Wish List

I know it's just October but I am already getting ready with my Christmas Gift List. Every year I find it harder to find gifts. Kids grow so fast that you worry whether their going to like your gift or not. They do not like toys anymore. It is a challenge for me and I welcome it.

My Hubby is not like me. He would probably suggest buying shirts for male teens and blouses for female teens to make shopping easier. I like surprises. I hope I can do a better job hunting for gifts this year than last year. As for my hubby, driving to where I want to go and carrying my shopping bag will be his contribution. Sounds fair to me.

Weekend

We spent weekend at the mall. My kids were really insistent on riding the ferris wheel. I was hesitant at first knowing how my son would react after realizing that he is not enjoying the ride.

I guess I was wrong because he enjoyed the ride with his sister... smiles and all.
It is fun watching your kids getting along and having fun. I also had a fun taking their pictures using my hubby's mobile phone.
Until next weekend. Hugs!

Random Mobile Phone Pictures

Random pictures taken from the streets of Metro Manila and etc...

traffic jam

rain gear

sunrise

improvised jeepney driver's fan

restaurant's interior

ice cream with no cone... in case you are wondering, that is caramel

Livelihood Training Demo

While waiting for my son at school, I was invited to join a livelihood training demo. I did not refuse. I have two hours to kill.

Below are pictures of the demo. This first one was chicken ham.

We were taught how to make embutido and we were given the chance to wrap it up. It was fun.

My two hours was not wasted and I enjoyed the demo. I believe they had other sessions as well but I was not able to attend anymore.

Kyle's First Day In School

I always hear him say "I do not want to go to school" every time I ask him if he wants to. That has changed. Although it's already late, I still enrolled him.

Here are some of his pictures while waiting for his school service.

I enjoyed watching him get excited over going to school. How early he prepared for school and all.

He knew nobody in class so he called them friends. He was nice to all and I never saw nervousness in him. He was very comfortable and did not mind not seeing me for at least 2 hours. Other kids would want their moms sitting in. Kyle did not require such. I'm so proud!

Major, Major Thanks To Venus Raj

Most people say that Venus Raj should've been more creative with her answer. Some say that she should've given her "title-stripping" issue as an answer . I could agree more, but hey, she bagged 4th runner up. Not bad at all. At the end of the day, she still brought honor and pride to our country considering what happened the day before the pageant. I am already happy with what she achieved.

Here is a link of her thank you message.

Better Late Than Never

Kyle always says that he does not want to go to school but that changed more than a week ago. My son finally agreed to go to school. I was the one who got excited for his decision. I enrolled him at Day Care center since her sister's school will not accept him anymore.


It is an afternoon class and it's only for 2 hours. Not bad. He started yesterday.


Two days before his first day at school, I took him shopping for uniforms, shoes, socks and everything that is in his "to bring" list. I was so glad that he was so cooperative the whole time. I guess he was excited too.


I hope he'd become enthusiastic with schooling just like his sister.

Advanced Math Lessons

Going to school was never an issue with my daughter. Never did she tell me that she does not want to go to school anymore and I am very thankful for that.


Last week, she handed a paper from school asking if I want to let my daughter join a Saturday class for advanced Math. I did not ask her but she mentioned right away that she wanted to join when she handed me the paper. I did not say "no" of course.


It was her first Saturday Math class today. The program will run for six Saturdays. It aims to provide students the opportunity to do mathematics with some explorations without the threat of tests.


I am very happy for her enthusiasm to learn. I hope it will go on until she finishes college.

Boodle Fight!

I was invited to a party where I met two exchange students from Hongkong and Czech Republic. Martin is from Czech Republic and Laam Laam is from Hongkong.

We ate at a restaurant where boodle fight is their specialty. Boodle fight is eating using your bare hands with your food served on banana leaf.

It was Laam Laam's and Martin's first time eating boodle. It was fun teaching and watching them eat without utensils.

See you next weekend, guys! Hugs...

Paparazzi

My friends (Gossip Girl) and I had our weekend in Subic. Thanks to our hosts Joy and Mark for the warm welcome. We enjoyed it so much and we really had a great time. Hugs!

The pictures below looked like it was taken by a paparazzi...so candid. I love it! Great job, Mark.

Again, thanks to Joy and Mark. Til my next post!

Kayol: Pain In The Butt!

You like saying "pain in the butt" and we know that you do not know what it really means. I hope you do not become one. I promise that Dad and I will do our very best to provide you with anything you need. We may not be able to provide all your wants but I assure you son, we will try. Dad and I will support and guide you. We will let you decide for your future. I have plans for you but I am very sure that you will have yours too. It will be a decision for you to make...no pressure from Mom, promise! Remind me of this blog if I start to :)

You just turned four yesterday and I know you do not understand what I have written here just yet but I want you to know that Dad, Mom and Ate loves you so much. Our love for you will never end. I hope you grow up as a responsible, God-fearing, humble and honest man.

Mom may not always be there but I will always pray for you and your Ate. Happy birthday baby boy!

I love you Kayolie! Hugs!

Table For Six, Please...

The rain was pouring hard but there was no sign of backing out from any of us. No one is calling asking to postpone the dinner, and I guess no one will. After all we are not sure when this kind of gathering will happen again. I am going to meet friends whom I haven't seen for almost a decade, except for Maricel. The last time I saw her was more than five years ago. It was my daughter's birthday.

Maricel is now a flight attendant. She is married to Francis Sioson, her long time boyfriend. They have one daughter.

Maricel and I decided to meet at my work and we were fetched there by Dwight who is still very single. Dwight is currently a Manager at a Medical Insurance company in Makati. He looked very stunning in his work outfit, I must say. We drove to Greenbelt and met Tine there.

Tine was with her lovely daughter who was very polite. Tine is now enjoying being a stay-home-mom. She also has a 6-month old baby boy. They are all waiting for their petition.

We decided to have dinner at a Filipino restaurant called Sentro. We waited for Lloyd who I think, never aged. He still looked the same, well, except for the hair. LOL! Lloyd is now in the BPO industry.

We ate, talked and laughed. The mood was very festive just like the food. It was really fun looking back...who dated who, who had a crush on whom, who ended up with whom, how we looked like wearing our uniform which we never really liked and of course we talked about our teachers and sorry, but I am not going into the details about the teachers...hahaha

Lloyd had to leave after the dinner because duty calls. Booooooooo! We concluded the night at Via Mare oyster bar. We had a few drinks and continued gossipping until we decided to go home because it was already dawn. I had a blast and I really enjoyed the evening. I hope Grace will be with us next time.

Yes, I'm Thirty!

It was my 30th birthday yesterday but there was nothing grand. It's enough that I have my family to celebrate it with. I am also grateful for having wonderful friends and I want to thank all those who remembered. I love you all!

This is not a speech nor a "Thank You" letter. LOL! What I really wanted to show is the food I got from Mama (Cagayan Valley) when she arrived yesterday. She is always sending/bringing us food even if there is no occasion. She sends it through a provincial bus then my husband fetches the "box" from the bus station.

Inside the box are local delicacies like suman and bibingka. Our own version of suman is triangular but it is also wrapped in banana leaf. We call our bibingka "royal bibingka" because it really is special--I was not able to take a picture of it though.

Mama also brought pop rice which is my daughter's favorite and longanisa which my husband and my mother-in-law really loves.

Cagayan's longanisa is the same as Ilocos' when it comes to taste. It is a bit salty but you dip it in vinegar, it becomes perfect! The ground pork has lots of chopped garlic and other seasonings then it gets stuffed inside a pig's intestine. I know for a fact that the pig's intestine is clean because I saw our neighbor once while cleaning/scrubbing the said part. I was amazed by it's elasticity because it does not break.

I did not like longanisa when I was younger but I am now a total convert!

My Two Cents

I travel from Caloocan to Makati almost everyday and I can't help but notice politician's posters hanging from lamp posts and cable wires. I am not sure if those are telephone, cable TV or MERALCO wires. Whatever those are that these posters are attached to, they are still an obstruction and poses hazard to motorists and commuters like me.

It's vexing me, to be honest. Are we going to wait fo these materials to fall off someone's head?

If these politicians were able to hang their posters however high the posts and cables are, they should be able to remove it too. Now, if these politicians can't, I believe MMDA ( Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) can since the scope of MMDA services include public safety. Campaign period is so over, for Pete's sake! Just my two cents...

-=*=-

Let's Go Thrift-Shopping!

Thrift-shopping is something not strange to me. I have my own fare share of thrift-shopping and this bag is one of the few things I got. Some of the items I've already given away but this one is far from getting disposed.

I bought this bag more than five years ago and it will stay with me for another five more years, I guess. I love it so much because it is colorful and very easy to carry around. The patterns are cool, the back part of it has a different print and it is reversible. Two bags is one, huh! It's very playful. I was actually intrigued by the quilting technique used on the fabrics that is why I bought it...and it only costs less than a hundred!

jejemon.com

I thought all along that you need to have log in credentials to be able to chat with a jejemon. I was wrong. Anyway, I am not a fan nor I want to be one of them. I am also not a hater nor a lover. Let us just say that I respect their individuality.

My previous entry, let's face it, lacks soul. It was a product of rushing. There was no deadline. I was in front of the computer and I just want to write something--it's boredom, I guess.

Enough with the excuses!LOL

As promised, I tried to invade a not-so-familiar community (I think they are already a community) and I got a result. It was very short conversation because I did not know what to say. Above is a screenshot. I edited his picture and name, of course. He is 15, he described himself as "mabait and pogi" (kind-hearted and handsome) and he really did not use much of the jeje-language--if you can call it as such. I was the one using the jeje-language because I was using their translator which is called the Jologs-inator.

There was no need for me to create a jejename because I was able to chat without one. There is a panel on the right side of their site where you can see jejemons who are logged in and you can chat with them right away. Since I do not have a jejename, I was dubbed anon--that is probably for unknown. Funny.

I was actually sharing this experience with a friend and he told me that some local news reporters/researcher who are gay, call each other jejekla. We were even joking about what we can call a jejemon specialist--a jejeologist. Study of jejemons--jejeology (why do we even need to study them in the first place), a Mommy jejemon--jejemom (Jesus, bless your kids!), a techie jejemon--jejetechie. Now, what if a jejemon works in a call center, can we call him a jejecall then? That does not sound politically right...hahaha

The Jologs-inator

I was wondering how a jejemon communicate with a fellow jejemon. I researched (aka GOOGLE) and I was not disappointed. Jejemons do have their official website! I was not surprised. The site is http://www.jejemon.com. It is user friendly and it is very colorful. I am not sure if it will be easy to understand them once you're logged in and are communicating with them already.

If you are not a jejemon you will have a hard time reading through, I guess. Good thing they have their own translator called "Jologs-inator" which for sure, can help those non-jejemons.

I tried it. Below is what I typed and the translation.

Hi, I am new here so please bear with me. Kumusta, are you from QC?

HI, I M NEW~ hERe s0 plEASE BeAr~ wITH mE P0wh.~ KuMuSta p0wH.~ zAReZuu F0m QC, N0H?

It is fun translating but it's never fun reading such. Aside from the translator, they also have their own jejebadge (where I got the badges used in this entry), jejepolls (they predicted Noynoy to win the Presidential election) and forum/chat room. I am actually planning on signing up so that I can experience how to be a jejemon firsthand.

I am still thinking of a jeje-name. HELP!

When I did a spell-check on this entry, all "jeje" words were highlighted.--as expected! I will be posting more as soon as I'm done with my jejemon invasion. I will not be trapped, Bles!

Heat Stroke: A Medical Emergency

According to the Department of Health (DOH), heat stroke is a medical emergency. It is a state when the body overheats and temperature rises to a dangerous level. Heat stroke starts when the body stops cooling down. Symptoms include faintness, dizziness, weakness, headache and warm, flushed skin. This symptoms can progress to unconsciousness, rapid heartbeat, delirium and a very high fever.

We already have cases wherein heat stroke resulted to death. These, we have to prevent. Below are some helpful tips.

1. Stay well hydrated. Drink lots of fluid but avoid soda and alcohol. Drink water instead.


2. If your work requires you to be outdoors, wear a hat and a light and loose clothing.


3. Schedule heavy activities early in the morning or late in the afternoon if possible.


4. Do not spend too much time outdoors specially during midday.


5. Use sunscreen to prevent sunburn, which can limit the skin's ability to cool itself.

Summer should be spent outdoors! I totally agree with that. We just need to be very cautious and mindful of our activities. No emergencies!

SOURCES: About.com and DOH

Tiny's New Baby 2

...the not so new member of the family after the facelift

Election 2010

Millions of Filipinos casted their votes in the first automated election in the country.
People braved the scorching summer heat to exercise their right to vote and be part of a very historic event in Philippine Politics.

Some fear the failure of the said election and we can't blame them for feeling such. Last night, we sill heard and seen over the news that there were cases of PCOS machine glitches and failures. Add the violence happening in some parts of the country.

I am hopeful. I believe that we need change and we were give the opportunity to do just that. Let us all be wise. I am sure that violence in any shape and form will not persuade or prevent us from doing our civic duty. Congratulations to all of us and MABUHAY PHILIPPINES!

*Photo courtesy of Irish Urmatam

Arthur Kyle

My Baby Boy

...while waiting for the ice cream

Excercise Your Right To Suffrage

May 10 is election day and I hope for an honest and clean election. We should all be vigilant of at least our vote--never let your family's future be bought for a couple-of-hundreds. Be wise enough in selecting since our decisions will greatly affect our children's future.

We are all empowered to select and elect who we think is the best man or woman for the job. We need to look beyond the surface and examine. Ask ourselves, is this person capable? Will he be the one running the country or people around him? Will he become a puppet of the people who helped him during the campaign period? Will he be paying non-stop political debts and forget what he was elected for? Is this person just plain hungry for power? Is this person wanting to protect his own interests only?

I am sure we have more questions. The list goes on and on but at the end of the day we still need to select. I say be wise, don't sell your vote and think of your loved one's future.