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My Family

Kippy Cat Travels


I am right now in Narita airport en route to San Francisco and I might as well entertain myself before boarding time. It’s been years since I’ve visited the states not since the year before my son died in 2000. As my son and I sat on the airplane seat on board our flight to Cebu a few days before his death, he begged me to take him to the states the following summer. I hugged my precious boy and promised him I’d take him along because the previous years were spent with the girls choir tour in the US and Canada. It was his turn to be with me.

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Romantic Weekend at Nurture Spa

nurture spa

My default birthday present for my husband is always a kitchen appliance. I just realized we have all the kitchen appliance we will ever need. This year, I wanted to give him something romantic! So I asked my awesome plurk buddies for romantic gift ideas. The unanimous suggestion was a romantic getaway outside the city preferably with spa pampering. I was searching for the best spa hideaway nearest Metro Manila because my husband hates driving far and I remembered that Claire invited me to visit Nurture Spa a few weeks ago. I totally forgot the Nurture Spa invite until a day before Butch’s birthday.

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UP Centennial Book: Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way


imom, Dine, me and Annamanila

I am truly blessed to be part of the yearlong celebration of the University of the Philippines (UP) Centennial through a book launch, Iskolar ng Bayan Gives Back, the Enterprising Way. The book of which I am one of the writers, features 25 UP alumni who have made—and continue to make—their mark in business here and in foreign lands, living up to the UP tradition of excellence and nationhood. The project was initiated by the University of the Philippines Small Scale Industries (UP-ISSI) and the Small Enterprise Research and Development Foundation (SERDEF) where I worked for 7 years before I retired in 1987 upon giving birth to my second daughter.

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Groovy Mama Sez Hai

Let me explain.


It started when I exclaimed “That’s awesome!” to a plurk. Was it Baddie or Pau who noticed that I said that? I forgot who, but Helga begged that I utter LOLcat words. Lauren seemed visibly “annoyed” that her friends were encouraging me to LOLcat speak. If you don’t know yet, LOLCat is an image combining a photograph, most frequently a cat, with a humorous and idiosyncratic caption in (often) broken English—a dialect which is known as “lolspeak”, or “Kitteh!”. The truth is I find LOLcat so funny. I love our cats and I sort of speak LOLcat to these furry creatures. I know my limits. I will sound ridiculous at my age to utter LOLCat words.

Many years ago, I believed it would have been far out . Can you dig it?

Being a seventies child, I often heard the word “generation gap” from my high school classmates. It occurred to me that one day I’d be a mother.

I’m not going to be that kind of mother.

I’d “betcha by golly wow” will strive to bridge that generation gap. I was gonna be in the groove of things. I twirled and peered into the mirror as I admired my long, waist-length hair, Hot Pants and neon orange top.

Yup, I will be a groovy mom. I will be their mother and maybe their best friend.

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Mamma Mia! the Feel-good Movie

I woke up this morning to my husband humming the tune to Abba’s I have a Dream. You know how it is when a song gets stuck in your head. Mine was the Dancing Queen sequence from the movie,
Mamma Mia we watched last night. I loved the movie! I was 19 years old at the time Dancing Queen became a hit and I remember twirling around and around to the music. I love to dance. I could not contain my excitement when Meryl Streep started jumping up and down on her bed. I wanted to dance right there and then. Holding my husband’s hand, I pretended to sashay to and fro on an imaginary dance floor.


Full Dancing Queen Scene – Mamma Mia! The Movie

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Singing a Lullaby at Red Box Trinoma

It’s not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me, oh no
It’s just the nearness of you

It isn’t your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
It’s just the nearness of you

When you’re in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams came true

I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you’ll only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you

The “Nearness of You” is 1940’s song probably meant to be a love song but I chose it as a lullaby for my 2 girls from the time they were babies till around 4 years old. Instead of singing the usual baby songs, I chose a slow and soul-soothing song as my way to calm my fussy babies. My pitchy song helped lull them to sleep and surprisingly calmned me at the same time. There is just no substitute for these quiet moments of connection — time spent nurturing my little loves.

Last night, I sang this song upon the request of my husband to tease the girls. When they were much older (6 years old), they used to sob when I sang this song. Perhaps they became nostalgic?. After sobbing, they slept soundly. I never had sleeping problems with any of my children because of this lullaby.

Right after my tone-deaf rendition of the song, Butch asked the girls “Are you crying now?

lullaby

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Photo Hunt: Emotion(s)- Feeling Young on my 51st Birthday


What a timely theme for Photo Hunt today which is also my 51st birthday. Emotion (s). The photo was taken last saturday as bloggers took the time out to enjoy the massive quarry at Porac, Pampanga. I love being with bloggers because my age seems suspended in time. (That’s why I insist in being called by my first name sans Tita , Ate, Maam).

I always feel young despite the fact I could not balance my way to the top of the piles of gravel, sand and lahar. I feel like I’m on top of the world, nevertheless. I guess that’s the secret to aging gracefully. Just try to enjoy. Have fun. Blog. Think young. Relax. Think positive.

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My Pilipinas

Happy Independence Day! So how does one celebrate Independence day when we already took a vacation last weekend? It wasn’t much of a vacation to me because like I wrote yesterday, I was burdened with electrical woes over at my home.

How else does one celebrate it? Wave the Philippine flag? My thoughts on Independence day was focused on a very shallow reason: fashion. Yes I know. Shallow, right? But I bet some of you might be sick and tired of reading “Are we really Free?” So just bear me out on this.

collezione c2

So what do you think? Nationalism is hip, wearable and understandable concept for today’s youth.

At the launch of the Collezione C2, My Pilipinas Series, the concept of Nationalism being hip just won me over. Really, my thoughts were like “Is Nationalism outdated or only heroes can show what it’s like to be patriotic?” I liked the idea that art and fashion are ways by which we can make the Nationalist story more real and accessible to the new generation. I had a feeling that my 2 girls would love My Pilipinas designs. But I wasn’t sure if they’d like Collezione. Before I went to the launch, one of my daughters perceived Collezione as a low-end brand.

Oooh, I corrected them. You know, your dad and I wore Collezione in college. That’s how old it is. During my teenage days, imported clothes was a luxury. I remember the Bang-bang pants from Hongkong costing 500 pesos which is an enormous amount in the seventies considering starting salary then was 500 pesos. Ugh did I spend that much in clothes back then? For us, Collezione was quite affordable. That cutesy little key icon on the shirt is unforgettable.

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Kippy Cat, A Mother’s Day Gift

AJ often takes a photo of his mascot, Ernie whenever we are in new media events. Ernie even has his own travel blog (which at this time is on temporary hiatus due to technical issues) since he tagged along with AJ in all his adventures in and around the country. Looking at AJ with Ernie, an inspiration hit me. Why not have a mascot myself?

See, I often take photos of people, places and events but I rarely get the chance to be in the photo. The mascot takes my place. Now what mascot?

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