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Tips to a Charmed 2008

13 January 2008 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Charmed Life of a Mrs, Tips

Some tips to help us create a charmed life for the year 2008.

Everyday Living:

Start your day with a prayer, meditation or 10-minute silence. These activities guarantee a strong and centered spirit.
Never leave the house without making the bed. Tidy up the bed as soon as you wake up and it will surely give you a sense of accomplishment knowing that the first chore of the day is done.
When you wake and look in the mirror, decide there and then that you are beautiful. Believe it and you will look it.
Never skip meals especially breakfast. It’s not worth having ulcers or any other internal bodily disorders just for the sake of looking sexy or skinny. Moderation to eating is always the key, not starvation to death.
Exercise! Physical activities assists in blood circulation and releases a neurotransmitter called Endorphins which aids in lowering the blood pressure and has been implicated in the fight against cancer.
Start the day with happy thoughts. If feeling a little flat or low or not-so-good, TRY, it will ease the gloominess somehow.
Write a journal emphasizing on two things: (1) Things I Learned Today and (2) Things I am Grateful For Today. When you have days when you feel depressed or sad, just read on your past entries and it will surely make you realize that given unhappy circumstances, you are still blessed.
If feeling depressed or sad can’t be help, just accept that there are days like these and you just have to go thru it as gradually or as fast as you can. Give yourself some time to get things over with, however, it is not advisable to wallow for a long time.
Be friends with everyone you interact with–or at least be friendly (no need to be a snub). Everyone refers to people in your neighborhood, the waiters/waitresses of the restaurant you dine in, the attendant in the department store, etc.

Travel/Recreation/Leisure:

Travel once or twice this year, alone or with family or friends. Not only will you have a chance to relax but it will also give you the opportunity to re-connect with yourself (if alone) or your family or friends.
Learn something new. Attend pottery/art/photography/dance/coffee making classes–or whatever interests you. You may also want to learn a new language in preparation for your upcoming travel (i.e. a friend of mine enrolled herself to learn how to speak German in preparation for her travel to Germany).
If you can’t travel, read travel books…this activity will help you enlarge your world.
You need not travel far in order to relax. You may also spend a weekend at a nice hotel and just hang out the by swimming pool to de-stress. This will also be a good time to avail of the hotel’s spa services.

Maintaining Relationships:

The key is to spend time with family and friends and most importantly with yourself.
Have weekly or monthly dinners with friends.
Have weekly dates with your significant other.
Celebrate little milestones. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive dining out experience. Little milestones can be celebrated by having pizza night or sushi night. Or you celebrate by giving each other back massages.
Be there for family, relatives and friends by attending their parties (take note: you should be invited of course hehehe)
Never ever leave a sour note with a loved one. End fights as soon as possible. Time is precious and it’s never wise to spend it angry with a loved one.
Tell your loved ones that you love or miss them. Even if action speaks louder than words, our loved ones would still appreciate it if they hear us say the words “I love you” or “I miss you”.
Let our loved ones know that we appreciate them. Always always say “Thank you”.

Financial Aspect:

Save, save, save. Need I say more?
LIVE SIMPLY. Live within your means and always be practical when acquiring things you want.
Aside from putting some of your money to savings, you may also opt to set up funds like a Christmas Fund, Birthday/Anniversay Fund, Travel Fund, Emergency Fund, etc.

There you have it, some tips to help you go thru your 2008 with a little ease. I hope some of these tips will help prepare you to a busy and productive year. Remember to FOCUS on the positive side of things and always treat challenges as an avenue for learning.

Let’s all have a charmed life!

Make Your Day-offs Worthwhile

10 October 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Tips

Don’t you just love it when you have an extra day of no work in a week?

To make your day-offs worthwhile, emphasize on two things: (1) do something for yourself and (2) accomplish a chore or an errand that you never get to do during weekends.

Here’s some suggestions:

Do something for yourself

Give yourself that much needed pampering by going to the salon or spa. Get yourself a haircut or your nails manicured/pedicured. Get a massage or a facial.
Watch a movie at home or at the cinema.
Shop. Buy something for yourself, something you are not able to buy when you’re with family.
Relax at a cafe. Indulge by ordering your favorite cake on the menu.
Take a walk at the park.
Have lunch with a friend.
Finish a book you are reading.
Spend time with your kid/s. Take them to a musuem or the zoo or to some place they haven’t been to.

Accomplish a chore/errand that you never get to do during weekends

Organize your closet. Get rid of clothes you haven’t worn for two/three years. Get rid of make-up that’s been there for too long.
Learn a new recipe.
Have your digital photos developed and put them in photo albums.
Make a scrapbook of your recent vacation.
Sort out files or documents, then throw away unimportant mails/documents you’ve kept for years.
Make a back-up of your computer files.

With these two things in mind and you’re able to do at least one for each category, you will get a sense of accomplishment when the day ends. You will realize that your day-off was not put to waste because you did something for yourself and you’re able to catch up on chores you seldom get to do.

A Lesson on Hotel Hunting

19 July 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Tips, Travel

When asking a hotel attendant if their standard rooms have windows, you might also want to ask if it opens.

I have a participant in training that’s particularly claustrophobic and would like to have windows in the room and preferably, windows that open.

So I called hotel number 1 and asked, “Does your standard rooms have windows?”

And she answered, “Yes we do have windows inside the rooms but it doesn’t open”.

So obviously, their windows are just for decoration????

And then came the offer, “but we do have rooms with balcony that you have to pay an extra $45.00”

Wow! Okay sa marketing diba?

Anyway, I called hotel number 2, and the hotel attendant almost laughed (I swear he was about to) when I asked, “But does your windows open?”

Fortunately, yes!

Today, I learned a lesson on hotel hunting and my trainee will now have a place to stay.

Travelling Tips

18 July 2007 Ibyang Sanchez 3 Comments Category: Tips, Travel

Although travelling can be the most exhilarating thing in the world, it is never that easy. There are so many things to consider when travelling. I’ve had my share of travel booboos so I’ve come up with some travelling to-dos that Chris and I try to practice whenever we travel.

Research and study. Get to know the place you will go to before heading off. Go to bookstores and scan travel books. Surf online to know about the culture, sights, food, weather and what else to expect of the place. Learn the country’s basic language if you can. This activity will also determine if you will need to join a group tour or not.

Buy a Guide Map. It would be better if you buy a map at least two weeks before (or even way ahead of) travel for you to be able to study it and plan your itinerary. You can also download maps online if you don’t want to spend money on maps.

Map of Singapore from Lonely Planet

Make a travel checklist. Make a list of your To-dos Before Leaving and Things to Bring so that packing your stuff won’t be so tedious. Your list will also help you avoid last minute shopping before you’re off to your dream destination.

Make a list of things you need and want to buy. It’s very tempting to be impulsive when travelling so I make sure that I have a list to focus on. My needs list is usually pasalubong for family and friends while my wants lists are stuff that I plan to buy should I have extra money left.

Learn the art of packing your things. You can’t just put everything inside your bag and say “that’s it”. You need to know how to pack things that are breakable and fragile. You need to know that putting clothes inside your shoes will prevent it from creases. You need to know that there are ways to fold clothes that will save space inside your luggage.

Travel light. If you plan to do a lot of shopping in your place of destination, all the more that you have to travel light. I usually bring just the essentials when I travel. I don’t bring too much clothes, shoes, makeup and accessories. I only bring clothes I know I wouldn’t have time to shop for like bathing suits and evening dresses and a couple of shirts. If there’s still some room inside my luggage, I put rolls of tissue to fill in the gaps, so my luggage would still look stuffed.

Send a package ahead. This is usually applicable to people going back to their mother country. This is more convenient than negotiating with check-in officers in airports, more cost-effective because airports will make you pay a ridiculous amount when you have excess luggage and more stress-free because you don’t have to drag yourself around the airport with a heavy luggage.

Bring a tripod. It will save you time asking strangers to take photos of you. The first time we brought a tripod, we had more fun capturing photos. It meant more poses, more photo opportunities and less camera shakes.

Bring a pen and paper at all times. This has always been a must for me because I tend to forget things. My bag usually contains a small planner, Post it notepads, an ordinary pen and a sign pen. While waiting for flights or sitting down for a meal, I make it a point to write down everything that transpired for the last couple of hours. Post it notes are for important reminders or notes to stick on our guide map.

Buy universal adaptors for your electronic devices. I recommend the 5 Outlet World Power Suppressor (see photo). This will likely work in most parts of the world (Europe, Australia, Asia, America). The number of adaptors you buy will depend on how many electronic devices you have with you while you travel. For us, we make sure we have at least three adaptors. At night we usually plug in two devices (digicam and videocam), the third adaptor is our spare just in case we misplaced one. We don’t want to waste time buying adaptors while travelling.

Invest on extra digicam and/or videocam batteries. This will save you a lot of panic attacks when you see your cameras shouting “lowbat!” especially when most of your travelling is spent outdoors.

Confirm flight schedule at least two days before flying. There might be changes in the flight itinerary and they also need to know that you will really get on that flight you paid for. If on the day of travel some emergency happens, call your travel agent or the airline office ASAP so you can rebook your ticket. In some airlines, a no-show would mean no refund.

Know your luggage weight limit. The usual check-in luggage weight limit is 20 kilos per person, in some airlines its 30 kilos—it really depends on the airline and destination. Your hand carry luggage should not exceed 7 kilos. For extra kilos, there is a fee that you have to pay and it’s usually in US dollars.

Put your valuables in one bag and always have that bag with you wherever you go. Valuables would mean passport, tickets, cash, camera, medicine, important documents, etc.

Be mindful of your things. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories of travellers losing their bags and valuables so when I travel, I try to stay focus and mindful of the things going on around me. If Chris and I travel together, we usually watch each other’s back and we always count the number of bags we have. While inside the airport, we try to concentrate on the all the processes we go thru (check-in & check-out of luggage, customs, connecting flights, announcements, forms we need to fill in, etc).

Keep receipts or tickets of purchases you made. This is very useful if you need to know where your money went during travel, and this will be your reference when you receive your credit card statement. Receipts and tickets can also be used as souvenirs.

Explore, explore, explore. Unless you’re in the jungle or mountains, don’t be afraid to get lost in the crowd. Most tourist spots are user-friendly with directions and arrows pointing you where to go. Don’t be shy to ask for directions from strangers. With the right perspective, getting lost in a foreign land can be fun and exciting.

When in Rome, do what the Romans do. Short of saying, follow rules and regulations of the country you’re staying at the moment of travel. Saying “Sa Pilipinas hindi naman ganito eh” would get you into more trouble. This phrase also encourages you to immerse yourself in the country’s culture, when you do what they do, you learn more.

Buy something that will remind you of your travel. For little things, I normally buy refrigerator magnets or photo frames with the place’s name on it as a souvenir. For big things, I always buy a piece of jewellery so that when I wear that certain necklace or bracelet, I would be reminded of my stay in that place.

I’m sure there’s still a lot more tips out there so if you can think of any, please feel free to add them up here. Should I have any more tips, I’ll surely post them later.

Happy travelling!