Want to Live Longer?

Sunday before last the whole clan went apple-picking as part of our annual fall tradition. The rain did not stop us from harvesting two bushels of golden delicious apples for my family alone. I guess that's what happens when you have three nature-deprived kids who were raised in the city. It almost looked like they were hunting for treasure instead of gathering crop.

Since then I've been finding myself eating about three apples a day-- one in the morning, one while driving to work at 4pm and another one on my way back. Although I know that's a healthy thing to do I am not doing it for health reasons but out of guilt for spending nearly $50 on apples!

But after reading this article by Dr. Maoshing Ni called Apples: The Live Longer Fruit today on Yahoo! Health I am mighty glad that I've been gorging on this fruit for more than a week now. We've all heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," but after reading this article you will come to realize that whoever started that adage literally meant it.

If slowing the aging process is not enough reason to start making apples a staple to your daily diet click here to read about the other benefits of enjoying this very much unforbidden fruit!

photo grabbed from www.whiteonricecouple.com

Facebook, Anyone?

It's been 9 days since my last entry and I feel so bad that I haven't written for that long! The culprit? FACEBOOK!!!

I learned, just a few days ago, that there is a certain group of friends of mine that I could only find here-- people I've been searching for for years via Friendster and MySpace but failed. They're the rich kids of Brent International School of Baguio, Philippines otherwise known as my high school classmates. And I am only saying that as-a-matter-of-factly. They're the golden kids and this is where they hide. But I sure am glad to be reconnecting with them.

But there's so much more! I know I may sound like a dork for discovering Facebook just now when it's been around for a while, when members have hundreds of friends and I have 32. I've been declining invitations from friends thinking it would, just like these other sites, take more time away from me performing the duties of a good mom and wife. Evidently, it also took time away from me performing the duties of a good blogger. But how can you not love Facebook, which, quoting my friend Les, is like a toy!

So what made me decide to join? Aside from my young 20-something-year old coworkers reminding me on a daily basis, I think I got especially curious when one of them asked the other, "Have you opened the Louis Vuitton gift that I sent you on Facebook? Did you like it?" I thought to myself, you could do that on Facebook?!

So here I am, telling everyone, Twitter style, how I'm doing right now. I've also been abusing the wall-to-wall feature, importing my blogs, became a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, and sending Filipino food (with balut being my favorite) along with my personal messages. The first day I saw my coworkers after joining I asked them, "So did you get my Hermes gifts?" Which of course, was overheard by another coworker, and judging from the reaction on his face, we could also now call him another Facebook addict waiting to happen.

Eli Stone: The Complete First Season DVD is Out!!!

Eli Stone: The Complete First Season on DVD is out as of yesterday (I heard it on the radio)! List price is around $40 but here are the best prices (from reliable websites) I've seen so far:
tower.com $26.99
overstock.com $27.91
buy.com $27.89

Sometimes I get those 40% off DVD sets coupons at Borders so that actually is a pretty good deal too. Their list price is $41.99 so it's $25.19 + tax.

I love Eli Stone because it's a smart, touching, sensitive, funny and entertaining all at once. It's also pretty much the only show on prime time that I could actually enjoy with my kids. If you were into Ally McBeal like myself you'll fall in love with this character as well. I have yet to meet other fans, so if you love the show please drop me a note! :)

Monthly Endorphin Injection

How's that for a title? But I can't take credit for it. This is actually what Amanda Gore calls her newsletter which I am subscribed to.

I first heard of Ms. Gore when I worked at Crate and Barrel. There was a convention for all store managers and copies of her lecture were made available to the staff for viewing. I'm glad our manager encouraged us to take the DVDs home and I've subscribed to her newsletter since then. It's always something I look forward to seeing in my inbox every month.

This month she talks about change and she entitled it, "Change or Die-- The Start is Hope." The article is pretty long to post here, but here are excerpts:

Neuroscience is essentially the study of the nervous system but recently it has been applied to the business world and linked with how people change and keep their brains young, creative and alert.

The great news is that our brains are not hardwired and set in concrete from birth on! We can change. From what I have read, it seems that there are 4 keys to change that lasts-- focus, attention, repetition and celebration! FARC for short! Add to that learning completely new and different skills and we have a recipe for rapid effective change and brain development!

...Dean Ornish, the most successful cardiologist in the world at reversing heart disease without surgery, says ‘people don’t resist change, they resist being changed’. His program starts with hope. His approach is to make dramatic life changes and the results that soon become obvious, are a source of hope that people can feel better and live a pain free, happier, active life.

Just like all of her materials this article is an excellent source of encouragement, hope, and yes, endorphins! It's a not-to-miss read and if you would like the full article please email me at windycitystine@gmail.com and I'd be happy to forward it to you. To subscribe to Amanda Gore's newsletter please click here.

Eli Stone Returns

I was really worried about Eli Stone not coming back after its first season. I personally do not know anyone who follows it except me and my six-year old. Seriously! But it's never too late to get Stoned. You could still view full episodes online by clicking here.

Please mark your calendar: Tuesday, October 14, 10/9c

I wanna make sure that this show is here to stay because seriously, I need to get over Ally McBeal and Felicity!

Laughter Work Out

Today was a pretty normal day. I have work and on days like this I wake up anytime between 9am and 10am, not to get ready but to start cooking lunch and dinner. My kids eat home-cooked meals everyday as long as I'm not too busy to do it. They actually eat more this way :) Usually at 4pm I head off to work.

So nothing too exciting today. I even missed running (which I try to do every other day) because our realtor called and said they are coming over within an hour for a viewing. So I had to clean up a little bit, and it's always challenging to keep the place spotless. Any parent of a two-year old would know exactly what I'm talking about. And guess what? The people we're expecting (the realtor himself included) decided not to show up. So I missed running for nothing.

On second thought, looking at the bright side, I did sweat it out a little by scrubbing and what-not. And also while waiting I went to the YouTube website by clicking on a link my little sister sent me. She said Mom wanted me to see it. It's five minutes long and I laughed my head off the entire time. So from the work out I got from playing Cinderella and the short-but-effective abdominal muscle tightening exercise courtesy of Mr. Manny Poohquiao himself, I guess it wasn't as bad. I just have to maybe run everyday for the rest of the week. Yeah, right. Let's see that happen!

Meanwhile take time to spare five minutes of your precious time to try this thing I call the Laughter Work Out. You never know, it could also be the highlight of your day. Well, let's hope not! :D