Yesterday, we got sad news about my uncle who passed away. It was such a shock for us since my uncle didn’t complain about feeling sick although people around him noticed he was getting weak. They know he was just covering up whatever discomfort and pain he felt. I guess he doesn’t want to burden others about his condition. Anyway, we just feel sad, especially my Mom who remembers him fondly as a very good brother.
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My sister is getting excited about her condo which is currently being worked on by the contractor. They’re doing the wall, ceiling, flooring and other finishing jobs these days. After that, I will be doing the interior design and fine-tuning with the décors and furnishings to give the unit a modern theme which is what my sister had in mind.
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Early last year, when we were still furnishing techie bro’s condo, Mom and I had to scout over a lot of stores just to find the pieces that would fit the design I had in mind. Visiting many shops can be tiring but inspiring as well. I realize one can get a lot of design ideas just by hopping from one store to another, looking at the many items on display. Most stores would highlight their products in a showcase, i.e. a living room showcase, a kitchen showcase, etc. Observing how they set up the pieces, and choose which accessories to go with them, helped in the design process. I enjoyed dropping in on the shops specializing on Asian-inspired décors, as most of the pieces are unique and sometimes they are not that costly.
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We were supposed to be vacationing somewhere in the mountains yesterday, if not for some important family matters to be taken care of. Oh well… that’s really how unpredictable life can be. With the summer season about to end and classes to start next month, I know most resorts won’t be filled up with tourists and guests soon, so I’m not really that disappointed about not having a vacation this week. At least my big sis and her family will be coming over from Europe for a June vacation, so I hope our plans for a mountain resort overnight stay will push through.
Aside from the allure of the mountains, I’m also dreaming of an island getaway. I’ve actually proposed to my parents about staying overnight at a nearby island here but Dad seems hesitant about riding a motorboat going there. Hmmm…let’s see about my plans when big sis will be here.
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What are the things or activities that make you feel special, relaxed, happy and stress-free? For some it can be as simple as spending time with the people that matters most, having a really good conversation with a friend or playing with the kids. For others, it can be a nice cup of tea or cappuccino, a bowl of favorite soup or three scoops of ice cream! And then, there are more ways to relax and treat oneself, such as a nice bubble bath, having your hair treated with hot oil or your hands and feet nicely polished.
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Caity as a newborn. Caity at 7 months.
Caity at 1 year and 8 months.
“Mama? Mama?! Mamaaaaa….!!!”
That’s my cute little niece’s cry I’m hearing now as I’m chatting online with her mom who just left her on the room for a while. Oh well, she is not that little anymore. I used to post about her here, and she was just learning to stand that time. Nowadays, she runs around fast and loves going up and down the stairs whenever her parents would take her outside. I remember we used to carry her as a tiny active baby. My favorite activity with Caity is giving her a bath and reading a book to her.
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These days, we seem to be chasing time, running after deadlines and trying to stay on top of a busy schedule. Isn’t it that at the end of the day we still wish we had done more and yet realize that we need to rest too? For most of us, time is of the essence, from busy stay-at-home moms to teachers, salesmen, business owners or executives, Can you imagine some responsible and hardworking CEOs just relaxing around? Only when they’re on vacation maybe. Although most of them don’t even indulge themselves in holidays or weekend getaways, they prefer working overtime to get even higher sales.
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For a change, I’d like to share what I’ve read from Bo Sanchez in his Soulfood Newsletter:
One day, a guy calls up his Boss at home, but gets the boss’ wife instead. She said, “I’m sorry, but he died last week.” The next day, the man calls up again and asks for his boss. She said, “I told you, he died last week.” The third day, the guy calls up again and asks for his boss. The wife was mad and shouted, “Don’t you understand? I already told you twice—MY HUSBAND, YOUR BOSS, DIED LAST WEEK! Why do you keep on calling?” The guy laughed and said, “Because I just love hearing it…” (end of quote)
The above story could be funny and yet the attitude of the guy mirrors most of the disgruntled employees waiting for some luck to come their way so they could be happier with their careers. Instead of doing something about their situation such as changing jobs or trying a different career, some employees felt trapped and think they really have no choice.
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Have you taken the color quiz which tells you your personality based on a visual set of color choices? How about those blog-related quizzes that tells you how addicted you are to blogging or what’s the comprehension level of your blog’s content? And there are tons of personality-related quizzes as well. Of course, some are fond of taking quizzes about relationship and love.
While the results of these quizzes give us an idea about ourselves, our friends, our pets or our blogs, they are not really that accurate. For one thing, the results are just based on few questions. You can’t put a dot on a person’s character or a blog’s content with just a few set of queries. Most of these quizzes are just for fun anyway… so take them as just another creative way to unwind. Whether you like or don’t like the results, you know better than these automated question-and-answer pages.
With the current economic crunch, many families are experiencing challenges with their finances. As the family’s self-appointed treasurer, I know how it is to be budgeting and sometimes juggling funds to keep up with the bills and payments. Good thing, I would regularly do some accounting to track down expenses and analyze our present and future income and upcoming expenses.
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Do I look at things with a more positive outlook?
Do I count more the things I have than those that I lack?
Do I often compare myself with the successes and possessions of others?
Am I complaining a lot about my life, my career, the weather, or even the little discomforts I encounter everyday?
Am I thankful for what I have, whether they’re big or small, important or trivial things?
Am I grateful for all things, good and bad, that come my way?
These are some of the questions that stirred within me as I reflected on the article “Use Gratitude To Receive More Blessings” by Bo Sanchez, the preacher in blue jeans and one of my favorite “soul food” writers. Bo has this charming way of getting God’s message across in a funny and engaging manner without sounding too preachy. His writings are simple and straight to the point.
You’re invited to read Bo Sanchez’ article “Use Gratitude To Receive More Blessings” and be blessed!
Important events such as getting married, a child’s graduation, buying a car, renting or buying a home, becoming parents, getting a divorce, or retirement preparation, are some of life’s milestones. A responsible head of the family is an alert and prepared one who takes life milestones seriously by getting adequate protection for his family such as term life insurance.
Insurance these days is already a byword for most breadwinners, such as the husband working for his family or the family’s eldest assuming most of the financial responsibilities in taking care of the needs of his younger siblings. A development of insurance is term life insurance which is for specific needs at certain important events or turning points in one’s life.
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Having a small business of your own can be both rewarding and tough at the same time. We used to have a family business of providing computer training and services since our apartment used to be ideally located in between two schools. There’s the daily task of serving clients’ needs from computer rental, printing to encoding and desktop publishing. On some occasions would be scheduled computer training during evenings for engineers.
While these business activities are enough to keep us busy, we also had to keep up with some unpaid training fees, and that could sometimes cause some financial strain. Ugh… there really are some folks who deliberately run away from you after availing of your services, and some of them even make thousands excuses why they can’t pay their overdue bill after you call them for the nth time. Well, for a small business transaction, some clients can dare to be negligent with their payments.
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I admit I still have a lot to learn in life especially when it comes to business matters. This is why I am always supportive of business training and seminars as this add up to my knowledge.
Organizing business and training events is one way of being proactive about learning. This entails careful planning with the logistics and the venue. Effective leadership and management of an upcoming business seminar rest on the organizers involved. Every detail should be looked into such as the venue’s location, facilities and services offered. The number of participants usually affects the venue size, thus the event should be planned months ahead to inform and prepare possible attendants for the proposed date and location.
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…If you’re wondering where I’ve been, where I am regularly blogging and what’s keeping me busy these days, it’s this:
…my travel blog!
Do visit me there and share your valuable ideas and inputs in the comments section. Thanks!
Sometimes I would wonder if people are really feeling the current economic crisis nowadays. Every time I go to the mall, the aisle would always be filled up with shoppers. Somebody explained to me that these people are actually just window-shopping and not really buying anything. They could just be looking around for stuff that would fit their budget, thus they spend more time walking through the display shelves.
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Here’s a story about three trees in the woods and their dreams. Yup, trees dream too! Only in this story anyway. 
There’s a moral lesson at the end (not from me). This story is very inspiring especially to those who may be discouraged about their dreams. Hope this cheers you up as it did to me.
Happy reading!
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Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, “Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”
Then the second tree said, “Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.”
Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, “This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter” … and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree a woodsman said, “This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.” The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree so I’ll take this one”, and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said “Peace” and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
The moral of this story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.
It’s been a long drive from another province to our destination with our belongings all stuffed at the back of the truck. I could still remember the many tiring days of preparation before we moved back to our hometown. Sorting out all our accumulated things was just so stressful. We had to decide what to keep, what to throw away and what to give. There were some things that we had to let go even if they had some sentimental value.
The moving truck came at about midnight as the driver and his two assistants loaded up our stuff at the back. It was almost dawn as we started the long journey on the road that would take us to the barge, a shipping vessel where the truck was carried. Early the next day, the barge arrived on land, and off it continued its journey.
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Before I went freelance, I used to work in a telecommunications firm. My previous job was with quality assurance and technical standards, with some site inspection on the side. I deal mostly with guys and thankfully did not experience any gender discrimination. My fellow guy engineers respect my technical know-how and capabilities while being gracious gentlemen. There were some instances though when I feel I could have been given more challenging tasks, but maybe it’s just how I felt when bored and stuck to doing more research in the office than being given more field assignments.
Women these days face a lot of challenges and issues with their careers whether they belong to the upper management level or not. This is where a women’s leadership program responds to these needs. For women who are serious about their careers and would like to be successful leaders in their respective fields, the Elizabeth J Somers Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) provides a year-long academic program which deals with issues related to women’s leadership and how it is implemented in various situations dealing with social, political, intellectual and other relevant aspects.
The WLP offers two courses and a symposium for a term while providing an academic environment for students to live together in Mount Vernon campus in the George Washington University. An educational setup such as this creates a unique learning experience for the student where she interacts with others having different backgrounds. The leadership programs offered are: International Arts and Culture; Globalization, Economics and Business; Science, Health and Medicine and U.S. and International Politics.
Aside from field experiences, there are guest speakers and special events featuring women leaders and experts from many disciplines. The program connects and works together with important organizations on women’s issues thus leading to opportunities for students to network with mentors or gain experience on potential internship programs.
Lately I’ve been silently whining about my career, the postponed projects, the piled up tasks, the busyness of life and not having enough time for leisure. I have also been making a lot of excuses for not reaching my goals especially when it comes to proper diet and exercise.
As the holidays are fast approaching, it seems that my excitement is overshadowed by my worries. I can feel the financial crunch as I go through my regular accounting and honestly it can be so stressful since I anticipate a lot of holiday expenses coming up.
I know it’s all in the mind. I just needed to change my attitude about life and still be thankful and make the most of what I have.
Yes, I’ve become a noisy duck quacking around instead of soaring high above my cares like an eagle.
Complaining and worrying about unpleasant situations won’t get us anywhere. Making the most of our resources, and giving our best shot is a choice that always gets us to the next level. That was my realization after reading a story I got in my email about a resourceful cab driver and I just can’t help sharing it with you.
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Ducks Quack, Eagles Fly
Years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.
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Hi, just dropping by…
carey!!!!
echusmee!!! Nagbabalik!!! winks*
Wanna earn money online? Check out my site and start earning serious cash now! 
hi carey! how’ve you been? *hugs*
Dropping here..STOP GLOBAL WARMING…!
carey, greet lang kita ng happy new year. parang namiss kita this year ha. parang di ko masyado nabisita blog mo. sorry…
Blessed Christmas to you ate Carey! take care!
hey! just dropped by to greet you Merry Christmas! ive been on hiatus again…but im out and about again…tc!
it’s been a long long long time, ate carey.. how are u doing? You can definitely change my old link up there to this new one what’s up with you lately? Drop me a line. It’s me, Apple aka mischarmed
Hi! Nice blog u have here. Care to xlinks with me?
i love forex
gusto lang kita igreet ng happy birthday
hopped here !!
hey how’ve you been? tc!
I simply known as Manny Pacquiao, i’m Filipino professional boxer. I was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Mindanao and resides in my home town General Santos City, Philippines. I am currently the WBC Lightweight Champion. I am also the former WBC Super Featherweight Champion, Ring Magazine’s super featherweight and featherweight champion, world champion & IBF Super Bantamweight, and WBC Flyweight divisions. Help me spread my link. Tnx
oh! nagulat ka no? akala mo napadaan lang ako no? Mr. Pogi yata ito ng Quezon City circa 1978, kahit itanong mo pa sa vice-baranggay captain namin.
hey…been out for over 2 months…did u move? lemme know so i can update my links…tc!
happy weekend everybody!
Ideas are powerful. A train of thought can make or break, build or destroy. The choice is ours. Our ideas become our future. I believe that life’s meaningful lessons are best learned when shared with others.
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