Stretchy Matter

Your muscles tired, you suddenly stop doing a physical activity like typing on a PC or any desk job, or you just woke up...what is the primary movement you do after such moments? STREEEEEETCH! If that is not normal to you then something is wrong. Just as a cat needs to stretch after nap so should humans. We stretch to release the tension on our muscles, we stretch so our bones can absorb fresh energy and we stretch to strengthen our skeletal frame. Most women don't know that if they don't stretch it will compact their spine and affect their posture and height. Some people don't find it necessary to stretch and they end up too sluggish, too spent and sleepy even if their day had just started. I didn't realize this even after my hubby bought me a book entitled Stretch Your Life. It was sitting on my shelf for more than a year until i started working nights. I felt the pain at my lower back and instinctively started stretching on my chair at the office. I'd arch my back until it would feel good. My gym ball waiting for me in my room did start serving its purpose, i'd do a back bridge on it and from then on i stopped having lower back pains. However, i thought the more you hold the stretch, the better. Well, NOT! I gained a torn muscle just by extending my stretches, that the pain stayed for almost a month, it was almost disability and i stopped working for a few days just because of that. I thought that holding it for more than 3 seconds will help me but it actually did worsen the situation. Then i started reading the book my hubby gave me and there i learned about AIS which is the Active Isolated Stretches. AIS is all about the proper way of stretching the different parts of your body - breathing properly and holding it for a certain amount of time and not overdoing it. The author of the book is Chris Watts and 2 of his friends demonstrated the different stretches for your body in the book. It has pictures for the easy to follow steps and whats good is the book was made with some infused humor that a lot people think that stretching isn't too exciting or should it be given much attention. You can also find their demo on STRETCHASIA and they can explain in their site how stretching can improve your posture and save you from getting therapy after therapy for bad backs. Stretching can actually improve your life and make you feel new every time. SO STRETCH THAT BODY AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE!

40 Tips For a Better Life

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28.. GOD heals almost everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!) Hey I'm thinkin of ya! =)

37.. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass.. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Please share this to everyone you care about.

Have You Marked Your Spot?

Yes I did, at WIKIMAPIA! It's an online map very similar to Google Earth but, you are allowed to mark a certain place that could be of interest to others. It could be your school, some famous restaurant or store, or it could be your crib. You can zoom it in enuf to see the roof of whatever ur gonna mark and it allows you to assign a URL for that specific place and of course a unique description of what the place is. It's free to mark your spot but if any body finds that it is not useful and they vote for it's non-usefulness then your mark will be removed. It takes a few hours before your mark will be shown in the map. The best thing for you to do to save the location is to drag the location in the middle of your screen where an x marks the middle and then you bookmark it. The next time you open the site with that bookmark and you click on the mark you will be asked if the mark is appropriate then you just click yes then the mark will be permanent. You can use this when showing your friends the direction to your house or let's say you are inviting friends to your wedding or any other party, this is one great tool. I know some of you have GPS! Anyway, this thing you can print out if you need to. Have fun marking your spot.

Pimped My Blogsite...

...As you can see, my blog had just gotten a new background! After several attempts to change the background, ta-daaah! New refreshing look :) I just got tired of the plain template I had. I thought, if i can do it on MySpace, I can certainly do it here and i need not be a genius at that. Just a little tinkering here and there, and you come up with a the look of your own. Me and my equally yummy hubby enjoyed the change cuz it somehow enhanced the pictures in my posts. Anyway, on to posting later, need to deal with the headache of seeing HTML codes, :P

The Real Taal Volcano...

This picture was taken by the crater lake of Taal Volcano last September 2007 (oops, sorry for the wrong time stamp). Wait a minute, u might think, if we're by the crater lake of Taal, then what is that mound at the background? Well, that is the Taal Volcano you always find in other people's pictures and on post cards, posters and even in children's textbooks. That's not the real volcano cuz the real one is right by us in that pic, which u can see in this next one:



That mound behind us is actually just a part of the Taal Volcano and it's not the real deal. The real deal is, you take a horseback ride goin' up the crater lake. Man, the horseback ride is kinda expensive so we decided to walk and hike! Me and Bry we're actually undecided to really hike up the crater because at the first part of the journey you really get to inhale dust and the funky smell of horse crap. This is why as you register at the Dept of Tourism booth they will hand you a face mask so you also avoid inhaling sulfur that goes with the dust. Here are pics of the red hot soil close to the peak and the sulphur deposits:




At the first leg me and Bry would ask each other, do you really wanna do this??? We've paid for the trip and the purpose of driving down there was to finally see it, so we both agreed, LET'S GO FOR IT!!! So, here's Bry with our tour guide Mang Totoy:




However the Taal Volcano tour actually began from Tagaytay. We scouted for a guy who can lead us to a place to stay overnight, so we met Mang Totoy by McDonald's in front of Taal Vista Hotel then he led our car with his friend's motorbike down Talisay to a private resort where we will take a boat to the hike path of the crater lake. It was a hot day so we cooled ourselves down at the pool. The kids had fun since the pool had a mini slide.






Then at 3pm we sailed to the other side of the lake to get to the volcano...











to be continued...........

Sure Fire Way to Trim Your Belly....

It's nothing but COMBAT ABS taken from Matt Furey site. It doesn't only help you lose the unwanted fat but it is to greatly improve digestion. Anyone who travels often knows how a simple change in food, time, weather, work hours, and so on - can put your digestive system in disorder. But when you do the Farmer Burns Stomach Flattener - that's not a problem. What's also good is, it's not as hard as super-motivating yourself or dragging your feet to do crunches everyday. Below is the easy as pie step by step way to a flatter tummy:

Farmer Burn’s Stomach Flattener
Steps:
1.) Stand Erect with your feet shoulder-width apart and
your toes pointed forward
2.) Relax your shoulders, letting your arms hang at your
sides. Inhale through your nose with your tongue on
the roof of your mouth.
3.) Inhale as deeply as you can, filling your lungs.
4.) As you inhale, gently hold your abdomen in. Don’t let it
expand.
5.) Once your lungs are completely full, “Close the mouth
and throat tightly, and try to force the breath out, but
resist so that none escapes. Force hard, and the
muscles of the abdomen will be contracted until they
are tight and rigid. Force the air downward with all the
power you possess. Clinch the fists – and exert much
strength… The process of trying to exhale the breath,
but you voluntarily hold it in, and by this resistance
most thoroughly exercise the muscles of the abdomen,
stomach and other internal organs.”
6.) When you do this exercise, “Hold the breath in this
way for two to five seconds, and then gently allow the
breath to escape. Exhale as much as possible so that
you will take in a new full quantity of fresh air.”
7.) It is not uncommon to get a light-headed or dizzy
feeling when first doing this exercise. As you get
better at the exercise, this will pass.

The Vacuum
Steps:
1.) Begin from a bent-over position with your hands resting
on your knees.
2.) Slowly exhale all air from your lungs.
3.) Once all has been exhaled, do not inhale right away.
Rise slightly instead and lift diaphragm, pulling your
stomach in.
4.) Hold for six seconds or longer.
5.) Inhale through your mouth.
6.) Catch your breath and repeat.

Tai Chi Waist Turner
Steps:
1.) Stand in a relaxed position with your feet about
shoulder-width apart. Allow your hands to hang freely
at your sides.
2.) Without trying to move your arms, begin turning your
body from side to side. As you turn, let the centrifugal
force swing your arms from side to side.
3.) Each time you have turned as far as you can go, your
hand gently slaps your back in the kidney area, giving
it a gentle massage.
4.) Breathe naturally as you turn from side to side.
5.) Do 50-100 repetitions each day.

Back Arch with Forward Bend and Squeeze
Steps:
1.) Place hands on hips. Feet are spaced about shoulder-
width apart.
2.) Inhale deeply and lean back as far as possible.
3.) Pause for a moment and then bow forward.
4.) As you bend forward, exhale vigorously and squeeze
your abdominal muscles.
5.) Repeat for 10-20 repetitions.

Dynamic Side Bend Stretch (and Isometric Squeeze)
Steps:
1.) Start with your feet shoulder-width or wider apart.
2.) Extend your left hand so that your bicep is nearly
touching your ear.
3.) Inhale deeply, then bend to the right as far as possible
and slowly move back and forth.
4.) Stretch as far as you can but only move back and
forth about a half inch. This is a dynamic stretch.
5.) After 50 repetitions, you can also hold and do an
isometric stretch contraction for 6-8 seconds.
6.) Repeat on the other side.

Hands Overhead Side Bend
Steps:
1.) Stand with feet comfortably spaced.
2.) Interlock the fingers of your hands and reach to the
ceiling with your palms facing upward.
3.) Inhale deeply and stretch to the right as far as you
can.
4.) Squeeze all the muscles of the upper back as well as
those along the sides.
5.) Hold for six to eight seconds, and then exhale.
6.) Repeat for six repetitions then switch sides.

Trunk Rotators
Steps:
1.) Begin with your feet comfortably spaced
2.) Place your hands on your hips and inhale deeply.
3.) Bend sideward and then begin tracing a clockwise
circle with your head and shoulders leading the way.
4.) Concentrate on your obliques as you rotate.
5.) Exhale when you reach the starting position. Inhale
and repeat nine more times in the same direction. Then
switch directions and do 10 more repetitions.

I promise you, it works!!!!!!

I'm Born in the Year of the RAT

For Year of the RAT facts, visit: Chinese Horoscope Guide and Chinese Astrology Online Contrary to what most people think that when you're born in the year of the rat and the upcoming new year is the Rat's it will be their lucky year...sorry to burst your bubble but, it doesn't really follow. Each 12 years the symbol or element changes and so does your situation. So if you were born in 1972 - water rat but 2008 is the earth rat, Chinese astrology says that this year the Earth will be on top of Water so it wouldn't be lucky for most Rats unless you are the Earth Rat. I recently dropped by the Chinatown and found that you would need to have certain charms to avoid being unlucky. For rats you would need the Ox Charm to block off negativity and Monkey Charm for prosperity. My mistake was, i bought the Monkey Charm first and thought i'd just get the Ox Charm later. Funny cuz, i didn't totally believe it and just thought it was fun but, at the start of the year with just the monkey charm, everything in my business seemed to turn out wrong. This meant without one the other doesn't work. So while i was in this mall i saw a booth selling Chinese charms. I immediately looked for the ox charm and bought it. Guess what, things started to change like magic! Oh well, i really don't fully recommend for you to believe in this but it doesn't really hurt to keep cute charms dangling from your purses or celfones or bags or by the door of your house. It's still good to couple your belief in the balance of nature with your faith in God. After all He is the master of each day that we live. However, here is the list that could help you know which charms you would need to make this year prosperous for you: This year the following birth signs will not have a lucky year - RAT, RABBIT, HORSE and RAM. In order to ward off negatives and have fortune, u need to have these charms: RAT should have OX and Monkey Charms, RABBIT should have DOG and PIG charms, HORSE should have TIGER and DOG charms and the RAM should have just the PIG charm. Now the following signs will have a fair year but they still need charms to help them by: OX should have SNAKE and ROOSTER charms, TIGER should have ROOSTER and MONKEY charms, DRAGON should have ROOSTER and MONKEY charms, SNAKE should have MONKEY and OX charms, MONKEY should have SNAKE and DRAGON, ROOSTER should have DRAGON and SNAKE, DOG and PIG signs, both should have the TIGER charm. Note that the first charm listed for your birth sign is to avoid being unlucky and the second charm is for prosperity. If you don't have the prosperity charm listed it's cuz it is already your lucky year. So, go and get your charm bracelets or celfone danglings now :)

Adventures with Nature IV

These are pictures i've taken during trips with my hunny and our kids...the dates on some are kinda erratic cuz i forgot to reset the time stamp, they were taken just late last year though...enjoy!!!

Adventures with Nature III

Adventures with nature II