Exams are coming up and there are so many projects and activities that need to be accomplished. I still have to do the reviewers for the children.I also have some a lot of house chores to do and I hope I would not have to resort to having weight loss pills due to all the cooking I will do to be able to wear Christmas-y clothes. I have not done the tree yet as of today.

I am, however, optimistic that I can do this. Writing new posts about special education is long overdue and it is time I update.

And now on to do the dishes first! LOL.

Serotonin is said to be the happy hormone that helps to regulate moods, relieve depression and anxiety. It also helps you have a regular sleep pattern, among other things.

Food rich in trytophan help increase serotonin production in the body. Some of these food are: different kinds of cheeses (Swiss, cottage, provolone), bananas, yogurt, soybeans and soy products and seafood like tuna, clams and oysters.

Egg white, cheddar cheese, pork chops, lamb and potatoes on the other hand help you increase trytophan intake.

Anyway, back to the subject of happiness and setting limits, I agree and disagree with the speaker about setting limits on happiness.

When we set limits on happiness, we tend to be more comfortable with what we have and have no real nor immediate desire to have “things” just so we can be happy. There’s more to living a simple life than working too hard and too much to get that expensive bag or a car that’s not within the budget and not necessarily a need at the moment, are two examples I can give for this.

Sure, we may feel complacent if we don’t work harder to be able to afford little comforts (like those ann gish bed linens for your home’s beds) and luxuries (a cuppa of your favorite coffee) but if these wants are the end-all and be-all of what we work for, I don’t think we would be happy nor content at all.

On the other hand, why would we set limits on happiness based on these worldly things? There are so many things we can get our happiness pills from: being with family (of course, this is a source of great stress too), doing a stop-and-smell-the-roses actions, doing random acts of kindness and just being content and not wanting for more than you can bite are just a few suggestions.

One more thing, alcohol and excess caffeine interferes with your body’s ability to produce serotonin. So, there goes your “Happy Hour”

September was also a month that I missed a lot of deadlines and I know my ever patient editor must be clenching her teeth and slowly losing her patience with me (huwag naman please, ).

I even promised a dear friend an article about sun showers but I failed to deliver. I just visited one of the  blogs I own and saw that for last month, I only got 6 entries because the posts are still in the drafts. IN the drafts for several weeks already.

I still have the passion to write but after all these weeks, the writing muse is still nowhere to be found as of this moment. Or maybe there is hope because I was able to sit down to write this piece because the article before this was in the drafts for almost three weeks. Egad!

For the month of September( please don’t ask what happened to the daily gratitude journal, let’s not get into that, haha), I am grateful for:

• my family’s love, support, hugs and kisses

• mini-struggles that keep me on my toes day in and day out

• friends who make me smile and who give encouraging words whenever I feel the need to share my “load” of emo moments (if only I can afford to give you gold necklaces with pendants engraved: “I am a Patient Friend” I will do so)

• I am grateful to moms/readers of this blog who sent me emails about their children, trusting that I will help them in any way I can. I am deeply sorry for not answering your inquiries because it was only the other night that I got to read emails as far back as 2009. With that, thank you hubby for finally figuring out what was wrong why I can open these web mails: our ISP servers.

• I am forever grateful to my Papa’s cousin, Auntie Angie, for giving my parents a place to stay because our home’s roof has damage from previous typhoons. The roof is now completely damaged after Pedring came and went. I worry about how to help them financially but I know we will be able to find a solution to this.

There are so many things to be grateful for and I know just counting my blessings make me feel even more blessed. Now excuse me while I wipe away my tears first.

I’ve so many plans but I don’t know where to start. I’m afraid these plans would “rust” if I don’t do something. I’ll not be surprised if the best metal detectors will go ga-ga when these are used to scan me, haha.

I know I’ll get back “to the groove” in time.

I just need to curtail a bad habit that I have developed these past few weeks.

I’m slowly getting things in their proper perspective and I hope this will stay as such until I got enough self-control to do the things I need to do first before doing the less important things.

Procrastination is not something I am proud of. ‘Nuff said.

I feel that I have somehow lost sight of what I do best but I will just keep silent about what this is. I am focused on other things, mundane things that somehow make me feel “shallow” and at the same time happy. Accomplished? A bit but not really.

Earlier this year, I started picking up my needles, colorful threads and a white  linen fabric. After few Xs, I stopped. I told myself earlier on that I will finish this piece before the year ends. Well, we are into the end of the third quarter but I still have not picked up where I left off. This was a plan to take me away from being online

I started to write a plan for something I want to do in the near future but I lost inspiration. The plan is still “mentally embedded” in me (and hopefully will not be muddled, even if I have a mud mask on my fez, toinks) if there is such a thing.

I know if I don’t put these plans in writing, I will definitely forget. I usually sometimes forget what I’m supposed to remember because I have a lot of things going on that need my attention.

Last Saturday I got a call that somehow gave me a mental boost of energy and inspiration. Even if this proposal will not push through, I gained confidence that I need to start thinking about the mentally embedded plans.

Organized thoughts + well-thought of plans = success.

So, where is that notebook where I can write down my plans/notes and have these checked as they happen? 

1. Today, September 1,  I am thankful for… the keen observation of that little girl Caitlin who saw me waving my arms at the school bus so I can get my two little children home earlier than usual (hah! long story but that was an epic moment for me).
2. September 2: Today I’m thankful for being able to spend time with my mommy blogger friends as we learned new ways to prepare healthy food for the children, all courtesy of Active Fun. The kids got to play for free too!
3. September 3: Today I am thankful to a student, G, for the life lessons he learns from which I learn big time too. Taking a “sneak peek” into what he thinks makes me more conscious about how I am as a teacher and as a mom.
4. September 4: I am thankful for the time I get to spend with the family, yes, crunch time for review or not.
5. September 5: I am thankful for the “gift” of technology as I am able to do pages upon pages of reviewers without having to write these on papers.
6. September 6: Today I am thankful for my friend Ronald and his wife Gennell for dropping by our (chaotic home) and giving me a brand new pink and silver Hoopnotica hula hoop. Yes, I’m super happy! Wheee!
7. September 7: I am thankful for the chance to get to know my children through their notes, even if I have to stay till the wee hours of the morning to finish their reviewers. They appreciated the efforts and I hope they will do well in the tests.