Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo, Married in a Secret Wedding

MANILA, Philippines – After a year of engagement, celebrity couple Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo finally exchanged their “I dos" early Tuesday morning in a private wedding rites in a town in Batangas.

Kapuso host Suzi Entrata-Abrera said in a radio dzBB interview that Judy Ann and her boyfriend of four years tied the knot in a ceremony that started 6:30 a.m. in San Juan town in Batangas some 115 kilometers south of Manila.

“Sobrang ganda [ni Judy Ann]. Nagpalakpakan kami lahat. Naghiyawan kaming lahat. Para siyang diwata [She was so beautiful. We all broke into applause. She was like a fairy]," said Suzi, who had to skip today’s hosting job at GMA’s early morning show Unang Hirit to stand as a godmother for the couple.

Megastar Sharon Cuneta graced the aisle as the celebrity couple’s maid of honor. Also walking down the aisle was Judy Ann and Ryan’s adopted daughter, Johanna Lois or Yohan.

“Ang luha ng lola, talagang… Iyak siya ng iyak. Sobra siyang happy. Tapos si Ryan ang laki-laki ng ngiti niya [Judy Ann was in tears. She kept on crying. She was so happy. Ryan, meanwhile, wore a wide, wide smile]," Suzi said.

Only members of the couple’s families and their closest friends were invited to the white-emblazoned event. The couple’s parents attended the event, where Ryan’s brother stood as best man.

“Ginawa akong ninang kasi hinahangaan daw nila ang magandang pagsasama naming asawa [I was chosen to become a godmother because the couple apparently admired my relationship with my husband]," Suzi said, referring to her best half, Paulo Abrera.

The newly wedded couple and their guests then proceeded to a local resort for a breakfast reception. A second reception was to be held, still in Batangas, for invited guests who would be coming from Manila.

Lending their voices to the event were another celebrity couple songbird Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid, as well as singer actress Agot Isidro, who performed a song for the wedding march.

A separate report said security was tight in the area, with local authorities placing a cordon from the plaza extending to the church. Local residents flocked near the site after the couple were spotted arriving in the town last night in preparation for the big event.

South home

Earlier reports quoted renowned designer Paul Cabral as saying that Judy Ann had approached him to weave his touch on creating the actress’ wedding gown.

The couple had been keeping details of their wedding secret for the last few months, but reports started circulating and initially reported that it would be held some time in early May.

After the ceremonies, the couple promised to release photos of the wedding.

The couple had not only thought of southern Luzon as the venue for the wedding. Ryan, a native of Batangas, proudly shared in earlier interviews that they were considering purchasing a four-bedroom house south of Manila.

Rift

It was not immediately clear if Judy Ann’s longtime manager Alfie Lorenzo attended the event, but the latter had indicated he might be flying to the United States.

Judy Ann and Alfie, her talent manager for 20 years, had just gone out of a rift triggered by accusations that a certain “Atty. Agoncillo" had been “meddling" in the way how the actress' career had been handle.

Alfie also took seriously Judy Ann’s decision to exclude him in the planning stage of her wedding. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV

 

Remember That Hydration Helps

You know that drinking plenty of water can keep you healthy, but did you know it can also boost your slim-down efforts by improving the quality of workouts? If you're even mildly dehydrated, you won't have the energy or endurance to blast as many calories as you're capable of during your workout. The Best Life guidelines call for drinking at least 48 ounces a day, but be extra vigilant about your H2O intake on exercise days by following these tips.

Check the color of your urine. Rate the color on a scale of one to eight, with one being clear and fully hydrated and eight being yellow/brown, indicating dehydration. Aim for a one.

Drink before, during and after a workout. Before you begin your exercise session, drink eight ounces of water, then gulp about four to six ounces (about five to seven gulps) every 15 minutes during your workout. Afterwards, follow-up with eight ounces.

Pay attention to your body. Look for signs of dehydration, which include dry skin, dry mouth, chills, head rushes, and skin flushing. If you notice any of these during your workout, make sure to stop and sip.

 

Blame It On Bo Sanchez

Two days ago, I was reading Bo Sanchez’s Simplify and Live the Good Life. It had a chapter entitled Do What You Love and Get Paid for It. It starts off saying that we spend 60% of our waking moments doing our jobs, if we are unhappy with our jobs, it means we are unhappy 60% of our lives. Ha! That’s me! hahaha…I just love it, not very practical in these dire times though…

He said we needed to find our passion and connect it with our jobs. it affected me so much that I actually dreamt about it. I dreamt that I was offered this job ( I really can’t remember the nature of the job, even in my dreams I don’t know what to do with my life), and I happily accepted. I submitted my resignation (I was sooo excited) and left my job. When I showed up for my first day of work…hubby chose this opportune time to wake me up since it was morning already. ARGH! When I woke up I just couldn’t remember what it was like… what I did remember was that I felt disappointed with a slight hint of regret for deciding hastily. Hmmm. Is this a warning? Or just my fear of the unknown beyond our bank walls? Sigh…

 

The Power of Three

Here's a piece of advice you've heard before: Eat three square meals every day. No matter how many times you've received this bit of wisdom, it's still tempting to ignore this rule when you want to lose weight. Skipping a meal or eating only a low-calorie salad may seem like an easy way to cut 500 or more calories, but this approach always comes back to bite you. As the research shows, skimping on calories triggers a series of physical reactions that actually encourages weight gain. An eating schedule of three squares and a snack or two can help you drop pounds because it:

 

Quells appetite. Having a light meal (like plain toast and coffee or a green salad with low-fat dressing), or skipping it altogether may seem virtuous. But later, your hunger will come roaring to life and suddenly you'll devour everything in sight. Eating a complete breakfast (about 400 calories), an adequate lunch (at least 450 calories) and complete dinner (500 calories or more) about four hours apart prevents that dangerous hunger attack. And when between-meal cravings mount, a healthy snack does the trick.

 

May increase insulin sensitivity. Eating triggers the release of the hormone insulin, which aids in both burning and storing carbs, protein and fat. People who are insulin sensitive require only moderate amounts of the hormone. However, overweight and obese individuals often have lower insulin sensitivity, which basically means that the body must produce more insulin to do its job. In a series of studies at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, both obese and lean women went the three squares/two snacks route for several weeks and then tried a more erratic meal pattern. The first approach improved insulin sensitivity and lowered levels of harmful blood fats, while the erratic approach made things worse.

 

Speeds up metabolism. The Nottingham Study also found the three squares/two snacks schedule revved up the rate of calorie-burning after a meal. This "thermic effect" of food, as it's called, burns up about 10 percent of a meal's calories.

 

By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist

 

define : admonish, monitory, premonition

MONI comes from the latin word monere, “to warn” or “to scold”. Warning and scolding are often similar, since many warnings can be called “pre-scoldings”.

 

Admonish – to warn or criticize mildly.

 

The teacher admonished Bob, the talkative student who kept on chatting with his seatmate.

 

Monitory  - giving warning, cautionary

 

While the class listened, the teacher spoke to Bob in a monitory tone.

 

Premonition – a previous warning or notice; forewarning; a feeling about an event or a situation before it happens.

 

The students knew this situation could be a premonition of Bob’s grades for this grading period.

Happy April Fool's Day

Take care for today is April’s Fool’s Day. Today is the official feast day of practical jokers around the world…Be wary especially of those who borrow money…. *wink!*

 

The Boyet Fajardo Bruhaha...

Last March 13, 2009, Filipino Fashion Designer Angelino Boyet Fajardo  (his RTW labels include Substance in SM department stores, Boyet Fajardo and Initials in Landmark and Robinson's department stores.) created a scene, to the shock and horror of shoppers and employees of Duty Free Philippines alike, when a cashier politely asked for his ID after presenting his unsigned credit card. This is a standard operating procedure applicable to all stores to verify ownership of the credit card and prevent fraud.

 

Suddenly, the designer reportedly got furious and, at the top of his voice, started berating the cashiers and managers of Duty Free Philippines. He might have thought a celebrated person like he is, with all his accolades and fame, has gone unrecognized by the cashier. A new well-trained casual worker who is carefully doing his job. The designer further shocked bystanders by cursing the people there with words such as *toink* and p...ina, while angrily expressing surprise why the people there did not recognize him.

 

Store managers and officers were sought to appease the matter, explaining to him that it is all included as a standard operating procedure in credit card payment for the safety, not only for the company but also his own. Ignoring all this, he pulled out his phone and threatened to call on high positioned government officials whom he allegedly knew, like doing a power-play to make these people realize how important he is. He went on saying "Mga *toink* kayo! Hindi niyo ako kilala? Ako si Boyet Fajardo! At itong p...ina na babaeng ito (pointing to a lady officer) at ang baklang ito (pointing to the cashier) ay walang kwentang mga tao! I want them fired!!!"

 

His yelling and berating went on and on. He cannot calm down and as he appeared to have bloodshot eyes, like that of a drunk person and or under an influence. He threw his passport on the cashier's face and later intentionally stepped on the cashier's foot to say "Ay sorry, di ko sinasadya!" He goes on to say, that only if the cashier kneel down before him and/or allow him to freely slap the cashier's face, may he get satisfied.

 

The ill-fated cashier, with all the onlookers, stood down and just gave in to what he probably thought would end the matter. Crying in shame he slowly knelt down and apologized (for actually doing his job) before this self-proclaimed GOD, perhaps for fear of losing his job. No slapping was made to the cashier's face but the incident landed a harsher and reverberating sound to the faces of the lesser people of this society.

 

Fortunately, his inhumane acts were caught on CCTV in which a portion was featured in YouTube.

 

The next day as hubby and I were traversing EDSA, we saw a big billboard bearing his name. He has Aljo Bendijo and Dan Fernandez as models for his suit line… we thought the same thing… good luck with that! Hehehe…

HELPFUL TIPS AGAINST PHISHING

Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.  

Another way of phishing would be that where the user receives a spam email which appears to be a very genuine e-mail supposedly from his bank.  The email has no links to click or attachments to open; instead it’s just requesting the user to call a phone number and to speak with a customer service officer.  This phone number is NOT the bank's genuine phone; instead it is linked to a fake automated voice system set up by the phishers.  The user dials the number then an automated voice will answer requesting him to enter his account number and PIN and to select one of the options or to talk with a customer service officer.  That's it.  The phishers got your account number and PIN!!!  It is therefore of utmost importance that you know your Bank’s correct phone numbers.

For your further information and guidance, following are some things to remember when you receive a suspicious e-mail:

1.       Be wary of clicking any links in email messages.  Avoid clicking on any link on an email message unless you are very sure of the destination.  Phishing usually are links contained in email messages and when you click on the link it will often take you directly to a phony site where you could unwittingly input your personal or financial information.

2.       You can visit the Web site of the company from whom the e-mail appears to be from and take the time to notify them of the suspicious e-mail. Many companies do want to know if their company name is being used to try and scam people, and you'll find scam and spoof reporting links within some of these Web sites.

3.       Another important thing to realize is that no legitimate business will ever send an e-mail asking for sensitive personal or financial information. No legitimate company would do this unless they would be essentially giving its customers a heck of a good reason to take their business elsewhere! It's just bad business.

4.       Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

5.       Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer’s security.

6.       Do not enter personal or financial information into pop-up windows.  It is a common technique of phishing to launch a fake pop-up window when someone clicks on a link in a phishing email message.  To make the pop-up window more convincing it will be display in a window you trusted. In any case do not input personal or financial information into the pop-up windows since you cannot validate the security certificate of the pop-up windows.  Please close it immediately by clicking on the X button on the upper right hand window.

 

7.       Always check for the security certificate when entering sensitive information on a web site.   Before entering any sensitive information on a web site, check on the security certificate. You can check Security certificates by looking into the yellow lock on the lower right of the status bar of your internet explorer (similar to figure below). If the lock is closed this signifies that the web site is using encryption to protect you when you enter sensitive information onto the web site.  This symbol may only be present when the web site is requesting you for your information.  Unfortunately even the lock icon can be fake.  So to increase your safety double click on the lock icon on the lower right corner of your internet explorer (see figure below), it will display the security certificate of the site.  The name following issued to should make the name of the web site, if the name didn’t make it means that it is a fake web site or spoofed.

 

8.       Do type URL addresses directly into your browser or use your personal bookmark.  If you need to update account information or your password type the URL address directly in the URL address box similar to the figure below.

 

“The more awareness people have about these malicious scams, the better off we all will be.”