Live Life to the Fullest – Epilogue of Meaningful Life Adventure

“We do not remember days; we remember moments”  ~ Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand

Part of remembering childhood memories is recalling childhood experiences - a nostalgic little piece of heaven we carry for a lifetime within us.

To share with you, I grew up in a big house with all my relatives were all there.  Grandparents and aunties were around as each of us supported each other.  One of my  fondest childhood experiences were playing activities with my cousins like biking, skating, running and playing badminton.  For my grandmother, she introduced to us how to cook and celebrate various traditions/religious  activities. These memories are still fresh in my mind.

Funny to recall but now that I am an adult, I am fond of doing these activities again as I share this with you.

Playing badminton.  I decided to play badminton just last year as I remember this childhood play in our own backyard.

Running.   I was then an observer to my brothers who loved running.  I was also their cheer leader when they joined marathon contests.   Now, it is one of my fond activities during weekends or at night.

Skating.   Skating was one of my favorite childhood activity where we spent the whole weekend afternoon to skate along our church playground area.  Last year, I found a skating rink when we decided to have a Christmas vacation.   Maybe scary when I tried to skate again for the long time.  Funny but I can do it still as my kids gave me a remarkable comment.

All these activities are exhilarating, fun yet so fulfilling as I enjoy all of it.

But why do we have to go back to our childhood memories?

According to studies, nothing is more powerful than the memories created by our childhood experiences.   The child’s memories always reflected and even touched our present life.

The memories of our childhood are the roots where are our adult goals come from.  Definitely, I believe in this one.  Because of my grandmother’s influence, my mother love to cook gourment dishes as I also love to do it.

Our perspectives, attitudes and even our views of life are influenced by the memories and experiences.   Memories are like a slide show of events of our lives. They allow us to relive the joy and strive to become better.

Hopefully, you can remember one of your best childhood experiences. Not only playful activities I have mentioned.  These can be movies, toys, photographs as your list goes on and on. As a result of  recalling your fondest  memories, definitely, you can able to trace love and connections back through your childhood.

Reading is an intellectual food for the mind.

I heart reading – books that uplift spirits and colorful magazines that depicts travel, food and health.  I always bring one in my bag as my companion to beat the traffic, waiting for a meeting or simply have a coffee.

Previously, have lot of technical books (computer programming) but have to stop buying them because of obsolescence.  I just have to enroll and subscribe myself to different blog posts in the internet related to tech stuff just to keep me going.

Some of the authors I am crave about are mostly John Maxwell collections.  The all-time favorites like Robert Kyosaki, Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Spencer Johnson, Anthony Robins, Seth Godin and still many to mention.  Anyway, as long that it is a good book, I am ok with it.

For the locals, I love all the books of Bo Sanchez.  All the content is easy to understand, relating real life short stories yet so practical.  I even give this as a gift to my friends if there would be occasions to celebrate or a sort of gratitude to acknowledge.

But how do I evaluate the books I buy?

Most of my time in a mall is going to a bookstores and spending to read the first chapters of it.  Once I cannot stop reading the book that captures my attention, tendency have to buy from there or definitely will come back.

Another fascination that I love is reading magazines – travel, food, health and home living.   I enjoyed browsing the colorful pictures and the content.

I got a monthly subscriptions from La Isla Magazine of Air Philippines,  collections from Travelife where most of their contents are places here and abroad.  These also serve as my guiding compass if my family and friends will go out of town – like places to visit, resto to eat.

For food mag, Yummy magazine will always be my companion where every issue give me the idea in preparing gourmet dishes for family and friends as I also love to cook.

But what are the benefits of reading?

Reading enhances creative thinking and imagination as we acquire not only knowledge but noble virtues.

I remember one of my aged mentor told me that to beat Alzheimer disease is to keep yourself reading all sort of materials as it stimulates growing up not  to grow old.

Readings can also contain valuable ideas that would guide us to life, sort of inspiration to achieve success.

If that is the case, make it a hobby, it would be a great source of recreation as we feed our mind and soul!

“Life is fully loaded. Take one shot at a time.”

I got again this Monday blues syndrome as I plan the week ahead of me. Ideas and things to do keep cropping up my mind what to do ending up I am already stress.

Photo courtesy of Abel dela Cruz

How can I overcome my “Monday Blues”?  These are just few of suggestions that me, myself and I must practice and hopefully can be beneficial to others.

• Maybe, baby steps can be an answer. Take one step at a time as it get things done as you live it moment by moment.

• Start doing it. There’s no other day to start but today.  Do it now.  Some are worried as you perfect each steps.  But as long you are doing you’re part, it is just A-ok.

• Get an inspiration.  Look for someone who can inspire you.  I have already post about the reason why I have to woke each day and I think this is also applicable here.

• Lastly, enjoy what you are doing.  Don’t force yourself doing the things you hate.  When you actually do what you like, you are happy and got this positive overall outlook.

As I end up this article, I like also to share the shout-out quote on some of the  readings I got from the social network updates:

“I work because I WANT TO, not because I HAVE TO”

There you have it.  Now I am ready, as in hopefully (crossing my fingers here…) to another fab week…

Do have a fabulous Monday also and week ahead now!

Part of ending my week’s ahead is dining out. Definitely, I love eating meals as part of my reward for the whole week’s work.

But nothing can savor the best ingredients of any meal but the company of loved ones and friends.  Part of an investment for a relationship to grow is to have time as you get along with each other.

We came across Cajun Red Rock restaurant along SM Megamall as we look for another dining experience.

As we look at the menu, its not that expensive as it fits our budget. Simple get-together will be just fine.  Mostly,  ordering fresh salad or meat dishes like chicken in every meal will be a great share for everyone.  More healthier yet more cheaper. What both of us order is a chicken pizza to share.

We include large glass of Long Island Iced Tea to add the menu more interesting.  Funny, but beside our drinks is the free popcorn for munching served while waiting for your order.

Adding up is another chicken menu, the buffalo wings.  Its kinda spicy but the overall taste is just right.

Since we only cross-over to this resto, we do not dare to ask for their specialty food which I just found out that there are still other foods to crave for  like Peppered Mustard, Chicken Jambalaya and Chicken Volcano Burger.

All our big servings as we even take out some of the pizza we ordered.

Definitely, will come back for more – more cherish talks with friends to look upon yet great but affordable meal to share.

Contact Info:

SM Megamal – 3F Atrium, 638-8387

Morning rush routine every morning is very common as we reach to our workplace and kids’ school on time. But do we sometimes tell to ourselves to whom really we woke up every morning?

I got to stumble this commercial that always reminds me why I wake up every morning.

Simple yet great theme indeed, light at heart and spirit yet so relevant.

Perk up with a great day ahead of us knowing that someone encourage us to wake up every morning is a great motivation.

Family, friends, loved ones or people you mingle every morning are great reasons to woke up every morning.

Great cup of coffee as a fresh start in the morning as it begins your energy perk up especially when you share it to someone. Definitely, I heart brew!

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort”  ~ Jane Austen

Home gives us a special feeling that no other can give us. Home is the best place that we can have.

As the new year starts, we felt also the urge to rearrange our home as I am craving for simple yet locally native decors to make it shabby chic.

Definitely, my budget must not suffer.  What we did is to explore Dapitan Arcade as our family troop to buy a low-cost myriad of decors that will fit  our gusto.

This is ever since my favorite haunt for decorations as we scour the slab all over the place.

Still, why do we have to take time to make our home a better place to live in?

I would like to share this quotable words shared by Frederick Robertson:

Home is the one place in all this world where hearts are sure of each other.

It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts.

It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule.

Is your home still your happy and best place for you?  Hope so…

“In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins:

Cash and Experience

Take the Experience first; the cash will come later”

by Harold Geneen

Since I decided to go freelance with what I am doing right now, mostly, people were asking me why do I have to do it considering I was engage with a stable company that later on can give my retirement pay later on.

Am I worried? Perhaps..

I am an avid follower of Bo Sanchez.  Name it – his books, his preachings and most especially his passion to life as I even put his website as one of my favorite blog roll.  To know more about him, here is his website.

This is also what I have leaned for more than a decade of following him.  Here are important yet urgent stuff  I need to maintain at the moment:

• Regular yet multiple stream of income where we retain mostly a steady income.  Not that too big but at least we can still afford to sustain our family  operating cost every month.  If there would be extras, we made it a point to save it for emergency or for upcoming travel get-away.

• Live simple.  We got a quaint house with not so old car.  After hubby quit his full-time work and got to return those flushy car provided by the company, we just regularly maintained our assets like house and car.   Still, we save those early retirement money.   I remembered I still have to get a clear shots in a phone camera before we had purchase a digital camera then and will just post process those photos.  We buy only our gadgets because it is needed with our business.  We also made use of those gadgets like laptops and high-end camera for investment/income purposes where hubby got those photo shoots with pay in an event like weddings and birthdays.   We were lucky that most of our dresses were sent by my relatives abroad every year during Yuletide season which lessen the budget of buying those stuffs.

• Financially educated.  At the moment, this is quite new for me.  What I have is savings in the bank and some other investments.  That’s it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  What struck me always in all of his readings is to be financially stable.  At the moment, I do not have the mentor to be with me as to guide me in this undertakings.  I want to learn the details about stock market, bonds and many more.

What I have in myself is the initiative to prepare my future.  I follow his advise as I enroll to Truly Rich Club.  This is their website link.  As I quote the website tagline – ” I will not only gain financial wealth but spiritual abundance at the same time which i fervently follow all the teachings”.   I want that!

I know I am still a neophyte in investing and probably someday, I can say to myself I do not have to worry about my retirement age as I indulge myself to save for the future little by little as in day by day.

When I am starting to do LLF short for Live Life Fullest as my new project for 2011, I said to myself that I will really find time even my schedule is too cropped up with the stuffs to do.

Here are some of my work planned routines for the first quarter of the year:

• Training schedules to the client would took 4 – 8 hours depending on the capacity on how they will pick up the learning
• Meeting/consultative talk would took 2 hours the most to brainstorm the concepts
• Finalizing/preparation would occupy 2 – 4 hours depending in the severity of work project if its low, medium to high priority.

Going to the work place would took me a two-hour drive back and forth. Utmost at night, I am looking forward for my bed to sleep.

Since blogging is working and posting online, I have to plan my cyberspace  time if I really like to pursue it.  Now I have to plot my timeline schedule:

• I have to wake up early, 4am the most.  I can also reap the benefits of full speed of my internet connection working on the said schedule.  At home, we have a SMART BRO – a wireless connection. I have been subscribing the said broadband internet service for three years. My first worry then when we transferred our home was internet connection because by that time, phone was out of reach along the area.  SMART BRO is the answer.

• Since I have with me a plug-it gadget, I can schedule my surfing during breaks.  Even I bought the Smart Bro Plug-It when it was first release then, I really did not bother to use it.  Now it’s about time! I am anticipating a work on the go and this is the advantage of the plug-it gadget.   Visibility connection along the metro is also high.  As long I have a prepaid load,  I can be connected anywhere, anytime I want.

• I can also use my travel travel time by riding in a Wi-Fi Bus like JAC Liner. Something new?  What struck me when I traveled by bus was to find out that it was wifi equipped and it’s free.

Not only the bus is new and fast, JAC liner is the first wifi bus in the Philippines that offer this services.   Curios as I am, have check it as I get my netnote and ask the conductor what internet connection they are using.  Its Globe’s 3G.  It is secured then as he even gave me the password to use.

Whoow, I love the internet speed as I try to open my updates to my social network links and checked also my email.

One will not be bored on the journey as providing this high-end technology can be a great way to enjoy travel despite also the traffic along the way.  This can be a helpful guide to travelers who are new in exploring the place.

Now do I have the reason not to blog anymore even I am traveling going to the workplace as my predicament not to continue this passion?

I don’t think so! Given me the chance to be online, surfing and updating my blog can be a great alternative while you are on the road or anywhere.

Truly, the quote encompasses its reason that “if there’s a will, there’s a way” as I nurture  my passion to blogging.

Seven days without laughter makes one weak.  ~ Mort Walker

A  good laugh is an antidote,  a medicine, a tranquilizer rolled in a bottle without a side effects – a  priceless medicine that is fun, free and easy to use.

Laughter is so infectious when people shared together, it increases happiness and intimacy.  A humor is just as important to personal health as eating right and exercise as it triggers physical changes in the body.

As I jointly laugh with friends and families, it diminish the pain for a hefty day, effects of stress as it boost one’s energy to work and be inspired again.

As it improves our overall state of mind and sense of satisfaction with life as it raise our energy level causing us to be more fab,  the ability to laugh easily and frequently tremendous resource for enhancing our relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.

Have you experience this one?  Then spend a great laugh!

I got this “Thank-GOD-its-Friday” syndrome as the week ends, something I celebrate once I breeze out after the 40-hour work in a week -  indulging myself to eat my favorite comfort food.

Its a reward I suppose.  I cannot expect that someone will recognize a “job-well-done” praise.  In order for me to move on and keep inspired the way I am doing things is to appraise, take a break and pamper myself once in a while.

One of my crave comfort food is a cheesecake partner with coffee as I indulge myself in a Friday afternoon as my hefty week was already off.  I love all the Coffee Bean cheesecake especially this one.   For their store location, you can check their website.

Comfort food makes as somehow feel better wherein our brain releases certain “feel good” hormones into our bodies in order to compensate for those different negative feelings that we experience in our daily lives.

Eating comfort food is not only healthy but it also makes us feel good.  When feeling good, we become more productive, we feel contented, and it enhances our personality, disposition and well-being.

This simple craving brings us a blessing to the soul as well as to our appetite.

Let’s not despise ourselves as we get back and enjoy all the wonderful yet simple food as we desperately been love as  to balance our crazed busy lifestyles.

How about you,what is your fave comfort food?