Touched by An Angel

21Dec 2016

What to stuff into those Christmas stockings

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

Christmas stockings is a cherished tradition? What do you put inside the stockings?

There’s an old Merry Melodies cartoon my sisters and I loved watching when we were kids. It’s a story of seven kids and how they can’t for Christmas morning. Santa Claus drops by on Christmas Eve, filling their living room with toys as they sleep. One scene that stands out a lot for me is when Santa stuffs one of the children’s old socks with a toy, then adds one more toy, and another, until the whole ratty sock is practically bursting with playful trinkets. Santa would then give off his hearty laugh and off he’d go to the next stocking. I love that scene because of all the possibilities that can fill a little old sock. If this happened in real life, one can imagine the joy a little boy would have as he digs out toy after toy on Christmas morning. Who knew how much magic digging through an old sock could bring?

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why hanging stockings up for Christmas is a cherished tradition. A stocking can’t fill much, so what surprises can one find the next morning? Will the toy train one requested for fit into that sock (and if so, how did Santa manage do that!)? Will the stocking be filled with wondrous delights, from sugary treats to savory indulgences? How generous can you be with such limited stocking space? That is the stocking stuffer’s challenge. It’s easy to stuff stockings. What’s difficult is not knowing when to stop!

A little boy would surely go nuts over a stocking filled with his favourite toys. Stuff his stocking with action figures from his favourite movie or cartoon. The more complete the set, the better! If the little boy is into cars, stuff his stocking with as many Matchbox cars as you can. He’ll surely spend Christmas morning racing around the living room with a smile plastered on his face. For boys who are into creepy crawlies, rubber insects and animals are sold in toy stores. Fill his stocking to the brim with these creatures.

A little girl on the other hand may delight in a stocking full of accessories. Bracelets and headbands and ribbons, oh my! If she’s into Barbie dolls, why not fill her stocking with new clothes for Barbie? Don’t forget the matching shoes!

But who says only kids can enjoy super stuffed stockings? Grown-ups can also find fun in these packaged surprises. For the foodie grown-up, fill her stocking with savory snacks she can take with her everywhere she goes! Biscuits, crackers and cookies would surely delight. For coffee lovers, a stash of their favourite coffee mixes, beans and maybe even a mug (if it fits!) can be jammed into a stocking. Have bookworms in the family? Jam as many books as you can into a stocking. Bookmarks and book lights can also join in the fun. The travel lover may enjoy a stocking stuffed with trail mix, anti-bacterial gel, even a small, folding umbrella for those sudden downpours. Nature-loving friends will enjoy stockings filled with packs of seeds, perhaps a gardening tool set with matching gloves too. Interests as themes for stocking stuffers is a fun and easy way to begin the thought process for when you want to fill someone’s stocking but don’t know where to start!

What if you’re a little scrimped for cash? Can you still fill up someone else’s stocking? Definitely. A coupon-filled stocking is one way to go! Create coupons for a free massage’ or a free drive to the mall’ and pile up these coupons into your loved one’s stocking. This stocking of favors will surely come in handy for them and they’d be much appreciated. How about a stocking full of promises? Grab a bunch of calling-card sized board paper and write a promise on each one to. It could be something silly like ““I promise to wear the polka-dot tie you gave me whenever you ask me to” or something grand ““I promise to take you to Manila Ocean Park.” Don’t forget to follow through on those promises!

Socks and stockings may look like they can’t hold much, and that’s precisely why stuffing them is so much fun. How far can a loved one’s stocking stretch with your generosity? Why not go and find out!

This is by Toni Tiu, a repost from Philippine Online Chronicles .

19Dec 2016

A food tour at the farmers market with the US Ambassador Sung Kim

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

“A food tour at the Farmers’ market in Cubao”?

“Resource person”?

My mind could not wrap itself to the idea of being a food tour guide. I was thinking, hmm…I rarely get invited as a resource person when it comes to food. To think that I have a large and organic reach at my Pinoy Food Community on facebook. I am usually invited as resource person for political commentaries, social media and digital parenting . This was different.

Yes, food tour guide for the US embassy staff.

Oh no, I thought again. That means, I need to know the English translation for the Tagalog ingredients. Google is my savior.

Two days before the food tour, I received a call that the US embassy staff included the US Ambassador Sung Kim and Emma Nagy, the Deputy Press Attaché . How exciting , I thought. I had wanted to meet the new ambassador two weeks ago when he addressed the YSEALI youth leaders but I couldn’t make it .

Sunday , the day at the Farmers’ market. I arrived ahead of time to check out the market. It’s been awhile since I last bought my ingredients in this wet market. It is not as stinky as most public markets are . Thank goodness . I love the wide aisles, the variety of goods sold by the vendors and how organized each section was. The goods sold at the farmers’ market here are so much cheaper than the Sunday markets or at my local grocer.

What greets you by the entrance across the flower market are the fruit vendors. You can source your 12 round fruits for New Year’s eve here. There is so much variety like the honeydew melons, watermelons, longgans, guava, orange varieties, grapes, apple varieties, chico, pears, and not so round fruits like papaya, pineapple, and mangoes.

A centralized weighing scale reassures me that I get the right weight for my purchases.

Shortly before 9:30 AM,the Deputy Press Attaché and Ambassador Sung Kim arrived with his wife, two daughters and a friend. It’s great to see their enthusiasm. The market is the best place to understand the culture of any country.

Everyone was eager to shop. First stop was the kakanin area where the suman, rice cakes, and leche flan were sold. The ambassador was convinced to buy the Leche flan when Emma told him that she also bought one.

I told the ambassador that leche flan is similar to the Crème brûlée . I explained that the ideal leche flan has very little syneresis, that is, no weeping (or lots of holes in it!).

Then we passed by the vegetable section. One of the daughters spotted the “sitaw” (string beans). She remembers eating adobong sitaw when she visited the Philippines. It happens to be the favorite veggie dish of my daughter. The ambassador proudly announced that he plans to cook adobong sitaw that night.

Mrs. Kim was amused at the fresh “suahe”(moderately sized shrimps) …so fresh that they literally jumped off the basin. The ambassador shows off his purchase of a kilo of “Suahe”.

The next stop was the rice section. She wanted to buy Japanese rice ..The light, fluffy, and slightly sticky when cooked is ideal for rice toppings and even for Paella (if you like your rice to have some stickiness).

The we dropped by “Itlog ni Tikya” . The owner recognized the ambassador and wanted a photo op with him. She plans to put the photo in her facebook page. The ambassador bought the quail eggs. Great for side dishes. I usually add quail eggs on my sauteed veggies.

The last stop was the fruit stalls. I told the ambassador that we get a lot of fruit imports from China, and America. I pointed him to the Sagada Oranges which are in season from September-February . The best ones are picked fresh in December. What great timing! Sagada oranges cost 50 pesos per orange. These oranges are really sweet.

It was time to say our goodbyes . It was a pretty short food tour but I am glad I was able to talk to him about a universal theme : food. Maybe we will meet again in a social media event.

What a productive day. I got to meet the friendly US ambassador and his family and I ended up shopping for my weekly menu. There are so many reasons to love Farmers’ market in Cubao. This mini food tour allowed me to rediscover the variety of produce at the Farmers’ market . I will buy the Curacha (red frog crab) from Zamboanga and the ube (purple yam) so I could prepare Ube Halaya.

Till my next visit.

17Dec 2016

Memories of Misa de gallo (or Simbang gabi)

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

Simbang Gabi is an “Aguinaldo Mass that literally means “Gift Mass.”

Three thirty in the morning
Wake up, he said.
Let’s go.

Bells tolling
In the distance
Calling us.

Walking briskly
in the dark
With my chattering sisters
And brothers
Shivering
I pulled my coat close to me
Against the chilly air.

Four a.m.
Struggling to keep my eyes open
In a church
smelling of candles
packed with people
Praying fervently
in Cebuano

This is torture, I thought
Let this be over soon.
Sacrifice, my father whispered
Preparing for Jesus’s birth.

The choir’s voices
swelled into song
Kasadya ning Taknaa.

At the parish hall door
Handing brown bags
of pan de sal
my mother had baked
to a jostling crowd
of the poor outside
who smelled of sweat and dust

Smiles from my neighbors inside
Sipping steaming cups of tsokolate
Munching sweet bread
Amid red and green parols
swaying by the windows.

I sighed.
Soon
It will be Christmas.

The poem was written by my younger sister five years ago. Now living in the US, she came up with the poem for her community paper after we reminisced on our childhood Christmas memories. Those were the days when we dreaded waking up at 3:30 AM yet we feared our dad’s anger if we didn’t obey him.

My sister asked “what was the word we used for simbang gabi?”

I know it as misa de gallo.

Oh yes, my sister recalled now. Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) is a more fitting word than simbang gabi (Night Mass) because we can literally hear roosters during the mass. I couldn’t understand why dad had to wake us up at such an ungodly hour. Going to mass this early for nine consecutive days is meant to show the churchgoer’s devotion to his faith and heighten anticipation for the Nativity of the Lord. In traditional Filipino belief, however, completing the novena is also supposed to mean that God would grant the devotee’s special wish or favor. I don’t think my dad was after granting of his wishes. He was a successful business man and a loving husband and father to seven children. He just wanted to follow Filipino tradition.

Despite the discomfort of waking up early, my sisters and I look back to these memories with nostalgia. Misa de Gallo was a test of our willpower to get up early and stay awake during mass. Of course, we were all wide awake for the free breakfast that our community prepared during the nine days. Many years later, I struggled to wake up at 4:00 AM and I succeeded only once since my teen years. That’s only because my two girls sang at the church choir.

Maybe it was the Misa de Gallo memories with my family or my dad, but today I finally woke up to the sound of Christmas carols pealing in the air. No church bells ringing , just the soothing Christmas carols which actually woke me up. Unfortunately, Butch begged off and the two girls refused to wake up. So I walked across the street just ten minutes before the mass started and what do I see?! A jumpacked church. I should have brought a stool. For once, I liked the sermon of our parish priest as it speaks of the divinity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is the main reason for the celebration of the season!

Just like tradition, I dropped by to buy suman and puto bumbong to feed the sleepyheads at home.

Here I am unable to sleep so I am blogging about the Misa de Gallo in my parish church.

Do you follow this tradition?

15Dec 2016

Gift idea: This Journal Will Actually Change Someone’s Life 2017

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

This planner became known among buyers and bloggers as The Change Journal.

If you are in the lookout for a 2017 planner, I highly recommend “This Journal Will Actually Change Someone’s Life 2017!” It will not only change someone’s life but yours as well. Remember my 2016 Change Journal?

In 2008, FreeSpeech Publications started publishing a planner called “This Journal Will Actually Change Your Life.” They peppered it with interesting facts, unusual holidays, action blurbs, mood charts, reminders for quarterly check-ups, self-empowerment tips, expense trackers, life-changing coupons, bucket lists and a whole lot more—knowing that daily planners could actually help people keep track of their days, and their lives. They also published organizers that would keep you…well, organized. But their planner has a difference. It doesn’t just change your life by helping you, but, proceeds from the sales of this planner goes towards the education initiatives of Lifeline Foundation Support Team, Inc.

And CHANGE is exactly the theme of the 2017 Journal.

“Change is HERE, change is NOW. Life is HERE, life is NOW.”

From the back cover

“This year is your year to believe the truth that Life is in the here and now. 2017 is the year to stop waiting for circumstances to be perfect before you begin to LIVE the LIFE you choose. The 2017 Change Journal affirms that we human beings are far more powerful than we realize everyday. It will help you to begin living now, by changing the things that need to be changed, by starting the things that need starting—whether you take tiny steps or monumental leaps, the time is now. The operative, energy-filled, dynamic word is NOW. Life is now here. Believe in your own power.

This planner also changes other people’s lives. Proceeds from this journal go to Lifeline Foundation Support Team, Inc, whose initiatives include helping scholars get an excellent education, organizing medical missions to remote and underserved areas, and a whole lot more. Be part of the change! Visit them at www.ineedalifeline.org.

You can purchase the planner at Free Speech Publications,

11Dec 2016

Singing Christmas carols, a family tradition

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

The Christmas carols sung out loud, brings happiness and bliss all the year round! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The last Christmas with my mom in 1975 was spent singing Christmas songs in our dining room . How we crooned to my mom’s delight as all the 7 siblings from 19 to 10 years old gathered around my brother who played the melody in the Yamaha organ. At times, mom accompanied the songs in the piano and even sang with her beautiful soprano voice . Each sibling sang a carol or played a Christmas piece in the piano. I can’t remember now if this was an unwritten family rule that Santa Claus won’t bring a present or we just loved to sing carols as a family. A tinge of sadness overcomes me now as I long to go back to that last Christmas when my family of origin was still complete. Those wonderful memories remain alive in my heart. I thought of reviving the singing tradition when I soon had children. Unfortunately, mom’s singing voice is not in my genes.. the only musical talent I probably got is having an ear for music. I can tell when someone is off-key, pitchy or just tone dead. I play the piano, guitar and the organ . That’s about it. In the seventies, the Yamaha organ was the most groovy way to play music aside from the guitar.

I soon discovered that my two daughters could carry a tune. I bought sing-along Christmas songs tape where they could follow the music along with the lyrics. Pretty soon, my daughters were singing all the carols. Allow me certain bragging rights here but they sang beautifully at ages 4 and 3 respectively. They weren’t shy to sing in front of me back then so I recorded their singing voices in a tape which was then converted to digital format years later.

Along with the fragrant aroma of baking gingerbread cookies, you will hear Christmas carols streaming in every nook and corner which includes the recorded songs of my two girls. There’s nothing like setting the mood for my baking chores or working on articles at my laptop. The festive carols allow me to glamorize the house a little bit for Christmas without noticing the great tasks ahead. The melody and the simple lyrics will never cease to mesmerize and attune me to the holiday mood. I get so sentimental hearing my two girls singing as toddlers. There is something about Christmas carols sang by children. Their innocence and enthusiastic spirit reminds me of angel voices.

These days, I fill my home with Christmas carols by playing the piano.

I like to imagine Christmas carols the way it should be sung. Christmas carols depict the story of Christ’s birth. Angels sang various songs to tell the good news of Jesus’ birth when they encountered shepherds. The practice followed from then on and slowly became a tradition to sing carols on Christmas. These traditional Christmas carols embody the essence of truly Christmas-themed songs and espouse the sacredness and joyousness of the season of the Nativity.

Singing or playing Christmas carols is another family tradition that I continue on. It is my hope that my children will also pass it as well. Whether to lift my family’s spirit during the Christmas season, or for wishing each other well , the Christmas Carols like ““We Wish you a Merry Christmas” or Jingle Bells” will never fail to spark the true meaning of Christmas, the hope of the world.

05Dec 2016

Christmas gift idea: Flowers from Te Amo Floristeria

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

Te Amo Floristeria prides itself in being the pioneer luxury floral boutique in the Philippines. They have a flagship store in Bonifacio Global City (G/F Active Fun Bldg, 9th Ave, Bonifacio Global City)

Running out of ideas on what to give a special someone? I got a wreath for my mother-in-law because I thought it would look good in her nice, cozy country home up in the mountains.

Handmade from scratch , this beautiful and festive wreath is made with traditional pinecones and snowy fragrant wax flowers . The wreath base is made from real and aromatic Evergreens. It’s going to remain as charming even when dried. I love the idea of keeping the dried wreath , serving as a home decor for the rest of the year or just keeping it for the next Christmas season.

If you are in the lookout of charming gift ideas, I recommend flowers that will surely touch the heart of your loved one. Sending a delightful arrangement to complete a Christmas table or holiday display of your loved one’s home will surely warm their hearts.

The Te Amo Floristeria’s Holiday Collection is a good place to start.

Dear Santa Naughty or nice, everybody deserves to be in the festive mood. Let Santa’s traditional outfit take you on a nostalgic path with this scarlet and white fresh arrangement. For an extra seasonal touch, we’ve also added some berries to go with the roses & calla lilies. You can opt to have this bouquet in a glass vase for a yuletide display in your home.

Toast to the Holidays It’s the season to spoil those we love. Delight them with this lavish fresh flower box along with a fine bottle Grande Cuvée Sparkling Champagne. You may also customize your box with preserved blooms guaranteed to last up to three to five years. Now that’s an impressive gift

Send your warm greetings with this bottle Grande Cuvée adorned with Te Amo’s signature luxe blooms- perfect to give for those yearly gatherings with family and friends. You can also bring in your bottle of choice and let us customize your blooms and send it out with a thoughtful message from you.

All I Want Make your personal gifts exceptionally stand out. Let us spruce up your present by adorning it with fresh or preserved blooms of your choice. Simply bring your gift and leave it up to us to create an enchanting display that is sure to make a lasting impression.

December to Remember This festive arrangement is the epitome of chic. Sumptuous reds, rich burgundy and deep green tones make this fresh bouquet a sophisticated gift for someone special.You may also opt to have this arrangement in a box, in a vase, or hand-tied with a ribbon for maximum simplicity

Give them the gift of elegance & simplicity of a dreamy white Christmas with this fresh ox of white Ecuadorian Roses, Carnations, and Berries accented with pinecones in your box of choice. Let this classic box add that holiday charm to their home.

Scarlet Snow: Handmade from scratch, impress your visitors with this beautiful and festive wreath of scarlet red Ecuadorian roses with traditional pinecones and snowy fragrant wax flowers. The wreath’s base is made from real and aromatic Evergreens and remains as charming even when dried. It’s the perfect way to extend a warm wel come this season.

Our Christmas arrangements are lovingly created by our team of florists and personally delivered with your hand-written Christmas notes. Thank you for letting us be a part of your holidays.

So yeah, have a Blooming Christmas from Te Amo Floristeria with these flowers.

Contact details:

Address: Ground Floor, Active Fun Building, 28th Avenue Corner 9th Avenue., Taguig, Global city, 1634 Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone: +63 2 886 6888

29Nov 2016

Christmas gift ideas: Find beautiful gift items from social enterprises

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

Christmas gift ideas? Shop for Christmas Gifts with Purpose at the BPI Sinag ng Pasko Christmas Bazaar on December 6 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta Mall, Makati City.

I love to give Christmas gifts that are locally crafted by small and medium scale enterprises. There is a lot of heart in it. If you are like me, you find beautiful gift items from social enterprises that help Filipino communities at the BPI Sinag ng Pasko Christmas Bazaar happening on December 6, 2016 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta Mall, Makati City.

Many of these social enterprises have been part of BPI Foundation’s iconic BPI Sinag Business Challenge, a program that aims to support and scale-up businesses with the triple bottom line – people, planet, and profit. The Sinag ng Pasko Christmas bazaar, which is now on its second year, is one of the opportunities organized by BPI Foundation to help social enterprises reach out to new market.

With a wide range of goodies that include food and beverage, toys, personal care an home products, fashion and tech accessories, you will be sure to find something to give the important people in your life.

Here is a list of social enterprises participating at the BPI Sinag ng Pasko Christmas Bazaar.

Food and Beverage

Balangay’s Best – seafood snacks and other food items made by fisher folk communities from Bantayan, Cebu
Bayani Brew – brewed iced teas made from all-natural, native ingredients — curiously yummy, ridiculously healthy, and proudly homegrown
Dalareich Chocolates – native chocolate solids made from pure roasted cacao from Bohol
First Harvest – a proudly-Filipino brand, that uses choice ingredients to whip up healthy and delicious food products such as peanut butters and coco jam
GoldenducK – premium salted eggs that use an all natural turmeric dye to give their salted duck eggs a bright yellow hue, instead of the carcinogenic Sudan red dye used in others, and uses 50% less salt than traditional salted duck eggs. They also make duck patties and sisig
Good Food Co. – brings fresh and ethically sourced organic produce from smallholder farmers to kitchens
Hiraya Chocolates – single-origin chocolate bars and chocolate products from cacao beans sourced around the Philippines
Kalsada Coffee – Philippine specialty coffee that aims to support Filipino coffee producers and their dedicated efforts to bring quality coffee to market.
Kayumanggi Organics – wild ginger teas sourced from local farmers from Surigao del Sur and Aurora.
KKK Coffee – coffee products and café that seeks to promote Philippine coffee, not only from bean origins, but also to recipes and to brand
Nutri Delight Delicacies – innovative nutritious delicacies from all over the Philippines
Obrano – hand stitched goods made from genuine leather and handwoven textiles
Saka Brew – premium roasted rice and corn coffee
STEEP Coffee – coffee blends without the need for anything more than boiling water
Theo and Philo – chocolate bars made from cacao from Davao and sugar from Bacolod.
Tsaa Laya – premium line of organic herbal teas

Toys and Games

Karaw Craftventures – a design hub that upcycles scrap materials into artisanal products made by the inmates of the Naga City jail
Plush and Play – safe, environmentally-friendly and educational toys
Civil Defense Board Game – a simulation table top board game that introduces the basics of disaster risk reduction and humanitarian action to players with or without any background in disaster risk reduction or humanitarian work.

Bags

Akaba – timeless, high quality and high value travel bags from handwoven textiles
Bag 943 – for every purchase made of these backpacks, another bag is given to an impoverished school kid in the Philippines
Gouache – stylish specialty waxed canvas bags for the active, artistic urbanites and the adventure lovers
Gugu Bags – backpacks for adventurers, woven in Albay and Camarines Sur, and designed and sewn in Naga City by Filipino artisans
Jacinto and Lirio – multi-functional, handcrafted, and stylish leather goods such as wallets, bags, journals, and laptop sleeves, sustainably made from water hyacinth

Clothes, Shoes, and Accessories

Anthill Fabric Gallery – scarves, jackets, skirts, and other contemporary lifestyle products made from Philippine weaves
Habi Footwear – environment-friendly, stylish and comfortable espadrilles and sandals
Klowil – t’nalak woven by the T’boli weavers of South Cotabato
La Herminia Weaving – handwoven cloth from indigenous fibers like piña, silk, abaca, and cotton
Risque Designs – a Filipino lifestyle brand that brings forth modernity and luxury with its meticulously hand-crafted ready-to-wear and ready-for-runway footwear pieces

Personal Care and Home Products

Messy Bessy – natural, biodegradable, non-toxic personal care and home products
MNL Grow Kits – “agriculture in a box” products that lets you grow your own plants from the comfort of your home
Solar Solutions – provider of renewable energy solutions products and services

Assorted Products

Angie’s Yakan Cloth – handwoven yakan cloth, table runners, wall decors, coasters, placemats,pillow cases, bags
Caritas Margins – a variety of fashion accessories, personal care, and food products made by Caritas Manila’s urban poor farmers
Gifts and Graces – fair-trade bags, toys, and accessories
GREAT Women – food items and spices, textiles and silk-based goods, and high-fashion jewelry and accessories
Roots Katipunan – woven bags and artisanal products

Support our Filipino Artisans! Save the Date! December 6, 2016 at the Glorietta Activity Center, Glorietta Mall, Makati City.

Learn more about the BPI Sinag ng Pasko Christmas Bazaar by following BPI Foundation on Facebook .

13Nov 2016

Good reads for mommies and moms-to-be

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

Books open a whole new world of knowledge, stories, ideas, and advices that can enlighten you, make you laugh, give you a moral boost, inspire you, or introduce you to a different outlook. Here are some recommended books for moms and moms-to-be.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch – The Canadian picture book Love You Forever started as a song according to the author. It was published in 1986.

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.”

Munsch made up the short song after he and his wife had stillborn babies. The song was meant as a tribute to their babies who died at birth. The song lingered in his head but it was too painful to sing. For a long time, it was just a song but one fateful day, while Munsch was sharing stories at a big theater at the University of Guelph, he was inspired to create a story around the song. The thought later materialized into the book Love You Forever. Kids were the initial target audience of the book but to the surprise of the author, it became a hit among adults as well.

The heartfelt story is a chronicle of the experiences of a mother and her young son. It describes the little boy’s annoying behavior in his youth. Despite her son’s troublesome behavior, the mother never fails to visit the boy in his bedroom to cradle him in her arms and sing him a short lullaby. The nightly display of affection is constant a reminder of how much the mom loves her son.

The boy eventually reaches adulthood and leaves home to start a life of his own. Sometimes, the mother would sneak into her son’s old room to sing the same lullaby as she longed for his presence.

As time passes, the mother grows old and weak. When the son visits his sick mother for the last time, he sings his own version of the lullaby as a tribute the unconditional love that his mom gave him all through his life. He promises to love her forever.

When the son goes home, he takes his newborn daughter in his arms and sings to her the same lullaby that his mother used to sing to him. The legacy of love goes on.

Parenting With Love and Logic by Foster W. Cline, Jim Fay, Eugene H. Peterson -This parenting book helps parents prepare their children for the real world by shaping them into self-confident and motivated individuals.

The authors enlighten parents about the importance of teaching their children a sense of responsibility to help them have a good chance of a bright future. The book stresses the significance of instilling good values through easy and positive steps. Parenting With Love and Logic explains that it is possible to bring up and nurture children without the need for “anger, threats, nagging, or power struggles.”

Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood: The Good, the Bad, and the Scary by Jill Smokler – This New York Times bestselling collection features original essays that reveal positive and negative thoughts and deeds of parenting. The book offers the readers a glimpse of the reality of parenting, both good and bad sides. It shares stories and confessions that most mothers would find very difficult to admit.

“If I can’t survive my daughter as a toddler, how the hell am I going to get through the teenage years?”

“I end up doing my son’s wrong, but so much easier.”

“I clock out of motherhood at 8 P.M. and hide in the basement with my laptop and a beer.”

“I pretend to be happy but I cry every night in the shower.”

The Girlfriends’ Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood by Vicki Iovine – New moms step into the world of motherhood with a mountain of questions, worries and fears. The author deals with the common mommy queries and doubts. Iovine gives a hilarious twist to parenting. She offers straight to the point advice and funny observations.

“Baby euphoria”: Is it a mind-altering drug?

“Husband? What Husband?”: Taking care of the big baby, as well as the little baby

“I Want My Old Body Back!”: What you can fix and what you can’t

“The Droning Phenomenon”: The inability to discuss anything but your baby for more than thirty seconds

“Do I Have to Become Carol Brady?”: Conquering your fear of being a less-than-perfect mother

“Competitive Mothering”: Coping with know-it-alls, finger-pointers, and others who try to “Out-Mom” you

Calm Mama, Happy Baby: The Simple, Intuitive Way to Tame Tears, Improve Sleep, and Help Your Family Thrive by Derek O’Neill, Jennifer Waldburger – It is normal for every parent of a newborn to feel overwhelmed by the reality of taking care and nurturing a baby. Parents especially moms may feel nervous about fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood. It’s quite challenging to get into a schedule with your baby. The daily challenges of feedings, sleeping schedules and diaper changes can be exhausting. It’s not a surprise that many parents feel stressed with all these duties.

The book opens the eyes of parents to the “cause and effect between parents’ mental and emotional states and their baby’s mood and behavior.” According to the authors, the parents’ emotional state may directly affect their baby. For instance, parents who are calm and centered are likely to have calm children.

Clutterfree with Kids by Joshua Becker – Having children is a big blessing in life. They bring love, joy, laughter, energy, and meaning to every home. Despite all these positive things, you can’t deny that children also add clutter. Don’t worry, this little parenting downside has simple solutions. Clutterfree with Kids focuses on how parents can set a balance in their lives and manage clutter by sharing fresh insights.

The book shares both inspirational stories and practical solutions. It encourages parents to reflect on their lives, try new habits and techniques, and eventually embrace positive changes to make their home clutter-free.

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman, Ross Campbell – Communication between parents and children has a big impact on kids’ attitude and behavior development.

Children have different ways of expressing themselves.Sometimes children may desperately seek attention while other times they act as if you are not there. There are moments when kids display affection but there are times when they don’t seem to care.

A child’s behavior is greatly influenced by their relationship with their parents.
The authors believe that there are five different communication styles and children may use any of the style to express themselves. The book helps parents build fulfilling relationships with their children by “teaching them to speak each others’ love language.”

Photo collage by author.
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by Ma. Rachel Yapchiongco, as originally posted at the Philippine Online Chronicles

Rachel Yapchiongco, also known as Rach to her friends, is a Psychology and Marketing Management graduate of De La Salle University. She took up MBA at the same university. Rachel is a full-time mom to a charming young boy and married to an entrepreneur with a passion for cooking. She shares parenting experiences and slices of everyday life on her personal blog called Heart of Rachel.

02Nov 2016

UPSTART, a Filipino board game empowering entrepreneurs

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ Leave a Comment

UPSTART, a Filipino board game is changing the way people learn business. As early adopters and backers, those who pledge through Kickstarter will get to own the game before its commercial release and below retail price. Back UPSTART today. Click here to preorder.

“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” – Peter Drucker, management consultant, educator, and author.

Did you know that 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months? A whopping 80% crash and burn. When it comes to business, most people will tell you fail fast, and then learn. But the truth is… FAILING HURTS.

There is a new Pinoy board game that launched on October 15 on Kickstarter, which is set to transform how people experience starting and sustaining a business without the risk. UPSTART, a table-top role playing game (RPG) by Richard Dacalos and Lorena Flores, was created to empower entrepreneurs and challenge the reality that 120,000 businesses fail every day. UPSTART is a board game that simulates the UPS and DOWNS of setting up and sustaining a business. It equips players with the tools & insights to have them take their business to the next level. Players learn lifelong lessons in an environment of fun, collaboration and play.

“You can’t grow a business in a silo so there’s bound to be failure, and it’s from failure that the best entrepreneurs learn to be successful.” adds Flores , a senior marketing strategist and head of creatives for UPSTART. “One reason we created UPSTART was to practice failure… without really failing. We wanted a safe and fun environment where we can uncover our blind spots, our decision-making biases, our strengths and
weaknesses.”

At an event with bloggers, Flores showed us how to play the board game. Jane, my partner in Prep2Prime Digital and I teamed up to simulate the game.

Our character background is full-time entrepreneur. One round depicts weekly decisions and goals in real life . Each team was given 50 hours and 3000 cc (the currency in UPSTART).

You then roll and navigate through the board and make choices or deal with chance. Chance is dictated by various cards like life, breakdowns and breaks (opportunities).

The actions simulate real life : (1) Life and general actions, (2) General business conditions, (3) Revenue generation and (4) followers and reputation. Since Jane and I have followers and some reputation, we thought it best to focus on revenue generation and taking care of ourselves and family.

This game is an eye opener to me even if I have masteral units in Business Administration and was once a consultant for small and medium enterprises. I realized that our consultancy has a long way to go in revenue generation and that our strategy should focus on it.

The UPSTART was initially a private board game played among colleagues, but it began getting noticed when players had success applying lessons they learned in the game to real life.
After two years of testing and product development, seven major game iterations, and more than four hundred players from different backgrounds – from aspiring entrepreneurs to business mavens, from students to corporate professionals, from the Philippines to South Africa – the game is ready to be shared with the world.

“The Kickstarter campaign will give us the ability to scale-up our production and ship worldwide,” says Dacalos. They need to raise $35,000 though. Based on their calculations and conversations with the multiple suppliers, this is the bare minimum needed to mass produce the game and deliver worldwide.

Dacalos and Flores hope to empower entrepreneurs all over the world to beat the status quo, and shorten their business learning curve.

As early adopters and backers, those who pledge through Kickstarter will get to own the game before its commercial release and below retail price. Back UPSTART today. Click here to preorder.

01Nov 2016

Remembering Luijoe on All Saints Day

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 16 Comments

Remembering our departed loved ones on All Saints’ day and everyday of our lives.

Did you know…the universal symbol of remembering is a candle?

Did you know…letting go of our loved one, but honoring their memory with a symbol is a ritual that brings healing? Sometimes words are not there to express what we want to say, but a symbol that brings meaning to us can help in the grief process.