5 Tips to Boost Your Immunity During the Holidays

The cold morning breeze, the Christmas carols, the sparkling and colorful lights at night remind us that the most awaited season of the year is here. The season of sharing and giving has finally arrived!

Christmas is a very joyful season, a celebration we all look forward to. Personally, Christmas is about making up for lost time with friends and loved-ones. To others, Christmas means giving and completing items from their Christmas wishlists. While others associate Christmas as an opportunity to relax and unwind from heavy work demands. 

Blissful and festive as it is, the so-called holiday rush can be stressful. Attending parties, reunions and merry-makings here and there is exhilarating but can be tiring. Many people in popular establishments mean crowded places and heavy traffic; which adds to the normal holiday traffic because of shopping mall sales and extended mall hours. Making your way through the crowd just to find that perfect gift can be exhausting. Brainstorming for your Christmas gift list can be draining and completing your noche buena items can cause increased stress levels because of long lines at groceries and department stores.

Increased stress levels weaken our immune system and make us more susceptible to illnesses. While they say that stress is inevitable, there are some ways to keep our bodies strong and healthy this season:

1) Begin the day with a positive mindset.

As the old cliche says, mind over matter; our brain is very powerful that whatever it conceives, there's a big chance it will happen. Say you wake up and think of how bad this day is because of the deadlines you have to meet, most probably, you will really end up having one.

Waking up to a new day is one of the best blessings to be thankful for. How lucky are we to be given another day to enjoy, learn and make a new start. So why destroy a brand new day with a negative thought in mind? We all have our fair share of struggles so never let them affect your day and life. Remember that there's a solution to every problem and every time you think of stressful things, you are not just ruining your day but you are also harming your health. So the moment you wake up, be thankful and think of positive thoughts to attract them.

Give Thanks

A wonderful promise to claim

This was supposed to be posted on the last day of July, but because Mr. Fatigue visited me last week, the posting had to wait. I really don’t like July (my apologies to those who love this month) because for the past years it has always been associated with unfortunate and unexpected losses. This year despite being the same gloomy and rainy July it has always been, I gained worthwhile realizations about life and God’s love and goodness.

We went to Divisoria, the shopping mecca of Luzon, last July 12. We arrived at Buendia at almost 10 in the morning where we boarded a jeepney to Divisoria. Jeepneys are the most popular mode of transportation in the Philippines, in Manila and other parts of Luzon particularly, patterned after the American jeeps; passengers occupy the parallel seats at the back usually 6-10 passengers per side. It took some minutes before all seats were filled. Surprisingly, an officemate rode the same jeep with her mother and aunt.

The Gift of Education

If there is one thing I could give the Philippines, that is the gift of education.

In terms of effort, the government has been doing its part. They have been continuously exploring ways to improve the quality of education, hence the implementation of the K-12 education system program. Financial resources have been utilized to build additional classrooms, hire teachers and buy school books and materials. A mobile education system was formulated to help more Filipinos gain access to education. Despite the efforts, there are still a lot of things that need to be done.

We have seen television documentaries of children taking the extra mile just to pursue education. Children walking for hours ignoring the scorching heat of the sun or the heavy downpour of the rain just to get to the lone school in their municipality located kilometers away from their homes. Some were forced to cross dangerous bridges or rivers or even embark on a wavy and terrifying boat ride just to get to school. Some would have to work extra so they can buy schools supplies or have pocket money to buy food. Some would have to settle for recycled school supplies, worn-out uniforms and even torn books; while some just won't have the luxury of having a single school supply. 

Lost but Moving On with God's Grace

I'd rather view a broken dream not as the end of the world rather a beginning of something new. 

A birth of something that's beautiful and perfectly written by the Master Writer, 

the Creator and Giver from Whom perfect love is exemplified.

Dear Lord, 

I may not understand why I have to go through this over and over again 

but I am keeping my faith in Your promises for I know that Your plans are not just better 

but the best than what I could have imagined for myself. 

I know Lord in Your perfect time, 

that perfect story and that perfect moment will all come true. 

Teach me Lord the virtue of patience 

and help me be faithful to You always. 

Amen. 

Photos from Spiritual Inspiration. Visit them on facebook and tumblr. 

My Birthday and Christmas Wishlist

Longer nights, soothing carols and relaxing morning breeze - can you guess what I'm thinking? Yes, Christmas it is! As one song goes, "It's beginning to feel like Christmas." This lengthy Filipino celebration began as soon as September approached (-ber months as we Filipinos call it) and the countdown to one hundred days before Christmas started.

Likewise, I have started the countdown to my 27th birthday. Oh yeah! I'm turning 27 few months from now and I am grateful! With these celebrations in mind, I have listed down my wishlist and I will be very happy to receive these stuff from generous people around. (*clearing throat*) Online stores such as Lazada makes shopping convenient and easy, that's a promise. 

Here it goes:

 1) Samsung Galaxy S4

With specs like a super-fast-quad-core processor and a 13MP auto-focus camera with LED, this phone is just superb. I won't be resentful for a gift like this. 

2) HTC One

Apart from having an Ultrapixel camera which capture good photos in dim light, this phone is also equipped with a flash player which is needed to run certain applications. A definite plus, plus for this phone.


3) External hard disk

Honestly speaking, this item was in my wishlist last year and hopefully I will be able to cross it out come Christmas time this year. As a photography-enthusiast and a struggling Master's student, I have so many files that consume the space of my laptop. An external hard disk will help save space and keep my files safe in case my laptop finally retires in the future. 

Remembering Ninoy

Benigno 'Ninoy' S. Aquino, Jr. (Source)

21st of August 1983, the year that was. In the tarmac of then Manila International Airport with the Philippines eagerly waiting for your return. A bang, a gunshot - it took your life, but never your legacy.

"But I knew, that somehow, I will regain my freedom, maybe not in this world, but elsewhere, and I knew, that sometime, somewhere, Mr. Marcos and I will meet, and in that meeting I will have my satisfaction." Freedom rally symposium by the Movement for Free Philippines. Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, California; February 15, 1981 (Credits: Quotation Source)

Thirty years after (now it's raining and flooding like forever in your Motherland), we remember and celebrate your greatness. Your death sparked a realization that there is power in unity and that the government is for the Filipinos.

"I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino and I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nation’s greatest untapped resource.” (Quote taken from here)

Make Everyday Valentine's Day

As popular as the old cliche, "Make everyday Christmas day"; I am coining my own by saying, "Make everyday a Valentine's day."

Wondering why? I would like to believe that expressing love and spending time with our loved ones need not to be done only on special occasions, rather it should be celebrated everyday, for each moment can be regarded as special even without an event.

Yes I know this is a little late (by this time, it's already February 15 in the Philippines), I would like to greet you guys a Happy Hearts Day. And let me share with you one of my favorite Bible verses about love.

Photo taken from here.

Spread the love everyone! Let's make everyday a Valentine's Day!

♥♥♥

In God's Time...

Today I was reminded of how much I value honesty and truthfulness. I was also reminded that God loves me so much that He saved me from wrong people, wrong decisions and a pitfall.

I know that God is busy writing my story and that it will come true on His perfect time with the one He chose for me. I may be single but there is no drop of desperation running on me. There's no need to rush and there's no need to worry for someday all my hopes and dreams will come true. As written in Ecclesiastes 3:11: "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Photo taken from google.

As for now, I will seek to become somebody better. Someone that my perfect match is exactly looking for.

♥♥♥