**This is a forwarded e-mail.

What a girl needs most is love. What a guy needs most is respect. The most important thing for a girl is her heart. For a guy its his ego.

Give your man his own time and space. Let him have his time for his friends, sports, family, self, and God. The relationship will grow old quickly if lagi kayong magkasama. Give him time to miss you and you’ll see how he will love you more. If the guy naman is obsessed and just wants to be with you all the time, tell him you can’t respect a “puppy” for long.

Do things differently anytime.Para kahit matagal na kayo, there is always something fresh and new. Variety is the spice of life. Exciting baga? Discover something you both like to do and enjoy it TWOgether. Doon naman sa mga bagay na magkaiba ang hilig nyo, compliment each other by learning about it kahit konti. If you love someone, yung effort nyo to try will go a looooong way to understand him later pag may disagreement kayo.

Pray with holding hands. Sounds corny noh? Maybe, but its very powerful.
Pag may takot sa Diyos ang partner mo, kampante ka na di ka nya lolokohin, because He knows God sees everything he does in secret. Ikaw na ang magkusa that Before you part after date, with hands held and eyes closed, pray to God to bless you two. Believe me it’s effective. Kailanman, di corny ang magdasal.

Believe in “Magic”. Kahit minsan di practical o walang logical na dahilan,
o matrabaho, o sounds crazy sa iba, do sweet little things for the one you love kahit magmukha ka ng timang. The memories will be fun to recall later in life. The corniest song o gift o letter ang laging kabog.

True love brings out the best in each other. Find something good in your
Partner and nurture it, encourage it and syempre, ENJOY it.

It’s healthy to fight. Doon nyo lang maaayos ang mga differences nyo at
natetest ang tatag ng relationship. Doon mo rin sya makikilala ng mabuti. Its called test of fire. Di mahalaga how dalas you fight. What matters is how often you make bati. Mas nakakatakot yung relasyong sobrang perfect at laging masaya. One big fight
and that’s it! And diba mas kilig yung malambing na… “uy, bati na tayo…”. But don’t overdo it. Kakapagod naman din na lagi na lang manuyo o magsori. Choose the battles na papatulan mo.

Daraan sa iba’t-ibang stages ang love especially pag matagal na kayo. Grow with it. Don’t expect him to be like nung una. ‘Coz like a student, di na ituturo sa grade 6 yung lessons na pang-grade 2. Change WILL happen… you both will change and your love WILL change too. It’s up to you na lang if the change will be for the better or for the worse. Life is about growth. Grow with it.

When break up comes and it’s time to say goodbye, don’t doubt the love just Because it didn’t last. May mga bagay sa buhay na di man nagtatagal, it doesn’t mean di na ito totoo. Some good things are just never meant to last forever. Okay lang yon.
Bless the parting and move on.

Expect tears, sorrow, sleepless nights and pain. Ika nga “it’s when you hurt the worse that you love the MOST.” Kung di ka willing masaktan, wag ka na lang magmahal.

Life is a balance. And love is both holding on and letting go. Know when to fight for your man or woman and when to let him go. God will guide you kung anong dapat gawin sa kung anong sitwasyon. So dapat mataas ang signal ng langit sa cellfone ng puso mo to know His wisdom.

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I don’t NEED everything I WANT.

And this is the reason why I would like to write the traditional way again. The movement of the pen at hand is more honest.

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Blessing No.1:

Last night, I was counting pennies because it seems that we might run out of cold cash by the weekend.

Then came an aunt from the US who had my blog earnings. My aunt sent it to her to save on transaction fees.

Blessing No.2:

I then made a list of all payables and expenses and was quite disappointed that I might not have enough budget to get the decors this week.

Then a family friend arrived with a box full of goodies. Apparently, his nephew works in a major hotel and they dont use Christmas decorations twice. So we now have first class decors for our house (Di ko lang alam paano ikabit ang glass balls, baka mabasag! Ang gaganda pa ha. Parang di nagamit.)

Blessing No.3:

I have been wanting to replace our foam mattress since it has been making my back hurt. Kaso, as usual, laging kulang sa budget.

The family friend also had something. He gave us a KING SIZED foam mattress which was a reject from the same hotel. LOL. Now our room space has shrunk considerably pero mehn, pwede na magtumbling tumbling sa kama, LOL.

Galing ni Lord no?

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I have saved this show from Oprah in my drafts folder for quite some time. I have been meaning to write an entry about it ever since but really havent gotten to writing any of it up until now.

My cousin and I were exchanging e-mails at work the other day. Her son recently celebrated his first birthday at the Activity Fun center at Tiendesitas and we were comparing notes how the party was a smashing success. Out of the blue, she asked me:

“just a thought… do you ever regret having to work and having less time with your kids??
if you had a choice would you want to be a full time mom?

I didn’t batt an eyelash and replied:

of course! i think about it all the time, lalo na nung nagbakasyon si caren last week and I was forced to take a leave from office. as in mas maganda disposition ng mga bata, lalo na si mato (grouch kasi un sa umaga). mas cheerful sya pag papasok tapos paghatid sundo ko, iba smile nya ganun. si martha mas receptive sa learning, pero buti na din iba personality nya marami sya nagiging friends at masarap alagaan so ung mga tita ko sa compound love na love sya natuturuan pa.

next year when we move to amadeo im going to stop working and work from my blog earnings. simple life lang talaga nga lang. bahala na si batman

Who would not want to focus on their kids and stay at home diba? I know, iba pa din pag mommies ang nag-alaga and nakatutok with the kids. However, I feel that working moms go through the same pressure and hassle. They strive to make a living to augment whatever income their husbands have. They work and strive to make a place in their career, and yet when they come home, they are expected to be everything for the kids as well. I have experienced it firsthand. I bring home the bacon, and yet I still teach my son when he goes home, take the kids to bed, take care of their hygiene, etc. It is hard.

But sometimes, we have no choice. We live in a dog eat dog world and if by chance the husband’s income isn’t enough, the wife needs to support the family as well. I have to admit though that the few days I was at home being everything for the house - nawindang ako. I was literally in charge of everything since we had no househelp. (And then I get to see what SAHMs in the US really do, and get to have an understanding why most moms there expect to have a break and be free from their kids once they reach 18). With us here, it is different. Yayas can be affordable, and while the quality of them is still scarce, we can get househelp. It’s that simple.

Do I regret not being able to be there for my kids because I work? Yes, in a way. I think all working moms will have that guilt. Do I think my kids are suffering because of it? No. Because as I’ve said, it is all about balance. I can be there all the time but shout at them or keep them distracted so I can go about my own business. If given a chance, will I give up everything to be at home?

That is hard. I have built my career in five years and I feel I have so much promise. I also feel being at work is my free time away from home. But yes, if given the chance, if my kids are secure, I will.

But not everybody has that choice. And my heart and admiration goes out to the working moms who still can take care and nourish their children well. And I salute all SAHMs for making the choice to be there for their kids, and making mommyhood their career - it is hard. You can lose your identity, sacrifice personal happiness and achievement, but such is the greatness of a mother’s love

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Id like to share with you an interesting article written by Kellie Strausser.

I started a new job recently. It has taken over my life these first few months. It’s making me wonder if it is always going to be like this, or if this is the amount of extra work I have to do to compensate for the learning curve. My dilemma is, how much is too much, and when you are spending less time with the people you love (your family), when and where do you draw the line?

I do enjoy what I am doing, now that I have gained a little bit of time and experience. I am learning something new every day, and feel a sense of accomplishment in what I have already done here but I am missing my family. I find myself making excuses on the weekends now when asked to do lunch with them, or to contribute to family time. It isn’t that I don’t want to spend the time with them. It is that I am too exhausted and need to be alone to recuperate. Knowing this does not alleviate my guilt, and I find myself pressured lately to find a solution to this problem.

What is the solution? If I let up on my work responsibilities, then I am not doing my job effectively, but if I do not spend quality time with my family, then I will regret it for the rest of my life. I’m at an impasse. I have no answer at this moment, but am earnestly seeking one. I keep thinking that sooner or later, things will start to calm down as I learn and grow more with the new responsibilities of my job, and eventually it will be easier to spend more time with my family. I’m hoping this is the case.

I don’t know how workaholics do it. People who are so consumed with their careers, that they do not have time for their families, or forget what is truly important in their lives. What is it that is instilled in each individual that places him or her on one path or another? Is it the morals and values of being brought up in a very close knit family that sets the tone for the person who knows that family needs to be paid attention to? Is it a lack of family emotions or ties that causes the opposite effect in the career oriented person who passes on family time? Am I making things too simple, or in fact too complicated?

I only hope that if you are reading this, you question yourself and how you are spending your time, as I am. I hate to see people with regret. Regret is no good. We have but one life. Time is valuable. Spending that time with the people you love is too important. In the end, is it the job who will be there telling me how much they love me, helping me with my issues, and giving me comfort in times of need and vice versa? I guess it is something you have to decide for yourself. Jobs come and go, but I can’t send out a resume’ or interview to be placed into another family. When you think of it that way, the answer is fairly simple.

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I read this on a digital scrapping board I frequent (DST) and I want to share with you a mom’s insight. Sure, we tend to go overboard with ideas on what gifts to give only to find that toys lose their novelty in a month. And there goes the few hundred dollars.

When we were young, my parents were like that. We were off to a materialistic Christmas ever year. Sure it was happy. But then time grew harder and we barely even had enough to go by Christmas dinner. And we didn’t receive gifts from our parents anymore. Whatever money we receive during the season we use to buy ourselves the necessities for the next year - underwear, socks, shoes, etc. It was sometimes embarrassing, knowing we don’t have money. But looking back, I realized we were happier during the times we absolutely have nothing. We tend to joke around more, tell stories, TALK, BOND. Because that is essentially what Christmas is about, right?

Of course, with me having my own kids, I want Christmas to be special for them. I dont want them to lose the Christmas magic so young. Christmas has been so much fun with them around. But I have forgotten to stress that what they need to feel and experience is THE Christmas spirit. Because that is what Christmas is about, right?

So now I tend to refocus on things. The kids will get one major gift from us (the parents) and get a little something from each of the family. I will make sure all gifts are useful all throughout the year.

And mostly, I will make sure to ingrain Matthew with the values we need to have this Christmas - the giving of self, rejoicing in the birth of Christ, and love.

Here is the post if you want to read it:
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And what a lesson to learn when I just woke up to work at 1AM.

1. Don’t beat the read light.

2. Don’t drink and drive.

3. Don’t drive with an EXPIRED license.

Can you guess who will be sleeping outside the bedroom in the days to come?!
***GRRRRRR***

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She turns 57 today. And doesnt look a day older than that. She taught me breeding, to be perfect, to be honest. She has always believed in my ability to do anything and accomplish everything. Even when I shattered her heart, she was very proud of me still. Oh so proud.

Happy Birthday Mommy

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Got this from Mich! Thanks Mich!

Let me tell you a crazy story I heard recently. There’s this husband who out of sheer love for his wife decided to prove it to her. So he swam the widest oceans, crossed the deepest rivers, and climbed the highest mountains to show his deep devotion to her. But in the end, she divorced him.

Why? Because he was never home.(Get it?)

Let me tell you an experience I had as a kid. One day, I asked Mom, “Why do my shoes keep eating my socks?” As a young boy, that was always a mystery for me. All my other classmates never had that problem. Their socks remained tight and high up their legs the entire day.

Mom didn’t answer my question but simply gave me two rubber bands which I dutifully placed around the top of my socks. To this day, fifteen years later, I still have permanent circle marks around my legs. But aside from giving me this slight defect, the two bands worked like magic.

It never occurred to me that Dad and Mom didn’t have the money to buy a new pair of socks for me. So I wore five-year-old socks, all soggy, grayish, and garter less. And yet amazingly, I never complained. I believe it was because Dad was always home when I needed him. Every night, after coming from work, we’d jog together, sit around, and talk about Tarzan, Farrah Fawcett Majors,God, and what I wanted to be when I grew up (a stockholder) . On Saturdays, we’d walk to Cubao, eat a hotdog-on-a- stick,and buy new rubber bands before going home.
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Got this from Jenee. It seems fit to post this on a Monday when all of us are just starting our week!

“The proper function of man is to live - not to exist.” — Jack London

Too often we go through life on autopilot, going through the motions and having each day pass like the one before it.

That’s fine, and comfortable, until you have gone through another year without having done anything, without having really lived life.

That’s fine, until you have reached old age and look back on life with regrets.

That’s fine, until you see your kids go off to college and realize that you missed their childhoods.

It’s not fine. If you want to truly live life, to really experience it, to enjoy it to the fullest, instead of barely scraping by and only living a life of existence, then you need to find ways to break free from the mold and drink from life.

What follows is just a list of ideas, obvious ones mostly that you could have thought of yourself, but that I hope are useful reminders. We all need reminders sometimes.

1. Love. Perhaps the most important. Fall in love, if you aren’t already. If you have, fall in love with your partner all over again. Abandon caution and let your heart be broken. Or love family members, friends, anyone — it doesn’t have to be romantic love. Love all of humanity, one person at a time. It seems

2. Get outside. Don’t let yourself be shut indoors. Go out when it’s raining. Walk on the beach. Hike through the woods. Swim in a freezing lake. Bask in the sun. Play sports, or walk barefoot through grass. Pay close attention to nature.

3. Savor food. Don’t just eat your food, but really enjoy it. Feel the texture, the bursts of flavors. Savor every bite. If you limit your intake of sweets, it will make the small treats you give yourself (berries or dark chocolate are my favorites) even more enjoyable. And when you do have them, really, really savor them. Slowly.

4. Create a morning ritual. Wake early and greet the day. Watch the sun rise. Out loud, tell yourself that you will not waste this day, which is a gift. You will be compassionate to your fellow human beings, and live every moment to its fullest. Stretch or meditate or exercise as part of your ritual. Enjoy some coffee.

5. Take chances. We often live our lives too cautiously, worried about what might go wrong. Be bold, risk it all. Quit your job and go to business for yourself (plan it out first!), or go up to that girl you’ve liked for a long time and ask her out. What do you have to lose?

6. Follow excitement. Try to find the things in life that excite you, and then go after them. Make life one exciting adventure after another (with perhaps some quiet times in between).

7. Find your passion. Similar to the above tip, this one asks you to find your calling. Make your living by doing the thing you love to do. First, think about what you really love to do. There may be many things. Find out how you can make a living doing it. It may be difficult, but you only live once.
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This is worth sharing. I got this from Janet Phillip’s blog.

I’m invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?” Obviously not. No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, “What time is it?” I’m a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?”

I’m a car to order, “Right around 5:30, please.”
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!
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Lola Rose believed in hula before. Fifty seven years ago, after three girls and being pregnant for the fourth time, she consulted a manghuhula. Sabi sa kanya ang anak nya na yun ang syang magiging pinakamayaman na tao sa buong mundo.

Of course that didn’t happen. He became a doctor but was never able to heal people in hospitals. Instead, he chose to be a missionary and heal people spiritually. He never became rich, far from that. But he never ran out of anything material that he needs. He has seen many countries, experienced different cultures, met so many people and yet he still wants to stay in the Philippines. His mission is far from over, he says.

For us though, he still became what the manghuhula told he will become. He is rich in wisdom, full of love, full of joy. He is the not the perfect man nor the perfect husband. But for me, he is the perfect Dad.

Happy birthday Daddy!

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One of my grandfathers died of prostrate cancer. He was the brother of my maternal grandfather. I loved him, because when I was staying in my grandparents’ house when I went to college, he would always make sure that I get a nice tricycle or pedicab whenever it rained when I went to school - I was treated like a princess. We were quite known in our neighborhood and back then, I never went out to buy anything. He would call on one of the men outside and order them to buy food - Coke, bread, whatever I want. He started showing prostate cancer symptoms six months before he died. Since I was studying a medical related course and my Dad was a doctor, he would often go to our place and tell me his pains - he cannot urinate even if he wants to, he feels pain in the lower abdominal area, etc. He was diagnosed with it and was immediately treated with High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). It is a non-invasive treatment that uses sound waves to heat and destroy the cancer tissue in the prostrate. It is widely recommended because it minimizes the possibility of the common side effects like impotence and incontinence. It was too late though, he was in stage 4 already when it was found out - and he died 4 months after. All my grandparents died at home. This is one of the reasons we feel the need to preserve our ancestral home.

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Estrada guilty of plunder; perjury case dropped.

And I could not have said this more accurately:

Who’s more guilty?

“It will be the people of the Philippines, who are already poor and miserable, who are the ultimate losers in the Erap (Estrada) case and the (Ms Arroyo) dilemma. How true is the saying that when dogs fight, the grass under their feet die,” Cruz said in an interview Tuesday and in a statement posted on his blog (www.ovc.blogspot.com).

If Estrada is found guilty, “how could a glorious someone (Ms Arroyo) rejoice when the Filipinos, by and large, consider her more guilty of bigger and more public atrocities than the person accused,” Cruz said.

On the other hand, if Estrada is acquitted, “how would people react toward the same someone who triumphantly took over the government by perceived questionable means, not once in 2001 but the second time around by 2004,” he asked.

“In other words, the already long existing distrust and disgust toward the present national leadership cannot but become more felt and expressed on the forthcoming resolution of the Erap case — [regardless] of whether the accused is found guilty or otherwise.”

I hope the streets stay safe today.
And the people stay calm.
(I heard there will be a rally in Ayala later).

Technorati Tags: Erap Estrada, Erap Estrada Plunder case, Joseph Estrada

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Today, September 9, is Grandparents’ Day!

Don’t forget to greet the ones you love today and thank them for enriching your life! We spent the day with my parents, my kids’ grandparents, and were they spoiled rotten!

One of the things I am so thankful for is that my parents are still strong enough to enjoy my children - and that my children have had the great chance to know my parents and be able to enjoy them. I have always been so touched by my parents’ love towards my children. And my children adore their Lolos and Lolas :D.

So, Lolo Bodgie and Lola Mayette; Lolo Bading and Ma:

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS’ DAY!
WE LOVE YOU!

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