Strawberries: Good For Your Heart

Early January, hubby brought us fresh strawberries on his way home from work. So sweet - him and the strawberries. He passes by a market and spotted cheap but sweet strawberries. December is strawberry-picking season in Baguio, Philippines.



Facts About Strawberries

• Strawberries have the unique phenol content which makes them a heart-protective fruit, an anti-cancer fruit, and an anti-inflammatory fruit.

• They're rich in antioxidants, vitamin C and dietary fiber. 

• Excellent source of Manganese, needed to maintain normal sugar levels, strong bones, teeth and nerves.
  

• 1 cup (144 grams) = 43 calories. Good for low calorie diets.
  

• Store Up To 3 Days In Refrigerator - Put the good strawberries (no molds or damages) in layers of paper towels inside sealed plastic container or bag.

• Store For Months In Freezer - Place in air-tight containers or bags and put in freezer.

• Do not wash strawberries if you want to keep them long. For optimal freshness, wait until you plan to eat them before rinsing the fruits.
  

Don't miss to eat strawberries in season. It's cheap, healthy and sweet.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Mommy Moments: Love Language

 Zach's love language is quality time. He appreciates it so much when you spend time with him. Like watch movies with him, read books together, send him to sleep, do craft together, tell stories etc. He loves it when I play computer games with him. Reason why I'm getting addicted to Canyon Defense on miniclip.com. :D

He also feels loved with physical touch. He lets me kiss his booboo to make him feel alright. A kiss and hug brings back his security and comfort after seeing a mad mommy.


Winter's love language so far appears to be physical touch too. He loves to play tickle, loves to give a crushing hug which looks closely like wrestling.


Wrestling is his way of making lambing, which Kuya resists most of the time.


Physical touch                 Being physical

Silky Long Hair

I have silky long hair. I brushed and put on a lovely hair tie. Then decided it would be better to just leave it flowing free. So I brushed it again. Counting a hundred times remembering the sayings of the old.

Maybe deep inside I desire it. I admire women when I see one having long silky hair. Makes me want to have one too. But when I think about myself, I comb my hair only once, only after taking a bath. Which makes rebonding a need for long straight hair so fixing it won't be a hassle considering this personal habit. Where budget for such is not present at this time. Dreaming is free anyway!

What's funny was my face was so serious in my dream. Haha!

60ish and Beautiful

It's Mama's birthday today. Forgot her exact age. Pardon me.


Happy birthday Ma! Prayers of good health to you.

No one can replace you in my heart.

We love you!

Mommy Makeover

Do you need a tummy tuck? This is just what you need. If you want one then you want the company that specializes in tummy tucks or what they call as abdominoplasty. One of Rodeo Drive's Plastic Surgery's trademarks that makes me interested in is the "Rodeo Drive Mommy Makeover." They became famous with it that they were featured in national and international media outlets like Los Angeles Magazine, Japan's Chocolat Sienne Magazine, England's Daily Mail and Grazia, the leading glossy magazine in Great Britain.

There's no need to worry if you need a more intricate procedure like a liposuction. They examine each patient for the skin type, quality and etc. for the best approach to achieve great results. The latest approach and cutting-edge technology is what they use to satisfy the client's preferences. Not excluding breast augmentation as they do it to get a natural look without making it look "fake." They also use the "silent scar" technique which places scars quite invisibly. Click any of the links above to know more about this makeover.

Interview With Rick Warren

You might have read this before as I had. But I want to repost it here in my blog. Hope to inspire you today :D

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer
and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life', author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life; but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call 'The Peace Plan' to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes for my life? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know you more and love you better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."

New Domain

I registered a new domain name earlier. Yay! :D Now what I need is acheap web hosting.

The new domain name and hosting will be for my new blog. At first, I thought of just changing the domain name for this blog. But hubby said and I figured out eventually that it'll be best to just make a brand new blog. Page Rank will sure be back to 0 with a new domain name. All the time and energy I invested on it to reach a PR3 will just be wasted.

But I'm still keeping this blog. Good luck to me, I'm going to need to maintain two blogs soon. I haven't thought how am I going to keep it running. (fingers-crossed) Most probably it will have a specific niche. Maybe it'll talk more about health. And science. Coz I love science. That's what I have in mind so far.

WLW: I Feel Love

February they say is the love month. Here on With Love Wednesday, we talk about LOVE all year round :D The topics are just made to be more special for this month.

I feel love when...

someone does something special for me.

I see a sweet couple loving each other.

I watch or read love stories.

my kids hug me.

I see my kids enjoying each other's company.


hubby looks at me and says he loves me.

hubby holds my hand.

hubby throws his arms around me.


hubby kisses me.

God answers my prayers.

Feel free to share. Just grab the badge at the sidebar and add your link below.

Celibre Laser Skin Treatments

Skin is one of the most significant part of our body. It is 1/3 part of our body. That's why a beautiful skin is desired by most people. Yet a lot of people have skin problems. I'm thankful that acne scars are not a problem for me. I don't have to look for a place like Acne Scar Removal Los Angeles. When I was younger, zits just come one by one and seldomly. So it's easier to treat.

The problem now are those stretch marks. They say a pregnant woman shouldn't scratch their bellies. And yet those marks really surface coz the skin is stretched. The same is true with people who lost weight. Naturally, they'll have stretch marks on the skin. That's where we need Laser Stretch Mark Removal. Using 20+ state-of-the-art lasers that deliver the desired results and customized treatment for your own skin type and condition makes for an excellent service.

Another state-of-the-art treatment is the Laser Hair Removal Los Angeles. It's a helpful treatment especially for women like me with those unwanted hair. It's one of the skin treatments I want to try. It'll be depressing if you desire treatment for your skin problem and yet get worse results. Better look at Celibre Medical Corporation. With 30 years of experience in the latest laser technology, trained doctors and nurses, they are trusted leader in the industry.

This post is brought to you by your friends at Celibre.

Tuesday Couch Potatoes: Favorite Love Story

I love love stories. One of my favorite movies is "A Walk To Remember." I love the songs, the dialogues, the story, everything about it. I watched it again at the start of the year and still sent me shivers-down-the-spine and made me cry again. You know what I mean don't you?

I also love "The Notebook." Not another summer-lovin' love story. The love of the man here is just amazing. He built her ideal home, he wrote her everyday for 365 days. And even if the woman doesn't remember anything, he still loves her and tries to bring back her memory by reading their love story to her. In the end, his love didn't fail.

My recent favorite is "The Rebound." It's light, funny, cheesy (yiiieeee), and realistic. Separated by age gap issues, time and distance yet when they see each other after a long time, love is spontaneous.



Summary from IMDB.
Sandy upon discovering her husband's infidelity leaves the suburbs and moves to the city. She gets an apartment that's below a coffee house. She befriends one of the workers, Aram, a guy whose wife only married him so that she could get a green card. Aram's family thinks he's wasting his life and education by just working in a coffee house. Later Sandy hires Aram to be her babysitter when she starts a new job. It isn't long when they start dating. But the question: is this real or just the rebound relationship? Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Bariatric Surgery Diet

42 Kg - December
41 Kg - January

Felt sad when I stepped on the weighing scale last December. Before I'm 50 and above. Then last Saturday when we're in the clinic I had the chance to weigh again and it's disturbing that I lost a pound. I'm way too far from a bariatric surgery diet. The weight chart says I'm in an ideal weight for my size but I've been really wanting to gain a little weight. Closer to my weight before. I look skinny and it would be better if I have chubbier cheeks. I'm just happy that the boys gained weight despite of occasional cough and fever.

Those who have eaten a meal with me will also wonder about why I get that number on the weighing scale. I eat BIG for your information. And I have the luxury of time to eat, being at home everyday. I stopped taking C because it makes me sleepy all day even when I take it at bedtime. It could've been good but I can't just sleep all day with two rowdy kids and a home. Maybe snacking more would help?

I've heard about liquid proteins and high-protein diets. Do you know that the word protein is derived from a Greek word meaning "of first importance." I knew about it just now.
It shed light that I need to learn about what could help me achieve my desired weight. Importantly, the proper nutrition I and the whole family needs.

Lucky Chinese Tag

 

Enchie gave me my first tag for this year 2010. Thanks dear!



8 TV Shows I like to watch:
   (I don't think there's another home that has TV without antenna except us. This is what I remember watching before.)

1. Spongebob Squarepants
3. Eat Bulaga
4. Sweet Life
5. 24 Oras
6. Glee (downloaded the series)
7. S.O.P (during commercials switching to)
8. Sweet Life

8 Favorite Place to Dine-out:

1. McDonald's
2. Chowking
3. Starbucks
4. Gerry's Grill
5. Teriyaki Boy
6. Flavors of China
7. Don Henrico's (I seldom see a branch now)
8. Sbarro


8 Things I look forward to:

1. Zach finishing Kumon Math program
2. family devotionals
3. family field trips
4. home improvements
5. bonding times with my side of the family
6. quiet times
7. opps and incomes
8. learn to play piano

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1. prepared breakfast
2. arrived early for our Sunday service
3. took the kids to Pavillion Mall playground while waiting for Gabe to fill up the wee bag in his diaper
4. decided to go home and wait for Gabe's weewee
5. blogged a little
6. cleaned up after the kids' mess (nothing new hehe :D)
7. watched "Law Abiding Citizen" and UFC with hubby

8. went sweety-sweety with hubby while watching

8 Things I love About Winter:
I'm not sure if I would totally love Winter season as I haven't experienced it but as I see in the movies the things I love about Winter would be:

1. snowfall
2. it's white all over
3. making snowman and snow angel
4. Jackets, sweatshirts, boots - the attire
5. hot choco
6. snuggling, cuddling and kissing in front of the fireplace
7. snowball fight
8. warm blanket

8 Things I’m Passionate About:


1. relationship with God

2. my hubby
3. my kids
4. writing
5. reading
6. blogging
7. family
8. wisdom from the Bible

8 Word/Phrases I often Use:

1. Sorry.
2. Thank you.
3. Kiss Mommy or Kiss Muna!
4. Kiss ko armpit!
5. What is it Zach/Gabe?
6. Chuchal!
7. How's my Honey?
8. I love you.

8 Things I learned from the past:

1. See things in a different angle. (from my journalism teacher)
2. Give thanks in all circumstances.
3. Don't react too much. Don't take everything seriously.
4. Accept the past, change the present and have the courage to accept the things that you can't change.
5.There's no such things as miscommunication. Just pride, selfishness and other heart issues. Everything can be fixed with a nice talk.
6. Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.
7. Life is meaningless without God in it.
8. Whatever happens is a result of your decision.

8 Blog Friends I want to tag:

Have to think about this....

Read more: http://xtraordinarymom.blogspot.com/#ixzz0dLt7DoIb
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

PBW: At Festival Mall

No photos last Saturday. We're in the clinic as Gabe's having fever in and out since Thursday. No cough, no colds, no tonsilitis that's why the pediatrician ordered a lab test of his blood and urine. Waiting for his weewee to be collected in the wee bag made us stay in the hospital lobby for hours. Until we decided to do our planned grocery and hubby will just be the one to go back to the lab to bring Gabe's weewee. Finished our grocery but still no weewee so we just finally went home.
The whole Sunday, Gabe's fever didn't come back. We're not able to give Gabe's urine sample after two unsuccessful attempts. Maybe it's just really a viral infection as the pedia says that the fever will just go away after three days. We're not able to give Gabe's urine sample after two unsuccessful attempts with the wee bag. We'll just get the blood test sample but I'm just glad the boy has no more fever for two days now.

These photos were form last last weekend. We spent the day in Festival Mall.

Sbarro's our favorite


Kuya Zach and hubby rode the roller coaster. Didn't anticipate that the ride here was much higher than in Storyland or in EK. Zach didn't want a 2nd try unlike in Storyland where he came back to the ride for nth times.


In the Fairy's Wheel


We played in Tom's World and Gabe didn't want to go out anymore.


Sorry Gabe, it's time to go home.