Our Cebu-Bohol Trip: Day 1-Ouano and Nogoy Wedding, August 28

Last week-end, we had a long holiday here in the Philippines in celebration of the National Heroes Day last August 29 (Monday) and the Eid'l Fitr or Feast of Ramadhan last August 30 (Tuesday). Few months backwards, me and wifey already filed our respective work leave because of a scheduled appointment on August 28 at Cebu City, the Church wedding of Dr. Phillip Ouano and Dra. Michelle Nogoy.

With the declared long week-end, we got our chance to have a out-of-town trip covering from Manila to Cebu, then Cebu to Bohol, Bohol to Cebu and back to Manila in less than four days time.

Our Cebu-Bohol Trip Day 1 on August 28, 2011 (Sunday) started with our early morning flight to Cebu via Cebu Pacific flight 5J 559 at 4:40 AM.

Pre-departure pic at NAIA Terminal 3

Arrival at Mactan, Cebu International Airport

Day 1, at 3PM we are at the Church Wedding of Phillip and Michelle at the Cebu Bethel Temple.

The groom, Dr. Phillip

The bride, Dra. Michelle and her parents

The newlyweds first kiss!

The wedding reception followed at the Shangri-la Mactan Resort and Spa, Ballroom 3 and 4. Shangri-la Mactan is an hour or less travel from Cebu City proper. My first visit to this resort was seven years ago, last September 2004. So long it has been.

The couple's first dance

The cutting of the wedding cake

The couple's prosperity dance

Congratulations to Dr. Phillip and Dra. Michelle Ouano! Best wishes and may God Bless you always!

For more wedding pictures, please visit my FB account or click HERE.

TEN SPIRITUAL TONICS

1. Stop worrying. Worry kills life.

2. Begin each day with a prayer. It will arm your soul.

3. Control appetite. Over-indulgence clogs body and mind.

4. Accept your limitations. 

5. Don’t envy. It wastes time and energy.

6. Have faith in people. Cynicism sours the disposition.

7. Find a hobby. It will relax your nerves. 

8. Read a book a week to stimulate imagination and broaden your views.

9. Spend some time alone for the peace of solitude and silence.

10.Want what you have, instead of spending your strength trying to get what you want.

Life and Living Tips

1. Take a 10-30 minutes' walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
   
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
   
3. Sleep 7 hours.
   
4. Live with 3 E's – Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
   
5. Play more games.
   
6. Read more books than you did the previous year.
   
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
   
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
   
9. Dream more while you are awake.
   
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
    
11. Drink plenty of water.
    
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
    
13. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
    
14. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
    
15. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
    
16. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
    
17. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
    
18. Smile and laugh more.
    
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
    
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
    
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
    
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil your present.
    
23. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
    
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
    
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
    
26. What other people think of you is none of your business.
    
27. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
    
28. Stay in touch with family and friends. Call you family often.
    
29. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
    
30. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
    
31. The best is yet to come.
    
32. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
    
33. Do the right thing!
    
34. Your inner most is always happy. So be happy.
    
35. Each day give something to others.
    
36. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

The Rules for Being Human

1. You will receive a body.
    You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around.  
2. You will learn lessons.
     You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid. 
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons.
    Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works". 
4. A lesson is repeated until learned.
    A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson. 
5. Learning lessons does not end.
    There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned. 
6. "There" is no better than "here".
    When your "there" has become a "her", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here". 
7. Others are merely mirrors of you.
    You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. 
8. What you make of your life is up to you.
    You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. 
9. Your answers lie inside you.
    The answers to Life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust. 
10. You will forget all this.
11. You can remember it whenever you want.


~excerpts from Chicken Soup for the Soul 1993

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 3

THE TOP FIVE CANCER-CAUSING FOODS

1. Hot dogs
-Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children should not eat not more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.

2. Processed meats and Bacon
-Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs; bacon and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.

3. Doughnuts
-Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made of white flour, sugar and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams, may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.

4. French fries
-Like doughnuts, French fries are made of hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain the cancer-causing acryl amides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams.

5. Chips, crackers and cookies
-All are usually made of white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amount of trans-fats.

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 2

THE MAIN CAUSES OF LIVER DAMAGE

1. Sleeping too late and waking too late are main cause.

2. Not urinating in the morning.

3. Too much eating.

4. Skipping breakfast.

5. Consuming too much medication.


6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring and artificial sweetener.


7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil.


8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of the liver.

Facts for Healthy Living - Part 1

BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating

It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking

It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption

Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation

Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping

Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness

Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts

Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely

Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.