GottaLoveMom

  Happy New Year! Here are a few Filipino New Year's Eve traditions , folk beliefs or superstitions: For Good Fortune: Round things or shapes are a symbol of luck and good fortune. 1) Wear polka dots or clothing with circles or round shapes.  2) Put coins in the corners of your house 3) Fill your pockets with coins and money 4) Serve a variety of food and fruits that are round-shaped For Good Vibes 1) Clean/dust your home before ringing in the New Year 2) Open doors and windows and turn on the lights 3) Make a lot of noise to welcome the New Year: (You can bang on the pans and pots, or ring the bells) For Fun ( to grow taller and stronger) Jump as high as you can when the clock strikes 12. Enjoy your Media Noche ( New Year's Eve midnight dinner) with your loved one. Wishing you all peace, laughter, good health, joy and love in the New Year!

  Our mind and body have a way of informing us when we need a lazy weekend to do absolutely nothing, and it’s surprising to realize that:  Laziness and doing nothing regenerate your interest in doing something . The past couple of years, we have been reminded to Live your best life , Stop dreaming about your bucket list and start living it   and to Live your life like it’s your last .  The last one usually hits close to the heart, especially when you are at an age when your peers and loved ones face their own mortality. “Living your life like it’s your last ” paves the way for us to fill our short term goals with a list of activities that include our road to healthy living, travel adventures to instagram-worthy places , the many books to read, new skills to explore, and plethora of steps we take to experience the joys and challenges of life. However, what we seem to forget is to allot time to hit the brakes and do nothing. And I don't mean to travel miles to do noth...

"Your expertise and professionalism is just the start. What keeps me committed every weekday 11+  weeks later is your commitment to us to keep us healthy and sane.  Your positive attitude and great laugh start my pandemic day right!"   ~ Local Mom, age 51 ** Local Mom has attended FREE Fitness Escape Classes for Advanced/Intermediate classes since Day 1. I'm so proud of your commitment - perfect attendance! Local Mom, thank you for being my workout buddy 5 days a week, for 11 weeks (and counting) .  Every day for 11 weeks now, I've been hosting 2 30-minute Live Stream Virtual Fitness Classes for Advanced/Intermediate and Beginner/Seniors.  On April 20,  we've partnered with PAFCOM-NJ and Horizon BCBSNJ to bring home fitness to a larger audience. Today marks the end of week 11. This week ( just like last week, and the weeks before) is emotionally overwhelming. We have feelings that are difficult to process, difficult to comprehend, diffi...

The CDC guidelines on how to protect ourselves from Coronavirus (Covid-19) seem to evolve every month.  We are all learning how to stay healthy and help others to stay healthy. According to CDC's website , to protect ourselves and others we should  understand how it spreads,  wash our hands often, avoid close contact (social distance or stay at least 6 feet apart), cover coughs and sneezes, clean and disinfect, monitor your health and wear fabric face masks .  Aside from social distancing and wearing face masks, the other guidelines are something we should have been abiding to stay healthy regardless of the pandemic. My 76 year-old mom, in order to stay busy during the pandemic, started sewing fabric facial masks. We got the pattern and fabric requirements from the CDC website. Ever since face masks were required when entering stores, my husband and I when we walk to town,  we put on our face masks when we encounter people on the street and when ...

SHOCK. RAGE. GRIEF. FEAR. ANXIETY CONFUSION. BETRAYAL. SADNESS. I've been struggling on what to write since I watched the news video about the murder and death of George Floyd.    I won't pretend to fully comprehend or be the source of truth on what happened and the events that transpired since. As I wrote on Instagram: My heart is overflowing with emotions. I do not know how to process except to cry, be angry, pray, offer our deepest sympathies -- to LISTEN and LEARN from others on what we can do to help and support. Yesterday, my family sat down and talked about the death of George Floyd in ,   Minneapolis, Minnesota, the death of retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn   the protest, the riots and the damages done to small businesses. WHY do these events (keep) happening? How can we be part of the change? Can we change the system? How do we help solve social imbalances, injustices, violence and racism? Can we really all come together...