How to Be Happy

I get a daily email from an "uncle". If you're Filipino, you get what I mean by "uncle". Anyhow, these emails are inspiring, uplifting and motivating so instead of sending an email blast, I will post them on my blog, in hopes that you, too, are inspired, uplifted and motivated.

How To Be Happy

Take full responsibility for your life.
Stop blaming others.
See yourself as the cause of what happens to you.

Do things you like to do.
Don't stay in a job you don't like.
Participate in life at the highest level you can.

Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts.
Be gentle and kind and patient with yourself.

Give yourself the simple pleasures of life abundantly.
Wear clothes you feel good in, be grateful, think of others, etc.

Watch what you say. Avoid self put-downs.
Stop being critical of yourself and others.

Take care of your body.
Give it exercise and good food.

Be willing to create a life-style that generates and nourishes self-esteem.
Associate with others with high esteem.

Acknowledge yourself frequently.
Keep a diary of your successes and accomplishments.

Avoid comparing yourself with others.
Remember that it's who we are, not what we do, that's important.

Give yourself permission to do nothing periodically.
Schedule time by yourself.

Frequently take deep breaths.
Discover the benefit and pleasure of breathing fully.

Eat quality food when you can.
On occasion. don't look at the right side of the menu.

Stop trying to change others.

Look into a mirror regularly
and say "I love you,".

Stop feeling guilty and saying "I'm sorry".
See mistakes as valuable lessons and avoid judging yourself.

Consciously generate positive thoughts and feelings of self-love
in place of old thoughts of inadequacy.

Be willing to laugh at yourself and at life.
Stop taking yourself so seriously.

Accept compliments from others without embarrassment.
Don't invalidate their positive thoughts and feelings about you.

Be kind to your mind.
Don't hate yourself for having negative thoughts.
Gently change your thoughts.

Keep your awareness and your thoughts focused in present time
instead of living in the past or future.

Acknowledge others frequently.
Tell them what you like and appreciate in them.

Invest money in yourself.
Go to seminars, workshops and courses that develop your talents.

Make a list of 10 things
you love doing and do them frequently.

Treat yourself as you would treat someone you really loved.

Be kind to animals, and to humans too :)

When a character of a person in not clear to you, look at his/her friends.

Seek to understand, rather than judge.

and finally,

'A SURE WAY TO LOSE HAPPINESS IS TO WANT IT AT THE EXPENSE OF EVERYTHING ELSE !"



**** all good things are meant to be shared.

Sleep with Me

"To get the girls to sleep with me, I tell them they are beautiful and pretty."

No joke! Seriously, that came out of the mouth of my five year old son! Out of the mouths of babes!

I asked him where he learned to say that. "No one."

I told him that it would be better for him to say, "To get the girls to like me..." Of course, he asked why. I told him that it didn't sound right if he said it the other way.

Both of our bambinos have grown accustomed to having Mimah (my mom), Nana (my mom's sis), my sis, Lola (Be's mom) or me sleeping with them in their room.

Obviously, he said that without malicious intent. Our lil man has been really good about showering the ladies with his sweet words. The fact that he said what he did though... oh boy, I don't even want to imagine.

Blessed... again.

I kept telling myself that I would make every effort to revive my blog. Unfortunately, it has taken me this long to inch up to finally blogging a new post.

Alas, I am here and I do hope to frequent this blog as I initially intended.

I suppose I should catch everyone up on the latest and long overdue news on my Blessed *Catherine Experience. Without further ado, we are having another BABY! As this good news came to our surprise, I immediately prayed for our sweet dear friends who have been TTC for quite some time now. I know that it must be difficult to have to go through such an incredible test and trial of faith and patience.

Although I have been blessed... again, my health has not always been the easiest. Some have wondered, but have never asked from fear of either embarrassing or upsetting me. I was born with a tumor of the tongue called Lymphangioma. Growing up with this birth defect was, in my opinion, more difficult for my family than it was for me. The hospital was not my mom's favorite place to be. She could barely go there to visit a friend, let alone stomach the pain of watching your own child being treated for a condition that almost no one knew about.

I was fortunate enough to have been treated by one of the best head and neck surgeons in the world, Dr. Thomas Calcaterra. He actually had treated another patient before me witht the same condition. The worst my condition ever got was after Dr. Calcaterra did a biopsy on my tongue to confirm its malignancy. Thankfully, the tumor was benign, however, my tongue took a turn for the worst. It was so incredibly swollen that I could not close my month. My speech was impaired causing me to communicate with only pen and paper. I was then hospitalized at UCLA's intensive care unit. I remember how hard it was for my family to see me like that. It honestly looked harder than it really felt. For safety precautions, Dr. Calcaterra decided to do tracheostomy to provide a more secure airway. The swelling eventually subsided with antibiotics and time. I was then moved to the observation unit and eventually discharged.

Although that was a major part of my extensive medical history, I am reminded of how incredibly blessed I am with the life that has been bestowed upon me now. I refuse to complain. I am Blessed and shall remain blessed.

Put It On Paper

I know that I should be blogging more often. I will be somewhere, anywhere and something happens. Immediately, it churns into a blog idea with every intention to put it on "paper", but it soon escapes as time passes me by.

I will make the commitment to blog more so that I don't lose these precious moments, albeit some not so precious, they are indeed learning experiences.

Sassy Nakia

Moments that make me laugh.

Just about done with their bath, I asked Nakia Jordan to get up and out from the bath. She continues to play in the bath.

"Nakia, are you coming or what?"

"Or what," she states calmly.

Oh. my. gosh. Again, I can't help but laugh. My kids are hilarious.

Running to Kai

Moments that make me laugh.

We are in the car. I slowly approach the stoplight with two bambinos in tow. A runner crosses the street and Kyan Xander asks me, "Mommy, why is she running?"

"She's exercising."

"Mommy, is she running errands?"

Oh. my. gosh. I couldn't help but laugh. It is still hilarious.

Bad Dream

It's the middle of the night and I am half asleep when Be (my mahal) is trying to wake me up. He says that I'm screaming. Barely awake, I was able to muster the words, "bad dream".

I know what I was dreaming about. I was trying to help Chelsea King. Chelsea is the 17 year old Poway Senior that disappeared from her jog in Rancho Bernardo.

I did not know of her until her disappearance, however, one of my students did know her since the 4th grade. Evidence was found this morning, pointing to signs that she was raped and murdered. I do not know details as of yet, but the world of the King family has been turned upside down. I am so sad for her. I wish that this didn't end in tragedy. I pray for the family and friends of Chelsea King. I pray that they celebrate the short life she lived.

Granola

I can barely resist to share this.

It's a Sunday morning and getting ready to go to church. I grab my daily yogurt and granola. I crush my granola because I like my granola as fine as I can get it. I grab another pack of granola for Kyan Xander who wants one then Nakia asks for a Fiber One Oats & Chocolate bar so I grab one for her and her Daddy.

We are in the car and I open both my yogurt and granola. The way I eat them takes longer than usual as I pour some crushed granola into my yogurt and spoon out a combination of both.

So on our way to mass as I am halfway done with my yogurt and granola, Kyan says, "Mommy, I have some crumbs left in my granola bar (wrapper) for you." Awwww, I was smitten with love. He was sweet enough to think about me, even moreso observant of how I ate my yogurt and granola. That kid loves me and that moment just made my heart sing.