Mikee's Site

Living and enjoying life in the past 29 years was a lot of blacks and white with a touch of pink on it. I've been married for 8 yrs with all the laughters and tears but still we both have each other living and fighting all the challenges that life would bring us. For as long as we have each other life would be much lighter and easier. He barely speaks his mind but his actions are much louder than his words. He came into my life unexpectedly. It never crossed into my mind that I would be living with him for rest of my life and that I would grow old with him up to our last breath (but not too soon I guess..lol). We may not have all the riches in the world but for as long as we hold each others arm tighter as days.. months.. and years goes and that we have God in the middle of our relationship then life would be much easier ,much happier and that would really matters most. He is always right behind my back in all my aspirations and endeavors and that I thank him for that. I salute him also for all the patience to look over to our son and send him to school everyday. I wanted to say sorry also for all the immaturity and my lapses before (already resolved) and I thank God for having you as my man to share and stay with me for the rest of my life. If you weren't my husband.. I really wished you were (lol). I love you with all my hearts and will never ever get tired of loving you...

This film is based on the extraordinary true story. A poor, undereducated 344-pound African-American teenager in Memphis, whose father was murdered and whose mother was crack addict, is shuffled through the public school system, despite his low grade point average and absenteeism. But his tremendous size and quickness attracts the interest of a wealthy white couple who take him in and groom him both athletically and academically t become one of the top high school football prospects in the country.


I really love how the story runs. Sandra Bullock thus give a great portrayal as Mrs. Oher, big Mike's mom who loves and respect him unconditionally and so with the whole family. They embrace him with all their heart no matter where he came from and no matter who he really are. The film taught us about COURAGE, RESPECT and LOVE.



COURAGE. We need to face every challenges that life would offer. Learn to take the risk
in crossing the line rather than staring on the line without having the courage to cross it and so we may able to know what awaits their for us. It doesn't matter if we fail the most important is we able to give our self a chance to live on to the things that we really wanted to have. Just like one of Sandra Bullock's conversation with Mike, she said  when choosing a dress or garments for ourselves we should not look into the styles or brand or anything but the most important thing in choosing what to wear is when you be able to say that "this is really me!".



RESPECT

One of the most important things you can teach your child is respect.

Keep in mind that respect is not the same as obedience. Children might obey because they are afraid. If they respect you, they will obey because they know you want what’s best for them.

The best way to teach respect is to show respect. When a child experiences respect, they know what it feels like and begin to understand how important it is.

Keep in mind the saying “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Respect is an attitude. Being respectful helps a child succeed in life. If children don’t have respect for peers, authority, or themselves, it’s almost impossible for them to succeed.

How can you show respect to your child?

Be honest – If you do something wrong, admit it and apologize.

Be positive – Don’t embarrass, insult or make fun of your child. Compliment them.

Be Trusting – Let your child make choices and take responsibility.

Be fair – Listen to your child’s side of the story before reaching a conclusion.

Be polite – Use “please” and “thank you”. Knock before entering your child’s room.

Be reliable – Keep promises. Show your child that you mean what you say.

Be a good listener – Give your child your full attention.

Children learn from everything we say and do. Make sure that you are modeling respectful behavior. Some of things you can do are:

Obey laws – Follow rules.

Be caring – Show concern for people, animals and the environment.

Avoid poor role models – When you see examples of disrespect, discuss them.


LOVE

What is real LOVE? It's Love without Condition. Unconditional love-true love-is so different from the kind of love most of us have known all our lives that it deserves both a name-Real Love-and definition of its own: Real Love is caring about the happiness of another person without any thought for what we might get for ourselves. It’s also Real Love when other people care about our happiness unconditionally. It is not Real Love when other people like us for doing what they want. Under those conditions we’re just paying for love again. We can be certain that we’re receiving Real Love only when we make foolish mistakes, when we fail to do what other people want, and even when we get in their way, but they don’t feel disappointed or irritated at us. That is Real Love (true unconditional love), and that love alone has the power to heal all wounds, bind people together, and create relationships quite beyond our present capacity to imagine.


This are the three things that the movie thought us. To have the courage, give respect to each and everyone and to love without any conditions at all.

December 20, 2009 was the day that my son was confined in the hospital. He was diagnosed with dengue fever. 


It was actually the 4th day of his fever when we decided to have his blood tested for cbc. It was exactly 7:25 p.m. when we arrived in Madonna and Child Hospital. We we're the only person in the ER except for the nurses and doctor in charge of course. The male nurse directly toke the body temp of Vince and it was 39"C, and then he weigh him in and he was a bit of surprised by Vince's weight... lol.. Anywayz after taking all the vital signs of Vince he then told us to have his CBC first. Vince was actually scared at first but he felt relief when we encouraged him that he can handle the pain and it was just actually like "kagat ng langgam lng!". So after a few minutes of waiting outside the laboratory room the lady handed over the paper with the CBC result and sad to say that his platelet is 117 and its actually below from the minimum # of platelet which is 140.


The doctor in-charge in the emergency room told us that our son needs to be confined because his condition requires medical attention. Without a second thought we said "Yes!". We want what is good for our son. But the health provider assured us that they will monitor his condition because it is expected that in the next couple of days his platelet will surely fluctuate. Even though the doctor said that our son will be okay and no need for us to worry we can't help it as parents to worry on our child's health most especially with this dengue.



What is dengue fever?


Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and rash. The presence (the "dengue triad") of fever, rash, and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue.


Dengue (pronounced DENG-gay) strikes people with low levels of immunity. Because it is caused by one of four serotypes of virus, it is possible to get dengue fever multiple times. However, an attack of dengue produces immunity for a lifetime to that particular serotype to which the patient was exposed.


Dengue goes by other names, including "breakbone" or "dandy fever." Victims of dengue often have contortions due to the intense joint and muscle pain, hence the name breakbone fever. Slaves in the West Indies who contracted dengue were said to have dandy fever because of their postures and gait.


Dengue hemorrhagic fever is a more severe form of the viral illness. Manifestations include headache, fever, rash, and evidence of hemorrhage in the body. Petechiae (small red or purple blisters under the skin), bleeding in the nose or gums, black stools, or easy bruising are all possible signs of hemorrhage. This form of dengue fever can be life-threatening or even fatal.
 


How is dengue contracted?

The virus is contracted from the bite of a striped Aedes aegypti mosquito that has previously bitten an infected person. The mosquito flourishes during rainy seasons but can breed in water-filled flower pots, plastic bags, and cans year-round. One mosquito bite can inflict the disease.


The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway.


So when the ward-man placed Vince inside his room @432 we lied him down in his bed and he told his papa that he wanted to watch cartoon network because his not yet sleepy. I texted my sister in law Edna and told her that we decided to have Dr. Olive Yu-Go to be Vince's attending physician who happens to be her sister in law also. I just can't stop the tears to fall into my eyes looking at my sons condition. He was so weak but he tries his best to fight back the virus that stops his platelets to flow into his vein.


Day 1


Exactly 5:30 a.m. the laboratory personnel took a blood sample of Vince for his 2nd round of CBC test. We can see into his eyes that his not really that okay but he refuses to tell us that his not okay he always told us that he is really that okay. okay?  Dr. Olive Yu-go visited Vince's at around 3p.m. she was a bit happy with the 2nd cbc result compared from yesterdays result which is 117. Today his platelet rise-up to 120 but still not good because it didn't reach the minimum number of platelet. She said that we will continue to pray that his platelet will continue to rise up to it's normal number. But with no high hopes of course because she explained to us that the virus usually attacks on the 1st-2nd-3rd day with no fever. So I asked my friends and families including my friends on my FB account to please help us in praying for my son's health. Indeed they replied positively on my shout-out and it felt so good that social networking is not just for making and meeting new friends and have fun but it is also our medium to extend our voice to the community about how we feel. I really appreciate that most of my friends help me pray for Vince's safety. Even though we're in the hospital still I was able to work while watching over Vince. Mom needs to work because we need to pay the hospital bills.  



Day 2


Still exactly 5:30 a.m. the laboratory personnel took a 3rd blood sample of Vince for his 3rd round of cbc. 9:05 a.m. when the doctor arrived. It was not good seeing her facial reaction upon entering the room. Then i got scared and worried when she said that the cbc result this morning is not that good. His platelets drop to 99. I don't know how to react. My mind was empty. The room was so silent and there was a minute of silence and sadness inside the room. Then the doctor start to talk and told us that it is expected to drop on the 2nd day with no fever. But with high hopes I know that he will be okay. I lift it up to God! I know that God will  give his healing power to my son and that his guardian angels is with him who watch over Vince. I trust HIM. The IV of Vince was dislocate/dislodge. But because dengue don't have a medicine yet the only thing that the doctor could give is his dextrose because the patient needs to have more fluid intake. We actually let Vince drink "nilagang Tawa-tawa" because some said that it is an effective alternative medicine for dengue cases but not all doctors believe on it.   We need to bring him to the emergency room and ask some help to the medical personnel their because the nurses on station4 said they could not do it (IV insertion) because Vince is crying and is pulling his hands while the nurses 
are attempting to insert the IV to Vince. They had 5 insertion attempts and it crushed my heart seeing my son crying for pain. They were having the hard time inserting the IV because they have a hard time to locate the access site. Finally the doctor take charge on insertion and Thank God it came out successfully! 



Day 3

December 23 to be exact. 5:30a.m the laboratory personnel get inside the room and took again a blood sample for the 4th round of  CBC test. Dra. Go told us the good news his platelet rise up to 124 and she said that it will continue to rise because the vital signs of Vince are okay. His BP is normal and so with his HR and temp. But she still did not allowed us to go home yet for it still below the minimum and all she wanted was Vince to be finally okay. Tito Ewing arrived also today and vince was so excited to see Him. He visited Vince later in the evening. The rashes are now fading and the doctor said that it means he is finally well.



Day 4

December 24. He had a much great aura on his face and it came out to be okay because his platelet is continue rising and it is now 174. Thank God! Dra. Go finally said "you may go home today and celebrate Christmas at home!" My heart really shouts for joy for I thought we would be celebrating Christmas in the hospital and we thank God for letting us celebrate his birthday on our "payag". We are so thankful to all who prayed for my son's fast recovery!


2009 is field with much joy in our life and before it ends it gives sorrow and pain but I am much thankful even though trials arises because my son is well and Safe and that's the most important thing. Lessons learned from this experience also that our faith and Trust in the Lord is the best weapon in Life! God is Good All the Time! All The Time God is Good!

Spiritual health is generally an overlooked aspect of healing. It will reduce your feelings of fear, and provide you with a greater capacity for loving yourself and others unconditionally. It will also help you reconnect to your special talents and gifts so that you can use them to fulfill your life's purpose."

 Being consciously aware of the role Spirit plays in your life, being spiritually healthy also means being intimately connected to your spouse, partner, family, friends, and community, resulting in social health, as well. Spiritual and social health are interconnected, since it is through our committed relationships that we find the greatest opportunities for spiritual growth and for learning how to receive and impart unconditional love.

 

The four most important rituals to create spiritual health is: Prayer, Meditation, Gratitude, Spending time in nature, including near fire and water.

 

Prayer: Prayer is the most common form of spiritual practice and the majority of people who pray report a greater sense of well-being than those who don't. Harvard researcher and mind/body medicine expert Herbert Benson, M.D., author of The Relaxation Response, has found that regular prayer or the repetition of spiritual phrases such as "Shalom," or "Hail Mary," triggers relaxation and reduces stress.

 There are many effective ways to pray, both for yourself and for others. Many people find great benefit using the prayers from their religious upbringing. Others make prayer a time of personal conversation with God, stating their need or concern and asking for divine intervention. Others find taking a walk in a place of natural beauty to be a form of prayerful worship.

 Simply taking the time to acknowledge all you have to be grateful for and giving thanks for that which you desire. Giving thanks for that which you desire is more effective than asking for what you desire, God knows what you need before you need it and has already sent it to you—therefore giving thanks acknowledges what you haven’t seen yet. Choose the form of prayer that feels most comfortable for you, and then establish a regular routine of repeating your prayers daily.

 

Meditation: Meditation has been scientifically researched and proven to have physiological benefits for decades. Besides its physical benefits, which include stress-relief, improved immune and cardiovascular function, relaxation, and decreased pain, the regular practice of meditation can lead to new insights about life issues (often resulting in the healing of past emotional trauma), heightened creativity, inspiration, greater compassion for others, and a greater connection to one's own inner guidance.

 A simple way to meditate is to sit comfortably erect with your eyes closed, while paying attention to your breathing. Observe yourself inhaling and exhaling, allowing whatever thoughts you have to pass by. In the beginning of your practice, you will find your mind wandering. Each time this occurs, gently refocus on your breath.

 

Gratitude: Dr. Robert Anderson describes gratitude as the Great Attitude. "Gratitude produces feelings of joy and self-acceptance, and is an attitude that anyone can choose to have, just as we can choose to see the glass half full or half empty" Dr. Anderson says. "Being grateful for what you have, instead of worrying about what you lack, enables you to let go of negative thoughts and attitudes more easily. This can be difficult at times, especially if you are feeling a great deal of fear or anger, but if you make the effort to release these painful emotions and choose to be grateful, instead, positive benefits can be achieved."

 

Spending time in nature: The most visible manifestation of spirit is nature, where we most fully encounter and interact with life's primal energies in the forms of earth, water, fire, and air.

Taking a walk in a park or hiking through the woods are easy and practical ways of reconnecting with nature and the earth, as are gardening, bike riding in the country, and camping and boating trips. By making it a habit to spend regular amounts of time outdoors within a natural setting, you enable yourself to better appreciate the rhythms of life, including your own.

 We need to recognize that cities and other industrialized areas can prevent us from living a life of balance. Spending time in nature helps restore that balance, while also deepening our connection with Spirit.

 Spending time near the water can also be a spiritually healthy experience, due to water's higher concentration of negative ions, which can contribute to feelings of well-being. Swimming in the ocean, lakes, or rivers is a great way to benefit from this life-enhancing energy. Soaking in a mineral hot spring can provide therapeutic benefits for a variety of ailments, as well.

 Exposure to fire around a campground or before a fireplace can also have health benefits, according to Leonard Orr, who has found that fire cleanses the bio-energy field of negative energies, and can be a powerful aid in curing physical disease. Orr recommends spending a few hours each day before fire for people who want to experience such benefits.

 Of all nature's elements, perhaps the closest expression of Spirit is the air. Clean, fresh air is essential to health on all levels, and practicing conscious breathing as outlined above is a potent self-care method for restoring energy and making you more aware of the power of Spirit as it flows through you.

 

Regular exposure to each of these four elements can help you become more conscious of how Spirit's loving intelligence sustains the world, while more deeply recognizing your place within it.

You Love each other passionately. You have so many good things to say to each other and you eagerly wait to meet and talk. This is all before the marriage. Why most of these disappear some time after marriage? Some how as the initial passion reduces, appreciation for each other’s qualities also reduces. At least you stop expressing that in words frequently. But that hurts the marital relationship.

Appreciating each other in married life is one of the best sustainer of love. Every spouse wants to hear how good he or she is. Any appreciation howsoever small brings a smile on the face. You all need appreciation, because it is an acknowledgment from someone. If you appreciate your spouse, but don’t express it in words, he/she will never come to know about that, and may even resent you for not appreciating her/him. To have feelings is important, and to express them is more important.

Your appreciation may accompany a flower, or can even be written on a beautiful card. An outing may be arranged to appreciate the good qualities. Appreciation need not be confined verbally, but many creative ways can be invented to show it. ‘Sweetheart, this small gift is for you in appreciation of the care you take to keep yourself looking smart. I love that.’ Something like this can create a big difference in marital life.

Work stress plays a very major role in hurting married life. Most of the men and women bring their stress home and play havoc with their married life. The stress spills over at home and creates further stress. Home should be used to dissolve the work stress. Home should be the place to relax and get comfort. Home should be the place where we get rid of the stress that we bring from outside. But opposite happens. Let us discuss how to avoid this and keep our home protected from any such stresses. Let us also discuss how home can help us fight these stresses.

The very first question should be - What is more important? Married life or work life? New work /job can be found, but getting another person to marry will be difficult. What about after retirement

? Who will be with us- our spouse or our company? We never think about these issues. For us the stress at that moment is the center of our life. Our mind is occupied with that stress. Therefore when we reach home, we are ready to speak harshly, blame family members, showing irritation and express our frustration in many other ways.

Ideally, when we reach home, we should tell our spouse about the stress and ask help to get over it. He/she will find ways to comfort us. Prepare a comforting hot bath, putting on light music or your favorite television show. We should make our family a partner in our stress and not blame them for contributing to our work woes, because that is generally not the truth. A marriage can be a great cure for stressed life. It is not the place where you go and put all your blames. Bringing balance in life is most important. Make your marriage work for you. Don’t let your work damage your marriage.

Most of us believe that when friendship becomes stronger, it may turn into relationship. The truth is different. Think about the kind of talk you have with your friends. You are always very open about your failures and shortcomings. You are not shy of talking about your problem and asking friends to help. In a close friendship, you expect to know everything about each other.

How about a relationship? Think about animals. They also show their best side to their mate. We human beings keep lot of secrets away from our partner. We do not want to tell about our failures and shortcomings. We also try to impress our partner when we are in romance. This difference between friendship and relationship is very deep. We calculate our moves in a relationship but are very open in a friendship. We are like a child in friendships but behave like an adult in relationships.

If you remain inside your boundaries in a relationship and not try to change it into a close friendship, you will have longer relationships. Telling all does not help in relationships.

If you thought that a marriage could succeed on love alone, please rethink. Love is transitory. The mutual attraction or the infatuation that comes in the initial phase of love disappears soon. After that what is left is the feeling that he/she is mine and I am his/hers. We have to journey together.

How a marriage changes in character after love disappears? This can occur in many ways. For example, the couple may begin regretting the marriage after the finishing of initial love phase. Or the couple may continue together as a sense of duty with each other and begin making a life together without passionate love. That needs caring for each other.

If you look back and think of marriages few decades back, most of the couples cared for each other. They called it love. It was essentially caring. A mother cares for her children because they are her responsibility and they belong to her. Similarly, partners care for each other because they got married. This kind of thought process can take the marriage last forever. The different thought processes of I want my freedom. I made a mistake. I am not happy with you. I must search for somebody better and so on leads to break-up. This thought process is I centered, where as the earlier one I described was care centered. You are mine and I must care for you.

We have to learn to respect human beings. We have to set aside our selfish desires for some time. We have to think about destruction that takes place by frequent marriage and divorce. Developing the thought of care for each other can surely help in making a marriage last longer.

Sleep is a luxury for busy people, but everybody loves sleep. Sleep contributes to the overall health and well-being of an individual. It rejuvenates the body, mind, and spirit. There are many benefits of eight hours of sleep each night. Body tissues are repaired at the cellular level, and this helps to reduce stress, pollution, and infection. Sleep also helps us learn new skills. Research done by the Harvard Medical School students concluded that REM sleep is essential for learning new things. Waking up from a good night’s sleep normally puts you in a good mood and your mind is cleared from negative thoughts so you can think and study well when you have adequate sleep.

The Advantages of Getting Enough Sleep

Here are other ways in which a good night’s sleep can help you.

1) A good sleep keeps your heart healthy and strong and lowers high levels of stress ad inflammation in your body which leads to chronic diseases such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and cancer.

2) Sleep lowers stress hormone levels in the body. This will help the body fight aging and promote regeneration of the cells and organs.

3) Sleep also improves memory and cognitive function. When you sleep, your memory and organization skills are maintained properly. When you lack sleep, your memory function will suffer greatly. A study done in Germany found that people who obtained a good night’s sleep and full rest were three times likely to perform well on cognitive tasks, creativity, and problem solving skills than those who lack sleep.

4) Sleep can also control body weight because it can regulate the hormones that affect you appetite. A person that has proper sleep has a lower body mass index than those who sleep less. The appetite regulating hormone leptin decreases with lack of sleep and this signals fullness when we eat, while the hormone ghrelin that stimulates hunger increases when we lack sleep.

5) Sleep helps reduce disease risks. With just eight hours of sleep each night, the levels of the hormones melatonin and cortisol stay at a healthy range. Cortisol helps in preventing cell damage that can lead to cancer. With the help of cortisol, the immune system helps fight off potential infections.

These advantages are just a few of the many benefits that we can get as long as we have a good night’s sleep. It is crucial that we get enough sleep because if we don’t, we pay a price both physically and mentally. People around us are also affected when we lack sleep. We get emotional, short tempered and aggressive. Our reactions are slower and the chances of becoming involved in an accident increases. We all need to make the best effort to sleep appropriate.

All of us get angry. Some of us get angry very often. Some are able to control the anger. Some of us express our anger freely, whereas some suppress it. Why do we get angry? Is there any way to control the anger? How to do that?

We get angry when we are stopped doing something. Or when we don't get our way. We get angry when our desires are not fulfilled, or when people don't agree to our viewpoint. Many times we get angry when we find our views at great variance with others and are not able to understand the other viewpoint and disagree with that.

List your friends. Think about a situation and imagine the reactions. For example, let us say that the situation is this - your friend is sitting in a restaurant and someone spills something hot on his/her hands unintentionally. Now imagine the reactions from your list. You will write reactions that will vary greatly. You will imagine a friend of yours laughing it off and another friend calling the manager and making a big scene. The reactions are different because they are controlling their anger differently. How?

Some of us never take things very seriously. So they don't get angry over small things at all. That is the nature of these people. Can we use any techniques to control anger? Let us examine. Do you react immediately, or think about what went wrong before reacting? Those of us who react spontaneously, get angry fast. Those who think about it before reacting are able to understand and control their emotions better. Why not count up to ten before reacting?

Understanding others viewpoint helps in many situations. As we have our viewpoint, so do others. Why try to enforce our thoughts on them? Why not at least try and understand what they think and why? If your boss is angry with you, you need not react immediately. Give some time and think about all the possible reasons and you may find the answer to his anger. If at the end you realize that his/her anger was totally unjustified, you chose to forgive and not react angrily.

Emotions such as anger can be controlled. It needs reflection. It needs practice to exercise restraint. By winning over your anger you will become a better person. Make your anger your slave and not get enslaved by it.