Next Monday...

I will go to the DMV and take a driving test. :) I'm excited about it, my husband, not so much. Hee. We'll see. If I don't pass, I'll just have to renew my permit and practice some more. :) Happy August everyone. Next month, will be the start of the BER months. That means, Christmas is fast approaching. ;)

And Here I Blog Again...

I'm a bad blogger and I know it. I'm not like some people who can blog on a regular basis. I tried doing that before but it didn't work out so well. And I think, I found an answer to quick-blogging without having to worry that you've come up with 500 characters or less. Twitter to the rescue. I've have the site bookmarked since last year but never found the urge to sign up. I finally did. And I see myself updating my twitter account more than once a day. HAH! So, if you're on twitter, I'm on it too. :)

Last Friday, my cousin in-law from Jersey called me and we chatted for an hour or so. She mentioned a site that her kids are following, so, I checked it out and needless to say, I spent my weekend watching Happy Slip. My favorite were vids of her visit to the Philippines. It made me miss my family and friends more. The director/actor/writer of the vids explains 'What is a happy slip?'
While growing up, my mom was always quick to remind me to wear a half slip with my dresses or skirts. She would say "Be sure to wear your hap eslip!!". So I grew up thinking the term was always "happy slip", until I was corrected by classmates who asked me if I had a sad slip as well.

I'm pretty sure you are in one or more [like myself] of those network sites. I have my relatives here in the USA on my Facebook. I have my favorite musicians on my Myspace. I have my photos on my Multiply. I have my high school and grade school friends on my Friendster. Is that too much networking or what? Whatever. I have time for those things...for now.

It's the third month of 2009, how time flies FAST!!! In two months and a few weeks, it'll be my first year here in Omaha. Imagine that. I remember back in the day, I kept telling NG I don't think I'll make it out here but he kept saying, "you will, just a matter of time..." and now, I am here. Good sigh.

I think, winter is almost over. Yay. Can't wait winter to be over. I've experienced snow and negative temperatures, let's bring the above 50 degrees temps now. I need to sweat. :)

Have a good one. God bless.

Seven Seven Seven...

Seven Ways to Restart Your Day
Beliefnet Feature from Oprah.com.

You've just woken up, and you're on the wrong side of the bed. Is there any way to switch to the other side? Absolutely.

For those times when your mind is addled, and your center is shaky; open this little black bag of cures and find your beautiful balance!

By Kathryn Matthews from O, The Oprah Magazine, October 2007

As soon as the alarm rings...
Spend your first 15 seconds awake planning something nice to do for yourself today. "This can really set you up in a good mood--even if it's just going by the farmers' market and getting fresh strawberries," says Alice Domar, PhD, whose next book--Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception--will be out in March 2008.

Get up.
The longer you lie there, the more you ruminate, the darker your outlook is likely to become, says Christine Padesky, PhD, coauthor of Mind Over Mood. So get vertical and make a cup of coffee, take a shower, feed the cat...

Drink...
Make that two glasses of water upon awakening, the time when our bodies are dehydrated, says Susan M. Kleiner, PhD, author of The Good Mood Diet. Dehydration causes fatigue, which affects your mood.

Move it.
You already know the number one way of chasing away a bad mood: exercise. A workout at the gym sure helps. But even just a few minutes of movement--a fast walk, for example--raises energy and reduces tension, says mood expert Robert Thayer, PhD, professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach, and author of Calm Energy.

Investigate.
When you're dogged by anxiety or the dread you woke up with, try to pinpoint what's causing it. Did someone say anything the day before? Do you have a meeting today you wish you didn't? Was it the dream you were having when the alarm went off? "If you can figure out why you're upset, that's halfway to feeling better," says Domar.

Be kind and thankful.
This isn't exactly news, but generosity and gratitude are both big contributors to happiness, according to Todd B. Kashdan, PhD, who directs the Laboratory for the Study of Social Anxiety, Character Strengths, and Related Phenomena at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Do something nice for a stranger or friend and see if you don't feel better about yourself. Also, jot down three things that you're grateful for. It seems so simple, but counting your blessings just has a way of making you remember the sun is shining.

Laugh at yourself.
The best comedians point out the mundane aspects of life--relationship strife, a boring job, a closet full of too-tight clothes; they exaggerate those circumstances, and give us a perspective we can laugh about, says Mark Ridley, owner of the Comedy Castle in Royal Oak, Michigan. Look at your own life and try to appreciate the absurdity of what doesn't go exactly according to plan (the diets, the men, the buzz cut). Acknowledging how little control we actually have over what happens is sometimes a most freeing gift to yourself.

Seven Steps to Improving Relationships

By Rabbi Brad Hirschfield

Conflict is an inevitable part of life, but it need not always be painful. In fact, we all have within us the ability to sustain relationships even when we deeply disagree. When we reach our breaking point (as we all do), and need to walk away, we can do so in ways that make it more likely that we will come back together.

Here are seven ancient Talmudic steps to follow when confronted with a conflict. They create conversation--not denigration--and encourage us to talk about what matters most in ways that hurt the least.

1. Give Yourself a Break
Sometimes you need some distance-some time to cool off and reflect. But it should be just that, i.e., a limited amount of time after which you and the person with whom you are fighting agree to come back together and revisit the issues. A time out can be a great thing, as long as its design is to bring you back together.

2. Respect the Other Person's Dignity
The one whom you are in conflict with should never lose their value as a human being. No matter how right you think you are and how wrong they may be, don't deny their dignity; you will do more harm than good.

3. Experience Radical Empathy
We must do everything in our power to identify with the other person and their position before fighting for our own. Simply saying that we understand their point of view is not enough--be able to argue it well and present it as if you shared it yourself.

4. Acknowledge Your Partner's Wisdom
Before we can be their teacher, we must first become their student. We must accept that no matter how wrong someone is about one thing, they are unlikely to be wrong about everything. Nobody is smart enough to be 100 percent right or dumb enough to 100 percent wrong.

5. Know That Conflict Hurts Everyone
Appreciate that even when we are doing everything right in handling our relationships, we all pay a price when a conflict unfolds. Being right should not insulate us from feeling the pain that is a part of the conflict in which we are engaged.

6. Look First to Yourself
Even when we are right, we should always ask how we participate in creating and perpetuating the conflict. We all play the blame game sometimes, but it's important to point a thumb back at ourselves before a finger at the other person.

7. Remember, Being Right Is Not Enough
Remind ourselves that the only real justification for conflict with those about whom we care is that it addresses an issue, which is central to sustaining the relationship over time. If it's just about being right, then it probably isn't worth it.

My Seven American Idol Favorites...

It's been a lazy weekend for me. Was in bed most of the time. Watched a few movies. I recommend Juno. Across the Universe was ok, I didn't loved it but I didn't disliked it either. Though the guy who played Jude was easy on the eyes. Martian Child was good enough for me, John Cusack was they reason why I watched it anyways and he's always good for me. I love hearing him talk. SIGH. I also watched Dedication [Mandy Moore and Billy Crudup], hmmm, there are some movies that when you see who's in it, you get interested in, but when you start watching the movie, it's like, hmmmm, just have to finish the movie to see how it all ends, though, I pretty much knew what was coming. Hee. I like Mandy Moore. Billy was ok. Margot at the wedding stars Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black, the movie is not a comedy. I don't know what to make of it. I'm glad it wasn't a long movie though. I still have to watch Into the Wild, Awake, Silk, The Bucket List, My Blueberry Nights to watch in the coming days.

Didn't really get to do productive things except I ironed some jeans and shirts Saturday night. I planned on cleaning [basically just arranging my what-not] my room but that didn't worked out. Hee.

Had semi-off chats with NG this weekend. We get those once in a while. There are times that you just want to be with someone and not talk right? But can't do that when you're in a long distance relationship. You can't be on YM and not type anything, the other might think you're mad or something. Can be tough times. Oh well. We tend to take it as it comes. Soon enough we'd get to spend time together and just be. No more looking at each other's webcams and all that. 3 years of doing that made me asked myself why did I agree on it in the first place? I'm not regretting it. It is what it is. Praying about things.

It's a brand new month, NG feels it will be our month, hoping for the best is all. My youngest sister will be arriving on Wednesday from Thailand [a pit stop from Dubai]. She texted me earlier saying that their flight from Dubai to Thailand was delayed. And she'll be arriving here in Manila on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. All good. Already have plans on taking her to a spa for a massage and what not. And she'll be celebrating her birthday here, she'll be 28. How time flies. Indeed. I feel my March will be good, if only for my sister being here, I think that's enough reason to yes? NG might be here too, if all things go as planned.

Here's to a good March for all of us. Keep that faith. God Bless.

My Favorite Month...

This was the cover of the latest W Magazine. Saw it at a magazine store and I wanted to buy. It was Php599 though. I changed my mind. I don't wanna splurge on a magazine just because hottie McAvoy was on the cover.
Look at him! Hummina Hummina! Hotness! Hoping I'd get the mag on sale and take this pic and have it mounted on wood and/or plastic. It's been awhile since I had the urge to have a guy's pic mounted on wood. He's hot right? Or is it just me?

From Post Secret. Just gotta have perspective yes? We have so much more than what other people have. Must focus on the good in life than the bad. Easier said than done, I know. Keep our faiths. We must.

10 Ways to Bring the Sacred into Everyday Life

Got this from Beliefnet. Worth sharing.

Leave Work Earlier Than Usual
There is always one more phone call or one more email. Consciously stopping early once a week (at least one half-hour) affirms that we do not just live to work, but work as part of living.

Let Go of the Work Week
Cease doing and worrying about the work of the week. Practice gently letting go of thoughts and concerns about work that inevitably pop into mind and take over. Eventually these thoughts soften and recede. Sometimes I take a more scenic route home to help clear my mind.

Turn It Off
Set aside your BlackBerry, turn off your computer, set your cell phone to silent, at least as it relates to work. See how your consciousness shifts and how it doesn't. If you feel incredibly uneasy and even destabilized, you are being invited to discern new ways of taking control of your life.

Eat a Special Meal with Family or Friends
Taking time to reconnect to those we love expands our sense of who we are. Savoring our food (a new recipe once a week adds adventure) deepens our connection to the material world; candlelight invites us to bring forth more light from within and see beyond the surface.

Make Love with Intention
Take pleasure in the sensual part of life. Set aside a time to engage in some activity that creates greater intimacy with someone you love.

Give a Blessing to a Child in Your Life
Remember what it was like to feel genuinely blessed by an adult in your life. In a world in which children are so vulnerable, an adult's blessing is transformative and life-affirming.

Experience the Beauty of Nature
Take a walk or a bike ride; go for a drive or a hike. Experiencing the awe and wonder and amazement of the natural world creates a reverence for life--and gives the enlivening and ethical sense that we are each an interconnected part of such an infinite cosmos.

Engage in a Contemplative Practice
Find a contemplative, reflective, or centering practice that you can do regularly. This can take the form of reading from a wisdom text, listening to music that touches your soul, looking at art that engages the heart, or engaging in more traditional prayer or meditation. Try not to listen to the news.

Laugh
Laughter is a signal of transcendence. It reminds us that no matter what is happening in our lives, this too shall pass; it helps us to hold our absolutes humbly and keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously--all qualities that insure we can deal with whatever life throws at us.

Express Gratitude
Find five things for which to be grateful over the past week. Consciousness is like tofu. Its taste completely depends on what it is marinated in. When we "marinate" our consciousness in gratitude, we become more grateful people.

Bonus Practice: Take a Nap
Sleep restores the body, refreshes the spirit, and is the place of dreams.

Wanna make a million? Click me. Interesting, I must say.

It's February, my birth month and have to say one of my favorite months [the other being December]. I'll turn 32 this month. Yep. Can't believe that I'm 30-something sometimes but that's that. Just have to accept as the number of years add up each year. We can't prevent that. Just have to accept and live with it. Hee.

I'm not really into celebrating much. Been doing an alone day on my day for years. Though, that has changed recently because I have people who I like to celebrate it with. My EBC gurlfriends and for two consecutive birthdays, NG was here. So, that was quite a change indeed. This year, NG will not be here since we have to move his arrival until March so he could meet my youngest sister. And hopefully, we'd get that something that we both been waiting for since August 2006. Praying about it.

On my birthday, I hope to have a body massage with my gurlfriends. I hope we're all free on that day. Then dinner. Maybe, a quick VS? I don't know, it's been awhile since we had a VS coz of different things going on in our lives. I got busy at work. Doctora got busy with school. Eeee got even more busy with things. [Hee] Mrs. G busy with work too. We're all busy but it's
a must to get together once in a while to catch up yes? And hopefully, will get to do that on my birthday.

And if you're thinking of giving me something for my birthday, will make it easy for you, two words, BIRTHDAY CARD. Email me for my home address if you're up for it. Hee.

2nd month of 2008 is here. This work week is quite busy for me. I am hoping won't encounter any hassles along the way. Praying about it.

Here's wishing a good February for you and me. God Bless.

Octoberfest...

When life was more simpler.
I actually joined one of the parlor games on Jelo's 7th. Girls vs Boys. Girls won. It wasn't easy what I had to do in this pic. Hee.
Elliott Yamin was here last week. And this pic is from Meg of the Yaminoys [which I joined recently]. It was really sweet of Elliott to wear this shirt yes? He even posed with the rest of the Yaminoys wearing the shirt like he was one of them. Sweet.
The kiddies. Gameboy and PSP and computer games and cartoons are the things that make them happy right now. I was once like them.
My cousin Tin, my uber-kulit-when-taking-her-pic niece Jenea and my cousin AJ taken during Tin's blowout dinner.
The family. Where was I? Hmmm.
She said: I'm thinking...she's such a cutie.
Little Tahitian girl is all grown up yes? I can't believe how she's grown. She used to be this teenie tiny baby.

It's the first day of October. Here's hoping it'll be a good one for you and me. God Bless.

[BER] months starts...

It's official, today marks the beginning of the BER months. If you are from the Philippines, you'd know that this signals that Christmas is fast approaching. Most likely, when you visit the mall today, you'd hear Christmas songs playing in the background. Maybe even Christmas decors will already be available. SIGH.

Where did the time go? I can't believe 2007 will be over before we know it.

Here's a random meme, I got from here. I'm bored like that. Hee. I don't know what else to write really. Maybe, after I've answered this questions some thoughts will come into mind.
20 Questions
1. When you buy a greetings card are the words or the picture more important to you?
it's all about the words baby...

2. What's your favorite kind of cake?
cheesecake

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them gifts?
Depends. I've made Christmas cards a few years. For birthdays, I buy for them when my budget permits it.

4. What's your favorite holiday - i.e. Christmas?
Christmas. Everyone seems nice even to each other. Good vibes are good even if it only comes once a year.

5. Are you going on holiday this year? If so, where?
No.

6. What was the best party you've ever been to?
Hmmm...

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like?
Simple one for sure. Friends and family.

8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you?
Been asked to marry someone? Is that romantic?

9. What's your favorite romantic song?
Baby I Love Your Way [Big Mountain version]

10. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with?
Jomari. [hands and feet down...hee...]

11. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful?
Kate Beckinsale

12. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive?
Jude Law

13. If you could be a fictional character from a book who would you choose?
Harry Potter? Hee.

14. If you could be in a television sitcom, which would you choose?
F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

15. Which character would you like to be?
Phoebe.

16. What's your favorite girl's name?
Marie.

17. What's your favorite boy's name?
Miguel.

18. What's your supermarket of choice?
SM Supermarket.

19. What is your best character trait?
You have to ask my friends. I've been told I'm nice. What is nice really? Hee. I just try to do good and be good to people as often as possible. It's not easy with some people but I still try.

20. What is your worst habit?
WORRYING. Imagining death. Ayayay.

Random pic: My sisters with Gunther @ Central Perk, Dubai back in 2006. According from Wikipedia:
Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one "step" away from each person he or she knows and two "steps" away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth. Several studies, such as Milgram's small world experiment, have been conducted to empirically measure this connectedness. While the exact number of links between people differs depending on the population measured, it is generally found to be relatively small. Hence, six degrees of separation is somewhat synonymous with the idea of the "small world" phenomenon.
Small world indeed, all I know is, if that theory is true, I'm less than 6 "steps" away from the FRIENDS gang. Hee.

Technology doesn't scare me but this image does. That could happen in the future though.

Rafael Nadal
James Blake

US Open, the last tennis grandslam of the year started last Monday the 27th and I only realized it when I saw in on Yahoo news a few days ago. DOINK. Go Blake! Go Nadal! If it were to me, will let all the guys wear those muscle shirts. Hee.

I got this text message from my HS friend, I thought I'd share it with you:
There are 3 days in which we must not worry:
YESTERDAY, because we can't change it. TOMORROW, because we can't control it. And TODAY, because its in GOD's hands.

We may have a fine September.

Anyhoo, must get going for now...let's keep the faith...need it daily...God Bless.

Wanna bite?...

A lot of people have been waiting for this...it seems...
Even lined up and waited for hours...
A very techie guy....
Those people want their iPhones...
This guy just got his....
He seems happy and excited...hmmmm...maybe he got it for free???
It is visually stimulating, I like the look of it...BUT I don't understand how those people are feeling about it...they are so passionate it seems? I don't know. I don't see myself waiting for a new product like that. Maybe, if the product comes with a guy in his undies, I think I would. Jomari in his undies giving me his iPhone [that didn't sound too nice? Hee]. I'm pretty sure the iPhone is pricey. Way more than what I can ever afford. Heck, I think ipods are pricey, the only reason I have one is because my sister got me one. I'm glad those people got their phones though. But at the end of the day, it is another gadget that will hold our lives. Hee. NG thinks I can't live without texting, which is not true, I can too. I just choose not to. What do you think about this mayhem?

It's the last day of the June. First half of 2007 will officially be over soon. Wow. Where did the year go? Did you have fun? I did. Especially during the first quarter. Then work was busy. Better than nothing. Here's hoping to have a fine July. God Bless.