bay windowsOnce upon a time a little girl imagined herself as a princess gazing out of her bay window twirling her heart shaped locket. Her dreams specified it had to be a bay window. Dreams do come true after all except the princess bit and the heart shaped locket.

M blissfully relaxes beside her bay window in her bedroom as I putter around our new home. It’s probably a strange coincidence but the last two houses we looked at all had bay windows. I don’t really like bay windows. Its irregular shape is a curtain design nightmare which can be costly. I like simple windows that open wide. Oh well, one can’t be choosy when buying a ready made house that meets the budget.

We haven’t moved yet. The move was to take place last sunday but unfortunately, the floors and the painting are not done yet. Oh and so much cleaning to do. I announced to the family members that we are officially moving on March 18 even if our things will be all brought in on March 19. M asks “What do you mean official?”

I go “Since you have classes on Monday, we can’t all move in as a family.”

M laughs “Oh mom, you and your ceremonies!!!”

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Maybe I am just stressed. Perhaps the stress added greatly to the crankiness factor. The thing is I absolutely abhor statements like “You can afford it. You are rich anyway”

Duh. True I am not exactly poor but I am not rolling in dough either. What is it with a Makati based address that assumes I have lots of money? This morning I went to a custom made furniture shop because my two lovely daughters wanted white themed bed frames for their room.Aside from the beds, I wanted to have new upholstery for my couch , white writing tables and a sofa bed made. For the past weeks, I have been scouring the local furniture stores for white bed frames but it seems every furniture designer prefer zen themed bed frames or using natural wood stain.

daybed.jpgicottage bed

My ears started to get warm. Why should I be charged more just because I “can afford” it? Furniture isn’t exactly like medical treatment where one gets socialized pricing in professional fees or hospitalization. So excuse me, I told her… just charge me a fair price. I sat there in disbelief as the owner continued to tease me about my imagined “wealth”. Some people are just so tacky you know? Why is it her business to know how much I bought my new home? She’s not even my friend or anything. My aunt just recommended her since her shop is just so near the village. Her statements weren’t funny yet I managed to politely correct her and say that I am financially responsible.

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heavenAlmost 7 years ago, my adorable son sat beside me while I worked on my computer.

With both hands planted firmly on my cheeks, he asked, ““Where is Heaven? Are the clouds heaven?”

Unsure of the answer, I mustered to say something based on what I learned from my Grade school [tag]Religion[/tag] subject…

““I’m not sure if the clouds are heaven, but it’s somewhere up there and hell is down there,” I said, kissing his fat cheeks.

Luijoe asked all of these questions two weeks before his untimely death.

What a lame answer! I wish I knew more what heaven is like.

Luijoe never tired of asking the same questions over and over again, as though reassuring himself that there were angels that protected him and that heaven was a beautiful place to go when someone died.

As I wrote in the book , Fallen Cradle, it seemed that my son was preparing himself for heaven even fearful he would go to hell because like any little boy, he could also be naughty.

““I don’t want to go to hell,” he hugged me.

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philblogawards.gifThe 2007 Philippine Blog Awards nominations is still open. Nominate your favorite blogs!.

The proponents of this project namely Abe, Jayvee and Gail assigned me the wonderful task (again!) as Committee Head for Venue and Food . I had been stressing out over the venue for the past 3 days because of Jayvee’s entry

Our most urgent requirement is a venue. Not that there are no venues – but we really want to get that ““sweet spot” between elegance, space and location. We’d love to hear suggestions from the community on where we can hold the venue. We are currently thinking of the mini theatres in Ayala Greenbelt 3 or Shangri-La Mall. Other known venues would be The Events Place and Teatrino at the Greenhills Promenade.

Without a venue, it is difficult for us to plan the logistics, the budget and the overall project planning. Our first choice was the Mall of Asia Music Lounge but the desired dates were unavailable. Besides the rental was in the 6 figures during weekends. Greenbelt was fully booked and so was Music Museum. With a limited budget given to me, I bit the bullet and went for this really swanky theater only because the desired date was available. Placing trust in the thought that “this is a sign that this place is for us”, I took my chances. Since Abe already mentioned it in the vidcast interview with Inquirer.net as well as Jayvee, I might as well blow the trumpets too. Hear ye…

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sleepI cannot live with less than 8 hours of [tag]sleep[/tag]. I get cranky and less productive with work. The problem with me is sometimes I get caught up with work that I forget the time. This happens whenever I develop a website. That’s why I don’t accept web development projects anymore

read more in this post Beauty over Fifty

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.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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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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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….

clap.jpg
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Touched by an Angel or aboutmyrecovery.com has been online and running as a blog since February 24, 2006. In less than a year, this blog received the following awards:

This blog also got featured in Marie Claire’s February 2007 issue and Manila Bulletin’s April 10, 2006 Blog-o-rama. There are also TV appearances (Lifestyle Channel, Salamat Dok, Che Che Lazaro and Ali Sotto ) due to my advocacy in this blog.

Other blogs or sites that I own are Pinoy Food & Cooking Blog, Wedding Gowns, Pinoy Idol, Pinoy Real Esate Broker, Filipino Family Photo Gallery, Shopping Finds, The VOIP Resources and Entertainment Blog.

Blog Popularity & Reach

  • Age of Domain: almost two years old
  • PageRank: 3
  • Published Posts: 1487
  • Blog Comments: more than 1,000
  • Technorati Rank: 16,914 (663 links from 298 blogs )

Blog Growth– January 7, 2008
1. Alexa Traffic Rank for aboutmyrecovery.com: 178,102
2. Page Strength – 4.5/10
3. Blog Juice– 3.2
4. Blog worth – $209,444.34

aboutmyrecovery.com currently averages 9372.26 pageviews from 2318.94 visits per day (December 2007).

Advertising Opportunities in aboutmyrecovery.com , Pinoy Food & Cooking Blog, Wedding Gowns, Pinoy Idol, Pinoy Real Esate Broker, Filipino Family Photo Gallery, Shopping Finds, The VOIP Resources and Entertainment Blog. Rates will vary per blog.

There are several advertising campaigns to suit your needs:

  • 125 x 125 Ad Banner at $50.00 a month (only 4 ads)
  • Link Advertising (with nofollow tag)
  • Blog Endorsement (with nofollow tag)

For more details and special ad rates, email noemidado@ gmail.com or contact me here