Posts from — September 2008

Awareness is an important aspect in health management. There are just too many popular phrases that speak of this. A kid friendly reminder is ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ Well, several organizations have now moved to shift the focus on the awareness. For example, more and more people are now becoming aware that coronary artery disease is preventable with the right lifestyle.

This is the last week of school for this term. For the first week of school holiday, we are trying to book our kids for some swimming lessons. Initially we were only thinking of enrolling our eldest, RD. Eventually, we thought that it would be a good experience for little CN. Besides, it’s a good preparation for the coming summer days.

At the conclusion of the Summer Olympics, the Philippines came out empty handed. The big brains of Philippine sports have started to think what could be done to improve the country’s performance at the next games. My children, too, have noticed the fact that it didn’t even come up to the medal standings. So we had to explain that yes, at some point in time, we were good contenders in some events. And the athletes have also won bronze and silver in the past. In fact, we have won gold but on games that were then considered as demonstration sport and thus, does not really count in the medal standing.

It is important for us to make our kids proud of their roots. So we did have to tell some stories of how our athletes have also topped the best of the best when it comes to other sports, not necessarily in the Olympic scenario. Of course, one of the popular figures in Philippine sports is Manny Pacquiao (who, for some reason, is the country’s flag bearer in the last Olympics). Also world-recognized are our Billiards and Pool Cue masters such as Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes. We didn’t really have to enumerate a long list. I know and I can see that our children are proud of who they are, and where they come from.

A couple of weeks ago, we went into this huge home appliance store to look around. Sure enough we were treated with the latest electronics has to offer. We all enjoyed watching a short movie clip at a huge television flat screen paired with surround sound audio. Just add home theater seating and we probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from the real movie theatre.

It’s been a while since I have been to trade shows. The last was probably when we were in Singapore for some IT show. It does get pretty crowded sometimes but it is interesting to find companies come out quite prepared with banner stands and table skirts on their trade show booths.

I am not sure if there are a lot of trade shows for parents. I think it is a good idea as I think a lot of families would potentially benefit from it. Just imagine getting a lot of stuff (well, mostly for kids I suppose) all under one roof.

A party theme stall should be a great one for these trade shows. We are currently preparing for my daughter’s birthday and thought that it would have been great to get ideas as well as the supplies within quick reach. Well, with or without trade shows, parents will surely go out of their way to make things work.

Yep, that’s without doubt. Flies go with time. The past weekend turned to be pretty warm all day. People have started to come out into different gatherings. Unfortunately, it is not exclusive to humans. Those flies are back! And for whatever reason, the flies here in Sydney are the most ‘aggressive’ types I have seen. There were a few that started coming out in the past couple of days. But there will surely be a swarm soon.

It is without doubt that the internet is a powerful tool to network. Here in Reflexes alone, I have managed to link with a number of people. I have enjoyed sharing stories and experiences as it allows me to learn as well. Christian Women forums are also a great way of reaching out to people with similar interests.

Last Thursday, the pre-school where CN goes to organized for farm animals to go to school! I wasn’t there but I heard that all the kids had a great time. CN herself was quite bubbly to tell me stories about her experience. As a keepsake, she got to keep wool sheared from the sheep. I really liked the idea of the farm going to school. For little tots, they didn’t have to travel a long way to have the farm experience.

As spring starts, it is typical for people to get a renewed drive to put the physical body back in shape. Some would treat it as preparation for wearing the body hugging swim suits for summer. Others would simply do it as part of their spring cleaning. Wherever the real drive is coming from, it’s just a reality that people tend to be sedentary during the cold months of winter. And as people try to keep warm during this period, there is also a likely truth that we eat more. So other than simply going back to regular exercise, some note that it is worthwhile to work on internal body cleansing which can be done through Dual Action Cleanse products.

As you may already know, we just moved to our new place a couple of weeks ago. And because of that, all the hidden boxes have to come out. One of the boxes that came out which we opted not to put back in storage is the Christmas Tree boxes. The kids are just so excited to put the tree up. Well, we don’t have the time to work on it yet as there are other more urgent things to do. But with the tree just waiting in the corner, it wouldn’t be long before I’ll start blogging about the Christmas Tree experience for this year.

The new place which we are renting has hard floor all throughout. It is made up of large strong tiles that moving things around would not generally give it a noticeable scratch. With that, it is such a relief to move into this house especially with two playful kids. Having carpeted areas at home does have their aesthetic value. However, they also pose a risk of getting damaged as play goes on. I am not sure if the risks or disadvantages of carpeted homes outweigh the advantages. One relevant issue with carpets are spills. While a wet vacuum cleaner can probably do the job in some instances, it definitely can’t be an answer to all. Good that there are water restoration companies who are ready to help.

Own one. This is what one of the pioneer brands of dishwashers is promoting. Living in a place where having a household helper is impractical, if not impossible, having these electronic or electric devices around can surely be of help. To some extent, they do allow people to have some extra time for oneself and family. But if you would ask me, even with these Ironas around, I’ll still probably teach my kids how to wash dishes the good old way.

I recently wrote about how flexible vanilla ice cream is. Using various available ingredients, you can make it into any flavored ice cream you would like to be. Now isn’t that delicious? We have tried peanut butter in the past. Any other ideas? Of course for children, including mine, a popular hit would be a chocolate variant. Maybe they just love chocolate flavor for anything that can be made with that magnificent flavor. Yes, anything chocolate. Or they can just go and enjoy the rich taste of that typical chocolate bar. But who would want to go for typical? Chocolate excellence can be really found on some great products.

My daughter RD is part drama club at school. They have a performance coming up soon. As you might have guessed, the parents have a part too. No, I’m not going to be part of the play. I will instead be involved in making some costumes for the actors. For now, I’ve started working on sheep ears and antelope horns. Though, the coordinator just asked me to make horse tails, too. I’m sure my younger daughter CN will want me to make one for her as well. Now isn’t this fun?

We are planning a family beach vacation this coming December. That works well for us here in Australia as that is the well loved summer. While we did enjoy our winter holiday in the snow fields recently, I think there are more opportunities to do various activities in a warmer weather. So how can we maximize summer holidays? Well, one way is to simply visit countries which do not have winter. The other choice is to simply follow where summer is! For example, as soon as the cold air kicks in here down under, then it might be a good idea to take a trip to the northern hemisphere to take a summer holiday yet again. One of the places I hope we could visit soon in the US is Morey’s Piers as it is one of the top New Jersey attractions. Morey’s Piers is a great place for a New Jersey vacation. Looking at available information pages at moreyspiers.com, it really promises to give everyone in the family a grand time. Just like any vacation, finding a good deal or weekly specials will make everything just sweeter. Though for me, what makes a holiday worthwhile is just having the family together for the entire 24 hours of the entire days the holiday lasts. Besides, isn’t that the purpose of a family holiday? Morey’s Piers is a great place for a New Jersey vacation