July 26, 2016

Unboxing ASUS Zenfone Selfie


This is the 2nd ASUS product that I will share - a cell phone.

I am not into a high-end gadgets that most of my phone lasts for years before I change into a new unit. The last time I had a new phone, or should I say we - Mommy and me, was almost two years ago.

Last week, I asked Mommy if she wanted to have a new tablet. She declined and pick a new phone instead. This is part of an anniversary gift for her. Then she asked me if I wanted to have a new gadget too. I simply smiled with bright eyes which means definitely YES.

ASUS Zenfone Selfie

Just like what I said, I am not considering if the gadget is in high-end, pricey, or cozy. As long as the specifications are great I can live with it. When it comes to brand, I want to try other brands instead of having the same brand so I can also compare and will make me help decide what brand to buy next.

With all the choices I ended picking the ASUS Zenfone Selfie.

Here are the features that helped me decide to pick this phone.

Storage
ASUS Zenfone Selfie has a huge internal memory of 32GB (expandable up to 256GB via a memory card). This storage capacity is already enough for me to save music, movies, photos and install games.

Camera

Rear Camera with Dual-tone LED Flash
The Asus Zenfone Selfie has a 13MP with led flash, both rear (f/2.0, 28mm,laser autofocus, dual-LED flash) and front f/2.2, 1080p, autofocus, dula-LED flash), which makes you not to worry what camera are you going to use especially when taking selfies.

Front Camera with Dual-tone LED Flash

Processor
ASUS Zenfone Selfie is powered by Android Lollipop 5.0.2 and 3GB RAM and 1.5GHz Octa-core processor making is faster compared to my old unit. According to some articles this can be upgraded to Adroid 6.0 Marshmallow.

Screen
ASUS Zenfone Selfie Screen (Tempered glass screen protector not included)
The 5.5-inch (1080x1920 pixel) display screen is vivid which allows you to enjoy viewing photos as well as watching movies.

Battery
The ASUS Zenfone Selfie comes with a removable 3000mAH lithium-polymer battery. This means that you are going to enjoy more time with your phone before needing a recharge. For example, a 12% remaining in the battery can last up to about 5 hours idle time.

Speaker

Speaker
Since I love listening to music, a gadget giving a nice sound is perfect during sound trips.

Price
For a special offer of 10,995 pesos, you can already have this ASUS Zenfone Selfie. A savings of 2,000 from the original price. I got this from Memoxpress, SM Marilao Branch.

ASUS Zenfone Selfie (Backview)

I will make a post on Mommy's new gadget soon.

Do you own ASUS Zenfone Selfie too?
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July 21, 2016

My Weight-Loss Goal Update


One of my goals this year and previous years is to loose some pounds. I weighed about 190 pounds (about 87 kilos), thirty pounds greater than my target weight – 160 pounds (about 70 kilos).

My average weight
During the first month, I have been struggling and trying different but healthy ways. I tried the modified military diet which limits the amount of daily calorie intake but it seems to fail because I started craving for more food. So I stopped my journey on hitting my goal. Instead of losing weight, I gain more pounds.

But I continue to pursue my goal. Now, I weigh 168-172 pounds (about 76-78 kilos). Konting effort na lang to hit my target numbers. By the way, I am not the only one who shed pounds but Mommy too.

I can already wear some of my shirts and even pants that have been kept in the closet for a long time.

Here are some ways that I think helped in putting me close to my target.

Less rice.
Limiting, not eliminating, rice intake made a great impact on achieving my goals. From the usual 2 cups of rice, or even more kapag gusto ko ang ulam, gradually decreases to 1 ½ to a maximum of 1 cup especially on dinner. 

Now, I am consuming one cup of rice for breakfast, three-fourths for lunch, and a half for dinner.

I did not remove rice in my meal because according to some nutritionist, you need to sustain it or else it will make you gain more weight when you go back to the normal diet.

Balanced meal.
Balance meal for me does not mean that every meal should be complete with meat and vegetables. I just make sure that whenever I take meat on one meal, I have veggies on the next one, or vice-versa.

For example, if I have chicken afritada for lunch, I make sure that our dinner is veggies like pinakbet or chopsuey.

Fruits.
Sometimes, I used to replace my usual snack with fresh fruits. An apple or a banana is a good alternative for bread.

Less soda or fruit juices.
We know that soda and ready-made fruit juices are high in sugar. If not burned, it will turn into fats. 

Again, i did not omit these items in my meals, I just lessen it. Whenever I crave for these, I drink a glass or lesser just to satiate my taste buds. 

Green tea and lots of water.
Normally, I drink a cup of coffee with my breakfast. I replaced it with green tea since I am having a cup of coffee during our break time. I think this one made an impact in reducing my belly area.

Taking 8-10 glasses of water is not only essential in our system but water has zero calories so it is safe to drink more than the recommended amount especially on hotter days.

Exercise.
After a month of modifying my food intake, about 10 pounds were shed on my weight. This motivates me to continue what I am doing.

This time, I included daily routine exercise like abdominal crunches and weight lifting to tone my arms and tuck my tummy. But adding these activities might slow down weight loss because of gaining muscles.

Losing weight needs a lot of discipline but it does not mean to starve yourself. You can eat whatever you want but still in moderation.

What is the status of your weight-loss goal?
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July 18, 2016

Why Do I Play Clash Of Clans?




Clash of Clans is an online strategy game wherein you need to build a great base against the attackers. The is will be composed of defenses, training barracks, storage facilities, defense walls, town hall and clan castle.

Troops will be trained in the barracks using elixirs – dark and pink. On the other hand, defenses and buildings will be purchased using gold coins. Defenses and troops should be upgraded to attain a maximum defense and troops for attacks.

There are two categories in the Clash of Clans. The multi-player and the war. For the multi-player, this is being used to attack farm bases to gain trophies which will put you in a league. The war  game is the main a battle between members of another clan.

I was introduced to this game by my sister and brother in law.

At first, I am keeping the application on my phone since Mommy wouldn’t allow me to play this game. Maybe she is reading different articles that besides the game, there are some “evils” behind.

Others said that they are spending lots of money to buy gems for them to upgrade the base faster.

Or should I say, she is also afraid that Matthew might learn to play this game and will prioritize it than his studies? We used to hear that there are kiddos as early as 10 already play this game.

Good thing Matthew told us that he will never play this game because he doesn’t know how.

But lately, I was allowed to play Clash Of Clans.

Why I play this Game?

Mental Exercise.
By playing Clash of Clans, you are going to work you brain as fast as you can. After declaring an attack for the multi-player game, you are given 30-seconds allowance to think where to attack to get the most gold coins and elixirs. On the war mode, you are given 24 hours to study your opponent’s base.

Aside from the battle, you need to think how you are going to construct your base that will give the best defense against attackers.

Socialize.
Just like other applications, there is also a chat box where you can talk with other members of the clan. Ask for help on how to perform best in war, what troops would be used, what structures you should upgrade first and other even non-clash-of-clans topics.

Time Killer.
There are times that I don’t have something to do and I can’t even think of one. I spend my spare time playing Clash of Clans. Attacking will only spend few minutes and you need to wait for next few minutes to train your troops. During that time, I can already think of something to do and will forget to play until I got another spare time.

Stress-reliever.
After work and during lunch breaks, I used to play Clash of Clans as sort of relieving the stress being encountered. Kahit papaano, it will keep you free from work mentally even for a short time.

These are the main reasons why I am playing this games.

Though there are articles regarding negatives of Clash of Clans, I find no harm in playing this game. All you need is discipline.

Do all your chores and responsibilities, at home, work or school, first before grabbing that device and start playing. If you cannot do this rule, better stay away from it.

Do you play this game too?
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July 15, 2016

Paalam Nanay


The past week has been one of the most difficult stages of our life especially Mommy’s. Her greatest mentor has finally joined our Creator.

I know Mommy shared a lot of things about her. How her strength weakens because of her sickness but now I know she was in a place where pain is no longer felt.

Though Mommy has already known this will happen on what she has observed, I know she was still in grief and asking why it happened so soon.

I am not a poet nor a writer but let me share something I made:


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July 7, 2016

Making the Most of Your Garden this Summer


It is rainy season here while in some countries is time for winter or summer. A few months ago I started planting string beans. At first, it was growing nice but week after the sprout started to emerge, it suddenly started to grow “malnourished”.  Though the soil is very fertile, I figure out that it was placed in our small backyard wherein limited amount of sunlight. Then the plant started to wilt. 

My Mini-Garden
I decided to grow another one using recycled plastic bottles as pots and will be placed on the rooftop of our kitchen where an ample amount of sunlight will be received and during rain, it will get enough water too.

Having greens at home either ornamental or edible will give a lot of benefits to us. It gives oxygen, relaxation due to the green environment and food if you are planting veggies.

Here are some tips on you can grow your own garden at home.

Gardening is one of the many activities homeowners enjoy; namely during the summer months where you can choose from a variety of plants to add to the garden. Regardless of your limitations on space, how little time you have, or what your budget is, there are a few simple tips which can help you in making the most of your garden this summer and yielding a great harvest you can enjoy during the warm summer months. 

Maximizing returns. 
In order to maximize returns, regardless of whether you are growing a harvest to cultivate, or plants to spruce up the appearance of the garden area, you need to properly care for your garden. To see max returns you must grow high yielding varieties, water, and sow efficiently, and work in succession in the garden routinely, in order to see your efforts pan out. 

Go with perennials. 
In addition to adding a bright pop of green to any space, perennials are easy to grow and require very little work in any garden. Fill spaces with these crops, and choose items such as rhubarbs, plant based veggies, and varieties which require little to no water in order to blossom and grow. 

Harvest for years.
There are a number of vegetable based plants you can plant once, which will cultivate and grow for years to come. Asparagus is one such variety. Choose this, and other simple varieties which are simple to grow, require little space, and will maximize your garden annually, with little to no effort. 

Of course you need to add in items you love to look at. But, if you are new to gardening a novice, or simply have limited time and resources (space or financial) these are a few simple tips to ensure a thorough harvest, continual growth, and beautiful development during the summer, and months to follow. For more ideas on how to make the most of your garden then summer visit Gardenflame.

Do you have your own garden at home?
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July 2, 2016

Movie Sharing: Miracles From Heaven


I haven’t shed tears before when until I watched this movie.

This movie was shown a few months ago. I read a lot of good reviews on this one so I decided to have a copy and watch it.

This movie is based on a true-to-life story of a girl who has been diagnosed to have intestinal disorder wherein the entire lower part of the digestive system has been paralyzed and loss its capability to digest food.

Their faith will be tested and will prove that miracles happen in our daily lives without knowing it.

Photo Source

Last Sunday, I finally got a chance to view this movie and here is the synopsis:

Christy and Kevin Beam had three daughters named Abby, Anna, and Adelynn. Their family is very active in the church. But one day, Anna started to threw-up. Her tummy started to swell and every now and then hurts that she cannot bear it.

The couple decided to take her in a hospital. The first doctor said that it was just a lactose intolerance. But they don’t believe it so they asked for a second opinion and keep on searching for the correct diagnosis until one of the doctors told them that Anna is suffering from intestinal motility disorder.

They were also advised to bring Anna to Boston and look for Dr. Nukro. However, they need to have an appointment with Dr. Nurko but months passed, they still got any news about their appointment. This makes Christy decide to fly to Boston and try their luck.

At the hospital, Christy tried talking to the receptionist to give them spot even they did not have any appointment with Dr. Nurko. Unfortunately, the receptionist told her that she was just new on the job and she needs it so she only follows the rules.

After the hospital, Christy and Anna dined in a restaurant and there they meet one fo the waiters named Angela. Angela offered them to take a tour at Boston until Christy received a call from the hospital that they are given a slot for Dr. Nurko.

Anna was given medications but needs to have a check-up every 6 months because the drugs may have adverse effects on Anna.

Christy started to loose her faith and never attended the church again.

In one of their hospital visit, Anna met a new friend named Haley. She was her roommate suffering from bone cancer. Anna told her that she was not afraid to die because of her faith.

Returning to Texas, Anna’s sister Abby asked her if she wanted to climb the old cottonwood tree in their yard. This is the tree that they used to climb before. However, an accident happened when the branch they sit started to crack. Abby asked anna to reach the trunk but she fell inside the 30-ft tree.

After she was rescued, Anna’s condition miraculously changed. Her tummy started to become small and never complain about the pain even she did not take medications.

They went back to Dr. Nurko which won’t believe how it happened to Anna. All he can say is that her nervous system might have been reset after she fell inside the tree.

Christy and Kevin had a conversation with Anna. The kid told the couple that she had talked to God. While inside the tree, she saw herself lying down. She followed a white butterfly to a place where she was alone but felt very safe. She talked asked God if she can stay but it wasn’t her time. She needs to come back and promised to be healed.

Before the end of the film, the Beam Family attended the church where Christy speaks of miracles. However, one fo their churchmates questioned her that is it really true about Anna’s condition. It might just a way to caught attention or publicity.

Suddenly, a man stood and told everyone that it was true. She saw Anna’s condition while in Boston. He also told that before they met Christy and Anna, they don’t have that faith in their hearts. The man was Haley’s father. He also stated that Haley died peacefully because of having faith in her heart.

The movie ended the Beam family eating pizza in the yard.

Truly that miracle happen to us every day without knowing it.

Aside from the story, I love one of the soundtracks of the movie entitled “Collide”. This was being played during Christy and Anna’s flight to Boston.

I guess this song is also great played using digital pianos. Find the yamaha p105 at MF. Do you think the song will play good with this instrument? and Do you think the song is good played in acoustic?

Have you seen this movie too?
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