Better Bathroom

Bathroom is one of the most used parts of a house the reason that household owners should make sure that our bathrooms are always clean and with a good source of clean water. For me personally, I love to be in a bathroom with a refreshing ambiance, nice bathroom accessories like those I see on hotels and with good lighting fixtures like sconces. I also want a spacious bathroom but if space is a problem, which most people now qualms about, one of the things that most people do to solve this problem is to put big and wide mirrors.

Who wouldn’t want to have personal sanctuary at home, right? And a bathroom could be our personal sanctuary if you feel comfortable being in it. How does it feel to be treated royally inside your bathroom right? So if you have sky-high budget, invest on fixtures that can make your dull and dreary bath into an elegant and cool one. You can get them at betterbathrooms.com, the perfect store to get quality and elegant bathroom essentials. From basins to Jacuzzi collection, they all have it in stock. They also promised to make their clients 100% happy with their services. They’re not only selling online. As a matter of fact, they have showrooms in Wigan, Warrington and Manchester.



Comments on Supervits

It’s amazing how our technology evolves. And people are just excited about what’s new. Now the craze of people over iPhone App and iPadd App is inevitable. Many people are going gaga with this new gadgets and this laptop that you featured here is just but amazing! A multi-touch functionality is a great innovation.

Power Nap!

Do you do "Power Nap" at work? Power nap is now the new term for "cat-nap". Some companies allow their employees to nap during lunch break but some do not even have an hour lunch break at all leaving the employees stressed-out. Anyway, did you you know that a nap during the afternoon can make you stress-free and can increase your productivity?

Here's an article i read from about.com:

Sleep Benefits: Power Napping for Increased Productivity, Stress Relief & Health
Why A Power Nap? Facts on Sleep:

While small children typically take naps in the afternoon, our culture generally frowns upon mid-day sleep; however, even in those who get enough sleep (but particularly in those who don’t), many people experience a natural increase in drowsiness in the afternoon, about 8 hours after waking. And research shows that you can make yourself more alert reduce stress and improve cognitive functioning with a nap. Mid-day sleep, or a ‘power nap’, means more patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, more efficiency and better health. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of sleep and how a power nap can help you!

How Much Sleep Do You Need?
The body needs 7-8 hours of sleep per day; 6 hours or less triples your risk of a car accident. (Interestingly, too much sleep--more than 9 hours--can actually be harmful for your health; recent studies show that those who sleep more than 9 hours per day don’t live as long as their 8-hour-sleep counterparts!)

The Effects of Missed Sleep:
Sleep is cumulative; if you lose sleep one day, you feel it the next. If you miss adequate sleep several days in a row, you build up a ‘sleep deficit’, which impairs the following:

  • Reaction time
  • Judgment
  • Vision
  • Information processing
  • Short-term memory
  • Performance
  • Motivation
  • Vigilance
  • Patience

Fatigued people also experience more moodiness, aggressive behaviors, burnout and more stress.

The Benefit of a Power Nap:
Studies show that 20 minutes of sleep in the afternoon provides more rest than 20 minutes more sleep in the morning (though the last two hours of morning sleep have special benefits of their own). The body seems to be designed for this, as most people’s bodies naturally become more tired in the afternoon, about 8 hours after we wake up.

How Long Should I Sleep?
When you sleep you pass through different stages of sleep, known together as a sleep cycle. These stages include light sleep, deep sleep (which is believed to be the stage in which the body repairs itself), and rapid-eye movement sleep, or REM sleep (during which the mind is repaired).

Many experts advise to keep the nap between 15 and 30 minutes, as sleeping longer gets you into deeper stages of sleep, from which it’s more difficult to awaken. Also, longer naps can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night, especially if your sleep deficit is relatively small. However, research has shown that a 1-hour nap has many more restorative effects than a 30-minute nap, including a much greater improvement in cognitive functioning. The key to taking a longer nap is to get a sense of how long your sleep cycles are, and try to awaken at the end of a sleep cycle. (It’s actually more the interruption of the sleep cycle that makes you groggy, rather than the deeper states of sleep.)

As there are pros and cons to each length of sleep, you may want to let your schedule decide: if you only have 15 minutes to spare, take them! But if you could work in an hour nap, you may do well to complete a whole sleep cycle, even if it means less sleep at night. If you only have 5 minutes to spare, just close your eyes; even a brief rest has the benefit of reducing stress and helping you relax a little, which can give you more energy to complete the tasks of your day.

Tips For a More Effective Nap If you want to obtain more sleep, and the health benefits that go with getting enough sleep, here are some tips for more effective napping and sleep at night:

  • Avoid caffeine after 3pm. It’s a stimulant that can disrupt your sleep and stay in your system longer than you think; its half-life is four to six hours!
  • If you don’t want to nap a long time, set an alarm.
  • If you don’t have time for a power nap, or don’t feel comfortable napping during the day, try meditation; it gives your body a rest and produces slower brain waves similar to sleep.



Online Advertising

The internet has been a great tool for businesses seeing the opportunity from the fact that more and more people are buying products and services online. It made online advertising a great tool to inform and attract customers. But people who will decide to advertise online should know all the things they need to learn because sometimes online advertising can be too expensive.


Comment on Cozydays Review

Thanks for sharing this info. Outdoor furniture is one of the items on my “To Buy” list. We have a space in our front yard that will look good with a comfortable outdoor couch. I’ll include cozydays.com for my outdoor furniture hunt.

LeadApp

Anything customized appeal to me a lot. It’s like wearing your own creation. I have recently purchased custom polo shirts from a local manufacturer for our family and I received praises for that. But this review encouraged me to try your product. I’ll try online purchases this time.


Comments on Review: CIL

This is a great informative review about CIL. Thanks for sharing.I wish there also lawyers like denver accident lawyer in my place. I often witness road accidents and as I observe, some of the injured are not being given the justice they deserve especially motorcycle related accidents.



Comment on Medical Supply Review

It’s advisable to have blood pressure monitors at home and learn how to check blood pressures. We have one at home since my husband is a nurse. Some of our neighbors would come by to asked him to check their blood pressures specially the elderly.



On SEO Services

It’s really important to know something about SEO services when you are into online business or wants to promote your site. Online business is very competitive and for someone to go with it, he should be equipped with knowledge about SEO. When I took the opportunity of allowing my site to get paid from online jobs, I was clueless about blog traffic and SEO. Now I know how important it is so I’m trying my best to learn everything I can about it.


A Dream Tour

I've been dreaming of traveling with my family for so long and I love to experience Asia tours one day. Love to see historical places in Asia.


Water Filter Pitcher

This is a great post. I was also thinking of getting water filter pitcher at home. My son uses mineral water when he takes a bath and I guess a water filter can be an alternative. That can give us more savings on water.


Online Tests

Our world is completely evolving and technology has been a great help to us especially in the business world. Nowadays some businesses even provide interviews and exams to applicants through the internet. One of my friend experienced being given one of ProProf.com quiz by a company he’s applying. Well, it’s one of the internet’s contribution to HRDs. Proprof.com is a great tool for human resource departments in giving online exams to their qualified applicants. At Proprof.com they can get corporate and educational quizzes and certification tests.

Anyway, I was able to talk to my friend who’s an IT professional. He said he took some online tests for a certain certification and he was so happy that he passed. He was praying so hard about it because he went through some difficulties before he was able to take that exam including sleepless nights for him to review and working extra hours for the examination payment. He was thankful that the tests were given online. He doesn’t need to go somewhere just to take it unlike other examination. Online tests are really convenient to take. Of course he searched for reviewers online which has helped him a lot. He also read some survival strategies for taking tests. But above all, he was thankful to God for letting him passed.



He Has Risen

His love is truly amazing...

Thank you Lord for your love and salvation...


Happy Resurrection Sunday everyone!















37 weeks & some updates

It's been a while. I was not able to update this blog for a while because I was busy. :D I'm officially on maternity leave since Monday since I find it difficult now for me to walk and travel. Last Monday was my OGTT test, and again the result is not normal. I visited my OB last Tuesday to show her the result and she didn't like it so she referred me to an endocrinologist. So yesterday I went to see the doctor to ask for his recommendation. I know I'm not diabetic. The problem was that my test was raw according to the doctor. My OGTT should show results not only after 2 hours but also the third hour which my BIL failed to do :). So I need to undergo yet another blood test later this afternoon. Then on Friday I shall see the doctor again and I hope the result is better. Saturday will be my last check up..hopefully the baby could still wait until Monday and would not want to come out early. I still wanted to go to church on Sunday. Haay, I'm having a very busy week prior to my delivery.

Anyway, our hospital bags are already packed. I've started preparing things since last month so I won't forget anything. Two bags are packed for me and the baby. All the important documents are ready as well. For now, I'm still anxious but super excited. Everybody in the house is as excited as me to see baby #2!

Only 4 days of waiting!

Feb 14 means Love...

….and this day is a special day for lovers, couples, husbands and wives. Do you have any plans now on how you’ll celebrate the love day with your love one? I guess some are now planning a romantic dinner for two or a romantic get away somewhere…. Old fashioned? Well, I hope you were able to watched Rated K last Sunday. They featured unusual, different and creative ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day with an adventure. Some of these new dating adventures are the Zipline, Zoobic Safari (to have a live encounter with wild animals), and another one, (I forgot what it was called) where you and your date will be dropped down from a certain meter high, so fast that you will surely feel the thrill.

Forest adventure will be a click way to celebrate Valentines’ day here in the Philippines since summer is starting. But in some parts of the world where the place are still covered with ice, a ski date would be romantic. Pragelato in Italy or Lake Louise in Canada are just two of the most romantic ski destinations for ski holidays. Skiing is not just fun during Christmas season. Try it on Valentine’s day and I’m sure you and your love one will enjoy a warm, romantic date while surrounded with ice, lol!



Paris in Mega






This was taken last Thursday before going to the movie house to watch the premier of Dear John. My daughter wanted to have a picture taken here. She can already recognize a good spot for a picture, hehe. Nice noh? It's like Paris but inside a mall. I was wondering why the mall has this decoration, then I remembered that Paris is one of the world's romantic destination...well it's the Love Month!

Baby Named After...what??

How did you come up with your baby’s name? For expectant moms (like me) it’s quite a challenge to choose the right name for our babies’, right? We have the power to break or make them by our choice of names so we have to consider a lot of things when choosing what’s best for them. We have to put our thinking caps on and really take time to think what will be the best. There are a lot of things that come into play when picking our baby’s names like who’s famous person shall we pattern their names, role models, what would be their nicknames, etc. My first child was named Jaden Meekaila. Jaden is a unisex Hebrew name which means God has heard and Meekaila was from the root word Meek, a character that we want her to become. Baby #2’s name was a challenged since he’s a boy, but we already have a named ready when he comes out.

I just don’t understand why some mothers take for granted this area when having a child. Some will just think of a name right there and there (during labor or after giving birth). Or just thinking of a name (whatever comes first in their mind) in a snap, and that’s it.

I know a person whose passion was computer games. She would never fail to download games and play until morning. That’s how addicted she was even during pregnancy. So when she conceived, her passion came out by the name she gave to her child—Jubei (Final fantasy). I’m not saying that naming a child after a video game character is bad. We have our own differences and choices. I know there are a lot of video game characters our there with some crazy names--names that I personally would never. ever give to a REAL child. (I mean, hello, would you want your baby to be called Dekar or Sepiroth??)— But there are good ones too like Lara (Lara Croft) or Zelda of the Legend of Zelda which what Robin Williams named his daughter Zelda Williams.

Uhmm…Still undecided for your baby’s name? Well, chose wisely. Think about your passion, what influences you and of course the baby’s future if he carried the name you’re thinking of giving him.


36 Weeks.

Wooo hooo!! Finally, I've reached the 36th week of my pregnancy. One more week of going to work then I'm off for my maternity leave. I've been very anxious lately because now, I can already feel more and more discomforts. Whew!

Last Saturday was the start of my weekly check up. I also had three kinds of test: urinalysis, HBaSg, and OGCT. Unfortunately, I didn't passed my OGCT. My sugar level is high that's why I need to undergo another test, this time it would be the OGTT. Sigh...another series of blood extraction. But I guess I have to do this for the baby's sake.

Anyway, I'm now weighed 56 kgs.! Quite big for my size. The baby's doing good (my OB said). Next week is another check up and the week after that is another ultrasound, then my scheduled operation. I can't wait to finally see him!


Safe way to lose weight.

It’s been two weeks now since my friend went on a “No Rice” diet. During lunch while I am enjoying a full meal, she is just eating viands. She eats all meat like chicken, pork and fish she only skips the carbs on rice. I don’t know if this is effective since she still ate other food that could contain higher calories. She didn’t consult any dietitian. I just hope that it will be effective on her since she don’t want also to take any diet pills, which I think is good.

I am not a fan of diet pills because I don’t want to take the risk of its side effects. I’ve heard about this medically supervised weight loss program called hcg. and I think this is more advisable for my friend. A person who wishes to undergo this program need not have to endure the pains of surgeries, outrageous exercise program or starving herself just to get fit. And since it’s supervised, a person who’s undergoing this treatment is assured that she will not exceed and will only lose the weight that she should get rid of. Losing weight more than what is advisable for any one is not healthy. I’ve heard about Nicole Richie’s drastic weight lose which she attributed to stress and not eating enough. Yes she lost weight but the way she loses it is unhealthy. HCG on the other hand is a safe way to lose weight since it’s a program built around a low calorie diet coupled with small dose of a hormone that can help stimulate the metabolism. Thousands of health conscious people have already tried this diet treatment program and found it effective.

Getting in shape has a lot of work at times but it’s better to get fit than taking the risk of having gastric bypass surgery due to obesity that people often ignored. So if you’re resolution this year is to lose weight, believe that you can attain it. And if you need help, try the hcg program. It’s more effective and safe.



Helpful Budgeting Tools

Two of my goals for this year is to have enough savings and to get out of debt. And to attain this, I'm reading good materials (books and online) that will help and guide me. I also follow this blog where I got some budgeting and saving tips that is aligned to my financial perspective. You can check her blog to read some good points on how she also try to carry on with her goals on her family's finances. I got from her links to download free budgeting forms and spreadsheets that I find really effective. You can download them here, here and here if you're interested.

Getting out of debt, Leaving within your means, sticking to a budget, saving and avoiding over spending are great challenges for me this year but I do pray that I can attain these goals.



Preparing for the Love Day.

The love month is coming in a few weeks and I’m sure a lot of guys are now planning something to make Valentine’s Day a memorable day for the girl he loves. While some guys are waiting for a positive answer for the long courtship stage, married couples on the other hand are planning for a romantic dinners, cruises, or a romantic vacation somewhere. Others choose this day to propose. And nowadays, guys aren’t doing this the traditional way. They are now thinking of more creative ways to pop the question.

Don’t know how to do it? Well, I’ll give you some true-to-life samples. My husband’s cousin experienced a very romantic and touchy proposal. Her fiancĂ© proposed during one of their prayer meetings and he asked some of their friends to help him do his drama. They both cried during that time because they are inside a church when her fiancĂ© proposed. I also read a story of a guy who proposed to his girl after watching a concert of their favorite singer. It was so romantic. The guy talked to the organizer of the show before it starts so he can have a time to go to the center stage and do his gimmick. The girl loved it so much. I also saw a video of a proposal in YouTube where the super techy guy used a number of mobiles phones and programmed them to convey his message.

Creativity is really the trick. And you guessed right, all these guys immediately received the “yes!” answer from these girls. How about you? Are you hoping that you’ll also experience the sweetest and most romantic proposal? Well, for me, if I’ll be engaged again, I’m dreaming of a proposal in a romantic cruise with a serenade and a dinner after. The cool breeze of the ocean will add up to the spice of that day. How romantic! So guys, don’t just hit the question. Do it creatively and filled with surprises.


32nd Week.

I'm now on my 32nd week and yes, I already feel the anxiety of giving birth! We visited my OB last Saturday for my check-up and she said that starting this month, I'll visit her every other week. And since I'm giving birth by C-Section, she asked us to choose the the date between Feb. 22-27 for my scheduled CS operation. Now, hubby and I are still undecided. We really want baby#2 to come out on March but I guess he really wants to come out early.

So now, I'm on the stage of preparing my hospital bag and the things that the baby and I will be needing. I've also coordinated with our HR department regarding the government papers that I'll be using during my stay in the hospital. I'll be taking a leave next month so I'm also arranging everything that my reliever will need once I'm on leave.

Yes, I'm quite busy :D



Fun Games on a Journey.

Do you play Bingo? I don't but I enjoy playing Human Bingo. Do you know that game? It’s usually played as ice breakers during meetings or group gatherings. I first played it in a training seminar that I attended last year. We were given a paper containing pictures and words written in boxes. What we did was find the picture or words in a box within the group of participants and have them sign in the box. The first to complete filling up the boxes with the participant’s signature is the winner. It was really fun especially the part of going around and finally finding what the box requires.

Another game of this kind is the Road Trip Bingo. This one is a fun game that can be played by group of friends or family on a vacation who wishes to have fun even along the road especially if they are riding separate cars. It would be a fun way to enjoy the journey right?

Hmm…now I think we should include this game when we hold our summer outing this year. Our company don’t usually rent big bus during summer outing. We go on separate cars per department. And usually we all got bored before reaching our destination so I think this year if the committee will agree, we’ll have this game. I think it would be very exciting. Since the mechanics is easy, we’ll just have to prepare the road trip bingo cards like this one and we’ll be all set.



Rare times...

Just want to share with you pictures of my little girl with her dad when we went up to the prayer mountain last week. She got hungry on our way home and since there's no fast food restaurant available, we just stopped on a good spot along the road, lol! Good thing we brought some snacks with us.








Goal: Getting Fit? Get it!

For most of us, welcoming the New Year also means, setting up new goals for the year or what they call their New Year’s Resolutions. Do you set up your own list? I didn’t. I don’t usually make resolutions but I do list some goals that I know I can attain every year. Although there are goals that I fail to attain sometimes I’m happy each end of the year when most are attained.

But do you know what the top three resolutions of people are every year? Well, based on surveys, one of them is to get more organized, another is to get out of debt or be debt free, and the most famous is get in shape, be fit or lose weight. According to some articles I read, most resolutions do not happen. Meaning, most people fail to fulfill their resolutions. It’s quite sad, right? The problem sometimes boils down to financial issues. For instance, if one’s desire or goal is to get fit, he has to go to the gym. And gym sessions aren’t free so he needs money. He has to get good gym instructor, which isn’t free as well. He also have to follow strict diet like the South Beach diet, and most of the time, non- fat or less fat products usually cost higher than regular food products. Plus, if he wants to get fit even at home, he needs to invest on good fitness equipments. If this is you, well I guess there’s no problem in attaining this goal. Money isn’t going to be an issue because nowadays there are companies that offer emergency loans even for this kind of need. So you can’t make money now as an excuse. You can possibly get your getting-fit-goal attained, and that’s good news right?

Another keys and I think two of the most important keys in keeping up with your resolution are consistency and determination. It’s not really going to work even if you have the money if you are not consistent and determined. So this year, keep up with your resolution. Get the available resources, be determined to carry on and be consistent.