Posts from — July 2008

My kids simply love going to the beach. Aside from running around and enjoying the water, they never fail to create some artwork in the beach. This photo was taken in St Kilda beach in Melbourne last month. It’s winter season but that did not stop us from enjoying the beach. In this case, a mound of sand plus some stones plus some shells add up to having fun.

And if you’re really paying attention to what you’re reading, just by memory, how many times did I mention the word beach in the first paragraph? Let me know if you got the number right. Now that’s beachtime!

Hilig talaga ng mga anak ko ang magpunta sa dalampasigan. Maliban sa pagtatakbo at pag-enjoy sa tubig, hindi sila nakakalimot gumawa ng artwork sa dalampasigan. Ang litratong ito ay kuha sa dalampasigan ng St Kilda sa Melbourne nung nakaraang buwan. Panahon ng taglamig dito pero hindi ito sapat para kami’y matigil sa pag-enjoy ng dalampasigan. Sa pagkakataong ito, kaunting buhangin dagdagan pa ng kaunting bato dagdagan pa ng kaunting shells ay katumbas ng munting kaligayahan.

Ngayon, kung ikaw ay talagang nagbubuhos atensyon sa iyong binabasa, sa pamamagitan lamang ng memorya, ilang beses ko binanggit ang salitang dalampasigan sa unang talata? Sabihin mo sa akin kung nakuha mo ang tamang bilang. Yan ang beachtime!

Have you ever heard of healthy coffee? I know these two words rhyme but do these two words really go together? I have read a number of times that coffee in moderation may have its good points. There are also products which focus on making healthy coffee thus enabling more people to enjoy it. Reishi is a key ingredient in making this popular beverage healthy. The gano coffee is certainly a better alternative to normal regular coffee. And that can only be good news to the many people who simply love their coffee. There is now more reason for people to try their nutrient-packed cup.

My little CN is a little bit unwell today. She woke up with a fever probably because of the very cold weather we are experiencing lately.

Lying down she watches her favorite Hi-5 CD and guess what? We are watching it for the n’th time now since we started playing it. I believe she really likes watching them and probably wants to memorize their moves and the songs. It is practically non-stop. Well I don’t mind hearing and seeing them again and again as long as I know that my little one is enjoying and at the same time getting the rest that she needs.

I have to reiterate that I am no fan of winter. But when I think about it, it does offer something new as we get a chance to wear a few ‘cool’ clothing pieces to keep the body ‘warm’. Here in Sydney, one hot winter item is the boots. Cavender’s have comfortable and trendy boots that come in a wide range of styles including eye-catching handmade cowboy boots. In this chilling temperature, these should really give you happy feet.

A few months back, I wrote about RD training herself to run fast for the school Cross Country Carnival. She didn’t win anything then but we were glad because at least she wasn’t the last to come to the finish line.

At the end of last term, once again the school held their Athletics Carnival. I stayed and watch RD run. I saw that her running skills were getting better. Not only she runs faster but she also has the endurance to run longer laps. Though she didn’t get the first place, I know she was happy that she was in the top 10 runners on her category in her school this time.

Today, I am a very proud mom. I went to school to see my daughter up on the stage receiving her first running ribbon. Congratulations RD!

While doing my regular reading of other blogs, I couldn’t help but notice the fact that the overall design of a site is influenced (in varying proportions) by the owner’s personality, character, likes and dislikes. For instance a yuppie’s site will likely have a different feel compared to a mom’s site. Apart from the content, the selection of colors, spacing, or even widgets do say something about the writer. To people who are not tech savvy but would like to have a great looking site that still remains to have a personal touch, SplitFive’s Web & Design Services is something that can be counted on.

My husband told me that the client he works with right now makes use of bottled water in dispenser. It just reminded us of how things were in the Philippines. A good number of households (including us, too) would opt to get their water only from these sources. Its just that plain water wasn’t good for drinking straight from the tap. Though having the obvious benefit of getting clean safe drinking water, bottled waters have also been tagged with issues around it being contributory to environmental pollution. Here in Australia, for example, I should have seen at least twice discussions in the news to possibly phase out using bottled water. It’s good that water here is good even just straight out of the faucet.

And BTW, C told me that a closer look at the 5 gallon bottles would indicate that these bottles are ‘Made in the Philippines’!

A couple of weeks ago, we were watching a documentary about stem cell research. It presented examples of how, from umbilical cord stem cells, certain muscles can be treated or redeveloped. About the Science on Stem Cells, I have recently read that stem cells can also be found in menstrual blood. C’elle stem cell research has recently made it to a key medical journal. Its medical applications are indeed potentially life changing or even life saving. Perhaps most people know at least one person who is suffering from debilitating diseases such as diabetes, heart problems or stroke. It sure would be great if there can be a medical breakthrough that would give an answer to all of these! Being a new advancement, I think the first steps to understand it would be to get the right information through various means such as visiting their website including the C’elle Client Testimonial section.

School holidays are over. My vacation mode has officially ended. Now I have to wake up earlier to prepare my kids to school. Send them and pick them up. Make sure that they ate their packed lunch and check weather they have homework that needs to be done. Play with them for a while, then think of something to keep them busy on their own so I won’t hear the words ‘I’m bored’ while I’m doing other things for the house.

Here are just some things they love to do that would make them busy and messy: building/creating a pretend house or castle using chairs and blankets, bring out all their toys in the receiving room, artworks that requires lots of papers and cutouts, painting, watch children shows, trying to take over my computer, eat, play dress up, baking, hide and seek inside the house, picking flowers and leaves and a lot more.

No boundaries. That’s probably how we can describe the world today. I could still recall friends with a family member posted overseas. Telephony back then was a lot more primitive and probably expensive so these overseas workers send ‘voice tape’ to be able communicate with loved ones for as much as a casette tape can hold. Nowadays, the phone system has taken a huge leap that people just pick up the phone and talk to call a family or friend miles away. With the popularity of mobile phones, two (or more) people can now chat wherever they are… whatever they’re doing. The cost of making these calls have dramatically dropped, too. With the help of international phone cards, the possibilities are nearly endless.

What fruits are in your fruit basket? Choosing fruits to buy isn’t that hard for me. Why, because I already know what to pick and where to get it. It’s not that we are very picky but we just have our favorites as everybody does. Actually, we were alright to try and taste fruits that are unfamiliar to us or fruits that we haven’t tried before.

Here are the fruits that are usually found in my fruit basket: Mangoes (seasonal), Bananas, Oranges, Watermelon, Grapes, Strawberries, and Apples.

Having kids like mine who are always hungry for a snack (even if they’re not), I make sure that my fruit basket is always filled up. In this way, I also encourage them to pick up healthier snack options.

I have started to see fuel prices go down this week. It was only a few cents drop but I guess people can be glad (though not necessarily ecstatic) about anything that would translate to pocket pressure relief. Inflation rates are just shooting up that a lot of families are faced with issues to make both ends meet. ‘Belt tightening’. This is probably the marching order for some. On the other hand, for some people, the relief may come from quick Personal Loans which, if made through the right organization and managed properly, could really be a good help to take one through the current difficulties.

Last weekend, our family had a trip to the Snowy Mountains. It was our first trip to the snow here in Australia. It is an understatement to say the views are great. But with the challenges of taking out a DSLR camera out in freezing temperature, I have to admit we did not have a lot of great shots. In our first day, I didn’t even take the DSLR out of the bag but managed to take snaps from my Olympus point and shoot. Second day was also not good as it rained and snowed. The experience of snowfall was really good, though. On the last day, I just had to pull the DSLR out and take chances. As of this writing, it looks like my camera’s ok. Next time we hit the snow, I think I know how to work it out.

Snow is just everywhere! Hmmm… it isn’t Christmas yet so I couldn’t sing ‘White Christmas’.

Here’s a shot just outside of Tumut, NSW. This is the Snowy Mountains Highway leading to Mt Selwyn Snowfields.

On our way home, my husband could not resist this view: a ‘regular’ mountain. So we stopped by and took a shot.

The importance of staying fit and slim has been mentioned all over various magazines, papers, television and even the internet. The health factor is probably a major driving force in this campaign. Another strong factor is the aesthetic result. Whatever the drive is, it is without doubt that staying slim is good for the body.

Parents are not exempt from this. We have to work out to be able to achieve a fit body. There are various ways to achieve this. Some people have bodies that do not necessarily ‘require’ a lot of exercise but still maintain a slim body. Others are a bit more challenged and would require hours in the gym to keep in shape. Furthermore, there are people who, despite giving much effort on exercise, still require some diet pills or weight loss medicines. If you are in this group, then you might have experienced looking for good products at great prices to achieve the desired result without slimming the pocket. Whichever group you belong to, one thing is sure: there is a good reason to keep fit.

I just wanted to say thanks to Christine for featuring me/my blog as a top commenter in strawberrygurl.com. It is always a pleasure to read other people’s blog. It’s a chance to know other people’s thoughts and at the same time, ‘tickle’ my own mind. As I read, I am glad that I can respond back. It allows me to reach out and build links with others. I guess that’s enough to say that blogging can be officially called two-way communication.