Lifestyle Archives » Page 47 of 68

22Aug 2007

Sommelier Selection, Mrs. Fields, WikiPilipinas

Do you want to know the top 5 reasons why I attend New Media Events?

Someone mentioned that the easiest way to a blogger’s heart is through their stomach. What a condescending remark! It’s not even the freebies. I can very well afford to buy the products or services, thank you. Not the TV appearances. Been there even before I became a blogger. Not the photo ops either. The primary reason I attend new media events is to get fresh new content for my Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Blog and my other techie blogs. Being one of the first to post this breaking news on my blogs give me an edge. Isn’t that part of publishing too? Aside from content, here are a few of my silly reasons.

1. It’s an excuse to have a date with my husband. Hehe, actually I just need him to drive me home from the Mrs. Fields Cookie Cafe Press Launch since it was held at the Manila Pavilion.
Mrs Fields
View Photos or read Mrs. Fields Cookie Cafe Launch (August 21, 2007)

17Aug 2007

Fire Malu Fernandez, Boycott Manila Standard, and People Asia Magazine

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado

UPDATED– August 23 , 11:45 PM- [tag]Malu Fernandez[/tag] Society columnist quits over OFW bashing and Manila Standard columnist quits after getting OFWs’ ire

Read Statement from Malu Fernandez on the OFW Controversy

Here is the News from TV Patrol World :

The Furor
Read More →

14Aug 2007

Showbiz Time For Happy Mommy Bloggers

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 28 Comments

While the rest of Philippine Blogosphere is rocking, let’s tune in to my dear friends , Cathy, Annamanila and myself. When I told Annamanila that we were invited for a MomWorks Special at the Lifestyle Channel (in Sky Cable) she balked. “Was this your idea?”

“Of course not!”, I answered back. I never got to ask the producers how they chose Cathy, Annamanila and myself. Cathy doesn’t know either so yes, Annamanila, it wasn’t a conspiracy.

I convinced her . “Treat it as an adventure, it’s something fun to do . Do something you’ve never done. Let’s inspire mommies to blog”.

Good thing Annamanila relented.

06Aug 2007

Fam Pics: The Glossy Writing Table

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 24 Comments

Every first monday of the month, Pinoy Moms Network members share photos through the Fam Pics project. This month’s theme is Glossy

A writing table for my adorable husband seemed like the perfect sanctuary for him at night. I wanted to situate it by the bay window in our bedroom so he can quietly surf with his laptop before he sleeps. My specification was Light walnut Flat finish. I paid the 50% downpayment of the list price which was 5,500 pesos at the Klapptstuhl, Inc. 3rd Level Market Market! Taguig City. The price is not bad at all. The quality of the furniture looked really fine even though I wasn’t sure if the wood is really hard wood. I could live with it though. My husband just needed a functional writing table in our bedroom.

Thirty days later, the writing table finally arrived.

I was horrified to see a glossy writing table. I demanded to know why they delivered a glossy table. The delivery man says “Madam, you said Not Flat”

“No I said Flat Finish. I find glossy finish so tacky. Let me look at the order form”

What do you know? The salesman noted my order like this:

04Aug 2007

Staying Abreast: The Breastfeeding Filipina

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 15 Comments

If you visit my kitchen, the first thing you will see on my granite counter top is this green-lined frame with a cross-stitch design labeled “A Mother’s Heart is a Child’s Schoolroom”. I finished quite a collection of cross-stitch projects during those nurturing breastfeeding sessions with my babies. It stands there as a reminder to my children that I gave nothing but the best, that their first food was—breast milk. That memento rightfully belongs in my kitchen.

If I were a lactating mom in today’s hi-tech age, maybe I wouldn’t be cross-stitching. Perhaps I will be blogging on my macbook or designing breastfeeding advocacy websites. Breastfeeding was such a beautiful experience for me. During those breastfeeding times. I often caressed every single strand of my babies’ hair, each toe and finger. It’s a wonderful bonding moment that often took my breath away. I ignored my pediatrician when I refused the milk formula for Lauren. [tag]Breastfeeding[/tag] advocacy was not in place twenty years ago so our doctors often prescribed an infant formula before being discharged from the hospital. I held on to my belief that I could breastfeed. After all, breastfeeding is 90 % mental, emotional work and 10% physical. I focused on giving nothing but the best—breast milk.

I don’t blame you if you say that you had no milk during the first day. Perhaps, you were not aware that supply during the first few days after childbirth arrive in small quantities. It’s true, demand for breast milk is not that high yet for a newborn child. Our babies’ stomach is just as tiny as the tip of our thumb. The problem is the mom loses confidence and turns to the bottle. Naturally, any mom wouldn’t want their babies to starve. I don’t blame you. We didn’t know any better. Lack of awareness, family pressure, social taboos and popular misconceptions all contribute to why women are apprehensive to breastfeed.

Today, I heard the various breastfeeding advocacy groups in the The Barbizon Mommy Milkshake Marathon held at the Fort, Global City upon the invitation of GeiserMaclang. I had this warm fuzzy feeling as I witnessed the number of Breastfeeding advocacy groups that were present in today’s event. What a devoted group they are!

““If you’re bottle-feeding with the excuse that you’re too busy and under the pretext that milk formulas have enough nutrients to produce the next Einstein anyway, think again.”

02Aug 2007

How to Sustain the Filipina Woman’s Image Online Campaign

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 21 Comments

How to Reshape the Sexy Filipina Image campaign started a month ago. Around mid-July, my sister, Lorna, spoke up at WordPress’s WordCamp in San Francisco and told the 300-something participants about our campaign.

I told my fellow conference attendees about the google bombing campaign my sister, Noemi Dado, and her friends were undertaking to take back the word “[tag]Filipina[/tag]” online from its massive “dating and penpal websites” and put this word in a more balanced context. The loud applause caught me off-guard.

The bloggers liked the idea of the campaign and immediately approached my sister and chatted with her about taking back the word “Jew” online. (Google posted an explanation on the offensive results for the keyword Jew)

It’s inspiring other bloggers to start their own campaign. in the Philippines.

read more? (moved to its new domain, FilipinaImages.com)

31Jul 2007

Love & Relationship Advice

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 11 Comments

keypals Twelve- year old Lauren and a couple of her keypal friends started an advice column for their club members (Keypals Club) in 1997. I was looking at the now defunct site because Lauren told me to plug her new blog. I am sure that gives a clue to her new site. Before I plug it , let me show you that advice page which was started in 1997. Aww, her advice to this I have never had a boyfriend made me smile.

The age when you should start worrying about not having a boyfriend is when you’re 20. Now there’s a problem. Don’t mind those peeps that are shocked because you don’t have a boyfriend! Besides, if you have a boyfriend this young, chances are, you will have a million more boyfriends and getting married would be difficult because boys don’t like “playgirls” or a girl who has a billion boyfriends. Enjoy your youth.

That’s Lauren as a 12 year old. Almost ten years later, she worries that she will never find The One. Despite her fears, and a broken heart, she is using this humbling experience to help others in her new blog which she co-writes with her best friend, Kristel.

29Jul 2007

Rehabilitation Activity Through Music and Dance: Philippines Thriller

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 16 Comments

cebu thriller.jpg If you’re a Filipino, you might have watched in amusement , This Youtube video of 1,500+ Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) inmates dancing to Thriller . When I asked my daughter if she’d seen it , her reply was “It’s so Pinoy”. Lorna, my sister thinks “Only in the Philippines” (read her entry ““Thriller!” – How Cebu’s CPDRC Inmates Rocked the World With An Awesome Rehabilitation Activity ). I am not surprised at this [tag]Thriller dance routine[/tag]. Maybe it’s Cebuano thing but I remember my parents always danced after dinner and we would dance along with them as well. Singing , Music and dance formed a huge part of my upbringing. I miss it so bad. Anyway, I digress.

The video reached more than a 2,300,000 views since uploaded by Byron Garcia ( Consultant on Security of the Cebu Provincial Government) on July 17, 2007 (originally uploaded last April) It’s so popular that ABC News picked up the story called Filipino Inmates do Thriller, Radio Gaga. The news covered reactions from Filipino-Americans as well as American counterparts in the criminal justice. One comment caught my eye:

28Jul 2007

I Am Not Plastic

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 16 Comments

I am not Plastic.

How dare I make such a bold statement when I just wrote about dedmahan in my last entry!

It’s true though, I am not plastic. My two daughters taught me about biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste segregation when they were about 4 years old. Remember how M cried when her ball rolled to the sewer? Thanks to Miriam’s College’ educational thrust on proper disposal of waste. So when Cathy invited me to her new business venture, I was excited for her and the business itself.

1. I am proud that she is a risk taker , venturing on a business that revolves around her bag passion. I am a believer of income diversification within limits. I mean one can’t just go to every single profitable venture. Financial independence is a long range goal to strive for. Go Cathy!

2. I love the catchy concept of “I am not Plastic”. Together with her two partners, their goal is to get Filipino shoppers into the habit of refusing plastic bags when they shop.

3. Lastly, this bag was sewn by marginalized women from Tandang Sora, Quezon City. By purchasing this bag for only 350 pesos ($8.00), one contributes to their livelihood.

I choose to make Make Mother Earth as part of my personal style . If you’re like me, you might want to know more about these bags at Cathy’s I am Not Plastic Bag entry .

The last few days has been one big adventure . I am lazy to write (but plan to write soon) some of these events so here are photos.

21Jul 2007

Harry Potter Book 7 Release Day

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 20 Comments

I promised M that I would get her the [tag]Harry Potter Book 7[/tag] ( [tag]Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows[/tag] ) at 7:00 AM on July 21, 2007 which is the same opening time as UK’s midnight release. The problem was I didn’t reserve the book. See, I never reserved Book 5 and Book 6 and still managed to get a copy on Opening day at the National Bookstore Katipunan Branch. I never believed in getting a reservation because I will get a copy of the book anyway. The thing is M wanted to get a copy by 7:00 AM even if I have to summon my “bitch” (assertive) powers. I never use my “bitch powers” if there are rules in place. I don’t think I can get a copy at that time without any reservation.