Snapshots of my Life

I love to cook even though cooking doesn’t really like me. The one thing that I can cook is Tuna Pasta sauce (yeah, I can’t even cook the paste itself) that is why there is no way for me to qualify to any Sous Chef Jobs. LOL. So I just channel my frustration for cooking by watching cooking shows.

My latest favorite is the reality TV show, Master Chef. I just chance upon this show one time while I was playing with the remote and then when my son got confined in the hospital, I was able to watch the first two episodes and since then I got hooked.

I just watched the third and fourth episode last time and I was a bit sad with the result because one of my bets, Tony the truck driver got eliminated. They lost the first group challenge, which is preparing food for a cafeteria, which caters to 350 employees. The employees will get to vote which between the two teams served the best meal and whoever gets the least votes loses.

It was a tight challenge as the teams were tied up to the 4th dish and the dessert was the deciding factor for the winner.

Since the blue team is the loser, they have to face a pressure test where they were asked to make Ravioli and Tony fell short. But I love the message of Gordon Ramsay to Tony. That is he should never go back to being a driver and he should start doing what he loves best, which is cooking.

So you want to lose weight and the first thing that comes to mind to help you lose weight is by doing exercise. You enrolled in a gym and have a program created for you by your fitness instructor. At first you are excited as you are really serious in achieving your weight lose goal but after some time, you will get bored and uninspired that you will sometimes miss your gym schedule.

But did you know that aside from the regular weight lifting and cycles in the treadmill and bike, there are a lot of new exercise routine and classes that is gaining so much hype and popularity that you can try and is a more fun and exciting way to help you lose weight.

Here are some of them:

1. Zumba. Zumba is a dance exercise and it combines rhythm and moves from various forms of dance like hip-hop, belly dancing, samba and salsa. Each Zumba session can last up to 60 minutes and you can burn at least 500 calories per session depending on your size. Zumba dance workout can help you lose weight as it is a good form of cardio exercise which can also help in strengthening your heart and can improve flexibility and balance.

2. Belly Dancing. Contrary to what others think, Belly Dancing is not just an exercise to reduce tummy fat. It is also a complete workout as it can help tone the arms, strengthen the abs, and tightens the oblique. A belly dancing workout targets the abdominal muscles, the core muscles and also muscle along your shoulders and legs. An hour of belly dancing session can burn up to 300 calories and it can also help you improve your grace, control and flexibility.

3. Plana Forma. If you want to lose those inches fast, then you can try the intense Plana Forma Workout. Plana Forma combines yoga, Pilates, and dance in an intense 55-minute session. The workout is divided into three sessions: warm-up exercises which uses two sets of weights; barre exercises which focuses on the thighs, calves, hips and seat muscles and the floor exercises, which work on the abdominals. In this workout, you don’t take a break as you go from one exercise to the next. One might think that only those who are strong and in good physical condition can last in a Plana Forma exercise but they are wrong. Since this workout targets one body part at a time, even those who haven’t gone to the gym for years can enjoy and go through this exercise without even catching their breath. A one hour session of this workout can help you burn as much as 600 calories.

4. Cardio Barre. Some may think that Barre workout is just for dancers but this new workout
routine that is gaining so much popularity is also for non-dancers. Cardio Barre uses the discipline of ballet and combines it with a high-intensity head-to-toe cardio workout. You can burn as much as 500-600 calories in a 1 hour cardio barre session.

5. Pole Dancing. Gone are the days when pole dancing is associated with exotic dance form because now, pole dancing can be a powerful form of workout. It combines gymnastics, ballet and modern dance moves performed around a pole. It can be a good whole body workout as movements include climbing, static poses, and spinning.

Of course it will also help if you combine a good meal plan as you exercise to help you lose weight fast. Having a balance diet will not only help you shed those unwanted fats, but is also good in maintaining a healthy eating habit.

It wouldn’t hurt also if you get help in losing weight by trying a diet pill like proactol plus, a diet pill that is clinically proven and is made from vegetarian- and vegan-friendly, ECO CERT certified ingredients. Reading proactol reviews will show how effective this diet pill is and how it has help many in achieving their weight lose goal.

So if you are stuck and are tired already in doing those boring gym routines, why not try any one of the new exercise routine mentioned above. It will help you burn all those unwanted fats while having fun.

Author’s Bio:

This is a guest post by Caleb Park. Caleb is a very passionate individual and he likes to do research on tips and know-hows for better weight loss.

For Day 8 of my 30-Day Photo Challenge, I was asked to post a picture that makes me laugh and this is my entry:


This picture was taken during our weekend getaway in Shang Cebu with good friends and their family. It was our second night and after dinner, we decided to try their videoke room.

The picture was one of best performances of the night (it ranked equal to the performance of one dad with his own rendition of “Katawan.” LOL.) My good friend sang Cher’s Believe and the two cool daddies acted as her backup dancers. Even without practice, they had the most creative and most funny dance moves. LOL We were all entertained including the kids who joined us for our videoke night.

It was one fun night spent with good friends and I really wish that we could do it again. (That is why we will be checking out the Travel Fair at SMX this weekend so we can check for good deals for next year. LOL).

Have you ever traveled via a boat, plain, train and even car and then you suddenly feel dizzy and nauseous after the ride? Or you can’t enjoy the best and the coolest ride in an amusement park on your last trip to Universal Studios or California Adventure because for sure you will throw up after the thrilling ride.

This condition is called motion sickness. Almost all of us have experienced this condition one time or another.

So what causes motion sickness?

According to a professor from University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, our sensory system collects information about our natural and unnatural surroundings. This information are then sent to our inner ear and when there is a sensory conflict, that is when there is a difference in what are eyes are seeing and what our ears are hearing than the normal, then that is when motion sickness sets in.

For example, you are sited at the back seat of a car reading a book. Your eyes are not aware of any motion but your inner ear is sensing something different from your eyes and this confuses your body system and can make you feel dizzy and nauseous, which is what we call motion sickness.

The Symptoms of Motion Sickness

People suffering from motion sickness can feel dizziness, nausea, vomiting, severe headache, cold sweats, fatigue, sleepiness and even weakness. But motion sickness is really not dangerous. Some people will just feel the discomfort while traveling, some will just vomit which can help relieve the feeling of sickness and there are some who will suffer for days. Also, you can have different experience with motion sickness. You may feel dizzy when riding an airplane but you feel just fine when riding a boat.

But of course, no one wants to ruin a vacation because of this uncomfortable feeling or nobody wants to be tagged as a chicken if you pass on riding a very thrill-seeking ride, right? And so the question is, how can we prevent or at least minimize the effect of motion sickness?

How to Prevent Motion Sickness

The first tip that one should remember to prevent motion sickness is to eat well. For example before taking your early morning flight, you should eat your breakfast. Eat food that can neutralize the acid in your stomachs like bread or whole grain crackers.

Then during the course of your travel, avoid too much movement. This will help you to focus and so your inner ear will not get too much wrong signals that can trigger the motion sickness.

You should also avoid unpleasant odors and lessen your alcohol intake.

Various cures are also available especially for those who experience sever motion sickness. Some can try over the counter medicine or motion sickness patches. Although special precaution has to be taken as these motion sickness patches are not for those who have glaucoma or are pregnant. It is also better to consult a doctor first before using these motion sickness patches as they may have side effects like dry mouth and blurry vision.

If you would want to try a cure with mo medial prescription, you may also want to try motion sickness bracelet like the one from http://www.biobands.com. This bracelet can be worn by anyone and is safe, as it does not contain any chemicals that can harm the body.

Other natural methods to prevent motion sickness include chewing ginger candy and peppermint. This two have been proven to calm the stomach and aids in digestion.

Motion sickness is a natural feeling that most of us will encounter at one point. But at least it is nice to know that there are various ways that we can try to combat or at least minimize its effects.

For Day 7 of my 30-Day Photo Challenge, I was asked to post a picture of my most treasured item and here is my entry:

My bag collection. I was actually not really into bags before. I can survive with a fake bag from Divisoria or a bag that I bought from one of the local stores here like Secosana. LOL. But I guess I must have fell in love when I saw in real life an original Louis Vuitton bag and since then, I did not stop working hard so I can finally afford my first LV.

And just like what my friend Jody had said, once you started with one, you won’t stop. And so I added more and more to my collection especially when work has been good for me last year. I think I bought more than 5 bags in one year. LOL.

Unfortunately, my budget was a little tight this year that I needed to let go two of my babies. But I vow that if the time comes that I have extra budget, I will definitely replace it with the next bag on my wish list, which is a Balenciaga. LOL

My husband loves taking pictures. He is a photo enthusiast and so he bought an SLR camera so he can take pictures of our kids, our travels, and just about anything and everything that he finds interest in making it as his photo subject.

That is why I have Flickr accounts, Facebook accounts, Webshots account where I can upload those pictures and share it with our relatives and friends. One of my current addictions now is making Photo Books of our pictures so my kids can see in print the shots of their dad.

But did you know that you could also display your favorite pictures with your personal checks. Yes, that is possible with Carousel Checks' photo checks. With this check, you can use any of your photo - be it your kids' picture, your recent family trip, a family portrait and even a picture of your favorite dog as the background of your check. You can even use multiple pictures for the different pages of your checks.

It is really so cool because we usually use our personal checks to pay for all our purchases and this sure is a very fun and unique way to pay using our customize checks from Carousel Checks.

O Halle. Looks like she didn't even age for a bit. She still looks like Jinx, the sexy agent from the Die Another Day movie, which was filmed a few years ago.

How I wish I could be like Halle when I turn 45 and age with grace. But I am sure I will need all the help that I can get if I want to look like Halle Berry when I turned 45. I am only 33 years old and I am already having big problems with wrinkles and my bulging tummy.

Thankfully there are cosmetology centers like Cultura Med, a Botox DC center, which can help me achieve a youthful look so I can age in style and grace like Halle.

Cultura Med is a Botox Maryland dermatology, laser surgery, and spa therapy center which use the 21st century medical technology to help their clients achieve the youthful look that they want. They offer services such as Laser hair removal Maryland, Skin Tightening, Botox and Fillers, Acne Treatments, Complexion Blending, Skin Rejuvenation and even Medical Spa Therapies. They have 30 lasers in their center so they are the largest laser center in the United States.

So if you want to achieve a Halle Berry look, visit Cultura Med now.

For Day 6 of my 30-Day Photo Challenge, I was asked to post a picture of a person I would love to trade places with for a day and this is my entry:

Kate Middleton, the duchess of Cambridge. I closely watched and followed her engagement with Prince Williams and their story was like a fairy tale come true. I wanted to trade places with her, but just for one day, as I am curious as to how the life of a royalty goes. I wanted to see also how the prince shows her love and affection for the Duchess. And of course, we all know how grand the life is of a royalty is so I would like to experience that even for just one day. Maybe I can go to all the designer bag shops in England and I will be treated with preference being the wife of the prince and then I will go home with all the designer bags that I want. LOL.

Just in: My Sister in law gave birth already to a bouncing baby girl. Meet Martina Audrey:

My brother brought her to the hospital this morning for her usual last trimester checkup and to get pregnancy advice from her doctor but to their surprise, she was not allowed to go home already, as she is ready to give birth.

My brother thought that it will take several hours before she deliver so he went home first to get the things for his wife and baby but she was shocked when she got a call from his wife's doctor that she already gave birth.

But that is a good thing because at least my sister did not go through a lot of labor pains and she did not have a hard time delivering her baby.

Boy that was fast. LOL. I can still remember she was just asking me for pregnancy information and I referred to her the site of Women's Health, as this is a good online resource for pregnancy, parenting, womens fitness, healthy living and more.

What is nice about this site is that she can interact with other expectant moms like her through the site's blogs.

I know my sister is thankful for Women's Health site as she learned a lot of information about her pregnancy from them.

In just two weeks, we will be moving to our new house. Yehey, we are really so excited. We waited for more than six months for this as we started processing for our housing loan last December and it was only last May when everything got finalized with the bank and with the seller.

We thought that we can move in by June as that is what we agreed upon with the seller but the seller requested for an extension as their papers to immigrate to the US got delayed for a bit.

They left a few weeks ago and we are just waiting for the end of the ghost month and we are moving on August 29.

Hubby made a list of the things that needs to be move first like:

• Our clothes
• Our computers (as we need to work as soon as we move)
• Our appliances like TV, refrigerator, aircon, gas stove, etc
• Our furniture like the bed (but we will be leaving our dining set as the seller left theirs and is in a much better condition than the one that we have and we will also be leaving our living room set as I plan to buy a new one next week)
• Stuff of the kids like their bottles, sterilizer, their clothes and their toys

But I am leaving everything up to hubby . Good thing it is a holiday on the 29th up to the 30th so he has two days to move everything and organize it in our new house.

For Day 5 of the 30-Day Photo Challenge, I was asked to post a picture of my favorite memory and here is my entry:

My two kids and my husband, my family. These days when sometimes I feel that my life is so crazy, my family is what keeps me sane. They are my source of joy and inspiration and they are the reason for me to keep going on, to try harder and never give up. They are my favorite memory as they are the reason for my existence.

Everyday after a long day at work, nothing will best end my day but a kiss and a hug from the three most important people in my life. I thank God for this wonderful blessing, for giving me a loving, responsible and patient husband and for my two wonderful kids who always give me joy and a reason to live.

Our youngest child just celebrated his first birthday party a few months ago and we got two good photographers and so they were able to capture nice pictures of our family. One of my favorite is this shot of our whole family which I plan to convert into a photo in canvas:

This is a very perfect timing since we will be moving to our new house by the end of the month and my husband and I are thinking of the perfect wall decorations that we can put up to liven up the walls in our living room. Our kids have always been the center of our life. Our two kids, Jacobo and B, have been our constant source of joy and inspiration and with that in mind, this photo will really be a perfect centerpiece in our living room to constantly remind us of the joy that our kids bring to us.

Thankfully, I know I site where I can order affordable canvas prints and that is PhotoInCanvas.co.uk.

What I like about their service is that I can easily order any canvas prints from their site. All I have to do is just upload the pictures that I want printed and I can edit the pictures directly from their site. I can edit the format, the size, the border and the different effects that I can apply in the picture. Their software even has the capability to enhance the pictures like red eye and blemish reduction. If I get stuck, their expert artists can help me with the effects and the layout that I want for my pictures. Once I am done editing the pictures, all the is left for me to do is checkout and pay for my items, which is very affordable, and my canvas will be dispatched within 24 hours.

We still have less than three weeks left before we move and I think I have ample time to order my canvas so I can surprise hubby when he sees our family picture at the center of our living room.

I can't believe that we are face we another economic recession after the chaos that is going on in the government. I heard from the news that we should expect more layoffs and more unemployed citizens because of this.

I got really scared as we are just starting to pay for our monthly amortization for the house and lot that we bought and so my husband and I can't afford to loose our jobs. Out of paranoia, I started thinking of ways on how to get cash if ever we will be faced with a difficult situation and that is when I remembered about AffiliatedAuctions.com, a site for military auctions.

AffiliatedAuctions.com is not just for military rifles for sale as they can help individuals sell jewelry, antique collections, real estate property and more. They accept consignment of items, which they will include in all their upcoming auctions.

Items brought to AffiliatedAuctions.com has a good chance of being sold right away as they always conduct full catalogue auctions in their gallery in Florida. They also have a wide buyer's base so they have a lot of clients. They can also pay fast as they process proceeds from sale within 30 days after the sale of the item.

AffiliatedAuctions.com now gives me hope that we can easily get cash by selling some of our items through their help.

Day 04 - A picture of your favorite night

For Day 4 of the 30-Day photo challenge, I was sked to post a picture of my favorite night and this is my entry:


This picture was taken on our first night in Paris. Paris has always been my dream destination and so I have high hopes and am expecting more from the city. I was a bit disappointed at first when we land in Paris and I saw how dirty the city was and how complicated their metro system is. But thanks to the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine who restored my love for Paris.

We already had a long day as we explored the city mostly by foot on our first day but we decided that we should not miss to see the Eiffel Tower on our first day. So with tired and aching feet, we went to the Eiffel Tower, lined up and bought tickets so we can go to the viewing deck and it was the most magnificent sight ever.

One of my biggest fears is the dreaded disease, Cancer. One of my aunts died from cancer of the ovary and I have one grandfather who died from prostrate cancer.

I hate cancer, as it is traitor. One day you feel you are healthy and the next thing you know, the doctor will give you an ultimatum on how many more days you have to live.

It is a very sad fact but it is what most cancer patients have gone through. Just like today, on my way home, I happened to eavesdropped on the conversation of the two lady beside and they are talking about a friend who just died from cancer. He left his wife and three kids and now the problem is how can the wife support her family now that the head of the family is gone.

Out of instinct and out of paranoia, I quickly check for life insurance quote so that I will be prepared in case anything happens. This also got me into thinking that having two kids is enough for us so we will at least have the confidence that we can support for them and save for their future.

But at the end of the day, it is all up to the Big Man up there so the health of my family has always been at the top of my prayer request to Him. I hope and I pray that I will grow old with my husband and that we will both be able to see our kids grow and someday to take care of our grand children and our great, great grand kids.

Thanks to Artscow, I am slowly turning our pictures into a photo book. It was actually peer-pressure and the promos being offered by Artscow that inspired me to start working on our photo books. I saw the photo books that my friends have created and I felt envious and guilty at the same time as I know how beautiful our pictures are because my kids have always been the subject of my husband so it will just be put to waste if it will just sit in our hard drive.

I am done doing photo books for the birthday parties of our eldest and my next project are our travel pictures. I was browsing through it and I suddenly miss the vienna restaurants when I saw our pictures when hubby and I went to Europe a few years ago.

We explored Europe for three weeks but it is still not enough to be able to discover and cover everything. I know we still miss a lot like the Zurich Art, the food in Valencia and many more so hopefully we will be able to find a budget and go back to Europe again someday.

If faith is good, I will definitely consult the site of Cool Capitals when I start to plan for our itinerary. Cool Capitals is a project of different tourism offices so it has all the insider's tip on what not to miss in Europe's five stylish cities.

Hopefully we will be able to experience art zurich, fashion in Antwerp, design in Amsterdam and more soon.

I like to break away for the meantime from my Day 30 Photo Challenge posts as I want to make a post first about our food tripping last Saturday.

We haven’t done this in a while as budget has been really tight lately that we always stay at home during the weekend as we know how expensive it is to go out if we dine in restaurants.

But we decided to splurge a bit last Saturday as hubby knows how stress I am lately so we had lunch at our favorite restaurant, Conti’s:

I had my favorite Mango Royal Salad and Chicken Ala Kieve while hubby ordered Gambas for his appetizer and Seafood Lenguine Pesto Pasta.

After lunch we went window shopping and after going around we got tired and felt hunger again and so we had snack at Crepes and Cream where I had Sweet Crepe with chocolate ice cream and cheesecake bits while hubby had Banana Hazelnut.

It was really a food trip Saturday as my aunt event prepared Banana con Ice for our dessert after dinner.

How I wish our weekends would always be like this.

I am so caught up with our possible move in to our new house by end of the month that I almost forgot that August 31 is the birthday of our favorite Aunt.

Since we are targeting August 29 as our move in date, I am hoping that everything will be sort of in order already by the 31st so we can finally host our first party at home which is the birthday celebration of my dear aunt.

I am sure that I will be very busy with the move that I will have no time to go to a store to buy or cook the food that we will serve to our guests. Good thing I can always order food and buy cakes online.

Just look at some of the cakes that I am planning to order for the event from Shari’s Berries:

I don’t know what happened to me but I got so sick last Monday. I felt so different right after lunch. I felt a little dizzy and bloated but I thought it is because I ate a lot during lunch time. I texted hubby and told him how I was feeling and he said that he will ask my dad to fetch me but I told him that I can manage and I can go home by myself.

I took the ride that I always take everyday and while I was seated inside the van, I had a feeling that I want to vomit. I thought I can control it but then I had to go down when it is still wasn’t my stop as I can’t control my vomiting.

I was able to reach home but I have to stop at the corner of our street near our house to vomit again. I vomited 2-3 times after that and that’s when my dad decided to bring me to the Emergency Room of UST.

They tried to induce my dizziness first but they proved that it is not the cause of my vomiting so they ordered for a CBC test in their laboratory filled with computers in computer cabinets.

We waited for almost 2 hours for the result of my CBC and it was found out that I have infection in my system. The normal count for WBC is just 10,000 and mine is 20,000. They are even requesting that I get admitted but then I asked if I can just take medicine at home as I hate hospitals and I have two kids that I don’t want to be separated from.

I was given my first dose of antibiotics via IV before I was sent home and was ordered to take antibiotics 2x a day for 10 days. I was also ordered to have another CBC exam tomorrow and if my WBC count won’t improve then they have no choice but to have me admitted to cure the infection.

I hope and pray that my antibiotics are working and I don’t have to stay at the hospital and I hope that I will get well soon.

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite movie.

For Day 3 of my 30 Day photo challenge, I had hard time deciding what picture to post, as I must say, I can’t remember the last time I watch a movie. But I guess, my all time favorite is Edward Cullen from the movie Twilight series played by Rob Pattison.

Well for one, he is the most perfect guy (except the fact that he is a vampire. LOL), as he will do everything and anything in his power for the love of her life, even to the point of sacrificing his life when he thought that Bela died already. He is so gentleman and he can really make Bela feel that she in a princess. Then he has this extreme power and strength that Bela feels really safe and secure. Plus the fact that he is just so handsome and hot too. LOL.

Picture snagged from culturamix.com.