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Family Celebrations

Halloween Trick or Treat


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Halloween Trick or Treat is a tradition that my husband started with the kids when they were around four years old. As a kid, I never grew up in the Halloween tradition of the Western world but hubby did. Halloween Celebration through the years is a memory that my kids treasure because of the yummy treats and magical costumes.

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My two girls who were 5 and 4 years old then

Yes, happy childhood memories next to Christmas and birthday celebrations. Now that my kids are over twenty years old, they have their way of celebrating Halloween.

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It’s my first time in the US without my children during Halloween day, a first trick or treat here too. I enjoyed my day. The kids were so cute or scary in their costumes.

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There were not that many kids though. According to my brother-in-law, not a single candy is left after Trick or Treat. We had three huge bags left. I think the Giants game prevented some parents from driving their little kids around the neighborhood.

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Birthday greetings to the love of my life

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

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Butch turned 51 years old today. He is two years younger than me. As in all birthdays in my family, I celebrate it with food. The more we praise and celebrate life, the more there is in life to celebrate. This time around, I feel bad for waking up late and not preparing a special menu as I used to do in the past before my life became so busy. I love that he did not complain though. He even bought his own birthday cake for lunch. It makes me think that birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake. (kidding!)

We spent the afternoon at the resting place of our beloved son watching the pretty blue dragonflies hovering nearby as well as the white-speckled butterfly that fluttered by the flowers on the basket. Just watching the wonders of nature was enough joy.

Earlier, I bought bright orange and pink flowers to brighten our living and dining room. I added a pale violet orchid plant to add the final touch on my antique writing table. He loved the flower arrangement and I hope that made up for my laziness today.

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No one can take away our love

He evoked in me a capacity for love I did not know I had. Those feelings did not die with him, nor will they, I pray, die with me.– Gordon Livingston

A tribute to Luijoe’s 10th angel year (May 27, 2000 – May 27, 2010)

Parents who have lost a child speak of the ““zero point”. Our lives are divided into the time before and the time after our children died. No event – no graduation, no marriage, no other death – so defines us. At one moment I was one person, then, suddenly, I was someone else. The task we face is to create with our new selves something that, in some measure redeems our suffering.

We see, always with longing, children who remind us of what our child was or would be now. (Gordon Livingston)
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How deep is your love?

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And I know your eyes in the morning sun
I feel you touch me in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I wanna feel you in my arms again

And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love and then softly leave
And it’s me you need to show ….
How deep is your love?


Oh yes love, we celebrate love every way we can. Milestones are valued.

“How deep is your love?” by the Beegees hit the airwaves in 1977 but it was the song of the season when Butch and I became steadies on March 7, 1978. I played the music on our way to our photo shoot with the best wedding photographers, Mimi and Karl. It was just natural that we chose the UP campus (where we met) for our silver anniversary photo shoot and the celebration of our 32 years as a couple on March 7. Dragging my two girls to join us, the two hour photo shoot was sweet and poignant. I love my husband for being such a good sport knowing he poses stiffly for photos. That’s how love works, I guess.

As he wrapped his arms around me, I loved how the soft breeze cooled the scorching sun hitting us between the branches of the tree. I clutch on to my heart-shaped pendant where a photo of our beloved Luijoe is engraved. “Luijoe is with us, too…in our hearts”. We smile at each other. We are a complete family as we pose, laugh, twirl around and smile for the cameras.
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Honoring Christmas in My Heart

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith


Our Christmas day in a slideshow. Background music is “Christmas in Our Hearts” (Click here to download– 3.0 MB)- Jose Mari Chan , arranged by Carmina R. Cuya

Not all is calm. Such is life. Things do not happen as planned but it does mean that the Christmas spirit will be affected. Today, I found out that Christmas truly reigns in my heart for all time.

Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man. Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.

Despite the challenges, I honor Christmas in my heart. Never mind if the outside appeared chaotic.

I am gentle with myself and I take care of my tender heart.

The gift we give ourselves is a gift we give to our children what they would want for us: for us to find as much peace in whatever way that we possibly can. If I could give each of you a gift I would want to give you the gift of peace, as much peace as you can possibly find.

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Reflections on the Best Friends Forever Reunion

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley

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UP College Cebu , 1974

My mediocre grades in high school were not enough to qualify me to the UP Diliman Campus. I was determined to take up college in Manila to gain independence from my sheltered life in Cebu and of course, get the BS Food Technology that was only offered there. I studied in UP College Cebu (UPCC) in 1974 for one year before moving to UP DIliman campus in my sophomore year where I finally got a 1.75 grade to qualify. I look back to my freshman year with a smile and a soft spot in my heart. Indeed a memorable year for me because it was the first time I gained a little freedom to be with friends and to socialize with guys after graduating from an all-girls school since kindergarten. I felt I finally belonged to a group that truly cared and loved me and by fate (via Dicoy’s Cupid machinations), my best friend became my first boyfriend, my first love for the next 3 or so years.

Reunions are inevitable and I declined the invitation just as I did with my high school reunions. My attitude towards reunions changed in the recent years after I evolved into a better person. I then became curious of my friends. What had become of them? I felt something missing in my life and wanted to reconnect with my past. This change of heart did not augur well with my husband. He didn’t understand why I needed to see my old friends (when he himself does not attend reunions) and in the process, “meet” my ex-boyfriend. Hugging my husband, I reassured him that it is all in the past. I cannot help it if he was my classmate, part of my barkada but I am there for my other friends. For goodness sake, it’s been like 31 years? I rolled my eyes as “Batman” retreated to his cave.

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Freshman Year, UP College of Cebu 1974. Guess where I am?

I know it sounds like a cheesy Sharon Cuneta movie, but our group coined “Best Friends Forever” as the group name for the UP Cebu College 1974-1978 alumni.
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My First High School Reunion After 35 Years

“I bet in high school, everybody made somebody’s life hell.”
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) – Michele Weinberger (Lisa Kudrow)

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View of St. Theresa’s College (STC) Cebu grounds

Is there life after high school? Truth is, I hated high school and because I hated it so much, I made sure that I would turn my life around and be a better and confident person in college. I exuded negativity. Oh my gosh, I was ecstatic when the high school graduation ceremony ended. I jumped up with joy. I couldn’t wait to fly and spread my wings. In high school, I was painfully shy and a mediocre student with average grades ( as in 83 to 85). I felt intimidated by the mestizas and the smart and outspoken girls. You know how it is in high school, you find the popular clique and the invisible clique. I was basically invisible. Thanks to my best friend Teresa, Patsy, Linell and a few others, I think I belonged somehow to a group. Without them, high school would have been one hell of an experience. Thanks buddies.

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Hugs to my bestest of friends in High School who took me in their clique: Patsy, Linell, me, Teresa

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Love Never Dies

Wasn’t it just 10 years that I last hugged my beautiful boy on a breezy, sunny day at the beach? Though the searing pain in my heart is not as sore as it once was 10 years ago, the scab sorts of falls off on anniversary dates. Luijoe should have been 16 years old today. I created this video tribute of his life and last birthday celebration 10 years ago when he was just a cute 6 year old boy.

(Video Link)

I often wonder how he would look like today. Would he have been taller than my husband? Would he have the same gleaming smile? Would he have many girlfriends? Would he be close to his two sisters? Would he have a messy room? Will he still give me a bunch of flowers with an “I love you” note? I can’t imagine because I will always remember him as an innocent and beautiful 6 year old boy whose death changed my life in positive ways I never could imagine.

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Having the Time of My Life at 52

Two days ago, I turned 52 years old and the first thing I received at the stroke of midnight was a wet kiss on the cheeks from my husband. Wiping the wet imprint from my face, I could only smile and hug my husband back. Turning 52 means that I need to encode 52 under age settings during a treadmill workout at the gym but other than that, I feel great. I’ve never felt so wonderfully blessed. If you know the “Dancing Queen”, I live by the motto

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen

I have been having the time of my life since I turned 50 and will continue to have the time of my life even beyond 52 years old.


Anyway, I could not blog the past two days because of technical issues.

My birthday started off with a brunch with my family before I headed off to Singapore for the Nokia Connection 2009 upon the invitation of Nokia Philippines. My dear husband was supposed to go along with me so we could meet up with his sister there after the Nokia event only to find out that they were coming over to the Philippines for a vacation. So it was just me who left for Singapore.

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a mom blogger who advocates constructive engagement in issues on family & society.
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