Wordless Wednesday

To heal mine aching moods,

Give me God's virgin woods.

-Clinton Scollard

wordless wednesday

Ten on Tuesday: Favorite Athletes

10 on Tuesday's theme for this week is 10 favorite athletes. My list include the following:

Proudly Filipino

Manny Pacquiao - PacMan is the first Filipino and Asian boxer to win 5 world titles in 5 different weight divisions and the first boxer to win the lineal championship in 4 different weight classes. Currently IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight Champion, he is currently rated as the Number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

Dara Torres - American swimmer and Olympic medalist (she has won 12 Olympic medals), Dara Torres is the first woman in history to swim in the Olympics past the age of 40. Her Olympic career spans 24 years. With her beautiful toned body and achievements, she serves as a model and a motivation to 40-something women.

Derek Jeter- I am married to a baseball and a Yankee fan so I've acquired his love for everything Yankees. I have a big crush on Jeter (I like his eyes), Yankees' team captain and currently the all-time hits leader.

Lin Dan- Badminton and bowling are my sports. I used to play competitively in these sports back home. Naturally, I admire one of the best players in badminton, Lin Dan. The only player in badminton history to have won three singles world championship titles for three consecutive years, he is also the gold medalist in men's single in the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Proudly Filipino

Paeng Nepomuceno - Named as the "Greatest Filipino Athlete of All-Time by both houses of Congress in the Philippines, Paeng is a six-time world champion in bowling and acknowledged worldwide as the greatest international bowler in the history of the sport. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records three times: First, for most Bowling World Cup wins (which encompasses three decades); second, as the youngest ever to win a world title (19 years old); and recently, for having won the most number of championships worldwide. He is the only bowler who has been awarded the International Olympic Committee President's Trophy, and the first international bowler to be enshrined in the International Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri. I love watching him because he is a leftie like me :)

Nadia Comaneci- I was in grade school when I saw her compete in the 1976 Montreal Olympics where, at the age of 14, she became the first gymnast in the world to be awarded a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. Nadia is a recipient of the Olympic Order, the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee. She is the youngest and the only person to have received this award twice.

Proudly Filipino

Bea Lucero - The Philippines' child wonder in sports, she started out as a gymnast and later on went into Taekwando. She is a gymnast champion and an Olympic bronze medalist in Taekwando. Those of us who grew up in the Philippines remember Bea as that little girl doing the flips and the splits in the Milo ad.

Proudly Filipino

Efren "Bata" Reyes - A professional pool player, Bata is called as "The Magician" for his superb skill in the game of pool. He is a two-time World Champion and considered to be one of the all-time greats in the world.

Proudly Filipino

Eugene Torre- the first Asian chess player to have won the title of International Grandmaster.

Jorge Posada (Banabear's choice)- A gritty, hard-nosed player who is one of the key players responsible for the Yankees' success. Aside from Jeter, he is one of banabear's favorite Yankee.

A Sad Day for My Country

During the weekend, Typhoon Ondoy (international name "Ketsana") flooded the Philippines (badly hit was Metro Manila and surrounding areas) with a month's worth of rain that fell in just 6 hours. According to reports, it dumped an average of 2.24 inches of water per hour for 6 hours, compared to Hurricane Katrina which dumped over an inch of rainfall in Louisiana for 3 hours and another 0.5 inches per hour over the next 5 hours. In a span of 24 hours, it dropped about 455 mm. of rain compared to 250 mm. caused by Katrina.

Lives and property were lost. There are still people missing. My country, poor as she is, is in need of help (food, medicine, clothing, among others). I am glad that my family who lives in another island (Western Visayas) has been spared of this tragedy. However, it still breaks my heart that a lot of my countrymen are suffering brought about by this calamity.

Please remember them in your prayers. If you can, send them your help.

Radiant Smile

A radiant, beautiful smile certainly makes a person attractive. However, not all of us possess a set of pearly white, straight teeth and although not much can be done through natural means with one's yellowish teeth, with cosmetic dentistry, one's naturally yellowish or greenish teeth can be changed into an attractive set of pearly white teeth.

We hear nowadays about the wonders that cosmetic dentistry can do to our not-so-beautiful teeth. Through porcelain crowns, inlays and onlays, our chipped, severely stained, dull, crooked or gapped teeth can be transformed into one beautiful set of teeth.

Invisalign braces are a more comfortable way to straighten teeth without the discomfort brought about by conventional metal braces. It uses clear, invisible and removable aligners to straighten one's teeth.

Dental implants are a painless way to replace missing teeth.

Then there's the porcelain veneers, teeth whitening, even Botox/Juvederm treatment.

There are a lot of ways to fix our 'smile problem'. Thanks to the improving technology that is made available to us now.

Want to have a beautiful, dazzling smile? Cosmetic dentistry can be the answer. If you're in the Texas area, it is time to pay your Plano cosmetic dentist a visit. He can help you create a new smile.

Afternoon at the Pine Preserve

Early this afternoon, banabear and I walked around the Helene Klein Pineland Preserve which is just about a 10 to 15-minute walk from our house.

It is just a small preserve (approximately 13 acres) but it has an abundance of slash pines, combined with saw palmetto, cypress swamp and small marl prairies.

The signage says that there are about 55 species of wildlife in the preserve, which includes giant swallowtail butterflies, Florida brown snakes, spotted skunks, blue-gray gnatcatchers, and pileated woodpeckers. When we went there this afternoon, we heard a lot of birds chirping but only found one hovering the tree as well as a couple of butterflies flying around. I am glad I did not encounter any snake. That would've been scary.

The small park/preserve is situated in a residential area and surrounded by churches and shoppings centers. This is one good reason why I like our place: it is very quiet, surrounded by greens and at the same time, very near the shopping centers.

On our way home from the preserve, we passed by a lagoon where I found a large iguana. Iguanas, ducks and birds are a common sight in the neighborhood. Probably, it's mainly due to the man-made lakes that are in the subdivisions.

Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil

Randy Alcorn's If God is Good...Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil deals with the questions some of you might've asked: Why would an all-good and all- powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering ? How can there be a God if suffering and evil exist ?

Visit Mocha with Linda and learn more about this book. You might also be one of the lucky recipients to her giveaway.

You Are My Hiding Place

Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you.

Have a blessed Sabbath!

Ronald's Hideaway

Have you been there before?

The province of Palawan in the Philippines is made up of 1,768 islands and has been described as having one of the most beautiful seascapes in the world.

My friend, Ronald, recently went on a vacation in El Nido, one of Palawan's municipalities and stayed in Miniloc and Lagen island resorts.

Look at the places he's been to. They're bee-yuuu-teeee-fuuul!!!

Thanks for sharing with me your pictures, dude.

Friday Quotes 8

God never suggested that He would take all your burdens in life. You will struggle until the day you die. This is simply the formula known as life. But God has promised to make your burdens lighter, never to give you more than you can bear, and to give you His divine rest as you carry them.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest.

- Matthew 11:28

Source: I Will Love You Forever

Palengke

Filipino: Palengke

English: Market

Eto ang Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and Marketplace sa Honolulu, ang pinakamalaking open air flea market sa Hawai'i kung saan mabibili ang iba't ibang produkto ng Hawai'i, mga kakanin, imported na bilihin sa murang halaga, pati na mga wood carvings galing ng Pilipinas.

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and Marketplace in Honolulu is the largest open air flea market in Hawaii where one can buy different Hawaiian local products, foodstuff, imported goods at affordable prices, including wood carvings imported from the Philippines.

A Thing of Beauty

When I moved to South Florida, I befriended a couple of golden girls. They are women in their mid-50's and 60's who still have the oomph! The way they dress up, their hairstyle, the way they carry themselves, and especially, their bodies (fit and sexy) makes a person think that they are still in their 40's. These ladies look amazing! They give meaning to the phrase, "growing old gracefully."

One of my golden girl friends is a charming and very nice lady who is slim and curvy. I thought at first that she was just in her mid-40's. My jaw dropped when she told me that she is already 63 years old. No kidding! I found out later that she had also breast augmentation (they're beautiful and do not look fake).

With today's medical breakthrough, looking rejuvenated and/or fit is not anymore that difficult. Age is no longer a valid excuse for a saggy skin or looking fat.

Although inner beauty is still of utmost importance, we have to admit that looking young and "less tired", being trim, and having a beautiful skin makes one feel good about herself/himself. Being happy about one's looks also enhances a person's self-esteem and help boost one's self-confidence, which in turn affects one's relationship with other people.

Plastic surgery is common nowadays. After all, who does not want to look good and feel good?

At Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, one is not just given an operation but a first step towards an enhanced lifestyle. They specialize in abdominoplasty, commonly called as the tummy tack. It is a procedure done on people who have excess fats and skin around their abdominal area as well as decrease in the strength and tone of the muscles beneath it. This may either be due to pregnancy, weight loss or age. The excess fats and skin are removed, the muscles are tightened, and the skin is redraped to give the body, especially the abdomen, a better shape. In the Los Angeles tummy tack, the belly button is also moved to a new position in the newly shaped abdomen, giving it a natural and better appearance.

Another popular procedure is the beverly hills breast augmentation for women who desire to improve the contour of their breasts or improve their size. Saline, and silicone implants which was recently approved by the FDA are used in this procedure. They also use the Silent Scar technique to help hide the scars in the operation.

One can find in Los Angeles plastic surgery done in a medical facility which applies the last technology and the highest standards to ensure the best results and the highest satisfaction and safety to the patient, including the minimum pain experienced as a result of the operation.

The facility has received a lot of positive reviews. It is worth checking into.

Taking joy in living

is the woman's best cosmetic.

-Rosalind Russell

Wordless Wednesday: Ain't it Nice to be Loved?

Doves underneath a banyan tree

Waikiki Beach, Hawai'i

wordless wednesday

Study or Play?

My first test in Immigration Law is scheduled today but I haven't finished studying for the test yet because my mind keeps getting distracted by less important things like blogging and e-mails and Restaurant City (you know what that is if you're a Facebook afficionado).

The clock is ticking and pretty soon, it's be time for me to get ready for school. I am a dedicated student but sometimes I can easily get distracted. I need to be more disciplined and set my priorities in order.

It's 10:05 in the morning now. Time to hit the books.

Proclamation 1081

On September 21, 1972, thirty-seven years ago, former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under Martial Law. The writ of habeas corpus was suspended; freedom of speech was suppressed; mass media was under very tight control; people who opposed or were critical of the Marcos regime, including political leaders, journalists, student and labor activists were arrested and imprisoned without court charges; people were tortured and summarily executed.

The declaration of Martial Law will remain one of the most infamous chapters in Philippine history. The excesses of the regime, its abuse of authority and human rights abuses led to the uprising of the Filipino people in what is now known worldwide as the 1986 People Power Revolution, a series of non-violent street demonstrations and protests which eventually toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

When you condone tyranny

you share in its corruption and lowliness.

-Benigno Aquino, Jr.

Let's Groove

It's a bright and beautiful Monday morning. Let's start the week with a groove.

One Quiet Weekend

There was nothing extraordinary about my weekend. On Saturday morning, hubby and went to search for the nearest SDA church to where we live. We found one about seventeen minutes away (make it thirty minutes if I am the one driving. LOL!). In the afternoon, we went shopping for swimming pool accessories and bought two floating lounges, air pump and an underwater light starship (a disco ball that floats and gives out 10 different rotating light shows). We also went to Barnes and Nobles and bought a board game. After which, we did our weekly grocery shopping. After we were done doing our shopping errands, we just hanged out at home, had barbecue and watched the Yankees game in the evening.

While resting at home on Saturday afternoon, I chanced upon Mr. Iguana in our backyard. This is second time that I saw an iguana in our small garden near the pool. Here he is:

Today was a beautiful sunny day so hubby and I decided to spend the afternoon in the pool.

That is me enjoying my lava flow.

Behind our house is a lake (man-made). Since it was a sunny Sunday, there were small boys from the neighborhood who were fishing. After they left, the ducks came out to enjoy the waters.

Fats in our Diet

As you can see in the food group pyramid, fats, per se, is not bad for our body. However, when taken in excessive amounts, it contributes to weight gain, heart problems, and even certain types of cancer. There are also fats that are good for our body (good fats) and fats that we should stay away from (bad fats).

Good fats like the polyunsaturated fats lower our cholesterol level. These can be found in foods like salmon, fish oil, soy, corn. Another type of good fat is the monounsaturated fat. These can be found in nuts, avocado, olive oil.

Upon the other hand, the bad fats, or those those that we should avoid, are trans (found in many packaged foods) and saturated fats (mainly found in animal products and some plant foods). They increase our risk for certain heart diseases.

A number of people who have weight problems are turning to fat burners. However, not all fat burners that are available in the market work. You may just be wasting your money, or worse, may be doing more harm than good to your body with some of these fat burning pills. One must be discriminating and careful in buying these supplements. Know the ingredients of the product. How safe and effective are they? Follow the recommended dosage. Anything in excess is harmful to the body. Look for products which are mainly made of natural ingredients. Usually, they are the ones which are safe and work the best.

Good Advice

You must've read about this before but this is one good advice that is worth sharing. Thanks to my friend, Daisy, for the reminder.

• Pray.

• Go to bed on time.

• Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

• Say "no" to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or will compromise your mental health.

• Delegate your tasks to others who are capable.

• Simplify and unclutter your life.

• Less is more (although one is often not enough, two are often too many).

• Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

• Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

• Take one day at a time.

• Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

• Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.

• Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

• Keep Your Mouth Shut. This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

• Do something for the kid in you everyday.

• Carry a bible with you to read while waiting in line.

• Get enough rest.

• Eat right.

• Get organized so everything has it's place.

• While driving, listen to a tape that can help improve your quality of life.

• Write down thoughts and inspirations.

• Everyday, find time to be alone, and breathe.

• Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray. You will fall asleep.

• Make friends with Godly people.

• Keep a folder on hand of favorite Scriptures.

• Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good, "Thank you, Lord."

• Laugh.

• Laugh some more.

• Take your work seriously, but not yourself.

• Develop and forgiving attitude- most people are doing the best they can.

• Be kind to unkind people. They probably need it the most.

• Sit on your ego.

• Talk less; listen more.

• Slow down.

• Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

• Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.

I hope you've been blessed by these pieces of advise. I have.