Paying It Forward

I have seen this video clip of a man giving a motivational speech in a high school maybe middle of last year. I was so touched by it and was really motivated. I saw this again from a link in my husband's Facebook account. I thought of sharing it even if I know it has been circulated in so many networking sites and in YouTube.

NEVER GIVE UP by Nick Vujicic.

*Video from YouTube.
Why did I think of sharing it? Like what I have mentioned in my status, ".....Who knows, there just might be someone out there who is needing some inspiration and encouragement at this moment....."

It happened to me once, a long time ago. I was feeling really depressed over a work situation which was affecting my home front. I was just browsing the internet when everybody else in the house was sleeping. I landed on a YouTube site, the link unfortunately I forgot. One of the slides said, "Hang in There". And the owner was just so kind to say that he made it because "There might be someone who needs some motivation and inspiration at this very moment. Don't give up." That was the gist of his message.

It was just so uplifting for me that someone devoted a few minutes (or maybe hours) of his time to create inspirational slides just because he cares. I am sort of paying it forward. I was really inspired by that YouTube presentation.

I hope I have inspired someone too by posting Nick Vujicic's story. I'm a fan of his from hereon. And yes, I will try to find that YouTube clip which helped in one of those nights that I needed to be inspired.

Here's Nick's official website Life Without Limbs and a site about his motivational speeches, Attitude is Altitude.

I found the purpose of my existence, and also the purpose of my circumstance. There's a purpose for why you're in the fire. Nick wholeheartedly believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles we encounter in our lives and that our attitude towards those struggles that can be the single most effective factor in overcoming them.

Nick shows through his own life that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams are persistence and choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience, rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us. (About Nick Vujicic)

The lesson I learned from that random browsing on the internet on the particular night I mentioned here is DON'T HOLD BACK. DON'T HOLD BACK A SMILE, A HELPING HAND, A KIND WORD...IT JUST MIGHT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN ONE'S LIFE. I hope to find that video clip and thank the man.

Addiction

This is my first time after a long, long time to participate again in Photo Hunt. It's a good time to share my family's individual addiction. :)

We are not what you may call gamers (like those who participate in role-playing games) but we do enjoy those games we download in Apple iTunes store. In fact I'm getting addicted to it.

My husband loves to play with Jumbline. It's very much like Text Twist.


My husband plays this whenever he wants to relax a little. I forgot what level he is but he always tells me that he beat his last score and level. Haha.

I used to be addicted to Jumbline but I discovered Cooking Dash. I know I'm late with all these Dash games of Flo but I'm really enjoying it. I've downloaded all of them, full version - Diner Dash, Cooking Dash and Wedding Dash. I'm waiting for the Hotel Dash to be available in iTunes.

What I love about this game is its attention to details. I play it on my iPod Touch and you know that its screen is not too big but the graphics are so clear and vivid. Even the sound of the people eating the food are just so crisp. I love this game to bits. I also downloaded Plants Vs Zombies but I never played it again once I finished it. I usually play Cooking Dash during my rest at the gym.


Now my daughter has a different kind of addiction. I guess most tweens like her know this singer from Canada. He's Justin Beeber. My daughter has watched (and continue to watch) all his MTVs and features in YouTube. Now she's praying that Justin Beeber will have a concert here in our country.

She has his CDs and this one, My World 2.0, she plays on the car and in her music player to no end. Talk about addiction. :)

Lunch with High School Classmates

One of the simple joys of my life is reconnecting with people who have been a great part of my life one way or another. I take time, I try my best to make time if there are meet-ups or get-together with former classmates and other friends. That's why I squeezed in a lunch-out with my high school classmates last Saturday.

I received a text at twelve midnight of Thursday from a classmate saying one of our classmates is in town for a vacation. The following day the date was set for a lunch at Cravings, Shangrila for Saturday. That was quick, normally we haggle on the date. Cravings has always been the venue for our mini reunions. I guess it's the proximity for most of us and the salad bar? Haha.

Anyway, it's great to see them once again. The last time was on February 2008 and then a dinner first quarter of last year.

High school life, oh my high school life
Ev'ry memory, kay ganda
High school days, oh my high school days
Are exciting, kay saya

(High School Life by Sharon Cuneta)

We cannot travel back in time but the memory lives on. I really get nostalgic whenever I talk about my high school days. I am just so glad that we have different ways of communicating with each other now. Thank you, Technology.

***Check out more weekend sharing at Pixel Bug Weekend.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

One of the things that really bother me as I go through my weight management program is whether I should eat or not? Well, let me rephrase that - it's more like I feel guilty when I eat. It worries me that I will be gaining back the pounds and the body fat I lost everytime I eat. Yes, paranoid even if I eat moderately now compared to how I eat before.

My daughter told me once (oh well, several times), "Mom it's not like you will gain weight overnight." She's right. I just need to hear that. I read once that it will take 3,500 calories to gain a pound. That also calms me down. :)

I read a lot about weight management and working out. These are the things I learned and am now practicing.

1. Skipping meals will not make you lose weight because the body consumes the muscles when hungry and stores the fat. The best is to eat less more often, about 6 small meals a day.

2. I take in quick absorbing carbs, like a bowl of oats, two hours before work out (three hours if I'm doing yoga). This will give me the energy and the fuel I need to last an hour and a half of exercising.

3. I am moving on from coffee to drinking tea. I prefer decaffeinated. Tea has antioxidants and has zero calories.

4. Fruits, fruit juice with L-carnitine, boiled bananas and hard boiled eggs are included in my diet as well as wheat bread and whole wheat pasta. I avoid white rice and if I have some craving, I only give in to two spoonfuls or half a cup, maximum, and that should be good for one day.

5. I eat or at least drink juice a few minutes after a tough work out even if I am not hungry. The body needs nourishment to replace lost carb and helps repair protein which aids in better metabolism.

These are the random five important learning I have incorporated in my weight management. I have to psyche myself that it is alright to eat, in fact, I should eat...eat properly to achieve my fitness goals.

Crunch, Pump, Run

I am grateful, thankful that I'm consistently implementing my weight management plans. I've been dieting religiously and working out four to five times a week. I have been feeling the results. I want to jump for joy when I weighed in almost two weeks ago. I am right on track of losing one to two pounds a week. I get commendations for it. I am really motivated doing my exercises. Three activities I added in my gym sessions.

One is doing the reverse crunch. Boy, this is hard, at least for me. I have been doing this for two weeks now. I can manage doing up to 30 by this time, 4 sets with sit-ups in between.

I recently included body pump in my gym activities. Wow! That really stretched me. From Les Mills Global, "body pump is the fastest way to shape up and lose body fat. It’s a toning and conditioning class with weights and is for just about everybody who wants to add strength training into their aerobic workout".

And another milestone, for nearly three weeks now, I've been doing interval walking/running in the treadmill.

Funny because when I read the running for beginners module, I chuckled noting the instruction to do a ten minute brisk walking and then followed by a 30-second run. 30 seconds? 30 seconds only? Why 30 seconds only? That's easy! But I learned of course it wasn't easy. I panted a little. I increased the 30 seconds to a minute and I reached the maximum heart rate which is not good at all. I decreased the speed but increased the time I run. My heart rate didn't go ballistic anymore. Now I'm up to a minute of running every five minutes on a 30 minute treadmill interval run. My goal is to run continuously for 30 minutes even at a lower speed and incline at least 1% to 2%.

I took my running to the next level. Maundy Thursday night I joined two of my friends for a run at the UP oval. I understand the oval is about 2.2km. I was able to run two and a half circles of the oval. That's a little over five kilometers. Whew! It wasn't all running but good enough. We did brisk walking and walkathon in between. Still, that felt good! I want to do it more often.

One of my goals is to join a fun run soon. I will, I will. So help me, God. :)

***Picture used is from Getty Images.

Seven Suites Hotel Observatory with Friends

I went to Seven Suites Hotel Observatory last Saturday, March 27, for its relaunch. I heard about it from my friends and thought of joining them. My friend can bring along one more guest so I decided to push through with it. It's a weekend after all.

We spent about four hours of being together while savoring what the place has to offer. We like best of all the observatory located at the roof deck. For one thing, this is the only hotel in this country where you can go star gazing. I saw the moon up close as well as Orion and my favorite, Saturn with its rings. Wonderful.


With my mommy blogger friends, Cookie, Chats, That's Me, Julie and her son.

The hotel's facade.

I saw Saturn! :)
We toured the Garden Hall where a sculpture exhibit was being held that night. These are copper sculptures made into chairs, an image and a table stand. Our guide also walked us through in the different rooms of the hotel. The suites are named after each day of the week.

Here's Friday room with its cream colored beddings and wall.



Antipolo's higher elevation from Mega Manila gives it a scenic view of the metropolis, sans the smog that is often times visible.


Overlooking Mega Manila. Twilight.

I happen to like this one.
Oh yes, another thing we enjoyed is having our pictures taken individually and as a group at the photo booths. It was crazy with all our afro wigs in vibrant colors. My friends even made it their profile picture in Facebook. I don't think they'd want me to post it here. Haha! But it was really fun!

After the loooong weekend, it's back to reality for us starting tomorrow. :) Have a great week everyone!

***Check out more weekend sharing at Pixel Bug Weekend.