Miscellany

• I would like to greet my husband, Yong, a very, very happy birthday! He just celebrated his birthday last Saturday, September 2. My very youthful husband is now thirty-something years old - and said his age stopped at thirty-three! Sige na nga! Haha! We, together with our kids, had lunch at Mizu, one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in town located at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug (my treat of course!). We all sang the birthday song to him and they gave us a free super yummy chocolate cake and 10% discount cards. Thanks to the friendly and efficient assistant manager and staff of Mizu, for making sure we had a wonderful time! They never fail to give us the best service whenever we treat ourselves to a meal at MIZU. We feel so at home there and the ambience is totally so inviting and relaxing but most of all the food is absolutely superb!

• Also, congratulations to Yong and his Sight First Clinics family on their 10th anniversary! More power and keep up the good work! J

• I would also like to thank Dr. Noreen Chua and Dr. Gemma Viola for taking care of my kids, Belle and Cian when they got this terrible flu three weeks ago and lasted for two weeks, which I also caught and still am trying to recover from. I am just so happy now that they are back to their usual jolly selves! J

• My apologies to Officer Ponay, the highest-ranking Asian officer of the StarCruises ship (who gave us a tour of the bridge when we were there) for misspelling his name as Officer Pono in my second article entitled Tsunami (part two). Sorry po, sir! Thanks again for your hospitality and our regards to all our kababayans on board your ship!

• And now, I would like to give importance to our readers and answer some of their emailed questions. I will try to do this whenever I can!

1. From Ann Marie Obsioma: Hi Ms Donna Cruz, happy to discover you're writing-and in The FREEMAN no less. After watching your pictures, I'm amazed how you've maintained your figure (actually I even think you're more slender now), even after two children! It's hard to imagine now that you had your share of "chubby days" - what's your slimming secrets? Share naman! Best regards, ANN

Thank you for the compliment, Ann! J I really don't know if my diet is something I would recommend for you. It might be too hard and unhealthy to follow but I'd share with you what I've been doing anyway. Just like all the other diets, you must have the discipline and motivation to succeed in losing weight. I would also advise you to check with your physician first if this is a suitable diet for you.

My diet is consists of boiled potatoes (sprinkled with salt substitute to taste) and ¼ slice of cantaloupe for lunch. Five to six fat-free or low-fat saltine crackers (the small ones) for snacks or merienda and sometimes if I do get hungry, I eat one small apple or 1 cup of fat free soya milk (I get it from Healthy Options in Ayala Mall) or skimmed milk. For dinner, one whole wheat bread (toasted) with cottage cheese and another 1/4 slice of cantaloupe or ½ cup of sliced carrots cooked in fat free spray. You could also alternate/substitute the cottage cheese with a can of tuna in water. I also add a cup of coffee to my diet twice a day after every meal (lunch and dinner) to boost my metabolism but one should do this only if you are used to drinking coffee. I am a coffee drinker and I have no problem doing this but for the non-coffee drinkers, you could substitute with a cup of tea. Again, I would like to emphasize that before you embark on any kind of diet (including this one!), you should consult your doctor first and check which one is suitable for you.

Another important tip is to drink a full glass of water before your meals. It will aid in digestion and help you feel full. You won't overeat following this tip. I followed this diet for two to three months and lost all the weight that I have gained during my pregnancies with Belle (where I gained 75 lbs!) and Cian (65 lbs!). I still do this diet whenever I feel that I am gaining so much weight already and would want to lose them fast. And as a reward, I have my pig-out days (Saturdays and Sundays), and that's when I eat anything I want so that I would not feel deprived at all.

But of course, if you want to lose weight faster, try to exercise at least 30 minutes a day (I, personally, am just too lazy to do this at this time but I know I will need to start exercising soon whether I like it or not because it is still the best and healthiest way to lose weight; and I am not getting any younger, my metabolism is getting slower na rin, gosh!).

2 From Mary Joy Bautista: Hi Donna, congrats on your new column! Anyway, I'm also a great fan of your cousins, Sheryl, Sunshine and Geneva. I've wondered before if there was any competition among you cousins considering all of you are very talented! Anyway, I hope you can also feature them in your column some day. Thanks!

Thank you for your interest in my cousins! Well, wonder no more Mary Joy, there isn't, and never has been, any kind of competition among us cousins, absolutely none! Kaming mga CRUZ, we stick together and stand by each other, through thick and thin! We just try to give our best in what we do. We actually support each other in our respective careers and even personal lives. I would love to feature my cousins and write an extensive article about them in the future! Thank you for your suggestion! J

• I would like to inform you that I have set up a new e-mail address where you could drop me a note. My new e-mail address is [email protected]. Thank you for all your encouraging emails and interesting reactions! Take care and God bless!