Life’s Ideas

Cellulite is one of the reasons why most women are reluctant to wear bikinis and swim wears in public. In spite of the fact that it’s common to have cellulites, we still do not want to accept this. We want our skin to be even and smooth, no matter what race we are. We want to get rid of our cellulites by any means possible. We go through diets, exercise, using lotions and creams and bodywraps.

The media is partly to be blamed for our obsession to try to look like the models in magazines and television. Although we are well aware that technology makes it possible to edit pictures, we still take pictures in the magazines as it is. We also forget that make-up, lighting and other factors help make pictures look perfect. We would like to believe that models are really perfect in the truest sense even if they too, have flaws just like everyone else.

While technology advancement makes us want to try to look like the models in the commercials and advertisements, it is also the exact same thing that provides us with the tools and products to help us look and live better. An excellent example of this is body wraps. This product has become so popular around the world because of its proven efficacy. When your cellulite is smoothed out, you actually lose some inches off which makes it even better. Most BODY WRAPS are done in spas before but now, there is a wide selection of products which you can use in the privacy of your own home with the same results.

Summer is just around the corner and this means a possible trip to the beach. This is the time when we need our bodies to be fit and our skin smooth. A nice website to check out for products that I’m quite sure everybody especially women, would love is shimmerfx.com. There you can find products that can dramatically improve your well-being without your having to go through the knife. Everybody needs to be pampered once in awhile. When you work hard, you have to treat yourself with good things that make you look great. We are not born perfect but I’m glad that there are products that help us look great. When we look good in the mirror, we feel good. When we feel good, we feel like we can do everything and we project that good feeling with everything around us.

Tags: BODY WRAPS, bodywraps
Posted in Health and Home, Living and Loving, Shopping and Products, Wellness and Me | 17 Comments »

Before I arrived in Canada, my husband rented a one-bedroom apartment and was just using a queen sized sofa bed for sleeping. The sofa bed was quite comfortable. He chose to use the sofa bed instead of a real bed because his job requires him to move in wherever the next contract would take him. The sofa bed is so convenient for this purpose because it can be folded.

When I joined him last year, we moved in to a new two-bedroom apartment. We had a deal before that we would only choose our proper bed when we’re together but I procrastinated. We’re still using his old sofa bed. Yesterday, I noticed that the sofa bed is starting to make a noise with sudden movements. I took it as a signal for us to consider buying our proper bed as soon as possible.

I found  some  Bedroom Sets  to choose from and they’re absolutely gorgeous. They can be ordered online at spacify.com and shipping can be free. If  I were living alone, I would definitely go for something feminine but since we’re a couple, our bedroom should  reflect who we are as a couple. I would also like our bedroom to be balanced on both sides like having a nightstand and lamp on each side. The headboard should be very sturdy and there should be space under the bed to let the air go through it. This is required in feng shui and for very good reasons. The bedroom is the couple’s ultimate sanctuary and should not be taken lightly.

Tags: bed, bedroom, bedroom sets
Posted in Health and Home, Living and Loving, Shopping and Products | 1 Comment »

As a stay-at-home wife, I am expected to do all the household chores like cleaning and cooking. This is not because my husband demands it from me but because I have all the time in the world to do just that. This gives me absolutely no excuse to have a dirty house. Even if I have been doing household chores for almost all my life, I admit, I’m still not an expert when it comes to cleaning the house.

As I was searching the internet for cleaning tips, specifically how to remove stains, I came across a website for Commercial Cleaning for homes and businesses. I was amazed at how informative their website is. Even if their business is commercial cleaning, they still give valuable tips on cleaning. It’s like the chef giving off his secret recipes. Well, not really. They also have an online form you can fill up for a free quote, schedule an appointment, avail of their cleaning services and unbelievably, expert advice on all your needs.

I think the greater part of COMMERCIAL CLEANING is not the how-to-clean part but the energy-to-do-it part. I’m sure everybody will agree that carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning and air duct cleaning are the most difficult to do. You don’t do this very often but they have to be done and you can’t just settle for clean, it has to be very clean. Cleanliness is not just for beautification purposes, it is also crucial to good health. Having said that, I am going to avail of a Commercial Cleaning service soon. This is because the carpet upholstery and air duct needs thorough cleaning once in awhile. I don’t think my own cleaning would suffice. Also, I’m allergic to dust and I can’t stand prolonged exposure to dust and dirt when cleaning. Sounds like an excellent excuse to call commercial cleaners.

Tags: Commercial Cleaning
Posted in Health and Home, Living and Loving, Wellness and Me | No Comments »

These past months my skin has been rally bad. I’m having a flare up again. I have been to a dermatologist here in Regina but still as always, I was given prednisone 30mg for one week and diminishing 5mg per week until I reach 5mg per week. This has already become a vicious cycle. I don’t want it this way. I know prednisone, just like any steroids, works like a wonder drug for me but after every last dose, I always get a rebound. My itch always comes back with a vengeance.

The dermatologists and doctors always say it is idiopathic, meaning the cause is unknown. Having this disease on and off for many years, searching the internet for answers and reading books about the skin, I have come to realize that every flare up becomes better. I may feel at times that I am at my worse flare up but it always get better with time. Every flare up has a trigger and I just need to figure out what cause this.

I feel I have auto-immune issues because when you have a problem like mine, you will know that the problem is inside your body. I become hyper-sensitive to everyday things when I’m in a flare otherwise, I could just tolerate most things I seem to be sensitive to.

These days, I’m still itchy but feeling much better. I still take two antihistamines everyday because I learned that you only have to stop taking it after at least two months of having no symptoms. I still keep trying new things here, like moisturizers and shampoos but I’m slowly discovering what works for me and what doesn’t work. I just have to be my own detective. These are one of those times when instead of getting immediate relief, you have to dig deep into the matter and find the root cause and start from there.

Tags: dermatologist, flare up, itch, moisturizers, prednisone, problem skin, steroids
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I am just a stay at home wife but there are many things to do at home. The chores are endless. Before I came to Canada, I worked in the IT field. I have always worked with computer systems both software and hardware and the internet. Now that I stay at home, I use the internet to communicate with my family and friends and to find information on almost anything especially products and services of companies. I also use it to find how-to information, recipes, read the news, find people, check on the latest in entertainment, music and movies.

We have a room upstairs that we use as our office. When my husband is at work, I use that office. We have a home network of three computers so it is just alright if I use any of the computers because all our files are stored in the server. When my husband is at home however, I give him priority over the office upstairs because that is really his computer there. My computer is downstairs but when I work with photos, I like to do it in his computer because it is directly wired to the server while mine is using wireless connection. This means that loading of photos in his computer is way faster than in my computer and I’m talking about several thousands of photos here.

My husband have been offering to buy me a proper computer table but I procrastinated because I really don’t want to rush on buying things. I have my own requirements when it comes to buying things. I usually know what I want and I want it at a very reasonable price. Lately though, I have been working long hours in the computer and using just a small table and small stool. My back is beginning to hurt. This concerns me so much so it was time to set-up a proper working space.

Yesterday, we were at Staples and we bought a corner workcenter table with cherry finish. When we got home, my husband assembled the table right away and it came out perfect to my corner space office and my ergonomic chair. The table is quite sturdy and wide enough for the phone and other computer accessories. It also has enough space in front of me, in case I need to write things down. The CPU holder is very spacious that I think it is big enough to accommodate three CPU’s.

Since I like to work with pictures, I also bought Adobe Photoshop Elements version 7. I slept late last night because I was very busy watching the how-to videos of the software that I just bought. I’m so glad I brushed up with my knowledge in photo-editing in Photoshop which I have not done in quite a long time. I have been using Windows Picture Manager and Olympus Master 2 prior to this. Sooner than later, I will be editing videos and who knows, make movies.

Tags: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, computer table, computers, home office, internet, Olympus Master 2, photo-editing, server, staples, Windows Picture Manager
Posted in Fun, Handy and Hi-tech Things, Health and Home | No Comments »

     I was touched by the heart-breaking story of the five year-old twins, Addison and Cassie Hempel who are suffering from Niemann Pick Type-C  (NPC), a disease that causes dementia in children.  This means they slowly forget what they know and eventually die young if left untreated.  There are 500 children worldwide affected by the disease.

      NPC is a genetic condition wherein children cannot process cholesterol which slowly builds up in the body causing cells to die and leading to organ failure. The neurons in the child’s brain cannot process cholesterol so brain cells break down thus causing dementia. The good news though is that there is hope.

    The twins are now granted “compassionate use” (as per parents’ request) of the sugar compound, cyclodextrin which will extract the cholesterol in the body and may help with their condition. The sugar compound will be infused directly into the twin’s bloodstreams by a tube placed in their chests. There’s hope also that those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease may benefit from the same treatment.

    It is really impossible for most parents to give up on their children. In this case, the twin’s father has been working closely with doctors for the development of this treatment.  The twins’ parents are not only giving hope to their children but to the many families with children affected by the disease.

Tags: Addison, Alzheimer's, Cassie, cyclodextrin, Hempel, Niemann Pick
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     Even before I know of its health benefits, I have always loved to eat seaweed. My mother is a big fan of seaweed and she knows how to prepare it well so all the children in the family love seaweed too.  Seaweed is said to be the most nutritious plant food in the planet. It contains all the trace minerals that we need. It’s just so ironic that I, who love to eat seaweed had a nodular goiter before. Seaweed is so rich in iodine which is very crucial in helping regulate our thyroid function. It’s only lately that I learned that goiter is rarely caused by lack of iodine in the diet. In my case,  it’s more of a genetic thing. My mother used to have a nodule like mine before, so tiny and just went away on its own.

     The seaweed that we eat  in the Philippines are different from what the Japanese restaurants are serving although just the same, they all taste and smell of seawater.  All the seaweeds that I know of, need blanching before you season them and turn them into a salad.

     Today I made my first Japanese style seaweed salad. I never miss to order this every time we go to a Japanese restaurant. I always love this as a side dish. I made mine from dried wakame seaweed and I just followed the recipe for the seasoning that I got from the internet. It turned out really nice. My husband loved it too. From now on,  dried seaweed is going to be a staple in my pantry.

Tags: seaweed
Posted in Food, Cooking and Dining, Health and Home, Wellness and Me | 1 Comment »

I am crazy about cook shows on TV. My favorite now is the Rachael Ray show. I watch it every day. The show is not just about cooking good food, there’s also a discussion of hot topics all women would be interested in. I don’t really cook Rachael’s recipe but there’s a lot to learn in her shows.

I would like to share with you two kitchen tips I recently learned from the Rachel Ray show. One is how to prevent your leftover ice cream from building up ice crystals on top. Usually, the longer your ice cream sits in the refrigerator, the more ice crystals will there be also. It’s quite simply really. All you have to do is kind of vacuum pack the ice cream. You press the ice cream to the bottom of the container by using plastic wrap. You do this and you will have no trouble eating leftover ice cream.

When you open a bottle of soda, you want that popping sound, right? When you drink from a previously opened bottle, it will kind of lose its taste. Rachael Ray has a tip on how to store leftover sodas. After taking your fill from the soda, you have to press the bottle hard enough for the contents to almost reach the brim of the bottle. You only release the pressure after replacing the cap of the bottle. The secret really is to minimize the presence of air inside the bottle. After this, your bottle will need less space in the refrigerator.

This time, no more excuses on throwing away leftover ice cream and sodas. Times are hard and we have to make the most of what we already have.

Tags: ice cream, kitchen tips, plastic wrap, Rachael Ray, soda, storage
Posted in Health and Home, Living and Loving | 3 Comments »

I have never tried bread baking in the Philippines nor have I observed somebody doing it. I have absolutely no idea how do it until just recently. I searched the internet for information on bread baking, the basic steps, the equipments needed, recipes with reviews and other tips and recommendations from expert bakers. I did not buy a bread machine because I was determined to learn the basics. Bread baking is very intimidating to me at first but then I decided to try.

The first bread that I baked was French bread. The recipe is very simple, it just called for flour, water, butter and yeast. I just followed the recipe religiously and I made it. The bread did not look perfect in shape but it was not bad at all for a first timer.

The next bread I baked was white bread. I figured I need to have one good recipe for this because we love to eat white bread once in awhile. The recipe called for either bread flour or all-purpose flour. I used the all purpose flour but then my bread was good but I did not like its texture. I should have used the bread flour instead.

My third was the whole wheat bread. I could not believe it. That was the best bread I have ever made. It was also as good if not better than store-bought breads. Now, I have found my whole wheat bread recipe for keeps and what’s even better, it calls for whole wheat bread flour only.

The best part of baking our own bread is really knowing what is in the bread. I can be sure it has no unwanted additives and preservatives because I bake it myself. There’s also a definite plus, your bread comes cheaper than store-bought breads and there’s always the assurance of freshness. Baking helps relieve stress too and is very rewarding.

Tags: additives, all-purpose, baking, bread, butter, flour, French bread, freshness, preservatives, white bread, whole wheat, yeast
Posted in Food, Cooking and Dining, Health and Home, Living and Loving, Wellness and Me | No Comments »

There are many non-food items that I consider as staples in my kitchen. I always feel that life is more difficult without them around. Life nowadays is so much easier than a few years before. Products are getting better and better and new products are always in the market. We have seen how technology works and that is why we are so drawn to it whenever it has something new to offer us.

I’m going to share my top ten kitchen consumables. Some of them are needed for food handling and preparation and the rest are for maintenance and clean-ups.

1. Ziploc bags – Mine comes in 2 sizes, the small and large. There is also the single and double zip. I usually use the double zip for food in the freezer. I try to use them more than once. I wash them after every use, dry and keep them for future use. I only throw them aways when they look really very crumpled.

2. Aluminum foil – I use this mainly for cooking and baking. I wrap embutidos, wrap roasted meat after baking to seal in freshness, line baking pans to catch the drippings and use this as stove pan liners.

3. Cling wrap – This is very useful for refrigerator items. I usually repack store-bought meats with this. I wrap my sliced watermelons and cover bowls and food containers with this.

4. Parchment paper – This is said to be the modern baker’s dream come true. I use this to line my baking pans and even wrap food when baking and steaming. It protects baking utensils and makes food removal easy.

5. Wax paper – I use this for the storage of my make-ahead meals like dumplings and siomai. I line my food containers with wax paper before placing siomai and cover the top with it again so it remains dry. Also you can stock pile the siomai and use the wax paper as separator for each layer.

6. Toothpicks – I use toothpicks to test the doneness of my cake and brownies and to hold together cabbage rolls and the like.

7. Kitchen Tissue – Among the many uses of this is to absorb drippings from fried food, wipe dry anything and wipe clean all kinds of kitchen messes.

8. Garbage bags – Aside from keeping the garbage, I also use this to store items in the stockroom that just needs protection from dust.

9. Coffee filters – I can’t make coffee without this.

10. Mr. Clean Eraser bar – This makes cleaning simple, you simply wipe the dirt off. You can clean microwave ovens, stove top, tables and walls with this. It saves me a great deal of time.

There you go, my top ten kitchen must-haves. I don’t wait for me to run out of these things, I usually have at least two units of each on stock. They definitely make my life less stressful.

Tags: consumables, kitchen, non-food
Posted in Health and Home | No Comments »