Femme Power

Five days to go and it’s Valentine’s Day.  Have you thought of anything special to surprise your partner?  Flowers are among the the best sellers during this time of the year, as most women love to receive flowers.  If you have loved ones here in the Philippines and you wanna send flowers to them or a cute teddy bear or anything else special, there’s a website that can help you with that.

Send Gifts to the Philippines through Island Rose, the company that pioneered the cut flower industry in the Philippines back in 1983.   Their flowers are of great quality, they’re always fresh no matter where they are delivered in the Philippines.   And anybody will be awed by the impressive presentation of their flowers and other products — at amazingly affordable prices.   Plus, you can take advantage of a 10% discount by using this valentine code: VDAY022010 valid until February 20.

Flower Delivery to the Philippines has never been this cost-effective and hassle-free.   Check out Island Rose’s website on the links provided so you’ll know why I’m impressed.   You could find gift items for as low as P250 and up.  The website is very easy to navigate, with elaborate details of their various gift packages.

So if you wanna send Flowers to the Philippines, let Island Rose do the walking for you.

I’m a sleepyhead.   I’ve always been.   I sleep at any perfect opportunity I could find (except at work!) and honestly, I find it hard getting up early in the morning.   However since I got married, I’ve been curbing my sleeping fancy a little bit.   It even came to a point when I had to sleep as little as four hours a night when I had my home-based call center job last year.   I was a walking zombie!

And though I hate waking up early, I now have to get up by 5 am or earlier so I could fix breakfast for my gradeschooler and pack her lunch as well.  Hence, for me to get at least 7 or more hours of sleep, I need to be in bed early too.

I’m sure it’ll help big time if I sleep in one of those cozy metal beds!  (photos courtesy of http://www.time4sleep.co.uk)

Is having a good night’s sleep important?   Yes!  Let me count the ways:

1.  Sleep reduces stress-  In one of my readings, I learned that sleep deprivation causes our body to produce stress hormones.  Getting a good seven to eight hours of sleep gives us the opposite effect.

2.  Sleep improves your mood - Here in the Philippines, we have a popular saying that goes “Magbiro ka na sa lasing, wag lang sa bagong gising.”  It simply implies that people who had a bad, inadequate sleep are more cranky than those who are drunk.  So don’t mess with sleep-deprived people.

3.  Sleep makes you more energetic and alert - Having a good night’s sleep energizes you when you wake up in the morning.  It makes you feel refreshed and ready to face the world. Hence, it also makes you more productive.

4.  Sleep improves your memory - Whenever I get quality sleep, I notice that my brain works sharper.  I remember things more vividly and I learn new things better, unlike when I’m sleepy and feel like I’m floating in a limbo.

5.  Sleep prolongs lifespan -  Sleep is needed to regenerate certain body parts, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally. Missed or reduced sleep will affect the brain cells or neurons and may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting a person’s behavior. One time there was an episode in the TV Series “House” where a patient couldn’t sleep for a couple of days.  The doctors were racing against time because according to them, if a person can’t sleep for seven days, he or she won’t be able to regenerate his or her neurons and that will cause death.

6. Lack of sleep makes you ugly - It gives you dry and scaly skin especially on the face where our skin is thin and sensitive.  Plus it gives you dark circles around the eyes.

You may add more to the list of these sleep benefits and the ill-effects of sleep deprivation.   For now, I need to catch some good sleep.   Zzzz…

Yay!  I barely noticed that it took me quite a few days to update this blog.   I’ve been too preoccupied with work and home responsibilities that I hardly had any spare time for my blogging pleasures.  Speaking of pleasure, let me share with you this pleasurable yet inexpensive activity we had as a family just recently.

This is my entry for this week’s Fun Friday in our Blogging For Fun Group.  If you want to join, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll introduce you to our group of supportive bloggers.

Have you ever seen a kalesa? A kalesa is a horse-driven carriage popular in the Philippines.  It was introduced by the Spaniards back in the 18th century as one of the modes of transportation here in the Philippines but only nobles and high ranked officials could afford it back then.  Rich Filipinos known as the ilustrados used the kalesa for business and personal travel.   Fortunately today, the kalesa still exists in some tourist spots and rural areas plus riding it is not that pricey anymore for ordinary people.  So last week, our family had the pleasure of touring the river park using the kalesa!

My hubby took us to Marikina Riverbanks where there were two kalesas waiting for patrons.   I didn’t expect to see any of them in our city so I was pleasantly surprised.   And since it was our first time to ride it, we had a blast.   And we only paid P50 each ($1.11).   It was awesome!  I hope more people will patronize the kalesa so that they’ll continue to exist for our children to see and experience.

As usual, I’m not in the picture because I was the frustrated photographer, lol!  But that’s my pleasure. *hugs*

Calling all bloggers, young and old!

Show the world you care! Be a part of the “I Blog, I Care Movement.” Here are the rules on how to join:

1. Copy the “I Blog, I Care” badge and the rules (1 to 6) on this page.
2. Post these in one or all your blogs.
3. Tag/invite your other friends to join by sharing this with them.
4. Leave your post URL here: The Twitterer
5. For every fifteen (15) blogs joining the I Blog, I Care Movement, a $1.00 donation will be given to the International Committee of the Red Cross. You can also donate directly here: http://www.icrc.org.
6. Spread the love and show you care.

February and June are closing in and surely, a lot of couples are going to tie the knot on these months.   As early as now, wedding preparations should be underway.

I remember that I planned my own wedding almost 10 years ago, with the help of my colleagues in radio.   One of them volunteered to be the wedding coordinator (for free) and emcee at the same time.  The rest of them took charge of the flowers and giveaways, and even decorated our wedding car.  Some acted as usherettes at the reception.   My brother took care of the invitation cards’ design and printing.  My then fiance had our picture published on the local paper, announcing our upcoming union.

Weddings take a lot of preparations and unless you pay for a professional wedding coordinator, you’ll probably wear yourself out before the big day.   I was just so blessed to have friends who volunteered to help us out and make our wedding so memorable.   If you’re planning your wedding or know somebody who is, try to check out cheap wedding programs online.   It’s a one-stop shop for bridal needs, from gifts to invitations and many others.

My husband and I didn’t spend much on our wedding because we had a good number of volunteers and freebies, lol!  It pays to have lots of good friends.  And that made our wedding very memorable.

The new year has just started but some people are already cringing on a very tight budget. Sad but not everyone managed to start the year financially sound, specially those who used up their savings during the holidays.

Interesting but sometimes the scarcity of money draws back long-lost friends.  One of my friends, whom I’ve lost contact with for almost a year now, started texting me again for the last two weeks to confide with me her financial ordeal.   Much as I wanted to help her, I didn’t have that huge a disposable amount so I helped her look for a lending institution instead.  She didn’t want to approach a bank due to the number of requirements being asked.  When we need an urgent financial rescue, it’s normal that we wish for a speedy process.  We only have to make sure that the interest won’t kill us.   Normally here in our place, interest rates go as high as 10-20%, depending on who’s lending (not the banks).

If it’s any consolation, there are bad credit loans available in some areas so those who have a not-so-good credit history won’t be discriminated against.

Best to scrutinize the terms and conditions very well if they suit you before jumping into an agreement.   Yes, it sucks to start the year with an empty wallet but it will suck some more if we half-bury ourselves with those high interest rates, don’t you think?

Have you ever witnessed a costplay event in your place?  The term costplay is short for costume play, a performance art that’s becoming widely popular around the globe.  Costplayers don accessories and costumes of a certain character (usually anime) and they act like they’re the real characters, sometimes even imitating their character’s voice.

Here are some snapshot we got last month in SM City Marikina.  My daughter and hubby (and I, of course) had a blast hobnobbing with Darth Vader, Iron Man, and many others at the mall.