The Flat Belly Diet

After having been bombarded with diet pills here and there, I’m sure all those who have been dieting for so long will take this good news to heart. I know I did! I was never on the heavy side but for some reason I have had this nagging belly fat for years and learning about this new diet that everyone is talking about – The Flat Belly Diet, gives me a newfound hope of finally getting rid of these unwanted body fats.

The best thing about it is there is no exercise required! I admit to being too lazy and with all the things I do on an everyday basis, you have to give that inch of slack. This is why this diet is totally an answered prayer for me.

The Fat Belly Diet was developed by the editor of Prevention Magazine and it is based on a scientific program which is based on consuming mono-unsaturated fats every single meal. By following this regimen, the potential belly fats that you can lose is up to fifteen pounds in just thirty two days. Now, that really is something. A diet that finally works!

The team that came up with this diet is looking for recruits to try the Fat Belly Diet free of charge and write about their experiences on their websites. All accepted participants get to receive a Fat Belly Diet book, free one year website subscription and membership to the exclusive Success Story Club.

From 29,000,000 to 2,574,701 in 3 Days

It's Alexa rank, my dear readers. The blog that I am referring to is my newly claimed one www.ReviewsCorner.org. If that wasn't surprising, then I don't know what is! Although I expected an improvement to my stats, I never thought it would only take three days of Entrecard dropping.

Now can you blame me if I continue to rave on my love for Entrecard? Incidentally, please know that my ReviewsCorner site is currently open for link exchanges. Just leave a message to any of my entries on that page, link me up and I will surely link back to yours. Hope to see you there! :-)

Emotional Intelligence Assessment

More than just the Intelligence Quotient, what the hubby and I happen to believe that is more important is our son's Emotional Intelligence. We know that this will determine his success more than his I.Q. It has been proven time and again that it is the biggest factor that will spell out the quality of life that he will have in the future.

In line with this, one great tool for assessment of a person's emotional intelligence is the 360 defree feedback. Swing by their site and learn more how to avail of their services.

Press Release:

The rules for work are changing. People are being judged differently: not just by how intelligent they are or by their training and expertise, but also by how well they handle themselves and each other.

The new rules predict who is most likely to become a star performer in their field of work and are crucial to their marketability for future jobs.

These rules have little to do with what we were told was important in school: academic abilities are largely irrelevant to this new standard. The new measure: Emotional Intelligence (EQ) takes for granted having enough intellectual ability to do our jobs. Emotional Intelligence focuses instead on personal qualities or emotional competencies based on

Self Awareness - Managing Emotions - Self Motivation - Managing Relationships - Emotion Coaching.
One of the most effective ways to develop Emotional Intelligence is to use the Appraisal360 Emotional Intelligence tool monitor real life behaviour. Appraisal360 specialise in providing online 360 degree feedback (multi-rater feedback) tools to support companies with the development of their staff.

Appraisal360 Emotional Intelligence uses a structured competency based questionnaire focussed around the definitions of Emotional Intelligence. Firstly, the user fills in the questionnaire with their self -perceptions. Then six people who know that person, boss, colleagues etc, are asked to fill in the same questionnaire with their perceptions of that person. The system compiles an easy to understand report which highlights strengths and weaknesses and areas where the user's self perception differs from other people's perception of them. It also comes with a set of learning materials to help turn the report into action. A matching support and mentoring service is also available. By using this tool you can help your staff develop their Emotional Intelligence in the workplace.

Introducing ReviewCorner.Org

I am thrilled to announce my brand new domain, Reviews Corner. An inspiration came to me two days ago and I knew I had to choose between claiming a domain for this blog that I used to have hosted via Blogger or just leave it to be dominated by paid posts. I want more than just the latter.

I knew I could do better than just do paid posts on the said blog. I have so much to say about a lot of things that I encounter on a daily basis. From baby things, to financial investments, even movies and books. Talk about Reviews Galore, and that's what that site is going to have. Swing by the site and it is now officially open for link exchanges. Just leave a comment to any of the blog posts.

I'm Driving One

One of the things I love is speed up on the highway like a race car driver. In a crowded city like where we live in, I could possibly do that an hour before dawn. I don’t race cars, but I dream of doing that. My husband drives like a mad man and always looks like he is on a race track. I guess that makes two of us. And you shouldn’t be the least surprised to learn that our little guy is mad about cars too. He has the thrill of his life when the hubs would fly through all those other newer model cars on the road. We will just be surprised as the little guy says bye-bye to the rest of the other cars we practically have flown by. When the hubby stops on an intersection to get ready, the little guy would cheer his papa on with, “You can do it, pops!”

For all those race car fanatics, you only have one week remaining to visit www.fordracingevents.com and sign up for the “I’m Driving One” campaign sweepstakes. The seven week campaign culminates very soon with three grand prize winners. The winnings at stake? An all expense paid trip to Ford Championship Weekend in Homestead, Fla. For the NASCAR season finale. All expense paid trip to the NHRA drag racing finale in Pomona, Calif or a Full day Mustang driving school at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

All you have to do is complete the refer a friend section to enter for a chance to win. Here’s more, for every week, a person gets to win a personalized autographed helmet from a Ford Racing driver. There are two more helmets to be given away to date. You get that chance to win that as well. This are all brought to you by innovative digital marketing.

Embed the Drive One! widget in your blog site now!

And History Unfolds

I would not like to go political in this blog, but even as I have read yesterday about a preacher's vision upon this upcoming election, I cannot also help but feel unsettled. Today, as my father announced to me and my sister as we were in a conference via YM, that McCain has conceded, I felt sad for America and for the rest of the world.

But then again, as I read through the complete text of the Senator's concession speech, I was encouraged to keep on praying for United States. It is God who places authorities to their seats. His grace will be sufficient.

Movies Stuff

Movies touch a cord in most of us ... drama, comedy, suspense, romance, sports, documentary ... you name it ... the following questions just keep the conversation going!

Fake Eggs from China!

It is heartbreaking. Just when we are still not over this Melamine scare and now this. China milk poisoning incidents make everyone afraid to look at the daily news report. Every day, the reports are changing. No one can clearly tell us what to eat and not to eat.

During a recent raid on a wholesale centre in Guangzhou city, the capital of China 'sGuangdong province, a large quantity of fake eggs was seized. Their wholesale price is 0.15 yuan (S$0.03) each - half the price of a real egg. Consumers have a hard time telling a genuine egg from a fake one. This is good news for unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who are even conducting three-day courses in the production of artificial eggs for less than S$150.

A reporter with Hong Kong-based Chinese magazine East Week enrolled in one such course. To create egg white, the instructor - a woman in her 20s - used assorted ingredients such as gelatin, an unknown powder, benzoic acid, coagulating material and even alum, which is normally used for industrial processes. For egg yolk, some lemon-yellow colouring powder is mixed to a liquid and the concoction stirred. The liquid is then poured into a round-shaped plastic mould and mixed with so-called 'magic water', which contains calcium chloride.

This gives the 'yolk' a thin outer membrane, firming it up. The egg is then shaped with a mould. The shell is not forgotten. Paraffin wax and an unidentified white liquid are poured onto the fake egg, which is then left to dry.

The artificial egg can be fried sunny-side up or steamed. Although bubbles appear on the white of the egg, those who have tasted it say the fake stuff tastes very much like the real thing.
But experts warn of the danger of eating fake eggs. Not only do they not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia.

Zenni on Fox

Did you know that Zenni Optical was on FOX news! Great Eyeglasses For Less are actually being sold over at ZenniOptical.com. They are able to afford selling at such affordable prices because of the absence of middlemen. Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni do not cost as much as those other brands. See for yourself as you swing around their site and watch the most talked about Zenni on Fox while you’re there.

Our Whirlpool Washer Technician Stood Me Up

It has been a couple of weeks of washing clothes that I have to manually fetch water from the faucet in the kitchen to the washer. Which is just a meter away from each other, so it isn't really that bad. We have contacted our accredited technician, but he did not show up on the agreed date. Talk about manual labor on a supposedly fully automatic washer! What an irony! :D

An Event for Church Leaders

As a pastor who pioneered a mission church in Makati I look forward to events that help me Find out more about how to expand God’s Kingdom through the ministry that God has given us. Events like leadership seminars, church strengthening conferences and the like are what I am talking about.

An event that I hoped was available here in our country is the first annual Theatre Church Conference to be held in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 22-23, 2008. You can Find out more about this through this url: guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=260896a3-e9bf-4f96-899b-a7aa00d2e6ac, just copy and paste it in your browser’s address bar to Find out more about the said event.

I am pretty sure that this will be attended by leaders and pastors of innovative and growing churches as they discuss the future of theatre worship. And it is good to hear that church leaders are willing to participate in this kind of event as they make every effort to make their ministry more effective.

And this is also one of my goals as a pastor – to make our church more effective in fulfilling its purpose. And we are willing to make every possible effort to do this. As I live by this thought provoking verse in Mark 8:36, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Preppin' Up for the Holidays

Christmas in October? Why not.  That will have to apply for our household, carry it on to November until early January.  Talk about maximizing the holiday season.  I posted an entry on how our family decorated our home for Christmas last night.  And as bare as this tree still is, it sure have jump started the holiday air in our home.  

I also made my very own potpourri jar that is just right for the season - Cinnamon Holiday scent.  Love it, especially the scent it covers our home.   

The Everything Techie Site

I am one techie momma. One of the things that I make sure before we purchase anything techie, is to browse through websites that contains reviews of gadgets. I have always believed that there is no other way to know how an item delivers better than those coming from the users themselves. For items from universal remote control to network media player, even online back up services reviews, there is one site you can bookmark – GadgetAdvisor. Com.

Fall 2008 TV: dNeero-ites want to know

Many, many good questions from dNeero-ites about TV shows and viewing habits ... '24', House, genre, time, hi-def ... we'll do more in future convos.

100% Free People Search Engine

I have been thinking of tracking some old high school buddies and I know from the technology we now have, that task to locate someone is made possible. I am not sure if you heard about LookupWho.com. It is a free people search engine and all you really need to do is type in the name of the person you are looking for and the state. 

I have also encountered sites that claim to be free but would later on charge you for the information. This site is completely free. If you are from the United States and Canada, you might want to take advantage of this great site and actually be reunited with an old friend, albeit via the internet. 

Chores Done

Four loads of laundry.  Met my online quota for the day.  Cooked Jasmine rice for the hubby and me and currently cooking my son's organic red rice and also Viand for supper, Sauteed Veggies.  But I still have a lot of things to do!!!  I want to take a cat nap, but I can't.  Am I one burnt out girl?  

Hardly.  I really just need to get my rest that's all.  Oh and I am just reminded, I have not even sat down yet with my boy to study.  I am in trouble.  But then again, I am just overwhelmed.  Just allow me this time to contradict myself.  I am tired after all.  

Seafood Cook Off

It is almost like a given when the hubby defines a special dinner then it has to do something with seafood. By that, it also means that shrimp must be present. It is almost my frustration that this is the one thing that I hardly prepare for the hubby in our almost seven years of being married. I only tried one special shrimp dish and that is “Gambas,” and I hope to learn more shrimp and crab dishes. We all know how pricey all those dishes are when served in our favorite restaurants. I might as well do it myself.

This is why when I browsed through the Great American Seafood cook off, I really had to spot one recipe that could be the first for me to try out. The recipe Louisiana Shrimp and Andouille Cassoulet by Brian Landry of Louisiana. I also saw one crab recipe that the same chef has presented and I also hope to try them out. The recipe ingredients look kind of easy to get a hold of. I know there is no more better time for me to try these recipes out but very soon. It’s I and the hubby’s birth month and I hope to be successful as I try them out.

It is always best to prepare your very own domestic seafood. You are assured of freshness and it suits your taste. You have to check out www.GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com and I am sure you will love the recipes by those incredible chefs who joined in. And while you’re at it make sure you vote for your favorite recipe to win a trip to New Orleans!

One Month and Four Days

Here are snapshots of the car before it underwent major body repair and during the repair when the hubby went to visit the project. Today the hubby leaves to retrieve it from Malabon. It took the hubby's long lost uncle exactly one month and four days to finish the project. I know it's more of a vintage car project and we don't really mind, this is the best that we can do for now. Maybe in time the Lord might entrust us with a brand new one. :D

Our car before the California Project

Shot from the rear left

At Tito Adolfo's house when repairs began

Body repairs almost done


With the primer

On the way to its first coating (this is not yet the final body color)

Major Car Repair

The car was finally taken by the hubby’s uncle early this morning. It is a blessing that things got delayed or else we could have settled for someone who will not do a good job in fixing the old car. It probably rained the whole month of July and if you are from the same part of the planet that we are you would know how bad the rains were. It was a pity to have the hubby’s beach towel get soaked inside the car every time it rained. We prayed about having this car fixed and later have its car insurance cover. We had no choice. If only the Lord will provide a down payment for a brand new one then that will be sweet, but for now, we have a great deal in having the car fixed.

You would not believe all those rust eating up the car. The engine is good all right, but of course we could help feeling pity over the car. We always have to take care not to get nicked and bruised by those wayward rusty steels all over. Yes, we are more than thankful that we can finally get the car fixed. But more than a luxury, it has become more of a necessity to get it fixed because it is almost raining as hard inside as it is in the outside when it does. We are all thrilled how the new face lifted car will look after a month and a half. Yes, that’s how much work it needs! You could just imagine!

He is Able

If there is anything that can be pretty obvious in family to create chaos and conflict it is this – financial matters. It is one of the major reasons why most families are double income. Meaning both the husband and the wife are working, leaving the children in the care of their grandparents or even nannies. Although this is not the ideal set up, for so many decades after the baby boomers era, this has practically been the norm.

It is not easy to go against the flow. This is what I did when I left the corporate world some six years ago to be a full time help meet to my husband who is a pastor. You will be surprised how different local pastors are compensated compared to those from different regions. It is understandable. We live in a very poor country. So despite the intelligence and abilities my husband has, he has put in his heart to do what God has called Him to do – against all odds and for me to embrace this reality and struggle with him in the ministry and otherwise.

It goes without saying that the majority of our struggle was that of the finances especially when our little guy arrived. But the Lord has been truly great to have allowed me to use my gifts in coordinating weddings and even the little that I know of writing to help in the family income. As much as availing of a cash advance payday loan gets into our mind sometimes, we go back to the things that the Lord has shown us in the past and see that He will be faithful in the concerns we go through everyday.