Gladly Amazed !

We used to hop churches on Sundays until we decided to hear the 10:00 o'clock  mass at Palo Cathedral. The church is so big, it's like a big palace where the King and Queen live or the Gods and Goddesses lived. We were excited then because we were hoping to see our former assigned priest in Ormoc. When the mass started and the readers' out, we're amazed and glad to see that the priest who presided the mass is our friend -priest. He's now a reverend. He's very good in all his homily. After the mass we went at the back of the church leading to the convent. My two kids hurriedly ran through him and kissed his hands. We're all very happy exchanging stories of hello, how are you, how's life? or why all of us is here in TAcloban.. Very funny meeting with this humorous priest. Until my husband offered to take pictures for us. Then our friend priest asked assistance to handle or to take pictures for us. So exciting but when the camera is ready, it says: "Warning, battery low! "..So dismayed...anyway, at least we saw him. we hear his good homily, absorbed in our minds and heart. He's no other than Rev. Martin Cubi. :)

Changes

Hi guys..Sorry for I haven't write for a long time. It's just I was having a series of work to be done even in the midst of dawning. So many changes in my daily life, routine, work, etc. With these , I have to balance everything since I almost lost hope for the situation. It was like  I was having a long sleep with a wonderful dream and when I awake, it's gone..it's only a dream. Nothing is really permanent in this world, imagine when I was hired this March, I enjoyed the privileges given by the company. I have lots of things learned, more advancement in my intellectual capacity but , it is just a shorter period of time. I want to share this to you because you are part of my daily routine as a blogger. My employer sells the operation to the other group of companies. We worried a lot because some were not absorbed, while others were absorbed with a different title. I was just thinking what lies ahead. What will be our future? Oh future...when will we be able to have a stable future? with no worries, financially stable? Only God knows. I know that these are all trials. Trials? until when? Come what may....

BZ

Whew! it's more that a week of my absence here, my apology guys....I'm just having a total mix of career and family priorities. Well, I just want to have a real work to be done, no pendings..Series of instruction was given by my boss last week and not to mention the reports of the newly endorsed proposals. We'll be coming up soon with our year end counting, an earlier count for this year and this involves extra time to all of us. We just want to have enough stock weights on Christmas season and eliminating those unwanted merchandise by returning them to their respective suppliers. This is the nature of a working Mom, career and family took place at all times.

 

Turbulence

 You’d expect a ride this bumpy if you were driving an off-road vehicle over rocky, uneven terrain, but a bump bump BUMP as you glide 30,000 feet above that terrain in a modern jet liner, might surprise you, not to mention scare the bajeebers out of you. After all, you never notice hard lumps and bumps as you breathe air.It was a scary flight yesterday afternoon in going back here from our Cebu conference, the plane bumps from time to time. I saw a full dark clouds as if flatly lying above the sky.Until the pilot had spoken to us that there is a mild turbulence due to the  changing of wind direction. By the way before we took off Mactan airport , my sister had told me there was a "low pressure" in Leyte and Samar area.

What makes an airplane go bump?

Airplane bumps are caused by regions of air moving at different speeds, for example, a layer of fast-moving windy air rubbing against a layer of relatively still air. Where the two masses of air rub against each other, you get turbulence, a chaotic and unpredictable mixing of wind. This happens frequently near storm clouds, where a plume of warm air and clouds rises into cooler, upper layers.

 

As a plane flies through the boundary layer of turbulence, it will encounter sudden, random changes in wind speed. A strong tailwind might turn into a strong headwind, or an updraft might suddenly turn downward. Because the airplane is immersed in this air, you experience these wind changes as bumps. Imagine driving a car along a perfectly smooth and flat highway, except the highway itself is moving unpredictably, lurching forward and backward, up and down.

Working Mom

The study, which appeared in the current online issue the journal Economics and Human Biology, looked at close to 25,000 people, and found that working mothers spent 17 fewer minutes cooking, 10 fewer minutes eating with their kids, 12 fewer minutes playing with them and 37 fewer minutes tending to child care than their nonworking counterparts. This was true regardless of the mother's education, age or income, and the differences tended to be greatest for mothers with children younger than 5.  What about dads? The researchers found they weren't picking up the slack. Employed fathers devoted only 13 minutes a day to cooking for and playing with their children; nonworking fathers contributed 41 minutes to the same activities.

"It seems men are not doing much extra work," said John Cawley, the study's lead investigator. 

Only about 15 percent of the fewer minutes spent in activities devoted to their children's health by working mothers appear to be offset by increases in time spent by husbands and partners. To make up for the time deficit, the data suggested that working mothers spent two more minutes per day than the stay-at-home moms purchasing prepackaged meals or ordering take out, an amount of time the researchers said was statistically significant. 

Study Stirs Outrage

Previous studies have found that the children of working mothers tend to have a higher body mass index, or BMI, and higher obesity rates than children of nonworking mothers. For example, in 2003, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics examined families with children 3 to 11 years old and found that 10 additional weekly hours of maternal employment over the course of the child's life increased their chances of becoming obese by 1.0 to 1.5 percentage points.

Cawley emphasizes that his investigation isn't intended to point the finger of blame at either parent. The aim of this latest study was to explore some of the reasons obesity may be tied to a mother's job status by tracking how much time both parents dedicated to their children's health. 

Still, this type of data does tend to put working women on the defensive.

"Instead of giving her credit for giving birth to a healthy child, then frantically trying to also financially provide for her family, keep a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, educational books on the shelf, we make working moms feel bad about not having the time to make a healthy meal," said Antoinette Rodriguez, a financial adviser in Manhattan and mother of a 7-year-old daughter. "I get the sense that working fathers don't sweat the small stuff as much as moms. But then again, they're not judged for it."

Beth Anne Ballance, the mother of a 3-year-old son and a parenting blogger for Babble.com, owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News, agrees that the sort of findings reported in the study are often interpreted as a failure on the part of mothers more than fathers. "Despite the progress we've made as a society, despite women's equality, we still look to women as the main nurturers of children," she said.

But she believes studies like this one short change fathers too.

"He's a parent, not a babysitter, so he's just as responsible for choosing healthy foods and encouraging activity in our kid," she said.

Study Drawbacks The Cornell study didn't take into account the benefits of having a working mother in the family. For one thing, the financial advantages are obvious. And many believe working mothers provide positive role models for their children. Additionally, the data doesn't prove that employment alone is what drives the way mothers spend their time, nor did the study look at the quality of the ready-to-serve meals -- were they unhealthy prepackaged foods or low-fat organic fare, for example.

Cawley also points out that his research didn't provide any clues as to why fathers didn't pitch in more. It's possible the increased income from a mother's employment is used to hire nonfamily caregivers to handle some of these caregiving, household tasks. Another possible explanation is that fathers are unable or unwilling to increase time devoted to household tasks when their wives work.

"I don't like phrasing the question as whether working moms contribute to the problem. I think it's modern life that contributes to it," he said. "The question is what can families and schools do to promote child health given the changes in modern life?

What parents can do Cawley said, is get better educated about the nutritional content of restaurant and prepackaged foods, particularly if they don't believe they have the time to stop and prepare a meal from scratch.

"In order to make more informed decisions, consumers need to have nutrition and calorie information available where they buy their food." He said while also noting that federal health care reform rules will soon require chain- and fast-food restaurants nationwide to post the calorie counts of the foods they sell.

He also recommends asking schools to shoulder some of the responsibility. "Of course, we can't ask schools to do everything, but there are some obvious easy changes they can make, such as switching from easy-to-prepare popular foods in the cafeteria to healthier more nutritious foods, and providing more opportunities for kids to get physical activity throughout the day."

According to Cawley, the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have urged those very same measures as part of a comprehensive change in school environments to combat childhood obesity.

Buwan ng Wika

This month is a very busy month for me, my kids and well, all the moms out there. It’s Buwan Ng Wika! as declared by former president Fidel V. Ramos. According to our history, it was formerly celebrated in March 27 up to April 2 , by President Sergio Osmena. It was changed during the proclamation of President Ramon Magsaysay. " Ang pagdiriwang ay tinalaga sa petsang mula ika-13 hanggang ika-19 ng Mayo. Sa pagbabagong ito naging impossible para sa mga mag- aaral at guro na makisali sa selebrasyon ng Linggo ng Wika." Magtatagalog nalang ako dahil ngayon ay Buwan ng Wika month.

 

Ang pagtatakda ng Linggo ng Wika sa buwan ng Agosto ay tinalaga ni Pangulong Corazon Aquino. Ito ay ipinagdiriwang mula ika-13 hanggang ika19 ng Agosto taon taon. Ito din ay ginaganap sa buwan ng Agosto bilang pagpupugay sa kaarawan ng Ama ng Wikang Pambansa na si Manuel L. Quezon.

Actress ^--^

It was a great morning because I was not expecting that thing happened. It goes this way. Early in the morning, I received a call from a representative of a certain company. On the phone she said: "Ma'am, we'll go to your office today for a photoshoot.  Actually this company introduced their new item and they wanted to put it in between the two brand of juices. With their store's support it was granted. I thought, it was simply a photoshoot of their new product. Without so much "a do" , I said:  "yes, you can come for the photoshoot".

At exactly 10:00 o'clock in the morning, I felt hungry for I realized that I had not taken my breakfast thus I get out of the office to buy something to eat. While walking at the selling area, I was tapped on my back with the visitors from that company I've mentioned together with the ABS-CBN's director from Manila. I was surprised when they told me: "Are you ready for a photoshoot Ma'am?".. And it happened, we were told to act as customer and client near the display  of coffee. It seems that I was running out of words to utter since it's all impromptu lines. Oh my God! The purpose of the photoshoot is for our business magazine in which our COO  urged the personnel to have documents like that for their businesses, and we were included. At least, it was an experience. I felt good, exciting, and of course , I couldn't imagine, that director is KRIS TV's director. I was then an instant actress..

St. Helena -Saint of the Day (August 18,2012)

Empress mother of Constantine the Great. She was a native of Bithynia, who married the then Roman general Constantius I Chlorus about 270. Constantine was born soon after, and in 293, Constantius was made Caesar, or junior emperor. He divorced Helena to marry co Emperor Maximian’s stepdaughter. Constantine became emperor in 312 after the fateful victory at Milvian Bridge, and Helena was named Augusta, or empress. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. She is believed to have died in Nicomedia. Her porphyry sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum. Geoffrey of Monmouth, England, started the legend that Helena was the daughter of the king of Colchester, a tradition no longer upheld. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross. 

  Helena's birthplace is not known with certainty. The 6th-century historian Procopius is the earliest authority for the statement that Helena was a native of Drepanum, in the province of Bithynia in Asia Minor. Her son Constantine renamed the city "Helenopolis" after her death in 330, which supports the belief that the city was her birthplace. Although he might have done so in her honor, Constantine probably had other reasons for doing so. The Byzantinist Cyril Mango has argued that Helenopolis was refounded to strengthen the communication network around his new capital in Constantinople, and was renamed simply to honor Helena, not to mark her birthplace.There was also a Helenopolis in Palestine (modern Daburiyya) and a Helenopolis in Lydia.These cities, and the province of Helenopontus in the Diocese of Pontus, were probably both named after Constantine's mother. G. K. Chesterton in his book 'A Short History of England' writes that she was considered a Briton by the British; supporting this, she is depicted as having golden hair. Some people believe that she came from Colchester in Essex; this being the Roman capital in Britain at the time, today the town has schools and places named after her, as well as her image appearing on the town hall and her son's name, Constantine, being used as the title for a particular road.

Little Creatures

I drove towards home when I saw this parade of little creatures together with their mother. It looks like a duck because it has flat bill but it's not. My husband shouted, "stop", I gonna pick those little ones. Then my husband get out of the car and picked those tiny little creatures. All of them is 9 and their crossing the street on a street line, so cute and admirable. That is why  my husband tempted to catch it all. The security guard on the adjacent side of the street saw us and told my husband he wanted also to catch those small birds. My husband gave him three. We're happy but at the same time , I pity on their mother that she keeps on cackling as if looking for her little ones. It's like she's crying and looking for the little ones. Poor thing, I can relate or everyone of us can relate what happened. It was like a mother looking  for a lost child. As we arrived home, we kept the little birds, give food , so that they'll grow.

Above is the picture of  the little birds and we wanted them to grow inspite the absence of their mother.

All We Need Is Love

She's a girl..I heard her soft voice every morning when I go inside and in the evening when I'm out of the office. I like the color of her fur, it is orange. I can feel the softness of its fur and the murmur when I hold her. She live in our generator set with her two siblings, having a white and black fur. I am talking with a little kitten whom catches my attention because of her cry. She's the "crying kitten" among the three.  I discovered that they were all left by their mother. The three of them survive with the leftovers by some of the employees who took their meal near the generator set. I have noticed that every time I passed by that area, I cannot deny myself to feel pity on those little creatures. Yes, they are animals, and we are also animals. We differ from them because we are a rational being. Albeit they are animals they also deserve love and care. I couldn't just imagine those little children without parents, seeking food on the streets and garbages. It really pricks my heart with sadness. I don't want to see children along the streets having this muddy faces and striving for hunger. Oh God, that's what I feared of. Like the three little kittens they also deserve love and care. Let us love our children because they are the future hope of the nation.

Nurturing

10 Ways to Nurture Your Child

Some kids seem to be born with more self-esteem than others, but there's a lot you can do to promote your child's emotional well-being — a stronger sense of self can make your child more emotionally resilient when problems come his way.

Providing for your child's physical needs (food, shelter, clothing) is a fairly straightforward matter. Trying to provide for your child's emotional needs can be trickier. Although there are many parenting styles, most experts agree on some general guidelines for nurturing a child's emotional health and laying the ground work for an emotionally healthy adulthood.

 Be aware of stages in child development so you don't expect too much or too little from your child.

• Encourage your child to express his or her feelings; respect those feelings. Let your child know that everyone experiences pain, fear, anger, and anxiety. Try to learn the source of these feelings. Help your child express anger positively, without resorting to violence.
• Promote mutual respect and trust. Keep your voice level down — even when you don't agree. Keep communication channels open.
• Listen to your child. Use words and examples your child can understand. Encourage questions. Provide comfort and assurance. Be honest. Focus on the positives. Express your willingness to talk about any subject.
• Look at your own problem-solving and coping skills. Are you setting a good example? Seek help if you are overwhelmed by your child's feelings or behaviors, or if you are unable to control your own frustration or anger.
• Encourage your child's talents and accept limitations. Set goals based on the child's abilities and interests — not someone else's expectations. Celebrate accomplishments. Don't compare your child's abilities to those of other children; appreciate the uniqueness of your child. Spend time regularly with your child.
• Foster your child's independence and self-worth. Help your child deal with life's ups and downs. Show confidence in your child's ability to handle problems and tackle new experiences.
• Discipline constructively, fairly, and consistently. Use discipline as a form of teaching, not physical punishment. All children and families are different; learn what is effective for your child. Show approval for positive behaviors. Help your child learn from his or her mistakes.
• Love unconditionally. Teach the value of apologies, cooperation, patience, forgiveness, and consideration for others.
• Do not expect to be perfect; parenting is a difficult job.

Pretty Sunday

It's Sunday and it's a rest day. I've enjoyed driving with the kids this morning and we ate at a carenderia..hehehe. I can feel the happiness of my two kids being with me for the whole day. It's our simple way of bonding, family bonding. I sometimes wished to have all the riches in the world , and will not go to work so that I could be with my children all the time but it's not that easy. We really have to work harder at all times to earn a living. How I wished , I could be the richest mother to provide everything for my kids.

As a working Mom, I did not stop planning, imagining, looking forward for the future of my children as long as I have good health and determined. They are my happiness, my inspiration. I am saddened if things went wrong especially when they got sick. I just hope and pray always that we'll have good health always. As you can see, my kids are still young, I could not accept if they could experience the hardship in our younger years. I don't want it to happen to them. But God is our weapon, He knows everything and He plans everything what is best for us.

The photo above shows the happy face of Princess while Prince was hungry, look at his face.., seems sleepy also. A mother is very quick to notice everything a child could feel. It's an instinct of a mother.

Instrument

Have you always wanted to play guitar, but never got around to actually getting started? Here is reason to begin... 

Choosing a beginner instrument can be tricky, since the chances are you don't know a whole lot about guitars to begin with. Your first decision involves choosing to learn on an electric guitar, acoustic guitar or on bass guitar. Once that choice has been made, you're going to need to decide on a budget for your purchase. Avoid buying an ultra-cheap instrument - it will not only make learning guitar more difficult, but will have little re-sale value.

 

A beginner's choice, the bass guitar can be a rewarding instrument to start learning music on. Because rock and roll bass is generally somewhat easy to learn, beginner bassists will often be playing songs within a few weeks. The downside is that bass guitar often sounds "empty" when not accompanied by a guitar or other instrument.

Bass Guitar

 I really had the eagerness to teach my Princess how to play the guitar and I am happy she is now more interested in playing musical instruments.

Me and my daughter Princess having a rehearsal for the 4 o'clock mass's song....

First Friday

It's Firts Friday of August. 

"The First Friday of each month was designated by our Savior Himself as a day to be consecrated to honoring His Sacred Heart…. As the object of this devotion is to make our Savior Jesus Christ ardently and perfectly loved, and to make reparation for the outrages offered to Him in the past, as well as for those which he daily receives in the Blessed Eucharist…Jesus Christ merits our love at all times, but alas! He is despised and outraged in the Sacrament of His love at all times, and so people should at all times make reparation to Him. 

       We should then adore Jesus Christ in this august Sacrament, make a fervent act of love to Jesus in the tabernacle, thank Him for having instituted this Mystery of love, express our sorrow at seeing Him so abandoned, and resolve to visit Him as soon as possible and love Him unceasingly. 
       Attendance at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is assuredly the best means of honoring and loving the adorable Heart of Jesus. 

Here's a Nine First Fridays Devotion to the Sacred Heart for all of us Catholics:

From the writings of St. Margaret Mary:

"On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment."

With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Firdays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord since He promises such great reward, and that all Catholics should endeavor to make the nine Fridays. Prayer Source: Enthronment of the Sacred Heart by Rev. Francis Larkin, SS.CC., St. Paul Editions, 1978..

Happy and Contented

I don't want to be overacting but I guess I should be happy for this another reward or shall we say privilege given by my new employer to me. I have now a service car assigned to me as mentioned in the contract. It overwhelmed me because even if I am now holding the key, I still couldn't believe what happened in my life.

God is really good all the time to those people who honestly,faithfully worshiped Him. In my whole 16 years of working in my previous employer I cannot say that I am or I was that happy enough to reward my struggles and hardships, really opposite. Anyway I promised to myself to move on and let go all the bad experiences. Being fair to them, I cannot exchange my knowledge which I've gained, the experiences that made me strong, firm especially in decision making. I really appreciate the trainings since I started until I ended working with them. Everyday is a challenge, it's just like communicating the whole world. Thus being in the consumer industry is very challenging, and exuberant. In this business, I learned how to interact different moods, approach of different people...soooo challenging. You're like a doctor seeing those suppliers on queue . I am proud to myself that I have this cool temper , patience, in dealing with them. I still can manage to smile even in the most irritating point. We don't have a choice, sell yourself so that you could sell your products. The secret for this is good communication..:)

Lucky Guy

Just having fun looking at the pages on my cousin's facebook account. I can say he's lucky enough to have the intellect, the talents, and being a good father. He's a down to earth man, when he was still young he helped his family to earn a living. He used to sell firewood and marble stones so that he can help his family. They are a brood of 7 siblings and their youngest is a girl.  He graduated Marine Engineering  and currently having the highest official capacity of his company. When out of his journey at sea, he created a Lights and Sounds  as his sideline business.  His Lights and Sounds continue to soar high with so many invitations at a very reasonable price.  If you have some activities, such as fiesta, community programs, school programs, you can negotiate him at a very affordable price.

These are examples of his lightings and somewhat a very attractive, colorful one.

That's my cousin, Eddie Alberca with his Sounds and Lights.

Lucky Me !

Who's the great and lucky Mom? I am one of the lucky Moms in the world having these two angels who possess  great talents, excellence in school, and of course they are very much obedient , industrious, prayerful and helpful to me at their young age.

This is my son Prince. He's in Grade One now at Liceo del Verbo Divino. He's loving, very much attach to me. He's so vulnerable every time his sister teases him. He's good in Math, English and Science. He was accelerated from Nursery  to Grade One. He also liked drawings, he draws the Avengers. He is a happy child, very clever..I like the way he tricks me with his stories and smiles just to make me acquiesce of something.

This is also my princess named Princess..She's also excels in school, loves Mathematics, Science and English. She's good in painting, drawing and making comical skit at her notebook with drawings. She loves music and has the fervor in dancing. In her previous school she always performed on stage and even cheerdancing. She plays the guitar and flute and has a soprano voice quality. I like her because she understands well the essence of life at her young age. She learned how to save money, and a prayerful daughter. 

My two angels..Princess Mary IJ  and Prince JI Lord

" ABAD "

I want to share about everything about my Dad. For me he was the best Dad. His name is Abraham and fondly called "Abad" by his siblings and friends. According to my uncle(his brother), he got married at the age of 42. He's a father of five siblings and I am the eldest. He is serious, intelligent, talented and most of all a protective Dad. When I was still in the Elemetary grade he taught me how to save money. At that time my Dad and Mom sells snacks at the school canteen. One day, I am craving to eat egg chocolate by Serg's products and but don't have the money because we are disciplined not to bring money in school.  I cried and my Dad saw me and asked me why I cried. I told him that I want to eat egg chocolate. Instead of buying chocolate, my Dad started to tell me the value of money and shared to me his experiences when he was young also.  I was relieved and stopped crying . In the evening I saw my Dad cooking with a milky substance. It was a coconut milk extraction and he cooked it until golden brown. Amazed at my young age of  9 , I had learned that he is making coconut candy out of it. He prepared  a Japanese paper of different colors like  blue, yellow, and red . He cut it into small rectangular shape and used as a wrapper for those coconut candies like the size of a white rabbit. It was beautifully done and he told me to sell those coconut candies in school so that I can have he money. I sold worth P 5.00 pesos and my  Dad gave me an empty Johnson's baby powder used as a piggy bank. I was terribly happy and was so excited and enthusiastic selling those coconut candies so that my mini piggy bank  would be full . Through this I learned  how to value money from my own effort and of course from my Dad. That's my Dad as a businessman.

In my school days he always helped me in preparing my school projects especially in Mathematics and Science until in my secondary grade. My Dad is full of talent and he take things seriously. He do not have vices and his hobbies include planting of fruit trees and taming animals. in his free time he listened to radio commentary by his favorite commentator. He was a hero when  I was in Grade 4 because  I have difficulty in going down the tree. I was so curious in climbing the Calamansi tree, a tree that belongs to the family of pomelo or lemon. It has plenty of  thorns on its trunk and branches and I climbed up just for curiosity and I was so attracted with the small orange ripe fruits on its branches. I was effortless when my Mom suddenly called my name and afraid of being scolded I hurriedly jumped down and my right foot landed on a broken bottle of coca cola. When my Dad heard me crying , he ran to me and carried me inside the house.  My Dad applied medications on my wounded foot .

When I was in College , I left my family because I was a working scholar . I miss my Dad because he always made me feel comfortable and important. He's fond of making salad , a mixture of ripe papaya, young coconuts, and star apple mixed with milk.  Everytime I am having a summer vacation , he then offered salad, and other fruits from his fruit trees.  When I graduated , my Dad was old enough and he stopped working. He just stayed at home until I heard that he got sick. He was diagnosed of having a skin cancer-terminal stage.  I almost couldn't believe it because it doesn't shows. Until I went home and saw him very pale and his hands was shaking . He can hardly sit because ha has this "boil" in between his anus and sex organ.  I just learned that it was cancerous and specialized doctors has nothing to do with it until he was partially in bed, weak. Even if he's in bed he still can manage to wake up early and cooked our food. I sometimes saw him sitting in a small chair  made of wood, with the height just enough to touch the ground. He was collecting dried leaves with the use of barbecue stick and burnt it. My father was very patient even if he was struggling in pain. I can still say that he is the best.  He is a good provider, an educator, a talented businessman and a hero to all of us siblings.  He died 16 years ago and his love for us remains in our heart. He is always remembered every March 16 and 23, his birthday and death respectively. That's my father, my Dad, my hero.

2 N 1 Day

Hi there..I was absent for two days here. Its just that I was having  visitors, actually a Godmother of my daughter and her family. It was so surprising that we spend the weekend by visiting the very lengthy San Juanico Bridge and Mc Arthur's Park. The children enjoyed with their experience above the bridge of 17 feet high and it trembles when big buses passed by. My son was frightened with the heights and the flow of the water under the bridge, he fainted. We really enjoyed watching the views, the lengthy and winding bridge which connect Leyte and Samar..After that we went to McArthur's Park , having plenty of pictures with the statues. The children enjoyed a lot again. It wasn't all planned, and sometimes I could say that everything will work out just fine, will come at the right time even if you do not have a plan for a certain thing. Likewise there is also incidents in our life that , the harder we prayed , the harder we wished, if its not meant for you, then it will turned out to nothing. This is it, it happened without expectation.

^-^ Done ! ^-^

Thank God it's Friday ! It was my children's first examination (Semi Periodical examination ) in their new school. It was only two days and I really have to review and tutor them to all the test coverage. Its quite a busy day when your children got this responsibility as a student. In spite of my busy day at work, I can still manage the review for my daughter and in the morning, it is the time of my son to review before going to school  so that his mind is refreshed.

The little boy seems no exam at all as he keeps on gaming in the internet. As I asked him, he said he has a perfect score. He's indirectly conceited..hehehe.I believe him either because last year from his previous school he earned an award. The teacher was very happy because he got it and got perfect in  Math. A mother like me would be very happy if an achievement is in the hands of your children. Awaiting and anticipating good score for both of them. Its done already.

Put to the Test

It was on Monday that my daughter handed me the scholarship form for Philippine Science High School. It was given to her by her teacher . This is an application form for the entrance examination for secondary level by 2013 and should be done on September 29.  Actually we really aimed to let our daughter take the examination because aside from her excellence in school, it has good privileges to the students offered. We filled it up and secure the necessary requirements like a 1X1 photo, signature from the guidance office, registrar's office and the last is the Principal because the next day will be the deadline.  I really don't know that that the parents will be the one to submit it to the PhilSci campus. I was confident also that it  should be somebody in her school to submit the form. The next day, my daughter called me up through the telephone and told me that it should be me to submit the form. I was so panicked because it's the last day and she informed late in the afternoon at 5:30. Because of that, we went together to the school the following morning to let the Principal sign the form because it was still empty. The Principal's secretary collected the form  and told me that we should submit a certification from the previous school indicating her final grade in overall Grade Five, her ranking in overall grade five, for the school year 2011-2012. By the way, we are required for this because we are transferee here. I was quite in dismay and disappointed because it's already late and I still have to request those things. On the other hand , my husband is in Ormoc City for his route as a salesman, I texted him to approach the school for the requirements and let those requirements be sent here via travelling van of Ormoc -Tacloban route. I waited the van to get the requirements and after that I hurriedly proceed to the Principal's office. Immediately the principal signed it and the next challenge which quite unsure if PhilSci would still accept the application form because we are already late in submission. I scanned through the directory and search for the telephone number of PhilSci-Palo , Leyte Campus. There I found the number and called up the facilitator for the purpose of asking if our form would still be accepted. I need to know this for a definite and final decision to go to the campus. I need a positive recommendation from them. But it took  me for how many calls and the one answered keeps telling me that the facilitator was still outside of the office. I never stop calling, I never surrender until the last call, the opposite end  gave  me the facilitator's cellphone number so that I could contact him. I texted him immediately without any hesitation asking if we're still be accepted an an applicant. He replied to me saying : "just to come over to the office. "

In this statement, I know that I am already got a 90 %  chance to be accepted. I hurriedly go to the campus and proceeded to the office. There, I met the facilitator, got some interviews, and he issued the examination permit. My heart was filled with joy and had slight tears n my eyes because of happiness. I leave the PhilSCi office with a smile and very thankful to God.

I our life we met challenges always. It is up to us how to deal and tackle for all these challenges. This is a good example of  a challenge. Imagine, for my busy activity at the working area, not to mention the paper works, I still have the time to manage these things. I am also thankful to our boss for  understanding our situation. In every one's journey in life, we are always put to the test !  

A Real and True Friend

I am very much expose to the internet even then. Before, I was just a mere researcher of a newest song of my idols both foreign and local.  I'd love to copy the guitar chords so that I could play my guitar while I was still a jobless individual for eight (8) months. Not only that, I'd love to research healing herbs, play games, search for all the amazings, as they say. It's enough for me to log in facebook, and even friendster before, twitter, my space, tumbler, etc. With my interest of all these things, I don't really know about making money online until  a friend of mine confessed to me her graces in the net. I met this friend of mine while I was still connected at my previous employer as a Purchaser. At our first meeting, its just like I  lack  the "self confidence" in talking, I mean she's this kind of a tall, sexy, with a a fair complexion lady at a very young age. We have a great age gap, being the elder to her  but I realize and found out that  we could go together with our topics, we used to laugh out loud, and I could really be flexible at all times talking to her. 

One time she shared to me her love life, her work, her down moments, and she shares to me about blogging. It sounds interesting but then  during that time I don't have a computer to concentrate all these things. I mean I tried, I tried also at the net cafe paying my two hours budget of P 30.00 pesos. But sometimes because of the many things to do, I forgot to post, and then it turned out to be nothing because I already forgot my password or even my username. This friend of mine continue to encourage me until I learned that she resigned from her work to proceed another field of study. It took for about three years that we don't have a communication even in a text message. I tried to scan her name in the facebook pages but I couldn't find her name.

I resigned from my previous employer just last year, June 30, 2012. On March this year, I was hired and I am now in Tacloban City. Until one time, while I was walking at the selling area , I noticed a lady, she's tall, still fair in complexion, but I saw her sideways. When I was just a meter away fro her, I was amazed to see my friend doing shopping inside the store. By the way she's also living here in Tacloban City. I did not hesitate to approach and said: "Cathy!" ....Then she glanced at me and oh well, we shout out for joy upon seeing each other after 3 years. It's Cathy and we had a good time talking with greetings, laughing to the max and she still shares to me her lovelife, getting married to a wonderful person but her partner is a miles away apart from her. I really appreciate the gestures that I can say she's really a true friend. She shares to me again about blogging, and in fact she really helped me how to do this and how to get monetized. I am very happy of everything she shares and taught me. I owe her a lot. She is very helpful and generous. In Filipino dialect, it's "GRABE", very generous. Today I learned from my email that I already have the income. Oh my God, it's really a blessing. Cathy is the instrument given to me from God, to help us in our needs financially. For me she's the key for all these things. For me I salute to her, she's really a TRUE FRIEND. To my friend Cathy or Katy, thank you very much. God bless us all and see you at the top.

Father Dear ^_^

Father and Daughter Tandem

Hey guys. I just want to share with you about a father of two children, no other than my husband. He's younger than me for about four years and when I first gave birth to my daughter, I thought he couldn't cope up with the pressure as a father. That was the time he learned to wash our clothes, cook our food, and even go to the market. He was very excited as he saw his first baby, a pretty little baby. As our baby grow for about 6 months, he's more than a mother because he would try to pamper the baby as more than I could do. He bought so many CD tapes, and play those CD's while the baby is in side the crib. Not only that, a lot of nursery rhymes had been prepared. He told me that he really like baby girl. Until now we've got jealous sometimes as he really have the sense of loving more  to my daughter than my son. I don't know if I am correct but I could see him very close to my daughter. The second time I got pregnant, he was so excited because he wanted a baby boy for he has a reason that he would have a companion as he grow older. He joked as :" I hope it's a boy so that I could have a partner in drinking "tuba". Tuba is a native wine,from a coconut tree with its sweet aroma. When I had my first ultrasound, it was 7th month old inside he was very happy upon knowing that it's a boy. I texted him and said: It's a boy because the doctor said she saw the testes..hehe. He called up and laugh out loudly. Until the baby born and really it is a boy. He found out that the baby has two dimples and a fair complexion. At last he had already a companion as what he wanted..

They were really good companion now

During Sundays, he would install his sound system and let her Princess sing. Likewise my son has a good voice too. My husband  is very skillful and he introduced a lot of things to my children. During summer, they play kite flying, motoring, and strumming guitar. He is a guitarist in our Church because our family is a choir member. He has a lot of friends in sales, because he is very talkative, witty, and funny. Being a father he's also temperamental. He is easy to be angry especially if the children forgot to do their assignment in school or the children forgot to tell me the requirements of a certain project. For him , time is gold. He hates me for being late sometimes. I think, he is a good father to my kids, being a loving father to them, good providr to them, and pampered a lot to my children. ^ - ^...

Unexpected !

I just want to share something personal. We are five siblings and I am the eldest. Among us five, only me got married. Before that, in October 2007 we all went to Cebu for the arrival of my cousin's family from the States.We have lots of gifts from my cousin and we're all happy. We visit the house where my other siblings lived with my mother. My brother was a seafarer before but bad fate had happened to him in Japan and it turned out to be a desperate  experience for him. He was just living in the house desperate, as if life stopped for him. Good for him that every time I would  advise him, he would listen to me as he believes what I said. I kept on encouraging him so that life must go on for him. He just read, and read, and read to the max. His mind was very full in knowledge. I admired him because he is very thrifty and knows how to managed his money.

In January 2008, I received a text message  that my brother had a fever because of his insect bite at the nape. My mother and a sister brought him to a doctor and received medications. They thought that he would be well again. On the last or fifth week  of January, it was Tuesday he said to my mother : " Mom, I want to go to Argao because I will go with Papa. My father died on MArch 23, 1995. Then my mother was puzzled and said: "Just stay here because I will be the one to pay the taxes of our land". My brother insisted and said: Mom, just stay, I'll go there to meet Papa..The fever continue to rise even with medications, with a reddish spots at the nape. It has an infection already, maybe. Until on the Thursday morning, my sister texted me that they brought him to the hospital and will undergo series of laboratory tests. Uneasy as I am , my mind is closed in thinking because of my brother's situation and I didn't receive any text messages until in the evening  I was the one who texted my sister and asking the situation. My sister just answered in a text message saying he expires at 3 p.m. Puzzled with the word "expire" , I texted, called but no one answered. Until the next Friday morning I called my sister again, and I was angry then because they don't provide me exact details. After all we've talked and heard my sister crying and told me all the details. The word "expire" means: My brother died at 3:00 in the afternoon. I was burst into tears and asked  why????Why this things happened to him? It is "Sepsis" according to the doctor. Before he died, he had seizures at the emergency room according to my sister and my mother angrily shouts the doctor and even until now, my mother is angry with the doctors. My sister then told me: "Ate, it was you, the first person I texted, so that you will know". But, I don't received any text message that afternoon.. Of all the relatives , even in Mindanao knew it that day. Why is it that I was the last person to know? It was all unexpected because my brother has a chubby built and no one would expect him that way. Maybe he doesn't want me to know because I have a weak  emotion. I am easy to cry, very sensitive. For Him, may He rest in peace, he has been a big help in the family when he was still alive.

Creepy and Superstitious

This is quite  superstitious to some people but it happened to us for how many times. When I get married in  1999, we rented a small house until I got pregnant. The place is quite small then we realized that we have to transfer to another place with a wider space. After 3 months we transferred to he next town and rented an apartment. It is a 5-door apartment made of wood. Adjacent to this apartment is also a series concrete house. Our rented apartment and the series houses have the same owner. The owner's house was just at the back of the series houses.

The apartment looks like this and we occupied the door number 4. Door number 5 was empty at that time. I like the place because it was peaceful, a distance from the highway and that you can sleep well at night. It is my routine to have nightly rosary and reciting the Apostle's Creed before I sleep. My husband is a salesman until now and that he never stayed longer days in the house. I have only one companion that time, the cousin of my husband. Until I gave birth to my daughter Princess, I just give the confidence to his cousin to babysit my daughter. Time flies very fast and my daughter grew faster. At 2 years old she knows how to sing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion as if she knows how to read but she never glance the TV screen, she just memorize the lyrics. 

My brother in-law wearing yellow shirt with my husband

 It was her birthday (3 years old)  when I learned that my brother in-law is getting married because the girl is already pregnant. He confessed to us and asked a favor of staying with us together with his girlfriend. This apartment is a 2 storey door for only P 700.00 per month in 2003. I asked permission with the owner  to avoid predicaments. Lucky enough that the owner offer the next door (no.5) and set a bargain for us to pay just P 1,200.00  for door no. 4 and 5, and got a discount of P 200.00 a month.. So the new arrangement made us happier and we decided to transfer in door no. 5 because its bigger than door no. 4. The first day of stay in door no. 5 was Thursday and our room is at the second floor .It has really a bigger space compared to door no.4 and we could arrange properly all the things inside the house.

Creepy thing started when I was watching TV downstairs with my daughter and I heard heavy steps upstairs and then I could see rare  shadow reflected in the  mirror located near the divider. I don't take it seriously because I don't easily believe in ghosts. Until when we were asleep, I dreamed of  an old woman walking inside the room and watched me. In the next morning I wake up knowing that my Princess had a fever. I'ts Friday and I have to bring her to a "hilot" first. Her fever took for about four days and I was then afraid of something that is why I decided to bring her  to a doctor for a laboratory tests but the results turned to be negative.  It was her fourth day of fever the next Monday when I decided to partake a healing with my experience in "Singles for Christ" where I received the gift of vision, prophecy and healing in 1998. I think I could heal through my prayers in my own simple way. At an instance the temperature of my daughter dropped to normal and she perspired a lot. Praise God.

I went to a dream interpreter and asked her about the meaning of my dream.  She told me that it is for me to discover the secret of the apartment. I was puzzled and asked her if she knows the story. She told me also that maybe , among the 5 doors , it was only me who recite prayers.. Every dawn, I recited the rosary because I heard the dogs crying in deep horror.

The dream interpreter urge me to speak with the owner and asked the real story of the apartment and I learned that in 1994 , there was an old woman lived in door no. 5 together with her grandson whose working at PNOC or Philippine National Oil Company. This woman once asked permission to her grandson to let her go to their home province but the latter did not allow her because she is no longer strong enough to take travels. The next morning, her grandson found her hanging at the "sala" , tied her neck to an old blanket  and the other end was tied to the beam of the house. The old woman did not receive church rites upon her death because she is not a Catholic. Maybe she needs spiritual stability that is why she was making those noises upstairs and made us feel her presence.

Again I was advised to make prayers intended for her for three consecutive nights at exactly 6:00 o'clock in the evening and I was able to research her name . I was tempted by evils while I was praying, I can feel the touch , the whiz air..I am not jokin, this is a true story. But I have to concentrate in praying and I did it well. I told the owner to make a nine (9) days novena for her soul so that she could have peace already. By the way, when the other doors, knew my intentions, they're all confessing me the incidents they had experienced also. The beam of the house where she tied up her neck was the same beam from the door 1 up to 5. It was really creepy because even my brother -in- law will no longer sleep also upstairs at door 4 because they also had an experience when they saw an old woman at the kitchen. Thank God, the owner gave me the complete details of the woman, the date of her death, and thus she made a 9 days novena for her soul. Maybe all these things had happened for her to rest in peace after those long years. Then we decided to transfer again to another place.

It was then our fourth transfer when we knew from my husband's cousin that there was a house and lot for sale at a very cheap price. This is located at the relocation site where those who are victims of the flood in 1991 were relocated. This area is supposedly not for sale but the owner decide to sell for his husband's medication. We decided to buy the house and lot for three "gives" . And this is now our residence in Ormoc City. The house is so simple, 80 square meters, bungalow type. At the back of the house, there were 2 coconut trees, 1 jackfruit tree, and 2 guava tree. When we decided to extend the kitchen, we cut down all the trees and again creepy things happened again. The day we cut all the trees, we heard the back door extremely knocked at night and my husband and I thought that there was an emergency but found out nothing...Then we go back to sleep. The next morning, our neighbor told us that they thought that we're having a party that night because they heard noises and clangs of spoons and forks, plates, etc. We really don't know what they're talking about. For so many times, we experienced this kind of  horror.

The ghost which my nanny saw at the kitchen looks like this.

Until now, we're in Tacloban we experienced these things. One afternoon my son got a fever and I hurriedly went home to check his status. I saw him lying in the sofa sleeping and I made him awake to take medicines. He took the medicines and after that I saw him crying to the max, embraced me, and cried out loudly. I couldn't stop him as if he saw something, scared of something. I hold him and carry him outside the house and made him at ease then he stopped crying. The fever stopped and the next morning he's well again. The thing confuses me is his fever is nightly and in the morning he's well. I asked him why he was scared and cried loudly that night. He calmly said that he saw a ghost, a black ghost. I did not believe again but I can sense he's telling the truth. One of my clerks, shared me of a lady with a third eye. and I brought her at the house. She bring a rosary and a holy water, she can speak to the supernatural and saw the spirit that my son had told me. But according to the lady named "Shina", they have a mind to mind talk and the spirit also asked forgiveness from us because he did not intend to scare my son. It was just a shocked for him seeing us inside the house because this house was empty before and that he was the one living.. It is hard to believe but when I ask my son silently where is the ghost, he can point out the location the same with  Shina.  Then , I found out that maybe my son could see these things and good to know that he's no longer afraid. Even at my office he saw a man getting inside and out. At the back sink, he saw also a lady washing the dishes and even young children playing outside and we really don't see what he's talking about. 

These supernatural creatures really exists, I concluded. The best thing is to pray, and acknowledge their presence. So much to share but I should park my fingers to relax..

Unique Crocheting

Filipinos are creative as they say. I remember my mother's younger years making curtains, blouses, bags, pen holder, made of yarns and threads. In fact  she gave my daughter a sling bag made of yarn, crocheted.  I really did realized the importance of these cute stuff because it.s all done unique.Creativity is the number one influencing factor that attracts  and is important to women. This is the we we keep our hands busy by making designs, you can create your own designs as a gift present. In that way your stress will be relieved. My mother then spend quality time making designs and believe me-she has that long patience in making. She taught me about crocheting when I was in Grade 6, she bought a very big ball of yarn to make a curtain. My God! too much yarn to buy , I think it was about 20 pcs. Those designs are simple, as a beginner.

This can be very simple, all you have to do is to buy the hook. In other words, crochet means "hook" in French. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by artisans. Crocheting, like knitting consists of pulling loops through other loops, but additionally incorporates wrapping the working material around the hook one or more times. Early crochet hooks ranged from primitive bent needles in a cork handle, to expensively crafted silver, brass, steel, ivory and bone hooks set into a variety of handles, some of which were better designed to show off a lady's hands than they were to work with thread. 

These are colorful samples of hook.

If you’re brand new to crochet, the vast array of available hooks, yarns,stitches and patterns can seem overwhelming. What should a beginner learn first? Which hooks and yarns should (s)he use? When there are so many options, how do you know where to start? Let's explore the possibilities.

Prince & Princess

My Princess. She is in Grade 6 at Liceo  del Verbo Divino.The Divine Word University or DWU was a private, Catholic, co-educational institution of higher learning run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. Founded in 1927, it was closed in June 1995 by the school administrators after a court ruling favoring the labor union which represents its faculty members and other employees.
Princess is a member of the English Club. Being a new student , she had the hard  time in talking with the "Waray" dialect and she speaks with her Tagalog version.  She's a very studious type, intelligent and loves to sing and dance. I am really proud of her talents, she can sing neatly to the pitch of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Kelly clarkson, etc. She's a good dancer too. In our activity she joined the group dance contest taking the lead of the song  by Jennifer Lopez's "Dance Again" . Not only that, she's good in drawing and in fact she tried making comic through her notebook, and it was really lively, the drawings are good and the girls are pretty. Since her Kindergarten days she dreamed of being an artist someday.

My Prince.. Prince also now in Liceo. He's in Grade 1.  I could say also he's intelligent. I can smile secretly as I glanced at his seatworks and quizzes having high scores. He has this tantrums also especially in the morning as what other children did in the morning. He wakes up at 5:30 but be sure he could play his favorite games in FRIV or Y8.. He never allows his  "Yaya" to change his clothes, bathe him, to let him eat . He wants me to serve Him, as hey say: He's a Mama's boy. He dreamed of becoming a soldier, he has lots of toy guns in the house. He appreciates his Grandfather being a retired police. I am afraid if he really wants it and I said, you might change your ambition though..

My Prince and Princess. I love them very much.

Sleepy

I am very sleepy for the trip. I guess I should go home early today and rest a while..So many to share to you guys..Good day!

Almost Late !

At last! I'm in Cebu..I was catching the 6:00 a.m. flight this morning for our quarterly Mancom..hayysst....Air Philippines was quite in a hurry since it flewed at about 5:40 a.m. The ground stewardess seems irritated when I came up running and said: " Ma'am you shouldn't be late next time, is it my fault? For me it wasn't. I understand we have to stay at the boarding place, 30 minutes before the schedule.  Anyway it was already done. Arrivd Cebu at 6:20,  I immediately rode a taxi heading to our head office and arrived very early, the housekeeper was still cleaning at the  parking area and everywhere. I just stayed at the canteen where some of the employees used to take their breakfast too. Even the canteen owner was still cooking...hehehe, what a trip! I just orderd a cup of Milo and drink it. This is my second time to participate a meeting with big bosses since I started working in this company this year. I really appreciate with their attitude towards their subordinates-fairly professional. I was very much delighted with their response with my intentions and plans in the business particularly in marketing strategies. Discussions are very interesting and very rewarding. We've done at exactly 11:30 a.m. and I was scheduled to fly back here at exactly 2:20 p.m. We took our lunch near the airport so that I wouldn't be late again. As we arrived at the "Carenderia", I saw my cousin, he's a consultant and his clients includes: Philip Morris, Dole, Del Monte, PAL, etc. He is a very intelligent person, very brainy...how I wish I could be like him. I approached him to greet since it was quite a while that we were not able to see each other. He was also waiting for the arrival of his eldest daughter, a pediatric doctor assigned in Philippine General Hospital.I also considered my cousin as a very lucky person with his son and daughters. Aside from being intelligent , they're all good looking and pretty, with good jobs also...Well, after a short chat, I ate with my 2 bosses and a companion and after that we proceed to the airport. This time , I am very early in boarding... I met a friend, a manager of Pepsi Cola and he's also heading for Tacloban. We've talked until we're on the plane. This time it's Cebu Pacific, bigger than Air Phil and just for 30 minutes, we're already in Tacloban. Again, I could say: "What a trip! ", It was just like having lunch in Cebu and flew back here to work again..hahahahahaha.. Therefore, money is magical , evertyhing is possible if  you are provided with good benefits...