Thermostat or Thermometer?

Are you a thermostat or a thermometer?

I'm currently reading Sam Glenn's A KICK IN THE ATTITUDE and this line really caught me. This book is part of our Continuing Education Program (CEP) in Network 21 for January. The book is a great read! It talks about why, when everyone knows that the right attitude can bring you success in life, and yet not everyone is successful?

So, am I a thermostat or a thermometer?

As we all know, thermostat controls the temperature of a room, while a thermometer goes with the temperature. In life, we have freedom to choose if we are going to take control of our life or just let anyone or anything control us. I must admit that there are times when I have so many excuses. You see, I have so many things I want in life, especially those for my son, husband and my family. So many dreams that there was a time when I already gave up thinking about them because I thought I was not born privileged enough to get such. I was allowing my present circumstances to control me, kill my dreams and dictate my life.

I was a thermometer once.

But I am glad I met special people who taught me how to be a thermostat. I am blessed to be part of an environment who encourages people to dream big and make it happen. I am now on my way to the realization of my dreams. And I am happy Vergil and I chose to follow the road less travelled.

SUCCESS THOUGHT OF THE DAY

"SUCCESS IS A PROGRESSIVE REALIZATION

OF A WORTHWHILE DREAM"

I always thought that sucess is equal to being on top of the class when I was still a student, or getting promoted until you reach the top of the corporate ladder when I started working. I always had this wrong perception that success is synonymous to power, position and authority. I was proven wrong by the words above.

A progressive realization of a worthwhile dream...

That's when I started to think, what are my dreams? They say your dreams are those when you think about it, you feel the longing and pain. Just the thought of it makes you cry and tremble. Now, I sure love being on top... I always did. I always make sure that I stand out. I thought these things would bring me success. But I was wrong. They were like drugs that I felt temporary elated... after a day or two all the heavenly feeling of being recognized, promoted and etc. is gone. I go back to where I was, exhausted, bored and wondering why I am so damn unhappy with what I am doing. Even the money cannot do something about it.

So, what are my real dreams? What makes me cry just thinking about it at night? What dreams do I have to realized for me to honestly say that I am successful?

One thing's for sure. I want the BEST of this world for my family. I am not only talking of material things but I am also talking about TIME. I want to give everything to my family - new house, car, best education, all the good things that money can buy and having to spend most of my time with them in enjoying good things life can offer. It's far far different from spending my time climbing the corporate ladder although I am giving them the best of life. What I wanted all along is not only financial freedom, but also the time freedom. I don't want to be dictated of the time I should get up, the time I should take my meals or the time I should be working. My work controls me now... I am spending more time with my boss than with my family. Is this the success I was thinking about? Wouldn't it be much greater to have all the money and all the time to do I want and what I am happy about? Such a failure in disguise to be earning so much but a slave in the truest sense!

But I am lucky to have taken an opportunity most take for granted. I am lucky that I became honest with what I truly wanted which opened my mind and heart to listen to the right opportunity fitted for my dreams.

Before my eyes opened and my vision changed, I thought I didn't have any choice but to work the rest of my life to be able to earn an income that will never ever be enough. I did not see any possibility for me leaving the corporate world. I thought of having my own traditional business, but you see, such not only takes money, but also a lot of skills and discipline. If you were train to be an employee, it will take you a lot of learning to get the minds of the successfull business persons. And that is not learned through school or through books only. The most effective is to learn from the successful people themselves. But will Henry Sy do such? I don't think so.

Now, I am on my way to the realization of my dreams. Such a blessing to be surrounded by so many successful people in a very positive environment. Such a good luck to be able to stumble upon people who mentors us and despite our shortcomings never fails to support and believe in us.

Now, what do you really want?

Rob Pattinson in the OSCAR Awards?

News is everywhere that the very hot and attractive Robert Pattinson will be one of the presenters in the Oscar Awards this coming Sunday. See news here. I think I am now interested to watch the awards. Hahahaha! Who wouldn't be????

Movie List

Since the time Odyssey and Astrovision started to sell original DVD's on sale, I started collecting original copies of movies I really like. But the thing is I haven't had the time to see them all yet... Miggy din kasi is such a late sleeper lately and I found myself to sleepy already to watch by the time he's asleep. Haayyy... maybe one of these days, I will take a leave from the office and do a movie marathon.

So far here are the movies I already bought (the ones in Bold and Italic I've found time to see again):

1. Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring
2. Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
3. Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King
4. A Beautiful Mind
5. A Few Good Men
6. Underworld
7. Underworld: Revolution
8. Schindler's List
9. Mercury Rising
10. The Notebook
11. Italian Job
12. Enemy of the State
13. The Rookie
14. Air Force One
15. Behind Enemy Lines
16. Pirates of the Carribean
17. Armageddon

And here's the list of the movies I have yet to buy:

1. A Walk to Remember
2. Bourne Identity
3. Bourne Supremacy
4. Bourne Ultimatum
5. Braveheart
6. Coyote Ugly
7. The Rainman
8. U 571
9. The Love Story
10. Twilight (expected delivery by end of March)
11. Click
12. Gandhi
13. The Negotiator
14. Gladiator
15. Harry Potter Collection

Hmnnn... I think that is all for now. :-)

Exhausted

I am really starting (again!) to get sick and tired of my job. No matter what, where, when and who - I simply don't enjoy it. I am again wondering if it would have made a significant difference if I insisted on taking up AB Economics then Law School after or Interior Design, instead of the one course I never dreamt of getting into: Accountancy!

I really think it's time for me to do something about this. I cannot imagine spending another 5 years of my life doing this.

Hmnnnn...

Day of Hearts

We originally planned to reserve for dinner at Mingoy's in ATC to celebrate the day but at the last minute we decided to spend the day together with Miggy. We were thinking of going to

Enchanted Kingdom or Star City or letting Miguel play at the Fun Ranch and then find a good place to eat after. Hubby suggested we go to Tagaytay but I was not up to it. I don't know, but I just find the place boring. Hehehe! Is it because I literally almost grew-up in Baguio that I cannot really appreciate the place? Hmnnn, I'm not sure... Maybe if hubby will suggest we spend the night at Tagaytay Highlands, it will change my mind. Hahahaha!

So V-day came and we really have not decided where to go. It was a "come what may" atmosphere that morning. Woke up early to do my Saturday cleaning routine. Hubby drove us to Festival Mall by 10:00 am for Miggy's toddler class at TU. While Miggy was in his class, I took off to the grocery and bought some Toblerone bars for his teachers. Miggy's class is until 11:45am so hubby and I decided that we just eat lunch at Festival Mall. But we let the little boy play first at Pixie Forest. We ate at Pancake House and I really enjoyed my favorite: Daing na Bangus! Hahahaha! We drove home afterwards to let Miggy take a nap and for us to have time to plan the night. He was barely awake when we were halfway to our place. And then something came up that we had to go to AMWAY ADC in Makati. So much for any plans... we just brought Miggy with us to Makati after letting him take his nap. We left Amway at around 7:00PM already then headed straight to SM Southmall for a dinner at Chef de Angelo before going home.

Nothing romantic happened. But it was surely better because we were together!

***

We bought something for Miggy as a Valentines gift for him:

He almost doesn't want to leave his tent. And he got really mad when we tried to pull him out. Hahahaha!

Birthday Wish

I want this for my birthday!!!

They're offered at Borders.com as their exclusive edition Twilight DVD.

I WILL DEFINITELY GET THIS.

IWhite Nose Pack to the Rescue!

While reading some previous post on the GT forum, I stumble upon this suggestion by one of my GT sisses of a product that can remove blackheads and whiteheads. This is one of my many problems - the ever stubborn blackheads! There are a lot of them settled comfortably around my nose and you bet that it is so annoying! Oh, going back to the product I mentioned, they suggested this IWHITE NOSE PACK that is available at Watson's. Many in the group attested to its effectiveness. And it's pretty cheap! Php17.50 for one pack. Oh well, there were many suggestions aside from this but I am most attracted with the cheap ones. Hehehehe! Luckily, we had dinner at SM Southmall last night so I grabbed two packs and tried it when we got home. IWhite Nose Pack is in cream form that you will have to apply around your nose, let it dry for 15-20 minutes, peel it off and then VOILA! Stubborn blackhead pulled out by the dried cream! My verdict? Effective! Although not all of it(blackheads) was pulled out. But it is suggested that you use it 2x a week so let's see. But all in all, I am happy with it and I will definitely use the other pack over the weekend.

Rant

This is always the reason why I am doing our Amway business. Because I really can't imagine myself working like this until I reach the age 60. I want to have the time and money freedom to do all the things I want. I want to spend more time with my family. I don't want my job dictating me on how I run my time and much more enslaving me into spending all of my time doing it! I am sick and tired of being bossed around and me having no choice but to follow.

I am decided. By December 2009. I will be retiring from my busy and stressfull corporate job. I will be a full time wife and mom and a business person. I will be helping anyone who feels the same way I do and have all that it takes to go through it.

I guess I really have to work on this DOUBLE TIME!

Over The Weekend

Another Monday... as usual I am here at work and going over my To Do List and wondering if I can really fit to do all of them today. Ugh!

***

Miguel was surely enjoying himself in school. Last Satuday, I just dropped him off to class and went on to buy some stuff for for the house. I got back just right before his romp time coz I needed to catch his snack time (his favorite juice drink was in my bag) and there he was... happily playing around on their romp area, not even minding if I was still around. Sigh! My boy is really growing fast and I realized I really should be spending more time with him. Coz I know I should not be waiting for him to reach age 10... by then he'll be embarassed being seen already kissed by his mom! Hmnnn... I should really be starting to plan for the birthday getaway present we're thinking of giving the little boy. Vergil and I decided not to throw another big birthday party for him till age 7. But we will go on vacation for him to some place as a birthday present. And for us to unwind na rin and spend time with each other. We originally planned to bring him to Hongkong Disneyland last January but we were on a tight budget since we moved to the new house last December. Almost all the money went to the house. So the HK trip is postponed tentatively by November this year.

We're thinking of Baguio though. It would be the right choice since Miggy's bday is on April 26 and I am pretty sure the weather in Baguio will be a good escape from the hot weather here in Manila. I am looking for a good beach resort also... coz the little boy loves swimming.... in the pool. He hates the beach... or more appropriately, he is afraid of the beach. The waves and the sound scares him a lot. But that was last year when we went to Pagudpod in Ilocos. Maybe we're going to try and check again if he's ok with it now. Hmnnn.

***

After Miggy's class, we dropped by at Vergil's office for a visit and a scheduled meeting with Ms. Lani. After that I didn't have any schedule and Miggy was already tired and sleepy so Vergil drove us home. Miggy as already asleep when we reached the house so I grabbed the opportunity to watch DVD. This is something I rarely do anymore since I spend most of my free time playing with Miggy. I popped in the movie "The Notebook". I actually read the book years ago and it was one of the best love stories I ever read. But with the movie?? Wow! I was almost into tears. The best love story movie I ever watched. Noah was surely someone a girl would ever dreamed of.

***

We watched the 3rd sequel of Underworld two weeks ago in Festival Mall Alabang. I'm not really a huge fan of this vampire story but I can say I liked it. I already have with me the original DVD copy of the first two parts (thanks for Astrovision's DVD sale). The 3rd part Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was actually the history of the feud between the lycans and the vampires. The story was actually mentioned in the first Underworld movie... the story of Lucian (lycan) and Sonja (vampire). It was ok but it was short. I think I would have enjoyed the movie more if they added some twist with it like if Lucian and Sonja was able to escape and they were hunted down. And it wasn't even explained why Lucian was able to command all the wolves and why they listened to him or more so treat him like the leader of the pack. But all in all it was ok. Not bad.

Miggy at the Fun Ranch Alabang

He really enjoyed the visit at the Fun Ranch at Westgate Alabang. We should be going back here soon...

As always, daddy's the one taking pictures... hahaha!

Miggy 's First: School

We enrolled Miguel in a Saturday Playgroup class at Toddlers Unlimited Alabang. We just felt that it would be a nice experience for him to be able to mingle with kids his age. Not that he is shy or wary of crowd, but just for him to become prepared for prep school. And it turned out great because he is definitely enjoying it. Not even once that he is in class that he had to look for me... although I did not even thought that it would be much of a problem for Miggy since he loves being in a new place and with new people. The 10 session class will end this March and I am yet decided if I will enroll him again on the next batch since I am also currently checking for other school's toddler summer programs. I am also thinking of enrolling him to toddler 3x a week class in June. Hmnnnn... my boy is really growing fast, as I am already talking about schools here!
So far here's the list of schools I was planning to check:

1. Mind Builders Preschool
2. Bethany Montessori Learning Center
3. Little Archers Learning School
4. Wishbone Kiddie Camp
5. The Village Playgroup

We were planning to get him to a swimming class but I have to check it first with his pedia because I have read it somewhere that kids his age are prone to ear infection.

So much to do and check. Now I am really wishing I am a full time mom!

Self-Confessed TWILIGHT Addict

Right. You bet I am. But who wouldn't be? I mean, I am sure almost every girl who read it will surely fall in love with this human-vampire love affair... and Edward Cullen...

I have read the 4 books thrice and saw the movie twice now (I am impatiently waiting for the original DVD to come out). And I am currently listening to the audiobook. Now I am trying to ask myself why I am so into this when I have read a lot of good books too and yet I never felt so obsessed about them. Hmmnnnn.... let me just try to think about it thoroughly:

1. Is it because it's a human-vampire lovestory and this added some sense of danger and adventure into the love affair?

2. Is it because the once mythical and beautiful vampires were portrayed as "good", not having to suck blood for existence?

3. Is it because the character Edward Cullen in the book had portrayed the every girl's dream - rich, beautiful, perfect, protective, and dangerous.

I really think No. 3 will count a lot for me. Especially when I saw Robert Pattinson in that role. Super hot! Even me would never really mind going out with a vampire this cute:

Hmnnn... I wonder if my husband will still buy me that original DVD (as a birthday present) when it comes out this coming March 2009. LOL

I'm Back

I surely had missed posting here. It's been a while and too many things happened already in my very busy and chaotic life that I really failed to update this blog. Just to catch you up on some important things:

1. Gave birth last April 26, 2007 at The Asian Hospital to a beautiful baby boy and we named him Miguel. He will already turn 2 years old this coming April.

2. We moved to our new house last December 2008. I will be posting pics and talking about it in this blog.

3. We already are passionately involved in a business project with our partners - Amway Corporation, Network 21 and our business team.

Oh well, I got so many things to blog and i will be starting real soon....