Yes, I am reading again. And surprisingly enough, I am reading novels. I say surprisingly because it’s been a long time since I was enamored with fiction.

The last time I read a novel non stop was during my Twilight obsession. I read all four books in a span of a week I think. More often than not though, I usually favored personal development and self help non – fiction because I found them practical and well, helpful.

But now that I am aiming to do things simply for the sheer enjoyment of it, I found myself reading novels again just for the adventure.

I’ve already finished “Before Ever After” and now I’m halfway through “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” I am so in love now with the time travel – love story – immortal plot. I’m actually already thinking of what book I should read next.

One book down in one month is something I would consider an accomplishment. The only thing I have to deal with are the slight headaches which means I definitely have to use my reading glasses again. Hello Lola.

It’s the fourth week of January, how have you been?

As you can imagine, it has been a whirlwind of events since November what with the holidays and my training. December seemed to whiz by so fast filled with food, presents, kids toys, and more food.

And I am grateful our 2012 was off to a good start. We celebrated the New Year quietly, simply valuing the fact that we are all together and everyone in the family is healthy, happy and loved.

I just thought of dropping by and dusting off this blog a bit. This is my busiest week so far and I should be sleeping. But blogging is my therapy and I want to empty my head so I can keep my focus and my sanity.

I’ve set my goals for this year and one of my major themes is to do what feels good to me. Do more of the things that I enjoy.

I’m acting by inspiration and I am loving every minute of it.

I know they’re not the healthiest food in the world, but I like eating turkey spam. They actually taste good enough for breakfast, especially if you pair it with scrambled eggs and steaming hot rice.

That kind of spam I like.

But there are two kinds of spam, I really dislike: email spam and comment spam.

The email spam, I am kind of used to. While some spam mails can sneak into my inbox from time to time, Gmail has some good filters in place which minimizes the headache of deleting them.

As for the comment spam, well they’ve gotten smart. I read comments in the queue that seem to be made by real persons with real sounding names. Some of the comments even look intelligent. But when I check their website link, I see the usual sites that promote viagra and some other weird sounding meds. I guess we all know what that means.

Sometimes I am more lenient like when the links lead to websites about handmade crafts or free dating tips or some other harmless topic. But they are more the exception than the norm.

I appreciate everyone who comes to my site whether it was intentional or accidental, I appreciate the ones who comment even more. But if you’re going to link to a spam site, do yourself and me a favor and just comment somewhere else.

I like eating spam but I don’t like reading it.

Getting better…, a photo by jaymegatbonton on Flickr.

My little girl got coughs and needs a whole lot of TLC to get better. Grateful I can be here to take care of her.

Wasn’t she amazing? I had goosebumps while watching this talented girl’s video.

When I watch singers and performers, I always think how pretty straightforward their career path seems. You know how to sing and you do it well, you become a recording artist.

Same goes with the medical fields. You study medicine and you become a doctor. You study optometry and get optometrist jobs.

I have a degree in Journalism and it seemed I should have worked as a newspaper reporter. But I ended up in TV, which is still related though it doesn’t really involve a lot of writing.

After nine years of being in TV, I find myself being drawn by another calling.

I’ve always wanted to be a trainer. It took me this long to finally pursue it and I’m glad I finally am. It’s humbling to start again from the ground up but I am all for growing and stretching yourself.

I am even more grateful to my ever loving hubby who is supporting me through this process.

I feel this is what I am meant to do and I know this is worth it.

Have you found what you are meant to do?

I’ve been working on a new project and it’s almost near completion. But wow, Stress with a capital S.

I’m fairly relaxed whenever I work but sometimes, just sometimes, something just ticks you off and makes you want to stand on top of a mountain and scream just to let go of all that pressure.

Then again, maybe a whole day of relaxation will do. Give me a hot tub, some himalayan bath salts, scented oil and rose petals, and I’ll slip off to lala – land for awhile.

I take comfort in the fact that it’s almost over. And I’ve got my three angels all around me making the effort worthwhile. Carry on!

“You can almost tell from the beginning, who will make it to the top. They’re the ones who are committed. They show up on time. They deliver.”

I was talking to a psychologist the other week and it was interesting to hear her observations of people who come and go in her office.

We were discussing schedules for one of her patients who couldn’t show up for an important appointment because of a leisure trip. Though R did complete the first requirement (she couldn’t get life insurance with no medical exam), she bailed on all other schedules and saved them for the last minute.

“If you really want it so bad, you’ll do everything and sacrifice some things to make it happen.”

The psychologist said people who have a strong desire to achieve a goal take things seriously. They don’t just get by, they exert all their efforts to succeed even in the littlest things.

The question is: how badly do you want it?

Sort of. I was called in to help organize schedules for a major production — something that will test my time and document management skills. It’s fairly easy since I’ve done this sort of thing before.

But this means I have to go to the office on certain days of the week. Good thing, most schedules are arranged after lunch so I can still oversee Jamaine’s preparations before she goes to school. That has always been my main concern with any work that I take on.

I never thought I’d miss going to the office. But I actually missed it a little bit. I like working at home, but it’s nice to dress up and go out once in a while. It’s also nice to meet up with people whom I used to work with.

But I think I’ll never return to regular work again. At least, that’s what I feel at the moment. I like being able to control my time and my income potential.  It’s not always as easy though, but freedom is worth it.

“Mommy, look at my latest invention.”

Jamaine leads me to the table covered with a blanket and unveils her creation — different blocks stacked and grouped together. Well, at least that’s what it looked like to me.

“Let me guess, those are metal buildings in a big city.”

“No, this one’s a key. This one’s a present. And this is my new friend Guli.”

And when I did take a closer look, the blocks did look like Jamaine imagined them to be.

If there’s one great lesson I learn from my kids everyday, it’s  to use your imagination. If you ever need a boost in creativity, hang out with a kid. They’ll teach you how to think out of the blocks. I meant, out of the box.

That’s my note to self for the past weeks.

In the process of building an online business, it’s tempting to try anything and everything to make it work. You see other people making money doing this and that, and you think you should do it too. But oftentimes, you end up trying too hard because you don’t really know or like what you’re doing. You get analysis paralysis and end up getting nowhere.

Just because someone made money selling an echo leaf blower doesn’t mean you should do the same, unless you’re really passionate about cleaning up leaves.

Why not try out your idea first? Do something you know and like doing. When it makes money, then you’ve hit the jackpot If it doesn’t, fail fast and try again. The most important thing is to keep moving forward in the direction you want to go.