My Sugar Free Sweet Life

As of this writing, I am drowning in my writing assignments which include 6 articles for my writing project, 6 exam reviewers for my son, and 3 post-event write-ups for the blog events I attended. Not to mention the fact that I occasionally leave my desk to oversee the laborers working on our kitchen and dining area renovation project. I also have photos in my SD cards to transfer to my hard drive which need to be sorted out and uploaded in Flickr and Facebook. I am also helping out in organizing our high school reunion. I am really one busy body as of press time.

I am so sorry for not being able to update my blog as often as I would have wanted to. But I will make it up to you, my dear readers, in no time. But for now, I have to go back to the writing assignments I haven't finished last night since I attended the Sun Life Financial blog event. Nope, they did not give us life insurance quote but instead showed us the importance of investing money in sound financial investments.

Bye for now and see you in a few days!

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The hottest challenge in town is now burning its way towards all you young and hip people all over the metro, The Del Monte Fit ’n Right Fruit Snacks Fit ‘n Fab 4 Challenge 2010! Focusing on today’s youth, The Fit ‘n Fab 4 Challenge is tapping all you college students in Metro Manila by taking part in the biggest and grandest events of your respective campuses.

First to be burned are the Thomasians in the recently concluded UST “Cheermania!”, the University of Sto. Tomas’ grandest in-school cheering competition. Cheermania is the annual cheering competition between UST’s different colleges featuring Thomasian-dynamism through rhythmic dances that highlight the values of their respective colleges and faculties. Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks played a major role in the success of this event by being this year’s Cheermania presenter. With that, the students allotted six minutes of non-stop cheering action having Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks as one of the major parts in their routine.

Setting up booths inside your schools, Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks will not just be presenting but will also challenge each and every one of you students to participate in this year’s Fit ‘n Fab 4 Challenge!

This challenge is open to all college student barkadas of four, aged 15 – 25 years old, who will be encouraged to live a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition and regular exercise and snacking of Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks. It is the only low calorie snack with 300 mg of fat-burning L-Carnitine made with real fruits with no added sugar. The barkada with the most amount of weight lost and physical improvement wins P100,000 and a trip to Boracay.

With Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks Fit ‘n Fab 4 Challenge 2010, more schools are about to get burned. And for those who miss the Fit ‘n Right campus visits, a booth will be waiting at ROX in Bonifacio High Street on February 20 - 21 from 11am to 8pm for the final registration.
Now, can you keep up? Hurry, sign up at www.fitandfab4.com and join the Del Monte Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks Fit ‘n Fab 4 Challenge 2010 coming to your schools!


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Over the weekend, I met up with blogger friends for a writers' meeting. We just signed a 5-month contract as contributing writers for a local website! Actually, it's my second contract for the same local client and that is why I am so happy. At least, I am sure to have a steady stream of writing assignments until July. I am still praying for more writing gigs until my youngest brother graduates in 2011.

Compared to what I earn from my oDesk writing projects, my local client pays more. Besides, I find it better to coordinate with fellow Filipinos than foreign bosses. Not that I'm complaining as I have had the best foreign bosses in oDesk, too!

Tomorrow will also mark the start of our major home renovation project. We were blessed with extra savings this time that we could finally afford to build my dream kitchen and dining area. It would be built as an extension at the right side of our home. That will give our main home more space as we can already transfer the dining table to the extension. We have found a reliable contractor in the person Mang Bobot, a neighbor's relative. We have already seen his past construction projects within our village and he's earned our approval. He's taking care of everything including the coordination of tasks among his pool of workers. At least, we won't need to conduct an employee screening of construction boys anymore. After everything's built, all we would need to do is to buy a new oven and hood. By the way, Mang Bobot's going to build me a kitchen counter that's going to look like a mini-bar.

Oh, I forgot to write about the new 2-seater couch and coffee table set that we ordered last week. It's made to order and will be delivered by March 17. Happy happy, joy joy! Am I excited or what?

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It is the Lenten Season once again and I am one with my fellow Roman Catholics who practice fasting and abstinence during this season. It's Friday and we cannot eat red meat. Well, I don't even eat chicken during Fridays of Lent. Being a diabetic, I cannot fast as I closely monitor what I eat and the time of the day when I eat. As for the my daily protein requirement, I get it from fish and eggs.

Abstinence from food is not the only thing that we do during the Lenten season. Personally, I resolved to refraining from the little comforts that I usually enjoy on normal days. I also read a plurk that abstinence of words can also be done when we can try to resist cursing or saying hurtful words to others. I think I can manage that.

There's also a friend who wrote about how she will lessen her Facebook usage as her sacrifice for Lent. I cannot reduce my online usage because of work but I think that I have already significantly lessened my FB activities. I don't even play games anymore.

Abstaining from yummy food and other comforts in life is easier said than done. I'm glad I haven't forgotten what I cannot have last Ash Wednesday and the first Friday of fasting and abstinence which is today. I'll just motivate myself and have comfort in the fact that I can lose weight without even taking slimquick extreme. No, but seriously, it really is a comforting thought that I can somehow sacrifice small things to remember Christ's sacrifice.

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Yay! My husband has finally decided to join me in my blogging adventures. Could it be that he wants to join me in blog events? Hahaha, I'm not really sure. But I'm all happy and excited at the same time that he showed interest in blogging.

My husband is smarter and more creative than I am and I know he'll have lots to write about. Since he's still new to blogging, we're planning on having a writing project that we'll work on together. I think it would be a "he said she said" format but I'll also give each of us solo posts where we can write about things that interest couples like us. He can probably write muscle milk reviews or whatever he wants to write about. Sounds exciting, don't you think so?

I'm still thinking of a domain name for our future site. Do you have any suggestions?

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I don't eat oatmeal especially when it's cooked as a porridge. The only time I eat oatmeal is when it's mixed in cookies or bread. Just yesterday, my boys craved for oatmeal and asked me to buy some flavored instant oatmeal packs from the supermarket. They ate oatmeal for two mornings now and I still haven't tried to eat some.

Oatmeal is a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber. It helps cleanse the colon and works like most colon cleansing products. Eating oatmeal is also beneficial for those who want to lose weight. I guess I really need to find the will to start eating oatmeal regularly for my health.

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After our Bohol trip in the last week of January, I started experiencing itching on my lower arms. Rashes appeared and I was not able to resist scratching them. I think it's skin asthma and it may be because of the sudden change in temperature. We had rainy days in Bohol and I experienced extreme heat in Manila as soon as we stepped out of the airport.

Now, two weeks have passed and the days have become really hotter here. I'm starting to scratch my cheeks, too. Although I haven't seen rashes coming out yet, I'm afraid of having them. I haven't had any problems on having acne ever! I've read that sudden changed is temperature can cause acne. That plus the fact that I often sleep late because of my work. Sigh. I think I'd better start researching on a home remedy for acnenow while it's just starting. Do you have any suggestions?

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We don't even need the weather bureau to tell us that summer is officially here in the Philippines! I think the hot summer days are early this year, especially with the onset of the El Niño phenomenon. While it is but natural to worry about drought and the scarcity of water supply that is to come, it should also be natural for us to be concerned about our body's hydration during these times. A perfect way to keep hydrated this summer is by eating juicy summer fruits!

Summer fruits are harvested during the summer time. Obviously, they are nature's way of providing for us extra sources of water during the summer. Hydration during the summer months is very important to keep our bodies cool and to keep our skin moisturized. By the way, if you are prone to acne and your skin gets dry during the summer months, the chances of you getting ugly acne scars become bigger. Rather than saving up for acne scar removal treatments, head to the market and stock up on these summer fruits:

• Honeydews, Melons, and Watermelons - These fruits are watery and are the best ones to eat this summer. Expect them to be sweeter during this time of the year, too. 
• Mangoes and Papayas - They are rich in Vitamin C and potassium which makes them perfect for providing much needed energy and resistance against diseases.
• Pineapples - Pineapples are not only juicy sweet but are excellent sources of fiber as well. Our bodies need more fiber during the summer months to help in digestion.

I never knew I'd be as excited as I was this afternoon when my boy and I reached Enchanted Kingdom. You see, in the five years that we spent living in Santa Rosa City, I've only been in the park twice. The first time was right after we moved in and the last was weeks before we got relocated back to Manila. I guess I really missed Enchanted Kingdom so much that I took so many pictures of the place. Rap and I were lucky to be part of the 50 bloggers who spent Valentine's Day at Enchanted Kingdom. We were brought there to witness the park's Enchanting Hug-a-Palooza event. Too bad my husband had to be on duty in the office today and had to miss all the fun.

We rode the bus provided for us by the Enchanted Kingdom guys and arrived at the park a few minutes before 3 in the afternoon. The heat was unbearable, I tell you, but I wasn't able to resist my boy who pulled me to go and try the rides immediately.
But while our special pink wristbands gave us ride-all-you-can access, I wasn't able to muster enough courage to ride these...


Nevertheless, we enjoyed the bump cars, the Wheel of Fate, Up, Up, and Away, and the mini-train ride before the Hug-a-palooza program started.


We were up in the giant ferris wheel when the lion dancers danced around the park in celebration of Chinese New Year. Belly dancers also wiggled their bodies in one part of the park.


By the time we got off the Wheel of Fate, it was only a couple of minutes before the Hug-a-Palooza program started. So we decided to have snacks and refreshments at the foodcourt using our complimentary Wizard Money.


After our snacks, we chanced upon the other bloggers who were lined up for shots in the photobooth.


The band played lively music to everyone's delight!


At 6 pm, all of the rides were stopped to give everyone the chance to witness the program. Young and old; families and lovers; the EK staff, traditional media men, and us bloggers; were all gathered in front of the stage to witness the incredible feat of having the largest number of people hugging each other all at the same time. The program was hosted by the owner of the park herself with Mr. Tirso Cruz III.


At exactly 7 pm, music was played and it cued the official start of the Hug-a-Palooza. Fireworks lit up the sky, too!


Families with the most number number of members present at the event were given special pins and other prizes. Other park attendees, that means us included, were showered with chocolates and candies. We also got free sampler bottles of Colgate Plax. Before the program ended, it was announced that more than 6,000 people attended the event that day. Therefore, Enchanted Kingdom's aim of bringing families close to each other this Valentine's Day was a success!


It truly was a happy Valentine's Day for me and my boy even when we missed having our Dadijun around. Thanks to Azrael Colladilla and Enchanted Kingdom for giving us a chance to be part of this wonderful feat. By the way, this is just the first as Enchanted Kingdom will be holding Hug-a-Palooza every Valentine's Day starting tonight! Special thanks also goes to Mikco Maiquez of Enchanted Kingdom for taking good care of all of the bloggers who participated in the event.

You can view more of my Enchanting Hug-a-Palooza shots HERE.


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When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in 2004, he only intended to provide a student directory for Harvard University where he was enrolled. Now, what started as a "Harvard thing" has got the world looped into the cyber social network.

I am thankful to Zuckerberg for Facebook. It connected me to family and friends whom I haven't seen in years! For instance, I was able to reunite with my UP college block mates and my core barkada. I was in a block section during the my entire stay in UP Manila and our block stuck through thick and thin. With Facebook, its easier to update each other about our lives just like in the old days. It's difficult to gather everyone around for a get together because most of us are busy with our respective careers so Facebook becomes our virtual reunion venue.

Have you found old friends in Facebook? How did your virtual reunion go? I'd love to read about it!

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