posted by Jennie on Oct 31
Okay. So I have not exactly been doing the Fast Interval Training (F.I.T.) workout on a regular basis. Yes, it’s just four minutes, but you have to give it to me that I tried. The plank exercises just about killed my arms, even if it’s just 30 seconds each. I need a yoga mat! Seriously. The four minutes does not sound very long but the fragile me will get bruised from hitting the hard and cold floor every time.
posted by Jennie on Oct 27
Boy, wouldn’t it be so neat to be married to a sports buff, then automatically be just like him!? I do have a lot of good things in my life that I’m grateful for, but this, I have to get down to choosing for myself – that is, to be fit by working out on a regular basis.
the hubby in one of his games. Forgive the blurry shots, DSLR wasn’t yet available then.
teaching our lil 4yo guy to juggle.
Although I’m not exactly a couch potato, it does take huge effort to get me to my toes and actually workout. Plus, I have a long list of reasons up my sleeves why I cannot work out and they are all valid, mind you. I homeschool, work from home, cover events and keep house. How do I get all these things packed in a day? Go figure. But that was before The Dare to be Fit ‘N Right Bloggers Event held in MOA last October 23. Del Monte Fit ‘N Right couldn’t have chosen a better speaker than Master Coach Jim Saret. A sports scientist who obtained an MS Sports Science degree in Brigham Young University in the United States, introduced the Fast Intense Training (FIT) workout that will only take 4 minutes of my precious time per day. Now, however busy one can be, there is just no reason not to stay in shape anymore.
Doing the FIT workout is easy, it is basically just body weight lifting composed of crunches, push ups, squats and lunges. It is so convenient that you can do it whenever, wherever. 
the four celebrity assistants doing the four minute, higher intensity workout
Apparently, the treadmill isn’t good enough. I think it can be a little overrated, even. Aside from the hassle of having to squeeze it in my already loaded schedule, I don’t exactly fancy going to the gym. Our old treadmill rotted without being maximized, to begin with. So the FIT, might just be the one workout that will make me stick to a regimen.
posted by Jennie on Oct 23
Del Monte Fit ‘N Right continues its commitment in promoting a healthy lifestyle with the Dare to be Fit ‘n Right Fun Run on November 22 at the Mall of Asia with over P300,000 cash and products at stake! Organized by CEMG and supported by the Manila Bulletin, Solar Sports and Lenovo, the 3K/5K/10K Men and Women Open Run will benefit the victims of typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng through the SM Foundation.
posted by Jennie on Oct 20
We’re pretty much back to normal again after the storm. Aside from getting back to our homeschooling routine, I also got back to attending a few events and reviewing beauty products.
One beauty product that I recently did a review on is Photocyane, it is now live via my beauty blog and the review is not positive. What it is supposed to do is thicken hair locks, but it did just the opposite and worse. 
posted by Jennie on Oct 18
After the “flood,” (terming it as “the flood” makes it sound a lot like the Old Testament, Noah and the Ark event), the hubby and I are pretty much surprised about the things in the house that survived. We have expected things to be practically useless. One item that I am pleased that has survived that flood was my 5 year old Goodsphere. It is a revolutionary air purifier/ionizer system. We bought it when we were prego with our son. We were still renting this basement apartment in Makati that has bad ventilation (read:basement). We left a few months after and transferred to another apartment. This air revitalizing system helps clean the air and you actually see for yourself how the water gets darker as it does its job. Before the flood, I replace the water and clean the basin once a week, but during the cleaning up from the flood, it has to be cleaned once a day!
posted by Jennie on Oct 4
On a lighter note, one thing I missed after being compelled to find solace at a higher ground a.k.a. “The Neighbor’s,” during the havoc Typhoon Ondoy has brought our family, is preparing Kefir Smoothie. Probiotic is the best and as much as I would love to serve it au naturel, there is no way I could have my boys take them as is. And you cannot get more probiotic than kefir. I went back to “kefiring” the day after we came back home. I figured, we all needed the immune system boosting it gives us.
I just love how the World’s Healthiest Foods come up with such fine recipes. I could make use of them, incorporate with the everyday stuff I prepare for the family and even modify them to our taste. Life goes on and as we struggle to move on, sulking is just unacceptable and we press on to glorify God everyday of our lives and one way to do that is to be good stewards of the health He has given us. I’ve done a few articles about Kefir and you could just go back to those posts for its health benefits. Just so you guys know, despite our being exposed to extreme weather conditions lately and having to get soaked in mud water (Eew!) and to sort out all the muddy stuff (can you imagine all the bacteria therein!), my family and I are all fine! Strengthened immune system, by God’s grace, through the daily Kefir smoothie our family has been taking.
So, without further ado, here’s the Strawberries Smoothie Recipe from World’s Healthiest Foods. I will replace the yogurt ingredient with, you guessed it right, kefir. 
This health-promoting smoothie recipe provides a wonderful combination of flavors and nutrition to your Healthiest Way of Eating. The addition of tahini helps keep you satiated for a longer period than your usual smoothie.
Prep and Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
4 large strawberries
ź cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 TBS tahini*
1 medium size banana
˝ tsp vanilla
1 TBS honey
* Tahini is sesame seed butter and can be found in natural food stores or Middle Eastern groceries.
Directions:
Remove stems from strawberries and wash.
Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth.
Serve 2 (8 oz glass servings)
posted by Jennie on Sep 15
It has been more than 2 weeks since I first started making kefir smoothies for our family. The introduction was not hard, especially with my son. But after the first week, when I gradually thickened the concentration of the kefir milk, I got a sour face because of the little- too-sour-concoction, from my dear husband. Although he would always finish the smoothies anyway, I solved the problem by adding a little more honey. I stuck with the thick kefir milk concentrate, though. It worked. There was one day I ran out of fruits, I experimented with this strawberry jam from Baguio and my son loved it. Apparently, it is only I who can drink it au naturale. And I wonder, really. It tastes just like yoghurt. If people can eat yoghurt without fuss, then drinking or eating kefir shouldn’t be a problem.
posted by Jennie on Sep 15
Time. This is what I have been hoping to have more of. More time to be able to squeeze everything in my schedule. After having met with five of the girls that I disciple in church last Sunday, I still have a few that I wasn’t able to catch up with. Being online most of the time, I encouraged them to update me via email and so far this is also working for us.
While it is a given that there is no way that I could extend an hour to my day, I know I should get better at juggling my time to be able to do everything and be effective while I’m at it. I honestly cannot help but feel tired sometimes. Being a work from home mom is never walk in a park. What, with the things I do from homeschooling, article writing, the endless house chores and things in between. I pretty much have a valid reason to go nuts, but I choose to enjoy and love what I do.
What alone gets me going, is my daily time with the Lord, get that out of my schedule and I’m out of sorts. Although I happen to believe that I have valid reasons to get worn out, I would still find myself drained and even fuss over petty irritations. It is my default when my heart is not in tune with God. Everyone around me suffers too. Fretting and toiling over things that don’t really matter and the unimportant cares of this world can easily get the best of me, when I don’t spend time with my first love.
posted by Jennie on Aug 31
Just when I got our family acquainted with the lemongrass concoction last year, I am again giddy over introducing kefir to our family. I have Tita Jane of HerestoLife.wordpress.com to thank for. Last Saturday, during the launch of Globe’s Tattoo sim and ImmortalTXT, she handed me the famous kefir grains. I really so appreciate her heart, even going out of her way to bring those containers with the kefir culture in it to give away to friends. The inconvenience of it all! You can’t find a whole lot of people like her nowadays and I’m really just so happy that I have met her through the bloggers network via Plurk. I have to admit that it has been months since I started lurking and reading through her “kefir posts”, curious and all, I never had the chutzpah to start culturing the probiotic myself. And now that she handed me the culture with the kefir grains in it, I am left with no choice but to get down to it and get started on being a “kefirhead” myself.
posted by Jennie on Aug 6
The hubby and I were invited last Friday to the Downy Anti Bac event for bloggers. We were in Palawan when I received the invitation from Yehey! and I couldn’t be more interested. It was introduced as a new way to repel pesky mosquitoes and still smell good at the same time. Boy, have I become some sort of an O.C. when it came to that. It all started soon after I gave birth, some four years ago. Truth is, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Imagine my delight when I found out that the product is that of Down Anti Bac, no less. My first thought was, okay, that’s not a new product at all. But still I was keen to listen and learn. I found myself open to the idea that this could help our household ward off mosquitoes. The idea of getting rid of those pesky pests that are notorious is bringing about a whole barrage of sicknesses, sounded good to me. If you would remember the Dengue Scare in our village, then you will understand.
I should say that the people behind the event really knew what they were doing. It couldn’t have been more perfect than for them to hook us up and get tips and pieces of advice from the the Editor-in-Chief of Good Housekeeping herself, Jing Lejano. For one, warding off pests should really start off with cleanliness. Jing Lejano toured us around this huge and classic house and gave us some household tips and hints on how to maintain the overall cleanliness of our home. Being the author of Handy Tips and Hints, this is such a welcome topic for me. I always could make use of a thing or two to share with my readers.
posted by Jennie on Jul 11
Although dogs are not exactly my most favorite thing in the world (it has something to do with the phobia I picked up when I was three), I am beginning to see the advantages of having one. They really can be good guards of your home, if we come to think of it. It can also be my son’s pet. That is actually the primary reason why I may consider. With emphasis on MAY, please. It will really take something for me to agree on us getting one.
posted by Jennie on Jun 2
After having recently bought another domain for myself, I pretty much have put more time on it than I did here on my main blog, this past week. Please forgive the less frequent updates on MarriageandBeyond.com. Aside from the blog updates that I had to do across my blogs (a couple of which still undisclosed), my sweet hubby gifted me with another website. I did not have to ask twice. 
Thanks, Jeff! It just occurred to me that this is a validation to my doubts that the web bug has bitten us.  If it were some years back, I would have found it queer to be gifted by my beloved spouse a blog. Of all things, who would have appreciated a website! Well, I do now. I would probably make a promotion of it in the coming days but I will have to let you in some bits about it, for now. It’s a wordpress blog, no less. A domain of its own and with a title that has been SEO-ed (if you know what I mean). Now I’m kinda stuck what I want more for a gift, Belgian chocolates or a website (good and well thought of one).
posted by Jennie on May 16
Here is another reason why I so love World’s Healthiest Foods. While I try to compensate my zero workout with eating health foods whenever I get the chance, here is another neat recipe - Calabacitas. Calabacitas is a Mexican flavored side dish. The hubby and I have been indulging in Mexican foods lately (spicy foods are his least favorite). While we are at it, this is one dish I am going to try out very soon. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jennie on May 10
… that is my mission before this month ends. It was early this year when I decided that it is going to be a healthier me this year. I jumpstarted with an everyday workout, started with five minutes a day to almost an hour a day. It was a feat, really. For someone who never had a regular exercise for most of her life, that is really something. I then followed it up with getting a flu shot. I was really decided to be healthier. Because I drag my family with me every time I get sick.
The bad news is, it only lasted two months. I have not been working out for a couple of months now and I am not proud about it. Read the rest of this entry »
posted by Jeff on May 10
By Turlough O’Carolan
A mother’s love determines how
We love ourselves and others.
There is no sky we’ll ever see
Not lit by that first love.
Stripped of love, the universe
Would drive us mad with pain;
But we are born into a world
That greets our cries with joy.
How much I owe you for the kiss
That told me who I was!
The greatest gift–a love of life–
Lay laughing in your eyes.
Because of you my world still has
The soft grace of your smile;
And every wind of fortune bears
The scent of your caress.
(from Jed)
Happy Mother’s Day to my loving wife, Jennie!
