Tag Time

Got this tag from Tricia.

1. List 6 things that describe yourself today and yesterday.

2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs.

3. Tag other online friends you know.

Yesterday
1. I woke up with still feeling under the weather with my cough and colds.
2. By the afternoon my voice was hoarse and I had a difficult time talking.
3. Chatted with highschool amiga Rowie who's in California.
4. Despite feeling sick, I still exercised while Raine napped.
5. I went to mass with Lucy and Mac because hubby had to do some overtime.
6. I couldn’t sleep right away.

Today
1. We overslept, got up at almost noon.
2. I’m getting really fed up with the neighborhood dogs’ regular “drop-ins”.
3. I’m getting really hooked on Grey’s Anatomy, better late than never, eh?
4. I was too lazy to exercise.
5. I finally got my own domain.
6. I'm having a hard time figuring out how to set up the new website though

Participants : GailAdi / Momeen / Emmyrose / Dennis / Dette / Jirl / Janny / Nanay Belen / Carol / Something Purple’s cucina / Vanity Kit / Mind Bubbles / Stripe&Yellow / Something Purple / Em’s Detour / Spin180 / Wisdom City / MY Happy Place / IamDzoi / ClikTrik / I Love the Thirties / Ozzy’s Mom / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / FunFierceFabulous / Blogger Happy / Berry Scrappy / Everyday CHI / My Colorful World / Explore Manila / Random Thoughts / When SAHM-one Speaks / Deranged Insanity / Mighty in Spirit / Straight from the Heart / Simple Delights / Motherhood in a Nutshell / Love Is / Wonderful Things in Life / My Life’s Adventur” / Photographic Memories / The Joy Of Life Forever / The Fountain Of Happiness / A Message From My Heart / The Adventurous and Sporty Side of Miah / MeiYah’s Blog / MeiYah’s PhotoBlog / MeiYah’s World / MeiYah’s Sweet Nothings / Sheng’s Simple Thoughts /Eds Mommy Life/ Just Me.. Eds/ My Precious Niche / A Wonderful Journey to Life / Tricia’s World/ Preggy Matters / One Hundred Eighty Degrees

I’m tagging fellow bloggers: Mich, Kathycot, Carol.

Have Bag, Will Travel

Sturdy, durable and long-lasting luggage is every traveler’s best friend. Before we moved out of the country, I didn’t really care much for travel gear. To me as long as it could hold all my personal belongings it would do. But the increase in our travel to and from the Philippines meant we needed suitcases that would stand the test of time. It had to be large and lightweight at the same time due to stricter freight regulations. It had to be made of a strong enough material to withstand being hurled around and ripped or torn in case it was under other travelers’ luggage in the airplane’s cargo. But aside from form and function it had to look stylish too.

I remember I saw a popular celebrity couple at the airport with a porter in front of them pushing a huge cart with a ton of Louis Vuitton designer luggage perched on top of it. While I do not fantasize of owning such luxurious duds for my clothes and what-not, I would still like to own nice luggage in a color other than the staple black. Hubby’s own suitcase is beige and red, you can spot it a mile away amidst a sea of black and navy bags as the luggage carousel moves along.

I bought two pieces of luggage for our move to Marshall Islands. One was from a popular international brand that I ordered through our office supplier. I quickly realized all our things wouldn’t fit in it so I went to a luggage store to buy another one. It was locally made, thus cheaper than the first one I bought but the sales personnel assured me of its features. It actually looked better than the imported one I bought earlier. Well, what do you know, when we got to the Islands, one of the legs of the cheaper luggage broke! Argh! Goes to show that sometimes, it really pays to pay a little more for quality.

Entertaining Traffic

Traffic in Manila is probably one of the worst in the world. A car ride from Paranaque to Makati during rush hour can take as long as 1 to 1.5 hours, whereas normally it should only really take about 20 minutes. Taking the Skyway makes the trip a little more bearable at about a half hour. But when you get down that bridge where you meet the traffic.

There's not much you can do during times like these. If I had a book or a magazine I would definitely use the time to read. Sometimes I pray the rosary. But most of the time I try to get some shut-eye. I love to sleep and usually fall asleep pretty easily in the car, sometimes I even have dreams, interrupted by the occasional sound of the honking horns outside.

My mom who's a doctor and professor eats her lunch during traffic, makes phone calls, checks her students' test papers, catches up on her reading (it's not even light material she reads but medical stuff). Her car is a veritable moving office. If there was ever an award for Most Productive Use of Time Spent in Traffic, my mom would win it hands down.

Bedroom Talk

My favorite room in the house is the bedroom. It’s where you can rest, relax, let your hair down and just be yourself. My old room at my parents’ house was my sanctuary and my oasis. All the bedroom furniture except for my study table were chosen by my mom when I was little so I didn’t have much say about them. I didn’t particularly like the red curtains or the red carpet but I liked how these complimented the big white bed which had an attached headboard and night table drawers. I spent many times in my room studying, curled up with a good book or just listening to music.

I’ve never been a fan of heavy, ornate furniture. They look too dated to me. I’ve always dreamed of having a very modern bedroom, a solid wooden bed with drawers underneath to keep linens in, night stands with drawers to hold books and important items nearby, a soft headboard to contrast all the wood furniture, a walk-in closet and a dresser with a sizable mirror to complete the look.

We live in a cozy condo unit and the master’s room is dominated by the bed and two cabinets, and a little shelf that holds a few of Raine’s toys. Naturally, there's not much space for anything else. It’s a typical contemporary bedroom, no frills, no fuss, but still my most favorite room in our home. I’ve been browsing through various furniture websites and have taken a liking to Italian-made furniture. They are not only sleek and stylish but also functional. I love their clean lines and Zen-feel. Some day when we have our own house, I plan to make my dream Italian bedroom into a reality.

Isn't it ironic?

It’s funny how things turn out sometimes. Two weeks ago during some heavy rains, we lost our dial-up internet connection at the apartment (Yup, broadband is not available at the residences here yet, just at the business offices). Hubby reported it to the phone company, but after a week of constant following up, we still didn’t have any access. I was beside myself and going crazy not being able to surf the net, check my emails and most importantly, blog.

During a trip downtown, we decided to explore a part of Majuro where we had never been before. Hubby said he had heard that there was a museum and a library somewhere. We got to an old building and went up a flight of stairs to find two doors: one lead to a museum while the other led to a public library. The museum was closed so we ended up in the library. Save for the librarian and one local browsing thru a shelf of books, the place was empty. There were plenty of books to choose from, most were still in good condition, although they all looked like they had seen better days. We ended up applying for a library card and borrowed six books! Hubby borrowed 2 on photography and I borrowed 4 bestsellers from James Patterson (the suspense thrillers Cradle & All and Honeymoon), Winston Groom’s Gump & Co. (the sequel to Forrest Gump) and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

I left the library giddy with all the books we borrowed. I had two weeks before we had to return them. Yipee! Hubby passed by his office and once again followed up on the internet access at home. Well, what do you know, their IT staff gave us a temporary number we could use while the phone line was being repaired.

Now I have my hands full to bursting with the books, the internet, the apartment, not to mention, little Raine. Haha! But I’m not complaining, at least this will definitely cure my island fever.

Time to Diet

A few entries back, I said that I have never had a weight problem. In fact, I had difficulty gaining weight and have been thin most of my life. Well, ever since I became a stay-at-home-mom, I think I've gained a little more weight than I like. I'm not overweight or anything, in fact people tell me I look better now with a little more skin on my bones. But what I don't like about putting on some pounds is that, in my case, they all seem to go to one direction, the belly. Argh!

I've been helping hubby control his weight by making sure he only has 1 cup of rice per meal but now I've decided to abstain from rice myself. This may seem drastic, I don't really need to lose weight and don't have to buy phentermine diet pills or anything like that. But I think it's about time I become more conscious of my food intake. Especially now that I'm nearing my, ahem mid-30s. Losing weight after all gets harder as we get older. I think it's just right that we do damage control as early as possible.

I miss rice, and it's only been 2 days. Haha! Of course, losing the unwanted belly won't happen just by skipping rice. I plan to do exercise too. I've been postponing doing it on a daily basis. I always seem to have an excuse. But there's just no getting around it anymore. Even those who take diet pills know that exercise and the right diet are the surest way to reach their goal.

Six Layers

Got this tag from Nol.

6 Layers…Of YOU.

::START::

RULES:
1. Add your blog/s to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs. It’s okay if you only post the questions in one blog as long as you answer them.
2. Get back to Me {YEN} and I’ll add your blogs to the master’s list HERE! Note that you are not ALLOWED to change the link here.
3. Copy from Start to End.
4. Tag as many friends online you know. But you don’t need to be tagged in order to join.
Copy this Participants List: Me and Mine,Creative in Me,For the LOVE of Food,Little Peanut,Pea in a Pod, It’s Where the HEART Is, Around the World, SugarMagnolias, In Depth, A Wonderful Journey to Life, One Hundred Eighty Degrees.

LAYER ONE:
– Name: Rhea Angela
– Birth date: October 11
– Birthplace: Makati, Philippines
– Current Location: Marshall Islands
– Eye Color: Dark Brown
– Hair Color: Black
– Righty or Lefty: Righty

LAYER TWO:
– Your heritage: Filipino
– The shoes you wore today: black Havaianas
– Your weakness: Super worrywart
– Your fears: Death of a loved one
– Your perfect pizza: Yellow Cab
– Goal you’d like to achieve in life: Live comfortably with my family with no worries

LAYER THREE:
– Your first waking thoughts: Can I sleep for 10 more minutes?
– Your best physical feature: eyes
– Your most missed memory: childhood

LAYER FOUR:
– Pepsi or Coke: Coke
– McDonald’s or Burger King: McDonald’s
– Single or group dates: Single
– Adidas or Nike: Nike
– Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Nestea
– Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
– Cappuccino or coffee: Capuccino

LAYER FIVE
– A famous person, dead or alive, would you interview: Jesus
– Movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors: Ever After
– Name two of your passions in life : God and my family
– Least favorite time of day: Early morning

LAYER SIX
– Use hairspray or gel: neither
– Your favorite meal: Hubby’s Adobo and Pizza made from scratch
– Color inside of your head when you close your eyes: Pink
– Listen to classical music: When I was preggy
– Ever said LOL in real life without thinking about it: Nope

::END::
Now, I'm tagging Kiscy, Eds, Eileen, Faye, Issa, Jammy.

High School Woes

I got this survey question from fellow blogger, Jan.

What were your worries and fears when you were in high school?

Ah, high school life, oh my high school life how exciting, kay saya!

I had a lot of fun in high school. Despite going to an all-girls' school, it was one of the best times of my life. It was the time when I established friendships that I keep and cherish to this day.

Like any teenager, I worried about a lot of things. But the most major ones were: my grades in my waterloo subject; Math (Trigonometry and Calculus) and the PROM.

Math was my weakest subject and I have to admit I really struggled through it. I even had a tutor to help me out. Thank goodness I made up for that weakness by getting good grades in English and History. As long as there were no computations involved, I was fine.

The PROM; the biggest Big Deal of high school life was a constant cause of worry and nervousness. It was the first time I ever went on a real date. It wasn't the best date ever, actually it was pretty much a disaster. If there's one thing I learned from that episode, it's that when things get so bad, they can only get better.

Now I worry about more grown-up things like bills, the mortgage, my family's welfare. Ahh, youth is indeed wasted on the young, eh?

It's all in the lighting

House decorating is something I’ve never really been interested in. When I was single I didn’t really share my mom’s constant interest in the house ware section of department stores. She loved to look at the latest furnishings and sometimes would pick up a new vase or decorative item to add to our already-full display shelves. Mom especially loved lamps.

Despite the central lighting in the rooms in our house, such as a chandelier or a lighted ceiling fan she would still add table lamps or floor lamps to strategic corners to emphasize a favorite painting or figurine. She said it added warmth to the ambiance of the room. Back then the only important lamp to me was the one on top of my study table.

Now that I’m married and have a home of my own I love to go to furniture shops and browse through online home stores. I remember being pregnant and dividing my time between the home and baby sections. I’m still searching for the perfect lighting fixtures for our living room. Right now we live abroad in a furnished apartment and I can’t wait to go home and update our little abode’s look.

Awards from Friends

I got these awards from Pat. Thanks girl!

I'm sending this out to Tricia and Rynor.

On being domesticated & chores tag

This was passed on by Marie!

~~~START COPY~~~

This meme is pretty simple. Here are the rules:

1.) List down the household chores you hate and why. Do you think you can survive without helpers and nannies?

2.) Copy the image.

3.) Tag as many girlfriends you want, the daddies and hubbies can also join.

4.) Add your blog's link in the domesticated divas linky love. You can add all your blogs.

5.) Leave ME a comment and I'll add you up in the masterlist.

DOMESTICATED DIVAS: Living the Healthy Life / Sripe & Yellow / Vanity Kit / Mind Bubbles / Something Purple / Em's Detour / Insights from the Grocery Cart / Living A'La Mode / Joy's In Life / Sheng's Simple Thoughts / Coriander Dreams / Gorgeous Traveller / A Traveller's Domain / Lemon Iced Tea / One Hundred and Eighty Degrees

~~~END COPY~~~

MY ANSWER: I dislike ironing mainly because I'm not really good at it. I also don't like washing greasy pots and pans. Sometimes it's hard to get the oil out. Living abroad has forced me and hubby to do everything by ourselves. Since I'm a SAHM I do most of the housework. I've learned a lot of things along the way and am nowhere near being a domestic diva but I'm slowly getting there. Haha! It would be nice to have some help though so I can just focus on my daughter.

I am tagging Mec, Joanne and Jan!

Island Fever

Have you ever heard of cabin fever? It’s when you have been cooped up indoors for such a long period of time that you just crave for a change of environment. Being on an island for seven months makes me feel that way. Don’t get me wrong, Marshall Islands is a beautiful place to live in. It’s quaint, peaceful, pollution-free and generally crime-free. But after you get your fill of the beach and the open sea, there’s really not much else to do around the island. For a country that used to be a U.S. territory, it is not very developed especially when it comes to recreation.

Downtown Majuro, MI's capital

There are no malls or department stores, no high-rise buildings or fancy restaurants, no parks or museums, no sports facilities. The nicest-looking building is the National Government Office where the President holds office. There are three hotels, all three-star in rank run by Americans and Taiwanese businessmen. There are no high-end beach resorts either. There’s a resort on Eneko Island that offers modest accommodations but all the other islands are pretty much uninhabited. Hubby’s boss owns another island, Enimanit which has small nipa huts imported all the way from the Philippines that provide shade and serve as picnic areas but this island has no electricity so visitors can only stay until sunset.

the rarely used Convention Center

There are many small grocery stores and a couple of big supermarkets. There are a few clothing shops that sell mostly muumuus (a dressier version of the housedress or daster, it’s the Marshallese women’s favorite attire) and simple casual clothing.

Native Chapel in Laura Beach

The country is a group of small islands, the biggest and most populous is Majuro. The three hotels have their own restaurants. There is a Japanese restaurant, a number of Chinese restos, a Filipino eatery and a Vietnamese take-out place.

There is cable TV but there are not too many channels too choose from. There’s Channel V, MTV, CNN, Fox News, Star Movies, Star World, BBC News, Knowledge Channel, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Australia TV, ESPN and a bunch of Chinese channels. There is TFC too. However, if it rains too much, reception becomes snowy or disappears altogether for a couple of days.

the biggest & tallest, National Government Building

Marshall Islands definitely needs some dire sprucing up. The island would be a great tourist destination if only it had the attractions for beach-loving travelers. I haven’t gone diving or snorkeling but I hear that the corals and underwater life are a sight to see. The beaches are clear white sand and turquoise waters, it’s sad that most of the local people are not conscious about maintaining cleanliness though. The beaches near the city already have some pieces of trash littered about the shore. The outer islands are better preserved. Visitors are required to bring their trash back with them after staying on the smaller islands.

Sunset views on both sides of the island

Our weekends are spent at home, in the company of Rynor’s work mates, going to the beach or watching DVDs borrowed from the lone video rental shop.

We still have a few more months to stay on this tropical island until we go back home and, as hubby calls it, “join the real world”. Meanwhile, it’s almost sunset and time for me to take in the lovely ocean view from our porch.

Dusk on the island

Fab Frames at Fab Prices

I’ve never been into eyewear despite being nearsighted. As a child, I hated wearing my eyeglasses and was only too glad to shift to contact lens in my teens. But a few years back an ophthalmologist recommended that I have eyeglasses handy to allow my eyes to rest from time to time. I grudgingly bought a pair and have stuck to them since.

My hubby is also nearsighted but is totally my opposite when it comes to eyewear. He loves collecting eyeglasses and shades and encouraged me to check out this new online shop he discovered called Zenni Optical. He said they have incredibly stylish new frames at unbelievably affordable prices.

They have a huge selection of frames, with single vision lens, sunsensor (potochromic)lens, tinted sunglasses lens, bifocal lens and progressive lens. I was at first skeptical, but became a true convert when Zenni Optical was on FOX News! I couldn’t be happier. Now I have a wider array of fabulous frames to choose from. Zenni Optical $8 Rx Eyeglasses are an absolute steal.

God's Pharmacy

I got this as a forwarded email and could not help but share it here in my blog...

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw.

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

The Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopene and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the number of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body's cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.