from Him. For helping me out execute my goals little by little.

Extra Income

This is actually my third blog. I already have one in AOL that I stopped updating and another one in Friendster which is still existing but didn't have recent posts 'coz I got too busy with my OFW hubby. And this one is special because I'm going to earn money out of it. I have always wanted to do something that would improve my financial freedom. I've been seeing my officemates engaged in online business and earn big bucks. In as much as I want to do the same, my time is devoted to my kids, office and household chores. Since I am interested doing diary online, I can commit to this online blogging. I have a lot share to other people, my life experience as a person, a wife and a mom. How I perceive things in a positive way no matter how ugly the situation may be. Gracias to Arlene for introducing me this PayPerPost and Vic for helping me out create this blog today. Yesterday, my close friend here in the office told me that she wanted to know everything that would also make her earn money, so now, it's my turn to share this to my friend.