School Experience

I had a chance to observe a school event as support to our colleagues and a glimpse on how school activities are done these days. Initially had to wake up early as I thought meeting time was 7:15. Fortunately for me it was filipino time thus I had a chance to eat breakfast. I was unaware that I violated the dress code by wearing the prescribed polo shirt with jeans until the team lead told me that maong is prohibited for us to wear during the event.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to read the email note yesterday afternoon not to wear maong and the news/reminder of not to wear maong did not reach me as I was swamped with meetings yesterday and got little time to check on emails. I wished the events team would have texted or at least have placed the dress code during their first invite (as that one I got to read well as I arrived on time!).

Out of respect, I willingly forced myself to change into slacks. Gladly, our house is near the office thus I was able to go back and change. I was about to bring my car to the school event but when we went back to the office at around 8ish, the van is still there since it got lost along the way thus we managed to ride with the team going to the school.

The public school that we went was a great place. Though there were a little glitches observed - it was a great event in total. The snacks served was quite yummy! I cannot remember who the caterer was. I commend the agency organizing the event. I also appreciated governor's magnificent people and oratorical skills.

TV Musings: Tayong Dalawa, May Bukas Pa

Some primetime TV shows are gaining lots of raves because scenarios in the teleserye bare semblance to situations faced by the majority. I watched Tayong Dalawa and was intrigued on everyday semblance in the workplace. Here are a few of my personal observations:

Most of the time, people are not what they seem to be.
Some people seem to dress well and keep a clean image on the outside but is totally opposite on the inside.
Some people would resort to all means to destroy another.
People would often times talk behind your back but there are also times that they will indirectly destroy you in front of others.

Some willingly abuse their authority oftentimes use their power for their own personal gain and to the detriment of others.
Some tend to be jealous while in fact there is nothing to be jealous of.
Some people are not satisfied with what they have that they want what others covet.
Some people are scared of the consequences

Some people are scared to be on the good side
Some people tend to do things against their will since they need to cling to someone and cannot stand by themselves

I do hope that a lot would have the attitude of Santino in May Bukas Pa.. To see the beauty despite the negativity. To continue to count blessings whether big or small.

Mother's Day Celebration

This year's Mother's Day celebration was quite unusual than before for various reasons.

For the first time since I became a mother, I celebrated mother's day without my husband and toddlers (ages 3 and 2 respectively). Detailed reasons why we are separated for the moment entails another post. Although physically separated, we are emotionally and spiritually together as we try to communicate as much as we can and I always make it an effort to contact and check through modern means of communication to see how my children are. I also exert effort to visit them as much as I can in the province.

For the first time, I was working while celebrating Mother's Day. My current work enables moms to see the difference, let their child grow and make their child number 1. This mother's day, we did our best to give back to all the moms out there and make them feel they are also number 1.

For the first time my husband's greeting was one of the last that I got in the morning. It was quite ironic that I had to prompt my greeting for the people whom matters to me most - my husband and kids. My kids are still toddlers thus I rely heavily on my husband to prompt them to greet me Happy Mother's Day. For the first 3 hours in the morning, I received Mother's Day greetings from my parents, siblings, in-laws,relatives,friends,colleagues and an unexpected greeting from my ex-boyfriend! After hours of eagerly waiting for my husband's message, I got impatient thus I managed to text him how bad I felt.

I got a quick reply from my husband after my text. He even called me up to apologize and greeted me. It was quite ironic that I felt my motherly efforts were unnoticed by my own family but acknowledged by those who surrounded me. My Emotional Quotient managed to fall below expectations when I was already waiting for 3 hours - eagerly anticipating, wishing and hoping that the next text, email or wall post that I receive will already be from my husband. I was expecting that he would text early because my text messages to ask how they were and attempted calls yesterday were left unreplied nor responded to. It was quite unusual for my husband not to respond to me. Either he would respond late that same night or call you up as soon as he gets home or reply early in the morning. He managed to text me and call me after expressing to him how I felt through a text message as I was unable to control myself to keep my feelings on my own.

Despite the feeling of being unappreciated by your own family, I managed not to let it ruin my day and tried my best to understand that my husband had to wake up late for Sunday and would greet me later than expected. I managed to brush it off and told myself not to be too sensitive as who knows I might need to prepare myself - maybe next time it might be my birthday or my kids' birthday that he might forget - hahaha! Seriously I hope not.. I feel I'm just super sensitive today. Maybe if this happens to him, he might not react that much.

I watched ASAP09- one of the top Sunday noontime variety show and was mesmerized by all the beautiful celebrities that graced the show! It was my first time to watch a TV show live and I surprisingly enjoyed it. I felt drained when the show ended and tried to have group photos with my colleagues on various celebrities passing by the studio corridors. I realized that it must be difficult for these celebrities to pretend to show to the world that they are doing super great even if reality is otherwise.

I celebrated Mother's Day with an early dinner by myself in Red Ribbon Jupiter. One of my comfort place in the city. Being alone allows you to contemplate on various matters in life. I realized that no matter what happens even if sometimes you are left unappreciated, you need to be stronger for yourself and for your family. A mother cannot deny the fact that she loves her kids and husband no matter what happens. The difficulties that arise are part of the challenging yet fulfilling profession of being a mother. One needs to be more understanding, be more forgiving and be more loving.

On Child Intelligence and IQ Points

Can milk make my child intelligent? I believe it alone, cannot.

Intelligence is a combination of genes, proper nutrition and the environment (situations and encouragement from parents,school and others in the community experienced by the child).

I happen to chance upon an advertisement on + 7IQ points. It created interest in me. As a mom, I always wish for my child to be successful in life. I have always believed that high IQ Points is a nice to have. When I saw the advertisement on it, I started asking myself if it is a must have.

I inquired with a pediatrician what the +7IQ Points was all about. Doctor was accommodating enough and told me that the study mentioned on the possibility that your child may increase his IQ Points while drinking a specific formula milk fortified with DHA. What most failed to look and inquired at was the comparison of its control group (vs the group which drank the formula fortified with DHA). When I asked from what group was it compared to, what I understood from what has been explained was apparently the control group used was a milk not fortified with DHA. I think case will not be true here in the Philippines as most of the milk brands found in our country is already fortified with DHA.

DHA's best source would be breast milk and breast milk is free of charge. Even if milk products are highly competitive on each other with their product offerings and claims, I totally agree on the saying, "breast milk is still best for babies".

I cannot afford to pay a huge amount of money to buy a milk highly fortified with DHA but is substandard in terms of other nutrients important for a child's development. I hope milk companies would be more responsible in their advertising. As a mother, I fervently hope one day that one or all of them would have a genuine interest to help moms rather than to mislead them in their advertising claims.

Kaleidoscope World

One of the Philippine music icons died around lunch time today. As the entire country mourns over his death, one of my favorite songs written by him kept on playing on my mind. As a tribute to Master Rapper - Francis M.. 

Here are a few of my favorite lines from his composition - Kaleidoscope world:

every color every hue is represented by me and you

take a slide in the slope,  take a look in the kaleidoscope

spinnin round, make it twirl, in this kaleidoscope world

 

--different voices, different choices

--some are mad, while others laugh

--some live alone with no better half

--some stand out while others blend

--some are friends and some are foes

--some have some, while some have most..

--some are great and some are few

--some can swim while some will sink

--and some will find their minds and think

Thank you Francis for these great lines and for your wonderful music!

The Search for the Next Supermarket

Shopwise Makati is undergoing some renovation these days which makes it inconvenient for shoppers like me.. They've rearranged again their shelves. It's one of their strategies to maximize space for the store - to occupy previously dead spots and encourage shoppers to go through all the aisles/spots as much as possible.

For now, I am in a search for the next supermarket place where I will religiously do my groceries. I passed by Cash and Carry this afternoon after we drove near the area to find a shop who does sofa re-upholstery. I was shocked that parking space for Cash and Carry already have a fee!  I was also shocked to see an almost full parking. I parked near the exit area already. We managed to get a good exercise walking from the parking to the entrance.

Cash and Carry transformed from your neighborhood supermarket to your nearby mall. Inside was bright and I found it manageable to stroll around the mall. I managed to buy an office blouse and found a great bed to our liking since I was also canvassing for a good bed frame for my toddler.

We did our groceries and I realized that there are a lot of choices in Cash and Carry compared to Shopwise. Imported goods where everywhere to be found. Prices were relatively cheaper for most of the products compared to Shopwise although I found the quality of meat in Cash and Carry almost similar to Shopwise's but relatively expensive compared to the latter.

I still want to try how it is to do groceries in nearby supermarkets such as Puregold, Waltermart, Landmark and SM. Until I find the next supermarket where I can comfortably do my groceries. 

29 Things to do in 2009!

Happy New Year! Better late than never.. Albeit late, it's time to draft my 2009 New Year's Resolution:

1. Go back to yoga class to combat stress and disturbance around me.
2. Hit the gym at least 3x a week. I can only do 1 so far!!! Hope work doesn't get into my way of going to the gym. 
3. Visit at least 2 places that I've never been to this year. I'm hoping to visit a local and international destination. Places in mind are Dumaguete and Macau!
4. Have more time for my children.. Implement again the 1x a month exclusive date with my kids.
5. Call my parents at least 1x a week and ask how they've been. 
6. Pray the rosary everyday.
7. Have a hearty lunch with my friends at least 1x month.
8. Chat every so often whenever I get a chance to have a friend who is online.
9. Stop buying pirated DVDs until I've seen all the remaining DVDs here at home.
10. Eat less of bad foods - oily ones, fried ones..
11. Have a "me" day at least 1x month either for massage, hot oil, spa, pedicure or window shopping!
12. Go home to Davao at least 1x a quarter.
13. Continue my guitar lessons.
14. Take voice lessons after I finish my guitar lessons.
15. Learn how to run. Join ARETE challenge!
16. Visit new places to eat around the Metro!
17. Explore Makati by foot during weekends.
18. Shop for clothes worth P1000 up only when they are on sale! This is my personal challenge.
19. Leave the office before 8 pm. If I happen to leave past 8, I need to deposit P1K for my kids' savings account.
20. Stop calling others Boss, Mr X.. Will start calling them by their first names!
21. Go to the derma at least 1x quarter.
22. Clean the entire house and get rid of things not used for 6 months!
23. Do 5S in the workplace.
24. Visit my relatives here in Metro Manila!
25. Get SSS and Philhealth for yaya since she has been a good yaya for my daughter.
26. Sing a song everyday.
27. Sleep before 11pm.
28. Give 10% of my salary to charity.
29. Finish reading a good book at least 1x a month.

AHA Moments

We had a day away to do maintenance check amongst the team members. New year, new team, new challenges..Had a great session with our core generating demand team today. Lots of AHA Moments emerged within the team which allowed us to understand each other fully. 

Teambuilding activities provided by Convergent Team our HR Consultant was so apt given our unique team dynamics. They showed great examples through videos, wonderful team exercises which in effect translated to positive reactions amongst team members. I was glad that the team members were so open, accepted and gave necessary feedback. I am confident that this will gradually translate on how we work and run the business as a team.

We are ready to face as one team the business challenges that will come our way. We are all set to make a difference sooner or later within the team, within the business unit, within the company and hopefully within the nation.

Prenuptial Checklist

I've been married for more than 3 years now. I'm blessed to have married a man who is God-fearing, patient and always tries to be a better man for the family. What he might lack in a few things is more than compensated on how he takes good care of our kids, cooks well in the household and tries to look for ways to earn better financially. I am thankful that he is secure with himself and never gives up. He continues to do more despite the trying times we've encountered especially in the financial aspect of marriage.

Some of my friends are married and a lot are thinking of getting married soon. Getting married is a major decision in one's life and I would like to share my own random list of things to know or do before getting hitched:

• Try to get to know better your husband-to-be. Join a discovery weekend the soonest you plan to be with each other forever. Discovery weekend is a reaffirmation of your initial decision.
• Silently ask yourself if you've seen him in good and trying times. How was he during these times? Have you seen him both at his best and at his worst?
• How does he handle your arguments? Did he hurt you so much physically or verbally before? If you answered yes to any of these, it might be best to rethink your decision of marrying the person.
• Have you seen him get angry with a stranger? with a relative or family? with friends? with you? Assess if you will be able to stand with his behavior on challenging times.
• Have you met his closest friends? Observe how he is with them. This will tell you a lot about him.
• Have you met his mother? How is he with her? This will tell you a lot about how he will treat you in the future. 
• Know at least a few (in case there is) of his past relationships. Especially on the reason why they broke up. Ask nicely if he was not been able to open up with you on his previous relationships. Do not be overly persistent though. Let him volunteer information as much as he wants depending on questions you will ask. (Friendly Tip: Engage in a game of truth and consequence with only the 2 of you as game participants. Ask questions that you've been dying to ask him)
• Have you met his family? Do you agree or do you see yourself imbibing their "culture"? Are you willing to give up a few of the family traditions you've been accustomed to the new ones your in-laws have grown with?
• How is he with his work? This will tell you a lot about how he will pursue in the future to make your family ends meet.
• Discuss and open up the topic of money. Ask how much your husband to be currently earns. How much is his savings? Investments? And other valuable assets one can think of. This would help you initially assess if it is indeed enough to raise the family. Do not be offended if he will ask the same of you as well. Get into a mutual agreement on what to do with accumulated assets prior to your engagement/wedding. 

It is such a wonderful feeling to have a partner you've committed to spend the rest of your life with. There might be challenges along the way but it is part of the marital commitment you've made in the entire Church community.

The Secret on Christmas Party

Did you ever believe that whatever it is that you think of would likely happen? My mantra has always been to keep on thinking positive thoughts, keep on dreaming and keep on believing!

I just practiced The Secret during our Christmas party earlier. Few hours ago, while attending the Christmas party, I was joking with my colleagues that I will win a prize in tonight's Christmas Party raffle. They initially laughed at my idea but also supported me on it. We had an agreement that we will not go home until all winners of the Christmas party raffle have been announced. 

True enough, I wasn't able to contain my excitement when my name was announced as one of the major prize winners. I got so happy that I won as I've originally thought! 

Different Folks, Different Strokes

In our daily lives, we meet different types of people.. I tried to do my own classification. Within the categories, there are varying degrees... Here are some types of people most of us meet and deal with in our lives. They may be found in your community, office, at the restaurants, malls, church, schools..

• Friend - you can feel in an instant their genuine concern for your welfare. They are those whom you can trust,a shoulder to cry on, a confidant. Some wrongly categorized as "friend" can fall in the other descriptors as well.
• Relatives - bound by affinity or consanguinity.. Sometimes, you are left with no choice but to meet and interact with your relatives. They can also be your friend or any other type of person as well.
• Colleagues - Normally you work towards a common goal in any given situation. This allows room to choose who your colleagues are.. Rare is the occasion that your friend or relative is a colleague unless you are managing a family business. Colleagues can be any of the following below as well.
• Protector - you always feel secure when you're with them as if nothing wrong is going to happen.
• User - They might initially be friendly to you but in the end you'll realize that they want something from you
• Plastic - Fake Ones. Best in acting out. You might never know how they truly feel. They appear to be good initially but sooner or later, you'll see their true color. It might be difficult to distinguish plastic ones from friendly ones. With this, you have to go with your instinct.
• Trying Hard - They always try hard to blend in the crowd, try hard to impress somebody or everybody.. 
• Safe - the not so obvious version of trying hard.. they try not to take any stand/side.. if in case they need to, they go not necessarily where it is the right one to go but where it is safe for them to do so.
• Toxic - they are the type of people you want to run or stay away from as they sometimes can be a burden to you or drains your energy in a way.. Somehow when you're with them you feel that you are just compelled to be with them but you wish that you'd do something else instead. It's your duty to be with them rather than your want.
• Bully - They love to power trip. They love to brag a lot and belittle most of the time hurt verbally or physically others.
• Kisser - no they don't kiss your lips but they kiss your ass instead. This is a very common experience for people in the senior management position.
• Lover - Normally we only have one at a given time but for others, it might be an exception and they might have 2 or more at any given time.
• Loved - We are entitled to have as much as we want with these types of people.. they can also be our friends, they can even be relatives or colleagues.

Wake Up Routine

I have a few morning habits that I have been accustomed to. Sharing some of them in random and wishing to continue these habits until I grow older:

• Pray. Give thanks to the Lord for giving us another day to live.
• Urinate. I used to urinate in the middle of the night but nowadays, the first thing I do upon waking up is to go to the bathroom to pee. Sometimes I feel the need to pee few minutes than my usual wake up time. I don't mind though as it cleanses my body from toxins.
• Drink a glass of water. I always feel thirsty in the morning when I wake up and so I drink a glass of water to quench my thirst. I've learned that drinking a glass of water upon waking up is a good practice as it replenishes the moisture lost in our body the night before.
• Give your loved ones a hug and/or a kiss whichever comes first. This habit always makes me feel good once done.

I then proceed to eat a healthy breakfast and start doing things that I need to do for the day!

Tribute to Helpful Neighbors

I've noticed that the squatters near our condominium started to evacuate the place since last week... I've lived in this neighborhood for about 4 years now and learned that the squatters area got burned twice ever since we occupied our place. As I watched them dismantle their house peacefully, I can't help but admire their resiliency through the times and started to silently thanked them as I reminisce all the contributions they've done for me..

Before I got married, I used to live with my cousin and two of my girlfriends in Tower A. We used to hire ladies residing in the squatters area to do general cleaning in our household whenever we feel that its already super dirty and beyond our control. 

We bought a unit in Tower B after getting married and we've sought the help of our friendly neighbors to transfer my stuff to our newly bought place. They were the ones who installed aircon in our rooms as well. Some became my regular contacts in case I need an extra hand to clean our place, check the leaks, do minor carpentry and plumbing jobs, "hilot"(massage) for my babies and do minor alterations in our pants/clothes. 

I hope and pray that they will be able to adjust well to their new community and may the new environment lead them to a better life.

Night Time Routine

Once I get home from work or during my usual weekend nights, I've somewhat established a routine that I usually practice. Here goes my list:

• Drink a glass of milk (or sometimes pineapple juice) - From dairy dose to fiber drink -these are my magic drinks. The importance of dairy in our diet has always been known and emphasized. They say that drinking a glass of milk before bedtime is beneficial as milk has serotonin which makes us sleep calmly.  A glass of Del Monte Pineapple juice is my milk substitute whenever we ran out of milk in the household. I've recently observed that drinking pineapple juice at night enables me to have a regular bowel movement the morning after. I've heard that drinking pineapple juice at night also increases your body's tendency to burn calories while sleeping.
• Take a bath - It has been a habit since childhood to take a warm or cold bath at night. Although I normally don't wet my hair unless I feel so icky and dirty. I tried once not to take a bath at night and found it a challenge to get to sleep thus I got up and took a quick warm bath and slept peacefully after.
• Watch prime time television shows - With the proliferation of DVD series and with the digital age that almost everything can be found it the internet, I still can't get hold of watching tv.
• Check my email and surf the net while watching TV - Thank God for the internet as I can now keep in contact with my relatives and friends who are far away. I almost forgot how it is to miss someone courtesy of  Skype, YM and other networking sites such as Facebook and Multiply.
• Brush my teeth and drink a glass of water afterwards - This routine marks that I am about to go to sleep in less than an hour or so.
• Apply facial moisturizer on my face and neck, apply eye cream near the eyes and lotion all over my body - I sometimes skip applying lotion all over my body especially if I have a massage session at home since I ask the masseuse to spread either lotion or oil all over my body .
• Go to bed.
• Pray and give thanks to God for the day that has been.
• Read a few pages of a certain book or a magazine until I feel sleepy - I always have a "flavor of the month" book or magazine which I always keep at my bedside for night time reference.
• Give hubby a good night peck on the cheek - I feel guilty of not consistently doing this habit. What I sometimes do as a substitute is to say good night to him when laziness strikes that I don't want to get up the bed anymore as hubby always sleep later than me. 
• Go to sleep.

Making a Difference

I need to make a difference - to my family, to my colleagues and to my friends.. Many may find it relatively simple to do but I find it quite a challenging task. 

How do I make a difference if a lot sees me as a wallflower? I'll take it one day at a time.. slowly but surely.. I've got few ideas of my own but what would really matter for me is that from now on, I will try to show to others how sincere and genuine I am in trying to make a difference as vague as it may seem in their daily lives. It's time to come out in my shell, time to reach out to others - make and show the "waiting potential" happen.

Christmas and Birthday Wishlist

It's Christmas time once again apart from a wish list consisting of good health, more happiness and success for myself and my family, one can't seem to avoid to wish for material stuff needed and wanted.

I hope to buy mostly those in my list before Christmas but since we only have a few extra monies before the year ends and other financial obligations are of top priority, I need to delay my purchase probably early next year when we receive our perquisites. 

Suddenly, wishful thinking kicks in and I hope to receive a few in my list at Christmas time or as a birthday gift from my parents, relatives and closest friends. Since most of them don't have access and time to read my blog, this will be a game of mental telepathy for us or a situation of "ask and you shall receive" answer when they will inquire on what I want for Christmas:

1. Gym Clothes - sports bra, dri-fit top/bottoms and gym bag. I haven't invested much on gym clothes yet even if I wanted to. I have to sacrifice my vanity for proper gym attire with regular jogging pants, cotton and company shirts since I need to spend my money on other important stuff. Out of resourcefulness,  I am currently using my firstborn's big baby bag as my gym bag!
   
2. All around carry bag good for office and casual wear. The last time I bought a bag for myself was more than 2 years ago.. Most of my bags are relatively given to me by relatives. 3 of my bags already said goodbye to me. Another 2 are about to retire but I pleaded with them to stay with me a little longer (read: still continue to use despite their condition) until I find a good replacement. I've found a great red replacement thanks to my sister in law who gave me a bag for a souvenir. Still need to find a replacement for my black,cream and mustard/brownish one.
3. Comfortable High Heeled Shoes - I need to invest for more office appropriate shoes. What usually works best for me are those in bigger type of heels, wedge type and not much of the stiletto ones.  I wish I could have pairs of the following hues: silver, white, gold, brown/tan, black
4. Radio/CD Recorder/Player - My little daughter loves to hear songs from the player unfortunately she got so fond of the remote that volume of our CD player seem not to work anymore.  I hope I can find a good replacement for this to play her lovely nursery songs.
5. Oven Toaster - Our oven toaster recently malfunctioned and it is already beyond repair. We are tuna sandwich or cheese pimiento sandwich lovers in the family. We are toasting our bread currently at the teflon as we don't have time yet to buy a good oven toaster that will last for years. Hope we can find a good replacement soonest.
6. Bed Frames - Single Size and Double Size Bed Frames are needed soon in our house. I am currently seeking for a great and affordable bed frames for our extra room and the kid's bedroom. I hope I could find one that fits the budget
7. Table/Rack good for magazine and newspapers in wenge color.  We only place our magazines/old newspaper on the floor. Still hasn't found time to go out to home stores and buy a magazine stand/rack to our fancy and color requirement.After visiting my friend's lovely abode, I now started to become conscious of color coordinating the stuff  in our place. Most of my stuff in our place were purchased in my single years and majority were only hand-me-downs by relatives who already returned back in our province. Since their function was of a necessity, I did not mind initially that they don't mix and match. Nowadays, for additional household purchases, I try as much as possible to have the items mix the color scheme of our current house.
8. Condo Unit makeover. We bought our condo bare and simple. We just repainted the house and placed necessary fixtures given limited budget we had then. Imagine on the same year we got married, bought a condo and gave birth! Nowadays, I start to ask myself on when we could possibly have our unit renovated. Perhaps in the next 3-5 years once our little tots go to big school. Probably this makeover list will remain in my wish list for the next few years or so.  Or maybe there's any home makeover promo that we could participate nowadays? :)
9. Tops - casual shirts or office clothes. I think I need to upgrade my wardrobe. I hope to receive a few tops that I can use either for casual wear or for office wear.
10. Havaianas. My pair used at home just got destroyed from wear and tear for about 2 years. I have another pair but I normally use it for yoga classes and after gym wear. I currently settled with my crocs at home (used during my last pregnancy about 2 years ago) as havaianas replacement.

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my site!=)  

I'm relatively a new user and still managing my way in. Albeit late, I am now ready and confident enough to communicate. 

From this day forward, I would like to share with you what I've experienced on motherhood, marriage, building a career, managing a household, products seen and tried, food tasted and places visited.