Beauty Junkie

I always want to look my best and I'm sure all women would always want to look their best. If we are not born beautiful, we strive to look beautiful.  However, because of too much stress, improper eating habits, and lack of exercise, many people tend to show signs of aging early on.  Lifestyle and how we care for our skin contribute a lot to our looks. I am going to share here some beauty tips that I always keep in mind to keep me looking at my best.  These are not my tips.  I came across these tips through google research (courtesy of LifeMojo.com).

Basic Beauty Tips for Women:

1. Wash your face regulary (at least twice a day, but no more than thrice).
I wash my face in the morning and evening using a cleanser that suits my skin. I like Shiseido Perfect Whip Cleansing Foam as this is gentle and best suits my skin.  If I try other cleansers, my skin breaks out. This cleanser is just perfect for me.

2. Exfoliate regularly.  
Try to exfoliate at least once or twice a week. Exfoliation helps replenish the required oils of the body and removes dry, dead skin cells and dirt.

This one I don't do regularly.

3. Moisturize. 
It is important to maintain the skin's moisture content, so we should moisturize daily.

These are the beauty products that I am using. I moisturize with Olay Regenerist after applying SKII Facial Treatment Essence (P&G products). Olay is not available in Japan, so I buy Olay every time I get the chance to go to back to Philippines. If I run out of Olay, I buy Shiseido (our competitive product, sorry :). And if I have extra money, I sometimes buy SKII moisturizer but the price is so "takai" here in Japan (super expensive).

4. Don't forget sunscreen.
Most day creams already contain SPF 15-30. Olay Regenerist has SPF30, therefore no need to apply a separate sunscreen.

5. Get enough sleep.
I always try to get 7-8 hours sleep everynight. Sometimes I only get 6 hours of sleep but I feel better if I  have 7 hours sleep. 7 is my magic number in terms of number of sleep hours :).

6. Drink lots of water.
Recommendation is to drink 8 glasses of water to keep our skin hydrated.
I drink more than that. In fact I drink a lot of water (more than 3 liters per day), and I drink more if I am working out/exercising.

7. A healthy diet
I stay away from oily, greasy food. I eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and fruits.

8. Exercise regularly.
Exercising makes you sweat a lot and in the process the skin cleanses itself.

I exercise everyday. Zumba and Core Rhythms are among my favorite dance exercise.

Forever Young

Forever young

I wanna be forever young

Do you really want to live forever,

Forever

Forever young...

I wish I could be forever young and I'm sure everyone wants  to be forever young, who wouldn't want to be?  We will all get old, whether we like it or not, but we can choose how we want to get old - to age gracefully or to age rapidly.  And I choose to age gracefully :). I appreciate life as it is. I strive to keep my mind and body healthy. I eat healthy foods and I exercise as much as I can. I run while I still can. And most of all, I am thankful to God for all the abundant blessings that He continues to shower upon me. Have a blessed Sunday!

My New Exercise: Hula Hooping :)

I love to exercise. In fact, I am addicted to exercise.  I have slow metabolism and I gain weight so easily, that's why I have to exercise everyday to maintain my weight.

Recently, I added a new exercise to my daily exercise routine.  I bought a weighted hula hoop at Sports World in Sannomiya and have started hula hooping to tone my abs.  I learned to hula hoop when I was still in elementary.  That's why I don't have a hard time doing this exercise. I love it! Hula hooping is fun and I can do it while watching TV or while listening to music, effortless :).

I have already achieved my target weight.  I think I look skinny now :).  I am now on weight maintenance mode, but I still need to tone my abs.  I hope hula hooping will help :).

Check this out for the benefits of hula hoop.

6 Fitness Benefits of Hula Hooping (source: www.3fatchicks.com)

Benefit #1: Helps to Burn Fat

Hula hooping requires effort from some of the biggest muscles in the body. These muscles require a significant amount of energy, so it forces the body to burn fat stores.

Benefit #2: Tones Your Body

Hula hooping works out several of your body’s core muscles. It strengthens and tones these muscles. Muscles that can be toned by hula hooping include: glutes, thighs, hips, legs, knees and abdomen. In addition, you can twirl a hula hoop with your arms to tone your shoulders and forearms. Hula hooping with heavier hoops can provide additional resistance to tone these muscles faster.

Benefit #3: Increases Your Fitness Level

Hula hooping is such a low impact exercise that just about anyone can use it to increase their endurance and general fitness level. Even just 10 minutes of hula hooping can provide enough benefit to your body to increase aerobic activity. Hula hooping is so effective as an aerobic workout that an hour of hula hooping can help you burn just as many calories as the same length of time of an intense workout, such as the treadmill. For those unable to perform serious aerobic exercises due to health reasons, hula hooping can be their gateway to better health.

Benefit #4: Improves Your Mood

Hula hooping is fun, and it makes exercising less of a chore. To be able to do something fun and see the improvements to your body can liven your spirit and raise your confidence.

Benefit #5: Improves Your Coordination

Hula hooping requires a certain timing and rhythm. By practicing, your coordination will improve as your body starts to learn this timing. As your skills get better, hula hooping with more than one hoop at once can be challenging and help to improve your coordination even further.

Benefit #6: Improves Flexibility of Your Spine

The motions of hula hooping require a significant range of motion for your spine. Increased practice in hula hooping can train your spine to a greater range of motions than you’re used to, thereby increasing your flexibility. This can help you in the prevention of back injuries.

These are just a few of the benefits that hula hooping can provide. While hula hoops may seem like child’s toys, they can be an effective weight loss tool for adults as well. While the plastic models available for children will not offer much for an adult, you can purchase weighted hula hoops to effectively workout. Hula hooping may be one of the easiest and most fun methods of weight loss that you can find.

Saturday: Blog Day

I've been so busy the past few weeks and so I was not able to write as much posts as I did last month. I think last month was my record month in terms of number of posts that I have written.  Even with busy schedule, I want to continue blogging so I will try to keep my blog up-to-date by writing at least once a week.  To do this, I plan to make Saturday as my blog day and I will try to write 1-2 posts if my schedule will allow it, or depending on my mood. :)

Aside from busy schedule, I was a little bit down lately for reasons that I would rather keep to myself (too personal to share). The past week was not that good for me, with some ups and downs that stressed me out. While I was browsing the youtube looking for inspirational videos to lift up my mood and my spirit, I came across this inspiring video that deeply touched me. This video made me understand why some good and bad things happen and I believe I found this video for a reason.  I'm feeling much better now :).

Everything Happens For a Reason

Sometimes things happen to you

and at the time, they seem horrible, painful, and unfair

but in reflection, you realize that without overcoming these obstacles

you would never have realized your potential, 

strength, and willpower of heart.

Everything happens for a reason.

Nothing happens by chance 

or by means of good luck or bad luck,

illness, injury, love, lost moment,

or true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur

to test the limits of the soul...

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart...
forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust,
and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart...

Make everyday count,
Appreciate every moment.

Kobe Beef

What is Kobe Beef?

Here's a definition of Kobe beef that I got from google (www.wisegeek.com).


"Kobe beef is considered by many to be the best form of beef available in the world, although it is prohibitively expensive and importation from Japan is virtually impossible. Gourmet chefs prize Kobe beef for its tenderness, flavor and amount of intramuscular fat, called marbling. Heavy marbling gives steak its satisfying mouthfeel, and many cuts of Kobe beef are graded several categories about USDA Prime because of this. While some restaurants are permitted to sell a 'Kobe-style' beef product, only a strain of cattle called wagyu slaughtered in the Kobe region of Japan can be called Kobe beef."


If you get the chance to visit Kobe Japan, this is a "must eat" food that you should never miss.  I've been to 4 different Kobe beef restaurants here in Kobe, but my favorite Kobe beef is Papa-san's Kobe beef.  Kobe beef here is really good and cost is more reasonable (3000 yen per 100gms), but the ambiance is just "so so".  Here's the address and phone number of the restaurant.

Daiei Teppan
7-1-6 Shinohara Minami-machi
Nada-ku Kobe Japan
Telephone No. 0788615531

And here's the mouthwatering Kobe beef of Papa-san.  Super tender and yummy, but very expensive! That's why we only eat Kobe beef on special occasions.

Kobe beef usually goes with vegetable side dish and garlic. I love the vegetables and garlic too!

Happy :D 

Want some?

If you are looking for a Kobe beef restaurant with much better ambiance, Steakland in Kobe Sannomiya is a good place to go. The location is close to Sannomiya JR station. We tried the high grade Kobe beef that costs ~5000 JPY and it's really really good.

I took these photos using my iPhone.

Melts in the mouth.

Vegetable side dish

Yum, yum, and now I'm craving for Kobe beef again :).

Health Benefits of Fully Ripe Bananas

I like to eat bananas.  Good thing about bananas is that they are always on season, so they are always available at the supermarket.  In Japan, most of the bananas that are being sold at the supermarket are imported from the Philippines (Dole and Del Monte).  But the price is so much expensive here (maybe 5 times or more).

Bananas ripe very easily, so I always end up eating fully ripe bananas with dark patches :). I knew that bananas are good for the health, but this I didn't know.

If this is true, then we should eat more ripe bananas to get the full benefits. So here's another hurray for the bananas! Stay healthy!

Will Miss #5 - Autumn in Rokko Island

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower". - Albert Camus.

I so love autumn and I am going to miss this season when I move out of Japan. I love the different colors of autumn leaves. The changing color of the leaves never fail to delight me.

Beautiful Autumn in Rokko Island

This is my jogging place - the Greenbelt jogging trail, so beautiful during autumn.

The colorful leaves (koyo in Japanese) are to the autumn what cherry blossoms are to spring.

Why do Fall leaves change color?

As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter.  This is how the trees "know" when to begin getting ready for winter.

During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis.  The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during summer.  They begin to shut down their food-making factories.  The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves.  As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors.  Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along.  We just can't see them in the summer because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in the leaves are made mostly in the fall.  In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into red color.  The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves.  It is the combination of all these things that make the beautiful fall foliage colors we enjoy each year.

(Source: www.sciencemadesimple.com)

Health Benefits of Banana

Very interesting article about the health benefits of banana.  This was shared to me by a friend through email a long time ago (the source was not specified in the email). I found this when I was cleaning my files.  My post about the amazing benefits of banana has become one of my popular posts, so I decided to share this informative article here for others to benefit from this.

Hurray for this super fruit!

Imported bananas from Philippines :)

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose, and glucose - combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained, and substantial boost of energy.  Research has proved that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

Energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.  It can also overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.  This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:  This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure.  So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at Twickenham school were helped through their exams by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assit learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:  High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey.  The banana calms the stomach and with the help of honey, builds up the depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates the system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:  Before reacing for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of banana skin.  Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:  Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at Work?  Studies at the Institue of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crips.  Looking at 5000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food agains intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness.  It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases.  It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:  Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.  When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be re-balanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape.

A banana is really a natural remedy for many illnesses. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorous, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.  It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So make it a habit to eat banana everyday, now na :).

Rokko Island Natsu Matsuri (Summer Festival) 2012

Matsuri is the Japanese word for a festival or holiday. In Japan, festivals are usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular.

There are no specific matsuri days for all of Japan. Dates vary from area to area, but festival days do tend to cluster around traditional holidays such as Setsubun or Obon. Almost every locale has at least one matsuri in late summer/early autumn, usually related to the rice harvest. (Source: Wikipedia)

Every summer, we look forward to this joyous festival in Rokko Island, which is usually held in late summer (last Saturday of August).  This is the time of the year when most of the people here and even those who live outside the island, gather together and meet with friends and relatives at the River Mall where Matsuri is regularly held. This is the most celebrated festival here in Rokko Island. Most of the Japanese attend the festival wearing yukata (casual summer kimono). 

For this year's Matsuri, we decided to wear the traditional Japanese summer dress, since most of us will be leaving Japan next year and we wanted this to be a memorable Matsuri for us.  Good thing the weather cooperated with us. It was windy during the night and a little bit cool, and so we were able to enjoy wearing yukata and we had a lot of fun, and lots of picture taking too!

I would also like to share this beautiful video of 2012 Rokko Island Matsuri that was prepared by Aron Castro (son of my good friend Ajoh). Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/48206930