The Real Dreamgirl

Everything started out as a dream. And she worked hard to attain that dream. And now, the votes have been tallied and America had named a new Idol. Honestly, I have already predicted that another WGWG (white guy with guitar) will make it to the top. But, yes, I hoped that my prediction will be wrong. I have always believed in the talent of this 16 year old Latina-Filipina-American that is Jessica Sanchez. How could you not be impressed with such a powerful voice and awesome talent framed in her petite bod? A lot of people actually rooted for her, but the prestige of being this season's ultimate American Idol is just not for her. Let us just wait until they both work on the real music world. After all, it's not the number of votes that defines the true winner but it is the way how one will be remembered after the competition is over. And I heard Tommy Mottola is already signing her up,right? Meanwhile, you might wanna checkout the highlight of American Idol season 11 results show.
She might not be lucky to win the coveted title but she will be truly remembered thru this performance and perhaps should there be another remake of "Dreamgirls", the producers might even consider her. But for the whole Philippines, Jessica Sanchez, is truly an Idol. You are never to far from attaining your dreams, girl!

A Person Fit for be Called a "Mother"

Accept it or not, not all who have given birth are fit to be called a Mother.  To be fit for the title, one has to be strong yet mushy at times.  One has to be firm yet willing to kiss away the pain.  One has to know how to see serenity in the middle of chaos.  To give birth is let's say a quarter of the trick, the other three quarters is for the lifetime duty that is tied to being a mother.

I was facebooking last night when I saw a video posted on one of my friend's wall.  I never actually liked clicking on links for a video because I know that most of them (especially the ones that have a description in a different language) contains nasty things.  But the description of the video really caught my attention.  So there, curiosity has taken over me and I clicked on the link to the video.  It was a video of a mother holding her baby while she flashes papers with writings.  She was telling the story of her life.  She started with how she met the father of his son and how they got married.  She tells the story of how she knew that she was pregnant and how happy they were.  You can see how happy she was each time she shows the papers.  But the happiness was actually shortlived.



When the news always speaks about fetuses being left here and there or children beaten by their own moms, it is such a relief knowing that there are women out there that has a pure heart which bears the essence of being a mother.  She was told she should have aborted the baby but she didn't.  She chose to bring him into this world.  But his birth is not the end because he was ridiculed, laughed at and sometimes feared by others.   But she continue to be the strong mom that she is.  She made sure that his baby feels loved and she assured that even though he is born blind and with cleft palate, he is still beautiful and he is a blessing from God.

It is not always that I am deeply moved by what I see over the internet.  But, to say that I wept a lot while watching this video is an understatement.  I wanna share this to all of you because I believe that they will also touch your hearts.  She does not beg for money, not even a cent.  All she asks is for us to look at our own blessings (our children ) and continue loving them.

Being a mother is one of the hardest profession in life, but it is something that I would not trade for anything else.  Just seeing my kid with a smile or a glimpse of happiness on his eyes, 'yun lang, quota na ko!


To my Mom in heaven, thank you for showing me how to become a good mother.  You are the most beautiful (syempre carbon copy mo ko eh!), most patient, most kind and most forgiving mother of all.  I would not be the mother I am now, if it wasn't for you.  To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day.  Let us continue building a better planet by nurturing our family well.  Cheers to us all!

The New Look

It’s Friday once again and time for Mommies to post their moments online. Yesterday we also celebrate the International Women’s day. What could best define womanhood than being a mom, I guess nothing else. This is also my birthday month, so you could perhaps imagine the importance of this month for me. And to celebrate this month of merriment (well, at least for me!), I decided to take a bold move of donning a short hair. For the last three years or so, it has been long do for me. My family even raised their eyebrows when I told them I am cutting my hair short. Hubby even said, it’s not bagay for my face shape. But being the hard headed lady that I am, I still pushed through with the idea. So yesterday, I visited a neighborhood salon, and asked the stylist to cut my hair ala KC Concepcion. Even the gay stylist was tongue tied and kept on asking me prior to cutting my hair if I was sure that I want it short. To which I replied, “Yes, it will grow back so nothing to worry about cutting it short.”



The difference in the length is very clear. I am getting mixed reactions on this but in the end what I feel is what's important. I feel great about my new look and I am loving it. I guess you just have to be confident to sometimes move outside of your comfort zone, and yes, that goes with hair lengths, too.

100 Days

It has been years now that I have not been watching any local TV series. I remember back when Mama was still alive, we would sit beside each other and watch those teleseryes with so much gusto. I believe that the reason why I really stopped watching them is because I don't have someone to watch them with. I do not want my kid to be into these TV series so I really never encouraged him to watch them. until recently, Hubby discovered 100 Days to Heaven. It is the story about a filthy rich businesswoman who was plotted to die of a car accident but was rejected at heaven's gate. She was sent back to Earth to make amends with the people she had done wrong. It was something that we can share with our kid. It teach about being good and that we are only given one life so we have to use our talents and time to the fullest. It teaches how one mistake could actually create a string of different things and make a big difference. Hubby started watching it because he was more into the business ideas that the show was sharing. To be honest, the Philippines does not have any good stories for TV series but this one was done in good taste. It saddens me that it is about to end but that is really how things should be. Everything has to come full circle. I just hope that the show has implied their lessons on their audience. As for me, I was actually thinking what if I was the one who only had 100 days to live? How should I spend the days?

Hmm, Ikaw? Paano?

Vertigo, Here You Go Again!

After almost four years of not having Vertigo attacks, it visited me again just last week. I almost forgot that I had vertigo till it paid another ugly visit on me.

Vertigo /ˈvɜrtɨɡoʊ/ (from the Latin vertō "a whirling or spinning movement"[1]) is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary.[2] The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear.[2] It is often associated with nausea and vomiting as well as difficulties standing or walking.

When it showed up four years ago, sysmptoms were rare but I got really scared. Apart from the nausea and vomiting, I loss my sight for about ten minutes. Unluckily, I was alone in the house that day. I was blind but had to find my way to grab the phone and call my husband and the office because I was supposed to have my shift in 3 hours. When hubby came in, he saw me crying in the room, vomiting on the side and confused on what I should do. Since, I do not know yet that it was vertigo, I was thinking what could have happened to me. My world was literally spinning. I could not even stand or walk without any help. I need someone to hold on to just to stand up. When the blindness went away, I asked Hubby to accompany me to the nearest hospital. When we get there, the ER doctor asked me to lay down and gave a shot of some medications. I fall asleep and when I woke up, I was told they gave me relaxants and I was told I had to take in some meds for the next two weeks. I was also told to limit coffe or any caffeinated drinks as studies are showing that caffeine heightens the attacks of vertigo in some patients. That was the last time I experienced vertigo till last week. Early morning when I got up from bed, I already felt dizzy. I didn't think that it was vertigo already. I was able to go to work though I cannot say that I function properly. I was burdened not just with dizziness but with occasional urges of vomiting as well. When I was on my way home, I was yawning a lot in the train and even in the jeepneys. When I arrived home, the dizziness heightened up and was already creating a lot of discomfort on me. Needless to say I was able to sleep but I was not able to get up the next day. My head is spinning so is my world. It was as if the whole area revolves. I dreaded another atack of vertigo but true enough like other illness it will strike you when it is least expected, when you are to busy worrying about a lot of things. Yes, the doctor said the main reason why I had the attack was because I was to stressed. Yes, it is indeed my body's way of telling me to lighten up and take some rest. The sad part is that I had to bear the agony of vertigo because I am not to take any anti-vertigo pills since I am also trying to conceive. Doctors tell me just to rest and take some leave from work. If the attacks heightens, I can take as much as one pill a day just to lower down the dizziness.

Guess, I might be staying home for the next couple of months.

Anti Planking Bill, Seriously?

QC representative Winnie Castelo has filed an Anti-Planking bill. He said he was urge by his parental conscience after seeing some students planking in those busy streets last Monday during the height of the transport strike.

“Parents and teachers have reason to be alarmed if these similar protest actions will have as a scheme and scene otherwise warm and living bodies laid down across street highways as though they were offerings to the gods,” Castelo said in the explanatory note of House Bill 5316.

“The parent in me tells me that this precedent in the case of the this massive transport strike where militant street protesters who are students of various schools have to lie down or serve as ‘planks’ across the road to disrupt what should be normal traffic could just be very dangerous in the future. Life and limb are pretty much at risks here were unbelieving bus drivers or law enforcement authorities might just ram through these warm and living bodies rolled out on highways”, Castelo added.

To be honest, I first heard the word planking from Vice Ganda and it was used to describe what the show contestants was doing on stage. At first I thought is was appropriate to say that is has the same meaning as tumbling. But, when I heard about this law, I eventually seek the help of my friend ( well, our friend really!) Google and look for the meaning of the word. And found its meaning as follows:

Planking (noun) - throwing or setting down clumsily or casually ; to lay horizontally across any object or the ground with their arms by their sides, aiming to occur in daring situations or a brotherly display of core-strength.

Yes, I agree to what the good representative was trying to point out. Putting myself in the shoes of the moms of those students, maybe I will even thank him for thinking about the welfare of my child. But bringing in some bill like this to our congress is like a joke. I am not saying that it will not do any good to our country because I believe that in its very little way it could. What I am emphasizing is that our country needs bills more than this one. Perhaps, bills that would alleviate the status of the education system of our country or a bill that would perhaps bring in more opportunities to people living in the province so they don't have to go to Manila just to find a job, and yes not even a decent job at that!

To homeschool or not

I was watching a rerun of a local documentary show the other day and it really made me think about homeschooling. Yes, it was a re-run. I checked and found out that it wasd originally shown on national TV about five to six years ago. Yet, the message of the show still echoes to this day. It was pointing out the differences between the sexes inside the school premises. It pointed out that girls are working harder in schools as compared to boys. It even stated that girls are always outnumbering the girls in higher sections. It was alarming on my end, maybe because I have a young boy in school as well. I recalled how my boy was doing the past few years he had been in school. It made me realized that for the past few years those that are getting honors in their schools are mostly girls. An education specialist even stated on the show that men are born to have shorter attention span as compared to their counterpart. Boys are not good in symbols and this includes letters and numbers. But boys are always seen to excel in things where they do not only use their mind but their physical strength as well. Hmm, maybe the reason why most of our athletes are men. So, how did homeschooling came into the topic. You see, when you homeschool a child you work at the pace of that particular child. You do not subject a child to learn faster because others are learning that way. In homeschooling, parents as teachers, can work on what motivates a child and on what gets his attention. Yes, there are also set of curriculum for homeschooling but the good is that you can design your lessons to fit these curriculum and at the same time making your lessons enjoyable to your kid.

I am still way to far to homeschooling my kid. I mean, I would love to, but our schedules might not make it work for us. Perhaps , next year, we are going to give it a try.

Happy 4th of July

A few years ago, 4th of July was celebrated all throughout the Philippines with a blast. Yes, it was originally celebrated as Independence Day until August 4, 1964 when historians urged that it be changed to June 12, 1898. looking back at our history, some may agree that it was indeed the correct date of our independence. The Spaniards never recognized that we are free from them when our flag was raised in Kawit, Cavite. They even transferred us as their colony to the Americans via the Treaty of Paris. To be honest, my mind has been bugged by our so called Independence even when I was just a kid. During my elementary grades, we were thought about how we won our freedom when the Katipuneros waved our flag to the tune of Marcha Filipina Magdalo (which later became Marcha Nacional Filipina). I was also taught then that July 4th is the Filipino-American Friendship Day. Is the United States really an ally of our country? Oh, this could perhaps launched a debate, but I will leave it up to your opinion. Personally, I have gained some blogging friends over the last week thru an online community called Voiceboks. Most of them are based in the US, so I could personally say that I have allies in the United States! (LOL!) Right now, I will just content myself in greeting Happy 4th of July day to everyone, whatever your opinions maybe. Anyway, everybody deserves a happy day not just on this day but everyday.

And I am 35

It was hard to imagine that it has been more than 17 years now, since I danced my first waltz with my father. I could still remember every detail of that night including the people present to witness my coming of age. I was so happy because I would be of legal age which for me then means that I could go out and party with my friends even to the wee hours of the night as long as my parents know where I am and who I am with. Oh those were the good old days. Now, I am already 35. So what does this age means? A lot are saying that it is entering the middle aged, the crucial stage wherein one could feel a lot of depressions and a lot of pressures as well. Yes, life could be stressful, if you choose it to be that way. But what the heck, I do not want to grow old sad and weary. So, I would rather take each day one at a time and live everyday to the fullest. This won't mean I am not having any plans. i do have a lot of them, some for myself, a lot for the kid and the family. My main goal is to have a established business in the next 5 years to come, no make it three years to come. I plan on having something that is close to our hearts (read:Food). This way, I get to work and play at the same time. Because I still believe that to stay young, one needs to feel young.

Looking back at my 34th

I was checking the bulk of image file on my laptop and I get to dig into these images taken last year. The image above was taken in Universal Studios in Singapore exactly a year ago. It was brother's birthday gift to me and a treat to the kid as well for doing good in school.

The image showing below was taken in Hongkong's Ocean Park last August 2010. This was brother's gift to the kid for his 8th birthday and for Papa's 57th birthday. Thinking how my 34th year on earth has been, I would say 'twas a very good one indeed. I was able to visit places and able to meet new people in my life. I am now looking forward to my 35th and hopes for all the best, perhaps a baby? (Good Heaven, please hear me!)

I would love to end this entry with a saying that was uttered by Elizabeth Arden. It goes like this; “I’m not interested in age. People who tell me their age are silly. You’re as old as you feel.” Well said, isn't it?

Praying for the Safety of Everyone

The whole Asia-Pacific region as well as the West Coast of the United States is the lookout because of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. Images flashed the internet and television right now giving the world an idea of how it was after the incident. If there is one thing that we have to be thankful of it would be that the tsunami did not hit any of our provinces. Seeing the devastation that it created on a country whose very used to having earthquakes, one could just wonder how it will be if it was our country. We do not even have half of their knowledge when it comes to natural disasters like this. It was a real relief when I heard that we have been spared from it. I do hope though that this will be a wake up call to all of us. We should always be ready for the unseen and we should always ask for guidance from the Almighty so we will be spared from these natural disasters. After all, in times like this, nobody will be able to give us a hand except Him alone. Let us continue to pray for the safety of everyone.

Reinventing Yourself

I was channel surfing last night and I was able to catch some segments of Moments. It is Net 25 talk show that showcases moms of different sizes and styles. Last night, show host Gladys Reyes was interviewing 1973 Miss World 1st runner-up Evangeline Pascual and she was a brilliant speaker. Rarely, could you see someone talk like her. She speaks both with grace and essence. She is the epitome of a real beauty queen. She mentioned of a quote from one actress (which according to Google was Audrey Hepburn) which talks about how women can stay beautiful. I googled it up right away and I am writing the phrase in full below.

"For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
 For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
 For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
 For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
 For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
 People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
 As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."

She was also giving an advice to Moms not to be afraid in reinventing themselves. She said not to go within the conformity that the society is dictating over moms. She said that we have to love ourselves in order to have the love that we seek from others. She even mentioned that she has embraced the fact that being a mom is from the womb to the tomb. And because , she mentions about moms reinventing themselves once in awhile then I have made up my mind. I will go and get my haircut within this month and yes, I will be posing my new look on this site.

To each his own

Have you ever felt humiliation? or guilt? I have experienced that at some time in my life. I no longer want to go further thru the details but I want to share how I was able to cope. Admitting your mistakes would be the biggest part of moving on. Once that you admitted that something actually went wrong then the rest will follow. You do not have to shout it out to the world that you are wrong but you just have to accept the fact that you are. Acceptance would be the second part of moving on. We just have to accept the sad fact that all people commit mistakes as we go along our lives and sometimes those mistakes takes us where we do not want to be. When you are able to have these two, then it will be easier for you to go to the third one, which is forgiveness. For other people to forgive you, you will have to forgive yourself first. You can only do that when you have done the first two parts. It is always a full circle. And I guess, time could be the only thing that heals everything that have been wounded.

For some honor could be the number of recognition they have had in their life. For some it could be just being able to live within their own means without having to step on other people's rights. So it is still to each his own, afterall.