… yes, I can feel that I need to do something about my expanding waistline.  As my age increases and so does my waist and hips.   What to do about it?  Self discipline!  But I can’t seem to get into the right track.   Lazy me.  I’ve been planning to start even a simple work out but  dismissed the idea when work in the office tires me during the day and I can feel that my energy are all drained up.

I am already getting worried and panicky because the big day… the wedding of an officemate is in October- a month away.  Of course, need I say I want to look my best!  It will be a photo op to post in my Facebook.   Just kidding!  Primary reason is that I am not getting any younger, my clothes does not  seem to fit right,  I feel so heavy, etc.

Let me think… Detox might help.   They said that it will help cleanse specific common toxins and habits off our lives.  Toxins creates harmful effects in our body so we need to get rid of it.   How?  A home remedy was given to me long time ago but I did not try it so I believe that it’s timely while I have this nagging urge to start my self proclaimed ‘detox program.  I hope once I started this, I will continue on because for sure there will be times that I will feel like quitting.   Determination.. ah do I have it?  The mind and body should be prepared for the experience ahead.

Drink each day drink 6-12 glasses of the following mix combined in a glass or jar and to drink continuously for 10 days.

• 2 tablespoons lemon (or lime) juice (approx. 1/2 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons of genuine “grade B” maple syrup
• 1/10 Teaspoon or more cayenne pepper
• 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) of water, room temperature

I guess the mix is not so appealing but maybe this will work.  I hope you will  join me in this program.  Let us be detox buddies.  Let’s give it a try!

I will report to you the results , just give me 3 months max.

We feel sorry for a friend for refusing to wear sleeveless shirts because her armpits are horrendously dark and ugly (gosh!). It was a “sight not to behold” as we teased her.  Every time, we talked about armpits, she cringed because the truth is; hers is something to be ashamed of.   She blames shaving for causing the darkening and she seems to think that her deodorant is making it worse.   She has tried whitening soaps, creams but nothing seems to work.   She had tried lemon juice soaked in her underarms for an hour but she quit and instead squeezed those lemons for a refreshing drink.  Lol!

She is inferior and would shy away from swimming and get- together.   In our group we have a friend who seemed to be the epitome of beauty and know it all who endorsed a derma product which she swore to high heavens that it really worked as she was giggly showing her smooth and white armpits.  Well, we were told that exfoliating will do the initial trick to eliminate dead skin and using Sephora brand and Derma Doctor is one of their effective product lines.   It is called a brightening deodorant for she had seen great improvement in no less than 2 weeks and told us that it really brightens her day with every use because she feels confident with her underarms. She maybe is exaggerating but we had seen the results on her and we believe her.

She just wanted to share this information to anyone interested to give it a try and I am posting it, hoping it would be of help to countless women who have the same problem as my other friend. Well if it still does not do magic, a professional help is what we need.

There is still hope…

What will I do to complete my look for the coming wedding of my officemate?  Alright, I have spotted a gown in a mall somewhere and a pair of heeled shoes to match.  All I need to do is to purchase them.  I have already talked to my favorite hair stylist to do home service for my pedicure, manicure and hairdo and make up of course.  Since, I will be one of the sponsors, I wanted to stand out too (vain huh).  

 My stylist suggested to have an eyelash extension which is a hot new rage now.   I remember my friend whom I met few weeks back proudly displaying her thicker, longer, eye opening and prominent eyelashes.  Such a cool and sexy look! 

Okey, I trusted my stylist when she promised that  she will transform me on the day of the wedding with my new look to WOW!

Out of the blue, I took my digi cam and took pictures of the back of my officemates head including mine.  For no reason at all, I wanted to have my pictures different this time because the usual photos are face front.   Today, we have seen how much our hair has grown.  My officemate- Ana has a way past shoulder length  which she neatly clipped while Maureene just had hers hang loose.  It is past the bra line and growing and getting longer.  While mine,  something did not quite feel right.  I am quite worried that the one who did my haircut doesn’t have that “magic touch” because my hair seemed to grow slow.  It is still short , layered and colored.  The highlights are now fading and I believe that I have to visit the salon for a hair make over.  I am giving my hair daily dose of shampoo and deep conditioner hoping it will help make my locks grow faster.  

Our hair is our crowning glory.  Bad hair day affects our mood.  But today, I had achieved the blow dry and perfect volume of hair I like, so I had this aura of calmness and feeling sexy when I report to work.   Before I knew, I was taking pictures left and right and took shots even the back of our heads.

Sentimental me!  Time flies fast and our my daughter after  her debut last year will be celebrating her 19th b-day this September.  We can’t help shed tears  for she has grown to be a fine, charming lady.  Although, there are times that she wants to have her own way but we  know she is learning her life’s lessons well.  Afterall, she is accountable for her actions.

I remember well after my delivery, we got the shock of our life when we were told that she had congenital defect- that was cleft palate.  We exhausted all means to have her operated on and before she reached her 2nd b-day, she had undergone plastic surgery called Pharyngoplasty and cochlear implant because of her speech defect and hearing problem.  And miracles did happened!

Now, our daughter has grown up to be talented &  charming!   She is indeed God’s many wonderful blessings to us!

Oh me.. oh my… I was startled when I saw break outs on my chin.  At age 50, I can’t convince myself that I can still have zits because all along I knew that only teen agers suffer from those, but I was wrong.    I believe the culprit is the office make up.  Actually there is nothing wrong with wearing make up especially for us in the Administrative section of our department.  We are facing and interacting with a lot of physicians, vendors, clients in the office and we should be presentable in a way.  The only problem is that, sometimes I just wash myself with water and soap and collapsed to bed.   But now, I understand what a dermatologist cousin told me  that make up should be removed thoroughly at night to give our skin the chance to do it’s normal breathing, cell shedding and oil producing activities while we are sleeping.  If not properly removed, pores are clogged and yes, acne and wrinkles will be comint out.  And I hate those.!

 We usually need to use special make up remover which are a plenty in the market.  Special brands that promise to remove the hardest of make up and leave our skin clean.  Then moisturize and tone and you can hit the bed to Dreamland.

For now, I will leave my break-outs in peace.  No squezzing or pinching.

Staying up late at night and until the wee hours is not doing good on my skin.  I ended up with noticeably dark circles under my eyes.   One home remedy that I rely on is the cucumber, it is so soothing on tired eyes and can do wonders and easy fix.  After long exposure to computer, I make sure that I will not immediately wash my eyes, instead I will grab a cool cucumber in the fridge and put it on my closed eyes.    It is very relaxing which oftentimes made me heading to Dreamland instantly.

This social networking sites  are turning me into a night person.  Because I can’t really avoid staying uplate, I need to pop up vitamins to keep me protected.  A warm glass of fresh milk is also part of my midnight snack.  I know this is not a healthy schedule because the next day, I still have work so I am trying to minimize my being a night owl. 

So, good night… Lights are out .

Goodbye my dentures!    I was convinced  to have fixed bridges by my favorite dentist , Dr. Delfin as he explained to me that I will be at ease with bridges.  I will get the benefit of a good smile, better bite and a younger look.  The advent of technologies like crowns, bridges, implants, braces had made a lot of individuals feel confident about themselves. 

True enough, my officemates were wondering what are the changes in me when I reported to work. They can’t pinpoint it outright until I told them.  The face shape for that matter had changed because of the adjustment made on my teeth. 

There is a special dental toothbrush recommended for bridges.  I am no longer whistling while brushing my teeth on hand.  (lol)

Keep on smiling, keep shining!

Plastic or cosmetic surgery are no longer a hush, hush thing.   Nowadays, procedures are done publicly with media exposure like the recent news about Charice Pempengco receiving Botox and Thermage treatments  in Belo Medical Clinic.  It has stirred up controversy worldwide as there were questions raised whether a teenager should be undergoing cosmetic procedure.  I believe that a plastic surgeon for that matter could explain better why people have to go to that extent.  In Charice’s case, because she is a public figure, I think unintentionally she had given wrong signal for full -facedto individual to come to the conclusion that having a full face is something that needs correcting.  Well, let us not dwell so much on what she did.  Let us just respect whatever her reasons are.  She will make us proud once more because she will be part of the Glee Season 2 appearance this fall as I’ve read.   Good luck on her Glee debut.

On the other hand, as they say, to each his own… I hope my daughter Kukay will not approach me one day and convinced me that she needed the procedure Charice has undegone – Botox to make her naturally round faced narrower, because she too is full-faced.

Meeting my Elementary and High School friends thrilled me no end when I planned for my vacation.  Afterall, it was about  38 years after my Elementary and 34 years after High School graduation that I have not seen them.  I never had the chance to see most of them except for few classmates I bumped with on occassions that I was in town. 

One thing that I have noticed, most men wear caps (or hats) whenever they showed up to our get -together.  It is a consicous effort to conceal something underneath.   Yes, to be brutally frank, they are losing their hair and balding fast.  Well, we don’t mind actually but somehow, they wanted to hide it from us.  But that’s their choice, what can we do?  

The women classmates of mine  on the otherhand are always on guard of their big tummies and wide hips.  A throw pillow or their own bag is used to hide the unsightly bulge when seated.  I was no exception to that.   

At our age, signs of aging is inevitable.   Let us admit to ourselves and let’s drink to that!  Cheers!