Anything goes...

I had a difficult bout with hypertension on March 6-8. Some of my Facebook friends knew about this that on that disgraceful day of March 6, just when my reason for going to the doctor was to have our Annual Physical Examination, the physician who examined me won't let me off the hospital because of a high blood pressure at that time playing around 240/130. Too high for me to be walking under the heat of the sun and working in the office they say. So, I had to rush to my work office, skip all that I've been doing and even if I don't feel like having myself admitted to the hospital, I did because of friends telling me I could get a heart attack or a stroke with that high a BP.  After telling my Mom about this situation, she helped me pack my things and we went to get me confined. And the culprit is too much blood cholesterol. The normal of which a human can have is -2, while mine's at 4.2. Funny thing is, I don't feel any symptom at all. And my doctor friends say...

I really hate smoke. My Dad smokes and some friends of mine smoke too. It is a good thing that I do not judge them because of the smoke they emit, or else, I wouldn't have good friends at all. Haha. But seriously, I hate inhaling second hand smoke or any smoke for that matter, except maybe those emitting from the smell of grilled tuna or grilled liempo. Aside from the fact that second hand smoke leads to so many sickness, it also is irritable to the nose which is why, even if I hurt the person smoking near me, I would cover my nose with my handkerchief just so I could not inhale any of his emissions. But thank goodness for people who dared to stop smoking and innovated the top electronic cigarettes . They could see the flicker of the cigarette end but it is actually the artificial light that you can see from there. These electronic cigarettes really look like the real ones, only, without the hazardous smoke. It is better they start this way, a slow withdrawal from cigarette addicti...

I fear death. Who does not? Death is the end of enjoying all things you like to do, and the end of seeing your dearly beloved alive, kicking and breathing life. But death comes as a thief in the night, or even in the day. Rey is a healthy guy, or so I thought. He is chubby, at his forty, with a wife and two sons, and a budding personal business in t-shirt printing and garments industry. No vices, no drinking, no smoke. He is our neighbor and friend; we just talked last week, and on Monday, I was informed he was admitted for high blood and ulcer. The following day, he is gone. He left his two young kids and his unemployed wife to leukemia. His death came as a surprise, and a realization hit me. His work killed him. he has been doing his job as a shirt-painter for more than ten years. It is what fed his family. But the poison he breathes with his paints slowly crawled into him, eating him up. His work got the best of him. This comes as a reminder. Never take your health for granted. Alwa...

The kids are finally here. I have not told you this because the two weeks swiftly went, but my kids went to a short vacation in Iloilo City with their grandmother. And it was a heavy decision to make to let them enjoy vacation without us, since we could not give them the time they want for vacation. I could not leave work because as you can see, I am still earning good points to get a regular post, and the husband also has work to do, what with graduations and his day job too, so I have to ask MIL to join them. So off they went last March 13, we sent them off to Davao and they were quite enjoying every minute until last Wednesday, when MIL texted me the daughter has fever and the son vomits. I was panicky, and I could not settle down, not knowing the situation they are in. It was not until Thursday afternoon that the bad turned to worse and Tabebs was admitted to the hospital. It was not until 8pm when the son was diagnosed with amoebiasis and the daughter could be infected with the sa...

How fast time flies! If you have been following my posts, you would surely understand that I am a busy person, busier than others are, methinks. But if there's one thing that March 1 reminds me, it is how fast time flies and you realize, you are already lacking time, and lacking time literally means you have to catch up and beat it; one thing you would never win if beating time is a race. But there's one thing I must remind myself and that is to BREATHE !

Okey, so I woke up today feeling all refreshed with strength renewed, said my prayers, and looking forward to what's gonna happen for the day. But it's really gonna be a busy day, a hectic Monday so to speak, work, eat, work, home. Nothing special except that -- it's my birthday! Yes, Happy Birthday to ME! 33 years in this life and I am still alive and kicking, and I thank my God for preserving me up to now. I already celebrated the weekend with a blast even though all of those were advance celebrations, on Saturday with my friends in GenSan and yesterday, with my Mom and Dad and siblings in Marbel. So I feel complete already, everything is good. Nothing more to ask for the birthday, but good health and the best of everything, and of course, as always my prayer, that regular job in the government office. =) My 32 years was spent to be a happy life, all the twists and turns were good and beneficial, even the trials and the hurts were all beneficial because it made me a stron...

Well, let us accept it, we are definitely not getting any younger and even younger ones have a way with memory, because sometimes, our memory fails us. It is like a tire that is being used everyday, and so the tire has to wear out and sometimes, flattens, balds over time, and in due time will have to be sent to the shop for a check. The same way goes with our memory, thus in order for us not to bring our memories to the shop, I will share here ten steps to boost your memory. I found this while de-cluttering our house on the first day of the year and has become helpful to me. I considered this as a sign to a good guide to 2011. I hope this guides you as well. 1. Get yourself a sleep. Sleep deprivation lowers your immune system, weakens your defenses against sickness and leads you to mental fatigue and poor memory. 2. Set your body clock. Maintaining a regular body clock is just getting enough sleep. If you go to bed early and rise early, keep it that way. It easily coordinates your bod...

What a weekend we had. Last Saturday, it was time for me to do the laundries, and on Sunday, the husband gave me an idea of re-arranging the master’s bedroom, so I gave in after I put off my reading. With a little push and pull, and vacuuming here and there, we managed to squeeze in some fresher air into the bedroom, and the space was kinda’ relaxing already. So I laid down and closed my eyes, until… The kids saw the bedroom and requested theirs to be re-arranged as well, so, again, armed with the broom, vacuum, rags and Lysol, we had to clean their bedroom and re-arrange it too. Until I saw the grin on my kids, a grin of happiness for the nice new way their room was arranged. Until I saw my husband trying to maneuver the living room. Accckkk! So I was forced to clean the sala too, until he got to switch the TV places, and I found myself re-arranging the kitchen. Only this Sunday. One day of supposedly restful sleep and eat, the husband and I made the house a little more excit...

Yes, I'd say one must better be safe than sorry. When dengue cases erupted and death rates scored the statistics to its highest, I was scared for the kids and myself. The neighborhood around MIL's place have a stagnant or "not-fast-running water" on the ditch. We make it a point to clean the ditch every now and then but for some unknown reasons, the neighbors a few blocks away keep blocking its flow. Hence, water does not really flow fast and stagnates, allowing for the reproduction of mosquitoes. We have been living there for more than ten years already and only going home to our own house during the weekends or long holidays. I'd say the mosquito bites bring the itch but who knows when it will bring the dengue virus, right? So as a mother, I make it a point to keep safe the kids and use the mosquito net. We have it handy since we got kids and I do not allow my kids to be exposed without the mosquito repellent. For the information of all, I am a mosquito-hater. I...

Last week, my daughter was diagnosed with broncho--pneumonia, prescribed with an antibiotics and medicines for the cough and the colds. This week, it is the son who was diagnosed with the same, broncho-pneumonia. In my kids' school, there are a lot of children having flu and the worst thing is, dengue cases are rampant here in our side of the world. Nowadays, you really have to take care of your health. Or else you will have to suffer spending money over medicines that will relieve you from your situation. Know that the best thing is always prevention, and not cure. So in order to prevent having to get sick, deep breathing is relatively important. Studies have shown that learning how to properly breathe is important because proper breathing can help and is effective in making you live healthy. Here are steps to proper deep breathing: 1. Take a deep breath, hear yourself inhale. 2. Hold your breath for a short time. 3. Exhale. This time, hear yourself exhale as well. 4. Exhale again...

It's really awful to be there. To be stuck for a day or even more is worse to worst. You cannot see and enjoy the world around you and you will miss being with the people you love. The only consolation you get is that every time you feel pain, you feel secure with your life (or maybe NOT) inside a hospital. Yesterday, I was in the office and was preparing for a lunch date with officemates when my phone rang. It was my mom. I did not answer her because I was still on the phone talking with a writer. Then I forgot about her call. While lunching, I got another call from a different number, twice. And I have this habit of not answering calls unlisted in my phone's directory. So I ignored it. And then an SMS came saying my Mom was rushed to the hospital. I was in disbelief because mom and I texted each other that morning and she never mentioned of going to Gensan. She came from Marbel, an hour's drive away from Gensan. She and a friend came over to get their transcript of record...

The Holy Week went through unnoticed. It was too fast-paced that we hadn't really experienced a satisfying rest. A lot of unexpected things came, some happy, mostly sad. First off, one precious thing left us, one I cannot disclose here on my blog because I promised my eldest son, none of it will be posted. It hurts him that much. So during the Holy Thursday and Good Friday, we were just home, having a DVD marathon and playing Uno with the kids. We ate and slept as we decided not to fast, but to feast in order to recover lost stamina during the lengthy days we were working overtime for graduation needs. Last Saturday, we went home to MIL's place, we stayed there until Sunday but that Saturday night was a nightmare. Tabebs woke up in the middle of the night crying heaps and complaining about a painful chest. I didn't know what to do, she was having mild fever and coughs, but the pain near the chest area was something I did not understand. I had a sleepless Saturday, I took to...

Earth's surface is two-thirds covered with water, but it seems as if we don't value water as much. Water circulates through the land and is obviously a valuable element responsible for life here on earth. However, it seems as if we don't have enough water in our surrounding that we often get sick because of water, or the lack of it. The start of 2010 saved me from the urge of drinking Coke, as I have and am serious in lessening my intake. As much as possible, I learn to value the importance of water. And though it may seem abnormal of me to be drinking (too much) water, it appeals to me that I am healthy because of that. Bear in mind that your body is 75% water and in every day of your life, your body loses 2 to 3 liters of water in the form of sweat, urine, tears. However, this may actually increase when you are sick, overworked, hyperactive, pregnant or during an exercise. Take note that some of the fluids we take are often counter-productive of the hydration we need. Co...