Your Daily Dose of Useful Stuff

It was a contest that she did not set her mind into, she the unassuming one, always just works quietly and steadily.  Not one who really works hard to be in the news, Jennylyn was so surprised to learn she bagged the crown of the Philippines' sexiest for 2015.  And who would not?  The way she takes care of her body is epic Jennylyn engages in sports and joins triathlon competitions.  This tells us she can bike, swim and run.  She does these with a passion and dedication almost like a religion.    Aside from triathlon, Jen does other physical exercises that develop many aspects of her well-being.  Who would have thought that she with the frail and tiny physique would even think of trying the traditional Filipino martial arts, arnis.   I saw a video of her with a trainer and it seems that Jen has become a competent arnis fighter.  I wouldn't dare cross her or she could beat me till I lose consciousness.   

Are you the type of person who feels guilty whenever you see food rotting in the ref and fruits becoming over-riped because you have lost interest in eating them?   You are not alone.  Yours truly feels very guilty whenever I see bread, rice and fruit rotting away.  One of the most common fruit that easily ripens is the banana.  People often refuse eating over-riped bananas in the Philippines because there is an oversupply of bananas.  In some places in the country, bananas are very cheap.  They are almost given away.  But there are also expensive banana varieties.   The lacatan variety is an expensive kind of banana.  This is often the exported quality.  They are exported to countries like Japan and Korea.  Koreans take their fill of these delicious bananas whenever they visit the Philippines because bananas are expensive in Korea.  They always say, it's so unfair that there are so many delicious and cheap fruit...

What happens when you got a rocking athletic body, stunning looks and volleyball prowess?  You are the envy of women and you get to be on the cover of one of the most popular men's magazine.  That's right, volleyball fans, FEU's "Queen Tamaraw" needs no further introduction because she is synonymous to  volleyball in the Philippines.  She is our "Leila Barros,"  Brazil's most popular female volleyball player. Rachel Ann Daquis accepted FHM's invitation to grace their cover and so come October 2014, you can buy FHM from your favorite  magazine stands and get a glimpse of Rachel Ann Daquis's life outside of the court.  If you have been following the volleyball games in the UAAP and the two professional leagues, Shakey's V-league and the Philippine Superliga, you are probably familiar with Rachel Ann and her kind of game.  

Happy New Year friends!!!  How did you celebrate New Year's Day?  I'm sure, like me, you prepared a lot for the New Year.  You prepared your favorite dish, desert, drink; wore your New Year's Day polka-dot blouse or red blouse, and other traditional practices that you have done during New Year's Day celebration.  The euphoria is over.  It's 2014.   And like the previous years, we made grand plans for the year to be right and perfect.    What do you plan to do for 2014?   I have made a list, and I made my objectives and goals here very specific because one of the things that I have learned in making objectives and goals is  to make them: S - specific M- measureable A-  attainable R - realistic T - timely So I made my new year's resolution really, really s-m-a-r-t and also wrote them in a more positive way.  Here goes: 1.  Buy only the things that I will use. ( I did not say to save, because to...

      It's the holiday season once again friends and what does this mean?  We are all guilty of one thing, over-eating.  It seems that food becomes irresistible during the holidays.  No matter how hard we  try, we just cannot resist the urge to try the food that is offered by friends whether in the office or in the department stores.  There are many free-tasting of new products introduced in the market everywhere like ham, and etc.  They just materialize everywhere during the holiday season.  Food becomes just so tempting that we can't resist buying and eating.  It seems that the holidays is the excuse to eat the things and drink the beverages that we skipped the entire year.     Of all the things that you eat and drink during the holidays (or even in ordinary days), you should not forget to drink one important item, wine. Wine is healthy as it does wonders to your system. Here are the benefits that you get from ...

Do you believe that vitamins make us live longer? This is a tough question really because if vitamins wouldn't give us that additional help to prolong our lives, then what will?  When we were in elementary school, we were taught that having sufficient and the right vitamins  in our body increases our resistance to diseases and prevents us from seeing our doctors frequently. Remember the adage:  "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"?  Well, it has since been replaced by:  "A banana a day keeps the doctor at bay."  Apparently, potassium is an important mineral and many doctors have recommended banana in the daily diets of a lot of children, and even adults for additional source of potassium.  So let's go back to the issue we have here.  Do vitamins really help us live longer?  Or are vitamins just a small portion to the equation leading to a totally healthy body ? What components do vitamins have that are beneficial to our physical heal...

     In some cultures in Africa, honey is considered, "yellow and sweet gold."  They consider honey to be a precious commodity.  Indigenous groups would climb very tall trees, endangering their lives in the process just to provide their families with this "yellow and sweet: gold." They actually eat honey straight from the comb, beeswax and all, after all, wild and raw honey is ready-to-eat.  What could be more natural than eating it straight from the honeycomb that it was taken from.  Honey is believed to be the healthiest food ever known to man.  The fact that it has no expiration date is an indication that it has components or elements that makes it long-lasting and makes it withstand all season and temperature. Imagine what benefit a teaspoon of honey brings to our body and imagine the kind of fortification you can get from honey.        Well, according to research, eating a spoonful of honey at least once a day wi...

Strumming the guitar might seem an old-fashioned hobby to some and can be boring to others.  I even know someone who thinks that strumming the guitar is a hobby of lonely people because that's how lonely people amuse themselves.  But I disagree, passionately.  Actually, I think strumming the guitar is neither old-fashioned or boring.  For me, it is a cool hobby as is playing other musical instruments.  I have always admired powerful people who play musical instruments like the former US President, Bill Clinton, who plays the sax.  It brings the more human, one-of-us side of him.  And when he jams with a band, he would look so cool, gray hair and all. I have just recently learned to strum the guitar.  I started to practice one chord a day and I assure you, it's not easy.  The skin under my fingers were screaming after three days.  So I had to take a break for a day.    One thing about this hobby is it is low maintenance. ...

There should not be any other reason to stop smoking but your desire to spend more years with your family and most especially, to enjoy a healthier, longer span of life .   I was a smoker for over 20 years.   Started at the age of 20, although I am a less than average smoker (almost 10 sticks a day) but since I did this destructive habit for over 20 years, millions of cells in my body have been burned with every puff I made.    But a year ago, call it enlightenment or whatever, I made a solemn vow to quit smoking.   I was so ready to give it up and I did it overnight.  I quit smoking and have not had a puff since then.   Which brings me to the conclusion that it only takes willpower to quit smoking .  Only weak people can not bring themselves to stop smoking.   We should not let anything overpower us especially something as destructive as nicotine.   The problem is that some people just don't want to even try.  Well, I was i...

peoplemaps.com S tress, it is the number one cause of illness and disease and our lifestyle is the culprit why stress has taken residence in our system and our day would not seem to be complete without it.  It just became a part of our r-o-u-t-i-n-e.  We nurtured it, until it developed and now, it's full-grown.     How did we get here?  Here is a short passage that I got from one of the letters that was sent to me by Silva Mind Control Group .  Read on, for it speaks of nothing but the truth only.  It is quoted from Carlin. Society has given us wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.  We spend more time, but have less.  We buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses, but smaller families. More degrees, but less sense.  More experts, yet more problems.  More medicine, but less wellness.  We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get to...

Walking is one of the best exercises because it does not require any fancy equipment and at the same time, does not require the use of some ample space unlike say, yoga or dancing where you need to perform the routines within a certain  area and swimming, where you need to be in the pool or go to the beach .  What is advisable though for walkers is a good pair of walking shoes in order to be comfortable in walking.  A good pair of walking shoes would be very light, airy and with a low supportive heel for easier rolling of the foot from the heel to the toes.   Walkers benefit from walking because it is believed to be effective in:  a) weight loss b) decrease of cancer and type 2 diabetes  c) Improving disposition d) Staying fit and healthy The ideal duration of time to walk for physical fitness and health is from 30-60 minutes daily.  But studies also have shown that 15 minutes can also have the same effect.   When done pr...

Summer vacation is one of the seasons of the year that people look forward to.  Aside from the Christmas  season, summer is the most enjoyable time of the year.  People take pains in planning their activities and saving for out of town trips and at exotic destinations .    But, before you pack for that most awaited trip, make sure you have the following in your luggage for an enjoyable time at the beach without sacrificing your health and safety .  It would not be fun if you will be suffering from discomfort if you come unprepared for your trip. 1.   Beach Footwear -  Don't burn your soles walking on that hot sand or those rocks.   Buy a comfortable, easy-dry, colorful and attractive footwear.   Consider the weight.  Don't buy materials that become heavy when wet.   Buy durable and long-lasting footwear that you can use for the next 3 summers. 2.   Swimming Gear -  Make sure your swimming gear is a...

We should all be concerned about proper waste disposal because if waste is not managed properly, we will have no clean surroundings in the future.   Our vacant lots will all be turned into dumpsites, unless we start segregating our trash and also reuse some garbage that we create in our very own homes.  Let us all be conscious about our movements and be very careful about the carbon footprints that we leave behind us.  Remember, we only have one home and we are slowly destroying it because of our lack of awareness of the effects of our irresponsible actions. Recently, I experimented in making fruit peelings or other food remains into organic fertilizers . Rice washing will do wonders for your plants so don't just throw them away Whenever I would be cooking, all the peelings and washing of the ingredients that I use, I set aside and later on, I throw them all directly in the backyard.  I did it for almost a week and surprise, surprise, I noticed a healthie...

Going up to Nueva Ecija always has its upsides. Last Sunday, I chanced upon the free Ceragem treatment at the NE Mall located between Munoz and San Jose City. And since I am one of those who wont let a chance like this pass, I immediately signed up and waited for my turn to try this new therapeutic machine and I was not disappointed with the results. One day after I got to try far-infra-red rays of the Ceragem, I felt all the toxins flushed out from me. I had regular bowel movement, even going to the comfort room more t han 5 times, something that caused me a lot of distress before. How Ceragem works: This 9-sphere projector is attached to a controller that will be placed on the different points of the body for acupressure. There are 15 body points identified corresponding to specific body organs. After this process, the projector can be used manually, meaning you have a choice to put it on areas that you want accupressured.

I learned just today from the Boy Abunda and Kris Aquino's show (yes, Cathy, I do watch it sometimes) when I think their topic is healthy (and not just products of some ramblings of some you-know-what) I used to just throw away used  ground coffee after having my brewed coffee every morning, but after listening to Boy enumerate the other uses of coffee, I will be doing otherwise. According to their guest, the proprietor of F salon, you can use your coffee as: 1. Body scrub - just squeeze calamansi (Philippine lemon) and honey (as antibacterial), vanilla and water, to get desired consistency and voila!!!, you have instant body scrub. You can start applying and scrubbing your body with it. 2. Deodorizer - Put your used ground coffee in a container and place it inside your refrigerator. It will absorb undesirable smell (especially if you don't regularly clean your ref).