Plus, I also came to realize who among the people I consider friends are my true friends and deserving to be spending my valuable time with. Call me snob, call me choosy. Truth is, I’m just applying the wisdom of discernment in this aspect of my social life and I think it’s very matured to do it that way plus it gives me a little slack over managing my precious time. Before I applied this resolution, I always ran out of time. My social book was always full and I was always exhausted but nothing much productive came out of the activities I used to engage in. Just waste resources on my part — money, time, and energy. But I am always open to possibilities of meeting new friends who will eventually make it to the roster of my BFFs (new teen’s abbreviation meaning best friends forever).

Speaking of best friends, one of those I value so much is getting married. She and some others makes me realize that genuine friendship is something that is intangible, it cannot be measured by mere frequency of togetherness but by bonding of the hearts. Like this valuable friend of mine whom I only see about twice or thrice a year but it’s amazing how much we love and value each other. Now that she is getting married, she wanted me to play a role her wedding because as she quipped: “you are very special.”

So now, I am left with two thoughts: first, what specific role should I take on, and second, what wedding gift should I give her. On the first question, I have three options — to be an emcee for the reception, and to be lector or commentator during the wedding mass. Now for the gift… My friend is quite the playful type so maybe I’ll consider an array of imported wholesale lingerie which may bring some humor during their honeymoon. Or a special housewarming gift as she and her fiancée is now working on the construction of their new house.

Whatever I decide, I’m sure my friend would be happy just to see me present on her special day. I know, I would. Now I know that friendship and maturity is also connected — as friends mature, so is their friendship. Wonderful isn’t it?

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As a salute to all Tatays, Dads, and Papas out there, this poem I stumbled upon somewhere describes aptly your dedication and sacrifices as fathers.

I’d like to personally salute the two important fathers in my life — my Tatay who passed away some six years ago, and my husband who fathered my son with imperfections but loved him flawlessly.

My Tatay, the carpenter, who singlehandedly built our house and almost every rustic furniture, was a symbol of the traditional and disciplinarian father who worked hard for the family and literally shed sweat and blood for us.

My husband on the other hand is a modern dad, the spoiler and the guide. He is my son’s shining beam as he always try to give our son’s fancies. He is also the school tutor, patiently guiding our boy towards academic excellence.

Though my tatay and my husband employ different fatherhood styles, they have one commonality — their sincere, genuine, and pure love for their children. I love you guys, from the bottom of my heart.

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One of my many blessings in life is that God provided me with a good set of in-laws. My husband’s kind and patient mother and his set of fun-to-be-with sisters and brothers. I guess it’s a bonus that majority of hubby’s siblings are academicians and we seem to understand each other and like the same subjects plus the fact that we all love laughing.

Whenever they invite me for an informal get-together for a chit-chat, we always end up in hilarious conversations and I would go home with a light heart and a painful stomach from laughing hard. I am very grateful that they did not just accepted me in the family but really treated me as one.

In one of our sessions, we discussed in passing the topic of ageing. One of my sister-in-law is fond of experimenting with facial solutions and as a result, there were dark blemishes on her face which seemed burned from the harsh chemicals of such facial products. We advised her to use facial creams with proven testimonials from users and being the techie sister-in-law, I thought about researching online the site www.facewrinklecream.org to get ideas for the effective facial cream for her.

I married their brother some eight years ago which is already a long time. I can’t believe that we are now facing the truth about ageing and masking age through science. But then again, we may wanted to look young that’s why we experiment with beauty products but in the end, what matters most is how we lived our lives and how we are continuously living it.

In my life, there are only three things that matters most and these I won’t trade for the world: family, education, and integrity. When I am armed with these, no force in the world can bring me down, even poverty. It is really upholding your values that matters. It is what makes a person after all.

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Very cute indeed! I know it’s gonna be Mother’s day soon but I know mommies are happier buying stuff for their kids than pampering themselves. If you wanted to get that really happy sheepish and smug look on your child’s face this mother’s day, try bringing home a Zip Bin bag for him and get instant bonding moments with him just like me and my Marcus:

As expected, my son automatically cleans up after playing and stash his toys and writing materials inside his zip bin. He even takes his zip bin to bed at night. The car wheel and race track design of his zip bin really suit him well as his favorite toys are cars. The bonus is that the zip bin bag even comes with two toy cars which can be rolled over the race track if you pull open the zip bin.

To learn more about zip bin, you may visit the fan page site of Zhazhiki, its local distributor in the Philippines or watch this video:

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Since I got married some seven (7) years ago, I now have two (2) mothers. My biological mom Nanay Erly and my mother-in-law, Mommy Emy. Both of them are very important to me. Having two moms plus the fact that I became a mom myself, Mothers Day celebration has since then became truly special to me. Every year, I always put an effort in thinking of unique mothers day gift ideas for my moms. I always make sure what I buy will be useful for them or something they would really appreciate.

What is cute is this time, I’m not just a giver anymore, I also became a recipient. My son learned making personalized cards and since two years back, I’ve been consistently receiving special and tear-provoking greeting cards from him. Some of these cards were destroyed by Ondoy but I was able to salvage the others and they are now the centerpieces of our scrapbooks.

I received another personalized card from him this morning with words: “Hi! Mama, I love you very much.” I am again in-love. I love being a mom and I love my son very much. I am in-love with life because of him. Mommyhood is again all worth it.

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The other day, while chatting nonchalantly with my only son, he innocently blurted that he’s ugly. I said this to make him feel better: “of course not, isn’t it you look after Mama so you’re not ugly cause I’m not.” He replied, “my classmate said so.”

My son developed an obvious case of skin asthma where white spots and rashes took over his entire face. The derma said the disease is similar to eczema and does look like one so it’s definitely not a pretty sight on his face. with the creams and ointments we applied, the rashes are all gone but the white spots remained and the derma said it will take months or even years before the scars or the spots fade.

At first, I thought my son is not bothered by this. He seemed unfazed by the mockery he gets from mean people but apparently, it is affecting him. His confidence is melting down as his classmates and others tease him about his spots. I feel so bad about this and I almost cried in front of him. I composed myself and said: “Don’t mind them son. Just tell them the spots will be gone in no time. It’s bad to tease other people about their weaknesses or their looks and you should not do that to others too.”

Initially, a mom’s reaction would be to ask who the classmate is and to confront that child and tell him to leave my boy alone. I did not do that because I know I have to handle the situation calmly and should respond to the problem, not react to it. I know that even if I wanted to put my son under my protective wings from people who may harm him or hurt his feelings, I can’t do that all the time. He has to learn how to protect himself and stand up for himself so that he will grow up a man, not a boy.

What about you? Any suggestion(s) on how to handle these situations with your child or your future child?

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No matter how commercialized valentines day is all over the world, and most especially here in the Philippines, no one can detest the fact that lovers and those wishing for love put high regard on this sweet and romantic day.

Would you agree with me that it’s hard to buy men gifts than women? Well, that truth goes to me and baffles me every time I have to buy my lovey-dovey a gift. If you are in this position today and wondering what valentine’s gift to give for for your man this February 14 and you have the budget to make him happy, I may have just the perfect suggestion for you!

Is he sporty, the athletic type? Is he a gamer, does he love mind games? Is he fond of going to the arcade, playing foosball and such? If he is any of the three, the perfect gift for him are game tables. This is not an everyday-kind of gift that’s why it is special and will surely put that lovely smile on his face! Look at these photo os to give you an idea what I’m talking about here.

Whether you pick this fabulous surprise for your sweetheart this Valentine’s day or decided to just plant him a sweet kiss on the cheek, I’m sure you’ll be happy together as long as there is love, true love that is! Advance happy hearts day everyone!

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First stop — indulgence on a much-needed luxury — a spa treat!

After going to SM Marikina to lodge my complaints against Globelines services, I decided to hit another mall since SM department store was not open on January 1. I went to my next favorite mall — the Robinsons Metro East. By this time, I have already decided I wanted a whole body massage so I roam around the beauty and wellness centers at the third level.

Since I already tried Relaksasi Spa a year ago and thought it’s expensive for an ordinary spa service, I looked for another one and found a quite new beauty center named Skin Natural which offers an hour of whole body massage with free use of Dome for only P450. Sounds interesting and reasonably priced so I booked myself in and enjoyed the rest of the spa treat.

The “dome” is like a heating room where you lie inside a tube and you get an instant steam service. I liked my experience with Skin Natural as their service is good — polite and assistive front desk officers, very clean place and my therapist, Edith, is a really nice and patient woman who knows how to give a good massage. I also like their “heater bed” which warms you after a nice shower. All in all, I think I found my newest favorite Spa.

Next stop and treat — special dinner with my husband!

After a relaxing massage, my husband and I went to dinner at Quizia. We had fun eating and joking around. We ordered our favorite seafood pasta, Quizia special pizza and cookies and cream shakes. It was a wonderful new year’s evening and probably one of the best times of my life.

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This is what I realized when I attended the wedding of a good friend yesterday, Neil and his wife, Niel. I would never miss their wedding because Neil is the one responsible for my entrance to the blogosphere. He was patient in teaching me the technicalities of website development, even if at times, I was such a sour student.

Neil and Niel are no doubt, a happy couple. Look at the evidences of this statement:

Neil and Niel, congratulations for your union. Jen and I were all smiles looking at your happy and wide-smiling faces all through out the ceremony. May God bless your marriage with healthy and cute kids.

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If there’s one thing I am thankful for, it is the fact that God created me healthy and complete — no damaged or missing parts, and not sickly. My flaws, if you would call them that way, was being ordinary looking, fat, and poor. In my childhood, I was the girl who was likeable because I was funny and a little “smart” but that’s all. No outstanding character traits, no reason to be popular. I was known to some, unknown to most.

The good thing about having flaws and being plain-looking, is you develop some sort of humility and the will to prove yourself. Because of this, I strived to study hard and do good in finding a career for myself. It took me some time but when I did, It was all worth it. The journey was long and tough, but the experiences were humbling. In the end, I am thankful that I wasn’t the sheltered, pretty girl who has, and can get everything easily. Because of this, I was trained to bear and overcome poverty, pain, and challenges without losing my ground. I am a survivor in my own right.

Today, I still am not popular, still not rich, and still not dashing physically. I still am the “chubby chic” who constantly ask herself how to lose belly fat. The improvements in my personality and lifestyle are already visible though. I am now more confident as a result of my education and search for continuous learning. Physically, because I read and observe, I now know how to look decent and attractive and because I am a “practical” fashionista and I speak well, the impression of other people about me was the opposite of what I used to be. Those who do not know me usually are intimidated of me because they thought I’m classy and very intelligent. I am educated and confident and that’s it. It’s a bonus others see me greater than what I truly am. Then again, I believe I earned this because I learned accepting and loving myself and that I worked hard to prove to myself and others what I am capable of.

As I always say: “Life is what we make it.”

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