First on my list is to LOSE WEIGHT....LOSE WEIGHT....LOSE WEIGHT...!!
Second - limit my rice intake which I know adds to the size of my waist (lol!)
Third - Religiously take calcium vitamins for my bones!
P.S.( and the 4th) - Do all the 3 resolutions above.!
This came from one of my contacts, Mike. We both worked together (Mike was a senior consultant while I was in marketing and customer relationship) for a top management consulting firm in Manila. Mike and family are now based in the West Coast. I like the beautiful message of this article and so I am sharing it here for my other contacts.
FAMILY
I ran into a stranger as he passed by, - “Oh excuse me please,” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too; I wasn’t watching for you”
We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home, a different story is told, how we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. “Move out of my way,” I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you
love, you seem to abuse.”
Go and look on the kitchen floor, you’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself in pink,
yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that
filled his little eyes."
By this time, I felt very small, and now my own tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; “ wake up, little one, wake up”, I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?” He smiled, “I found ‘em out by the tree.”
I picked ‘em because they’re pretty like you. I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Son, I‘m very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way” He said, “Oh Mom, that’s okay, I love you anyway.”
I said, “Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers especially the blue.”
FAMILY – Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working
For could easily replace us in a matter of days? But the family we left
Behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family.
An unwise investment indeed, don’t you think? So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
F-ather A-nd M-other I L-ove Y-ou
I received this article from a friend at work. I liked the message and so I am sharing it with my contacts.
"A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again..
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl . Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter . 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes a long their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!! " 
