HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

It has been a while since I last wrote in here maybe because I lost my passion in writing for the meantime. Anyway, I would like to greet everyone a Happy New Year. I pray that this year would be a good and prosperous year to all of us.

Dysmenorrhea

Sad to say, when I have my menstruation every month comes always the most dreading part the menstrual cramps. For no apparent reason, it just happens every month and I don't like it. Why? it is because it is super painful that ended sometimes in vomiting, made me feel restless that I prefer to just stay in bed and I don't feel like eating.

Dysmenorrhea (or dysmenorrhoea) is a medical condition characterized by severe uterine pain during menstruation. While most women experience minor pain during menstruation, dysmenorrhea is diagnosed when the pain is so severe as to limit normal activities, or require medication.

What is Dysmenorrhea?

Dysmenorrhea can feature different kinds of pain, including sharp, throbbing, dull, nauseating, burning, or shooting pain. Dysmenorrhea may precede menstruation by several days or may accompany it, and it usually subsides as menstruation tapers off. Dysmenorrhea may coexist with excessively heavy blood loss, known as menorrhagia.

Secondary dysmenorrhea is diagnosed when symptoms are attributable to an underlying disease, disorder, or structural abnormality either within or outside the uterus. Primary dysmenorrhea is diagnosed when none of these is detected.

Treatment of Dysmenorrhea

For treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, most doctors prescribe antiprostaglandin drugs or NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, or naproxen. These drugs inhibit synthesis of prostaglandins, lessen the contractions of the uterus and reduce the menstrual flow. These drugs should be started at the onset of bleeding to avoid inadvertent use during early pregnancy and taken for 2-3 days.

Oral contraceptives are another alternative. By stopping ovulation and decreasing prostaglandin levels, they may eliminate cramps.

Treatment of secondary dysmenorrhea depends on the cause. Endometriosis is the most common cause of secondary dysmenorrhea. Depending on the stage of this disease and the woman's age and desire to have children, the treatment methods vary from conservative drug therapy (androgens, progestins, oral contraceptives and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists) to surgical procedures.

If the problem is adenomyosis, a hysterectomy may be necessary.Pelvic inflammatory disease may be treated with antibiotics. Uterine fibroids, fibroid tumors and pelvic tumors are often treated surgically. Cervical narrowing can be corrected with surgery as well.

Occasionally, an IUD (intra-uterine device) may be the cause, and if so, the doctor may prescribe antiprostaglandin drugs, and suggest removing the device and using another form of birth control.

Self Care

For relief of painful menstrual cramps and their associated discomforts, start with a hot bath. The water helps relax the uterus and other tensions that may be contributing to the problem.

Place a heating pad on your abdomen. The flow of heat can provide soothing, temporary pain relief.

Exercise regularly. Aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, running, bicycling, and aerobic dance may diminish cramping symptoms. For some women, exercise may inhibit prostaglandins or help release endorphins, the brain's natural painkillers.

Swine Flu

According to news, Swine flu would once again cause havoc come fall and winter. Is this true or not? Or are they just trying to scare the people?

Yes, when I got here last May it was the height of swine flu but good thing though nothing happened and I hope nothing will happen in the future. This is my first time in US and I am really looking forward to seeing the changing of leaves and the snow. This is the dream come true for anybody and I am so much excited but with the swine flu in the news again, who wouldn’t be scared?

Well, I am crossing my fingers here and hope nothing will happen or I will have a vaccination just to be very careful. But we will see…

Car damage

I felt bad today as I accidentally hit the mailbox and subsequently broke the side mirror of our car. It was a horrible experience, as I have never imagined that I was going to have the accident. Yes, I once scratched our car but I know it can be fix and I know too that the side mirror can be fix as well, but it just felt different.

For a moment there, I was really afraid of what Dan might react, good thing though, he wasn’t really mad at all, he was cool with it since he knew all along that sooner or later that this will happen. And im so relieved that that was only his reaction or if not, I wont be able to sleep well for the next few days.

Well, I have learned my lesson for the day and I will always forever remember it and be cautious for the next driving lessons.

Ms.Venezuela did it again

Yes, Ms. Venezuela is the newly crowned Ms. Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, for the second year, Venezuela did it again.

All the while I thought that Ms. Philippines would get in as she was among the top 15 in the pre elimination. Boy, I was wrong and I was a bit disappointed about it. Well, what can I say, there were almost 80 contestants who were also vying for the most coveted beauty award.

However, I forever believe that Ms. Philippines will be able to get the crown anytime soon.

MY THOUGHTS: My Sassy Blog Award

MY THOUGHTS: My Sassy Blog Award

My Sassy Blog Award

OMG!!!!

For the first time, I have a blog award. It’s really rewarding and amazing since this is my first time and thank you to Anna for giving me this awesome reward. In fact, I even asked Anna how to get the reward. I am a neophyte in the blog world so I have yet to learn all these things.

Thank you Anna

Bridal Shower..

Since I got here I have never attended any Bridal Shower nor Baby shower yet, so yesterday my Filipina friend invited me to go with her to a bridal shower of her soon to be niece in law. Being the first time to attend such a nice celebration, I without more ado I said yes even if I didn’t know the bride, but who cares.

So we went there today, at first, I was a little hesitant to introduce myself, as I didn’t know anybody there aside from my friend but good thing though that I felt comfortable later on as my friend introduced me to the people that were there. I got to meet the bride who I think was very demure and feminine. I mean, I was a bit amazed about it since from what I have believed that American ladies were outspoken and bubbly but she was the exact opposite. Nonetheless, she was very nice, warm and thoughtful.

In totality, it was a according to the Mom in Law of my friend, a different bridal shower. There were no games to make the whole celebration lively; it was more purely prayers for the bride, to give them guidance in their marriage. She was a little disappointed though but as for me, as a first time to experience a bridal shower, it was still fun but I am wishing that I will be able to observe the real bridal shower and I thank my friend who brought me there.

HGTV

The channels that I watched when I got here were USA Network, Travel channel and TLC shows. All my days were composed of watching shows from all of those channels but recently I was intrigued with this certain channel, which was HGTV, or should I say Home and Garden Television. Yes, my curiosity was lift up for the reason that the show is of great beneficial for me and for many people as well. Why? It is because that they give a good information that would make the house looks great. They provide a wide variety of suggestions that would improve the outlook of a house. Thus, I learned something that I can definitely use in my house. So from now on, I will be consistently watching the show to have a greater perspective about designing in the future.

I have change...for the better

I have been very careful with changing blog templates since I know that it will have changes that I might like or not; so instead of risking having my blog in disarray, I decided not to touch it.

But thingds changed, I have come to notice that my blog is kinda monotonous compared with the others so I searched for a template that is well suited for my taste, I have tried different templates to collaborate with my writings but none match. Until I came this template, which is currently Im' using now, it has a meaning for me.Yes, it is kinda cartoony but I sense that there is something more in this picture.

Caffeine Headache

Last night was a horrible night for Daniel and me but it was more to him since he had this terrible headache which had resulted to vomiting and sleepless night. I had to constantly massage his temples just to ease the pain. Luckily, he was able to go to sleep and I did too.

This morning, he was saying that it was a caffeine headache, you see, he made soda his water and unfortunately, he ran out of soda yesterday, which he believed that caused the headache. So I looked in the internet and came across this.

Caffeine may be something that we consume on a daily basis but that doesn't diminish the fact that it's a serious drug. People who regularly have caffeine in their diets realize this when they fail to get their daily dose of caffeine and begin to suffer from drug withdrawals symptoms. The most common of these is the "caffeine headache" or "caffeine withdrawal headache". Unfortunately, the most commonly recommended treatment for the caffeine headache is to consume some caffeine. For people who are trying to cut back on caffeine, this isn't a solution. In fact, it's just a way of perpetuating the problem.

Here are some other things that you can do to get rid of a caffeine headache:

· Take a nap. Sometimes it is possible to just sleep through the withdrawal headache. If you're in a position to take a nap during your day, this could be a way to resolve the problem. This is especially true if you are trying to cut caffeine out of your diet since chances are that you're going to be tired anyway

· Medicine. People who aren't opposed to taking headache medicine will generally find that the typical pain relievers are capable of eliminating the caffeine headache. Tylenol, Aspirin or Ibuprofen may be used to get rid of the headache. People who are trying to ease off of caffeine and not just quit it cold turkey may find that Excedrin, a pain reliever that contains a minimal amount of caffeine, may help best. Of course, if this is an ongoing problem, you'll want to discuss the use of this medicine with your doctor.

· Peppermint. One of the most common natural headache cures is peppermint (usually in the form of peppermint tea). People who suffer from caffeine headaches have reported that they usually go away shortly after using peppermint as a natural remedy

· Drink lots of water. One of the best natural things that you can do for your body is to drink water. You might be surprised by how much you can cure when you get more than your necessary eight glasses of water per day. Try adding more water to your diet and see if the headaches don't disappear.

· Get a massage. You might find that you just need to get your body into a state of relaxation in order to cause the headache to disappear. Schedule a massage appointment at a local day spa. You might consider discussing what aromatherapy options they have available for headaches.

Ultimately, the caffeine withdrawal headache will go away on its own. These are just some of the ways that you can convince it to move along faster so that you can move on with your day!

So I guess I might have to exercise these tips for him, in case it will happen again.

and we are in motion

Congratulations to both of us! For one week now, we have achieved something that we have wanted to do. It felt great that we did it as we all know that we are the type of individuals who can’t hardly keep up with routine stuff but by looking at ourselves we don’t have a choice but to do this one, for us to be fit.

Yes, ever since I got here, I have been dealing with my gaining weight. Who wouldn’t be? I would love to be working my butt off but I am stranded at home without anything to do, I watched TV all day long or sit in front of the computer, that is my activities everyday. See I wonder why I put on weight.

Anyway, so the first week with exercise was really a great achievement and I hope that we would be able to keep up with our routine stuff as I really wanted to loose weight or should I also say be fit. Good luck to us!

Summer: Is it over?

Summer is nearing its time to end as school year starts. This can be hilarious coz I have always been associating summer and school as far as I can remember. Yes, it’s true, right? Why is this so? For the simplest rationale that once the summer is over, can’t sleep late anymore and wake up late, can’t watch TV all day long, can’t play with your friends everyday, instead when classes have started, have to finish assignments, have to sleep early and get up early and because of these undeniably obvious reasons that I can say that summer is almost over. Thus, in the USA, when summer is about to end; the most exciting game is about to begin, the Football season. Oh why, oh why? Yes, football is played during winter season, a time where it is freezing cold, a time where everyone would be in his or her house sipping hot chocolate. Now this is funny, I came about this comedy routine of George Carlin, when he compared Football and Baseball.

“Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life while Football begins in the fall, when everything is dying. In addition, he said Football is played in any kind of weather: Rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...can't see the game, don't know if there is a game going on; mud on the field...can't read the uniforms, can't read the yard markers, the struggle will continue! While In baseball if it rains, we don't go out to play. "I can't go out! It's raining out!”

Enough of flowering words, and since it is Football season by now; I am rooting for my husband’s team, which has won 6 Super Bowl Titles, and that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have come to know about this just last year when they won the Super bowl and because Dan is really an avid enthusiast. Well, I hope this year they will be able to conquer the Super bowl title, yet again. Go Steelers!!

Summer is for Garage Sales

Up until now I am still greatly fascinated seeing garage sale or yard sale. It is the “in” thing that I haven’t had the chance to see in the Philippines, let alone experience it. Yes, there are sales all over in Davao but not the same in USA, where in it is a big thing. People would drive around the block to see if there are any garage sales. I for one would like also to know how to go about it, do haggling with the sellers, and buy second hand stuff that is still good to use rather than buying new ones which I’m sure are all going to be expensive.

So what is Garage sale? According to wikipedia; A garage sale, also known as a yard sale, rummage sale, tag sale, attic sale, moving sale, or junk sale, is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals, in which "block sales" are allowed, so that sellers are not required to obtain business licenses or collect sales tax

Staples of garage sales include old clothing, books, toys household knickknacks, lawn and garden tools (UTC), sports equipment, and board games. Larger items like furniture and occasionally home appliances are also sold. Garage sales occur most frequently in suburban areas on good-weather weekends, and usually have designated hours for the sale. Buyers who arrive before the hours of the sale to review the items are known as "Early Birds;" they often are professional restorers or resellers. Such sales also attract people who are searching for bargains or for rare and unusual items. Bargaining, also known as haggling, on prices is routine, and items may or may not have price labels affixed. Some people buy goods from these sales to restore them for resale.

Anyway, when I am already stable here in US, I would surely try to do this not just for the heck of it but to buy cheaper stuff.

Nursing home

Nursing home is everywhere in the US of A. Even before I arrived here, I am all well aware of this facility, which cares for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living. Residents include the elderly and younger adults with physical or mental disabilities. Eligible adults 18 or older can stay in a skilled nursing facility to receive physical, occupational, and other rehabilitative therapies following an accident or illness.

I am saddened to have known this because for the simplest reason that I live in Philippines, who were raised in a culture that has strong family values, yet, it is completely different in USA, not that I am saying that Americans are not but because of time. I asked a friend why; she told me genuinely, that the middle-aged individuals are of sandwich of responsibilities, such as taking care of their parents and also their children, plus the fact that they are also busy working, which then inevitably, left them no choice but to have their parents be in a Nursing home. It is really heartbreaking but at the same time, I am sure they are thinking of the betterment of their parents. Moreover, I soon realized, that them living in the Nursing home, they are well taken care of.

I had my share of this experienced, as my Grandfather and Grandmother in law are both in Nursing home to which I can still vividly remember the first time that I visited them; it brought tears in my eyes. And made me think, that if I get old I wouldn’t want to be here as much as possible.
But with grandpa, I believe that he is the only person in there, who gets to be out everyday. Yes, he is out everyday. We have our schedule to pick him up; Daniel and I have him during Tuesdays and Saturdays, while my Mom in law has him Monday and Thursday and his girlfriend Fridays and Sundays. Well, I sure am happy that he is out most of the time and can do anything he wants.

In conclusion, there is nothing much I can do about the sprouting of Nursing homes, residents may live there but I fervently believe that they are not forgotten. They may not be visited everyday but that doesn’t mean that their relatives are not thinking of them. In fact, I’m sure that they are thinking of their well being.

Sisters

We grew up, we had our own set of friends, we went to different schools, and we had different goals in life even so we are sisters and I miss her.

When we were younger, we used to fight all the time for no apparent reasons. We quarreled with all our might like, throwing things or pulling out our hairs with our bare hands. We were young and naïve. The days that we were still unmindful of our surroundings coz we were focused on our needs as a child. We may not have our own dolls or any material things that young girls should have yet I can say that we were brought up in a good way.

Time passed by so fast, and before we know it, we were not getting any younger. We don’t quarrel anymore nor pulling out of hairs. We are over and done with all the petty fights coz we know better than that. We are now mature and we fervently believe that fighting is not of a good solution. Anyway, we still have different goals in life. I am married and she just finished college and passed the Board exam for Pharmacist and currently working as a Pharmacist in Davao City. I am her sister and I am truly proud of her.

We may be thousands of miles apart, but we both know, we have each other for better or for worse and I terribly miss her

Macintosh

I have long been wanting to own a MAC laptop ever since, that I could not think of a reason why I am so overly fascinated with it when I know that it is still the same like any other computers, check emails and updates for websites. I don’t know, maybe I was led to believe that possessing a MAC laptop somehow make you belong to a high status quo, or so I thought. Why? MAC laptop is not your typical computer in terms of price. Normally, the other brand laptop would range to $400 to $900 but with MAC it can get as high as $2,000 or more and the minimum price would be $1,000. And with the economy right now, who would like to spend thousands of dollars just for a computer.

Nonetheless, I am still envisioning of owning it someday. I know that I am not rich but I will find a way, eventually. So, what made me fell for MAC? For the simplest reason, I don’t want virus in my computer. I am at all times surf in the Internet that I haven’t had the time to see the boxes that I am clicking. That is how I am in front of computer, pathetic, isn’t it? Moreover, the design of the laptop is so amazingly built, the features, the components and it is a great computer for professional applications such as business, photo editing, rendering, movie editing, etc.

Fortunately, I have my own MAC laptop now and I was extremely happy when Dan bought it for me. I was not expecting it at that time, plus the fact that I was worried of the price. Anyway, so far, I am loving it everyday.

Birdstrikes

Without anything else to do at home, I asked Dan if we can go anywhere and drive around place where we haven’t been into yet. Instead, of just staying home and do nothing, we can have a so called exercise. So out we were, Dan decided to go to cemetery. As you can see, cemetery is the place where I practice driving coz I know it is somehow deserted. As a first time driver, this is the best way how to easily learn and get acquainted with driving. Anyway, while we were driving around the place, I noticed that there were a lot of geese. So I have to stopped and go to another place where there were none. Hence, I remembered the accident which happened in New York last January 2009.

The US Airways Airbus A320 which crashed in the Hudson River last January encountered a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from La Guardia airport, presumably suffering substantial damage to both of its engines. Because of the plane's low altitude; it was unable to reach a suitable airport for an emergency landing, gliding instead to a splash-down in the river. Birdstrikes, as they're called, are fairly common and seldom harmful (unless, of course you're talking from the bird's point of view). Good thing though, everyone was rescued.

So I guess, this should be taken seriously as there had been reports of crashes years before

White tea vs Green tea

Hubby and I have our own different kind of taste. There are foods that I really like and which he doesn’t and vice versa. He likes coke while I prefer water, he likes potatoes (of course) while I (of course again) like rice and so on and so forth.

Among much other stuff, I have come to like Green tea while he is into White tea. So I have arise to differentiate both, Green tea contains antioxidants in high concentrations, it tastes good and it has a low content of caffeine. White tea, on the other hand, is tea leaves that are picked before they open fully, when the buds are still covered in fine, white hairs. That, of course, is why it's called "white" tea.

When discussing white tea vs green tea, it is important to realize that they both come from the same plant, the tea plant Camellia sinensis. The main difference between the two types of tea is that the white tea leaves are harvested at a younger age than the green tea leaves. They both undergo very little processing. White tea is not fermented at all, while green tea is partly fermented. By contrast, black tea is fully fermented because they are so gently treated, white tea and green tea retain their content of beneficial antioxidants.

Antioxidants

However, studies have shown that the young, white tea leaves retain antioxidants in higher concentrations than green tea does. Studies have shown that white tea has a concentration of antioxidants that is three times higherthan in green tea. Essentially, white tea contains the same concentrations of antioxidants as the young and fresh tea leaf buds that are still attached to the bush. This makes white tea the tea with the highest antioxidant content, which for many is the main reason for drinking white tea. For comparison, one cup of white tea contains approximately twelve (12) times as much antioxidants as fresh orange juice.

Flavor

For many, the taste of the tea is important, and not everyone is a fan of the often "grassy" aftertaste associated with green tea. White tea has a much gentler and subtler taste, smooth and silky and almost sweet. The appearance of correctly brewed white tea has been described as a pale gold, not unlike a young white wine.

Caffeine

White tea contains less caffeine than green tea, about 15 mg per serving compared to the 20 mg for green tea. If caffeine tends to make you jittery, white tea may be the better choice.

Source: White Tea Central

http://www.whiteteacentral.com/whiteteavsgreen.html

toenails...

I had fun cleaning my toenails and hubby's. Although, I am not good at this but since the pedicure cost a lot here, say $25.00, I have no choice but to do it on my own than waste money. 25 bucks for a simple pedicure costs a lot more..whew.. That's why before I got here, and with the help of my friends from US, told me that I should bring my own set of manicure and pedicure paraphernalia already.

As you can see, I have yet to learn how to do this one as there are paint dripping all over the nails. A little practice would really be a big help for me. Maybe next time, It will be presentable.