Update on master list of "Big Bang" meme

-Start copy here-

1-Attitude, the Ultimate Power 2-Juliana’s Site 3-Rusin Roundup 4-Grow Rich Along With Me 5-Comedy Plus 6-lynda’s loft 7-Amel’s Realm 8-MAX 9-Speedcat Hollydale 10-Mariuca 11-Complain Complain Complain 12-Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery 13-Life Is A Roller Coaster 14-Sugar Queen’s Dream 15-First Time Dad 16-Life 17-My Life 18-The Painted Veil 19-My Thoughts 20-DatCurious.com 21-Little Aussie Cynic 22-A Nice Place in the Sun 23-DatMoney.com 24-The Down Side OF Up 25-Ladyjava’s Lounge 26-Cat Tales 27-moms…..check nyo 28-Colorado Baby 29-It’s a Woman’s World 30-ENLIGHTENED BITS 31-My View of “It” 32-My Reviews and Finds Along the Way 33-Our Hep Chat 34-Rantings of a Woman 35-The Callalily Space 36-Mom Knows Everything 37-Hazel 38- Chronicles and Tales Unlimited (RED) 39-From the Mouth of Jabber Jaws 40-Sunny Side Up Foodie & Lifestyle 41-Carmel Corn 42-Daily Stock Picks 43-The Whole New World 44-Wifespeak 45-Slavery Bliss 46-Rooms of My Heart 47-Unpredictable Life 48-My Life, My World 49- At Your Service 50-All About Ebay 51-Everything Amazon 52-Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out 53-My So-Called Site 54-New Wife Blog 55-Tendre Poison 323 56-Nick’s Bytes 57-My Scratch Pad 58-Choc Mint Girl 59-Life Is Just Around the Corner… 60-Amori, poseia, art… virtuali by Hanna 61-Maryannaville 62-monaco - monaco’s 63-Nyumix’s Blog 64-read my mind - my keyboard monologues 65-Shower You Children With Love - The Right Way 66-Secret Agent Mama 67-Pinaymama’s Diary 68-Answers to the Questions 69-Work of the Poet 70-A Total Blog 71-My life, my hope, my future 72-NORTE 73-A Window to Our World 74-Life as a Mom 75-FIELD OF DREAMS 76-lisgold 77-See Me for What You 78-Caught in The Stream 79-Pinay Mommy Online - My Home 80-I’m Running To Win Two 81-CRUEL VIRGIN 82-Garden of Moments in Blog 83-So Cute 84-Love Everlasting 85-WeLcOmE To My CriB 86-WELCOM TO PINAYSMILE’S JOURNEY 87-Ice’s Icelog 88-Jenny’s Wandering Thoughts 89-Hobbies and Such 90-Sweet Paradise 91-Mommy’s Gibble Gabbles 92-Rusin Review’s 93-My Small World 94-Little Peanut 95-Online Ramblings 96-My Mood My Feeling 97-BLOG it with ALLEN 98-Entertainment World 99-Let’s Go Singapore 100-Firelynx 101-Catsy Carpe Diem 102-Every Beat Of My Heart 103-Always Da Fresh Princess 104-Listening.. Learning..Living 105-All About Mars 106-Syii From Afar 107-Some Thoughts I Have 108-From Here and Beyond 109-My Paid To Blog 110-Scholarship Corner 111-Cell Phone Review 112-“Apples of the Eyes” 113-It’s All About Play 114-The Luttrull Journey 115-RennyBA’s Terella 116-Unchained Melody 117-Out of the Blue 118-The Lure Of the Unknown 119-Maricel’s 120-my blog 121-Spiff, the Spaceman 122-Living Well 123-The Dog Log 124-Catnip Corner 125-A Piece of Idea 126-Observations From the Back 40 127-Poetry by The Redneck Gypsy 128-Odd Facts 129-Juliana’s Lair 130-My life is murphy’s law 131-lisgoldsmemoirs 132-My memories, as time goes by 133-Somewhere over the rainbow 134-Blogging by Sandee 135-Our Journey to this so called life 136-Idaho Daily Photo 137-Memories that Never Fades.. 138-Anything goes 139-Your Caring Angels 140-Little Paces 141-Laketrees 142-PoeARTica 143-fracas 144-Just FraCas 145-Archies Archive 146-Growing Up Together 147-A Woman’s Diary 148-Mother’s Got A Dot Com 149-Close To You 150-Hot Shit Form Here 151-Astro Galaxy 152-Detector 153-Beauty is in the eye of the beholder 154-My Life is Peachy 155-The Down Side of Up 156-Magical Milestones 157-In Search of Life 158-RebelationsdotNet 159-Jen Jen’s Place 160-Mimi Writes… 161-Strange but true 162-Depois de minha viagem 163-Your Perfect Wedding: 164-Make Money Online 165-Primitive Ornies and Bowl Fillers 166-Vegetarian Diet Lifestyle 167-Looking Out For You 168-BENOLSATUEM 169-OtherSide 170-Hacko’s Site 171-where was I 172-Making Money Resources 173-text’s Site 174-Movie Corner 175-Rahasia Bisnis Internet 176-Online Dating Tips 177-Beauty Kissing Tips 178-Forex Trading Tips 179-Singapore Tour Guide 180-PPC vs PTR 181-Indonesian Film 182-Adsense Success Stories 2008 183-Bali Tour 184-Paypal Indonesia 185-Review Bisnis Internet 186-Blog Daniel Scardua 187-Much of a muchness 188-Gagiers Amazing World 189-Clumsy Mommy 190-Leaotheblogger 191-PBDesigns Reading and Crochet Blog 192-Gagiers Striking Zone 193-DrowseyMonkey 194-Yesterday Today n Tomorrow 195-Auntie Dar’s Life 196-Sky Windows… 197-Filippino Life Abroad 198-Leao the Blogger 199-Zoop’s Rantings on Life 200-My Journey 201-A Sweet Taste of Life 202-This is a Miracle 203-Lavanderia Virtual 204-COLORADO COWGIRL IN UPSTATE NEW YORK 205-Dating Profile of the Day 206-my wooden robot 207-My World 208-urban : trendy : lifestyle 209-Lucel Juliana’s Library 210-Cooking Momster - My Life Journal 211-Anggie & Jeremy boy Online Journal 212-‘Doc Doc Doc’ 213-Transforming My Life 214-Gratitude Journal 215-Simplydunn.net 216-emila’s illustrated blog 217-AZZY’S BLOG-A-ROONIE! 218-MAMABLISS’ TREASURED MOMENTS 219-The Sky’s the Limit 220-PROJECT HEAVY TRAFFIC 221-just another ordinary story.. 222-Samuel Rolo 223-The end mission! 224-R S S Submissions 225-Laice’s Pics 226-Health and Fitness 227-Brainybimbo 228-Journey with WaterLearner 229-Zoop’s Rantings on Life (at Blogspot) 230-Dear Me 231-Tour the Tabon Caves 232-Book Calendar 233-Love me. Hate me 234-Everyday health and beauty 235-BLOGANDO & ANDANDO 236-Memoirs.:*CRoSs mY hEARt*:. 237-The Chic Shopaholic 238-CK Go Places 239-Red Empress: Hell Flavored, Taste like Valentine 240-Q|U|E|E|N|B|E|E 241-Le bric a brac de Cherie 242-jaqqq in the blogs 243-Heart of Rachel 243-Bijoux & Banter 244-When Silence Speaks 245-MadTomatoe’s Blogging Tools and Widgets 246-Conceptis addict 247-Madamoiselle 248-My Wooden Robot Blog 249-A Simple Life 250-

Anyone can grab this one

My Favorite Hobby

I love embroidery in general. Perhaps this is the influence of being educated for 13 years by Belgian nuns who taught us everything from cross stitch to pulled thread to crochet to knitting. And although I am quite adept at any number of these, I have to admit that my all-time favorite is cross stitching. I first learned cross stitching at age 6. I remember that we were asked by the nuns to stitch a border pattern on a small table napkin. And that napkin is still in our linen closet to this day. As I grew older, we would be asked to cross stitch different items, each one bigger than the last. When I entered college, cross stitching had to take a back seat because I was studying to be a writer and the paper work just did not leave any time for it. But I soon took it up again after graduating. Well into my first year of marriage, it began to take up most of my spare time. By that time, cross stitch was becoming a craze in Manila. I brought my project of the moment everywhere. Pretty soon friends and neighbors and even people I didn't know were asking me to buy them a kit when I travel to Manila (I was living in the province at the time). That is how I came up with the idea of opening a craft store. That was 14 years ago and the two craft stores I opened back then are still operating till now. I, however, have gone a step further. Although I still do some stitching from time to time, I have graduated from being a stitcher to creating patterns for cross stitching. That is what takes up most of my time nowadays. It is entirely different from cross stitching but one cannot do without the other. A project starts with a pattern. And a pattern is useless if you don't stitch it. What was initially a hobby, nay, a passion eventually became a business. And what is even more important is that my source of income is not work for me. It's a source of pure enjoyment.

Frustrated and Fuming

I've been blogging for about a week now. I have to say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. So imagine my frustration when I was all ready and excited to write my new post and I can't get through. Our internet service provider was doing some repair with its international cable consortium so the service was down. That's frustrating with a capital F. After several hours, the internet came on. Finally. I was all set again. I checked my mailbox first. After several minutes, it was get and go to write my new post. And lo and behold! The internet was gone again. I felt like wringing the neck of someone but what can you do? So instead of writing about educating our children about sex, here I am griping about our internet server. Changing providers is not much help. I've asked around and those who are using other servers all have nothing good to say about their service providers. So what's a blogger to do. Twiddle her thumbs and wait and fume. Boy, am I fuming! Got to finish this post fast and post it even faster. You never know when the internet server is going to go pffft on me again.

Forever Friends Award

I received this award from Liza and I want to share it with all of you.

Isn't it cute?

The Value of Giving

Life was so much simpler when I was younger. Three decades ago, I had no qualms about walking in the middle of the night alone in the heart of Manila. Nowadays, that would be an invitation for trouble. Why is it that there seems to be so much evil in the world today than in those days? After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that the root of all evil is greed. Perhaps, to aspire to eradicate greed in all of mankind is a foolish thing. But is it?

Early in life, I was taught by my grandmother that giving, specially the giving of oneself is the one thing that makes us special among God's creatures. She never said it in so many words but she lived it to the end of her days. And the example she has shown me and the rest of my family is probably her best legacy to us. In retrospect, it will probably be the saving grace of our family.

Nothing can be more fulfilling than the act of sharing what you have with others. It gives you a high that cannot be described in words. Was it Oprah who said that everything she has gained in her life has meaning only when she gets to share it? Think about it. Try it. Help someone in need. Get a taste of how it feels. Only then will you understand what I am talking about.

As a mother, I began teaching my children the value of sharing as soon as they could walk. I never tire of reminding them that generosity will be their ticket to eternal life (we are Catholics, you see). When I see my children doing an act of kindness to people around them, my heart swells and I know that I have taught them well. It is my firm belief that whatever you give, you ultimately get back a thousand-fold. So when they give, I know that when I am gone they will always be alright because they have learned the one lesson that makes them human-the spirit of giving.

If as mothers we all teach our children the virtue of giving, then we will have a whole generation of human beings who have no greed in their hearts. Is that not utopia-people giving selflessly to one another? Mothers, you have the power to change the world. You are the key to eradicating evil in the world. Now think about that.

The Wonders of the Coconut

In the Philippines, the coconut is part of our everyday lives. Every part of the coconut tree is of some use to us, from the leaves to the roots. But, perhaps, the most important contribution of the coconut to us is its health benefits. In every street corner of the Philippines, the coconut is sold by street vendors. We love to drink coconut water because it is not only refreshing but gives us an immediate energy boost. Coconut water contains lauric acid which our body turns into monolaurin. Monolaurin is important to the body because it inactivates pathogens. (Pathogens are infectious agents that cause disease or illness to their host.) Some of the pathogens that are rendered ineffective by monolaurin are the HIV virus, measles, herpes and simplex virus. A rich lauric acid diet contains about 24 gms. of lauric acid daily for average adults. That is equal to 3.5 tablespoonfuls of coconut oil (extracted from coconut meat) or 10 oz. of pure coconut milk. If you would rather eat the meat, about 7 oz. would contain the 24 gms. of lauric acid needed by our bodies.

Coconut water is very much like mineral water. It contains enough vitamin C to meet the daily requirements of our body. It also contains vitamins in the B group, such as niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, riboflavin, folic acid, and thiamin. It also contains sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorus, sulfur and chloride. Coconut water is a good way of combating dehydration and electrolyte depletion. In fact, in some cases, it is used in place of IV fluids when these are not available. If you mix 8-12 oz. of coconut water with a teaspoon of fresh lime juice, you can effectively cure cholera if it is administered daily to the patient. It rectifies electrolyte balance and neutralizes acidosis of the blood. That is why intake of coconut water is a must for cholera patients. It is also a valuable cure of urinary disorders. It is a natural diuretic in heart, liver and kidney disorders. In fact, whenever I contract urinary tract infection (UTI), my mother makes me drink gallons of coconut water. I don't have to buy expensive drugs because coconut water is not only effective but also gives fast relief. Coconut water is also an excellent remedy for vomiting and dyspepsia.

A tablespoon of the freshly ground coconut taken at breakfast followed by castor oil after 3 hrs. is an effective remedy for intestinal worms. The meat of the young coconut treats digestive system disorders such as indigestion, colitis, gastric ulcers, diarrhea, and dysentery. The red-hot shell of the ripe nut is an effective household remedy for ringworm, itch and other skin disorders. Coconut oil (extracted from the flesh of the ripe nut) is an effective dressing for burns and scalds. It also reduces the acid secretion of the stomach. The fats in coconut oil are easily digested, absorbed and put to use in nourishing the body. These fats, which belong to the category of medium-chain fatty acids, require less energy and fewer enzymes to break them down for digestion. They are quickly digested and with minimal effort. They are absorbed directly from the intestines into the portal vein and sent straight to the liver where they are burned as fuel, pretty much like a carbohydrate. Therefore, they act more like carbohydrates than fats. Medium-chain fatty acids like those found in coconut oil are unique because they can easily permeate the two membranes surrounding the mitochondria without the need of enzymes, so that they provide the cell with a quick and efficient source of energy. Eating foods which contain MCFAs is like putting high octane fuel into your car. With MCFAs, your body performs better because it has more energy and greater endurance. EAT YOUR WAY TO BETTER HEALTH. ADD COCONUT TO YOUR DIET.

"Big Bang" - World Record

*Start Copy Here*
You do not have to be tagged to play along. This game is simple and so are the rules.
Copy from *Start Copy Here* through *End Copy Here*
Add your site(s) to the list. Just be sure to post at each site you add.
Tag or don’t tag, your choice, however, the more tags you create the bigger the list will grow.
Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving me a comment HERE. I will add you to the master list. (If you would like the scroll box code, leave me your email address and I will email it to you.)
Come back and copy the master list back to your site, often. This process will allow late-comers to get as much link benefit as the first ones in.
1-Attitude, the Ultimate Power 2-Juliana's Site 3-Rusin Roundup 4-Grow Rich Along With Me 5-Comedy Plus 6-lynda's loft 7-Amel's Realm 8-MAX 9-Speedcat Hollydale 10-Mariuca 11-Complain Complain Complain 12-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 13-Life Is A Roller Coaster 14-Sugar Queen's Dream 15-First Time Dad 16-Life 17-My Life 18-The Painted Veil 19-My Thoughts 20-DatCurious.com 21-Little Aussie Cynic 22-A Nice Place in the Sun 23-DatMoney.com 24-moms..... check nyo 25-wifespeak 26-
*End Copy Here*

I was tagged by Max on this meme, now I'm tagging Melai

6 quirky things

This is my first tag from max.

Here are my 6 quirky things:

1. When I wake up in the morning, I don't like being talked to for the first 30 minutes.
   
2. I need to have the TV on while I'm working on the computer.
   
3. I love smelling my youngest child's armpits.
   
4. I hate it when my dog licks my face.
   
5. I hate being talked to when I'm working.
   
6. I don't like being interrupted when I'm talking.

Tagging sasha.

Put Yourself At the Top of That List

I received word this afternoon that a friend from college had a nervous breakdown recently. That bit of news shocked me because she is the last person I would think can suffer a breakdown. She's the ultimate together person. What's more, I heard she is almost catatonic. A few years ago, I was watching the Oprah show. Her guest made a statement that drew a strong reaction from me. She said that as wife and mother, we should put ourselves on top of our priority list. The Filipina is known for being long-suffering and self-sacrificing. I am a Filipina wife and mother and those virtues (?) have been instilled in me since day one. At the time, I vehemently disagreed with that rather courageous statement. But I have had to rethink my position since then. On hindsight, she is right. If you put yourself last all the time, at some point you will burn out. As a Catholic, I was taught to love selflessly. But I was also taught that to be able to truly love others, first I must love myself. You can't be of use to anyone, least of all your family if you are not complete, whole and fulfilled. Your family draws its strength from you, so you have to be really strong for them, too. Therefore, you have to think of your well-being all the time. Otherwise, a breakdown is a looming probability in your horizon.

My First Article

I never really know what I want to say until I sit down on my computer and get down to writing my thoughts down. Perhaps the muses come to me best in this manner. The first few lines are always the hardest-the Mt. Everest I need to climb to get my juices going. Since my siblings have gotten hooked on this habit of blogging, I have been arguing with myself whether I should get into myself or not. A fortnight ago, I just went ahead and did it without really thinking about it. Now I'm committed and there is no turning back. I wonder if all you bloggers out there experienced the same birthing pains I'm going through right now. I never imagined I'd have a hard time of it-me, who always has an opinion about most anything. There are so many things I can write about but, for some reason, I can't get them all sorted out just yet. Perhaps it's just as well. My second post can't be too heavy or I might lose my audience. But at this point, I am just groping. So to all you bloggers out there, please be patient with me. Hopefully, my next post will have a point. In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy writing about my confusion.

Hello world!

I've been sitting at my computer wondering what words to write as a way of inviting the world to view what is, essentially, a journal of my life's lessons learned. I'm not blogging to get attention. On the contrary, I'm writing in the hope that my personal experiences and those whose lives I have crossed at one point can be of help to those who are going through similar experiences. To a lot of people, I am JUST a housewife so what can I possibly contribute to better the life of anyone. But I have seen more of life in the limited confines of my life than some people might believe because I have made myself available to women, and families who are undergoing a crisis in their lives. Most people who go through a crisis only ever need someone to listen to them without fear of being judged. And by listening to them, I have learned so much and that is what I want to share with you. But don't get me wrong. My blog is not going to be all about really have stuff at all. I intend to write about anything and everything that concerns family-maybe even about what brand shampoo is best for your daughter. So there . . . . Welcome to my blog and my life. And please feel free to comment on anything I write about because what you think is just as important to me.