the lighter side

Not that I have a problem on how to lose weight, as usually my size would be small, if not large (for clothing companies where the sizing is for small people?), so this is not a concern for me.

However, as this is generally a woman’s interest, I got curious and I read on, drawn by the topic. I refer to the diet advice of Dr. Lark. She approaches weight loss taking into consideration the critical changes of the body chemistry experienced by almost all women over 40. Usually this is triggered by some foods, so she says. And she has three simple steps to thin, or to shed unwanted pounds. Want to learn from her?

Tags: body chemistry, diet, unwanted pounds, weight loss, woman's interest

In a previous post, I said I’ll show later the architecture of Litomerice (”in another post: The Architecture of Litomerice … in time please”), and so here are some of their quaint and charming buildings, crafted with much meticulousness, as in other European designs of old!

The first church at the intersection. The spires are very Czech, reminds one of beautiful Our Lady of Tyn Church at the Old Town Square in Prague

The second church , with the upper portion given priority; note the Cross (I’m sorry we couldn’t identify the above churches)

The Litomerice Town Hall, note the unique design of their tower, which serves as a viewing deck as well.

The Salva Guarda Hotel (with picturesque design/decor on the exterior walls?) where we saw the bust of Dr. Jose P. Rizal gracing the ground floor terrace. This building is fronting the city plaza, with the main avenue in between them.

This building and the one below were in front the city plaza..note the  shop

So can we say, these are commercial buildings?

Though most of the structures are unidentified, the purpose here is just to show them as we have seen them (focus on their design), and hopefully you appreciate them as we do.

Tags: buildings, churches, Litomerice

When we are in the internet, we usually meet interesting people or sights or news. I have opened the site of Hector Kabande, a hotel executive who has developed his love for food and cooking since his student days, and is known for his passion for hot peppers…ugh! This is interesting. Before I would not touch anything hot like I just shunned peppers, but little by little especially when in Thailand, I’ve developed eating food with pepper, though not the very hot ones.

That’s why I find Mr. Kabande interesting, as he is so fond of the hottest peppers!
More facts about his life can be found in his website.

As I stated in a previous post, that I’ll be back with the pics, so here they are:

There you are! Two mothers ages away, but of course not for comparison, but as a reminder to moms that they should take heart as Mama Mary, our top model of motherhood, also went through all the joyful and sad details of being a mother. If she didn’t accept and persevered with it to the end, we wouldn’t have Jesus, we wouldn’t have salvation!

This afternoon, a sister in the community had problems over her son who is applying for a job. So many requirements are to be met like, to mention some, the medical examination plus the x-ray, clearances as the NBI, police, even drug test, etc. And she was short of cash. These are hard times financially, so many are complaining. Also for growing families with children of schooling age, the parents almost always feel the pains and uncertainties of being short in resources. It’s good if they have friends or relatives they can turn to for loans, which are shelled out of a good heart to help.

However, there are now businesses to meet this need. For instance at Personal Loan Markets, one can apply for a personal loan. I remembered the above friend of mine if only she can avail of such loan. The requirements are minimal and the approval is quick. Or she can also take advantage of a pay day loan for a short term need, as anyway her husband is working, and comes end of the month, they can pay it. Whatever it is she chooses, it’s good to know she can be assisted.

Tags: children, clearances, loans, parents, problems, requirements

There were so many thoughts I wanted to share during our travel but which I couldn’t due to time constraint. Now, as I go over the pictures, I’m glad to have found time to share some which I had back then.

One such random thought involved this photo taken in Litomerice when we made our historical visit there. We were just strolling around to look for any statue or whatever of our beloved hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, when we passed by a church. On one side was this statue of the Madonna and Child, and glad to discover a sign that this must be a Catholic church, I quickly took a shot for keeps.

Not far behind, when I looked back, my daughter Daisy, the cute (my daughters are three cutes ), was pushing the stroller of baby Caity. What crossed my mind then were random thoughts about the Madonna and Child whose picture I had just taken. Baby Jesus was also taken cared of by Mama Mary, though I wonder if in those times, there was already a stroller. Whatever are the differences of physical materials used in nurturing a child, then and now, the fact remains that Jesus went through being cared for by a mother. Thoughts along this line ran through my mind. You too I’m sure will have your own (ideas) upon looking at the photos of two mothers, then and now. Especially the moms reading this, aren’t you thrilled you have a little of Mama Mary in you as you feed, bathe, stroll along, or as you care for your little one? I had my own great time with five!

Okay, the pictures, I’ll post tomorrow.

Tags: Catholic church, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Jesus, Litomerice, Madonna and Child, Mama Mary, thoughts, travel

Wearing eyeglasses myself, I’m attracted to sites about eyewear, sometimes just to compare how it is with others. I got a pair of photochromic (this is clear indoors, but darkens when exposed to sunlight outdoors) lenses, and I love it! They also call it transition eyeglasses? I don’t mind to have another pair to alternate, but for the price of it. Though this was a gift of my two thoughtful and generous daughters, still I’d “wince” to think of the high price. If you don’t think P8k+ high for a pair of eyeglasses, and this, even with a senior citizen discount! hehehe (I’m just happy with these discounts and happy also with my eyeglasses!)… you must have plenty of bucks.

That’s why when I read that Clark Howard, a popular U.S talk radio host, of the Clark Howard Show, got his pair of eyeglasses from Zenni Optical, I went to their site to find out. I didn’t have problem to access it, and had great time browsing through a wide range of eyeglasses with various designs, with low prices. This pair is one of my favorites with its simple yet dignified look.

They have so many categories to choose from, based on materials (pure titanium, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, plastic, acetate, or mixed); or on frames (rimless, half rim, full rim, variable dimension frames, children’s frames, etc); or on designs (leading edge designs, women’s fashion, men’s classic, goggles, etc.); or on price ranges (from $8 and up!). These are just to mention some of my finds.

Tags: Clark Howard, discounts, eyeglasses, eyewear, gift, photochromic, Zenni Optical

In my last post, I said: “…wow! I passed as a property consultant of a prestigious triple-A builder-turned-developer, and I have been excited about it!” Yeah! When I was still in Manila, I could not wait to blog about it here – I was just so sure this would be the first thing I’d do when I’d reach home! That’s how thrilled I was about it! So many, many things to “report” and I could imagine many would be eager to know about it too. Hmmm it remains to be seen though. I’ll just share it here.

It was in the seminar that my eyes were opened to many unknown matters that I learned only there. Well, let’s start with the “property consultant”. Actually it’s plain “agent” in the usual real estate world, the one who sells house-and-lots, subdivision lots, condo units, or the like, whose main target is to earn, not minding much at what – and at whose – expense. However, in this company, they try to lift up and change the generally-tarnished image of the “agent” (who would just aim for a fast buck, never mind the after-sales support, of course for the exception of the good ones, who are still of a good number,) and do something so that this would be totally changed to someone more dignified, reliable, knowledgeable, professional even at first glance (that’s why the corporate look, even in their dress code; for one, jeans are not allowed), who can truly discuss with the client about his future real estate stake, who can give him options, ready with computational skills when needed in the field.

So the two-day seminar/workshop was crammed with so much to absorb, each topic had a “handbook” with many facts to memorize, and at the end, in the afternoon of the second day, there was an exam! Whew! And so what happened, only half of the class passed! That’s why the “wow”, as I was not sure I’d be one of those blessed (most others say “lucky”) ones to get out of it with a smile! My edge there was the computation part, being an engineer . And I praise God for this!

(to be continued)

Tags: property consultant, real estate developer, triple-A builder

When I was last in Manila, by some circumstance, I have attended a seminar on real estate, and wow! I passed as a property consultant of a prestigious triple-A builder-turned-developer, and I have been excited about it! I’ve really planned to share this with you, but I’ll take this up in a later post.

For now, I’m trying to learn more on other aspects of real estate, especially when I encounter something new like this Self Directed IRA. Ah, so IRA is the short cut for Individual Retirement Account, which is a tax-deferred retirement account for an individual where this person sets aside money each year, with tax-deferred earnings provided withdrawals begin at age 59 1/2 or later (with a 10% penalty if earlier withdrawn). The exact amount depends on the year and the age.

Usually IRA owners invest their IRA in conventional ways such as stocks and bonds but these give them a lower return. Little is it known to them that there is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruling allowing them to invest their IRA funds in nontraditional assets such as real estate such as land only, buildings, home rentals, or even to finance a business. Investing could therefore be varied, and of greater possibility of a higher return.

So an individual can open a self-directed IRA with an expert finance company which can be hired as a custodian to transfer his present IRA funds to this new account with a strategy that could be penalty-free and even tax-free.

Tags: business, investing, real estate, retirement, self-directed IRA

Hi everyone! A happy and blessed Sunday! This morning, as I tried to be refreshed by a few thoughts from the book “just a Moment” – short notes, anecdotes, or reflections – of Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD, I got this one which is a good starter for a happy Sunday. Hi Father, you don’t mind if I share it here, do you? If you’ve heard it before, just LOL again! Good for the heart!

A Nervous Tourist

The story is told about Dan Torres from Bicol who was so afraid and nervous because of his illegal immigration status in the United States. When told by the guy at a gas station to “pay first”, he thought the guy was asking for his papers. When asked if he had a Master Card or Visa credit card, he got nervous all the more because he thought that the guy was asking for his visa. When asked whether he was a tourist, he got scared thinking that the guy knew his name was Torres. And when the guy (observing he was tooo nervous!) told him to “be cool”, he fainted in fear because he thought the guy even knew that he was from Bicol!

Fr. Jerry’s ending per his book:

A MOMENT WITH THE LORD

Lord, I need not fear because You are near. Amen.

A MOMENT WITH THE WORD

Fear not, I am with you, be not dismayed, I am your God! Isaiah 41:10
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My thoughts: The lesson? When we’ve done something wrong, even in unintentional words or gestures, we right away “see” something lurking to be feared, we would be eaten by our fears, worries (to be exposed!), and doubts as to our next move!

So? We better come out clean in all our dealings, in our words, and in our thoughts. Too difficult? Sure! BUT if we ask and PRAY to the Lord, He will make it easy!

Tags: fear, Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, funny story, lesson