Yipee! A Page Rank 2!

Yes, finally, this blog has gained a Page Rank 2! After months of going idle, I still can't believe that Phoebz Place is already PR2. Wow! What a surprise? Mr. Google's way of giving PR still amazes me. So now that this is PR2, I guess it's time to revive it.

So watch out for more entries to come!

Flexibility Exercises for Young Athletes

Before you participate in any type of sports and other athletic activities, you must first perform a set of flexibility exercises. This will not only help you improve your posture and physical performance but will also reduce muscle soreness and decrease risk of lower back pain and other injuries. Take note that the main goal of this set of exercises is to take your joints through a full range of motion so you’ll have more freedom of movement.

Young athletes should perform each of the exercises carefully, it does not matter how fast or slow it takes to finish the set. But make sure to warm up before performing any of these exercises. Some examples of warm up activities are walking for a couple of minutes and slowly jogging in place. After doing these, you are now ready to perform these flexibility exercises for young athletes.

1. Seat Straddle Lotus. To perform this, first sit down and then slowly place the soles of your feet together. Drop your knees towards the floor, place your forearms on the inside of your knees, and then push your knees towards the ground. After which, from the hips, you lean forward and then hold for about five seconds. Repeat this exercise three to six times.

2. Seat Side Straddle. Just like in the first one, again sit down; but this time, with your legs spread, placing your hands on the same ankle or shin. And then slowly, bring your chin towards the knee while keeping your leg straight. Now, hold for about five seconds. Repeat it three to six times, and then do it again on your other leg.

3. Seat Stretch. This is done by sitting with your legs together, while your feet are flexed and your hands are on your ankles or shins. Then slowly, bring your chin towards your needs, and hold for five seconds. Perform this exercise three to six times.

4. Knees to Chest. Do this by lying on your back, with your knees bent. Then, grasp the tops of your knees and bring them out towards your armpits, rocking gently. Just hold for about five seconds, and then repeat the exercise three to five times.

5. Forward Lunges. In this exercise, you need to kneel on your left leg and then place your right let forward at a right angle. Afterwards, you lunge forward while keeping your back straight. Hold for about five seconds, and then repeat the exercise three to six times. Do this also on your other leg.

6. Side Lunges. To do this, stand with your legs apart, and then slowly bend your left knee while leaning towards your left side. See to it that your back is straight as well as your right leg when performing this. Then, hold for five seconds. Now, repeat the exercise three to six times. After which, perform it on your opposite leg.

7. Cross-Over. As the name implies, simply stand with your legs crossed. Make sure to keep your feet close together and your legs straight when doing this. Then, slowly reach for your toes. Hold for five seconds. Now, repeat the exercise three to six times.

8. Standing Quad Stretch. To perform this, you need to stand supported by holding onto a chair or wall. Then, slowly pull your foot behind to your buttocks. Hold for five seconds. After which, repeat three to six times and then do it to your opposite leg.

I Wonder

Even if it's just a week since I gave birth, I couldn't help but open my laptop and do the usual stuff that I do - check emails, see my Facebook and Friendster accounts, be online in Yahoo Messenger and Skype 24/7, and of course, simply surf the Internet to search for friends and former classmates. I know it's not good for me to be back online this early, but believe me, I just couldn't help it - I breath the Internet and without it, I'd be dead in a minute. Just kidding.

But anyway, now that I'm back online, I wonder if there are people out there searching for me via the net. I know there are some, a few could be relatives from other places, one or two could be my ex, or perhaps a number could be my friends outside work or former colleagues and classmates. In Friendster, I can easily tell who's viewed me. But other than that, I have no clue. Good thing, there's MyLife, a site that allows people to know who are searching for them and find everyone they know. It's connected with popular sources like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So, if I want to know who's trying to look for me via the Net and find some long-lost friends, there's MyLife to the rescue.

Welcome Baby Gihan Raphael Paulo!

Hi everyone! It's been so long since I last updated this blog. I did take the bedrest seriously and control myself not to blog too much. Although the 2-month bedrest due to placenta previa felt like forever, it was all worth it now that I have already given birth to my baby via normal delivery. That's right! I was able to deliver normally since the placenta migrated prior to my due date. Unfortunately, baby did not reach full term; at 36 weeks and 1 day last September 25 at 2:50pm, out came Baby Gihan Raphael Paulo weighing only 5.06 lbs / 2.3 kilos. And although his lungs were already matured, he had to be in the incubator for 2 days because his heart rate was fluctuating. Plus, he also acquired the UTI (urinary tract infection) that I experienced during pregnancy, that's why he had to take antibiotics via injections for seven days. But according to his pedia, once he's done with this, he will be ok.

Anyway, without further ado, let me introduce to you my new bundle of joy - BABY GIHAN RAPHAEL PAULO!

Get Connected and Win

When I was young, I never got the chance to spend a vacation with my parents. It would have been really fun if we were able to join at least a summer camp together. But then, past is past. And so now, I'm concentrating on my own family. I want to make sure that when Daddy is here, we are able to spend quality time together. The only problem is that I'm not really familiar about the fun family events that happen in our area. If only there's a way for me to know, like those in the US, what events are coming up for the family to enjoy, it would have been less of a worry for me.

Okay, now I might have aroused your curiosity as to how can anyone from US know what fun family events are coming up in the area. It's through ParentsConnect.com widget - a cool new way to know what's going on all over the US. If you have a blog, simply install the widget on your sidebar, and that's it - everyday you can get yourself updated with what's going to happen in your area without so much fuss. And what's even more exciting about this is that it can even make you win $1000. How? When your widget gets the most views, a thousand bucks come your way. Isn't it amazing? Parents Connect doesn't just get you connected but allows you to win too. So, join now!

Pregnancy Update: 31 Weeks

I'm now in pregnancy week 31. If you'll ask how I am, well I'm doing fine. Although the bedrest is killing me softly, I still manage to survive day by day as long as my laptop is here to keep me occupied. I've been on bedrest for almost a month now, and believe me it's no fun at all. But what can I do, it's what my OB recommended since I had spotting a few weeks back. And with this placenta previa complication, it's really imperative that I follow her advice, or else.

So, what's with me and my baby on week 31? Well, the little one is doing great inside I guess. He still keeps doing his day and evening somersaults, and from time to time I could feel him bulge on one side and then on the other. I would even want to presume that he's having more fun while me here is having a really hard time coping with this bedrest until delivery.

Anyway, as for me, I don't eat a lot now, instead I drink more water to counter the UTI. I'm done with the medication since yesterday, and so I'm really hoping that on my next urinalysis, the UTI is already gone. With regards to my work, I'm coping as well with the work-from-home setup. Sometimes, I even feel like I'm just inside the office, chatting with my officemates regarding projects and other concerns. I'm really glad that I'm allowed to work-from-home or else I'll go crazy doing nothing in front of my laptop while on bedrest.

That's it for week 31. Due date is near and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a miracle will happen - and that baby will pull the placenta away from my cervix before my scheduled ultrasound 3 weeks from now.

Web Hosting and Me

I've been blogging for three years now, but only on a personal level, nothing really serious like niche blogging. Although I have friends who are already doing that and been encouraging me to do the same, I just can't find time to really focus on it since I find it hard to manage my time between work and looking after the kids and our new home. Maybe, just maybe, when I run out of job already, that's the time I'll take blogging into the next level - a niche blog with own domain name and webhosting.

As far as web hosting is concern, I've already found a site where I can check a list of web hosting service providers - it's Web Hosting Geeks. But mind you, they don't just provide a simple list at that. They rank them according to the features that each web host provides and they provide great web hosting reviews. So, if you are looking for webhosting like me, you'll find it very helpful in choosing which one best suits your needs.

Not only that, Web Hosting Geeks is also a very informative site as it provides articles about the basics of web hosting and more. It also includes a blog wherein you can find really interesting posts such as this: Six Essential Tips Towards E-commerce Success.

So, what else would you want to know about web hosting? Web Hosting Geeks has it all. And so, I'm really glad I found it.