Take Me As I Am

Like An Angel

2010-07-27T20:28:00.001-04:00

It never fails to bring tears to my eyes whenever people tell me how much I (and my family) have touched their lives. Some people can be very vocal about their gratitude that you cant help but feel like an angel.

Like an Angel …

Wow! Even for just one tiny bit of a moment, you feel like you are pure, divine being, living a human experience. Which I believe, we all are. Like what my soul father, Dr. Wayne Dyer, says according to Tao.

So, I’ll just go on and be who I am. Coz who I really am is an Angel in disguise.

Giving Up

2010-07-27T20:10:00.002-04:00

If there’s too much resistance, let go.

I realized that even if you wanted to help so much, you can’t push too hard. If a person is ready and willing, persuasion is no longer needed. Everything will just be.

I like the quote that my previous officemate, Tom, texted: “If you’re not sure where you stand in someone’s life, it’s best to leave things behind so that if they drop you off, it will be easier to forget them. Don’t waste time waiting for nothing. When efforts are not recognized, it’s best to just give things up. You’ve done your part. Let them do theirs.”

So, yes. I’ve done my part. It’s time for me to let go. It just hurts too much to get involved and not acquire the trust that you so deserved.

On A Pedestal

2010-07-22T19:49:00.002-04:00

Last night, my hubby and I had one of our usual long chats. We chatted the whole night away. We talked about our life, our family, our careers, our friends, everything. But the best topic for me was about how we view each other in comparison to others.

He told me once again how he has never met anyone that would ever compare to me. He truly believes, and is very grateful, that he’s got the best woman. And, naturally, I told him the feeling is mutual. I, likewise, truly believe that HE’s got the best woman. LOL

Kidding aside, I have never found any other guy that would ever compare to my hubby. No one. He’s the best husband, the best Dad, the best friend, the best son (and son-in-law), the best masseuse (oh, well, he’s improved over the years by watching youtube videos on massages. It used to be that my body aches after he gives me a massage … haha)

We have both placed each other on a pedestal. And I truly believe that it is one of the secrets to our long and blissful marriage. To think of your partner as the greatest find. To feel that your partner is your soulmate. To know that your partner is The One.

And therefore, no one else compares.

Why Am I Here?

2010-03-29T11:41:00.000-04:00

Good question. But somehow, I find it difficult to answer.

After what would seem the longest and deepest contemplation/discernment I had to make in my entire life, I have come to a very agonizing decision: As my last recourse (one that I wasn't really very keen to take), I had to once again get back to square 1 and find myself a J-O-B (Read: time away from my family).

For those who have been following my blogs, you may remember the time when my husband and I promised ourselves we will never again work away from home. So, for sometime, we were able to keep that promise. But since our dreams kept growing bigger and our goals getting higher, we had to sacrifice for a bit, and yes, sadly, join the workforce.

Luckily for me, it didn't take long before I got hired by the #1 IT company in the country. I got interviewed in Baguio on Thursday, went down to Manila on Sunday, did the Final Interview on Monday, did the Client Interview and signed the Contract the very next day, and started working on Friday.

Chatting with my hubby and kids the week of my application here and missing the physical acts of hugging, kissing and cuddling, I thought it'd take a lifetime for me to come to terms with the fact that I had to make this kind of decision again.

So, to help me get through the phase, I had to immerse myself with Dr. Wayne Dyer's "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life" audiobook on my mp3 player, Abraham-Hicks' "Ask And It Is Given" hard copy, and of course, Dr. Joe Vitale's magical Ho'oponopono rituals.

And today, it paid off. Well, actually, I kinda had an inkling already on the real reason why I was sent here, but today my hunch was confirmed.

I'm here to start on one of my life's missions: to empower and motivate people ... ala-Oprah, but with less glamour.

Towards the end of our training today, our Trainer gave a heartfelt speech, and I swear, it felt like he literally opened my mind and heart, took my words (and feelings) within and voiced it out to the group. He was giving my speech and it felt so liberating!

This is it. This is the purpose why I'm here. I have attracted this situation. I have attracted each and every one of my teammates. I have attracted this opportunity to empower them in my own small way.

BFF

2010-03-19T14:07:00.002-04:00

Our description according to a psychological test we took:

She is self-centered.

She is insecure.

I am unruly.

(Oooops ... sorry... that was my honeymoon pic)

this one's the latest ...

(after 5-1= 4 kids)

We're the best of buddies.

And I miss us.

Our weekends usually meant super fun and relaxation:

house parties...

crazy antics ...

(shorts on winter?)

bingeing...

malling/shopping ...

Casino ....

(& they said you couldn't take pics inside casinos .. ha!)

But since I went back with my family here, gone were the wild girl parties ...

gimmicks ...

girl-bonding ...

trips to Mandarin ...

Thank God for the internet, we still could play online Literati, chat on Yahoo! and Facebook, voice call via Skype, and email money transfer (most important!)

Still, it's not the same. And I terribly miss my 'freedom' in Canada. It's just so different here. Maybe because I'm in Baguio (though it's a city, it still feels like a province to a city girl like me). But I guess, even if we move back to Manila (where there are more cool places to visit), it'd still feel the same .... coz I still don't have my best buddies to go wild with.

Miss you, guys!

Constant Change

2010-03-13T10:53:00.002-05:00

After an endless search for a suitable template, you finally find and excitedly upload the same to your blog. And even though you have kindergarten knowledge on HTML, you try your best to customize it to perfection. You spend hours and hours surfing the web for the best tutorials so you can give your blog it's 'perfect' look. And once it's done, you are filled with an overwhelming sense of achievement and pride. You sit back and relax.

Then, one day you wake up and find that all your hard work was for naught. The webhost suddenly implements a change that would ruin your 'perfect' blog look forever. And since it's free, you are left without a choice but to abide, although you are seething with fury wishing you have the power to blow up the host into gazillion pieces.

That's what Google did to me, a loyal Blogger (and to countless others affected by its newest gimmick - auto pagination) .

For days, I've noticed that not all my posts were showing on my main page, so I thought that perhaps I've done something wrong again. It was only when I googled about this problem that I learned I wasn't the only one affected.

Would it hurt to give us a CHOICE? Auto pagination may work for some, but not for all, and definitely not for me.

Anyways, instead of banging my head on a brick wall (which is the case if you try adding to this Thread posts), I reluctantly decided to repeat the vicious blogtemplate cycle (search - upload - customize).

It's Day 2 for me trying to customize this new template I recently uploaded. Not nearly done, but at least there have been some accomplishments. Big thanks to AllBlogTools which gave the easiest-to-follow tutorial on numbered pagination, and to ButtonShut which allowed me to create beautiful buttons for my site.

The upside? I get to earn at MyPoints for my searches.

As Abraham usually says, "All is well". I should just be grateful. So, I am.

A New Meaning To Our Valentine

2010-02-15T21:25:00.004-05:00

(Warning: Graphic photo attached.)

Valentine's Day. A celebration of LOVE.

This was our Valentine's pic last year. We escaped from the kids for a couple of hours to get a quick bite at Don Henrico's to celebrate the day just by ourselves.

It was short but sweet. We were celebrating our love, our marriage, our family, our new blessing ... our 5th child that was growing inside me at that time.

The next day, it was a family Valentine date. We took the kids for the first time to Mines View, Baguio City. The kids loved it there especially since the mountain view, the tall pine trees and the weather reminded them of Canada.

But the joy was quickly replaced by misery. After some picture taking, we rushed to Notre Dame Hospital because I was already in pain.

This was the pic after I suffered miscarriage of our 3-month old baby, Jonathan. The ultrasound showed that he was still very much alive but was already out of my uterus. I desperately wanted to hold on but as I was already bleeding profusely, the doctors had no choice but to deliver him fast.

This was baby Jonathan in a pool of blood after delivery. Such a handsome boy. Our beloved angel. I thank my husband for taking several snapshots of him that day. He would have been 6 months by now if he had completed his term and had been born August last year.

But that's all in the past. We have come to terms with the sad fact and have moved on. Baby Jonathan is still very much a part of our family and the kids love the idea that they have an angel baby brother up in heaven.

And thus, our Valentine's day will never be the same again. It's no longer just a celebration of love ... but of LIFE, most importantly.

Happy Valentine to all!

Gr8 D8 w/ J8k

2010-02-13T09:30:00.015-05:00

It was J8k's turn to have an exclusive date with Mommy and Daddy.

Since he had a bit of a fever the previous night, we decided that we'll just spend our 'date' at home. We sent JM and Jaq off to Kidaround in SM (Kuya JJ had already gone to school earlier), so J8k can have Mom and Dad all to himself.

First on our agenda was vandalism .... I mean, fingerpainting.

Then, fun learning letters with VTech.

Then, phonics at Starfall.com.

We also watched Thomas and Friends (again and again and again) on Youtube.

We read stories together. We tickled. We kissed. We hugged. We bonded.

When Kuya JJ came home from school, it was time to head off to SM to fetch JM and Jaq from Kidaround. But before that, we had to treat J8k to exclusive kiddie car rides, too.

So much fun and manageable if full focus is on 1 kid at a time.

It was total pandemonium as usual when our gang was complete again. Shrieking, yelling, bickering ... loving, sharing, laughter ...

Life is sooooo great!

Winners

2010-02-04T07:24:00.001-05:00

We won! We won! This is our major win this year .. what a way to start off.

The Thrillionaires community has launched 10-Week Financial Education Program to be headed by Financial Expert Peter Bielagus. This comprehensive course will tackle the following:

Week 1: What’s YOUR net Worth?
Week 2: Insurance and taxes
Week 3: Debt and credit
Week 4: Saving Money
Week 5: Investing In Stocks
Week 6: Investing in Real Estate
Week 7: Investing in your own business
Week 8: Investing in yourself
Week 9: Teaching Your Kids or the young people in your life
Week 10: The Big Picture—Putting It Altogether

As with other financial mentorship programs like Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Club, Peter Bielagu's 10-Week Financial Education Program got us so excited to join instantly were if not for the corresponding fees.

But unlike other groups, the Thrillionaires Community ALWAYS makes sure that all their programs can be accessed by as many people from across the globe as possible. It offers FREE webinars and audio replays. It awards points that can be used towards the checking off of a Bucket List. It gives scholarships away.

So, imagine our excitement when we received this email this morning:

Scholarships Awarded–READ BELOW

February 3rd, 2010

Wow! You Thrillionaires ROCK!!!

Here is a list of our AMAZING sponsors:

PETER BIELAGUS (6), FREDA CHANEY (4), LINDSAY FRISCH (1), DAPHNE MURRAY (1), HELEN LAM HIRSCH (1), ROBERT STUART (1). Thank YOU all!!!

And here is a list of our SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS for Peter’s 10 Week Financial Education Series:

1) Clara Murray, 2) Angela Carter, 3) Phylesha Restrepo, 4) Lee Maidlow, 5) Dee Carter, 6) Raylee Rees, 7) Melanie Hallsten, 8 ) Phyllis Utley, 9) Anthony J. Thomas, 10) Jessie and Joey Tayaban, 11) Lisa Tristam, 12) Neil Haylett, 13) William De Bleekere, 14) Neila Bennett.

Congratulations to all!!!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Originally, the number of scholarship they were giving away was only 5. But because the Thrillionaires has the the most generous people in the planet, more people were given this rare opportunity to be mentored by Peter Bielagus.

I invite everybody to join The Thrillionaires. It's fun. It's exciting. It's motivating. It's FREE.

Juiced!

2010-02-02T21:53:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Wayne Dyer’s video: How To Be A No-Limit Person

“When you squeeze an orange, nothing will ever come out of it except orange juice. It doesn’t matter who squeezes it – a child, an adult, a professional, a blind person – it likewise doesn’t matter what time you squeeze it – noon, morning, or when you have a period, or when you’re sick …whenever you squeeze an orange, the only thing that will come out is what’s inside.

The same principle applies to us. Someone squeezes you (that is, someone puts pressure on you, says something about you that you don’t like,and out of you comes hatred, anger, fear, stress, tension … why? Is it because of your boss or your mother or your children? ... what comes out of you when someone squeezes you always is what’s inside. This is the vital principle of being a no-limit person.

If you have any hatred in your heart for anyone in this world or anger or fear, it has nothing to do with the rest of the world. It only has to do with what you put inside And how does it get there inside of you? AS YOU THINK. Only as you think. xxx”

Yesterday, someone squeezed me …. to the pulp!

Ho’oponopono, EFT, LOA and all other self-help teachings I’ve learned and been practicing just quickly flew away beyond my reach.

And out of me came World War III. Hitler was revived. I felt like Mount St. Helens’ unleashing its biggest explosion ever. I was so mad it hurt too much, and I cried.

Now I could justify it with all sorts of excuses – that I was provoked, that it was already too much, that some hurtful words were hurled against me, and so on ... but it all boils down to one thing … all those negative emotions were inside of me, and that I was unconsciously nurturing them, feeding them daily with unfiltered impure thoughts until they grew as huge as Anacondas.

After the eruption, there followed a burning lava of guilt, shame and remorse.

I was drowning in all these hateful, negative emotions and I needed to get out fast. I gathered all the help I could … videos and audio recordings of LOA teachings by Wayne Dyer, Abraham-Hicks, Joe Vitale, Bo Sanchez, Bob Proctor, Echart Tolle, etc. I also called up my Mom --- she has always been my ‘sponge’.

Conclusion:

I am still a work in progress. Try hard as I may to be a no-limit person, there will always be reasons to falter and go back to my old ways. But I guess the most important thing is just strive to be a better ME one day at a time.

Confessions of an 8-yr old

2010-01-31T10:00:00.003-05:00

I was presented with the update of JJ’s hospital billing a few minutes ago and it almost gave me a heart attack. The nurse said it was just an update for yesterday’s confinement and did not include doctor’s fees yet and the additional fees for the day. I secretly hoped that JJ would be discharged today so no more fees will accumulate, but unfortunately, the doctor didn’t give the go signal because JJ still had low oxygen count and high WBC count, which meant continued testing, monitoring and drugging. (Grrrr!)

After reading Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About, my husband and I vowed to make our life hospital-free. (Since we came back to the Philippines in 2008, our kids have been going in and out of the hospital for various illnesses – asthma, flu, rashes, diarrhea, etc., that drained our bank accounts [health care’s free in Canada]).

So, when JJ had his asthma attack, I was viciously attacking the internet for immediate natural cures for asthma. We didn’t have most of what’s needed. We only had the apple-cider vinegar so I gave him that, which just made him puke. But when he was already crying, which meant that this was not just an ordinary attack, and since we ran out of nebuls, the only immediate option left was to rush him to the Emergency. Much as we hated it, we had to, lest he suffers more serious effects from non-oxygen.

Kevin Trudeau talked about doctors prescribing drugs that deal with the symptoms and not the root causes of the disease. JJ was constantly being given drugs that included steroids and I was hating the fact that, knowing what I now knew from reading Kevin Trudeau’s book, at the moment there was really nothing I could do but allow. I voiced out my concerns to JJ’s doctor that perhaps the drugs being administered didn’t work, otherwise, we would have the desired results by now. I wanted to bring JJ home and start him with our all-natural diet, cures and lifestyle. But she said that she couldn’t just let JJ leave without seeing improvement, even at least on his oxygen level.

I wanted to get to the root cause of this major asthma attack. I decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, and we discussed all the possible causes, but mainly focused the emotional stress. I urged him to talk about all his pent-up negative feelings that he normally doesn’t let out. It was a dramatic moment for us, both of us trying really hard not to cry too much, but I knew this was absolutely necessary. These were all the negative emotions that we rid of from our talk:

a. Misery – He was miserable and sad when we left him for months to go to US for vacation. He said he missed us so much.

b. Anger and Jealousy – He was a bit angry that we had to leave him, and jealous that we had to bring JM (his sister) with us.

c. Frustration – He was frustrated and angry with his classmates the day they teased him about something.

d. Other Petty Issues

Following the Law of Attraction, I explained to him that those negative emotions he felt were all in the past and should no longer affect him. I told him that since he was keeping all these trapped inside him, his body is reacting accordingly.

There was a lengthy discussion on all the hows and whys, but he understood and accepted everything. We wrote down some action plans that we think would work, and hopefully, we follow through.

Our Vice Makes Us Sick

2010-01-30T16:41:00.001-05:00

Read Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About and you will better understand why.

We all know that fastfood and restaurant food are unhealthy, but Kevin will tell you so much more about the hows and the whys.

Our family’s only vice is eating out. We love to eat out every chance we get. We consider it a vice because sometimes it’s way out of control. In Canada, our favorite hangouts were Mandarin Buffet and McDonald's (mainly because of its Play Place). Here in the Philippines, it’s Jollibee (of course!), McDonald’s Pizza Hut, and Max's.

When the 3 of us (hubby, myself and our daughter, JM) went to visit my Mom in US, we left our 3 boys in the care of their Lolo and Lola (grandparents). So, for months, the boys didn’t get to eat out in fastfood restaurants. For months, their bodies adapted to only healthy, nutritious, homemade cooking. For months, our eldest, JJ, didn’t have any major asthma attack (primarily because of the healthy diet he was getting).

The day we came back, our ‘pasalubong’ (welcome present) was Jollibee Bucket Meal. The week of our arrival was a lot of fastfood treats to the kids (Jollibee, Pizza Hut, Max’s, etc.)

Back to our old vice again.

Last Thursday, it was our date with JJ. We fetched him from school and gave him a treat in Pizza Hut. He ordered a combo meal consisting of soup, salad, breadsticks, pizza, carbonara and a drink.

Earlier in school, his lunch money was spent in cookies, chips, cupcake and sour candies (so much for us letting him make his own decisions).

That night, he had the worst asthma attack that we had to rush him to the Emergency.

What caused it? Here are our theories:

1.   There was something he was allergic to in what he ate in school.
2.   Perhaps too much carbohydrates, fat and food additives in his Pizza Hut order
3.   Too much fastfood in a week
4.   Got tired walking and playing a lot in a day
5.   Emotional stress w/c started in the morning when he didn’t get to play Club Penguin as we promised, then in school where he was teased about something that made him cry, then in the evening when I was struggling with his Filipino assignment, and when we didn’t allow him to play computer as we promised again.

Honestly after reading Kevin Trudeau’s book, we’ve been feeling kinda guilty about our unhealthy lifestyle. I’m now beginning to wish I could ‘really’ cook. My cooking had always been commercialized – thanks or no thanks to Mama Sita (brand for ready made sauces like Afritada, Caldereta, Menudo, etc.), my homemade cooking is actually a 'fraud'.

And yes, sadly, I think we need to get rid of this unhealthy vice of ours.

A Perfect Date

2010-01-29T21:32:00.002-05:00

For my first exclusive date with our kids, I chose our 3rd child, Jaq.

Jaq was quite excited when I told him to prepare for our ‘date’. He was feeling so proud and was bragging about it to his younger brother saying, “J8k, it’s just gonna be Mommy and Jaq only”.

I braced myself for uncontrollable tantrums because among our kids, it’s Jaq who goes berserk at the slightest trigger. My husband and I have ‘informally’ diagnosed him with a mild case of SPD.

But I was taken by surprise. Jaq behaved extremely well, it was really a shocker.

We first went to National Bookstore where I read him a story and bought some school supplies. Then, we went to SM Department Store where we browsed and shop for some stuff. Then, I bought him some tokens for some kiddie car rides. When I thought he had enough fun, I gave him a treat at Max’s where I let him order whatever he liked (which was just ice cream, not surprisingly …. lol).

We strolled. We shopped. We talked. We laughed. We bonded.

And not a single episode. (whew!)

But the greatest memory Jaq gave me that day was during our ride home when he kissed me and said, “Thank you, Mommy. I love you.”

(sniff, sniff)

Together Again

2010-01-29T10:31:00.002-05:00

After months of being away from our boys, we needed to bring back the bond. We could tell they have missed us so, as much as we’ve missed them. After all, there was really never a time that we were all apart longer than a day or two. We raised them ourselves for 6 years in Canada, doing only mostly night part-time jobs and home businesses, so we could be with them during the daytime. Yes, we are proud to say we are both hands-on parents.

So, we set up our 30-day goals that include weekly family date and monthly date with each of them for some real bonding time.

Two days after we came back, we followed through our promise by taking them all out to SM. We let them run around for a good few hours and when we thought they were all good to settle down for a meal, we headed out to eat. They all screamed for pizza so it was Pizza Hut then, which was the nearest to where we were at that time.

Bad choice (not the food, but the waiting time).

Note to all parents who have starving kids in tow, NEVER bring them to restaurants with order waiting time of more than 2 minutes.

Obviously getting bored ...

Our impatient, hungrier than starving kids were playing with everything that was set on the table – forks and knives, table napkins, the pasta decors and even the plates.

Kids getting impatient ...

I ordered pasta for myself which was the first to be served and it was gone in a few seconds without me tasting just one strand of the Fettuccine. I have forgotten that we were already in the Philippines and that 1 serving literally means for 1 person only (actually, one person who’s on a diet).

So, I had to order another pasta plus some other appetizers fast before the kids could stage a coup d'etat.

Our date was a riot but it was surely exciting. It was fun to bring back the old times.

TAP All Your Problems Away

2010-01-27T18:20:00.005-05:00

Share

The site is LIVE!

I'm so excited to learn there's gonna be a Online Audio Event on EFT Tapping in February (Registration starts on Feb. 1). And it's FREE! (Oh, how I love freebies!). Actually, this is something that most Americans take for granted -- they have a lot of FREEBIES in their country like thousands of materials in their library, free passes to their museums and other galleries, free samples on most product websites, free S/H of goods and products, etc. And yet, they still feel so deprived! We are presently here in our home country (Philippines) and how I long once again to be there in NY where we had easy access to all the materials in their library that we don't have here -- movies, books, audio books, magazines. (Don't get me wrong. We've got thousands of materials here as well, but they're very limited, and not available ONLINE). It was mostly because of all these freebie offers that we tremendously enjoyed our vacation there in US -- free skating rentals, free access to museums, free theatre shows, free samples, free short classes, even CASH giveaways ....(oh, I miss NY!)

Anyways, we have been doing EFT Tapping for some time now and we have seen great results. This was recommended by Dr. Joe Vitale as one way to clear away the negative programming we have in our subconscious. There was a movie called "Try It On Everything" which teaches on how to tap away virtually all the problems in our life ... be it financial, career, business, relationships, health, weight loss (couple this technique with KT's 30 Ways To Lose Weight and you'll have your desired figure in no time).

To get more information on this subject, click on the above image or go to You Tube and find videos on tapping. I personally recommend the video series by Robert Smith (Healing Magic channel) and that of Brad Yates (this particular video link is part of our daily meditation and thanksgiving).

But, really, for something that's FREE and would actually help you in all aspects of your life, you won't want to pass this opportunity up. So, go ahead and sign up for the EVENT on February 1st, and share the link to others whom you think will benefit from it.

God bless!

30 Sure Ways To Lose Weight Fast!

2010-01-26T21:24:00.002-05:00

30 steps to effectively lose weight the natural way are listed below which I ‘copied’ verbatim from Kevin Trudeau’s book.

Last month in NY, I started reading Kevin Trudeau’s Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About and I thought why the heck didn’t I read this book earlier on? It could have saved us lots of $$$ in prescription drugs and hospitalization. I remember requesting it from our library in Canada back in 2008 but forgot to claim it when it was finally available. And then I came across Joe Vitale’s blogpost about Kevin’s new program and I was reminded to try borrowing Natural Cures from NY library. There were a lot of holds on the book and it took more than a month before I finally got it.

Here’s what I can say about the book: It's a MUST read, particularly if you are on prescription drugs. The book is jam-packed with so much useful information. It actually gave me a headache reading the first few chapters coz Kevin was ranting on and on about how and why the government, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission and other organizations and entities were trying to hide and suppress these natural cures for almost every disease, including cancer, from the public.

But I actually admire Kevin’s passion about his fight. I love his chant "I'm mad as hell and I won't take it anymore". I wish I have even an ounce of his passion in any endeavor I undertake. That would probably make me achieve more goals in life.

There was a Chapter in his book devoted to WEIGHT LOSS and I thought it would be nice to blog about it. A lot of people I know and personally want to reach out to would NOT bother buying this book for some reasons, so, I have painstakingly typed this whole section manually because I sincerely want this info to be out and available for them to read every now and then. I hope I am not violating any copyrights law by doing so.

I HIGHLY recommend that you go buy the book, or borrow it from your library because there are tons of information on the book that you would not want to miss out.

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT

Natural Cures They Don’t Want You To Know About

By KEVIN TRUDEAU

(Disc 8, Tracks 15 to 23)

1.   DRINK A GLASS OF WATER IMMEDIATELY UPON ARISING – Ideally, the water should be distilled. Absolutely no tap water. This starts the body’s metabolism and cleansing.

2.   EAT A BIG BREAKFAST – It’s interesting to know that 80% of people who are overweight eat a small breakfast or none at all. 80% of thin people eat a large breakfast. Your breakfast should consist of as much as you want of any of the following items in any combination. Everything listed should be organic. Apples, pears, berries, kiwis, pineapples, grapefruit, plums, peaches, prunes, figs, rye bread, raw butter (now raw means not pasteurized or not homogenized), raw milk, plain raw yogurt (this means no sugar, no fruit), wild smoked salmon, beef in any form, eggs (as long as they’re organic. They can’t be pasteurized. They’re gonna be organic, farm, fertile free–ranged eggs). Again, the beef has to be organic, chicken in any form as long as they’re organic, lamb in any form as long as it’s organic, tuna, sardines, tomatoes, peppers, salsa, celery, carrots, any vegetable, potatoes in limited amount, coffee in limited amount (made with pure water, not tap water), you can use raw milk or cream, and raw evaporated sugar cane juice or honey as a sweetener, or real tea not tea in tea bags. I’m talking real leaf tea.

3.   DRINK 8 GLASSES OF DISTILLED WATER EACH DAY – People think drinking water will make them gain weight and be bloated. The exact opposite is true. If you’re overweight, you need to flush out the toxins from your fat cells. Water is absolutely necessary to help you lose weight.

4.   WALK FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR NON-STOP PER DAY - The body is designed to walk. Research shows that slow-rhythmic movement exercise such as walking resets your body’s weight set point and creates a thin lean body. A 1-hour walk everyday will change your body dramatically in as little as one month.

Now if you didn’t do anything else except the things I just said, it’s pretty easy to do maybe for the walking somebody might say “Oh, I can’t do that”. If you just do those 4 steps, in 30 days you’re gonna lose so much weight, it’ll blow you out. Just those four. Let’s carry on.

5.   DO NOT EAT AFTER 6:00 P.M. – Now, do this the best you can. However, the good news is you can virtually eat like a pig all day long. If you stop eating at 6 o’clock and don’t eat after 6:00, you will lose weight dramatically.

6.   DO A CANDIDA CLEANSE – If you are overweight, you positively, absolutely have a candida yeast overgrowth. I can guarantee it. It’s probably not only in your colon xxx it’s through your entire body. Losing weight will be hard and slow, and keeping it off nearly impossible as long as the candida overgrowth exists. If you wipe off the excess candida, losing weight will be easier and virtually effortless and keeping it off will be a breeze. You must get the book Life Force which explains the candida cleansing process. That’s the best one that I recommend. There are dozens of candida cleanses. You get information in a health food store. The best cleanse that I recommend is in Life Force. You can go to naturalcures.com or call our 800 number which is 800-931-4721. If you’re not in America, you can look in the book for the international number or go to naturalcures.com to get that book, but you’ve got to get rid of that candida.

7.   DO A COLON CLEANSE – If you are overweight, I guarantee you that your digestive system is slow and sluggish. Unless you have 2 or 3 bowel movements, you are, in fact, constipated. Cleansing the colon will dramatically increase your metabolism and you can lose up to 10 pounds by simply getting rid of the embedded toxins and fecal matter in your colon. There are many colon cleansing programs available. You can inquire in your local health food store or for my personal recommendations, go to naturalcures.com

8.   EAT ORGANIC GRAPEFRUITS ALL DAY – Remember the grapefruit diet? Well it appears that there’s actually enzyme in grapefruits that actually burns fat. I happen to hate grapefruits, I can’t eat them. I just don’t like them. But eating grapefruits all day as many and as often as you desire will absolutely speed the fat-burning process. Organic grapefruits. The more, the better. All day.

9.   ABSOLUTELY NO ASPARTAME OR ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS – Aspertame which goes by the name Nutrasweet will make you fat. All other artificial sweeteners including saccharine, Splenda or anything else, sucrulose, should be avoided. If you want the full story, read the 2 books Aspartame Isn’t Safe and Excidal Toxin: A Taste That Kills. You can get information on those books from naturalcures.com or call our 800 number.

10.   ABSOLUTELY NO MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG) – MSG is an excidal toxin. It makes you fat, causes all kinds of medical problems and can affect your mood, making you depressed which makes you eat more. It can also be physically addicting, like aspartame, and actually make you hungrier. Unfortunately, the food industry has lobbied Congress to pass law allowing monosodium glutamate to be put in the food and not listed on the labels. There are dozens of words that can be on the label such as spices artificial flavoring, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, etc. that are in fact MSG in disguise. This is why buying organic food where everything listed in the ingredient list is something that you can recognize and can pronounce is so important. Also MSG is in virtually all fastfood restaurants including things you would never imagine like pizza. In the pizza sauce, they put MSG. In the breads and various places, they can put MSG. This is why people in foreign countries eat all kinds of food and never get fat. It’s not so much the kind of food or the fat or the calories of the carbohydrates but the chemical ingredients used in the American food processing.

11.   TAKE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES – If you are overweight there is an excellent chance your body is not producing enough digestive enzymes causing you to gain weight, feel bloated, have gas, indigestion and constipation. Go to your health food store and inquire. Try several kinds to see which one works best for you. For my personal recommendations of digestive enzymes, go to natural cures.com

12.   ABSOLUTELY NO DIET SODAS OR DIET FOOD – Diet sodas have been called the new ‘crack’ because they appear to be so physically addicting. Now that’s what the food manufacturers want. They want you to be physically addicted to their products. They actually make you fatter. The reason that they are promoted so heavily is because people become physically addicted to them and they are cheaper to make than regular sodas. I did an interesting experiment with people who drank diet sodas on a regular basis. For 2 weeks, they replaced their diet soda with regular high-calorie, sugar-sweetened soda. Amazingly, no one gained any weight. Even more shocking was 80% of the people actually lost weight. 1 person lost 7 pounds. It was stunning to me. Diet food falls into the same category. Do not eat anything that is being presented as diet or weight-loss food. They are loaded with chemical ingredients that will actually make you fatter and make you physically addicted.

13.   NO FASTFOOD OR CHAIN RESTAURANT – Any restaurant that’s a chain or franchise or that sells fastfood produces their food in such a way that it is absolutely, guaranteed to make you fat. You can actually eat French fries and cheeseburgers and lose weight provided that the ingredients that you use are all organic and contain no chemical additives. So, if you make it at home, it’s ok. But it’s virtually impossible to eat food in a chain restaurant or franchised restaurant or where the food has not been processed to last for years without spoiling. The food has to be produced as cheaply as possible for the companies to make money. They must add chemicals to make the food taste great and get you physically addicted. This food also has been produced to increase your appetite and make you fatter.   Remember, these are businesses whose only objective is to make a profit. If the food tastes amazing, gets you physically addicted to it, increases your appetite, and makes you fatter, the restaurant is assured a success. They’re like drug dealers getting their customers hooked on their product. The customers can’t get enough and become so addicted that they keep coming back for more. This is the sad truth of what’s happening in our food industry today. When you don’t eat a certain kind of food you feel bad and as soon as you eat it you feel better. ‘Oh I feel ok now’. That’s a drug folks, that’s a drug. And that’s what the food industry is doing.

14.   NO HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP – This sweetener makes you fat and is physically addictive. Just stop buying food at the supermarket. Go to health food store or a whole food type store or farmer’s market instead. In my personal opinion, do not buy food that is manufactured by any large, publicly traded companies. Do not buy brand name food. Do not buy food that’s advertised on television. The profit-motive is so high you can be assured that it’s not good for you. The sweeteners that are used in food produced in a natural way include organic honey, organic molasses, organic fruit juice, organic dates, the herb stevia, evaporated sugar-cane juice, etc. Simply read the labels. If you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it.

15.   NO WHITE SUGAR OR WHITE FLOUR – White sugar is, in fact, physically addicting and makes you fat. However, it’s still better than any artificial man-made sweetener. If you want to sweeten something use the recommendations I listed above. Sugar should be your last option. Artificial sweetener should NOT be an option at all. White flour, as I mentioned earlier, when mixed with water makes paste. Eating white flour makes you fat. It can also be addicting. It clogs up your digestive system slowing down your metabolism. Use organic whole grain flours. It had not been processed or stripped off the fiber.

16.   EAT ORGANIC APPLES ALL DAY – The old saying is true. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are loaded with fiber nutrients. They normalize your blood sugar and decrease your appetite. You should at least eat one apple every single day. The more apples you eat, the better.

17.   EAT ONLY ORGANIC MEAT, POULTRY AND FISH – One of the reasons you’re overweight is because of the growth hormones put in meat and poultry. If you wanna lose weight, eat as much meat and poultry as you like as long as they’re organic, grass-fed, ideally kosher, and most importantly, have not been given growth hormone. The fish you eat should not be farm-raised.

18.   LIMIT DAIRY PRODUCTS – If you’re going to consume milk, cheese butter or any dairy products, eat only organic products that had not been pasteurized or homogenized. The dairy product should be labeled organic and raw. It may be hard to find raw dairy products in some parts of the country. The next best option is organic but not homogenized, but that has been pasteurized. Well, you’re looking at 3 things here. There’s homogenization, pasteurization and organic, ok? If it’s organic and raw, that means it’s organic, raw. It’s not homogenized, it’s not pasteurized. If you can’t find raw, then make sure it’s at least organic, ok? And ideally, not homogenized and not pasteurized. But some of it is gonna be homogenized, and some it’s gonna be pasteurized, but at least get organic. But ideally, raw. Once it’s homogenized and pasteurized, really you should stay away from it coz it’s just gonna make you fatter, ok? That’s the bottom line. If you wanna lose weight, reduce dairy regardless of what you’re getting. Definitely, absolutely do not consume any dairy products that are not organic because they will have growth hormone in them and that will slow your weight loss.

19.   DO A LIVER CLEANSE – If you are overweight, I guarantee, absolutely 100% your liver is all messed up and clogged. Get the book The Liver Cleansing Diet.   You can go to naturalcures.com and get the information on that. Or you can go to health food store and say “Are there some liver cleanses I can do?” and there are some products you can take.

20.   EAT A BIG, HUGE SALAD AT LUNCH AND DINNER – I didn’t say only. But eat a big, huge salad made with organic ingredients. I don’t care if your lunch is a cheeseburger, french fries and a pint of ice cream. Add to it a big, huge salad and eat that first. You’ll be amazed how you lose weight. Now the salad can contain anything you like as long as it’s only vegetables and they are all organic. The salad dressing should be organic, extra-virgin, raw olive oil, and freshly-squeezed lemon juice or organic vinegar. If you really wanna speed the weight loss process, use organic apple-cider vinegar. Add some organic sea salt, some fresh ground pepper and garlic to taste. That’s your salad.

21.   REBOUND- A rebounder or mini-trampoline allows you to stimulate and strengthen every cell in the body simultaneously. Gently jumping up and down on a rebounder for just 10 minutes a day stimulates the lymphatic system and increases your metabolism. It’s very effective for health and weight-loss.

22.   ADD HOT PEPPERS – Anything spicy or hot will increase your metabolism and make you burn fat quicker. Imagine for breakfast, having some scrambled, organic, farm fresh, fertile eggs, some lamb chops that you’ve fried up in some organic raw butter or olive oil, some organic rye toast with some organic raw butter on it, and then you smother the eggs with some organic hot salsa. You’ll lose weight fast, you’re eating wonderful food but the organic hot salsa adds the hot pepper increase your metabolism. You lose weight quicker.

23.   USE ORGANIC APPLE-CIDER VINEGAR – This has some magical property which helps eliminate fat cells from the body. Take a couple of teaspoons before each meal and you’ll be amazed at how your clothes become bigger in virtually no time at all.

24.   BREATHE – Oxygen burns fat. Most people do not breathe enough to stimulate their metabolism and fat-burning capability. There are several great videos which teach various breathing techniques that are simple and quick to do and that can help you lose weight faster. If you want more information go to a health food store or go to naturalcures.com.

25.   WEAR MAGNETIC FINGER RINGS – Special magnet rings worn on the little finger while you sleep can have amazing results and increase in metabolism, making you look younger, feel better, eliminating pain and make you lose weight. Go to naturalcures.com for the information on those.

26.   GET 15 COLONICS IN 15 DAYS – This process will clean your colon making it easier for your body to assimilate nutrients. This reduces hunger and increases metabolism. Colonics also allow your body to digest food faster so that it will not turn into fat.

27.   ADD MUSCLE – Muscle burn fat. When you add muscle through exercise, you are increasing your body’s metabolism and making it easier for you to lose weight and keep it off. Plus, you’ll look a lot better. The best way to do this is yoga, pilates, Chinese kung fu, or ay old fashioned basic exercise. There are great videos and books I recommend regarding exercise that work better than others. Go to naturalcures.com for all the recommendation.

28.   FAST – This should be number 1 but for most people this is the hardest thing to do to go on proper 21-day fast so I give this to you last, but it’s highly recommended. Going on a proper juice fast for 21 days will completely detoxify you body, flush fat cells and reset your body’s weight set point. It’s one of the fastest ways to lose weight, one of the most effective ways to change the body’s set point so that you will not gain the weight back. This should be done under supervision depending upon your medical condition. The best book I know is The Miracle of Juice Fasting. There are a lot of other great fasting books but I happen to like that one.

29.   CHEAT WHENEVER YOU WANT – Listen, if you want ice cream, cookies, cakes, chocolate, pizza, french fries, potato chips .. fine. Don’t deprive yourself. It’s better to eat something without guilt than not eat something and feel bad about it. From best to worst, it looks like this. I’ll give you few examples. (oh, just read the book. It’s just too much to type here. I’m getting tired transcribing.)

30.   REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE UNCONTROLLABLE URGE TO EAT WHEN YOU’RE NOT HUNGRY – Remember, censorship is alive and well in America. The FTC filed a suit against me and has forbidden me from saying my opinions on how a person can eliminate addictions and uncontrollable urges to eat. And you thought there was free speech in America. If the First Amendment of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, were actually true, I would be able to state my opinions and conclusions on the subject. I can’t. However, if you are an emotional eater and have uncontrollable urges and compulsions to eat when you’re not hungry, you need to get the book Tapping The Healer Within (xxx)

It’s amazing that little things can make a huge difference. When looking at the list that I just gave you, a good way to attack it is to pick one thing on the list that’s easy for you, and just do that for one day. Then look at another thing on the list, and while still doing the first one, add the second. Do both of those until you feel comfortable with adding something else. Keep in mind that in items at the top of the list are the most powerful and will create the fastest results. These techniques absolutely work. You can lose weight faster and easier than ever before and keep it off. You can reset your body’s set point. xxx

Random Acts of Kindness

2010-01-25T02:37:00.003-05:00

I was not really keen on sharing the acts of kindness I or our family have done in the past because it seems egoistic and takes away the randomness and sincerity of it all, but the following quote from 'Do I Smell Smoke?' (one of Dr. Barret's blog posts) prompted me to do so.

"Every giving action doesn’t have to be revealed. But some should. I also felt that by telling others it sheds light on a particular problem. It also nudges others to take action. Perhaps next time someone else will remember what she did and feel encouraged and strengthened to take action themselves."

So, I'm sharing a few random acts of kindness we've done (and still do) that we feel might be a source of inspiration to others.

1. In 2008, we met an old-time friend who was a stay-at-home Mom. We then learned that she was being abused by her husband, but due to her personal circumstances, she couldn't just leave. We thought that the best help we could give is an opportunity for her to bring her self-worth back. Thus, my husband gave his job to her. (She recently sent us a message saying she was doing ok and that she'd be forever grateful for the help we extended her).

2. We tithe. Usually, it's 10% of our income (And trust us, we're both unemployed ... funny, but true. But come to think of it, we always managed. We even had the chance to travel recently to US ... lol). Each time we get monetary benefits, we take 10% of it and put it in a separate fund already so it doesn't feel like it's ours to spend. That way, it's easier for us to 'Give Away $1 a Day', an idea we learned shortly after we've discovered 'The Secret', and which was also suggested by Dr. Joe Vitale in his program 'The Secret to Attracting Money'. We would randomly leave $1 in subways, restaurants and other public places and praying that whoever finds it will be blessed abundantly. The rationale behind this idea is that you are randomly giving happiness or joy to the person finding it, just like how you felt as a child when you accidentally finds a penny on the ground. Some other portions of our 10% also go to our favorite charities and organizations.

3. There was one day in NY when we were financially blessed that we decided to give not just $1 but $5. We put $5 each in an envelope with a note saying 'Pay it forward by doing a random act of kindness as well like share a smile, offer a seat, call a friend, etc." We then asked our 5-yr old daughter to hand the envelopes out to strangers as we passed them by in NY (Time Square) and in Detroit airport. We also gave away our bus tickets to La Guardia airport that day to 2 other strangers (in my blog Super Jet Lag).

Joyful giving is the 'The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History' (that's the title of a book by Dr. Joe Vitale (free download link is on my blogpost 1 Neat Freebie For You). That book had totally changed my view on Giving. Whereas before, I felt trapped in the emotion of guilt and obligation when I tithe to Church or give monetary help to those in need. Now, I just give joyfully to whomever gives me inspiration spiritually or otherwise. Dr. Joe Vitale also pointed out that you get more of what you give away. So, if you give away books or clothes, then you get more books and clothes. But if you wanna be financially abundant, then give away money to those who have inspired you the most, at the same time opening your heart to great expectation that it will be returned to you a hundred fold through sources other than your recipient.

The 11 Forgotten Laws

2010-01-24T22:24:00.000-05:00

This was an email from Bob Proctor:

Do you remember that first spark of hope you felt when you watched The Secret? I clearly remember the desire that filled my heart, knowing that – Yes, I can make my dreams come true – FINALLY!

But how many of you soon saw that hope dwindle into frustration? How many of you (and be honest now) started muttering things like:

- “It seems to work for other people, but I just can’t get it right.”

- “I’m frustrated that sometimes I can get it to work, but sometimes I can’t. What’s the trick?”

- “Why am I having so much trouble?”

- “I think the universe is against me.”

- “I’m trying very, VERY hard but still nothing is happening!”

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. About 97% of people also couldn’t make the Law of Attraction work for them the first time round. Think about it, just like anything else, you have to practice many times before you see success. A child doesn’t learn to walk without falling over a couple of times, right?

But in practice, everything is easier said and done. When you’re frustrated, it’s hard to stay positive. And it’s especially harder to stay positive when the evidence all around you is screams negativity like the unstable economy or senseless acts of violence such as those recently seen in Mumbai.

And do you know what happens when you fail to stay positive? That’s right – you start attracting negative things in to your life.

So how can you make the Law of Attraction work for you – without getting frustrated? How do those who successfully implement the Law of Attraction do it with such confidence and finesse?

Well, here’s three quick tips so you will never feel frustrated or tired of begging from the universe, because you know how to start manifesting like a pro.

1. Allow Yourself To Receive

Just like a lost child who approaches a police officer and asks, “Excuse me Sir, can you tell me how to go to the post office? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you?” Well, if the child goes on and on asking, the police officer can’t even give an answer, right?

Well, it’s the same thing with your mind. If the only thing your mind is doing is transmit, transmit, transmit, the universe — which is trying to respond — can’t give you a single thing because you’re not allowing yourself to receive!

So, have the confidence in yourself and stop exhausting yourself by running around person to person begging for riches, and then wondering why nobody is dropping a penny in your cup (Hint: It’s because you’re running away too fast for them before they can even reach for their wallets).

Just think of your desires and leave it out there, go away, and trust that your cup will be filled with gold coins (or whatever it is you asked for) when the time is right.

2. Be Patient With Yourself

Receiving takes time.

Sadly, many people give up just a couple of steps before the finish line because they’ve decided that if it’s not working by now, it’s never going to work at all. Worse still are those who throw in more and more energy because they think that with more resources, the results will come faster.

This is like expecting 9 mothers to conceive and deliver a baby in 1 month. You also can’t bake cookies in half the time by doubling the temperature. You’ll incinerate those cookies to ashes!

In simple terms: Everything in this world has a natural development time, and this fact will not change no matter what resources you throw at it.

So relax and be patient. Remember that you too, as part of the universe, are also governed by the laws of the universe, and you cannot change the natural development time.

If you remember this, you will less likely work yourself up into frustration, or worse, push yourself into a downward spiral of negativity.

3. Support and Educate Yourself

Like the child who is learning how to walk, you need support. You also need to guidance on how to do it, and also the role models to look up to.

Many people give up because they think that “The Secret” is the “be all and end all” solution. Well, it’s NOT. “The Secret” is just a small portion. It was never intended, and has never been, the whole answer.

Coming to the conclusion that the Law of Attraction doesn’t work when all you ever did to educate yourself was watch “The Secret” 19 times (without looking at changing the habits of other areas of your life) is like coming to the conclusion that exercising is not an effective way to lose weight because all you did is run on the treadmill for 2 hours a day (but you’re still stuffing yourself with fried foods and cheesecakes).

So seek and be hungry for new knowledge. Also, make an effort to be amongst people or communities where you can support each other, learn from each other and also share new knowledge that you have found.

While the Law of Attraction is not an overnight delivery service, it will indeed deliver, if you do your part too!

Check out the site The 11 Forgotten Laws

Super Jet Lag

2010-01-19T18:20:00.004-05:00

Jan. 14, 2010

8:00 a.m., Brooklyn, NY: Goodbyes, hugs and kisses to our benefactors in Brooklyn, NY, Manong George and Manang Trining.

9:00 a.m., Times Square, NY: Last-minute tasks (returning borrowed books to the library, getting JJ the promised PSP, wiring $$ to Canada, shopping presents, etc.)

4:00 p.m., Port Authority, NY: Two of the people we made happy that day were strangers waiting for Bus going to La Guardia airport. We’ve bought our tickets in advanced but at quarter past 4pm, Bus was still not in sight so we decided to just take a cab instead to catch our 5:50pm flight to Chicago. Before I hopped in, I gave our tickets away to a couple waiting in line. Nice feeling!

8:00 p.m., Detroit, MI airport: Quick dinner bite at Popeye’s before boarding plane again.

10:30 p.m., Chicago O’Hare, IL airport: Touchdown. Tired, sleepy … and still had to find accommodation for the night. Browsing available hotels, we found Best Western to offer the cheapest rate @ $80 all-inclusive except for breakfast (you’d think that at this late hour, hotel rates would have been cut by 50% coz you only had a few hours stay anyways before you check out and rush to catch your next flight, but no, business is business).

Jan. 15, 2010

5:00 a.m., BW Hotel, IL: Phone ringing, Mom calling. Ugh. Soo early. Mom saying, “we’ll come see you”.

10:00 a.m., BW Hotel, IL: After mild drama, hugs, kisses, goodbyes to Mom & Bob, and $15-breakfast (it was HUGE!) for the 3 of us, we rushed back to the airport for our international flight this time.

12:10 p.m., Chicago O’Hare, IL airport: This is it! We’re going back home to see our kids. Today, we’d be changing planes 3x.

2:30 p.m., Detroit MI airport: Change plane here. Didn’t get to sleep coz it was only a 45-mins flight.

Jan. 16, 2010

8:30 p.m., Nagoya, Japan: Managed to catch some sleep, but of course, still not enough. 4 more hours to go. Japan immigration. Change flight.

Jan. 17, 2010

12:30 a.m., Manila, Philippines: Yes! Home sweet home! Since we knew our arrival was gonna be that early, we didn’t bother notifying our relatives to fetch us, which was a good decision coz we had some incident at the airport that got us delayed for about 2 hours. We planned of staying a day in Manila before heading to Baguio, but feeling drained and all, we’ve decided to just go straight to Baguio, which was another 6 hour bus ride.

9:00 a.m., Baguio City, Philippines: Left Manila at 3:00 a.m. Deliberately slept half the way through coz I’ve always hated riding buses (makes me dizzy everytime, no exceptions). Had to drop by Jollibee and buy some bucket meals before meeting our 'chikitings' (little ones). They were so excited to see us (we've been gone 6 months). They all exclaimed, "Mommy, Daddy, Ate .... wow ... Jollibee!" LOL

Jan. 20, 2010

Well, it’s our 3rd day here and yet, my body still hasn’t adjusted to Phil timezone. Much as I tried, couldn’t help but fall asleep late in the afternoon and waking up in the wee hours of the morning.

And I soooo miss NY!

Testing Ho'oponopono

2010-01-19T13:48:00.006-05:00

Ok, so we (husband and I) have been doing this Ho'oponopono thing for months now. I could personally say that it had tremendously changed how I've dealt with stressful moments of my life. Whereas before, I would bite the head off of anybody who would try the patience I never really possess ... Now, I just bite their hands off. lol

I still haven't been blessed with PATIENCE, but at least the number of people who tried it have significantly lessened.

Yesterday (Jan. 14), we were going to the airport (you know? the place where STRESS mostly hangs out) to catch a flight to Chicago. And as a precautionary measure, I was doing Ho'oponopono like crazy. I was chanting the 4 magic words over and over in my mind.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

Our flight was at 5:50pm. We got to the airport around 4:30pm. I thought plenty of time.

WRONG!

There was a long queue at the security check, and we still had to get our boarding passes.

PANIC!

Ok, Relax. Breathe in. Breathe out.

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

We rushed to the Baggage Counter: As you know, checking in of luggage is being discouraged on local flights so they charge $25 per luggage (and if you have more than 1, it's $30 each. Crazy!).

We planned on checking in just 1 luggage, a medium-sized one that contained mostly clothes. Problem was that one of our small bags contained toiletries, perfumes and other electronic gadgets that might not pass security. Earlier, my husband proposed that he would transfer contents of this small bag to our medium-sized luggage so we'd only check in one. We thought there'd be plenty of time to do that in the airport. But since we didn't expect a long queue to the security check, there was no more time to kill.

But my husband felt like it'd be such a waste to pay $25 for a small bag, arguing that bags that small usually get lost in the transfer, all the while proceeding to switch the contents of the bags.

I could sense a small argument brewing between us.

Relax. Breathe in. Breathe out.

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

"But we don't have time to do this. Just check both luggage in", I said (in a mildly irritated manner).

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

Timecheck: 5:15pm.

Husband suggesting that we take a chance in carrying our small bag, and if security says no, he'll go and check it in.

Me, relenting "ok, fine. No time to argue."

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

I went and lined up for the security check while husband got our boarding passes.

At the security check: The guard lined up 5 full-sized perfume bottles and other toiletries and casually told us we could only choose ONE .... yeah, that's right ... ONE bottle of perfume.

I said, "WHAT???", altogether forgetting about Ho'oponopono.

The guard pointed out that we couldn't bring all the perfumes coz they won't all fit in the 1 ziplock bag we had. I remembered I brought other ziplock bags (but bigger in size) and I showed the guard, but he said only sandwich-bag size was allowed, so no can do.

I then snapped. "Couldn't we just check them in? Just check them in, for goodness' sake!, It's just $25 bucks. And I just bought one of these. This alone costs more than the check in fee, that's for sure! blah, blah blah ...."

Guard saying "No, it's too late to check them in. Your flight leaves soon."

I swear I was about to cry at that point. I know it was silly to hold on to these 'material possessions' but they were our gifts to each other the past holiday, and it included an unopened 1.7 Narciso Rodriguez which, to my knowledge, we do not carry in our country, and was hard to find in US as well (Sephora, I think, is the only one that carries the brand). In short, it's like a gem for me coz it's a rarity. (Would that pass for a valid reason to go shallow and vain?).

Then, I remembered Ho'oponopono again.

Relax. Breathe in. Breathe out.

'I'm sorry', 'Pls forgive me', 'I love you', 'Thank you'.

'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you .....

.. while putting shoes back on, getting stuff from the trays ... and then, when I looked back ...

Miracle of miracles! The guard had 'stuffed' the sandwich bag with 4 perfumes. And then handed the other bottle to my husband saying "Here, just put it in your luggage. But all these other (lotions and stuff) must be left behind."

Me saying gleefully and gratefully, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you ...". I could have hugged and kissed that guard right there and then if it weren't for the fact that we needed to run like the wind to board our plane in time.

Morale of the story: Avoid La Guardia airport for local flights. LOL

P.S. You may wanna know what happened afterwards. Before being aware of Ho'oponopono, incidents like that would have caused a small friction (snubbing, silent-treatment, fuming inside) that would probably last a few hours. But as the LOA gurus say, 'once you've been awakened, you can never go back', so here's a snapshot after boarding:

And during flight, my hubby did a very sweet gesture of buying me this cute watch (probably making up for all those times he forgot to buy me some presents ... haha)

So, of course, I had to show him my gratitude ...

Indeed, Ho'oponopono is one of the best things I've learned in this life. Thank you, Dr. Joe Vitale and Dr. Hew Len.

On Heartaches & Love Affairs

2010-01-18T17:48:00.002-05:00

Just wanna share the reply I posted on one of the forums I joined. I noticed that a lot of people go through this same problem so I'm devoting a page here so I don't have to repeat myself eveytime a similar case needs enlightenment.

Note, however, that the case originated from Philippines so I was actually conversing with my fellowmen. To date, western culture still shocks most of us, Pinoys. So, for those who live somewhere else in the world other than Asia, then, please understand. Thanks.

The Scenario:

Girl got dumped by her boyfriend (bf). She thought the relationship was 'toxic' because the bf was in another relationship, so she tried to end it several times in the past but the bf always tried to win her back. Finally, the bf broke up with her and she's now so devastated.

My two cents:

Hi there. First of all, Merry Christmas!

Second of all, a warning: You might get offended by the way I am going to advise you coz I'll be very blunt but sincerely & brutally honest. I have been advised the same way in the past when a similar situation occurred, and honestly, a 'slap' is way more effective than an 'embrace' from friends and relatives who really want you to get on with your life.

That being said, here is my advice:

You said so yourself that the relationship was toxic. By toxic, I would take it to mean, poisonous or unhealthy. So, why are you not grateful that it finally ended? You should be jumping up and down with joy and gladness, right?

You also said that you tried to end it by breaking up with him several times, but this time, it was he who ended it. Question: When you were breaking up with him, were you sincere or you were just making pa-cute? Nothing wrong with that. I did that, too. Every woman does that. We challenge our boyfriends to a break up coz it feels so 'kilig' (exciting) when they try to woo us back. But we never meant it to happen. We just want to make 'pa cute'. So, when your boyfriend finally had it with you, he himself said, 'break na tayo' (it's over). If you really wanted to break up with him, it would not really matter who did the dumping. That's just ego being hurt. What would matter most is that the 'toxic' relationship ended.

When you said that the guy was in a relationship with someone else, did you mean he's married? Coz if he is, then that really presents a problem. But if he is just with another girlfriend, it would have not been wrong if he fell in love with you, as long as he rectified himself by being honest with his feelings and breaking up with the other girl. But what I can sense in your case was that the guy was married and since you knew it from the very start, you feel responsible in a way coz you still let the relationship grow. Let me tell you now, even though you were responsible, God will not condemn you for being such an idiot. We are all idiots when it comes to love. We just jump into it throwing all cautions to the wind. Idiotic. Hey, I didn't really mean calling you an idiot, it's just a usual way of referring to ourselves when we do stupid things. I was an idiot, too, when I fell in love w/ my first boyfriend. And when we broke up, I thought it was the end of the world for me. But looking back, I can now admit I was just being mellow dramatic. I just wanted the drama of it all. I just wanted the sympathy of my friends. I wasn't really in love in the truest sense of the word. I was in love with the notion of being in love. But soon after that heartache, I met my real love, my soulmate, so there you go. I bet a year from now, you will look back and find yourself amused by this. Keep a copy of this post so you will have a proof of how silly this has all been.

Another question I hope you will not get offended with: Did you have sex with him? You don't have to say it here or defend yourself. No judgments being passed here, at least not on my side. But my point is that, it will be VERY hard for you to move on if you have had intimate relationship with the guy. We, Filipino women are like that. Very conservative. Very timid and shy.

But let me just tell you that it is ok. Everything is in the past. Do not let your past dictate your future or even your present moment. Presently, like now, as in right now as you are reading this message, is anything wrong with you? YOu are reading this, right? So that means you still have your eyesight with you, and I'm guessing you are still breathing. I know this may sound corny but the truth of the matter is that everything is perfectly ok! List all the things that you are grateful for in this very moment. Do not think about the past or the next 5 minutes. Just concentrate on the NOW. If you are ok NOW, then you are ok. We've learned this from the book The Power of Now by Echart Tolle. It's very powerful. He said that the essence of time as we know it is just an illusion. There is no past or future, only the present moment or the NOW. God is with us NOW. As you breathe, feel His love and you will find inner peace, knowing that NOW is the only thing that matters.

Ok, now, what you do is be the smart girl that you are and STOP, I repeat, STOP with this drama! I'm sure you've cried yourself to death by now, so just STOP! Enough already. You'll make yourself uglier than the ugly duckling with puffy eyes and big eyebags.

The best thing for you to do now is to empower yourself. Be aware of the Law of Attraction. Bro. Bo has been preaching about this subject, although I have not heard him say aloud the words Law of Attraction. But the concept of the Law of Attraction is you attract what you think about most. So, if you're thinking, 'I hate my life' 'I'm sad' 'I was dumped', guess what? you will attract more of the same. Whatever you think about, you bring about.

1. Watch the movie "The Secret". You have internet. Go on Youtube and search for it. And as you watch, find other related videos to watch. Just a warning though, you should be 100% rooted to your faith coz it might shake you. And have an open mind, at least.

2. Watch "The Shift" by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Again, if you just search hard enough, you will find a link to the movie that you can download for free.

3. Read more about the Law of Attraction. It's not just positive thinking.

4. Read "The Power of Now" by Echart Tolle.

5. Join "The Thrillionaires". It's free to join that club. What you will learn there is you can make your own bucket list of dreams and that community will encourage you to realize those dreams sooner than you've expected. Simple dreams like learn to play piano, visit a new city, etc. You earn points that you can use towards more adventurous dreams like swim with sharks, etc.

6. Travel. If you have some savings, go travel and see the world. Kahit Hongkong lang, meron silang mga sale na flights and accomodation. Or Kahit ibang province lang. (Even if it's just in Hongkong where flights and accommodations are mostly on sale. Or even if just to another local province). That would be a start. Thing with us is that when we are confined to a community, office, school or wherever we are, our world revolves around, and is limited to, that space and the people in that space. What we need to do is get out of that space, and we'll find that there are other possibilities for us outside of our own little world.

7. Watch "Yes, Man" starring Jim Carrey.

8. Read Bro. Bo's books. Listen to all his talks. Watch Preacher in Blue Jeans.

9. Download a free copy of "Attract Money Now". Focus is on fnancial wealth but the steps are the same in having a great life.

10. Read "Zero Limits" by Joe Vitale. A really powerful book about us being 100% responsible for not just our life but the lives of those we come in contact with. I'll tell you that this is one tough cookie to swallow, but once you get it, you will find peace.

11. Go on Facebook. Friendster is ok but Facebook is better. While there, go join different networks in North America. Befriend people from all over the world. You will enrich your knowledge of different cultures and you will eventually enrich yourself. Get more international friends. Not just Filipino friends. You know how conservative we Filipinos are in the way we think and act, but it's also limiting in some way. Try getting feedbacks from people who have different cultural backgrounds.

I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that don't waste one more minute of your life with this ongoing drama. You alone can change and you know it. You have more power than you can ever imagine. You just have to take the first step and realize that you are God's precious one and that means you can tap the most powerful gift that He has given all of us: Our MIND. Create happy, wonderful thoughts in your mind, and you will have happy, wonderful life.

I know I said a lot. But if you were gonna take this in any way, "Take Me As I Am".

Love,
Joey

P.S.
I have most of the links so you don't have to search. Send me a private email coz I don't wanna be jailed for vilolating copyrights laws.

Jollibee, New York

2010-01-06T20:48:00.001-05:00

"Love your own", so goes the saying. Well, Jollibee is the #1 fastfood chain in the Philippines and we, as Pinoys, couldn't help but be proud that it has gone international over the years. So, wherever in the world we are, if there's a Jollibee branch, it's a MUST in the itinerary.

This video is dedicated to Mae, who couldn't join the gang here in New York for new year. We have a very touching message for you at the end of the video. Love you!

New Year in Time Square!

2010-01-05T21:37:00.002-05:00

The culmination of our NY visit was the welcoming of new year in Times Square. It was a blast!!!!

Watch this video and guess where we were standing when the ball dropped at 12 midnight. Whoever can guess will win ... the ball that dropped in Times Square! LOL!

Happy New Year! A blessed and prosperous 2010 to everyone!

I'm A Polar Bear Cub!

2009-12-28T13:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was one of my greatest adventures in life: I joined the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, USA, Inc. during their weekly frolick in the freezing ocean!

That's me signing my sanity away! lol

If you are looking for some THRILL in your life, this is a MUST adventure for you! The Coney Island Polar Bear Club here in New York invites everyone to swim with them any Sunday during the winter season (November-April). Dare to brave the winter cold, strip up and have a dip in the freezing waters? I'm telling you, it's gonna be an experience you will never, ever forget!

Ready as a cub could be!

I needed to hold on to my daughter coz my knees were already shaking!

After the dip ...

Yahoo! Mommy did it!

Hey, If Mommy can be groovy, so can I!

Next thrills ... bungee-jumping, sky-diving, swimming with piranhas ... LOL!

P.S.
How to get there: Take either D, F, N or Q train to Stillwell Avenue ...

Walk towards the Boardwalk, turn left and walk to 10th St
(NY Aquarium Educ Hall is their meeting place where they serve some hot cocoas, coffee, tea and cookies)

Christmas Story

2009-12-24T08:03:00.004-05:00

This is a fun way for kids to understand the Christmas story. My daughter loves it!

To everybody, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas. More blessings for the coming year!

Where Do Babies Come From?

2009-12-21T15:30:00.005-05:00

Our 4 cuties (taken 2006): baby J8k, JM, JJ and Jaq

JM: Mommy, how did Daddy give you a baby? Did you swallow it?

Me and Hubby: What???? No!!!

We were not really surprised by the question (I mean, sooner or later, kids would be asking it) but by the seriousness in her voice when she asked it. And it was sooo funny the way she innocently asked it.

We were not able to answer her right away because we were just laughing so hard tears were rolling down my eyes. But I promised her I would be showing her videos the next day that explain how babies are formed.

Again, thanks to the mighty internet (which is one major thing that people take for granted nowadays), I was able to explain to my daughter matter-of-factly how babies are made.

I went through several videos (there were a number that were really interesting to watch) on YouTube that show fetal development from ovulation to conception to birth. This video is a great one to show to kids.

This next video generated a lot of follow up questions (both serious and silly) from my daughter:

Oh, why did I ever show that video? LOL

The Miracle of Life

2009-12-21T14:45:00.001-05:00

Our loveables: Jaq, JJ, J8k & JM

A beautiful video I came across with while trying to explain to my 5-yr old daughter where babies come from.

Just sharing.

Peace!

On Facebook and its Applications

2009-12-19T23:35:00.000-05:00

Facebook -- you love it, hate it or both. In my case, it's both. I love it for the fact that it connects me to families and friends, old and new. And I hate it for the fact that it doesn't seem to care about our privacy.

More so when it allowed third-party applications, which made us more vulnerable to malwares and stuffs. Of course, the onus is on us, users, to be every bit of responsible in our interaction using FB. But still, FB programmers could have just developed these apps themselves, then we won't have to worry so much about our profiles being accessed by people other than those in our network.

I try to limit the 3rd party apps on my Profile coz honestly, I think most of them are useless anyways. If I wanted to greet birthday celebrants, I could just post something on their walls (more personal, I would say) rather than use the birthday calendar.

But a month ago, I did something stupid ... I downloaded 'Tatoodle' (you know? that app which lets you cartoon yourself). And I regret that decision to this day.

For those who have not downloaded the Tatoodle application from FB yet, then beware!

When you download that useless crap, it will sneak in a malware that will change your default search to 'Fast Browser'. And for those who Googles a lot like I do, this 'Fast Browser' bull will have you banging your head on the wall everytime you hit search.

And once you've decided to take it off your system once and for all, you'd realize learning to rock climb was wayyyyy easier.

If there was a contest between you trying to find 'Fast Browser' in your system and a guy trying to find a needle in the haystack, the latter would have had a box full of needles and you would still be searching for that crap.

But thank God for the geniuses on the web, there's hope and cure. Although I still have 'Fast Browser' on the list (and probably in my system), I finally was able to bring back the mighty Google as my default search engine. And that should be ok, for now.

Click HELP on how to remove 'Fast Browser' and to read similar complaints re: this malware.

HELP!

Attract Money Now

2009-12-17T12:46:00.000-05:00

Everybody needs this book especially at this time of the year when all we do is spend, spend, spend.

One of my favorite LOA teachers, Dr. Joe Vitale (from the movie "The Secret") reveals how to attract money now with his 7-step formula.

And whoever says the best things in life aren't free? Well, this book has got to be one of the best things we have owned and yes, it's FREE! Dr. Joe Vitale, as generous as he is, offers FREE download of the online version of this book on his site (just click on the above image; it's also on my sidebar).

But unlike other eBooks that are a one-time read, you'd want to get a hard copy of this book so you can read and share over and over again. Lucky us, since we are loyal subscribers to Dr. Vitale's site, we got his yet another generous offer to own the hard copy of the book for -- yes, FREE! (we only had to pay S/H). How about that?

Go sign up for his email list as well coz I'm telling you, he really is one of the most generous persons we've known in the world wide web. And most of the things he gives for FREE are really priceless!

You could tell I'm a huge fan by my blabbing on and on about him. This is just my way of repaying the guy who has inspired our family to do, be and have everything we desire. Oh, how we just love him, and hope to meet him one day!

So, what are you waiting for? Download the book for FREE and share this post to all your family and friends so we could all have a prosperous 2010!

Happy Holidays!

Another Small Triumph

2009-12-11T18:14:00.006-05:00

I love my Mind Movie kit. But it only works on photos, and I really wanna try incorporating videos when I make my personal movies.

So, last week, I had my first shot at Windows Movie Maker (WMM).

Took at least 3 days for me to finish my masterpiece, but I did it! It wasn't so bad an experience, after all. I guess, if I had the latest, fastest laptop, I could have done a better job.

You see, most of the videos were stored in our external drive (more than 10 years record, so imagine how huge the files are). I couldn't import everything on WMM coz my Dell laptop, which is only a year old, is acting like it's already 100 years of age, always giving me notice that my batteries need replacing, linking me to Dell website to buy exclusively from them (I'm not ever gonna buy a DELL laptop ever, I'm telling you).

Technology changes as fast as you blink. You buy a gadget today, tomorrow it'll seem like from the ice age.

Anyways, I went easy on my laptop and did the following:

1. Instead of importing big files, I just played the videos from my external drive and re-video only the selected clips using our digicam. That's the reason why some clips on my movie were greyish.

2. I then uploaded these small clips onto my laptop and imported them to WMM.

3. And .... ta dah! My very first WMM video!

It's fun learning new skills. Small victory each day. Another check off my Bucket List.

P.S. I really don't have anything to complain about my laptop. It's really great, has served me well (still does) over the last year. Sure, it's got its flaws but I love it just the way it is. But I do blame the maker, Dell. Really.

Letting Go Can Be So Much Fun

2009-12-10T11:57:00.001-05:00

I've a lot to learn from JM, my 5-yr old daughter.

We both ice-skated for the first time and yet she now skates like a pro, while I ... well ... I look like a combination of a 1-yr old baby walking for the first time and a baby duck trying to fly but couldn't.

Yup, that's how I look like on the rink each time. I take careful, little steps with arms flailing like a wild duck, trying to maintain my balance, and always fearing for the worst ... fall down on my butt.

Last weekend, the 3 of us (hubby, daughter and me) went ice-skating again at The Pond in Bryant Park (in time for the park's annual tree lighting) and I couldn't help but be green with envy as my hubby and daughter glide gleefully on ice. It wasn't fair! We all started at the same time and I was logging behind. What the heck's going on?

1. Energy - She's 5 and I'm 36. Meaning, I'm old. I don't have the energy of a 5-yr old. I couldn't bring myself to just skate to the max like she does.

2. Guts - Kids are fearless. They don't think about the dangers that's why they have so much fun doing stuffs. For them, everything is play. Me, I've got a lot of hangups. I might stumble, I might fall, I might fall on my face, I might fall on my butt, I might lose control, I might knock my head over, blah, blah, blah.

3. "Deadma" attitude - "Deadma" means no reaction. It's a local term we use for "I don't care", "so what?", "Who cares?". My daughter falls down a million times on her butt but she just keeps going like nothing happened. She just simply doesn't care. I think she even enjoys falling. Maybe. Another hangup for me is I care a lot -- on how I'd get hurt, on how I look on the ice, or how embarrassing it would be to fall (esp. when there are spectators who just come to entertain themselves watching new ice-skaters. lol)

I knew I had to do something about it. I couldn't just rely on my hubby to hold me each time I go skating, or hold onto the rails for dear life (it gets crowded on the side as more new skaters join in on the adventure). I needed to let go of my fears and worries. And I needed to have a deadma attitude. How else could I learn and enjoy, right?

So, I searched the mighty web for tips and video tutorials. I tapped (EFT) away my worries and I talked to the ice like it was my best friend in the whole wide world. (Hey, you're not the only one who thinks I might have gone crazy. I think that myself, too.) lol.

But it works, you know?

The other day, JM and I skated by ourselves and the whole time I was telling the ice "I love you" and "You and I are one" ... and I just let go. I was imagining the ice like clouds in the sky, soft as cotton candy, ready to fluff me when I fall. I didn't care if I looked unsophisticated with my arms all over the place, looking like a running penguin. I actually was making fun of myself telling people I was the student and JM was my teacher. People loved seeing the 2 of us together ... with me shouting "JM, wait for Mommy!" most of the time.

I just let go. And I never fell. Not even once. Yahoo!

So, I'm doing it again ... and again ... and again. Thanks to my teacher, JM! This is another check off my Bucket List.

Upside of Getting Busted

2009-12-10T01:25:00.012-05:00

Share

(Warning: Some adult content)

Ok. Since it's out anyway, might as well let everybody in on the Secret.

I told you my Dad-in-Law learned our 'secret wedding' plan, right? We were just planning to go to City hall by ourselves and get married without anybody knowing. It was kinda exciting for us to do that then.

But when we got busted, we had to make it official and announce it to everybody concerned (on my part, it was just my Mom. I dared NOT let my other relatives find out. They're that conservative!) And we also had to do some 'special' planning, too, coz there'd be more people coming.

I think that was the best thing that happened -- that we were able to PLAN it well that now we can look back at it with pride. I cannot imagine now what our wedding day would have looked like if we hadn't been busted:

1. Budget - As students, we didn't have any. But when we let in our family on the planning, they shelled out some bucks. They had to ... (served them right for busting our 'secret'). lol. I think we spent almost 10k for the event.

2. Dress - I was only gonna wear slacks and nice top. But since it became official, Mom had to spend for a tailor-made dress for me.

3. Food - We were just gonna go to Jollibee or McDonalds, but since more guests were expected, we had to reserve a spot in Rose Bowl.

4. Video/Photo - No plan of taking vid for the simple reason that we didn't have videocam. Photos, yes, but only with our film camera. But when it became official, I especially made sure that we would get a professional photographer for the event. Big thanks to 'Atty.' Caronongan of SLU College of Law, we have amazingly wonderful shots in beautiful spots in Baguio City to brag about.

5. Transpo - Just jeepney or cab drive to Municipal Hall. But since we had plans of taking nice shots around Baguio, we had to hire transpo to shuttle our guests.

6. Room - well, we had our respective boarding houses. It would have been ok to just snuggle on single bed. But since my Mom and cousin Eloisa had to come up all the way from Manila, and they'd be occupying my room, Jessie and I had to book a hotel for our wedding night... courtesy of my Mom ... yahoo!

On a related note, if anybody would be really honest as to how a 'first time' really feels, they'd say it's "ouch". I could tell you now that nothing happened on our 'magical' night, so to speak. It was just hours and hours of trying and experimenting ... lol. It was just an 'ouch' evening for me. lmao. And I think it wasn't until after a few months that I finally enjoyed it. Kinda sad, but honestly true.

Civil Wedding

Church Wedding

Related Posts: 11 Years
My Secret is Out

11 Years

2009-12-09T22:44:00.003-05:00

Share

11 years ago today was one of my happiest moments.

I wish it's already our 25th anniversary so we could get married again. I mean, we could do it any year, right? Yeah, we should probably. Maybe in Vegas? Hmmmm.

With my hubby's permission, I'm releasing our anniversary videos to the public for scrutiny. lol.

I used the song "After All These Years" by Journey. Their new lead is a Pinoy. Arnel Pineda. I feel so proud being a Pinoy.

Get yourselves some popcorn and enjoy the movies! A real treat to those who are suckers for romance! Muah, muah! I love you all!

December 8, 2009

March 10, 2009

Related Posts: My Secret is Out
Upside of Getting Busted

My Secret is Out

2009-12-08T21:51:00.003-05:00

Share

I got married in 1998. Except for my Mom and a cousin, nobody in my family knew. I'm exposing this secret as we celebrate 11 years of our blissful marriage.

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Time for reminiscing the past wonderful years we had as husband and wife.

We actually celebrate our anniversaries every 8th, 9th and 10th of each month. Yup, 3 days. We're just suckers for celebration. We always celebrate even when there's nothing big happening. That's what we are -- suckers for good times!

Ok, so why 3 days? March 10, 1998 was when we officially went steady as boyfriend/girlfriend.

That's us, during our College of Law days.

I have no idea when exactly we got engaged. We just sort of discussed we wanna get married civilly (and supposedly a secret, but then we got busted by Jessie's Dad when he found out our plan from someone that works in their provincial municipal hall where the required Nuptial Notice was posted). Yes, we planned to wed just by ourselves and no one else. We were crazy in love then, you see. But we were already in our early 20s so who could find fault in that? Apparently, a lot of concerned citizens, particularly our folks. Why? Because we were a few months away from our graduation in Law. And it seemed at that time a big disappointment for everybody. Anyways, we went through with our plans, but we still kept it a secret from my relatives (Hahaha, now the secret is out! If my cousin "Ate" is reading this, she'd be a bit shocked). Event was attended by very close family and friends (Only my Mom and a cousin from my side of the family). Date was December 8, 1998 (Immaculate Conception) because Catholic schools like SLU didn't have classes that day. So, back to school the day after. lol This photo was taken in front of "our Mansion" in Baguio City!

left side: My Mom, cousin Eloisa, and Dad-in-law

right side: Jun (bro-in-law), Uncle Art (in law) and our friends Cel/Mel and Gel/Ricky

To make it up to our parents, we promised ourselves we won't have kids 'til we marry in church. So, two years and a day after our civil wedding, or on December 9, 2000, we made our parents proud by ratifying our marriage in a Catholic ceremony. We wanted it to be on December 8th, too, but no weddings were being scheduled then in our church coz it was Immaculate Conception day, and our Parish was THE Immaculate Conception in Quezon City. But the good part was that we still had the flower arrangement and decor in the church from the day before.

Oh, what I'd give to have that figure once again! lol

Related Posts:
Upside of Getting Busted
11 Years

I'm A Racist ... A Li'l Bit

2009-12-02T09:39:00.007-05:00

Share

Well, we all are. A lil bit racist, I mean. So, it's ok to admit that.

I've always felt guilty about my being a (just a lil bit) racist until I've watched "Avenue Q" on Broadway last year. I realized then that everyone's really a racist, we just won't admit it. I guess if we put humor into this very sensitive subject, like what "Avenue Q" did, it would seem ok to be just a li'l bit of it (as long as you don't go overboard as to hang somebody on a tree like the KKK did).

Watch this "Avenue Q" video I found on youtube. This is hilarious! Lyrics courtesy of stlyrics. Learn and enjoy! Peace!

Princeton:
Say, Kate, can I ask you a question?

Kate Monster:
Sure!

Princeton:
Well, you know Trekkie Monster upstairs?

Kate Monster:
Uh huh.

Princeton:
Well, he's Trekkie Monster, and you're Kate Monster.

Kate Monster:
Right.

Princeton:
You're both Monsters.

Kate Monster:
Yeah.

Princeton:
Are you two related?

Kate Monster:
What?! Princeton, I'm surprised at you! I find that racist!

Princeton:
Oh, well, I'm sorry! I was just asking!

Kate Monster:
Well, it's a touchy subject.
No, not all Monsters are related.
What are you trying say, huh?
That we all look the same to you? Huh, huh, huh?

Princeton:
No, no, no, not at all. I'm sorry, I guess that was a little racist.

Kate Monster:
I should say so. You should be much more careful when you're talking about the sensitive subject of race.

Princeton:
Well, look who's talking!

Kate Monster:
What do you mean?

Princeton:
What about that special Monster School you told me about?

Kate Monster:
What about it?

Princeton:
Could someone like me go there?

Kate Monster:
No, we don't want people like you-

Princeton:
You see?!
You're a little bit racist.

Kate Monster:
Well, you're a little bit too.

Princeton:
I guess we're both a little bit racist.

Kate Monster:
Admitting it is not an easy thing to do...

Princeton:
But I guess it's true.

Kate Monster:
Between me and you,
I think

Both:
Everyone's a little bit racist .... sometimes.
Doesn't mean we go around committing hate crimes.
Look around and you will find no one's really color blind.
Maybe it's a fact we all should face:
Everyone makes judgments based on race.

Princeton:
Now not big judgments, like who to hire
or who to buy a newspaper from -

Kate Monster:
No!

Princeton:
No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican
busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!

Kate Monster:
Right!

Both:
Everyone's a little bit racist, today.
So, everyone's a little bit racist ...Okay!
Ethnic jokes might be uncouth,
But you laugh because they're based on truth.
Don't take them as Personal attacks.
Everyone enjoys them - So relax!

Princeton:
All right, stop me if you've heard this one.

Kate Monster:
Okay!

Princeton:
There's a plane going down and there's only one parachute. And there's a rabbi, a priest...

Kate Monster:
And a black guy!

Gary Coleman:
Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Kate?

Kate Monster:
Uh...

Gary Coleman:
You were telling a black joke!

Princeton:
Well, sure, Gary, but lots of people tell black jokes.

Gary Coleman:
I don't.

Princeton:
Well, of course you don't - you're black!
But I bet you tell Polack jokes, right?

Gary Coleman:
Well, sure I do. Those stupid Polacks!

Princeton:
Now, don't you think that's a little racist?

Gary Coleman:
Well, damn, I guess you're right.

Kate Monster:
You're a little bit racist.

Gary Coleman:
Well, you're a little bit too.

Princeton:
We're all a little bit racist.

Gary Coleman:
I think that I would have to agree with you.

Princeton/Kate Monster:
We're glad you do.

Gary Coleman:
It's sad but true! Everyone's a little bit racist - All right!

Kate Monster:
All right!

Princeton:
All right!

Gary Coleman:
All right! Bigotry has never been exclusively white

All:
If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit,
Even though we all know that it's wrong,
Maybe it would help us get along.

Princeton:
Oh, Christ do I feel good.

Gary Coleman:
Now there was a fine upstanding black man!

Princeton:
Who?

Gary Coleman:
Jesus Christ.

Kate Monster:
But, Gary, Jesus was white.

Gary Coleman:
No, Jesus was black.

Kate Monster:
No, Jesus was white.

Gary Coleman:
No, I'm pretty sure that Jesus was black-

Princeton:
Guys, guys...Jesus was Jewish!

Brian:
Hey guys, what are you laughing about?

Gary Coleman:
Racism!

Brian:
Cool.

Christmas Eve:
BRIAN! Come back here!
You take out lecycuraburs!

Princeton:
What does that mean?

Brian:
Um, recyclables.
Hey, don't laugh at her!
How many languages do you speak?

Kate Monster:
Oh, come off it, Brian!
Everyone's a little bit racist.

Brian:
I'm not!

Princeton:
Oh no?

Brian:
Nope!
How many Oriental wives have you got?

Christmas Eve:
What? Brian!

Princeton:
Brian, buddy, where have you been? The term is Asian-American!

Christmas Eve:
I know you al no intending to be
But carring me Oriental - Offensive to me!

Brian:
I'm sorry, honey, I love you.

Christmas Eve:
And I rove you.

Brian:
But you're racist, too.

Christmas Eve:
Yeah, I know.
The Jews have or the money
And the whites have or the power.
And I'm arways in a taxi-cab with dliver who no showel!

Princeton:
Me too!

Kate Monster:
Me too!

Gary Coleman:
I can't even get a taxi!

All:
Everyone's a little bit racist, it's true.
But everyone is just about as racist as you!
If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit,
And everyone stopped being so PC
Maybe we could live in - Harmony!

Christmas Eve:
Evlyone's a ritter bit lacist!

Never Too Late

2009-11-24T13:30:00.008-05:00

At 36, and with 4 young kids, I'm learning a new skill ... ice skating.

Really. Took me that long.

Well, I couldn't have learned it in the Philippines as a young adult coz it was costly. I couldn't have learned it in Canada as a wife coz I was busy having babies one after another. And I couldn't have learned it here in US as a visitor coz it's not within the budget.

But then again, when you're into the LOA (Law of Attraction), there's really no excuse for not doing the things you would like to do and try even for the first time. There is really no excuse for not dreaming anymore.

Try reading "The Secret to Attracting Money" by Dr. Joe Vitale, "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life" by Dr. Wayne Dyer or "The Power of Now" by Echart Tolle, or reading "Ask And It Is Given" by Abraham-Esther Hicks, or watching "The Secret", "The Shift", "You Can Heal Your Life" or "There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem", and see if they will not compel you to get out of your comfort zone and try something new.

So, I decided that our budget won't hinder me from checking off this item on my Bucket List. I scouted for Black Friday deals on Ice Skates. I figured it would be best to just buy our own skates rather than rent everytime we wanna practice. Bryant Park has "The Pond" and it offers free admission but the rental is $12, multiply that by 3 (well, I couldn't leave out my hubby and daughter while I go fulfilling my dream, could I? I mean, they haven't tried Ice skating, too, you know)

And let me tell you, once you make your decision, the Universe will just take over.

First, it led me to Timeoutkids NY where I read that City Ice Pavillion was gonna have its Grand Opening on Nov. 21. There was gonna be a party with FREE skating, rentals and refreshments. FREE? How cool is that?

Then, on the day itself, while we were looking for the venue, guess what we found?

A Goodwill Outlet! You betcha, I rushed to the skates section immediately. And as if by some miracle, all our sizes were available. No kidding. I got mine brand new, by the way, but heck if I care if it was overly-used? I'm just saying, I got lucky it was brand new. Take a look (this was taken after I've used it a couple of times):

I'd say it's pretty chic for $2 bucks, don't you think? What can I say? The universe can be so grand.

P.S. I also found this gem for $1. Talk about becoming a money magnet. This is priceless!

My Bucket List

2009-11-23T13:48:00.005-05:00

Get a degree - check (1992 and 1999)

Climb the Eiffel Tower - check (1997)
Visit the White House    - check (2008)
Go Kayaking                  - check (2009)
Learn Ice Skating           - check (2009)
Join a Pilgrimage
Visit the Pyramids
Go Bungee-Jumping
Ride on Hot-Air Balloon

I'm hoping to check off all the items on my Bucket List before I reach 40.

Plan your adventures and make them a reality here:

I Love Lucy (Liu)

2009-11-22T09:04:00.004-05:00

Share

This blog's title should have been "Charlie's Angels":

We've been here in NY for 4 months but it was only today that I came face to face with a Hollywood celebrity. I bet there are a number of them roaming around NY, I just wasn't paying close attention. But today, we purposely went to Louis Vuitton on 5th Ave. where Lucy Liu headed the lighting of the UNICEF Snowflake.

I've admired Lucy Liu since her Ally McBeal days. And seeing her up close and personal was just an awesome experience.

Check out the video of the Snowflake lighting and some of the pics we've taken.

Wanna Get Rich? Be A Chef!

2009-11-19T11:09:00.003-05:00

That's our 8 yr-old son, JJ, with one of his teachers. JJ's a dreamer, and one of his dreams is to become a Chef.

I've told you about the Thrillionaires Club, right? Well, I let JJ join it (coz anyways, it's FREE), but what's so great about the site is it encourages JJ to make plans on how to achieve his adventure goals.

On one of the items on his list (to become a Chef), JJ wrote this entry:

"I want to be a chef because I will serve food xxx

and you know when you buy food, you will have to pay,

and I like money!"

You, too can encourage your own kids to plan for their future here:

The Nutcracker

2009-11-18T16:32:00.002-05:00

Share

Here in NY, you gotta be resourceful enough to enjoy everything it has to offer without draining your bank account. From on and off-broadway plays to fine dining, city tours, and other activities for kids and adult alike, there are ways to enjoy these events for less, such as joining email lists, taking advantage of the coupons, becoming a fan of their facebook pages, etc.

Well, there's one event that got us really excited. New York Theatre Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" will have performances in WFC Winter Garden on Tuesday, December 1 (12:30 and 6:00pm) for FREE!

Yes!

I know the regular performance usually costs $30, so yahoo! coz that's yet another savings for us.

A Great Love Story

2009-11-17T08:43:00.007-05:00

If every FATHER on earth is like Dick Hoyt, this place would be paradise.

I have watched most of their videos before, and it still gets me everytime.

Warning: Your dam will break so grab some tissue before watching the clip.

Thrillionaire Of The Week

JOIN Thrillionaires Club NOW!

Does your father love you like Dick Hoyt loves his son? I honestly wish mine did.

Pacquiao vs. Cotto Videos

2009-11-15T15:10:00.004-05:00

I will just be putting up here Round 3, 4 and 12 videos. I was trying to upload each and every round, but it's just taking forever coz the files are too big. For other videos, go to the next post "Pacquiao WON". If the videos don't make my site go slower, then I promise to upload all the rounds there.

Anyways, I personally think these were the most exciting parts of the game - Rounds 3 and 4 where Manny Pacquiao sent Cotto down and of course, Round 12 when the referee stopped the fight.

This is my tribute to my kababayan Manny Pacquaio who made us all very, very proud!

Round 12

Round 4

Round 3

Pacquiao WON, Pacquiao WON, Pacquiao WON!!!!

2009-11-15T01:15:00.017-05:00

[SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS]

Manny Pacquiao is the new WBO Welterweight Champion! Hip hip, Hurray!!!!

The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto has long been over even before Referee Kenny Bayless stepped into end the fight in the 12th round.

Pacquiao sent Cotto to the floor in the third round with a two-punch combination. And in the fourth, Pacquiao gave him multiple combinations that sent Cotto to the floor again. We knew then that Pacquiao will get the title. There was no doubt.

But Cotto was a great fighter, too. I mean, hats off to him for finishing the fight. At least the people who went to see them fight live were not disappointed coz they got their money's worth. Although I'd been secretly hoping that Cotto would already back down after the 6th round (as you could hear on the video recordings), I was still glad that they reached Round 12.

The Pacquiao-Cotto fight was so exciting I was shaking the whole time I was recording the boxing game. I was alternating our Canon camera and my Palm Treo phone in recording the fight, then uploading the same on FB so I could share it to my kababayans asap.

Watch the Pacquiao vs. Cotto match here (but forgive me for my constant screaming coz I really couldn't help it if I got soooo excited).

Manny Pacquiao, you make all Filipinos proud! Thank you!! We love you!

Mabuhay MANNY PACQUIAO!!!!! You're the BEST!!!!!

Post Fight INTERVIEWS

ROUND 12 (Part 2)

ROUND 12 (Part 1)

Round 11

Round 10

Personality Test

2009-11-14T12:37:00.009-05:00

Share

The Dalai Lama said read it to see if it works for you.

Very interesting. Just 4 questions and the answers will surprise you.
Do not cheat by looking up the answers.
The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it is opened.
This is fun to do, but you have to follow the instructions very closely.
Do not cheat.

MAKE A WISH BEFORE BEGINNING THE TEST!!

A Warning! Answer the questions as you go along.

There are only four questions and if you see them all before finishing,
you will not have honest results.
Go down slowly and do each exercise as you scroll down.
Don't look ahead. Get pencil and paper to write your answers as you go along.
You will need it at the end.
This is an honest questionnaire which will tell you a lot about your true self.
Give an answer for each item.

READY? Let's begin:

Put the following 5 animals in the order of your preference.

Cow

Tiger

Sheep

Horse

Pig

Write one word that describes each one of the following:

Dog

Cat

Rat

Coffee

Sea

Think of someone (who also knows you and is important to you)
that you can relate them to the following colours
(do not repeat your answer twice. Name just one person for each colour.)

Yellow

Orange

Red

White

Green

Finally, write down your favourite number and your favourite day of the week....

Finished? Please be sure that your answers are what you REALLY WANT.

Ready for the interpretations?
(but first before continuing, repeat your wish.)

Click here for the answers.

How To Tell If Your Friend Is Gay

2009-11-11T15:32:00.008-05:00

Disclaimer: I love "badings". I've got lots of gay friends. That being said, the only reason I'm sharing the video is to spread the laughter. Enjoy!

If this video made you laugh, then this one below will surely inspire you:

I Found $20 On The Street!

2009-11-09T01:31:00.012-05:00

Share

One big advice for tourists in NY is to ALWAYS bring with you some cash. Because you never know when you will find a street fair. And it is during street fairs that you get to find real bargains, and of course, the yummy $1 Japanese and Thai foods.

After hearing mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we went out the back way and found that there was a street fair going on at Madison’s. And as we don’t usually bring cash with us, we were only able to devour 2 sticks of chicken BBQ. Of course, it wasn’t enough (trust me, these $1 BBQs are so scrumptious you’d want to order the whole thing and have some beer or cocktail on the side as well).

So, naturally, we had to search for the nearest ATM.

"Hey! What does that sign read? Lemme take a closer look":

"Seriously? You’d give me $20 bucks if I agree to have my face painted? Why, sure! Sign me up!"

P.S. Big thanks to Dr. Joe Vitale for helping us turn on our money magnets!

YANKEES Ticker-Tape Parade

2009-11-06T19:22:00.001-05:00

Share

The Parade was a blast!!! Intense, thrilling, exciting, and all the good super-ings words in Wikipedia. It's simply indescribable.

But I'm super exhausted, so perhaps I will blog about the experience tomorrow.

Just want to share some photos I've taken (and "stolen"). Have fun looking!

2009 World Series Champions

2009-11-06T07:59:00.027-05:00

Share

Best thing I love NY is the sense of absolute freedom.

Just go to Times Square and you’ll see people (mostly tourists, like myself) acting like total lunatics …. and yet no one bothers …. it’s perfectly alright. It IS so d#$^* good liberating!

And yesterday was no different. You should see the madness and the pandemonium going on in every Sports Store (or any store for that matter) that sells Yankees stuffs. It’s outrageously insane! People were scrambling to get hold of Yankees ‘world series’ gears and stuff.

Banners, flags, stickers, pens, magnets, clothing, accessories … you name it, it was all there ...

... but not for long. The shirts particularly (from sizes Small to Extra Large) were gone in a flash. (Just a tip to those who are joining this Friday’s parade: If you already see a shirt that you like and it has your size, don’t let go of it or you’ll be sorry. I’m telling you, some Yankees fans are like pinranha). As I stood there .... I wanted to sing "It feels like home to me, feels like home to me...". I'm pretty sure my daughter was totally NOT enjoying this.

( She was actually thinking the whole time, "Mom's really weird!")

“2009 World Series Champions … New York Yankees!” Wow! We're all set for the parade. See you there!

my daughter's shirt

my husband's

my son's

and mine.

[P.S.] Just to compensate for all the agony I caused for dragging her with me to the sale madness, I finally gave in to her demand:

Hmmm, I wonder what she will demand after the parade?

Truly Inspiring!

2009-11-05T10:17:00.001-05:00

Share

“You are the creator of your universe. You can manifest anything. There are no limits. You can do anything. xxx”

Watch this inspiring video and start living the life you deserve.

Congratulations, YANKEES!

2009-11-05T09:26:00.002-05:00

Share

Ok, this is the “shallowest of the shallow” (if there’s ever such a term) I could ever get. I am no baseball fan, not even a sports fan. [I’m a girl, for goodness sake and I’ve got different interests]. But I really, completely, totally, madly loooooooooooooove NY. Well, particularly Times Square and yes, The New York YANKEES!

Well, only the name though, coz like I said I know nothing about baseball, except that I have a huge crush on Jeter and just because it is the official team of NY.

And I am so overly excited because Yankees won the championship last night, and I have never felt as excited as this in sports since my high school days when Ginebra won the basketball championship (it’s a local team and it happened centuries ago so that just goes to show how 'deep' I am with this sports thingy).

But I’m so ecstatic, shrieking with so much delight, and feeling so much alive. Any visitor in NY will surely feel the same way. I couldn’t wait till Friday for the Yankees parade.

Congratulations to Yankees!

Oh, gosh, I sooooo love NY! I wish I live here. (daydreaming!)

As Luck May Have It

2009-11-04T12:08:00.009-05:00

"Do not pre-judge the circumstances you are in"

This quote is so profound. I don’t even remember where I heard or read this. But simply put, it’s actually saying that we need to view trials in our life as blessings in disguise.

Of course, it’s not that easy, especially when you’re hurting, or your present situation is just so d*&# unacceptable.

But look back at a time in your life when you felt so awful, when you thought you could not go on any longer …and then realize now that you had to experience those moments to have the kind of life you lead now.

I’ve got some memories of my own to share.

1. My first (so far) Brazilian wax.

I was so d*&# overconfident, telling myself I was brave and all, only to wish I were dead the moment I felt the wax on my skin. Truth be told, I paid full for the service that I didn’t finish. Well, my lesson learned was to just appreciate what my Schick Quattro could do best.

2. My first (and only, I hope) root canal.

When my dentist first told me she was recommending me to a dental surgeon, I was envisioning all sorts of horror scenarios that might happen. I was actually shaking with fear the day I had to do it (I’ve always hated needles!). Turned out, the only worse thing I experienced was having to open my jaw for eternity. Looking back, I am grateful that I saved my precious molar.

3. Breaking up with an ex. At the time, I felt life couldn’t be gloomier, but now I see it as one of the best things that happened to me. Look what I got now for my husband - - the best in the world!

So, if you’re down and low or your present situation is just so impossible for you to take, "do not pre-judge the circumstances you are in” since you are not seeing the bigger picture. God has much better plans for you and you just have to trust it is for your own good. (I guess, you’d have to believe it to be.)

Well, get inspired by this true story. This guy’s car was smashed coz of bad parking (first video). But see how it all ended for him (second video). Makes you wanna wish it happened to you instead. Lol.

Have fun watching!

Share

I'm A Thrillionaire!

2009-11-04T08:51:00.003-05:00

Today, I woke up feeling soooo energized. I think ...no ... I know ...that today will be one of the most exciting days of my life! I just knew it. I am thinking of the different possibilities that will happen to me today ... win the jackpot in NY lottery, a call from Joe Vitale, meet Esther & Jerry Hicks ... whew! I am feeling more energized as I think about these things!

And to start it all, when I checked my email, what do I read? Something about a person who, at only 38 years old, has fulfilled most of his wildest dreams. And boy! Were they really wild ... become a rock star, climbing the highest peaks, training and becoming certified as an Astronaut, having lunch on the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean. Whoooa! Lunch on the Titanic! Really, really awesome!

Click and watch his video

That's Nick Halik. Watch the video and get ready to be inspired! I'm only 36, so 2 years is still a lot of time for me to accomplish more of my life-long dreams. Hurray! Then, it will be my turn to have this kind of video, too!

Converting videos into mp3 - Part I

2009-11-03T18:12:00.008-05:00

I thank God for Youtube. I loooove Youtube. I love it so much I’ve subscribed to multiple channels there. It's where I get to watch movies I haven’t seen in the past (or have seen but were still worth watching over and over again), shows I’ve missed, video clips from seminars I’ve never attended like that of Abraham-Hicks, Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale, Jack Canfield, Echart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Bo Sanchez, among others.

And those were the videos that don’t have mp3 counterparts (you can’t find them on sites that offer free mp3 downloads – which mostly have music videos/mp3 sounds).

So, when I find a certain video on youtube that I would like to transfer to my mp3 player, I immediately turn the same into an mp3 file. (Note: even if you have an mp4 player, it’s still best to turn videos into mp3 files coz they consume lesser space, with the exception of course, of movies and games).

So, how to turn video files to mp3 format?

First, you gotta have a youtube downloader. There are many free softwares available on the mighty net but the one we use is the Free FLV Converter. Secondly, you gotta have a software that extracts audio from the video, and for this we use AoA Audio Extractor. Once you have installed these free softwares, you’re all set. It would be best to have shortcuts of these programs on your desktop for easy access.

Here’s the step by step process for downloading videos from youtube:

1. Find a video on youtube and click on it

2. copy the link (on the address tab)

3. click on FLV Converter (you can also use this to search on videos on the net)

4. from the top menu, click Tube downloader

5. paste the video link on the “add link” space

6. Click the + button

7. your video is now being downloaded onto your computer (if you wanna download the videos onto a specific folder, then change the “Output Path” (it’s on the left side of the FLV converter)

Note: you may consecutively download several videos if you want to, without waiting for the other videos to finish downloading.

Next blog: Converting videos into mp3 - Part II (Audio Extraction)
Share

Converting videos into mp3 - Part II

2009-11-02T18:10:00.001-05:00

Now, here’s the step by step process of extracting audio from your videos.

1. Open AoA Audio Extractor program

Share

2. Click Add Files

3. it will open another window where you may search for videos from your folders. Once you find them, highlight them and click “open”

4. Click “Start”

Again, if you want to put the mp3 files onto a specific folder, change the one on the “output path”.

Now, you’re all set to transfer your mp3 (video audio) to your player. Enjoy!

You Gotta Have This On Your mp3 player

2009-10-16T18:34:00.013-04:00

Bad day? This will surely perk you up. I watch/listen to, this video/mp3 everytime I wanna quickly shift from low to high.

This is one of the best videos I’ve ever downloaded from the mighty net. Only the lowest of the low of the emotions will not be stirred by this baby’s laughter.

So, go ahead ... laugh like there's no tomorrow! LOL

Date with our Princess

2009-08-26T22:34:00.001-04:00

Fun Day Pass: $8.25 each

Weekend lunch Buffet for three: $45

Bike ride to theatre: $10

Gazillion Bubbles Show tickets: $123+

A look of satisfaction and sheer excitement & happiness on our princess' face:

PRICELESS!

Oh, Why Can’t I Stay Bad?

2009-08-25T19:26:00.024-04:00

With all these laws of the Universe that I have become aware of like the Law of Attraction, Law of Deliberate Creation, etc. plus my Catholic faith and the fact I have a conscience …it’s a struggle for me to stay BAD!

Yesterday, I was feeling really upset because of the grievance caused me the last week. So, I blogged about the people who wronged me in a very vindictive, mean way – I called them names and such.
But today, I felt really guilty for behaving badly. So, I deleted the vengeful blog posts in Facebook and Blogger.

But I just retaliated. I didn’t start the fight.

Oh, why couldn’t I stay bad? Why should I forgive?

IT'S SOOO NOT FAIR!Then, it hit me: Because as humans, we are created in God’s image and likeness. Thus, I am INNATELY GOOD.

And I am truly blissful and happy because of this ...

And this ...

and lots of blessings to celebrate!

So, back to Ho'oponopono with Dr. Joe Vitale

and EFT with Brad Yates.

Yes, Joey, nothing could dampen your spirit coz you are simply Great!
Share

How To Stop Cyber-Bullying!

2009-08-24T23:17:00.009-04:00

Like I have mentioned, I was a recent victim of cyber-bullying. But unlike other victims, I stood up and fought!

I immediately reported the matter to the authorities, and within no time, through the help and expertise of my ever-loving and supportive techie husband, we were able to track the culprit down.

The real giveaway was the comment sent to my husband’s blog where the IP address of the sender was captured by our host site.

(Google map of the culprit's address who used the fictitious email of jayjay@yahoo.com)

Now, we just needed to match the same with the IP address of the other messages.

I sent Facebook messages to both Lutun and Mark, baiting them to reply so I could get their IP address. With Facebook messages, the IP address is cloaked, but could easily be decoded (add me as friend and I will show you exactly how).

(This was the cloaked IP address from Facebook that we needed to decode. This was the IP address used by Lutun)

Mark was sending messages from his office and the IP address did not match with the one we have on our record. Then, Lutun sent me several messages and her IP address was an exact match!

(When decoded, the IP address used was an exact match as that used in writing derogatory comments on my husband's blog)

Here are the tips that helped me tracked down the real culprit:

1. Do not delete messages. (you’d need proof)
2. Do not retaliate (to keep the messages coming).
3. Report the matter immediately to authorities.
4. Google for IP address tracking, and when you find it, map it.
5. Pay to get a detailed report on fictitious emails.
6. When you are sure, bully back (oops, that was just me being mean... lol).

Related post:
CYBER-BULLYING IS AN OFFENSE AND MUST BE STOPPED

Share

Long "cold" Beach, Long Island, NY

2009-08-11T23:45:00.009-04:00

My awareness of this SPD thing was an “aha” moment for me. Now, it made sense why JM didn’t enjoy her first time on the beach.

We planned to spend our second weekend here in NY to go to the beach. In Long Island. All of us were so excited. I was more excited for JM knowing it was her first time.

(Train fr Penn Stn to Long Beach)

I remember my childhood days when our family would go on beach outings. It was always so full of laughter and fun. You can’t help but fall in love with the beaches in the Philippines. They’re all lovely and superb.

So, I had this same expectation that weekend we went to Long Beach. (It was actually my first time too, in 7 years. There were no good beaches near and around Toronto, CA, so our family vacations there were mostly sightseeing and enjoying waterparks).

Oh, boy, were we soooooo disappointed! The water was freezing cold! My husband and I were wondering the whole time if the water was coming from Alaska!

(Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr)

JM was traumatized by the cold and salty water. She shivered to the bones and we had to spend the rest of the afternoon with trying to make her feel more comfy … making sand castles, digging holes, looking for starfishes and shells, anything to make her feel better.

(JM was still shivering fr the cold here. Just watched her Dad making sand castle)

But now when I come to think of it, with this new SPD awareness, I remember JM playing in the sand while I was preparing our lunch, before we even went in the water. So, she made use of her hands and probably her sensory stimuli were triggered, coupled with the cold water that then led to her meltdown.

(An episode on the beach)

Oh, whatever!

What I know for sure is that we’re never going back to Long Beach. But we’ll still give NY the benefit of the doubt and try its other beaches. Sandy Hook’s next to be rated!

My daughter has ... what?

2009-08-11T22:46:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I was introduced to Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

Sensory Processing Disorder (formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses.

A friend of ours, who is an occupational therapist, commented that perhaps my 5-yr old JM has SPD. Naturally, I refused to believe the same. People here in North America tend to overreact to kids who are hyperactive, and quickly misdiagnose super hyper kids with ADD, ADHD, ABCD, or what-have-yous.

Anyways, I just know that my JM is hyper coz she’s the only girl among her brood. With 3 boys to play with at all times, she’s obviously gonna be rough and hyper as her brothers when she plays. It's just normal for her to act that way. Heck, I was the same growing up! (up till now … lol… maybe I have the disorder, too! .. haha)

Well, my occupational therapist friend showed me.

We were making Banana bread and muffins yesterday and her kids and my JM were to mix the ingredients. She noticed that JM didn’t want her hands dirty. Whenever some mixture got to her hands, she would immediately wipe it off on her shirt or go to the sink and wash. My friend told me it is one of the signs of kids having SPD.
She experimented on JM that day, giving her activities where she made use of her hands and feet, to see how JM would react. First, she asked JM (and her kids) to play with flour, and true enough, JM would always wipe off her hands after some time.

Next, she asked all the kids to go outside and walk on the grass barefooted, which JM did hesitantly, but seemed to enjoy the activity after some time. My friend told me it must be just the hands where JM is overly-sensitive. So, she asked the kids to touch the grass with their palms and do the crab walk. Again, JM’s reaction was to wipe off each time.

(She did not like the feel of the grass on her hands and legs)

Then, we went back to the kitchen table and my friend gave the kids whipped cream and maple syrup to play with. It didn’t even last 5 minutes before she got up and went to the washroom to wash her hands.

(She was only using her fingertips & not letting the icky stuff get onto her palms)

My friend told me that kids with SPD usually act aggressively or throw a tantrum after doing activities that trigger their sensory stimuli so I had to watch JM’s behaviour afterwards. JM seemed to be her normal self (you know, running around the house, jumping up and down the couch, crashing herself to furniture, being hyper and all that).

Later that night, I asked JM if she liked the activities coz it looked like she did, and she said she hated them and would not want to do them again.

I never thought that she may have any disorder, but as my friend explained to me, all those were signs that I had to be aware of to help JM (and my other kids) in their growing up years.

Ok. So, that was last night. Fortunately, no tantrums whatsoever.

This morning, I witnessed the after-effect.

JM had a big … no, I mean, huge … meltdown! She “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” and just all of a sudden, cried, like there was no tomorrow. I could tolerate crying if something caused it. But for no apparent reason (other than me asking her if she wanted to eat breakfast already and distracted her watching Dora), she just wailed on top of her lungs. Now that I was aware of her “disorder”, I tried comforting her, putting my arms around her and hugging her tight, which just made the wailing worst. I asked her to stop but she said she couldn’t. I don’t know if I should laugh or be mad by that reply, but I just let her be. She cried for a good half an hour (or more, I don’t really remember).

And then, she was fine. Like nothing happened. She was her old self again playing bubbles outside.

(Notice the way she's holding the bubble container w/c was a bit sandy)

Perhaps, she really has this thing called SPD. Or perhaps not. Perhaps, she’s just being a kid ... a normal kid who is hyper, happy, sensitive, rough… (Heck, all my kids act the same, so now I have to deal with four of them having this disorder … I don’t know how to take it … lol)

But now that I am aware of SPD, I can make use of this knowledge to react in a more compassionate way towards my kids from now on. This can be good.

Sisterhood

2009-07-22T06:39:00.007-04:00

In my first year in law school (MLQU), I joined Tri Delta Lex (Fraternity/Sorority) just for the fun of it. Actually, it was more for the heck of being able to brag “I belong”. Later on, I realized it was so much more than getting that kind of feeling. You see, during my time, I was the baby of the group, so all my “brothers and sisters” gave me the much needed support to survive law school.

Then, just after a semester, I had to transfer to another law school … far away from my beloved group (actually 7 hours away from them … to Saint Louis University in Baguio City). And for more than 10 years since then, I never thought I’d ever feel grateful again for being a part of the mighty Tri Delta Lex.

Until one fine day in July 2009.

We were at the NAIA airport – my husband, myself and our 5-yr old daughter, JM – excited to get on the plane to visit my Mom in Chicago. I wanted everything to go smoothly so I was doing Ho’oponopono the whole time. It’s a technique I learned from Dr. Joe Vitale and it’s perfect for people like myself who easily loses her cool. I’d definitely recommend it. Anyways, it worked perfectly because I was calm when we were told we needed to re-pack coz our luggage was overweight. I was calm when we were told that we needed to pay travel taxes because they were not included in the ticket charges.

And I was still calm when we got to the immigration booth and we were told that we needed to pay because our daughter, who is a Canadian citizen, overstayed in the country. My husband was starting to feel the pressure and was already arguing with me, but I still didn’t lose control when the officer came back and told us the amount we had to pay was over Php7,000.00.

I still was calm when we were asked to see the Officer of the Day. That’s when I reaped the rewards of Ho’opnopono. Because as we were approaching the window, I saw one of my “sisters” inside the immigration office.

To make this long story short, we got on the plane just in time with no more hassles. After more than 10 years, I get to feel once again how privileged am I to be a part of the mighty Tri Delta Lex.

My New Addiction

2009-04-09T16:41:00.005-04:00

Late to bed. Early to rise. Increase in coffee consumption. Eyebags almost to my nose. Acting like a robot ... list goes on and on.

It all boils down to one conclusion: I have a new addiction and I'm not even aware of it.

Ever since I purchased my MIND MOVIE kit, I couldn't stop making movies. I made 1 for my husband (above video), myself, friends Mae, and Anna, cousin Irene, for everybody. It's so fun and easy to use even my 7-yr old JJ couldn't help making his own LOA video.

Believe me when I tell you this is so much better than Window's Movie Maker (oops, I guess it's not fair to compare since Movie Maker deals with both videos and photos as opposed to the Mind Movie software that only accepts photos).

But hey, for an amateur like me, trust me when I say this is my new bestfriend in movie making.

I guess the best part is that I get to test drive the company's Subliminal Software (which for me totally, absolutely rocks!)

Cyber-Bullying Is An Offense and Must Be Stopped!

2009-03-23T12:32:00.003-04:00

Note: Due to Lutun Niu's obvious request (she keeps visiting my family's website and this blogsite after I have repeatedly asked that she stop), I am publishing this post I have removed last month). I told them I have forgiven them and would really like to forget about the whole incident, but constant visits from either of them to my sites make it really difficult. But just to show that I am sincere in my offer of forgiveness, I have deleted most of the original hateful, name-calling words and replaced them with #@$%^&*#.

***********************************************************************************

ORIGINAL POST (minus the name-calling)

I am writing this once again for all those who, at one point in their life, have been victimized by cyber-bullying. I posted this blog as a Note in my Facebook but somehow it got deleted. It was actually an informative type of Note on cyber-bullying but it would appear that Facebook just acted on false report without getting the facts straight. By deleting that Note, Facebook had actually sided with the bully rather than the victim who was just trying to educate people on cyber-bullying.

In any case, it just goes to show that the culprit was really guilty about what she did. I know it somehow embarrassed the culprit as I posted her photo on the note, but at least I can proudly proclaim to the whole wide world that I don't need to HIDE under fictitious accounts and email addresses just so I can bitch about something or somebody! I can do and say whatever I like about anybody and to hell with them if they do not like what I say, but I will NEVER be a coward about expressing myself and hide my real identity! Only #x$%#@ people do that, coz they are #$@*& to think they will never get caught!

So, “it is OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name.” - quoted from Declan McCullagh

Not that I would intentionally do that. Up until last week when the malicious messages started, I had been religiously practicing Ho'oponopono and EFT.

However, I was provoked. I was minding my own business and this <#$@%&* Chinese student from NYU, whom I have never met, started lambasting me online, calling me names and such.

So, I say: If you are, or have been, a victim of cyber-bullying, DO NOT be afraid and FIGHT! There are laws and proper authorities protecting you against it!

This was how it happened: First, the #@$%&# culprit created a Facebook account under a fictitious name JOEY JACK (obviously using my name, JOEY and from my email roseJACK). This #@$&*# Chinese sent me a message, and I quote, “Ur such a bitch. You really are!”

When I first got the message, I was of course SHOCKED! I mean, me, of all people? Awwww, I always thought I am an angel??? LMAO
Nah! Just kidding! I’m far from being an angel. And I admit, I’m a mean girl and sometimes act LIKE a “bitch”. BUT! Only when injustice is done towards me and my family. I do FIGHT for my rights and privacy. Guess, you could blame it on my Law degree. As Atty. Sison often says, “Kapag May Katwiran, Ipaglaban Mo!” (“If you have a valid legal ground, fight for it!”)

Anyway, back to the story…

Like I said, I was shocked. Why? Because I DO NOT have any enemies, or at least I am not aware that I have any. Thing is, ever since I was introduced to the Law of Attraction, I have tried to live my life as peacefully and blissfully as possible. Well, naturally there would be others who might be jealous or envious of how I live my life, but not to the extent that they would send me hate mails.

So, I immediately informed my husband about the message and he said it might just be a random message. He told me about cyber-bullying that is not directed to any particular individual, but he advised me to change my passwords immediately, just in case.

Then, this @#$%&# culprit, as @#$%&# as she is, sent me a DIRECT message on my yahoo, this time using a fictitious email jayjay@yahoo.com. And not only that, she simultaneously made malicious and derogatory comments on my blog AND on my husband’s blog. She asked my husband if he knew what I did when we were apart and that I was a slut, but she kept claiming I was pretty and sexy 36-yr old. I know the messages were kinda weird and crazy – hating me and admiring me at the same time. But her obvious plot was to create trouble between me and my husband.

So, I’ve had it! I knew this #@$%&*# is looking for some trouble, and she came to the right person, because this one does NOT back out! This was not just any annoying remark that one could just forego. This was an attack on my person and reputation. And what’s worse, she’s involving my family! (I felt like Fernando Poe, Jr. in “Kapag Puno Na Ang Salop").

At first, I didn’t know it was a SHE. I thought it was a #@$%&*#, I mean, a HE. I knew because it was a New Yorker. And I only made 2 acquaintances here in NY last year when we visited – one was Zana, and the other Mark Lyon. I just know for sure it wasn’t Zana. So, I went on to investigate on the other one. (I will have a separate blog on the investigation).

What I found out was very disturbing: it was not Mark, but his Chinese fiancée named Lutun Niu.

(This was a photo of Lutun Niu she had sent Mark before they met, that Mark then attached on one of his emails to me, asking me what I thought about her. Accd. to Mark, she tries on outfits in stores and takes photos of herself. Now here's what I thought -- #@$%^&*#)

But why oh why oh why??? I do not know this $#@%^&*# and there she went sending me and my husband hateful, demeaning messages. I have not even met her, for crying out loud! So, WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?

Of course, it’s safe to assume it was because of Mark – her ever #@$%^&*$#@%$^&*^%$#@# fiancé. He might have told her some “juicy” stories about me and him and this #$@%^&*# Chinese Lutun Niu got madly jealous!

You see, Mark lives in his own make-believe world. He weighs a ton (translation: #@$%^&*$), but thinks he’s such a good catch and women will just fall for him. His wife divorced him. When asked about why he was divorced, he’d say all sorts of stuff about the ex like she was unfaithful, etc. etc., but he would never ever point out his faults. He’d tell you stories about him dating lots of women only to find out in the end that they were all after something …legal status in the US. [Yes, people would go that low to get legalized here in US ... they would marry a #@$%^&*# just to get a green card.] Hmmm, maybe Lutun Niu is the same? After all, she’s only a student here in US. Well, if it’s true, this is a possible immigration case that needs to be closely monitored. Coz I don’t really buy that #@$%^&*$ that what they have is REAL TRUE love. I mean, come on! The guy's the size of @#$%^&*$#! (I told you, I'm mean. Just living up to my supposed reputation of being a bitch. That is just my own “bitchy” opinion.)

There was one time I borrowed his laptop and I accidentally read his message to one of his friends in FB. It said something to the effect that I did not tell him first hand that I was married. What crap! (Whenever I meet new friends, I proudly show off my family's photos, so only a &^%$ people will think I was actually misleading them to think I was single.) Who knows what else he might have told this friend or other friends of his?

But since I was then new to the Law of Attraction, I was really trying my best to be as nice as I can. I thought that maybe he needed to fill his ego because of his #@$%^&*# self-esteem brought about by his #@$%^&* . I even introduced him to Zana thinking that maybe they’d click. We were this best threesome newfound friends in the Big Apple happily enjoying each others’ company. Him giving all that he could to satisfy my whims and caprices (you know, like a #@$%^&*!) Treating us to expensive restaurants and movie shows. He'd do just about anything so he could go bragging to all his buddies that he's not such a big L after all coz he's got 2 gorgeous women as his 'girlfriends'.

Such was his nature and personality that maybe caused his #$@%^&*$ fiancée, Lutun Niu, to get jealous and do some monstrous act of bullying me online.

But she got caught with her pants down. And now I can only imagine she’s scared as hell of what I’m gonna do to her.

Absolutely Nothing! I was taught to be always kind to @#$%^&*! LOL.

Related Posts:
HOW TO STOP CYBER-BULLYING