Unleash the Authentic Woman in You – Faey Szeuw

I’ve been swimming with the tropical fishes in the coral reefs. Snorkeling and hanging out with family and friends.

I got to do a lot: saw fireflies, shooting stars, climb coconut trees, hang out at white sandy beaches, karaoke, went deep sea fishing, explore dark bat caves, skywalk on the outside of the 37th floor building, tour the whole Camotes Island all in one day, did some island hopping, and swam further than I have ever swam before. Did more things in a few weeks than 6 months put together. So much so, that I’ve exhausted my body and put my health at jeopardy.

I would have been okay, but I ate a piece of bad clam and got sick. That opened up my immune system to catching stuff. Like my neighbor’s really bad cold. Also, caught a fever in the process. My lung got so bad; I couldn’t even lie down to sleep. I thought I may have pneumonia so I went to see a doctor…he thought I might have bronchitis, from my horrible cough.

I was coughing like I got a smoker’s lung. It was horrible. Was on antibiotics for 5 days because my doctor thought my lung might have got infected with bacteria. 500 mg per day of Azithromycin. Wow, that is some strong medication! It made me all moody and agitated like a woman on a serious menstrual cycle. Luckily, I re-read the pamphlet that comes with the medicine and it says the maximum limit is 1500 mg for 5 days and that I was suppose to split it up. (Good thing I saw a doctors, huh.)

I highly suggest that we read up on the things we are putting in our body. Because if you’re starting to feel some oddness in your behavior, no matter what the doctor says, it’s probably wise to check on it.

And ALWAYS take care of yourself. Your physical body can only do so much, it’s not “superman”. Over-exertion can weaken your immune system and knock you out cold.

What better way to conquer your fear than to face it head on.

Confession: I’m not entirely fearful of heights but I get a bit light around very tall building; especially hanging on the very edge of a 37th floor building!

It was like this for me when my fiance, sister, and I went on the SkyWalk. SkyWalk is a tourist attraction, where people can walk outside around the perimeter of the 37th floor of Crown Regency Hotel in Cebu, Philippines.

Being a brave soul that I am , I volunteered to be in front. Reason one being… no big heads or anyone is blocking my view up here. Just kidding! Any how, it was a bit frightening as I step outside onto the thin metal pathway. I can feel the height and the breeze blowing lightly against my body. (Thank goodness it is not a windy day.)

As I pass through the glass part of the pathway, I glanced down to view below. People were like ants and cars were like miniature toy that little boys play with. My heart beat faster and I could feel a bit of perspiration on my forehead.

Quite interestingly, once we finish the SkyWalk which only lasted 15 minutes; I felt disappointed it was over. I actually wanted to go one more round.

Much like our life, sometimes we just gotta face our fears heads on. Like the famous Les Brown quote, “When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation. It empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.”

I was listening to an intriguing audio program by Mark Cunningham (aka Major Mark); one of the best hypnotist. It’s titled, “Build a Better Girlfriend.” My first reaction was, what’s this? What kind of stuff are men –more precisely ‘my man’ going to use on me.

Curious and a little bit defensive when I saw this program. I had to check it out. If anything, I want to protect myself in case this Major Mark was up to no good and teaching guys how to manipulate their girlfriends.

To my surprise, it turned out to be an amazing course. Basically, Major Mark teaches men how to make their women truly happy. That is by listening and really being there for her. In return, she’ll feel appreciated, noticed, and heard. That she’ll want to reciprocate this love and appreciation for him by pleasing him. That makes since, right?

Make the women happy as a clam. Treat her right. Notice she is another person with her own set of goals and values. Acknowledge her. Appreciate her. Cherish her. And in return, she’ll want to cherish and do things for you as a man.

Great news ladies, this same technique or should I call “just the proper way of treating your girlfriend” works just as good on how to build a better boyfriend.

Although I must warn you, that this audio is more targeted for men than women. But a curious woman can just be as entertain listening to this audio course as men.

It has some interesting new concepts and techniques; thus, giving your brain a boost of new ideas and experiences. Keeping your life fresh and full of new adventures.

As we wake up to each day. Remember to stay appreciative of the gifts we receive. Just being alive and granted this time –this very moment itself is a joy to be grateful for. Staying appreciative for all the small things makes life so much sweeter. So much more fulfilling. Always smile for the life. Live and Love.

A while back, I enrolled myself in a fitness bootcamp created by two ex-marine guys. It was quite an experience. I had a lot of fun despite some of the ridiculously looking exercises we were asked to do.

That intense 6 week program was tough but it delivered what it said it will. We were all in better shape than when we first started! We did most of the exercises mentioned below minus the handstand push-ups. The most odd looking one was when we bear crawled outside on the park grass. You should have seen the faces of the onlookers passing by. Confused and baffled by our ‘army’ exercises.

You don’t need to enrolled in a fitness bootcamp like I did to learn about these cool intense workouts.  Here are some neat body weight exercises from Jason Oh to get you working out anywhere you go. No gym needed.

As one of my drill instructor love to say, “NO EXCUSES!”

7 Bodyweight Exercises For Extraordinary Strength

By Jason Oh

Listed below are 7 bodyweight exercises that can be done at home to improve strength and endurance.

1. Bear Crawls: Get down on all fours and ‘crawl’ or walk around like a bear. Bear crawl for three to five minutes to work the entire body. You may look silly, but this movement should not be overlooked.
2. Spiderman Push-Ups: One of the harder push-ups. Assume a normal push-up position and as you lower your body to the floor, bring your knee to your elbow. Return to the normal push-up and repeat for the other knee. Repeat this 10 times.
3. Lunges: Stand with feet close together. With hands on your hips, step forward with one leg into a deep lunge, whilst keeping the other leg straight. Push yourself back up and repeat with the other leg.
4. 1 Leg Squat: One of the best leg exercise that you can do with your bodyweight. This will make you become more stable and challenge your leg strength, endurance, balance and agility. In a standing position, raise one leg out as straight as possible in front of you, and squat down on one leg until your thigh touches your calf. Thereafter, return to the starting position on the same leg. For extra balance, hold your arms straight out. For beginners, try to get your thighs parallel to the floor. And as your strength increase, get down as low as possible.
5. Squats: In a standing position, squat down until your thighs touches your calf. It may sound easy, but try to doing this 100 times!
6. Opposite Elbow Touch: In a push up position, bend one arm at the elbow to a 90 degree position and touch the opposite arm. Return to the original position and repeat for the other arm.
7. Handstand Push-Ups: Try this against a wall and get into a handstand against the wall with your legs straight up. Whilst looking forward in a handstand position, lower yourself to the floor and when your head touches the floor, push yourself back up to the starting position. Try doing this 5 times, and if you find it difficult initially, try to hold in a handstand position for 60 seconds.

The above bodyweight exercises are great for both women and men.

To mix it up more, try a combination of upper and lower bodyweight exercises without rest. That is, 10 ‘Spiderman Push-Ups’ reps followed immediately with 10 ‘1 leg squat’ on each leg. Rest for 60 seconds and repeat.

Do this –you will build strength and burn fat fast.

For more body weight exercises for extraordinary strength visit http://burnfatloseweight.info/weight-loss-products-reviews/turbulence-training and discover  how to lose body fat and build muscle with just 3 short workouts a week.

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I used to feel ashamed that my passion was getting fit and losing weight. I thought, I was being vain. That this was somehow such a selfish and small goal. That I was mean and I only care about myself. That I should be thinking about saving the world and helping others who are less fortunate than me.

Maybe that is true. I could be seen as selfish and only looking out for number one. But you know what, I realize the more I took care of myself, get my stuff together, and have a better outlook on life by creating and making healthier choices in my life –the more love is receive and flowing from within me. And this love overflows to others: to my family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and even strangers. I became more appreciative of things.

Let’s just say, by learning to love myself and take better care of me, my heart was able to shine brightly through without all that clutter in my mind…you know, those self defeating thoughts and doubts that beats you down.

This doesn’t always stay like this. I do get upset, sad, and even angry with the ups and downs life presents. The thing is, I have the option to feel the whole range of emotions and can change if I shall choose. I can feel the feelings that come up and allow it to flow through me. By becoming more aware of what I am feeling, I can do something about it and change. No longer do I feel like I’m a victim to my emotion and be pushed around like a pawn.

There are things I understand more about myself that allow me to bring more of me out and get to my highest optimal state. Move through unnecessary clutters and obstacles. And see the traps and steer away from them. It’s not the doom and gloom I once thought it was.

Your feelings about things can change and you are capable of changing your state. It’s sometimes hard to believe we are such a powerful person capable of sculpting our own life. But we are more amazing than we can ever sometimes believe or imagine.

I remember watching  my 3 year old nephew, Bryent. He fell on the ground and  scraped his knees. I just looked at him and helped him up.

I asked, “You okay?” without making the ‘oh and ahs’…The darndest thing happened, he got right up and told me it hurt–and only sobbed a bit. Then wiped his face and went on playing.

Kids are very impressionable; we never know what they are copying. These are the time, where their life imprints are made. Their watchful eyes are watching, studying, and taking everything, every incident, every action, every word, and every lesson in. Possibly cementing them into their beliefs.

So crucial, we watch what we say and do around them. They’re such an aware and receptive little person.

Ever wonder how the chefs or the experts carved their pineapple. How they made it so aesthetically appealing to the eyes.

Well, today we are going to take a little trip around my local street market and learn from the pineapple expert himself.

Now, this guy has over 10,000 hours  of peeling pineapple experience under his belt. Who can better show us than this guy, right?

Take a look at the video I made above of this talented Philippino guy in action.

And when you are done watching –challenge yourself.  Pick up a pineapple at your local supermarket.

Peel an award winning pineapple yourself!

Be sure to leave me a comment about your pineapple peeling experience.

For those of you who love to try different tastes and flavors, the fruits of the Philippines will be a delightful experience for you!

As for me, a fruit lover, I asked a friend of mine to helped me create this small list of some interesting tropical treats. Below I also included some pictures  I took of the unique fruits mentioned– along with a brief description of them. However, the marang photo was borrowed from flickr.com.

Be sure to check these mouth watering fruits out!

And as an added bonus from my friend, she made this small chart showing the availability of the fruits I mentioned below.

The mango is one of the most famous fruits here in the Philippines—and somehow I know why. When they aren’t ripe and still colored green, you can still eat the fruit. It’s quite sour but very crunchy, and the people here eat it with salt and a shrimpy paste they call bagoong. Me – I dip it with chili pepper and fish sauce. (A spicy tongue, I inherited from my mother’s Laotian background.) Then when they are ripe, with its golden yellow color –it’s just so sweet!

They also have what they call the ponkan, which is the Philippines’ version of an orange. The larger ones are very sweet and juicy, and unlike the orange, the skin can be easily peeled off by hand. (I honestly think these are mandarins.)

The mangosteen is often considered as one of the most delicious fruits in the world—and again, I can only agree to that. It is a perfectly round-shaped fruit on the outside, with a deep purple color. You only have to gently break through the skin and that is where the white meat is—which is what you’ll eat. What really intrigued me to this fruit is that not only is it sweet, but also somewhat milky.

As stated in my personal fruit rulebook, you can’t leave the Philippines without tasting the marang first. It’s the country’s local name for the monkey jackfruit, and as what the name says, it looks a lot like a jackfruit only that its texture is finer—like a brush—and the fruits are all attached to one ball.

They also have what we call as a rambutan—which for me already has a very unique name. It looks like a small red fiery ball and it easily reminds me of the lychee. It’s easy to open by hand and my —it’s one of my most favorites.

The lanzones is another favorite of mine. They look a lot like grapes, but they have thicker stems and skins and they are colored a pale yellow. Inside, though, the meat is formed like an orange and it’s so sweet, only that you have to have to avoid the seeds ‘cos they leave a bitter taste in the mouth.

Bananas, my friends! Who hates bananas? And they have no seeds and are easily peeled! It’s also a good source of potassium and other vitamins. The folks here usually call it the complete food.

Another favorite of mine is the guava. It is immediately eaten as it is—no need to peel and no seeds to avoid (you could actually eat the seeds, but be careful because the seeds are hard)—but the guava flesh is amazingly delicious. It’s very crunchy and has a some what sweet taste to it.

There are still a lot of fruits that I haven’t mentioned here yet, so I encourage you to visit the country and see for yourself what else is in store here for you!

And I really mean rain or shine, because there are only two seasons here in Cebu (and the Philippines, for that matter)—the dry and the wet season. The dry season starts from December and ends in June and the rest of the year is the wet season.

Philippines is part of the tropical zone, and I’m most excited to be able to experience everyday of  both the  seasons for myself.

What I love about the Philippines is there’s no winter here so there’s no worry of disastrous snow storms, chills, and frostbites. However, there are lots of rain during the wet seasons. Sometimes, it’ll just rain for a few seconds to a few minutes and then suddenly stops. (One of the wonders of a tropical weather.)

Another thing I like about the Philippines is its warmth. The people are very warm. The air is warm. However, it does get hot and humid in the dry season, so be prepare for that. But the neat thing is –when it does get too uncomfortable then it’s a great excuse to take a dip in the warm ocean.

Personally, I think that is the best—because the water is always ready for a good swim. Or you could just enjoy watching the seascape and mountains in the shades. I especially enjoy the humidity; it’s like a free sauna. And my skin doesn’t get all dry like back in California. And it’s always a joy for me to meditate, read, or spend time lazing around in a hammock under the shades.

But my most favorite thing about Cebu is that it has an abundance of tropical fruits. I have such a great time eating it, not to mention the nutritional benefit of it all. Yum!

In Cebu alone, there are major fruit stops that you can visit if you crave for some fresh fruits. And every season there’s an abundance of different fruits available!

I made a quick list of the fruits you might want to taste if ever you are in the Philippines. Just click Philippine Tropical Fruit Seasons to see what’s available and when.

And just to help you out, here’s a good place to check when the best time to visit Philippines. —->PhilippinesTravelGuide.com