DESIDERATA by Maxx Ehrmann

I memorized this poem during my highschool/middle school years in the Philippines. 
I am thankful that the Catherinean nuns in our school, Colegio de Sta. Catalina de Sena, shared this poem with us. 

Now that I am in my early 40s, this poem still resonates as it talks about contentment, positivism, gratitude, growing up, being like water and living and loving life.  

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass. 
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. 
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy. 
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Nurturing Friendships

It has been said many times before that no man is an island.  Aside from our family, we count on our closest, trusted cirlce of friends as part of our support system.  In fact, in most cases, our closest friends are our extended family members.  

I am blessed to have friends who have come to understand, accept me as I am and who continue to be my closest friends in spite of our physical distance.  And my commitment to them is in spite of my distance, my personal circumstances, I will always be a friend to them.  

This blogpost is called Nurturing Friendships, because we need to take the extra mile, the extra step to stay in touch, be connected with our friends in spite of our busy schedule.  It is a verb, it is an action word, because building and maintaining friendships, require commitment to let it grow.  Of course, friends understand if the communication dwindles a bit.  But we should never stop from keeping in touch, nor should we just give up if sometimes the other party cannot immediately reply.  We choose our friends and the people who become part of our lives. So if we found our trusted circle of friends, we should stick to them.  Of course, this is a very personal decision.  We are guided by our personal criteria.. Again, we choose who are part of our lives.  And the nice thing about our friendship is even if at some point, communication was scarce, we just reconnect, take it up from where we left off and it seems that the absence, long time was just a phase.  

The thing I missed most about my friends are the laughter, the giggles, the warm hugs, the banters, the shoulder to cry on, the get together, the moments spent together and all the candid and serious conversations about life in general. And though we are physically apart, I hold on to these beautiful memories, as they always paint a smile on my now becoming old age stricken face. :)  

To all my friends out there, you know who you are.. :) thank you for all the love, support and kindness through the years.  I love you and I miss you all bigtime.  Let´s all be thankful with technology that in spite of our distance, we are able to keep in touch. 

I love you my friends!!! 

Not my photo. Photo owner:  NBC News downloaded from the internet 

My Journey to Wellness: Mindfulness.. To Multi-task or not?

I take prestige that I am an excellent organizer and that I have perfected the multitasking approach.  People closest to me an attest to that.  My work colleagues have even commended my multi tasking skills saying that it is on a different level. 

As part of my journey to wellness, I have  been reading about mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a present mental and emotional state where you focus on the actual, current, present moment on purpose.  Having said that, mindfulness is telling me to live this moment, breathe the present moment and be liberated from other thoughts that my beautiful mind may produce. So, should I multi-task or finally say bye bye to multi-tasking?  

It may sound so easy but that is very, very challenging.  Even if we just want to focus on one particular thought, our human mind, by nature does not stop and keeps on yielding other thoughts.  And that is where mindfulness comes in.  It is telling us that while we are walking, we just enjoy the walk, be in the present moment, looking at the cars, paying attention to what we see on the street instead of coming up with a mental list/backlog of the things that must be done like, what is missing from my fridge?  When do I put on the washing machine?  The same thing when we brush our teeth, do we pay attention if we put a small or big portion of toothpaste? What´s the flavor of the toothpaste?  Do we actually feel if we are brushing the teeth thoroughly?  Was the water cold, lukewarm, hot when we gargled?  This is mindfulness.  

I am starting mindfulness, with profound breathing exercises which allow me to reconnect with myself, with the moment and simply enjoy the experience.  Slowly, I am focusing on what I am doing, avoiding multi tasking or entertaining other thoughts as it the way which I can fully commit myself to the experience.  

I would like to share with you a book that I have just purchased and started reading.  It is The Little Book of Mindfulness by Dra Patrizia Collard.  It contains simple, easy tips on mindfulness which can be applied in our daily living. It has a very good introduction about mindfulness and its benefits.  

One need not be suffering from anxiety to practice mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a conscious approach to reconnect with our core being, nurturing it, taking care of it and letting it enjoy the moment.  

Thank you and take care.  

The Amateur Cook In Me.. Very moist and delicious Carrot Bread

This by far is the best loaf that I have ever made!!! My biggest loves, hubby and my mini me gave a 5 star rating jajajaja for this moist carrot bread. 

I think it is the olive oil and the non fat yogurt that contributed to its moistness. :)  

Complexity:  Easy 

Preparation and Cooking time:  1 hr 

Ingredients: 

3 cups flours 

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 portion of non fat yogurt natural 

1/2 cup non fat milk 

1/2 cup olive oil 

2 eggs

3 medium sized carrots, shredded 

Procedure: 

1.  Mix all the dry ingredients - 3 cups flour, baking power, brown sugar. 

2.  Make a hole in the middle and add the wet ingredients -  non fat yogurt, olive oil, milk and egg 

3.  Mix all the ingredients until the wet and dry ingredients are properly incorporated. 

4.  Add the shredded carrots. 

5.  Put in the pre-heated oven and bake until golden brown/until loaf is cooked. 

Enjoy!!! 

My Journey to Overcoming Anxiety: Finding my Silence

My journey to overcoming anxiety has opened my eyes to the importance of prioritizing (as not everything can and must be done at the same time), compromising, acceptance of one´s limitations (that superman and superwoman are fictitious characters hahaha we can be the best versions of ourselves but we are also vulnerable at the same time) and best of all, there is beauty in silence.  

It is imperative to find our silence.  It is in our silence that we "reconnect to our inner selves"; it is a way of recharging and loving our ourselves. 

Basic/initiation yoga and meditation are 2 activities that are helping me tremendously in my quest to finding my silence.  They are both challenging and nurturing at the same time.  Challenging because I need to ensure that I make time for them in spite of my very busy schedule and focusing or doing it right in yoga and meditation is not easy at all.  Focusing is a difficult task to achieve especially if there are so many random thoughts happening in my beautiful mind.  But that´s yoga and meditation, it is nurturing me to love myself by living in the moment, by loving the silence and by retrospecting in a more personal manner.  As advised by my yoga instructor, Antonio of Arati Yoga, I usually finish my meditation smiling, embracing myself and being grateful.  

Finding my silence is to me like seizing the moment. It is helping me to be more accepting of the circumstances, conditions, reactions around me, especially those that are not within my control. It is done with my controlled, diaphram breathing.  And for that I am grateful. 

In my daily life, practicing and finding silence has helped me in my communication.  I need not open my mouth, nor say I wod to effectively communicate.  Silence has increased my listening capability, as it enabled me to sincerely listen to what others are saying.  That way, I respond more correctly, I provide the appropriate answers and my gestures and body language are more adecuate. 

I try to meditate on a nightly basis or the most that I can during the week.  Meditation is helping me dedicate slots of silence just for me and myself where I can think anything and finish with a truly grateful heart.  Intially, I was meditating with music but lately, I have been meditating in the dark, without music, just enjoying the silence or sometimes soft noises that come around in my surroundings. 

I know that I still have a long but really long way to go but I am grateful that I found diaphram breathing, yoga and meditation as part of my initial steps to combatting these initial diagnosed signs of anxiety.  

I still am the gregarious, energetic, passionate, dedicated, committed yet introvert Isay.  However, nowadays, I dedicate time to my wellness, to my well being as I want to give so much to my family, my friends and our world and I can only do that by staying healthy. Indeed, there is power in silence!! Hope I can continue to find my silence.  

Hope you had a lovely weekend!  Hugs!  

 *** not my photo.  Photo courtesy of meditation.com.  Thank you.

*** not my photo.  Photo courtesy of meditation.com.  Thank you.

Basking in the love and attention of my son!!!

My loving 7 year old son is at a stage that he seeks so much of our attention and our time.  At times when my body is dead tired, I wonder why does he do it considering that he is already a growing big boy.. But then, I immediately change my chip knowing that there will come a time that he will stop demanding for my attention which is part of his transition to adolescence and eventually adulthood. 

I always boast jajaja (stage mother yes I am!) of my son´s great reading ability. But still every night, he still asks for either dad or I to read a story.  And we oblige although I won´t deny that sometimes my  husband and I would exchange lovely and glaring glances jajajaja as to whose turn it is to read a story. Jajajajaja And not only that, my son also requires that we give him a body massage so he can go to sleep. Hahahaha This body massage is just basically tapping lightly his legs or his head until he doze off to sleep. 

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, while my entire body is in deep slumber and I am oblivious to my surroundings, a loving, familiar voice will scream “Mom, please come to my room” hahahahaha… At times, I would reply telling him to just go to our room and we will co-sleep or in most cases, I would go to his room and just give him a quick hug until he goes back to bed. 

My son still wants me to carry him in my arms, all with his healthy 28 kilos and will request me to sit on my lap as I shake him as if he were a baby.. And I would still do it.  I also find joy in doing that.  I can honestly say that I miss the times, the days when I could carry him in my shoulders or carry him in my back, piggy back style. 

How I love that my son and I would always hold hands everytime we would go out.  I hold his hand more often that I do hold the hands of my original love, my husband. Hahahahaha

My son would occasionally ask me to help him tidy himself up after a potty session.  I would ask him why he would ask me to do it considering that he is already a big boy.. And he would just reply that because he likes me to assist him. And with that answer, I will not say no.  I do it.  Jejejeje

My son demands that we take him out.  He demands jajajaja to be in the playground, to be outside our home. He loves to be in the same, familiar places like museums, metro stops, bus stops. jajajaja  And it is tough on the days that both hubby and I were not feeling well or were feeling dead tired. So we manage but making sure that in the event that we cannot go out as a family of 3, at least one parent is out with our son.  We play basketball with him, dad rides the bike with him, we walk a lot together!! We enjoy sight seeing! 

It is not about spoiling my son.  I personally see this as living the moment.  My son understands on the days that I can´t read a story to him because I have migraine or I am really exhausted from work.  He would just give me a big good night hug and a big good night kiss and go to bed by himself.  My son respects and understands our family rules. 

We all lived our infancy, childhood and our transition to teenage years and eventually adulthood.  And we know that eventually we will aspire for our personal space, prefer to go out more often with our friends, we will embark on our university life and then worklife which mean less time at home and with our parents.  I know that time will come for my son and I would love him to enjoy it. I am praying real hard to raise my son correctly and in a balanced way and that opportunities will come to his path so he can have a good life.

In the meantime, I am basking in my son´s undivided time and attention even if it means losing a part of me in the process.  Let´s enjoy motherhood.  I love you always my son! My one and only precious son!!

The Amateur Cook in Me... Banana and Strawberry Bread

We have some extra strawberry and instead of preparing a banana strawberry smoothie, I thought of some carbs hahaha.. so here's the simple recipe of banana strawberry bread super duper prepared with love as my little one was the sous chef. Hahaha

This is moist, healthy and delish. This received the yumyum award from my hubby and my son!!! 

Complexity: Easy

Preparation and Cooking time: 1hr

Ingredients:

2 ripe medium sized bananas, mashed 

4 medium sized strawberry, thinly sliced

3 eggs

3 cups of flour

1 cup of muesli (optional)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup olive oil

1 low fat greek yoghurt

2 tablespoons organic honey

Procedure:

1.  Mix all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, muesli, cinnamon

2.  Mix all the wet ingredients: eggs, olive oil, Greek yogurt, honey. Mix well until all ingredients are properly incorporated. 

3. Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. 

4. Add the strawberry and lastly, the banana. Mix until all ingredients are properly incorporated. 

5. Grease the baking pan. Pour the mixture and Cook in the oven. Check with a clean toothpick or a clean fork the texture to ensure that the bread is cooked. 

6. Let it set and ready to eat!

7. Enjoy... 

The Amateur Cook In me... Oven cooked Stuffed Eggplant/Berenjena Rellena

Complexity: Easy
Preparation and Cooking time: 1hr

Ingredients:
2 medium sized eggplants
1 cup of ground beef (optional)
1 small sized red bell pepper/capsicum, finely chopped
1 small sized onion, chopped
1 small pack tomato sauce
Grated cheese

Procedure:
1. Slice the eggplant and carefully remove the eggplant "meat". Make sure that the order son of the eggplant is intact. Set aside. 
2. Prepare the filling. 
3. Sauté onion and red bell pepper. 
4. Add the eggplant meat, put a little bit of water and cook until the eggplant is soft. 
5. Add the ground beef and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Set aside. 
6. Prepare the eggplant and pour the filling. Top with grated cheese. Put in the oven.
7. Cook for approx. 15 minutes. Ready to serve.. 

Enjoy... 

February 2018 signing off and Hello March 2018!!!

February you have been quite challenging but I am thankful nonetheless!!! This month, I made a commitment to achieve mindfulness, wellness and to take care of myself.  As I have previously mentioned, charity begins at home.  I cannot give what I do not have.. So I have to take care of myself, be at peace with myself, be genuinely happy, be more involved to accomplish a healthier and active lifestyle so I can share my peace, my happiness, my positive mental and emotional disposition to my love ones and to my circle! 

February paved the way for me to attend my 1^st ever meditation and yoga classes!  I am also dedicating time every night to medidate, to recharge and reconnect with myself. 

I continue to be a present parent to my son (this is my vocation jejeje) and to be a present, dedicated, passionate homemaker, wife, person and professional! Thank you February:

• For all the times I lovingly spent with my biggest love, my son!!! For all the fun reading sessions I have had with my son (everynight, we read a book and we are on our way to finishing Mr. Willy Wonka´s Chocolarte Factory jejeje),  for our Friday afternoon quality sessions, for our weekends get together
• For my massage sessions jajajaja
• For the memorable conversations I shared with my husband, my family and my friends. 
• For another successful month at work (even if at times there are just so many parallel initiatives happening… but all in a day´s work). 
• For the fact that I am still alive and breathing! 

And to you March 2018, welcome and please be kind and nice to us!! Something big, fun, memorable and love filled is coming this March!!

Let´s all have a love filled, blessed, spontaneous, happy March 2018!!

Take care!

Thank you!

not my photo. captured from the internet.