11/365: Time for a Cool Change

One great advice that I picked up from a project management article talking about the Lean Startup: "Work smarter, not harder!"

So, today, I'm shifting my mindset: no more Ms. Goody Two Shoes...at least, about slogging things out and plodding along...and getting loose change for my efforts. :(

I'm working smarter - at least smarter than my clients without short-changing them - starting today. (Not tomorrow, mind!)

Stuff to be Grateful for in 2012

I'll have to confess right off the bat that 2012 was a very difficult year for both my husband and me. There were many things that we prayed for that went unanswered and hopes that got dashed summarily.

Be that as it may, it was still a blessed year…mainly because our faith in God kept buoying us up. And truth be told, the alternative - thinking that God is deaf and blind to our trials - is unthinkable and unacceptable. God is. The problem is in our lack of trust sometimes, heh.

Despite the many trials and frustrations and disappointments, there were many to be grateful for:

1. My father's successful bypass operation.

If there's one thing I constantly, constantly worry about, it's my 60something parents in the Philippines. I'm the eldest and like most Pinoy panganays,  set apart at birth to take care and provide for the elders in their old age. Until I left Manila to be with Hubby C in the US, I fulfilled that role nicely and satisfactorily.

Coming to America…I had to relinquish that role temporarily to my younger brother who's also in Dubai. But I never forget to pray for Dad and Mum's health every single day. My prayers always focused on me seeing them again hale & hearty.

Well, in late February last year, Mom called to tell me Dad was at the Heart Center all grayish and gasping for breath. To say that I was sobbing, gasping for breath and battling a full on panic attack is saying it lightly. I was terrified I'd lose my father.

Both Mum and Dad had hypertension and heart problems. Hearing the infinitely-less-than-stellar news got me panicking, mumbling prayers and calling on all the saints to intercede every now and then throughout the days that followed.

Happy Holidays Hangover

Whew, the second day of the New Year and everything's beginning to settle down here, at home. Everyone's back to work, and I'm home alone again--relatively speaking--with my laptop, trying to make money on the Internet. (I'm a work-at-home warrior, if you must know.)

I still have some holidays hangover though so I'm posting some of the images from the family's Christmas and New Year celebrations. For when remembering gets difficult. I'm right handy at forgetting stuff, even ones I just did or had a few minutes ago. (Sheesh!)

My personal Christmas tree ornament. L for my first name. ;)

The reason for the season--Christ the King of kings!

Christmas welcome mat out front.

Christmas booties which Hubby C insisted on hanging
on the porch rails.

Hubby C cooking the arroz caldo, the best partner to the chill,  for
the Christmas noche buena--the traditional midnight dinner for
every Filipino table. It's rice gruel with chicken meat and broth,
ginger, garlic and saffron. Hits the chilled spot every single time!
(Also one of my comfort foods.)

The arroz caldo. I think I had 4 servings of it!

Tokwa't baboy (fried tofu and boiled pork in a sweet-and-sour,
soy-sauce-and-vinegar mix). The ubiquitous partner of the
Pinoy arroz caldo.

Two kids who don't know the word "Wait.", gaily wrapped
Christmas gifts, and you have Mommy trying her darnedest to keep
them from opening their presents before the noche buena.

The opening of the Christmas presents. It isn't any wonder that the
kids got all the presents, and the adults were relegated to
just watching. Nephew VM here totally enjoyed this gift.

But of course, his favorite, dream-come-true Christmas present
is this number puzzle that his Dada A (an uncle) gave him. A week
after receiving his gift, he's still nuts over it. Definitely his
favest toy ever!

Christmas bokeh!

Pork barbecue for the media noche--this time, the New Year's
midnight dinner that's another Pinoy tradition.

Sister-in-law C's yummy, sumptuous, creamy, and absolutely
sinful lasagna...but who cares? This is one mighty delicious dish that
I'll never say no to, ever! Had 3 servings of it, heh.

Our concession to a healthy media noche, the garden fresh salad
I prepped to wash off the excesses of the other dinner fare.
You'll rarely find this on any noche buena or media noche
table back home!

The holidays weren't as chaotic as the ones I'm used to back home. For one, there's none of the deafening, colorful, and crazy fireworks display that always accompanies Christmas and New Year's eves. Back in Manila, at the strike of 12--and even hours before that--the streets turn into a bedlam of exploding (and dangerous) firecrackers, suffocating smoke, and noisy revelers. You walk the streets at your own risk.

My first Christmas and New Year's celebrations here were, well, quite ho-hum having been used to the loud  holiday parties back home. Oh well, one of these days, I'll be visiting and I'll be enjoying the exuberance once again. One of these days...

And for 2013, here's my prayer for you:

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Blessed be!

Another New Year's Resolution

It's 2013 and I'm starting a new blog! In a manner of speaking. (It's a new year, so it's a new thing...so it's essentially a new blog, hmm?)

And of course, at the start of every New Year, there's the ubiquitous New Year's Resolution. I know, I know…I'm not good at keeping them but I'm going to draw up a list nonetheless. Committing them to paper or, in this case, putting it up on the Net might serve as impetus for me to strive to keep some of them, at least.

This year though, I'm going to keep it short. Five items max then cut it up to bite size pieces. So here goes something…

1. Lose weight.

Getting to a healthy weight is the all-time favorite new year's resolution of perhaps every adult tipping the overweight scale. Sad to say, this has been on my To Do list since I turned 30. (I found out that when women gets to the Big Three Oh, our bodies are fully matured. That means the extra calories that we ignored in our 20s which fueled our growth are no longer needed…they're making a beeline for our waists, hips and thighs, ugh!)

As of press time, my weight is 145 pounds (give or take a few). Since I'm 5 feet 2 inches in height, that means I'm overweight by about 1.6. My ideal body mass index (BMI) should be anywhere from 18.5 to 24.9. Currently it's at 26.5. Bummer!

To get back to a healthy BMI, I'll need to whittle down my size to 131 pounds…which I think is doable. Provided I don't eat rice (no, no, no!)…well, after 6:00 pm and I veer off anything fatty, sweet, and salty. Might as well croak and die if that's the case! But on both sides of the parental divide, we've got a history of hypertension, diabetes and heart problems so I guess, if I want to enjoy a fit lifestyle, I'll have to start denying myself. Argh!

Strategies:

• Subsist on half a cup of rice every meal. Question is, can I do this? Been on a rice binge for the past 3 years.
• No rice after 6:00 p.m. so my dinner should consist of salad greens, some protein, and juice. I did it before, I can do it again.
• Time between meals, including snacks, shouldn't exceed 4 hours. I heard that by the fourth hour, the body's starving so when you eat beyond it, you tend to gobble on anything and everything.
• Break the rules in the morning, but by lunch time, start playing by the rules. 
• Drink lots of water! No milk teas, no coffees, no sodas, no juices (well, sometimes).

2. Get fit.

Uhuh. Another one of those ubiquitous items on every adult's new year's resolutions written or otherwise. The problem with this resolution as in years past is, yeah, getting beyond the second week and still doing it. I think, what I should aim for is to take up the fit habit...daily.

Strategies:

• Rev up to a 3-mile walking exercise. Week 1: walk 1 mile. Week 2: walk 2 miles. Week 3: walk 3 miles. Use Leslie Sansone's walking videos. Download from YouTube and create a DVD.
• Do the walk Mondays to Fridays, rest on Sundays. (Bike on Saturdays.)
• 5-minute morning stretch upon waking.
• Drink 2 glasses of water upon waking.
• 30-minute road biking with hubby once a week. Stroll biking! Stroll biking...
• Early to bed and early to rise! No more late-nighters. Go to bed at 1:00 am and wake up at 8:00 am heh.

Here's the 3-mile walking exercise:

3. Restore spiritual life.

Guilty, guilty, guilty. I haven't had a decent, consistent, regular prayer time in ages so my spiritual life is shot to pieces! I always have fits and starts when it comes to my devotions. Well, this 2013, I aim to be closer to God. (So help me, God.)

Strategies:

• Morning prayer upon waking, including mass reading for the day.
• Reflection writing at 3 p.m.
• Rosary with hubby before going to sleep.
• Sabbath retreat on Saturdays at 3 p.m. using Sunday mass readings.
• Sunday mass at 6 p.m.
• Confession every 4th Saturday of the month.

4. Stop procrastinating!

It's probably the one worst habit that I have, putting off doing things for later. This one, I still have to write down my strategies. :( And that's not because I'm procrastinating but because I really have to research what works for me. Hah!

Strategies:

• One thing is clear, create a daily To Do list and follow it.
• For that matter, create a daily schedule.
• The rest, I'll have to research and draw up a really good anti-procrastination program.

5. Get into the blogging for money business.

I'm quite good at writing and researching, and I can get obsessive at stuff I like sometimes so I'm going to put this to good use. So this 2013, I'm starting a niche blog and, God willing, I'll earn real good from it. (So help me again, God.)

Strategies:

• Purchase domain name and hosting.
• Write first 32 articles, following list of keywords. (I cheated on this; already have the idea, haven't started it just yet, heh.)
• Research monetization streams and affiliate programs.
• List monetization strategy. For that matter, write down business plan. (I think this should be the first on the list.)

I think that's it. I dare not go past the 5th mark as it might get unwieldy on me and, with my propensity to procrastinate, I'll never be able to accomplish anything.

There's one thing that's certain this new year though: I'm going to do something with my life, something significant. So help me, God.