I have wanted to write this article months ago, but regular work and an extra job, kept me busy. Oftentimes , I even can’t have time to go to the john. Anyway, I’ll write it now very briefly, to present some of the posts from my blogs that you may want to read. (I hope you may want to!)

First Post

I’ll start by presenting my very first post way back March 2008. This was an initial article and I was just trying to familiarize myself with the features of the blogger.com and wrote this first post, The Relaxer. It is short and amusing, because it is about the Rubix cube. Yes , I know how to solve it, It is not really that difficult when you learn the rudiments.

Most Commented Post

My most commented on post was A Book Tour of a Puppy is not a Guppy. I wrote this for Holly Jahangiri during the tour of  her book   “A Puppy is not a Guppy.” I had 77 comments and a lively conversion between Holly and the rest of the group. By the way, Holly is from Texas, and is a published author of several books. One of them is The Puppy…

Most interesting discussion

This recognition is given to Serendipity and Writing to Exhale, which yielded 55 interesting comments from Uber bloggers and visitors. I immensely enjoyed the camaraderie in that post.

I had wanted the following posts to have more readers, but I guess, they lacked that certain “X factor”, but I am proud of them anyway.

1. Chapter 1 – Umma Ayam Sinsana – is my novelette about Kalinga life and the Rebellion in the Philippines

2. It’s Never Too Late – an inspiring personal experience of another great writer- Jean Knill.

3. Quotes to Ponder on – just a collection of meaningful thoughts , I find helpful.

4. Relationship Topics- I would like to think that these articles can help married couples to renew their relationships.

5. Computer Topics – I know only the basics of the computer operation, so I let someone write significant topics that can help you with your questions. Nikes Alviz, will answer all your questions, He is the computer whiz man.

The post I like most was about Farmville, LOL…I was a Farmville fanatic but not anymore. I can’t squander precious time planting in a virtual farm without any tangible harvest.  The post entitled Anatomy of a Farmville Addiction was written by my favorite writer, Jan Geronimo for his blog Writing to Exhale.

I have several favorites too from Roy Dela Cruz’ blog . Here is Sleepless in Pampanga .  Visit his 16 blogs and read a variety of  great topics.

Oh, by the way, I would like to share too what I consider as an honor.  I was able to collate 27  wonderful stories from 27 bloggers all over the world  in   The Inspirational Book .

I am planning to do a sequel soon, but I have first to get the first book officially published by a book company. I know it deserves to be marketed world wide.

I am leaving you now with these updates. Can you recall any post that had made you stop and think? You can share them in your comments.

Back to work, guys.

“Marriages are meant to last forever.” When you have this in mind, then you won’t think of divorce the first time you have an argument. Your perception about marriage should be within this concept, so that you will try to work it out with your partner. After you have worked it out, your bond would grow stronger.

The first question that comes to your mind is: Do we have to do something when we obviously love each other?” Wouldn’t that be sufficient to make our marriage exciting and alive?” True enough, but even lasting, eternal love needs constant nurturing and care. The glaring fact remains that, much as couples love each other, the only constant thing in this world is change. People grow physically, emotionally and psychologically.

In the process of “growing up”, you may grow apart or grow closer. It is therefore, your responsibility as couples, to ensure that your marriage remains exciting and alive by doing activities that draw you closer together and not the other way around. Here are some pointers on how to keep your marriage exciting and alive:

1.Talk to each other.

Express your thoughts and feelings to your partner. Be open with what you want without disrespecting the other.
Communication is still one of the major routes of true understanding.

Talk about your day to each other; the significant and the trivial parts, what made you smile, laugh, etc. When you genuinely talk to each other the relationship becomes more exciting.

Imagine not being able to tell your partner how good he/she makes you feel when you’re making love, wouldn’t that be a torture?

2.Do simple little things that would make him/her feel special.

The quotation “Simple little things mean a lot” is never outdated. Leave a note tucked in your spouse’s desk organizer telling him how much you love him. For husbands, give a rose to your wives on ordinary days. Bring home some gifts from her favorite bookstore.

3.Spend some time alone without any distraction.

Book a ticket for two to Paris, or if finances are low, then drive to the next town. Just be somewhere else that there would only be the two of you. Bring the children to their grandmother if needed, or hire a nanny. What is important is for you to spend time together.

If your work does not allow this, then do it at least once a week, or once a month, go out for a dinner date, swimming activity or spend an overnight stay in a local romantic hotel.

Capture the mood and ambiance that made you fall in love with each other.

4.Spring some surprises.

If you haven’t worn a sexy negligee before, then wear one and flaunt your assets to him.
Prepare and unexpected dinner by candlelight when he comes home. Wear his favorite perfume.

For husbands, you could come home with a bottle of champagne for some night bonding. You could think of many more surprises based  on your wives likes and hobbies.

5.Be innovative in making love.

Making love is an art. Read books and watch movies together to add spice to your love making. It is always exciting to try the new position you have watched on DVD. Don’t be shy to tell your spouse of what you prefer to do and what arouses and satisfies you.

Enjoying and deriving sensual pleasure from making love is a must for married couples. You must be certain that both of you are satisfied and satiated afterwards.

The moment after the act itself is even more crucial. Women want to be cuddled and embraced most especially after the act.
Turning your back on your wives and snoring off to sleep is a demonstration of your insensitivity and callousness. This will make your wives feel used. Love her by being gentle and sweet even after the making love.

For wives, be expressive of your desire to be cuddled and pampered afterwards. Tell your husbands what you specifically desire.
They are not mind-readers; tell them what you want done: “Could you put your arms around me until we’ve fallen asleep?”

6.Do activities together.

Wouldn’t it be exciting to have your husband dancing with you in a friend’s party? Or your wife watching with you outdoors in one of your favorite football games? Household chores could also be shared. They are much more fun when you turn them into happy chores. Doing activities together strengthens the bonds of belongingness and love.

Even child birth activities should be participated in by husbands. This would create a firm, meaningful bond between wife, husband and child.

7.Bring out the child-like trait in you.

This means being creative, insouciant, carefree, jolly, and having an unyielding belief that you could conquer whatever challenges that would assail your married life. This will bring a lilt to your steps, a smile in your face and a zest to your relationship.

Play and be happy. Humor will always diffuse a humdrum existence. The daily problems that would come to you may dampen your spirit and knock the joy out of you, but being jovial and positive about things would perk up your marriage.

You’re the best judge on what would make your marriage exciting and alive. Be creative and devise ways to have excitement and joy with your partner.

The bride is in the center of the limelight during a wedding. People scrutinize every detail in her clothes and accessories including her bridal bouquet. Most brides prefer to use rose because of its elegance, the meaning that goes with its color and the ease of handling it. To top it all, the flower is available all year round and this makes it an inexpensive choice.

Wedding Bouquet Arrangement

The wedding bouquet arrangement has a lot to say when it comes to the price. Long cascading arrangements are more expensive than the simple ones. In order to maximize your wedding bouquet budget, consider the simple arrangements. Hand-tied rose bouquets are often half the price of regular arrangements. The florist simply arranges the roses together, ties them with a string or wire then decorates it with a ribbon. The less flowers you add, the more cost effective your wedding bouquet. This simple yet elegant arrangement is surely an eye catching.

If you are a petite bride, a nosegay arrangement is the best for you. This arrangement presents small and compact flower arrangement that will not overpower you figure. If you are into a sophisticated yet unusual look, a wrist arrangement is good. This arrangement looks like more of a corsage worn on the wrist than a bouquet. This will allow you go out from the traditional flower arrangements.

Type of Rose

Long stem roses are at a higher cost than the short ones. If you prefer a nosegay arrangement, short stemmed roses are sufficient. It provides a more affordable price without sacrificing the look. However, if you go for hand-tied arrangements, you will need longer stems to hold the bouquet.

Color of Rose

To get the most deal from florists, go for the most common color available. Since red, pink and white are the most common colors, they are oftentimes the cheapest variety. Rare colors like yellow and lilac and bi-colors are more expensive. If you prefer expensive colors, you can mix it with a little of the inexpensive types. You get the same sophistication at a lesser cost.

Flower Mixture

Some consider it boring to see purely roses in the bridal bouquet. Aside from adding an effect to the arrangement, it also lowers the cost. Complementary flowers for roses are baby’s breath and lilies. These two flowers give the wedding bouquet a more traditional look. Other unusual flowers include dahlias, orchids and wildflowers. Mix and match your flower arrangement to suit your personality and the theme of the wedding. Do not be shy to use unusual flower combination since more often they create the most memorable bouquets.

Use of Accessories

The accessories you put to your wedding may either increase or decrease the price of the arrangement. The use of trailing pearls gives it a more elegant style but is more costly. To lessen the need for more flowers, the use of flower buds, green leaves, trailing vines and ribbons creates volume in the wedding bouquet. The accessories limits the need for more flowers yet add to the overall statement of the rose bouquet.

When choosing for the best arrangement for your wedding, consider your wedding theme, body size and height. Balance the arrangement so as not to overpower your overall appearance. Put in mind that the center of the limelight is you and the rose wedding bouquet should only complement your beauty.

I was in college when I met Polly. She was a lovely, soft – spoken, well-mannered lady who had a good word for everyone. Life became more meaningful with her around. Every time I thought, I was going to give up, she was there urging me on, inspiring me. We shared the same room and I was fascinated at how thoughtful she was, always thinking about my welfare and benefit. She was always there to lend a helping hand and a sympathetic ear. I do not think college would have been thrice as memorable without my best friend Polly. And yes, there was one time, I had wished my cousin and she would hit it off, but I guess, fate has a strange way of directing things, because she finally met the man of her dreams…lol…in the person of her husband. Polly, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone of our covert conversations about your great love…lol…

Polly, my best friend

Do you remember when I used to cook one piece of tuyo (dried fish) for lunch because the city was isolated then and there was no way we could get our allowances? Do you remember how we survived that one month of rains and storms when there was no vestige of outside help? We were lucky our dorm was one of the sturdiest buildings in the campus. But you made me endure all of those challenges with a smile on my lips and a song in my heart. You were the sunbeam during my darkest days and the silver lining during my hopeless hours.

When college life ended, I carried our good memories together as we went our separate ways. Life went on as usual. I lost contact with you from then on, but I always prayed for you every chance that I got, hoping life was treating you well.

I always smile when I remember you- my best friend; your sweet smile, your soothing, gentle voice, your loyalty, your kindness, your courage, your true friendship.

Thanks, best friend for bestowing upon me your precious friendship and welcoming me into your life. I will treasure all of these in my heart, for as long as I live. I have never thought we’d meet again but God has strange ways. After more than 20 years, our paths finally crossed and….Would you believe it? I found you, my best friend, in Facebook! The wonders of technology, I was exultant!

The wrinkles are there, the sagging extra “baggage” are unsightly, but deep inside us, we are still the same persons, (hopefully more mature) that we were before. I know it will be a long process to keep up and be re-acquainted with each other again, but well, what’s important is we are once more re-connected. I love you best friend and I thank God that our paths have intersected again.

I oftentimes see a husband come from work, plop a pillow by the TV, and watch while the woman cooks, tends to the children, and sets the table.  I agree that women by nature are more domesticated (Do I hear a violent reaction, from Holly?) He he he) But the problem is, both of them came from work and both of them are tired, so why is the husband not helping with the household chores?  (Thank God, hubby is not like that…lol…it’s the opposite for me. He is the chef; I do the small side chores.)

Photo by russelljsmith

But there are countless men, and I don’t mean locally only, who think the home is the turf of the woman and they seem reluctant to help with the household chores. A study conducted by Oxford University showed that many men are still not egalitarians..

Husbands should do housework simply because they should love their wives not only in words but also in action. One way of showing how much they love their wives is by doing housework without any prodding.

Aside from this compelling reason, here are more reasons why husbands should do housework:

1. They are the physically stronger sex so they should do housework! Housework, like washing clothes, vacuuming are physically demanding chores, so it’s only appropriate that husbands help because they are stronger and have more stamina.

2. Most wives nowadays are also career women. They work for a living and therefore share with whatever bills that are to be paid; the household chores therefore should also be shared because the wife comes home tired and needs all the rest she can get.

3. If the wife is not a career woman, taking care of the children alone is a daunting task that needs the cooperation and the helping hand of the husband. You could just imagine the wife getting up several times during the night to feed the baby and then getting up early again to feed the husband who will be going off to work. Only superwoman could stay awake almost all night long and be able to wake up early, day in and day out.

4. The husband should do housework so he’ll know how difficult a wife’s role is and would understand why sometimes a wife is so tired that she could not “cooperate” in the romantic overtures of the husband in bed.

5.  The wife cannot do all the household work.  This is because of so much to do and so little time. If the husband wants everything done in a day, then he has to chip in.

6. Housework is a form of exercise. Husbands who don’t have the time to exercise can adapt these methods and help the wife simultaneously as he exercises; two birds with one stone!

7. Sometimes, housework needs the expertise of a man, and who would be a better helper than the husband? Surely, the wife cannot call in the neighbors to replace a busted bulb, to paint the kitchen door, to attach bolts to a bedpost, etc. Only the husband can conscientiously do all these things, without cost. If couples want to save money, then the husband has to help in the housework.

Mentioned in the first paragraph, however, is the most important reason. A husband should do housework simply because he loves his wife and is willing to help her in all ways that he can.

They did it for love, they got married for love, and now they should work together in love.  Now, that’s true love for me.

What do you think, ladies , should your husbands help you with the chores?

And husbands,  are you willing to help your wives?

Photo by russelljsmith