Our Height !!!

It is no secret that we become shorter as we grow older. The last time I've visited my primary care Doctor was in the middle of this year. When I was measured with my height, I've lost half inches !!! In fact, a recent study of men and women between the ages of 30 and 70 shows that men lose an average of 1.25 inches while women lose nearly 2 inches in stature. Why does this happen? The bone thinning disease known as osteoporosis is the biggest cause of height loss. To begin with, aging bones become thinner, less dense, and more porous. As a result, the spine becomes more susceptible to micro fractures in the vertebrae, which shortens the spine. To counter these effects, I've engage back in some form of weight-bearing exercises which I've mentioned in one of my blog topics. Also, I'll probably wear more high hill shoes !!!!

Our ESL professor

It was a great opportunity for me and my classmates to have met an ESL professor who did a great job as our teacher. Although he seems to have a hectic schedules, he showed concern to our needs as his students. He understood our need to learn and was patient to our shortcomings. He had given us a chance to make-up for unfinished task. These are some of the reasons why we like him.We hope to see him next semester.

Christmas Season

This is the time were people all over the world celebrate this occasion.Most people think of buying gifts for their love ones. This is the time that I noticed most mankind have a spirit of giving. A joyous occasion for everyone. Christmas is for the rich and poor. For the rich, they share their blessings and for the poor they receive blessings.I've heard from some people that Christmas is a commercial tradition. This is definitely true if we focus our attention on gifts alone and not the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas is a time for family reunions...but most especially the reason for this season was the birth of Christ. There was no confirmation when he was born but this is the time to remember the birth of Christ.The love of God to mankind was given to us through his son, Jesus Christ.A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!!

Marriage and Money

Last Sunday noontime, my family and I attended a wedding of my husband's cousin who live in Stamford. The honeymoon is over for the bride and groom. Now it's home to happily ever after- and bills, bills, bills...How they handle money at the beginning of their marriage can have an enormous impact on the rest of their lives together; or their lives not together. I got some tips good for married couple.
Pay off the wedding expenses ASAP. The longer debts lingers, the more it prevents them from accomplishing what they really want to build a prosperous future. Develop a bill-paying system that works. It doesn't really matter whether both agree to put all the bills into the same shoe box, or use the latest internet banking, as long as both have a system that keeps the bills paid on time. Come up with a specific dollar amount for purchases that are so big the couple has to discuss and agree together. Below that amount, each can spend the money without asking. It's easier to make the household money work if both partners are committed to the same ideal. I hope I've shared some important information about money matters.

Our Hands

Consider our own hands for a moment, appreciating what they can do.We wash our faces, brush our teeth, comb our hair, dress us in the morning,get us something to eat or drink, open the door, and generally get us through the day. Perhaps we have used tools, hammered a nail, changed a tire, cut paper or fabric and shoveled snow. In school we put up our hands to get the teacher's attention, we wrote homework, papers and exams. Our hands have driven a car, picked up phone, opened a book, turned pages of a newspaper, knocked on a door, lighted a match, turned on a light. Most have clicked the mouse on a computer. All have counted money and signed our names on our checks.
Our hands have made possible much of the richness and variety in our lives. Hands folded in prayer serve as a reminder that, no matter what lies ahead, we have had so many blessings from God.

Collectibles

What does it mean when we say " Oh that's a collectible!!". One time I've watched a TV show about knowing the appraised value of peoples stuffs. I've learned that things in the past that we have sometimes taken for granted were of great value. Imagine the toys, card, coins, lampshades, household furnitures, paintings, cars etc...can be collectible items. We just have to discover what brand items are collectibles. Let's gather our treasures in our attic or in our basement. Who knows, we might have stored collectibles that is of great value.

My Supervisor

My supervisor at work is like my age. She has been my supervisor for the past five years. So basically I know her moments. We disagree sometimes but afterwards we understand each other point of view. She is a good listener to everyone. We can even tell our personal matters to her. As far as I know, when she asked me for help and it's not part of my job,I would help her. The only thing I feel bad about her is that when her boss will pressure her for work stuffs, she will start putting it on us. Then I would tell her "calm down". I hope she will learn to calm down during hectic times.

Workout !!!

I have been working out at YMCA in our town for the past two years.I've gathered friends and acquaintances.I've joined group classes that will help me get fit physically. When I started school this fall 08, I slowly cut down my workout.I used to attend group workout four times a week. Now I felt I've gain weight and I missed my friends and instructor. I hope I can find time to workout again since my class at school was done just this Tuesday. By the way, my workouts consist of Pilate's, NIA, weightlifting and using equipments like tread climber, tread mill, etc.

Respect !!!!

I thought of this word "Respect" is not practice by many people in our nation and maybe around the world. In my personal opinion, the word "respect" is taken for granted by most of us. At my workplace, when a person gets angry they display a bad attitude and I hear them say " I don't care!!!". It would be nice to see most people respect other people. We are human beings that have to be treated with respect. There is a phrase that says " Do unto others what you would like others to do unto you. Just this week as I watched news on TV, I've seen an Iraq citizen threw his shoes twice to Mr. Bush. I thought that was a bad gesture. Even if Mr. Bush made mistakes in our government, he should still be treated with respect. Remember that he was elected by the people and for the people. Whatever he had decided was not only by himself but also his cabinets and his advisor's. Respect is the word I wanted to point out at my view.

Spending less money........

If you are a label-reader, the ingredients on store brand labels may shock you when you discover that they are the same as "name brands" when it comes to frozen foods, canned vegetables, cereals, dried pasta, to name a few. The difference is the price.You can save anywhere from 30%to 50%on these items.Most of these products have the same ingredients unless it is a specialty product. It may be harder to save on fruits and vegetables, but you can always choose ones that are on sale.For clothes, shoes and personal stuffs, they go on sale most of the time.

Class Party

It was a refreshing time to have our ESL Class party right after our finals. I guess everyone had a wonderful time. Some of our classmates brought their specialty food to share to the class. I loved the dips that Bogart made. Yaniv brought his hummus which had an interesting taste. There were a lot of picture takings which will be our souvenir for that particular class. I hope I can get copies....
The best part was we have learned so much from that class. Our professor was very understanding to our needs as a student.

Volunteer Work

I have been thinking of doing a volunteer work for a long time. I have met mothers who volunteer to help take care of children during Sunday school in church. I have met mothers who volunteer for fund raising for certain diseases. I have seen volunteer fire fighters in our community. I have heard of volunteer doctors and medical staff who have gone to poor countries and helped less fortunate people that provided for their medical needs. I have much respect for people who do volunteer work. I wish I can do volunteer work when the time comes that I don't need to work for our bread and butter.

Recession...

I have been watching the news and commentators were saying that our nation is in recession.What would be our part to avoid getting hit by this recession.At my workplace, there were employees who got laid-off. Some major business went down. There are still lots of foreclosure homes.
The only way for me to survive during recession is cut my unnecessary expenditures.What is your plan????

Snow!!!!!!!!

We have been getting snow right after Thanksgiving Day. It was cool to have seen snow around our property and on our cars because of white surroundings. I hope we only get 2" of snow. It will be easy to clear the snow and will prevent accident from happening. I noticed that there were more accidents on the roads during and after snow falls. I love to watched snow falls but I'd rather not drive during snow days. If for some reason I'm in school or at work when snow falls, I have no choice but to drive my car.

Black Friday

Black Friday was the day after thanksgiving. Most shoppers took advantage of this sale event. Most retail stores were open as early as 4;00 a.m. That was the time were shoppers started buying gifts for Christmas.For me, I will not get up at the wee hours just to get bargains. My opinion is that sale or bargain price is always available to the consumers in order for the business to succeed. Unfortunately, the event that happened on black Friday shock the public. There was a stampede incident that knocked-down an employee that caused his death on the spot.Those shoppers from Walmart in Rhode Island had no regard for the life of that employee...That was really a BLACK FRIDAY!!!

Fried chicken or Baked Chicken...

I have recently stopping at Kentucky Fried chicken to buy the ever famous fried chicken. When I do my order, I would asked for original not crispy. I thought that the reason why crispy chickens are crisped is that it was immersed in hot oil. Although fried chickens are so delicious, I will stick to my original chickens which does not have a lot of grease. When I cook at home, I rather grill or bake my chickens.

First Impression.....

I don't want to consider that first impression is my way of describing a person's personality. In my opinion, if a person is not sociable, it does not mean that he or she is a snob. We have to acquaint ourself to a person before we make a judgment. In addition, a person may be a quiet type but might be a trustworthy friend. We cannot judge a person on our first meeting but most people will practice their first impression...

Remote starter

I never thought that I would appreciate having a remote starter in my car. My husband asked someone from his workplace last year to install a remote starter in my car. Since then, I have enjoyed having that add-on accessory to my car. Early morning when the temperature gets really cold like in the 30's, I will used my remote starter to start the engine of my car. By the time I get into my car, I'm more comfortable driving to my workplace. The reason why I mentioned about my remote starter is because I have low tolerance in cold temperature.

Procrastination

Most of us have a habit of dillydally. We thought of doing things the same day but for some reason we tend to do it the next day or next time. I think if we have too much agenda in one day, it is like overwhelming for us to accomplish everything in one day. Like for example, we plan to organize our closet, clean the fridge, clean the garage, clean our house, fix the problem in our car, etc... Then we say, we'll do it the next day but next day comes and we'll have other reasons to delay our projects... this is called procrastination...

Bitterly Cold

It feels like winter season because of the cold temperature we are experiencing.I have to use heavy jackets to go out or wear two layers of clothing. I have to use my remote starter to turn the engine and make sure that my heater is on. I cannot stay longer outdoors especially if there is a wind chill. This is part of a season that I have to bear with.

Bully

Have you heard of a person got bullied by friends or classmates? I hate to say that this"bully" word has been happening in a subtle way. Some may be obvious to see. In my opinion, a person who loves to bully another person should not have any friends. Bullying should not be tolerated at school or at workplace but it happens everywhere. I feel bad for a person who gets bullied because they have a tendency to be insecure and usually lost self-esteem,however, some people will learn to fight back in a subtle way to get even.

Thanksgiving

The word thanksgiving speaks for itself. This is the time that most people in the states celebrate this event. It is considered holiday and families get together for a bountiful dinner. For us thanksgiving can be anytime because it is way of thanking God for every blessings he gives us.

DST

What is DST anyway? Where I came from, we don't have DST (Daylight Saving Time). For 365 days we did not adjust our time. We did not worry about being late or early. Anyway, when we live in the States, DST is something we have to do during fall and summer. I prefer DST during fall because we have one hour behind time.

Pet Peeve

Coming home from work makes feel like taking a nap but if I see that the floors, bathrooms,closets needs cleaning I will not hesitate to clean every room in my house. If I see dirt around my house, I will immediately start my vacuum to suck all the dirt. My husband and I share one closet but the side of my closet is much organized than his. I try to organize his side but he always makes a mess!!!

Election

Tomorrow is a big day in the U.S.A. We will have a newly elected president. But whatever the outcome of the results, people will anticipate if our economy will change for the better or worst. Election is our right to express our choice but what is next to happen is not our choice anymore.

Sleep Disorder

I would love to easily get into a deep sleep at night. Unfortunately, I struggle every night tossing back and forth until I finally get the sleep I wanted. My mind is always active even if I'm feeling tired. I get up as early as 5:00 a.m. during workdays. Could imagine that I'm up until 12 midnight? I have tried taking sleeping pills but it did not help me to get sleep right away.I tried drinking a glass of milk, but did not help also. Most of the time, I only get five hours of sleep.

Rain

When I was a young kid,I used to play with my friends under a pouring rain. We would dance and ran around.It was fun! Now, I'd rather have sunshine than rain. When I have to do errands while there is rain, I have to bring my umbrella or wear a raincoat which is not convenient for me, especially if I have bags of groceries. Although I know that rain serves well to our trees and grasslands it can also be a disaster when it turns into flood. But, I'd rather have rain than snow. I love to see snow but I hate driving in the snow.

Alarm Clock

I have realized how an alarm clock is important to my daily morning routine. This is my way of getting up in the morning as early as 5:00 A.M. I have to be at work by 6:A.M. Couple of months ago, I forgot to set the alarm, it was a disaster!!. I was rushing like I did not find time to prepare myself properly, unfortunately, I was still half an hour late!!! I hope that scenario will not happen to me again.

Chocolates

I love to indulge myself in eating chocolates. My co-workers, friends and relatives knows my love for chocolates. They would say, " I am a chocoholic". I would prefer having dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate. Also dark chocolate with nuts makes me go nuts!!! When I learned that dark chocolates have anti-oxidants which is good for our immune system, I have been eating dark chocolate almost every day. YUMMY!!!

Tag Sale

I just went to my workplace early this afternoon to check if I won the items that I had bid for their tag sale. Those merchandise were from the residents who passed away or have moved to another place. I won the bid of $30.00 for a TV stand which I would say cost about $200.00. Some of the merchandise were hardly use, so it was a bargain for us, as an employee to benefit for that sale. The money for the sale that will be collected will go to their scholarship fund.

My Cat, Mikan

I adopted Mikan when he was only three weeks old. He was born on May 2003. My son named him Mikan because of his orange color.Mikan is a Japanese word.When he was a kitten, he used to play hide and seek. He loves to play with a cotton buds. Now that his five years old he stop playing as much when he was a kitty. He loves to sleep in every ones bedroom. He hides whenever we have a guest that comes over our home. Mikan is part of our family.We enjoy his company.

The Cycle

Working in a retirement home makes me realize the meaning of life. We just had a resident celebrated her 100th birthday. Although she cannot walk independently, she uses a wheelchair to get by. She is always polite and have a calm demeanor.I never heard her complain of anything. Sometimes she forgets an event that had happened but most likely she has a good memory. Most of our residents are not like her. We can monitor how our residents go down mentally and physically. These residents used to be president, c.e.o., doctors, lawyers, artists, teachers, etc. But now it seems that they are on their second childhood. Most of them need special attention, otherwise they will be lost mentally. This is the life of every human being.

Autum or Fall

I love to watch how leaves change its color. Green leaves now turning to red, gold, yellow and brown. It's so amazing to see how nature does its work, especially when the sunlight strikes all different trees that have change its color. The only process that I don't enjoy is racking the leaves around our properties. I know the leaves we gather from racking can be turn into a mulch which can be a fertilizer around our property.Nevertheless, I will surely enjoy watching the falling leaves!

Welcome To America

What does this "Welcome To America" mean? For me it's an open opportunity for anyone who wanted to explore a new way of life. It has been open to different cultures and races.Here, we can see and experienced the word racist, prejudice, discrimination and minority groups.
As I was reading Chapter 10 of "Honky" I felt that Dalton as a ten year old kid was curious about her mother's home state,If there was a great development from past to present time. His parents have answered his questions, but I don't think that his parents were sure of their respond.Dalton and Alexandra did not considered northeastern Pennsylvania as part of their homeland. It was a different environment from which they were raised as a kid. Although they were White American's, they have acted like their friends from New York.Dalton and Alexandra were exposed by their parents how to live with different race. They were able to understand the lives of minority people. He is proud to be an American.

The Driver

I was sixteen years old when I started to learn how to drive the stick shift. It was fun because I was able to control how fast I can drive. I was fortunate I did not crashed my car or hit anyone. This started when I was in the Philippines. Majority of the drivers in the Philippines does not obey the traffic signs, but we follow the traffic lights to stop and go. When I came here in the States, It was totally different. It was the opposite of what I have learned. Good thing I passed the written test at D.M.V. I failed once at the actual test, but passed the second time. Driving here in the States is more relaxing compared to where I came from, Although I can say that there are Drivers who doesn't really know how to drive. I have seen drivers who cut-off other drivers. They are not a defensive driver, or maybe they don't pay attention.
Presently, I am driving an automatic car, but I'd rather drive a manual car.