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February 2007

Puppy Love

humphreyMeet the newest member of the family, Humphrey, our cute 7 week old boxer pup. Butch wanted to christen him “Pacquiao” but M shivered with the disgust over the suggestion. So Humphrey it is. My gosh, our [tag]puppy[/tag] has grown over a 4 week period. Five weeks ago, this adorable puppy wasn’t even walking yet. I gushed over Humphrey as he stared at me with puppy dog eyes. His eyes lingered towards his siblings as if wanting to play one more time. And he stared back at me as if saying “let me play, please” . I couldn’t resist those puppy dog looks and stroked his light fawn colored fur. I let him play a few more minutes before it was time to go home. The kennel owner handed over the Philippine Canine Club “Certified Pedigree & Registration Certificate” which showed that Humphrey had 12 red lines of champions in his family tree. Not that I am going to be a breeder but a little intelligence in a dog is a must. It’s not an assurance that a champion line breeds excellent dogs but it might help.

Humphrey seemed resigned to his fate and reluctantly allowed me to carry him to the car. He remained quiet and slept throughout the trip from Cainta to Makati. Hmm. Is he really that well-behaved? The next daunting task is the introduction to the other family members, the two felines. Will they scratch, hiss at Humphrey or better yet feel ignored ?

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Kris Aquino and Hope Centeno are not Victims

kris.jpgThe other woman, Hope Centeno wept and claimed she might be pregnant with James Yap’s kid . ““I also deserve the same sympathy as Kris” from the public. The 7 month pregnant [tag]Kris Aquino[/tag] just checked out of the hospital and minced no words. ““How dare you say sorry to me?” Kris scolded Hope. She then went on to blame Hope for her ““false labor” and subsequent hospitalization last Thursday.”

My jaw dropped as Kris lamented that “an innocent baby ” is at stake. “How dare you say sorry to me now after you endangered a defenseless child?” and added “You just want to ruin us,” “You attempted to steal my husband. You forgot I am seven months pregnant.”

and the other woman, [tag]Hope Centeno[/tag] “I don’t know if I can find another job. I am ruined. My only sin is that I loved James. I wish I was not judged,” she said, dabbing a piece of tissue paper at her eyes and nose.

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Safeguard the Web for Children

bloggerpower.jpgI came across Thinking Blog entry on “[tag]Safeguard the Web for Children[/tag]” which is originally a campaign from Blogger Power.

Basically, Blogger Power, is an open letter to all adult website owners:

“Please require a password-protected login before allowing even free access to explicit adult content. We understand that selling porn is your business and we respect your right to make a legal living. But understand our legitimate concerns and work with us. You already have the ““warning adult content” on your websites. Yet kids, who are not legal customers of your product, ignore the warning. So to prevent them from having direct access to explicit images, texts and sounds, the simplest way is to have a password-protected login. No more ‘free tours’ before a visitor supplies basic information.”

FACT: Children today are often left alone with a computer and sometimes visit pornographic sites accidentally. I truly support this move.

As a mother, I often monitored my children’s surfing activities until their high school years. In 1996, Lauren then a 10 year old often used my computer in my bedroom. One afternoon, I excused myself to get a phone call. Kids these days type really fast so by the time I returned to my room , I found Lauren with a puzzled look. Right in front of her, the images splashed across the screen was explicit sexual act with all genitals exposed. Mortified, I asked her why she was at that site. Seeing my horrified look, she meekly stammered that she typed the word “chat room” so she could chat with kids her age. The first link she clicked led her to that adult site. At that moment, I explained to her all about porn and the sexual act. Before this happened, I already educated her about sex through the CD “Adam’s body” but graphical images were never displayed. Sometimes I wonder if my dear daughter got traumatized at those porn images.

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Freebies, My Blog Anniversary Gift For You

happy anniversaryMy first post in this blog was a year ago. Shy and unsure of my writing style, I managed to write only a few words. Haha.

Now the less than 150 word blog entry brought me this this, this, this and lots of stuff .

and Blog growth as indicated by

I am entitled to these bragging rights just for today…just because this is my space in the web and just because it is my first year blog anniversary post.

I do have a point.

I’d like to thank you for visiting . Reading your story and comments bring a personal touch to all these words typed out in front of me.

And before I end this post, I have an extra special prize for the top 3 comment posters.

Drums rolling….

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Thursday Thirteen:Number 2

Thirteen Things to do before Moving to our New Home

I can’t believe it’s just 16 days before we move to our new home . My head reels of a thousand and one things to do. In fact, I carry a paper planner with me all the time. I take note of all my daily activities to keep me on track. In honor of [tag]Thursday Thirteen[/tag], allow me to list the top 13:

1. Order appliances like the refrigerator, gas stove, washing machine, water heaters and airconditioner. Why new ones? Well, our appliances are over 10 year old and almost dying. In fact, the airconditioner in our room conked out. Butch and I sleep in either L and M’s room if it’s vacant. If not, we sleep in the spare room just so we can enjoy the cool comfort of an airconditioned room.

2. Buy new beds for L and M. The girls want a new look in their respective rooms. “mom, our rooms are a 10 year old look”, they protest. I gave them the freedom to take ownership of their room design.

3. Prepare internet connection. I will have to cancel my internet service provider, Destiny Cable effective end of March. I’m sad to say goodbye to my trusty 8 year old provider. In 1999, they were the only cable or broadband provider and they have been really efficient and reliable. Unfortunately, Destiny Cable Internet is not yet covered in Pasig.

Since I need redundant internet connection, I will continue Smart Bro subscription since connection has been quite good the past few months. In place of Destiny Cable, I am choosing between PLDT and Globe Broadband. Any ideas?

Globe Broadband has this new promo that comes with free landline use and an internet connection for only 999 pesos a month. PLDT came out with the same promo at 888 pesos (?).

I might get Globe Visibility too.

4. Prepare for another garage sale on March 3. I think I have disposed about 1/4 of our junk but there are a few left. My husband surprised me by discarding his old clothes (oh joy!) and some of his books. Still, I am not satisfied. He needs to remove a lot of his stuff.

5. Finalize the design of custom made cabinets and tables. Thanks to Connie, I found Marlon, a talented carpenter totally dedicated to his craft. Right now, he is painting the work station I designed for my sooo disorganized husband. Other customized furniture in queue: bay window table for M, writing table for me and L. The problem is Marlon might need to leave for Australia anytime.

6. Finalize all documents for the sale. Our loan was just released last week so registration of title , and other papers need to be in place.

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Miracle Baby

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The world’s most premature baby is quite a fighter.

Her minuscule feet poking pathetically through a doctor’s fingers, few believed that she could possibly live. Born only 21 weeks and six days after conception, [tag]Amillia Taylor[/tag] weighed just under 10oz and was only 91/2 inches long.

Medical staff, however, were given a clue to her fighting spirit when the tiny scrap tried to cry and breathe on her own .

And now, four months later and weighing 4lb, she has been allowed home – the world’s most [tag]premature baby[/tag] to have survived.

Source: Born at less than 22 weeks – and baby Amillia survived

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Ten Ways to Getting Through Hard Times

twins.jpgA footage from “Joined for Life: Abby and Brittany Turn 16” via The Learning Channel can truly inspire us during our deepest darkest despair. “Abigail and Brittany Hensel (born 7 March 1990, United States), are dicephalic [tag]conjoined twins[/tag]. Brittany is the left twin, and Abigail is the right twin. They have two spines which join at the pelvis. They have two stomachs, three lungs, and two arms. ” They are intelligent, energetic, fun-loving girls who just happen to share one set of legs and one set of arms – each girl controlling one half of their conjoined body.

Abigail and Brittany narrate their top ten list of interests since they turned 11. Despite the obstacles , they are able to drive, shop, attend high school which any “normal” teenager would love to do. After watching their video, I am amazed to see their wonderful positive attitude and their ability to live a normal life. Of course, they are probably adapted to their bodies.

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Instant Messaging from 4 computers

google talkThank God it’s Friday but it’s a lonely night for us. We miss the two girls. Usually they are home for the weekend but they have exams tomorrow. It is more convenient for them to be near their school. It’s funny how [tag]Google Talk[/tag] can make the distance so near. I discovered that the kids prefer communication via instant messaging as it can be less intrusive than communication via phone. It’s so funny . Butch is a door away busy chatting with the two girls. I’m at my cozy nook busy reading some blogs in my Google Reader. We’re in four different computers happily chatting and catching up with their lives. Usually we talk about the antics of their pet cats who are without their masters. Sometimes, they gripe about their schoolwork. We exchange photos , youtube videos like Nora , the piano playing cat or even links. I love how the kids can still reach out to me using Google Talk. I am fascinated at how technology can bridge communication lines even closer.

I use the [tag]Adium[/tag], a pretty Mac free instant messaging application for Mac OS X that can connect to [tag]AIM[/tag], MSN, Yahoo, and ICQ. The [tag]ICQ[/tag] was the first messaging application I used. I think it was 1997. In fact my ICQ number (641900) is still around . One time, it was stolen by some Russian dude. I begged him to return it. Surprisingly, he sent it back to me with a note that if he can hack the password again, he won’t return it. Next was the AOL Instant Messenger then MSN and finally Yahoo Messenger. I love how I can chat via webcam to my siblings in the US.

Today , I still have all those messaging applications but prefer Google Talk.

And so a typical message from Butch ends this way…
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