101 Romantic Ideas - Free Ebook

101 Romantic Ideas - Free Ebook

Os Seminovos - Ao mestre, com Carinho

A Funny Video:

Herbal Plants

I have bought 4 species of Herbal Plants:

Gotu Kola : http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2006/01/21/BSNS2006012154370.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/centella-asiatica

Lavender: http://www.answers.com/Lavender?cat=health

Tarragon: http://www.answers.com/Tarragon?cat=health

Rosemary: http://www.answers.com/Rosemary?cat=health

Flowers Galore

It was a very sunny Tuesday so we decided to go to a plant shop somewhere in the metropolis. To my awe, there were lots of plants available. I was supposed to buy the Jasminum grandiflora ONLY but i just couldn't resist the orchid plants so I bought 2 species of those.

Yellow Oncidium or Golden Butterfly Orchid

This is the one I bought:

Plant Care Tips:

Temperature: Most Oncidiums and their hybrids enjoy intermediate temperature ranges: 75-85 degree F. day & 60-65 degreee F. at night.

Light: Most Oncidium and their hybrids prefer filtered, subdued light (from 1000 to 1500 ft. candles). The Oncidiums prefer bright light.The leaves should be bright green as opposed to dark green or reddish green. Reddish green indicates too much light; dark green indicates not enough light.

Water: Oncidiums should become moderately dry between waterings. Generally, they require more water while the new shoot is growing and less once the bulb has formed. Fertilize your plants at least once a month. Take care to keep water out of the new growth at the base of the plant. Never allow the bottom of the pot to stand in water. Never use artificially softened water.

Humidity: Oncidiums enjoy moist air, requiring a minimum of 40-50% humidity in the immediate vicinity of the plant. Humidity should be increased with higher temperatures. The ideal humidity is between 55 and 75%, with as much ventilation or air movement as possible without any cold drafts. Humidity can be increased around the plant by placing the pot on an inverted saucer in a baking pan filled with pebbles, rock chips, etc., and water. Keep water level below top of pebbles so that the plant will not have "wet feet" from setting in water. Morning misting of foliage is also helpful, especially during periods of hot weather.

Potting: Repot Oncidiums at least every two years. As a general rule, repot them when the new shoot is two to three inches tall or when new roots appear. All the old mix should be removed from the roots and any dead roots should be removed. If dividing, keep the divisions in clumps of three to five mature bulbs. Medium to fine fir bark is preferred. The base of the new growth should be potted about 1/2" (no deeper) into the fresh bark. Keep mix barely damp until you see the new roots penetrating the bark, then resume normal watering.

QUICK CARE FOR YOUR ONCIDIUM:

1. When you first receive your Oncidium choose a spot for it and move it from that spot as little as possible.

2. Once the plant gets acclimated to a certain location, they tend to stay the healthiest when left in one spot.

3. After you receive the plant wait 10-12 days before watering it, after the first watering, water it once a week. When watering is complete, ensure that all the residual water has drained from the bottom of the pot before replacing it in its decorative container.

4. It is normal for the leaves and stem of the plant to have a "bent" almost drooping look. This is natural with all Oncidium and will by no means shorten the life of the plant.

Dendrobium Hybrid Orchid

This is the one I bought:

Plant Care Tips

• Light and Shade - Nobiles can and should be grown outdoors in the summer, usually between the first of June and the end of September. If there’s danger of frost, bring them in. They should be grown in 30% shade or bright, filtered sun. In the fall, when you bring them in, place them in either an east or south window. South is preferable. When growing year round in windowsills, try to give them between 2000 and 2500 foot-candles of light.

• Temperature - Nobiles are definitely cool growers. Therefore they must have cool night temperatures. To produce good flower count, night temperatures should not raise above 60 ° until the buds appear. After the buds appear, you can keep them at 62-64 ° at night and you should have blooms in January or February. At night one can even put them in the refrigerator until buds appear. Remember that with cold night temperatures one must keep them very much on the dry side. This prevents fungus and rot problems.

• Watering - Nobile Dendrobiums like to be kept root bound in the pot, which means that in the summer, with strong sunlight, you can water your plants almost every day due to increased evaporation and transpiration. In the fall (late September) when the plants are in dormancy, water only enough to keep the canes or pseudobulbs from shriveling (about once per week). Do not resume normal watering (watering when the plant approaches dryness, every 3-5 days) until you see flower buds appear in the sides of the canes. Water in the morning. Rain water, distilled water or reverse osmosis water works best.

• Blooming - Nobile Dendrobuims produce buds from the sides of the canes, generally opposite of the leaf axis. The buds will slowly emerge over a period of about 3 months before blooming. These plants can produce from 10 to 100 flowers at a time depending on the size of the plant.

• Fertilizing - For tap or well water, fertilize with Grow More 20-10-20. At the end of August cut off fertilizing, otherwise you will end up with all growth and no flowers. Resume feeding in mid to late January or after flowers appear. Another highly recommended fertilizer is Green Jungle Orchid Food, especially formulated to work with rain, distilled, reverse osmosis water or water low in alkalinity. Fertilize with Green Jungle every time you water, all year round.

• Potting - Repot every two years or as the plant outgrows the pot. Standard orchid potting mix or New Zealand sphagnum moss can be used. Another common potting medium used is straight coconut husk chips. Be careful not to over pot as these plants like to be root bound.

And of course... my wonderful Jasminum plant:

When these particular species of the Jasmine family are in full bloom, the fragrance of these flowers are very nice. =)

Other useful websites for the novice like me:

• Orchid Propagation: http://home.earthlink.net/~iramann/id23.html

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/orchid_gardening/68265

http://www.uslink.com/~scl/lab.html

• Orchid Species: http://www.flowerpictures.net/orchids/
  

Tibetan Meridien Massage

Thank God I live in this Era! LoL!

I just took photos of the magazine I was reading while waiting my turn in a salon.

The 2 F-Words You Should Love

Make Failure and Frustration Your Friends: A History Lesson

By: K. Stone

We all experience failure and the subsequent frustration. But how you handle those tormentors makes all the difference in your final outcomes. Oftentimes the peak of frustration comes right before a major breakthrough. That’s if you don’t quit. So don’t quit! Instead use the energy behind that frustration to break through to a new level of strategy. Make failure the friend that brought you to breakthrough’s doorstep! Let frustration be the energy that propels your leap across the chasm!

What follows are several success stories from history where failure was a frequent companion throughout these great people’s lives. Let’s all take some inspiration from their stories.

Abraham Lincoln
Failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for the legislature in 1832. He failed in business again in 1834. Hi beloved, Ann Rutledge, died in 1835. Had a nervous breakdown in ‘1836. Was defeated in election in 1838. Defeated for Congress in 1843, 1846, and for a third time in 1848. Lincoln was defeated for Senate in 1855, and defeated for Vice President in 1856. In 1858 he was defeated for Senate. And finally in 1860 he was elected President!

Thomas Edison
Built 1800 prototypes until he created the first light bulb. He was one of America’s most prolific inventors, and he was granted 1,093 patents by the U.S. Patent office, including motion picture cameras, the phonograph, and the storage battery. But his inventions included such failures as a perpetual cigar, furniture made of cement, and a flying machine.

Alexander Graham Bell
Bell invented the telephone, and yet he found it difficult to secure a major backer. In the same year he patented the telephone, 1876, Bell tried to sell exclusive rights to the telephone to Western Union, the leading communications company at the time, for $100,000. William Orton, Western Union’s president, declined the offer, saying: “What use could this company make of an electrical toy?” The rest, as they say, is history.

Frank Herbert
Herbert is the author of Dune, the epic science-fiction tale. The book was rejected by 13 publishers with comments like “too slow,” “confusing and irritating,” “too long,” and “issues too clear-cut and old fashioned.” But Herbert was persistent. Dune went on to win the two highest awards in the science-fiction writing and has sold over 10 million copies.

Albert Einstein
Einstein was a poor elementary school student. He failed his first college entrance exam at Zurich Polytechnic. However he went on to develop one of the greatest theories of Physics, The Theory of Relativity. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics and today his name is synonymous with the word “Genius.” He will go down in history as one of the greatest scientists in the history of the world.

Henry Ford
Ford failed in business and went broke five times before he finally succeeded. In his first car, he forgot to put in a reverse gear. Then in 1957, he created bragged about the “car of the decade,” the Edsel. This car was infamous for its doors that wouldn’t close, a hood that wouldn’t open, paint that peeled, a horn that stuck, and a notoriety that made resale impossible. Despite this, Ford went on to much success.

Col. Harland Sanders
Yes, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Guy. Before his original recipe made it to the big time the Colonel traveled across the country trying to franchise his business. On the 1009th try he got his first sale. Today, KFC is a worldwide success story.

What’s your favorite success story that began with many failures? Where have you succeeded after many failures?

18 Tricks to Make New Habits Stick

Wouldn’t it be nice to have everything run on autopilot? Chores, exercise, eating healthy and getting your work done just happening automatically. Unless they manage to invent robot servants, all your work isn’t going to disappear overnight. But if you program behaviors as new habits you can take out the struggle.

With a small amount of initial discipline, you can create a new habit that requires little effort to maintain. Here are some tips for creating new habits and making them stick:

1. Commit to Thirty Days - Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.

2. Make it Daily - Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. If you want to start exercising, go to the gym every day for your first thirty days. Going a couple times a week will make it harder to form the habit. Activities you do once every few days are trickier to lock in as habits.

3. Start Simple - Don’t try to completely change your life in one day. It is easy to get over-motivated and take on too much. If you wanted to study two hours a day, first make the habit to go for thirty minutes and build on that.

4. Remind Yourself - Around two weeks into your commitment it can be easy to forget. Place reminders to execute your habit each day or you might miss a few days. If you miss time it defeats the purpose of setting a habit to begin with.

5. Stay Consistent - The more consistent your habit the easier it will be to stick. If you want to start exercising, try going at the same time, to the same place for your thirty days. When cues like time of day, place and circumstances are the same in each case it is easier to stick.

6. Get a Buddy - Find someone who will go along with you and keep you motivated if you feel like quitting.

7. Form a Trigger - A trigger is a ritual you use right before executing your habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier, this could mean waking up in exactly the same way each morning. If you wanted to quit smoking you could practice snapping your fingers each time you felt the urge to pick up a cigarette.

8. Replace Lost Needs - If you are giving up something in your habit, make sure you are adequately replacing any needs you’ve lost. If watching television gave you a way to relax, you could take up meditation or reading as a way to replace that same need.

9. Be Imperfect - Don’t expect all your attempts to change habits to be successful immediately. It took me four independent tries before I started exercising regularly. Now I love it. Try your best, but expect a few bumps along the way.

10. Use “But” - A prominent habit changing therapist once told me this great technique for changing bad thought patterns. When you start to think negative thoughts, use the word “but” to interrupt it. “I’m no good at this, but, if I work at it I might get better later.”

11. Remove Temptation - Restructure your environment so it won’t tempt you in the first thirty days. Remove junk food from your house, cancel your cable subscription, throw out the cigarettes so you won’t need to struggle with willpower later.

12. Associate With Role Models - Spend more time with people who model the habits you want to mirror. A recent study found that having an obese friend indicated you were more likely to become fat. You become what you spend time around.

13. Run it as an Experiment - Withhold judgment until after a month has past and use it as an experiment in behavior. Experiments can’t fail, they just have different results so it will give you a different perspective on changing your habit.

14. Swish - A technique from NLP. Visualize yourself performing the bad habit. Next visualize yourself pushing aside the bad habit and performing an alternative. Finally, end that sequence with an image of yourself in a highly positive state. See yourself picking up the cigarette, see yourself putting it down and snapping your fingers, finally visualize yourself running and breathing free. Do it a few times until you automatically go through the pattern before executing the old habit.

15. Write it Down - A piece of paper with a resolution on it isn’t that important. Writing that resolution is. Writing makes your ideas more clear and focuses you on your end result.

16. Know the Benefits - Familiarize yourself with the benefits of making a change. Get books that show the benefits of regular exercise. Notice any changes in energy levels after you take on a new diet. Imagine getting better grades after improving your study habits.

17. Know the Pain - You should also be aware of the consequences. Exposing yourself to realistic information about the downsides of not making a change will give you added motivation.

18. Do it For Yourself - Don’t worry about all the things you “should” have as habits. Instead tool your habits towards your goals and the things that motivate you. Weak guilt and empty resolutions aren’t enough.

Just Imagine

This was emailed to me. I hope you enjoyed watching it.

An Ex-Wife's Revenge

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight,



put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar and a bottle of Chardonnay.

When she had finished, she went into each and every room



and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods.

She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.



Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out.

Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steamed.



Air Fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters,



during which they had to move out for a few days,



and in the end even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.

Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit.



Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.

Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half,



they could not find a buyer for their stinky house.



Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls.

Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house.



She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly,



and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.

Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad t he smell was,



he agreed on a Price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth,



but only if she were to sign the papers that very day.

She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.

A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home....
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including the curtain rods.


I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?????

Ghost Chat

Two ghosts met and both chat about how they died.


1st ghost : How did u die?
2nd ghost : I died of cold.


1st ghost : How does it feel when you're dying in cold?
2nd ghost : Actually, I was accidentally locked in the refrigerator.


Initially, I was shivering, then my whole body started to freeze, later I felt the whole world was dark and I died suffocating.


1st ghost : Wow what a horrible way to die....
2nd ghost : How about you? How did u die?


1st ghost : I died from heart attack.
2nd ghost : I see, why did u have a heart attack?


1st ghost : Actually, I found out that my wife is having an affair with another man.


One day, when I came back from work, saw a pair of man shoes outside my house. Then, I realized that the guy was in my house with my wife. When I rushed into the bedroom, my wife was alone.



I must find where that bastard is hiding. So I searched the toilet, I ran downstairs, looked in the storeroom, but the bastard was not there. So, I ran upstairs and searched the wardrobe, but I found nothing.


Because of all that running,I got a heart attack and died.


2nd ghost : Why did you never look for the bastard in the fridge? The bastard was hiding there. We both might be alive now!!

People with Guts

In Italy




In Indonesia



In Malaysia



In Germany



In Hongkong


In China





In Korea







And Now...






In the Philippines : and ONLY in the Philippines!!!...







Beat That!!!

Aloe Vera Family

Look at aloe now. It's leaves are very green and succulent as when I saw it in its sorry state last May. This is the mother plant (the original one which was given to my mother a year ago).

After just about 2 months, 5 of the original plants almost doubled. The mother plant is the one from the right, 3rd pot. The smaller aloes are the newest ones.

Just beneath these two plants are 5 new additions to the family... and growing fast too. ^_^
Once these babies have produced a root of their own, I will transfer them in pots that they could call their own. =)

These are the newest addition (or should i say newly separated babies?). Once they have further develop a root system of their own, I will transfer them in one plot in the garden which receives full sun. I bet they will love that!

*****

I use aloe vera for my hair and face. At least, these plants help maintain my hairs' healthy shine., and leaving my face free of pimples! =)

Voila... It's a Viola!

How to Grow Violas

Violas are primarily cool season bloomers. They are perfect for starting and ending the season in colder climates and for bridging the seasons in warmer zones, where they can remain in bloom throughout the winter. So when to plant violas will depends on your climate.

Starting Violas from Seed Indoors - Violas are easy to start from seed. In fact they are quite happy to self-seed all over your garden. But if you would like to start your own indoors, the process is very straight forward.

Start seed about 4 - 6 weeks before transplanting. Violas can withstand some freezing temperatures, so cold climate gardeners can pick a transplant date that is about 4 weeks before your last expected frost date. Warm climate gardeners transplanting in the fall should start their seeds in mid-summer.

1. Use a sterile potting mix.

2. Moisten the mix and fill your flats or pots to about 1/4 inch below the top edge.

3. Sprinkle 2-3 seeds in each cell or pot and cover lightly with more moistened potting mix. Note: Violas need darkness to germinate, so cover the seeds completely.

4. Set in a warm (65 -70 degrees F. / 18 - 21 degrees C.) location and keep moist. On top of the refrigerator is a good spot. Seeds should begin to germinate in 10 - 14 days.

5. Once the seeds sprout, move them to a sunny window or place under plant lights.

6. When the first true leaves appear, thin the pot or cell to the strongest looking seeding by pinching or cutting the others at the soil line.

7. At this point, a temperature of 55 - 60 degrees F. / 13 - 15 degrees C. is fine. You can also begin feeding your seedlings with any good balanced, water soluble fertilizer.

Moving Your Viola Seedling Outdoors - When temperatures and weather permit transplanting outdoors, let the seedlings get adjusted to the change by hardening them off.

1. Move the seedling to a shaded or protected location outdoors.

2. Leave them outdoors for about 4 hours the first day and increase the time outside by 1-2 hours each day, slowly moving them into brighter light. The seedlings will tell you if they are unhappy by their appearance.

3. Make sure the soil stays moist. Outdoor winds can dry pots quickly.

4. Seedlings can be transplanted into the garden or containers after about 10 - 14 days of hardening. Just be sure the weather isn’t taking a down turn. Violas can withstand some frost, but not a late season snow storm.

Direct-seeding Violas into the Garden - Weather permitting, you can start viola seed directly in the garden.

1. Good well-draining soil with organic matter is recommended.

2. Loosen the soil in the planting area and moisten.

3. Sprinkle the viola seed.

4. Cover with about 1/4 soil and water well.

5. Keep the seed bed moist.

6. As seedlings develop, thin plants to about 6- 8 inches apart. Transplant excess seedlings.

Spacing: Mounding violas should be spaced about 6-8 inches apart. Trailing or spreading varieties can be planted 10-12 inches apart.

Days to Bloom: Violas begin blooming about 12-14 weeks after planting seeds. V. tricolor varieties bloom about two weeks earlier than V. cornuta. ‘Penny’ and ‘Sorbet’ will bloom 9-10 weeks from sowing.

I got this from another site. Basically, this will be my 2nd attempt at growing violas. ^_^

Wish me luck!

Marigolds

The marigold seeds are shaped like an arrow with a black or gray “tip” and white fussy “feathers” at the back.

The seed itself is the solid (black/gray) part. The white feather like fussy stuff is the “tail” which can be removed, if desired. (commercial growers will buy de-tailed seeds for their automatic sowing machines).

You can lay the seed flat and cover with mixture, or you can stick the seed vertically into the mixture with the solid part first so that the top of the tail is at the soil level. This is probably the easiest.

Start by moistening the growing media in a small bucket. It has to be damp, but not soaking wet. This is very important. Do not place the media into the trays dry. If you squeeze a handfull hard, no water should drip, maybe except for a drop or two.

Fill the trays with damp media without pressing it in. Just fill it and then tap the containers on the side of the potting bench to settle the mixture in the container. Then top off with more media if needed. This potting technique is very important. It insures maximum air in the growing media. Roots need air as well as water continously to grow.

A common beginners mistake is potting in a manner which excludes air which limits root growth and can lead to problems. Putting dry media into the pot will exclude air, as the media will expand when wetted and this drives air pores out of the growing media. Pressing the moist media down heavily into your container with your thumb/hand can also drive out air. Therefore, I recommend the filling and tapping procedure explained above.

Once the pots are full with potting mixture, stick the seeds into the mixture with the tail up, or lift out a 1/4″ of material, put the seed down and gently replace and pat the mixture back. Do not compress too heavily. you want to retain air in the mixture. Light firming of the mixture on top with your fingers is perfectly ok.

Next put the containers in a pan of water to wick up moisture from below. When the top surface of the growing media starts to turn black (from brown) and glistens, you can remove the containers and put them aside to drain. Then finally return to their place in a window or under fluorescent lights. Make sure the container has been given time to drain for a few minuttes.

It helps to cover the tray with plastic wrap or the plastic dome. This keeps humidity inside the container. most seeds germinate best - and the seedling is able to escape the seed coat - in high humidity. Check daily. When germination occurs (e.g. the seed sprouts) remove the plastic wrap promptly.

Warning: when covered with plastic, the temperatures inside the dome/wrap can sky rocket to unhealthy temperature levels if placed directly below fluorescent lights or in a sunny window. Keep at least 1 foot away from fluorescent light bulbs or in a northern facing window, or behind sher curtains during germination face. once germination (sprouting) is underway, remove the plastic and then put the seedlings in bright direct sunlight (or directly below fluorescent light bulbs).

Marigolds usually germinate fast at temperatures around 70-75 deg F. A warm place in the house gives best result.

Growing Lobelia Plants from seeds

Beginning with seeds

Starting lobelia from seed requires considerable patience, since seeds are slow to germinate (15 to 20 days), and you may not have seedlings large enough to plant outdoors until two months from sowing.

Plant lobelias in moist, rich soil. In hottest areas they need partial shade, but in mild coastal climates they’ll take full sun.

Germinate at 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees F). Do not cover seed. Usually germinates in 2 to 3 weeks. Professional growers should use a fungicide to control damp-off. Transplant in small clumps or use multi seed pellet.
In mild climates, you can continue planting lobelia through late spring and into summer. Where seasons are short, try to get them into the garden as early as possible, once danger of frost is past. Plants will self-sow if conditions suit them.

Going Green

There it was sitting in one corner of the garden, slowly wilting away its days, shrouded by plants taller than it. Its once-succulent green leaves going brown each passing day.

"I want to end this agony!" It seemed to scream in silence.

Maybe it was just pure luck or maybe its prayers were answered when one day I noticed a lot of weeds sticking out from under the plants surrounding it. As I was about to remove the weeds, there I saw these aloe vera plants wilting away. Just looking at its sorry state would make you want to give up.

I took these plants out into the open and took a good look at each one. There were 5 aloe vera plants all in all. 3 plants in a small pot and 2 plants in another pot of the same size. It was crowded for all of them.

Like any sane person, I separated each aloe into a pot for each plant, watered them once every 3 days and most importantly, placed them under the sun. I have noticed a change in them after 2 weeks. Their leaves are no longer brown and thin. They were turning greener & more succulent each day thereafter.

Now, these aloe vera plants are doing well in their sunshine spot. From saving these 5 aloes, I got 8 more plants growing from the original ones!

Heart of a Plant

What caught my eye of anthurium is that surrounding its flower is heart-shaped. When I was a kid, I mistook these plants as fake ones. LoL! Now... Not anymore! =)

MAKEOVER 911: A Bridesmaid's Beauty Regimen

By Kinny Salas
Inquirer
Last updated 11:49pm (Mla time) 04/19/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- There’s nothing like a special formal occasion with glamorous guests expected to attend to force a woman to scrutinize herself from head to toe and beef up on her beauty regimen.

My tall, model-slim childhood best friend is getting married next month, and she has appointed me bridesmaid. She is very pretty so outshining her is something I won’t even attempt, so I just aim not to suffer too much in comparison.

The other three bridesmaids are equally stunning just to add to the pressure bearing down on me. For those in the same boat, I have written down the regimen that has helped improve my appearance a lot.

Puffy eyes

The moment I hit my mid-30s, cucumbers stopped working for me, and I have since been more and more prone to swollen eyes that look horrid in photos.

Certain eye creams actually give eyelids a slight lift to offset slightly hooded upper lids due to age and shrink eye bags caused by fluid retention.

My tried-and-tested treatments since late last year for puffiness, slight dark circles and lids that are beginning to droop: Clarins Advanced Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream; Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale Eye and Lip Cream; Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Eye Serum; Clinique All About Eyes Rich; and The Face Shop The Skin Nutritious Effect Eye Cream.

These were my lifesavers during PMS pig-outs and allergy season. They also prevent and eliminate fine lines and crows feet.

Smooth, even-toned skin

Glutathione won’t actually make you that much whiter than your original baby skin, but its antioxidant properties will register first on your skin’s texture. So you will not look like Michael Jackson as everyone fears, even if you take it for 10 years straight.

You may not be that much whiter at first, but your skin will be even-toned and silky from head to toe.

Since the treatment repairs skin from the inside, you will recover faster from a tan. Those who go under the sun often without SPF protection will tan evenly and not in uneven patches. One will only get noticeably whiter when you overdose, but since the body needs glutathione in large doses, it will take some time because it takes effect.

Glutathione taken orally is difficult to absorb in the system as most of it dissolves in the intestinal tract so you absorb less than half.

For better absorption for speeding up whitening, the best solution is the IV GLG— it’s a needle and syringe with liquid glutathione that is slowly injected on your vein then flushed with distilled water to get every last drop. The going rate is P5,600, VAT-inclusive, at Belo, which uses vitamin C as a flush to boost the whitening power.

It stings even more, though, because vitamin C is thick, but three to five sessions will already make you a half to full shade lighter in foundation color. Those with lower sting tolerance may opt for distilled water flush like that of Godiva Skin Station and Blooming Center. Results will show after six to nine sessions, which become cheaper per session. A package includes 10-15 sessions, and one comes in twice or thrice weekly for the first three weeks.

Gluta Snow Liquid Glutathione (P60) at Watson’s and SM grocery is incorporated into isotonic water so it is absorbed into the body. It’s great for the liver and kidneys; it detoxes your intestines by flushing out backlog.

Even the most constipated of people will use the bathroom a minimum of six times a day for the first two weeks with one bottle a day.

Downside: I could not leave my house for a month as stomach would literally quiver and high sodium content left me bloated at times.

Research by Harvard Graduate Dr. Theodore Hersh shows that Glutathione is better absorbed through the gums so Natasha has brought in the chewable form (P1,995 for 30 pieces of Natasha Spa Thione Complex, 500 mg). Melt the grape-flavored lozenge between the inner cheeks and teeth so it will be absorbed through the gums so as to be distributed to the rest of the body and not break down in the intestinal tract.

Upsides: it tastes good and is painless.

Weight control

Having neither the time or funds to join a gym, I had to do something to shed the pounds I packed from being house-bound with gout.

I clipped a step counter/pedometer (P200) on my waist band and aimed for 12,500 steps daily for weight loss. I strap it on the moment I get off bed in the morning and check how many steps I have totaled before I sleep at night.

Walking in the rain on incline surfaces was tricky so I would recommend Crocs Mary Janes (P1,875) for traction, arch support and comfort. There will be no foot odor or sweating and you can even walk over mossy surfaces so 10,000 steps will be a breeze.

The downside: Not pretty.

E-mail the author at kinnysalas@yahoo.com

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I found this follow-up at Inquirer (July 6,2007), re: Glutathione

Improved formula

Remember Gluta Snow whitening water? It is Glutathione in liquid form incorporated into isotonic water, which is best absorbed by the body for the benefit of the kidneys, liver and immune system. The water contains antioxidant precursors that boosts glutathione levels in our body like alpha lipoic acid and vitamins C and E.

The first formula was great on my skin, making it instantly silkier in only a week’s time, and with visible lightening after a month. The only drawback was the strong laxative effect on the user.

Gluta Snow now has a new formula that has the same effect on skin but with a much gentler laxative effect, so you are, in fact, detoxed without the discomfort and can go on with your job and daily errands. Now you can take the maximum amount of two bottles a day to speed up the whitening results.

Available at all Watson’s and SM grocery stores at P62.50 per 500-ml bottle. Tip: Drink it during a workout or sports activity to keep you hydrated and to fight off free radicals released by exercise.

Call 0918-6768440.

E-mail the author at kinnysalas@yahoo.com

Idle Thoughts

Thank goodness for the internet, now I can post my journal "online", without the clutter of paper. ^_^ I started writing journals about my plants in particular a few years back, and using a notebook at that! Now, I don't know where those notes are. I must have misplaced it or worse, I must have thrown them into the trash when I was doing my spring cleaning. =P

I think this is more convenient and clutter-free.

Disclaimer

Whatever comes to my mind, I write down when the mood arise.

Whatever data I stumble upon on the net which I find interesting, I put here in my blog.

If ever you may find your article here, it only means that I truly liked what you have posted.

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The author may in one way or another use caustic or inappropriate words in this blog hence readers are forewarned.