What's Da Buzz?

As a follow up on the DHSS post, my hubby and I have shifted to drinking herbal tea from a trusted producer.

Yes, life without Coke is going on. I find myself not even missing it. It is just like having cable TV. It was nice but not necessary and not missed. Actually, I feel better not drinking soda. No CO2 is building up in my tummy and no half-full cans sit out getting de-fizzed. So no bloating and I save money! That is a double bonus!

The herbal tea that we have shifted to has brought me back to feeling alive. Thank you Mom for giving me the directions of 2 cups a day. I am getting the full benefits from drinking the various flavors of green tea. The Energize blend keeps me going and I am not bummed out at work. So this is awesome. Of course, it did take a little bit for my body to adjust but my hubby has really gotten hit on this switch.

From the lessons of my hubby, I will pass on a bit of wisdom we have learned on transitioning from soda to green or herbal tea. First, make certain you were not dependent on soda to keep you awake, alert and generally keep you going. When you stop drinking soda, your body will go through some withdrawal pains even though it was only a spot drink every few days. He doesn’t drink much soda but his stomach was working overtime on the adjustment. Also, he now fully feels just how overtired he is. Be ready for that.

The next step is to ease into drinking herbal tea if you have not used it before. Sip it slow and don’t gulp the thing down because you haven’t adjusted to the taste yet. It will hit you really hard if you do that. Also, drink one cup every other day until you get used to it. Then increase it to one a day then two a day. If you start right away at one cup a day or two a day, make certain the bathroom is fairly close.

Now why did we pick herbal tea? The medical benefits are many including lowering cholesterol, improving your gastrointestinal process, and strengthening your bones over time. I could go into all of the glorious details but I’ve hit my 400 word mark.

Thank you,

Analyn

See Saw Danda o Kandado  Do is a fun game to play when you have a little one. Unfortunately, my little one is rapidly growing out of being a little one. If I keep trying to play the game much longer, I’ll need a knee replacement surgery as I blow out my knees.

However, the key word in the title is SAW. SAW is an abbreviation for showers, acne, and weather. Now I haven’t fully researched this one yet but chime in with your experiences for all the Filipinos.

In the Philippines, we know what the weather is. Hot and humid with a daily chance of rain or really hot and humid with rain happening almost every day. As a result, we favor taking cold showers to cool off and refresh ourselves. (Not having a hot water heater might have something to do with that too.) For whatever reason, I did not get acne in the Philippines. I still have not figured out if it was due to my diet, the weather, shower patterns or what the reason was as to why I skipped out on the acne during a teen.

In my twenties and in the USA, I have gotten quite a bit of acne. In the first 3-4 years, my face was fully of those things. Of course they couldn’t be small and concealable ones but more like a white volcano range on my face. Now it seems like they come and go in two batches matching my cycle as a woman here. Does anyone else have those issues?

Being in Wisconsin though may have something to do with it. With four seasons of weather and lots of varieties from day to day, my skin goes through quite a bit more strain from the weather. In the Phils, you can adapt once and know it will be like that nearly every day. In the USA Mid-West, you have no idea what the weather will be for the day so your skin is continually adjusting. I would have a tendency to believe the weather changes do not help me to fully adjust to the climate here and avoid acne. Either that or my acne bomb was on a time delay.

I have also read that taking hot showers actually ages your skin. In the Mid-West, hot showers warm you up when it is cold for 3/4ths of the year.

So that leaves me to wonder what the proper balance of showers, acne and weather is to my Filipino skin. Maybe it was drinking herbal tea then and only restarting now? I’ll keep the research going.

Thank you,

Anah

First off, let me get something really clear. Like many Filipinos, I am conservative. By the definitions of the USA or “the West”, most Filipinos are conservative in dress, social issues, conduct around family, and financial matters. It is our culture and our heritage. Life in the Philippines teaches you to be tough and financially tight. When poverty is sky high, you learn to make do and value what you have.

Am I a Catholic? No, I am not. I am a Christian. I believe in what is said in the Bible. But there is a key point to be made here.

My faith is not determined by the opinions of others but by the facts and lessons proven in the Bible. Doctrine of any denomination is a collection of opinions of people. Doctrine can never replace what the Bible says. Also, following doctrine or the declarations of people has led to many bad events in the past.

The Crusades were launched by the Papacy before the general population was literate and had access to the Bible. Those Crusades did not conform to the teachings of the Bible but of the opinions of the leaders of the Papacy back then. This is a difficult thing for some who are not Christians to comprehend. Christianity is not defined by the actions of the people but by the content and instructions found in the Bible.

There are a few facts of life one must remember though.

1.

People will lie, deceive, or distort any facts if it can give them control over people for power, wealth or fame. We must always be on our guard against manipulators. They come from all areas of life including the religious world, business world, politics, entertainment, medical and more.
2.

Unless you can unconditionally trust, understand and communicate with someone (spouse is preferred), you have to figure out what are the facts and opinions on your own. Depending on someone else to tell you leaves you open for deception.
3.

The Bible was not written in English. I cannot read the Ancient Hebrew & Greek. Combine that with the knowledge of most Filipinos that languages rarely translate over completely means studying the Bible brings with it some challenges. There are some books to assist but there are limits to translation of a book when you are not able to view the writings in the context of the times they were written in. (I wasn’t there.)

Following the teachings in the Bible is the biggest test of Reading Comprehension. You have to follow what the intent of the author is and not insert your own opinion. I’ve been practicing on that form of test for an exam and that is my number one problem.

It is also a major problem in the USA o kahit sa ibang bansa. The population is taught to value opinions over facts. The public schools teach Evolution while empirical evidence says it is impossible. My hubby can give a major presentation going into that. He sums it up by saying “Before the first person was here, there was no one here to observe how things came about. No observational info means science stops as that is the first step. It is all belief.” We weren’t there so it is all a guess. We don’t know the answer and have no way of knowing. You choose what to believe in.

I know what I believe. I also know it is hard to pass the reading comprehension test of the Bible much less stop my own ego enough to follow it. But it holds up to real science and historical facts. I’ll go with the proven facts and do my best to understand and live the

Basic

Instructions

Before

Leaving

Earth manual.