Random Thoughts

In the mood for a love song today? Here's a nice one.

Don't give up.

Here's a very nice article that for me is a great blessing today.

What Matters By Cito Beltran
Broadcast-Journalist, The Philippine Star

Having opted to live a less stressful lifestyle away from the limelight or the Rat Race, it’s but normal for people who made the choice, to sometimes wonder if they did the right thing. They experience pangs of guilt about being underemployed, less productive and certainly reduced in their income potential. While everyone else is BUSY making a LIVING, you ask yourself if it’s a mature thing to be at home or semi-retired at the farm. Are you wasting all your God-given talents raising kids, growing your own food, or simply living on very little money and simple needs? Shouldn’t you be involved in today’s politics, today’s technology? And are your friends right about saying “Sayang Ka”?

Last month, a friend called me about an opening in a major corporation that was paying P300,000 a month, all the perks, and
even a brand new Volvo. My friend asked me how I would react if the job was offered to me since I was very qualified. It took me all of 5 seconds to tell her I wouldn’t accept it. To begin with P100,000 would certainly end up with the government as taxes. That would leave me with only P200,000. To earn that, I would have to be at work by eight everyday, instead of coming up with imaginative tricks to wake up my daughter like placing her puppy in her bed, or simply standing over her watching this angelic child in her field of dreams. I would have to eat breakfast by six, leave the house by 6:30. That means no more breakfast conversations with my wife and certainly an end to our morning prayers not just for us but for family and friends. From the P200,000, I would have to spend at least P20,000 a month or 10% of
net to pay for gasoline driving the brand new Volvo to office everyday. So in effect, I would only be earning P180,000 or even less. Not to mention that my friends who sell Mercedes Benzes, Jaguars, etc. would brand me as a traitor. From the net salary of +/- P180,000, I would have to give up the lunch I have with my wife 3 to 4 times a week at home. Instead my power of choice adds another burden where I would have to decide daily where in the business district I ought to have lunch, merienda if needed, and from time to time even dinner. I would have to choose from a menu instead of whipping up something in my kitchen. When you add up the bill, plus service charge, plus VAT you can easily average another P20,000 in expenses. Which means, that what we originally thought would be a net income of P200,000 has now
gone down to P160,000. In the absence of maintenance you can enter about P10,000 as your average monthly repair bill for labor and materials. So now, you discover you’re only earning P150,000 a month. Instead of being in a HOME I own, I will have to try to be “at home’ in an office where I will be spending more of my “awake time”.

This finally solves the puzzle; why do we always fill our offices with personal stuff which we will have to take home in a box when we retire, resign or get fired? From having my independence and personal views, I would then have a real live flesh and bones Boss (because of what I thought was P200,000 a month salary) can tell me how to jump! Someone who’s seniority or proprietary rights automatically makes him right even if he’s stupid. Because you now have to spend most of the time at the office or behind a desk, you can’t do your
regular walk in the park or jog around the village which is also your bonding time with your spouse, your kids, or your dogs. You either join a gym or get a personal trainer. When you total fees, travel, and outfits, your monthly fitness bill would be around P5,000 which means your net pay just went down to P145,000 a month or less than half the original offered salary.

My dear wife reminds me to include clothing and image-related expenditures specially for women. The clothes, the make-up, the jewelry, as
well as the business accessories such as the laptop loaded with Vistas program, the latest cell phones, iPod etc. Even if you paid all of that on installment for 24 months, it would be in the area of P20,000 a month which further reduces your income to P125,000 a month. The problem with this major part of the expense is many people mistakenly call them necessary investments, professional expense, but don’t see them as deductions from PERSONAL wealth. It would also mean, not sharing the responsibility of taking our child to school, missing out on small talk that tell you big things in children’s minds, and dropping out on all the parent-child activities. I would also nullify all the adjustments we made in the last 5 years where we integrated home life with work in order to be more of a family than employees with a family.

Speaking of home life, anyone who spends a lot of time at work can testify that in your absence you will have to hire a full crew to do all the maintenance and repair you use to prevent or do yourself when you spend time at home. In your absence, who’s going to fix leaking roofs, flooded toilets, busted aircons, creaking doors, or all the usual things REAL MEN with real tools do? If I actually went out to
get the job that pays P300,000 plus a brand new Volvo, it would have cost me breakfasts with my wife, trips to school with my daughter, morning talks and prayers with God, affirmation of my role as husband, father. I would be relinquishing responsibility for my house, as well as my home.

What we’ve done is determine what really matters, what and how much we really need, give up what we don’t need or care for and trust in God and not in men. This is what I call real life cost-benefit analysis. To make an accounting of what we think we’re getting against what we know we’re losing. Sometimes earning more actually costs more.

I love this article. Everytime I think about my career, I would always read this again and again again. Thank you Lord for always, always showing me the right path.

After our nice dinner in the city of Venice, we went straight to our hotel to rest. We were all looking forward to the next day so we woke up as early as we could because it was the day we were going to the island. ♥

So off we went, a couple of minutes to the terminal, then we were in a boat on our way to the island.

Aaah, the beautiful sights and view welcome us to the island of Venice!



WE are definitely loving Venice the moment we stepped on the island.




Who wouldn't? This place is a BEAUTY! Watch out for more posts on this island soon! (*wink*)

Happiness is...

1. Relaxing long weekend. Thanks again Lord!
2. Family bonding over Japanese food
3. Cecelia Ahern's Love Rosie (and the upcoming movie, can't wait!)
4. Movie time - The Adventure of Tintin
5. Quick shopping at Divisoria
6. One kid lost her tooth TWICE this week. Woot! Woot!
7. Hello October!
8. Wine and movie night
9. Gift of family
10. The Hubby's wonderful talk last week. So proud of him! ♥♥♥

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Cooking, cookware and kitchen gadgets never sit still. Product manufacturers, in part spurred by a move to healthier cooking methods, more durability and easier use, offer a wide range of innovative products. The latest trends include exciting news about food, new flavors and the latest cooking methods.

What’s New With Food?

A trend that started last year that’s on its way to superstardom is the protein energy bar. Protein is filling and builds muscles. New organic protein bars made with seven grams of pea protein debuted in January. Greek yogurt is appearing in some unusual places. Because of its health benefits, yogurt producers and restaurants are finding uses for Greek yogurt that go beyond sweet. It’s showing up as an ingredient in main dishes, such as smoked salmon, and in combinations, such as za’atar with olives and bagels. Tea leaves make the ever-popular beverage, but are also finding their way into desserts, marinades and rubs. Mexican flavors continue to be popular. Chamoy sauce is a condiment made from lime, chilies, spices and apricots. A seasoning blend from Brazil, tempero baiano, is a combination of cumin, parsley, pepper and oregano. International flavors are expected to become increasingly prominent on grocery store shelves.

Cookware and Gadgets

Silicone is a heat-safe non-slip, nontoxic and nonstick material that is ideal for all kinds of cooking utensils. Silicone baking mats were introduced to America’s kitchens in 1993, but it wasn’t until recently that it became a popular material for other cooking essentials. Now, you can purchase silicone colanders, steamers, tongs, spatulas, spoons, cutting boards and oven mitts that are flexible and grip well. More brightly colored silicone cooking utensils are on the way.

Nonstick cookware has always been popular in the United States, but worries about toxins within existing surfaces caused worry. The latest nonstick pans are made of ceramic enamel. Ceramic enamel pans have high temperature tolerances and none of the environmental problems that exist in traditional nonstick surfaces.

Cooking appliance colors are coming back in a big way. Manufacturers offer a plethora of color options for most small appliances, including mixers, slow cookers, blenders, waffle machines and coffee makers. Another once popular cooking trend that’s coming back is cast iron cooking. Cast iron grill pans infuse food with that signature grilled flavor, last forever and supply even and lasting heat when cooking.

Other Trends Worth Noting

Not everyone has the time, the money or the inclination to go to culinary school, but more and more local supermarkets are giving shoppers the opportunity to take cooking classes and learn from one another. Cooking demos and community cooking centers give local home chefs a place to learn from one another and develop new skills.

Consumers are also looking at food packaging with a more critical eye. Wasteful packaging is no longer accepted. In fact, a few savvy entrepreneurs have introduced edible packaging in their restaurants to capitalize on the trend.

Pasta for appetizer!? Then we are officially in the city of Venice.

This wonderful dinnner set welcomes us to Venice. ♥


Fresh salad of lettuce, carrots and a very light salad dressing. Yum!


Fried calamari, fried fish and shrimps. This one is surprisingly good!


And for dessert, leche flan! Oh YUM! Definitely a perfect way to start our unforgettable visit to Venice. And look, we got a nice weather too...


Helloooooo, VENICE!

Here's a nice thought to think about this Tuesday...

It is given that people will tend to hurt you, ignore you, criticize you. Just let them be. Let God deal with the things that they do. Because hate will eventually consume you too. And that wouldn't be a good thing!

Believe it or not, even is the Duomo Milan was majestic outside, it was the simplest Duomo inside. It was dark too so all I was able to take is this one.

The floor at least is a beauty. But still Duomo Milan inside was definitely not an ordinary Cathedral. We didn't last that long inside but we definitely enjoyed more of the square and the buildings around the Duomo.

Here are the photos that I just looking at after the trip.



Details, details, details, the wonderful details are very important in their architectures.





Beautiful, isn't it? I guess I've never seen anything like it! ♥♥♥

Here's a very powerful song that I would like to share with you today - Try by Colbie Caillat.

♪♪♪♪

Oooh
Oooh

Put your make-up on
Get your nails done
Curl your hair
Run the extra mile
Keep it slim so they like you, do they like you?

Get your sexy on
Don't be shy, girl
Take it off
This is what you want, to belong, so they like you
Do you like you?

You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
Yooou don't have to try

Oooh
Oooh

Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards
You don't have to choose, buy it all, so they like you
Do they like you?

Wait a second,
Why, should you care, what they think of you
When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?
Do you like you?

You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to bend until you break
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try

You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
Yooou don't have to try

Oooh
Oooh

You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to, give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing

You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
You don't have to try

Take your make-up off
Let your hair down
Take a breath
Look into the mirror, at yourself
Don't you like you?
Cause I like you

♪♪♪♪

To all the busy Moms out there, this one is for you. Another great article by Mariel Uyquiengco of Momcentre.com.

5 Easy Exercises for the Busy Mom
By Mariel Uyquiengco

Moms are a busy and self-sacrificing lot. We usually give up our own comforts and wants, and put our family first. Taking care of our own needs, such as going to the salon and having solo, quiet time, is the last thing on our to-do list. We easily neglect taking care of our bodies, as exercises for moms often seem like an outlandish idea!

Taking care of our own health, however, is just as important as caring for everybody in the family. We must carve out time in our busy schedules and dedicate time for exercising. Here are some easy ideas that our doable. We just have to get on with it!

1. Rebounding

Rebounding exercise is a low-impact exercise done on a mini-trampoline. It was actually popular in the 1980s and is purported to have a host of benefits, including strengthening of the bones and stimulating the lymphatic system. Once you have your own mini-trampoline, bouncing on it for 5 minutes a day is just easy. You can then move on to actually jumping or running in place for some aerobic exercises.

2. The 7-Minute Workout


The 7-Minute Workout takes exactly just seven minutes and is backed by a scientific study called “High Intensity Circuit Training Using Body Weight: Maximum Results with Minimal Investment.” It basically says that high intensity exercises done at a short period of time has almost the same effect as running or biking for several hours. Search for the 7-Minute Workout app on your iPhone or Android phone and start getting fit right away!

3. Yoga

With the abundance of exercise videos on YouTube.com, you will never lack for information and models on the best exercises for moms. Yoga is one exercise that we can do at home in front of the TV or a tablet. There are free yoga class videos and apps that can help us with the practice. However, it is also best to attend live classes once in a while to have an instructor check the correctness of your poses.

4. Baby stroller program

For new moms, leaving baby to “just” exercise is a silly idea. But how about you exercise with baby on board? Strolling with your baby in the stroller is simple and can give you an excuse to get moving while taking baby out for a walk. Once you get to a playground or a park, head to a bench and start doing some lunges, squats, and even push-ups! The idea is to hit two birds with one stone: exercise and still be with baby.

5. Dancing

Dancing is also one great way to lose baby weight; you don’t need to have good choreography to get the benefits of this full body movement workout. This can be especially exciting if you have a toddler or a preschooler to dance with. Mommy-and-me workout videos are available in shops and the Internet. It is best to watch the whole video first before actually doing it to ensure the appropriateness of the exercises.

Exercising can be the last thing on our minds as moms, what with running the household, looking after the kids, and putting our best effort in our careers. Though we might feel that we do not have time to get into shape, we need to fit exercising into our routine, even if it means waking up still a bit earlier.

Exercising everyday, no matter if it seems unappealing can benefit not just us but the whole family as well. We can stay strong and healthy and continue what we love doing best, which is to serve our spouse and kids.

SOURCE.