she turns 4 this coming week

i can't believe how quickly time flies.  michelle turns 4 this week and she's grown and learned so much. 

we were supposed to celebrate by taking her on a trip to disneyland this weekend, but because we have another trip planned for october, we decided to skip disneyland and just have a simple celebration with family and a few friends. 

as i type this, michelle and dad are playing in the living room, singing to jason mraz's lucky.  gotta go and join them, i'm missing out!  =D

negativity wont get me anywhere

i started writing a blog criticizing 3 of the most annoying personalities i've ever come across in philippine show business.  i have avoided reading articles about them but even headlines have given me enough reason to get irritated.  on the blog entry that i started writing, i criticized their personalities, their ethics, their tactlessness.  i went on and on and on about the things that made them horrible...

and then i stopped.  i may see the horrible side of who they are, but i'm sure they have friends and family who think highly of them, so i turned off the computer and moved on.  they wouldn't care what i write about them, and i have no right to judge.

over the last several years, i've learned to control my feelings, the things i say, and the things i do.  it really is the Lord and His Word, changing me everyday from faith to faith.  in james it says, "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does." James 1:23-25. 

you just learn to see things more clearly, and He reminds you that He loves them all...even the ones whom i think are unloveable.  He shows me what it's like to see the world, to see people they way they see them.  to have more compassion rather than irritation. 

writing about bad things wont get me anywhere.  it doesn't solve the problem and brings people down.  but i still vent, usually on twitter, where i am limited to 140 characters...the less i say, the less i sin.  so twitter has been my venting outlet.

there was a situation at work that got me so furious last week, and all i could tweet was, 'get off your high horse, dude!  you're not all that!'  i wanted to say so much more, but 1 tweet is all it took that day to get the negativity out of my system. 

i found that it's best on certain occassions to keep the mouth shut, and to pick the battles that i want to fight.  i've never been a nag because i'd rather write than speak and it has helped my marriage! hahaha!  paul and i don't really fight.  sometimes we get on each other's nerves...i don't know what his trick is...but mine is that i don't initiate a conversation with him.  if he asks me a question, my answer is always straight to the point (hindi ako bastos, pag kinakausap ako, nakikipag usap ako).  i try not to ask him anything, i just keep myself busy, or i go to the room or play with michelle.  by the time we go to bed, i've already cooled down, he's forgotten why he got upset, he holds my hand and we go to sleep.which reminds me...we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary next month. that may be short compared to my parents who has been married some 38 years, but i do feel we've had quite an achievement.  5 years and going strong, we're happy, and still in love!  and part of the success comes from picking our battles and staying positive.
 
so try to look for that silver lining... look for the best in people, even when they behave at their worst.  God loves us all....equally...and none of us deserve it.

backyard bounty

every couple of days, we pick about 5 berries from out little strawberry patch in the backyard.  michelle's been getting a real kick out of picking them, washing them, and eating them.  it really has been the most rewarding plant we've had in the backyard.  we have an apple tree, a lemon tree, tomatoes growing in the backyard, but i don't think we'll get any luck with them.  the previous owner of the house might have poisoned the soil in an attempt to get rid of weeds.  i've tried to fertilize the soil with fertilizer and compost but nothing.  the apple tree and the lemon tree have not died but they haven't really grown either.  they're just...idle. 

our neighbor's apple tree on the other hand has apples growing from its branches.  they never pick the apples and my dad told the owner that we will be helping ourselves to their apples once they're ripe and they don't mind.  yippeeee!  more apples for us!!!

organic, pesticide free fruits! 

not that i've joined the organic revolution.  but it kinda feels good to grow some of the stuff we eat right in our own backyard.

yesterday, i made garlic fries and the parsley came from the backyard.  we also have thyme and rosemary and lavander. 

i'll plant whatever grows.  ano pa kaya ang madaling sumibol?

my own eat, pray, love

i finished the book in time for the movie....which i'm hoping to see within the next couple of days.  i am now dreaming of my own 'eat, pray, love' adventure.

but unlike the character in the book/movie, i don't want to do it alone.  i'll take my husband and daughter with me and we will have our own 'eat, pray, love' adventure....someday! haha!

i really should start putting more money into the savings account that i have designated as the vacation fund. 

i wonder how i can convince paul to head to india or when michelle would be old enough for an adventure like that? 

maybe for the mean time we can just go to an italian, indian, and indonesian restaurant and do the culinary experience instead. 

my food is GOOD FOOD!!!!!

this an OK article, but take some time to read the comments and any filipino with some ounce of pinoy pride will just be mad!

They all keep talking about dinuguan, balut, and all the ‘fear factor’ types of food that is part of ANY culture. Have they ever been to the South and know the types of food they eat over there? Or to parts of China where Filipinos got the balut idea? They’re all so used to eating their General Tso’s chicken, broccoli beef, and they think that is real Chinese food! Or real Italian food is the stuff you find at Olive Garden!

Please!!!

I wish they could all try my mother’s mechado - Beef simmered for hours in tomato sauce with potatoes and bell peppers. My! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It’s like slow cooked beef stew, only better.

Or they should try Tselogs’ chicken sisig served in a sizzling platter. I understand it’s greasy, (the chicken is fried after all), but who hasn’t splurged and eaten grease laden food every once in a while? They’ve all eaten at KFC and Popeye’s…THAT is more greasy!

there's sinigang, chopsuey, kilawin, kare-kare (minus the tripe), pancit, laing, laksa, pangat, paksiw and my forever favorite, ginisang munggo...i could go on and on and on and on...

Filipino food can be a mixture of the good stuff (the healthy stuff) and the bad stuff (the greasy stuff), just like any type of cuisine but like any other type of dish, food taste better with fat. Have guys ever heard of fat = flavor? Yeah. It’s the same for any type of food. Whether it be French (do you know how much butter they put to make your escargot taste good?) or Italian (yes, olive oil has zero cholesterol, but fat, is still fat, too much of it can still be bad). But any of these foods can be prepared the healthy way, and so can Filipino food.

I am upset that Filipino food gets such a bad reputation. If only I can invite you all at home so I can cook for you. Where are all these people getting their filipino food?  Should I invite this people to our home and let them see and taste what REAL Filipino food is all about?

some outstanding filipino chef should redeem filipino food.  NOW!!!!

rejection

there's someone i know whom i invited to hang out with my friends...i have a small social circle so the people i hang out with are either my relatives, or my friends most of which are from church. upon knowing that the friends were from church, this someone brushed off the invitation and politely said, 'i want to hang out with you guys.  if it's with other people, wag na lang.'  

i knew that it wasn't because this person was shy.  i know this person has hung out with acquaintances of mine and this person doesn't have any problems hanging out with them. so even though this person declined politely, it still bothered me so i just prayed.  the Lord said, 'don't worry.  it's not you nor your friends this person is rejecting.  this person is rejecting me.'  nakakalungkot, but it is true what the Lord said in his word, "They are going to do all these things to you because of the way they treated me, because they don't know the One who sent me. If I hadn't come and told them all this in plain language, it wouldn't be so bad. As it is, they have no excuse. (The Message)" "They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (NIV)" John 15:21.

but God is good.  His plans are perfect and the best i could do is continue to pray for those that are dear to me and live a life that glorifies the Lord.  sabi nga, 'your life might be the only bible that people will read...'   so Lord, teach me and let your glory shine!

tipid tipid muna

hindi pa tapos yung kitchen, pero malapit ng matapos.  at dahil malaki ang nagastos (ubos LAHAT ng ipon), wala munang gala gala. (ang lungkot!)

we are skipping the trip to disneyland for michelle's birthday.  magastos.  disney raised their ticket prices again this week.  next year nalang siguro kami pupunta tutal hindi rin naman makakasama si kuya joy, ang nagiisang disneyland virgin dito sa bahay dahil may work sya.  nakapunta nanaman si michelle before kaya ok lang, she's not going to be terribly disappointed.  we're planning a little something something for her on her bday nalang.  yung hindi magastos!

balak ko sana to do something nice on our 5th wedding anniversary.  naisip ko sana a weekend at the ritz carlton half moon bay...i'm sure the husband will shoot that idea down the minute he finds out i had this in mind.  erase! erase!  magiisip nalang ako ng tipid date for our anniversary.  makikikain nalang siguro kami kasi i have a work function on our anniversary at this really expensive restaurant in the city hehe.  

uuwi pa kami ng pilipinas, so napakaraming gastos. hinay hinay lang muna at mahina ang kalaban. 

The Only Child: Debunking the Myths

The Only Child: Debunking the Myths

i saw this article at my optometrist's office earlier today. i struggled to read it as my eyes were dilated so i made a mental note to google this when i get home.

sa mga nagtatanong kung kelan ko susundan si michelle, eto ang honest to goodness kong sagot.

'ayoko na sundan si michelle. kung ako ang masusunod, gusto ko isang anak lang. kung masusundan si michelle, bahala na, but we're not trying. we want to provide the best we can for her at gusto rin namin magawa ang mga bagay na gusto namin bilang mag asawa, at bilang pamilya.'

pwede ko rin bang sabihin, na 'hindi kayo may ari ng matres ko, pwede wag kayo makulit?' hehehe

sa totoo lang kasi, medyo nakukulili na tenga ko dahil i get asked this question every week. before, i would answer, 'pag nakabili na kami bahay.' or 'pag nakabalik na si paul.' e nangyari na pareho so naubusan na ako ng sagot. so ngayon pag may nagtatanong, ganito ang sagot ko, 'ay! (sabay tingala) parang may naririnig akong kung ano. (sabay palinga-linga) ay wala pala. ano nga ba ang pinaguusapan natin? (and i will change the topic)' obvious na ayoko pag usapan. kasi yung nagtatanong, hindi nya gusto yung isasagot ko, so bakit pa ako sasagot? they get the hint, and we all move on.

para dun sa mga gusto ng dalawa, tatlo, or milyon milyong anak, good for you! sana lang ganon din ang reaksyon nyo sa mga mag asawa that want to stop at one.

like i said earlier, gusto ko isa lang. but if i get pregnant again, siguro yun talaga ang gusto ng panginoon and i'll be very happy with that.