Sunday, June 30, 2013

Equality

It's official! My mom is now a legitimate citizen of the United States of America! Congratulations mother! 

I took a day off that day and drove her to the USCIS office where her oath ceremony took place. Out of 114 candidates from 53 countries, she's the only Filipino. We were sitting in a sea of people from different nations and it felt like we were in the Olympic games at that moment. 

Sitting from the back, I was stunned to see different colors of people, white, black, brown, and yellow. Despite the differences in race, color, class, religion, everyone was warmly welcomed by the state to become a naturalized citizen. One of the things I love about this land is EQUALITY. 
"The United States was born with a Declaration of Independence that proclaimed, as a self-evident truth, that, “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men.” According to the founders of the United States of America, all people are equal, by virtue of their humanity, in possession of certain rights (such as rights to liberty) that it is the responsibility of government to protect." - Equality under the constitution
Looking back to the 5 years I've lived here, I've never once felt discriminated nor treated unfairly because of my race or my status quo. I've occasionally dined in five star restaurants, flew out of the state and out of the country perhaps with CEO's and among six figure earners but never did they let me feel that I don't belong here.

I can eat what Richie rich people eat and purchase high end brands (within my means though) without businesses scrutinizing my financial capability. What I'm trying to say is I don't feel a rampant difference between rich and poor, American or not. Everyone is able to get what they want as long as they work hard for it. Nobody will look at you from head to toe wondering if you fit right in the crowd. (I'm saying all these based from my own experience from the South.)

When it comes to laws, nobody is above the law. Everyone has to pay their taxes and their dues. Everyone must adhere to basic road rules and when they don't, they can't just get away with it. Police officers cannot be bribed by money nor be intimidated by one's fame.

Equality is such a wonderful gift that I'm grateful to receive and to enjoy. God bless the USA!

I pray this is something my own nation can develop and enjoy too in the future. I'm positive we will all get there someday. 

In the eyes of God, we are all equal after all. We are all created by Him in His image and likeness, we are all his children, and we are all given the chance to be citizens of His kingdom. We should all love each other and treat one another kindly and respectfully. One perfect example of this is Jesus' love for us. He treats us not as we deserve but instead, with love and grace. 

Treated mom to a fancy pansy all American food after her ceremony:)
reciting the Pledge of Allegiance

President Obama's welcome speech


xoxo,
Joselle

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Happy Birthday and Happy Trip!

Today (Philippine time) is my Ate's (older sister's) 28th birthday! I wish my family and I could teleport right now to the motherland to celebrate this special occasion with her. 

Good news though. *D-R-U-M-R-O-L-L* and spoiler alert na rin.hehe. She is going to be visiting us here for the first time soon! God truly works wonders! The best part is that her trip is on her company's expense! Free ticket woot woot! What could be possibly be better than that?

She's coming a week before my hubby's arrival and that's definitely another exciting event to look forward to. Two birds in one stone. :)

I am so thankful for all the blessings that are coming our way. Thank you to the big boss up there. You're truly awesome and your love is extravagant! Finally, glorious sunshine peeks after the rain.  

Let's continue the celebration here Ate, in America, the land of the free.  Your entire Georgia family is thrilled for your visit, especially Lola and Mama. I am so happy for all the great things that are going on in your life. Know that we're so proud of you and we're always here for you, watching over you as you conquer the world. You go girl! 

Happy happy birthday! Love you!



xoxo,
Joselle

Picture Perfect

Special thanks to my uber creative sister in law, Risa for this sweet surprise, a portrait of my husband and I. So proud of her for her God-gifted talent. No doubt, art and creativity runs through her veins. Indeed she's the Picaso, Michelangelo, and Da Vinci of the family. Her passion for arts is so inspiring. When I stayed with them at their house after the wedding, I would see her wide awake at the wee hours of the night just to finish off an art project and catch up deadlines. Her hard work and dedication to her craft at such a young age will surely take her places. Keep it up Risa-chan! Gambatte! <3 



And thank you to the hubs for this special request from his sister. You're too sweet! Miss you too!

xoxo,
Joselle

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Let the countdown begin!


50 more days to go and it's Christmas again! Hahaha. Just kidding. Although it woud totally feel like Christmas to me cos my Santa baby is coming to town. Okay okay, I'm just excited to share with you that the hubs is officially coming back to Atlanta (permanently, sana!) in 50 days! Definitely, good things come to those who wait! 365 days and counting of togetherness is what we've been unceasingly praying for and finally it's coming to life soon. :D

Hopefully, I don't have to do countdowns again after he comes back here cos I don't want us to be apart ever again. Oh unless I get preggers. That's another countdown. hehehe ;P

We surely have no clue what the future holds that's why we lift up and surrender all our plans to Him up there. All I know is He will make everything beautiful in His time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 :)

 xoxo,
Joselle

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

DETOX- Update!

After the seven-day excruciating torture of not being able to eat all the food that I was used to eating and only taking in the detox diet religiously, I must say I am pleased with the results. 

I won't lie, it was painful doing this diet especially at home when all of my folks were eating so well and my mom cooked good food, I was eating my veggies and fruits!  

It was okay because... I lost 6 frigging pounds!

Before and After


I noticed I don't crave for massive amounts of rice, meat, salty snacks and sweets anymore. I felt less bloated and my bowel movement became more regular than usual. TMI? lol.

I feel free of all the toxins in my body and I feel rejuvenated.

Hopefully, I can be consistent with this healthy eating habit because I don't think I can do this detox again. hahaha. At least not anytime soon! 

xoxo,
Joselle

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Eulogy for Papa


Hello everyone. I'm Joselle, second to the oldest daughter of papa. My memories about papa from the time I was born till I was 10 yrs old were very vivid. Actually I have a blog that I posted last year for him on Father's Day and I'm glad I had the opportunity to express myself to him when he was still alive. For some of you who weren't able to read it here are some of them:

I can say I had a blast during my childhood and part of it was because of him.

He taught me how to ride a bike. He taught me how to swim.

On New Year's Eve, he would improvise props for our fireworks (lusis and watusi) so we could enjoy them without being hurt.

He got us pets like a puppy and even sisiws.

On summer vacation and Christmas, he would take us to Tondo and we were excited to go because we get to see our cousins and our childhood friends.

One thing I'm proud of him was his singing and his playing the guitar. We were blessed to get his nice singing voice. I remember I joined a singing contest when I was in 2nd grade and I won 2nd place and I was very excited to show him my trophy and was happy that I made him proud. 

Fast forward 15 years, when I came home 2 yrs. ago, I introduced him to my husband and I asked Alan what he thought of my dad. He said he was very warm, welcoming, friendly and he had this charm that he also sees in me. I think I got that charismatic trait of him. I knew he made a lot of friends and by the way that charm was maybe what made my mom fall head over heels for him.   

When I went home for my wedding on 2011, who would have thought that that would be the last time I would see him. He asked me if he could walk me down the aisle and I didn't hesitate to say yes cos I was really waiting for him to reach out and feel a father's love and know how it is like to have him once again. We even had the opportunity to bond and spend time when we went shopping for his wedding suit and shoes. 

After we got back here in Georgia, I'm so happy he kept in touch with us through Facebook. He would message me on every special occasion and he never failed to like my every posts. Sometimes I would be surprised to know that I got numerous notifications all coming from him. 

It breaks my heart and it saddens me that he surprisingly died young and that we weren't able to provide him with a happy old age. I hope I could have given him grandchildren, I wish I could have said I love you more to him. I have my wonderful plans in my mind for our family but God said to trust in his plan and not ours.  We may not understand today but I believe it will all makes sense in the future. 

To end this, I would like to thank God for bringing me into this world through you. Papa, wherever you are, thank you for all the good memories as well as the trials we've been through that made us who we are right now. 

Papa, I'm so sorry too that we couldn't be there right now but you are always in my thoughts and in my prayers. I will miss you so much. We know that you are now in a beautiful place where there are no broken hearts, no pain, no suffering but only joy, love and peace in the company of God and the angels . Perhaps you will be watching over us and hopefully we will continue to make you proud. May you intercede for us and guide us as always. 

To all of our family and friends, thank you to all of you for your sympathy, understanding, love, care and support for our family. 

God bless you all.

xoxo,
Joselle

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Happy anniversary journeyofjoselle!

americangreetings.com
Dear blog,

I can't believe we've made it this far. What I thought to be a scribble, turned into a labor of love.

I am also in awe of how we kept this blog going for a year. Hoping for consistency for years to come.

Thank you for staying with me in my journey of life. For witnessing every triumph and every downfall.

Thank you for being there through joyful and through sad moments.

Thank you for holding my deepest thoughts and my passionate emotions. I applaud you for your sponge-like built. Even for wasting your time with me through all the nonsense I doodle on your white blank page, thanks!

Thank you for staying up with me late at night sometimes as you patiently wait for me to gather my all-over-the-place intellect.

Thank you for allowing us to share our travel, food and fun experiences with you. I hope the heavens will get us sponsors for the places we endorse and recommend. lol

Thank you for introducing me to readers who positively comment and appreciate my posts. It means a lot!

Thank you for not judging me by the way in whatever I say, in my opinions and in being grammatically incorrect at times. I wonder if a coy hater out there exists, please stand up! hehe.

Thank you for being a means of letting people know how much I love them and how they inspire me. Sometimes people will tell me that I've inspired them, but honestly, most of my posts come from the inspiration they provide me. I am grateful that I'm surrounded with a bunch of good people in my life.

Thank you for being an instrument of communication between me and all of my family (especially my husband when he's in the Philippines) and friends all over the world. Thanks for keeping us strongly in touch.

Lastly and most especially, thank you for being a partner so bold in spreading God's words and lending me a hand in making a difference.

Happy one year anniversary journeyofjoselle.blogspot.com :) Cheers!

xoxo,
Joselle





Wednesday, June 5, 2013

DETOX

I claim myself to be a foodie. I enjoy food like I'm Anthony Bourdain. Oh how I'd like to be him even for just a day! #wishfulthinking. I am the type of person who likes to eat anything and everything. Put me wherever and I will surely gorge myself with any food in sight. Food is such a comfort and lately I've been comfortable eating foods that are not worth the calories. I have to admit, I've been so bad these days with eating and exercising. I've been unhealthy with my food choices and consequently, I noticed some changes in my body. My skin has been breaking out, I feel sluggish, I feel sick on some days, I get these weird infections like canker sore and I'm just recovering from sore throat, and my biggest dilemma of all time, constipation! It's embarrassing but it's one of my first world problems! I think our frequent trips to Korean BBQ places caused it. lol. It doesn't mean that if you eat a lot, then you're free from malnutrition. Our bodies can still be easily susceptible to all different kinds of diseases or sickness because of lack of proper nourishment and diet. 

There it goes. I just said one of my most hated words. Aside from the F word, its the D word. D-I-E-T! A thing that foodies utterly disdain. I loathe it so much but it's something that I have to do. Especially now, summer time is in the air! Time to box up the sweaters and leggings and take out the dresses, sleeveless tops, shorts and not to mention, swimsuits!  

That said, I thought of doing this 7 day soup diet that my friend nurse shared with me. For me, more than a diet, it's a DETOX. 
Detox diets can involve consuming extremely limited foods, eliminating certain foods from the diet (such as fats),[13] or eliminating processed foods and irritants from the diet.[14] Detox diets are often high in fiber. Proponents claim that this will cause the body to burn accumulated stored fats, releasing fat-stored "toxins" into the blood, which can then be eliminated through the blood, skin, urine, feces and breath. -Wikipedia
Let me share with you the FAT BURNER SOUP DIET.


FAT BURNER SOUP DIET




6 large green onions
1 or 2 cans of tomatoes
1 head of cabbage
2 green peppers
1 bunch of celery
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
Season with salt, pepper, parsley and/or hot sauce.


Cut vegetables in small to medium pieces and cover with water. Boil fast for ten minutes. Cut to simmer and continue cooking until vegetables are tender.

This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose. Fill a thermos in the morning if you will be away during the day.  IF EATEN ALONE FOR INDEFINITE PERIODS, YOU WOULD SUFFER MALNUTRITION.


DAY ONE: All fruits EXCEPT bananas. Cantaloupe and watermelon are lower in calories than most fruits. Eat only the soup and fruits. For drinks, Un-sweetened tea , cranberry juice or water.


DAY TWO: All Vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with all the fresh raw or canned vegetables. Try to eat green, leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat along with the soup. At dinner time on this day, reward yourself with a baked potato and butter. Do not eat any fruits.


DAY THREE: Eat all the soup, fruits and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten for three days as above, and have not cheated, you will find you have lost 5 to 7 pounds.


DAY FOUR: Bananas and skim milk. Eat as many as 3 bananas and drink as many glasses of water as you can on this day along with the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates and so is the milk, but on this particular day your body will need the potassium and the carbohydrates, proteins and calcium to lessen your craving for sweets.


DAY FIVE: Beef and tomatoes. You may have 10-20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes or as many as 6 fresh tomatoes on this day. Try to drink at least 6-8 glasses of water this day to wash away the uric acid in your body. Eat the soup at least once a day.


DAY SIX: Beef and vegies. Eat til your heart’s content of beef and veggies this day. You can even have two or three steaks if you like with green, leafy vegetables, but no baked potato. Be sure and eat the soup at least once today.


DAY SEVEN: Brown rice, un-sweetened fruit juice and vegetables. Again, stuff yourself. Be sure to have the soup at least once today.




At the end of the seventh day, if you have not cheated on the above diet, you will have lost 10 to 17 pounds. If you have lost more than 15 pounds, stay off the diet for two days before resuming the diet again from day one.


This seven day eating plan can be used as often as you like. As a matter of fact, if correctly followed, it will clean your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being as never before. After only seven days of this process, you will begin to feel lighter by at least 10 and possibly 17 pounds, having an abundance of energy. Continue this plan as long as you wish and you will feel the difference.

This diet is fast, fat-burning and the secret is that you will burn more calories than you take in. It will flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. This diet does not lend itself to drinking any alcoholic beverages at any time because of the removal of fat build up in your system. Go off the diet for at least 24 hours before any intake of alcohol.


Because everyone’s digestive system is different, this diet will affect everyone differently. After day three, you will have more energy than when you began if you did not cheat. After being on the diet for several days, you will find your bowel movements have changed. Eat a cup of bran for fiber if necessary. Although you can have black coffee with this diet, you may find that you don’t need caffeine after the third day.



DEFINITE NO-Nos

Bread, alcohol, carbonated drinks (including diet drinks). Stick with water, un-sweetened tea, black coffee, un-sweetened fruit juices, cranberry juice and milk.


The Basic Fat Burning Soup can be eaten anytime you feel hungry. Eat as much as you like. Remember, the more you eat, the more you will lose. No fried foods or bread. You can eat broiled or baked chicken
instead of beef, but absolutely no skin on the chicken.


Any prescribed medication will not hurt you on this diet. Continue this plan as long as you wish and feel the difference both mentally and physically. If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef on only one of the beef days. You need high protein from the beef the other days.


(from Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital. Used for overweight heart patients to lose rapidly, usually before surgery.)

*******************

My sister and I are doing this together so we can help and cheer one another up. Go go go Jovy!

I am glad that it's 7 days only (7 days of hell though!) and after this, I can go back to eating anything in small portions as this will make your appetite smaller. You tend to feel full faster thus it will keep you from over eating. Eating everything, but in moderation is the key. You will also notice less cravings for unhealthy, fatty food. 

I've done this 2 years ago before my wedding and it actually worked. Now, it's time to take a refresher and my goal is to hopefully get this figure back and to get myself back to eating healthy.



If you want to try this out too, I wanna know how it worked for you, so don't hesitate to comment down below. Hope this inspires you too. Good luck! 

xoxo, 
Joselle