How I Survived The Amazing Race at Island Cove

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Have you ever dreamt of being a winner, racing on to the finish line? One of my favorite shows is the Amazing Race. Whenever I see the contestants running from one stop to the next, I feel like I am hanging on the edge of my seat . A wave of adrenalin hits me as if I am right there with them. Even if I know I will never be qualified to join , my mind conjures up scenarios that I am actually rushing to the next stop. I want to be there. Yes, it is my dream to win in a race.

island cove
Though Amazing Race is a far-fetched dream, it does not stop me from taking up physical challenges. The Detour: The Island Cove Adventure sponsored by Yehey and Island Cove was a perfect opportunity. Can I really make it?

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Parenting, Blogging and Our Love Story in Net 25 MOMents

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I groaned. Not another show. I felt there are many wonderful moms out there who are so much better than me but Net 25 MOMents was persistent. They said the show is for mothers and kids that feature the different bonding moments, child-rearing styles and the many facets of motherhood. I felt like it has been ages since I have actually been a hands-on mom. I have long since enjoyed my independence from child-rearing since the girls turned 20. What could I possibly offer to the MOMents feature?

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Piolo Pascual on Loving Yourself More

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Piolo Pascual and Marian Rivera at the Bluewater Day Spa Capitol Hills Branch Launch

Let’s have some showbiz break with Piolo Pascual. A few bloggers got invited to the BlueWater Day Spa Capitol Hills Opening. Going to the spa is one of my favorite ME time that I couldn’t miss the opportunity to check out another spa especially since it is near the girls’ university. Now it isn’t the first time for me to meet Piolo Pascual and Marian Rivera. I met them in another launch of Bluewater Day Spa last year.

Like I told you, I find Piolo so charming, er gorgeous looking guy to put it mildly. This time around, he looks even more gorgeous than ever. Kinilig talaga ako but I didn’t show my giddiness even if Piolo kept smiling away to everyone. Acting poised and collected, I boldly approached Piolo for an exclusive interview. Lucky me got to sneak in a 2 minute exclusive close-door interview with a few bloggers. Here is his video message to all of you my dear readers:
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Ukay ukay, Bargain and Vintage Clothes Shopping

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Visit ukaymanila.com to check for online ukay ukay store or its mirror site, Ukay Multiply

ukay ukay>


I first came across the word “ukay-ukay” from my mother-in-law who lives somewhere in Benguet. It was circa 1992. Just so everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, let me quote my daughter:

Simply put, ukay-ukay is thrifting/thrift-store shopping, Philippine-style. I say ““Philippine style” because ukay stores are not so much clean, brightly-lit places like the ones you see in malls as they are hole-in-the-wall outlets that are often dusty and disorganized. Clothes are generally arranged according to tops, dresses, jeans, etc., but there are racks and racks of them and sometimes, piles and piles of them. Which is why the thrift-store shopping experience is called ukay. The word ukay is a Visayan word that literally means ““to dig through” (source: my mom, who speaks Bisaya) and ukay-ukay shopping can sometimes involve hours of wading through junk (and suffering from sneezing fits) to find dirt-cheap fashion gems.

Now that everyone knows what ukay-ukay means, allow me to give you a history of how ukay-ukay became such a hit with my girls.

One day, mom gave me a bunch of lovely children’s clothes. “Used clothing?”, I thought it was only meant for those that can’t afford to buy clothes. But when I saw the array of unique children’s clothes on my sofa, hmm…I thought it was cute enough to wear at the oath taking of my father-in-law at the Malacanang Palace. The girls never knew it was ukay-ukay clothing until they were in college. Not that it mattered. Lauren seemed fascinated with sailor clothes that she’d often buy marine-themed tops or skirts. Apparently, she had fond memories of this particular sailor dress. I told her that the dress she wore in Malacanang was ukay-ukay. She seemed pleasantly surprised.

When my mom-in-law told me the cost of each of the children’s clothes, I was amazed at the low prices and the good quality despite being used clothing. Those clothes above cost around 20 to 30 pesos during those days. Mom, a talented crafts person bought these ukay clothes for her beautiful quilt projects. She’d cut up the dress and use the fabric for her grandmother’s quilt. I got sucked in to grandmother quilt projects myself but until now, I still have to finish working on it. Most often, she’d be in the lookout for clothes for her grandchildren until they reached their pre-teen years. What a sweet grandma she is.

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It’s BB Gandanghari not Bebe Gandanghari

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Bloggers’ meet with BB Gandanghari is on Saturday, March 14 at Mag-net, Bonifacio High Street, at 3-5 PM. You can Sign Up Here



I am absolutely charmed by BB Gandanghari. “Call me BB” as she hugged me. I found out that it is spelled BB not Bebe. BB is actually derived from her own motto Be all that you can be or be all what you want to be and from her first name, Binibini. The Gandanghari came from a family name of a UST beauty queen which caught her attention and thought it was perfect for her. She is beautiful, much prettier in person than photos shown in newspaper and magazines. With just light powder on her face, lipstick and faint blue eyeshadow on her eyelids, BB looks like a sweet schoolgirl. “I want my skin to breathe”, she says. Simple , classy and bubbly. Her happiness shows in the glow of her face and the smile that escapes her lips. It must be her newfound peace that makes her look and feel beautiful.

Before Dine and I started our interview, BB was more interested in us and started to ask questions about our blogs. You can see the concern in her eyes as she asks about the circumstances on how my son died. It was like talking to an old friend. No awkwardness, no airs.


I took photos of BB as we continued to banter about her new life and before the video interview. How absolutely charming! She flashes a smile now and then, an aura of happiness surrounding her that I can feel the positive vibes. I see nothing pretentious about her. I was with her for over 6 hours. She is BB.
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Relaxing at a Spa Movie Theatre

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My ME time is always a relaxing day off from home and work. It’s the day I pamper myself and make myself feel good. Nurturing is about how we show love for ourselves. It can be a visit to the beauty salon, a foot spa, a home service massage or an indulgent visit to a spa treatment salon. I am not where I am today if I didn’t learn to nurture myself. I wouldn’t have a second wind in my marriage if I didn’t have a loving relationship with myself first.

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Round Table Talk: Ethics and the Blogger Part 1

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I can’t believe it. My blog is celebrating its 3rd anniversary on February 24. What can I say? Blogging brought me a new normal, many friends, reuniting with old friends and a new sense of adventure and more. I feel like I am on top of the world. Look at me, I am having the time of my life. Though my blogger’s journey has been mostly fun and adventure, I receive comments or blog entries that are in disagreement with my views or heavy criticisms on my actions. Oh geesh, the ad hominem attacks too. Now, I am not a perfect person and I also make mistakes but I learn from them.


When the Blog and Soul Movement gathered a few bloggers to attend a round table talk on Blog ethics and other matters, I made sure I would be there to share my experiences and provide inputs to the discussion. Topics were Blog events, Copyright, Code of Ethics. The idea of the round table talk is to gather a list of ideas from bloggers on bloggers’ ethics.

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Photo Hunt: Furry

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Photo Hunt’s theme is Furry. Kylee is best suited for this week’s theme. A few days ago, Kylee turned 10 years old (in human years) or 70 years old (in cat years). Lauren is the master of this neurotic Apple Head Siamese Cat. I bought Kylee from a pet shop sometime mid-February 1999. There were two kittens to choose from. Based on what I read, try to play with the kitten to check on the cat’s personality. From the looks of it, the frail-looking Kylee looked as if he was going to die. He looked lifeless but when I held out a piece of string, his eyes perked up and started to paw the string. This is the cat for Lauren. I held Kylee on the top of my palms and petted his furry little Apple Head, “You’re going to be Lauren’s pet”.

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Father Blogger Needs Help

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I just came from Western Union to send a little something to Angel Cuala (FatherBlogger.com) . Angel is asking for financial help—his wife, Mylene is currently confined at CP Reyes Hospital in Tanauan City, Batangas. She has been diagnosed for dengue, and is in immediate need of blood transfusion: 4 packs of fresh frozen plasma which costs P9,700. (16,000 pesos more). The Father blogger is a regular reader of this blog.

Dengue is a serious illness. I have parent-members in my support group who have lost a loved one because of Dengue Fever complications.

On details on how to help the Father Blogger, there are 3 ways:

1. Western Union. Read Dine’s post HELP Needed by Father Blogger–blood transfusion urgently needed for his wife, diagnosed with dengue fever.

2. Bank Deposit. Please email me if you want to deposit through his friend’s BPI account. I will send you the account name and number.

3. Via paypal through my account at noemidado@gmail.com. I will advance proceeds, transaction fee and deposit it to the the BPI account in number 3. I will also furnish copy of your paypal donation to Angel.

Sending via paypal maybe the most convenient option but it’s your choice.

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