A Girl’s Notebook :)

Motherhood starts on the day you conceived your baby. It’s not just when you give birth to your child. It’s been three years since I become a mother. Three years and still counting:)!

I went to Megamall last Monday and bought a stainless mug for me. I don’t know but I really can’t help not to buy something for my little girl I bought her 3 pairs of pajamas.

Antoinette will turn 3 this coming October 28. Sometimes, I just smiled thinking how time passes by so fast. I remember the time I learned that I was pregnant. My family didn’t learn about it until my tummy is around 3 months. But of course and as always, my mother has been suspicious and has a thought that I am conceiving. Why? She noticed that I am not wearing tight jeans which I used to. I’m not wearing body fit shirts, and I prefer to wear sandals instead of my boots and stilettos!

But the most remarkable thing I did which gave my mother a confirmation that her thoughts are correct, was when she found pieces of garlic hanging on the window beside my bed! As we know, garlic drives away bad creatures who will try to “steal” your baby, even when it is still inside you.

I remember Mama told me that she’s not going to take care of my baby. Because I got pregnant out of wed lock. Well, she loves Antoinette now more than she loves me. How did I know? She told me ?!

Have I been a good and responsible mother to Antoinette? Being a first time mother, it was quite difficult. But I believe that I have been a good and responsible mother. With the help of my own mom, I learned to be more patient and responsible. I have sacrificed a lot for her, too. I love my daughter very much. I thank my own mother for being a role model to me.

Antoinette is growing up as a smart and adventurous girl. At her age, she can differentiate a cheetah from leopard, a toad from a frog and a crocodile from alligator. She first learned about animals instead of ABC’s. She can identify colors, too. She can count 1 to 15, but she finds ABC a bit boring. I’m not an expert mother though. But through books and experiences, I learned .

Some tips to share? Well, during your pregnancy, be happy :)! A baby is a bundle of joy and a special gift from God. Avoid getting stress for your baby will feel the same. Don’t deprive yourself from eating, but be responsible on what you eat. It’s not only you who should be satisfied but the baby as well. Get enough rest and sleep. Visit your OB and drink only advised medicines.

Talk to your baby, while touching your tummy. Believe me, your baby hears you. Listen to soothing music. Some says, it is good to listen to classical music for baby’s intellectual being. Well, I just listened to the CD of Lea Salonga which was given by my kumpare Bonnie. If I know the lyrics, I sing to my baby. When the baby is about 5 months, you will feel him/her moving. The baby responds to you.

When the baby is hungry and you’re depriving yourself from eating, you will feel your baby kicking as if asking you to eat. Well. I had that experience. I prefer to sleep rather that eat. And so when Antoinette was inside my tummy, she kept moving and kicking that made me uncomfortable to sleep. When I eat and feel that my baby’s hunger has been satisfied, she was silent and I think she’s fast asleep.

Always make your baby feel that they love. Everyday, I tell Nonet, “I love you.” Then I kiss and hug her. When she was still a baby, and I tell her I love her, she’ll smile. But now, when I say I love you to her. She will reply back with “I love you, mommy” or “mahal kita, mommy”. It is so sweet of her.

Motherhood is a gift from God. Babies are little angels who lift our spirit, who inspire and motivate us. Oftentimes, I felt sad for babies and children being aborted or abandoned. Who would know, that those unborn children would become an extraordinary people of our century.

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the rooms of 200, he asked, “Who would like to this $20 bill?”. Hands started going up. He said “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do….this.” He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up.

He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he said, “What if I do this?” And he dropped in the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

You are special - Don’t ever forget it!

“Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams!”

St. Raphael is the Archangel of the Christian’s journey to heaven. As his name Raphael connotes, “medicine of God”, he is the Angel that brings good health and abundant provisions during our journey.

PRAYER: Oh great Archangel, St. Raphael, you have been appointed by God to become our healer and guide us in our earthly pilgrimage to our home in heaven. I beg you to assist us in all our undertakings and in all the trials and pains of this earthly life. We pray for constant good health both physically, mentally and spiritually. We beseech you to guide always our steps that we shall walk with confidence towards our journey, and enlighten us with our doubts generated by intellectual pride and worldly ambitions. St. Raphael please present to God the following petitions…

In a computer world that we are today, there are still plenty of people who belongs to the beginners group. These are simple tips for windows which can be a lot of help for you :).

Windows can be arranged on the desktop through the taskbar shortcut menu. To reach this menu, use this sequence of keys. CTRL+ECS, ESC, TAB, SHIFT+F10. The following options are on the shortcut menu and may be reached using arrow keys. Cascade Windows, Tile Windows Horizontally, Tile Window Vertically, Minimize All Windows. Undo Minimize All, and Properties.

To move a window, choose the Move command from the Program menu on the left of the title bar (use ALT+SPACEBAR to open the Program menu). Use arrow keys to move the window followed by ENTER to accept or ECS to cancel. To resize a window, choose the Size command form the Program Menu, then use an arrow key to choose which window border you want to move, then move it with the appropriate arrow keys, and then press ENTER to accept ESC to cancel.

ALT + F4  -  Closes the active application window. (You can choose th close command from the Program menu of the active application)

ALT + SPACEBAR  - Opens the Program menu from the leftmost icon on the title bar of the active window. The Program Menu typically contains the following commands. Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize and Close.

ALT + TAB -  Switches to the most recently used application window. To select an application from a list, continue to hold ALT down and press TAB more than once to move through the list. Add SHIFT to reverse direction through the list.

ALT + ESC -  Switches keyboard focus to next application window, including minimized windows on the taskbar. Press ESC more than once to switch through successive windows and add SHIFT to reverse the direction.

ALT + ENTER -  Switches an MS DOS based application between full- screen and windowed modes.

PRINTSCREEN -  Copies an image of the active window to the Windows Clipboard.

Hope this helps :)!

Call center agents like me usually have their work at night, while the eastern part of the world is sleeping. That is because our clients live in the western countries such as Canada and United States.

When it’s time for us to sleep, then people around us are all awake and busy. So we find it hard to get a good sleep. I found these solutions by a psychologist, Reneau Z. Peurifoy,
for reducing sleep problems.

Go to bed and get up at the same time each day and avoid making up for lost sleeps on weekends or holidays. This helps your biological clock. Naps are all right if they are taken on a fixed schedule.

Avoid using bed for reading, watching televisions, doing work or other activities.

Don’t neglect the obvious: sleep is easiest in a dark, quiet and ventilated room.

Follow an established routine for going to bed, such as brushing your hair and teeth, pulling down the sheets, etc. They become a conditioned response trigger that tells your body that it is time to sleep now.

Use relaxation techniques to help asleep.

Do not lie awake in bed for more than 20 minutes. If relaxation techniques do not induce sleep, get up and go to a different part of the house. Do a quiet relaxing activity like reading a book or watching TV until you feel tired.

Avoid caffeine, nicotine, heavy meals, and strenuous exercise for three to five hours before bedtime.

If noise in your surroundings bother you, place a radio next to your bed and tune it between stations to produce white noise. This white noise will serve as a cover for other distracting noise.

Stay away from alcohol, it can make matters worse. Even moderate amounts of alcohol can disturb sleep or create a backlash of sleeplessness later in the night.

Avoid the daily use of sleeping medications, and use only when absolutely necessary. Drugs can alter normal sleep patterns and suppress deep sleep. Sleeping pills are often one of the main ingredients of long-term sleeplessness.

Through moderation, I achieve a sense of mental and physical balance and harmony.

- Terry Lyn Taylor and Mary Beth Crain

We watched “My Big Love”, a movie of Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby last Sunday in DVD. I’m not going to do any movie review, but the two really got that “chemistry”.

Toni played as a gym instructress and she had set 5 Steps for her clients:

• Set your goal
• Start today, not tomorrow but today
• No shortcuts
• Motivate yourself
• Be happy

I believe these five steps are not only applicable for losing weight. But can also be used as steps in achieving goal in our life

I’m back with TIPS and IDEAS about keeping our body and our life inside and out. As I check my “files”, I found an article written bu Ms. Cory Quirino in her column “Inside Out” in the daily broadsheet, Philippine Daily Inquirer. I don’t remember when this article was published.

Everybody wanted to stay young and keep that youthful glow inside and out/ Ms. Cory said that there are 4 D’s in preserving and enhancing one’s youth. I must agree that,

A healthy lifestyle and a positive outlook on life
can add not just years to your life
but to your years 

So what are those 4 D’s then:

DESIRE –  You must want to be attractive, to have a fit body and more importantly, to feel good about yourself. Surrender to this desire. Commit your heart.

DETERMINATION – You must will yourself to adopt a wellness lifestyle. Change your attitude toward your body and your health. Believe that you can do it. Commit your mind.

DEDICATION – Devote yourself to exercise and healthy plan. Commit your body.

DELIGHT – Love yourself first and the positive results will follow. Commit your psyche.

I also learned a good way of pampering ourselves. It’s a home made beauty regimen for skin rejuvenation.

SUGAR SCRUB

Ingredients:
2 cups of brown sugar
½ cup of olive oil (for dry skin), light olive oil or corn oil (for oily skin)

Rub the oil all over your naked body and face(that means sans make up). With clean hands, take some sugar and rub in a circular motion. Stop when you feel your skin tingle from the light abrasion or when it turns pink. Shower with warm water. Soap your body. End the shower with cold water, Use a light body and face moisturizer. See amazing results in 10 minutes. Enjoy