Spark of hope

When I heard of the birth of the Asis Twins (conjoined, two heads, one body) I instantly thought of the Aguirre Twins. Carl and Clarence were born conjoined at their heads and were successfully separated just before they turned two.

Now their case was given attention wordlwide when a doctor and a hospital in the US sponsored them. Even Dateline got interested in their case that a series of reports were shown. Then I stopped hearing about them.

While reading the paper this afternoon, I found an article about Carl and Clarence and was happy to realize that the boys are now five years old. Their recovery is one for the books because it is said that in cases like theirs, it is very slim for both twins to survive. Look at them now! I believe they still have a long way to go but since they are given proper care, I'm quite sure they will be able to get through everything just fine.

Now isn't that a spark of hope? Anything is possible :).

Ps. for more information on the twins, go here.

Funny...

Read in one of the forums Ane frequents. Wala lang, we were laughing out loud when we read this. This apparently came from the SMS messages being forwarded around.

Juan: Father, nakakita po ako ng pilay sa may altar, mataimtim na nagdadasal, tapos bigla nya hinagis ang mga saklay niya! (Father, I saw a crippled person praying at the altar and he suddenly threw his crutches away!)

Priest: Aba! Ito'y isang himala! Nasaan na yung sinasabi mo? (Oh my! This is a miracle. Where is this person you are talking about?)

Juan: Ayun, nasa altar pa din, nakadapa at dumudugo ang ilong...(still by the altar, face down and nose is bleeding...)

Yesterday

I cried.

Ane and I were at this government office fixing some papers for my FIL. Since Ane and I are both idealistic, we won't give in to red-tape and bureaucracy (sad to say, some civil service offices here are only "efficient" when one resort to such activities). So we were both ready for whatever hurdles we had to go through.

But we weren't so ready to wait for FIVE long hours. Outside the office (while we see all employees thru the glass in the airconditioned rooms, laughing and chitchatting, noh). In the heat of the weather (must have been more than 30 degrees out there). Really thirsty. We were both tired and sleepy. And me on the first day of my period with no clean washrooms around (it was nasty and yucky).

So when we were told everything was done, after five hours, I couldn't help it anymore. I cried out of relief, frustration and all the other feelings in the world...and found out that they had an encoding error! Encoding could have been the first step in our transaction and yet they still misspelled FIL's name (we would have cared less if the address was wrong) and nobody bothered to correct it while the papers were inside! They simply smiled on their booboo, didn't reprint our documents, and promised to just fix the records in their computer. Talk about efficiency. Sheesh. We decided to push not it anymore because 1) we had another errand to do, and 2) FIL said we will just do something about it later (naawa na siguro sa amin, huhu).

We rushed to the grocery to buy a few things for the garden and raced immediately after that to our event that night. It was a very tiring day but while driving, Ane playing his IPod and this song came up:

ORDINARY SONG

By Janno Gibbs

Just an ordinary song

To a special girl like you

From a simple guy

Who's so in love with you

I may not have much to show

No diamonds a glow

No limousines

To take you where you go

But if you ever find yourself

Tired of all the games you play

When all the world seems so unfair

You can count on me to stay

Just take sometime to lend an ear

To this ordinary song

Just an ordinary song

To a special girl like you

From a simple guy

Who's so in love with you

I don't even have the looks

To make you glance my way

The clothes I wear

May just seem so absurd

But deep inside of me is you

You give life to what I do

All those years may see you thru

Still I'll be waiting here for you

If you have time

Please lend an ear to this ordinary song

Just an ordinary song

To a special girl like you

From a simple guy

Who's so in love with you...

Ane reminded me that this is his song for me. Ain't that really sweet? The day must have started so bad and yet my dear husband ended it perfectly :)

The heat is on

Definitely! The weather has been humid for the last few days, kinda irritating. It's so hot I feel dirty all the time. You know the feeling that you just wanna stay under the shower with cold water running? And it sucks that right after I towel the excess water off, I get sweaty again.

It didn't help that I woke up this morning with no electricity, aarrrghhhh!

I think I need some days off, hehehehe (like my days are always hectic, noh?!?). The beach is definitely not in my favorite list of destinations. I'd rather stay in an airconditioned hotel room, snuggling with Ane all day under the 300+ count sheets! :) Cozy, huh? I hope we have the extra money to spend though hihihi.

Anyway, the other day I was browsing Friendster accounts and I came across a picture in Lara's that totally made my day :) I just had to do a LO of it (I remember Lara asking that I make one for her). Here it is:

Credits

How adorable, this Ryan kid! :) He can even dance like that dancing internet baby, remember that one? Hehe...

Oh, like him, I wish I can forget how hot it is, and be a kid again :)

So true...

I read somewhere that:


The best intangible gift a father could give his children is loving their mother.

Or something to that effect. I forgot who said that but the message rings in my head every now and then that I just have to post it here.

Now I understand...

why I see a lot of blogs with very short but frequent entries (read:everyday?). I need to start doing the same if I want "this little project" to push thru. Hehehe, and I gotta figure out something else. I'm gonna keep mum about it muna.

Today I busied myself by reading Illustrator tutorials and looking for downloads...that I missed my college girl friends while they were ALL online. Geesh. Anyway, I was surprised to see an email from Rissa and I am glad that they are doing okay on the other side of the world. Back to Illustrator, it's amazing how much I could learn! The techniques may very well help me in Digiscrapping. :) More on that later.

It's 10pm and I gotta start packing up. I have a hungry husband waiting for me at home, eheheh.

Here I am, blabbing again hehe

{Today}

I was up really early, as in 635am. I carpooled with Ane to Makati and then my brother G picked me up from there (with Z of course). We went straight to his school, met with his adviser and got his Final grades. When we entered his homeroom, he started leaping and his smile was from ear to ear. He was so happy to find out that he finished Third Year with Third Honors and a Year-end Deportment Award. Yabang! It amazes me how my little big boy can get good grades and I hardly see him study! Must be the genes, ehek!

I hitched a ride with my other brother R to the garden, got here a bit after lunch time, had someone pay the phone bills, checked my email and decided I needed a Facial treatment (last one was in February!). Hihihi. So the tx ended and I am now composing this entry while eating a big bowl of Champorado. No wonder my ass is bigger and my waistline totally disappoints me. Sigh.

{Yesterday}

I woke up in the morning (late, as usual) with a very weird feeling in my stomach. And I suddenly remembered that I drank a cup of Biguerlai tea just before I went to bed the other night. Now Biguerlai tea, on every pack, claims to be a Slimming tea and something something (ehehe I forgot to bring a pack with me today at work). Mamita B swears to the effectivity of the tea because it works for her. She warned me though I will frequent the washroom the next day after taking. Which happened and it was nasty. My stomach was upset the whole day (not the mention the stiffness of my neck! Argh! Another story.) I decided to search the net on the main ingredient of Biguerlai, Senna Leaves, and I found out these:

“Senna (Cassia angustifolia) is a small shrub that grows in regions of the upper Nile of North Africa and Arabia. The ancient Egyptian doctors used senna over 3500 years ago for their royal patients and the elite. It was also used by the Arabian physicians as far back 9th century A.D. After being introduced to Europe during the Crusades, its popularity as an herbal remedy exploded. While available as single product, senna is often combined with a variety of aromatic herbs.
Today senna is a commonly used laxative and is found as an active ingredient in products such as Senokot, Fletcher's Castoria, and Ex-Lax Gentle Nature. Senna can be found growing naturally in most tropical regions of the world. Both its leaves and its seeds are medicinal. Senna is able to relieve constipation by stimulating the colon, whereby speeding along the passage of the contents. Consequently, there is less time for fluid to be absorbed from the stool and it remains soft.” http://www.nutrasanus.com/senna.html

Aaaaawwwww, so that makes a lot of sense. And I realized that it will never suit me, unless am constipated, hehehehe. I simply hate the feeling. I also considered that my body is prone to stomach aches and indigestion problems. So Biguerlai is not for me.

{The other day, Monday}

I was at the Mall with LBB. He got some birthday money and decided that he needs to update his wardrobe. I happily went with him as Ane also gave me some shopping money to splurge on myself and not necessarily for the house. Hihihi. So there I was, searching the mall for new clothes. It’s disappointing that most new clothes out in the market are skinny this and skinny that. Whatever happened to the clothes for the not so skinny like me?!?! The other designs are lacy if not “sparkling” which is totally not me. Am a simple shirt and jeans gal and my built isn’t at all girly (broad shoulders and hips and fat!! eeewww). I ended up with a couple of plain shirts and three polo shirts and…….drum roll…..another pair of Havaianas! Knock-knock! Who’s there? Addictus havaianus!! I was so happy when I went to All Flip flops and found just the model and color that I wanted and saw on the net. Of course, when LBB and I fetched Ane from the office & told him of my new pair, he rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. Oh he loves me! Hahahahahaha!

{Sunday was Easter}

Ane started our day right by hearing mass (it was an additional day off for him). I know it doesn’t make up for the rest of the Holy Week when we did not participate in any church activity…but I am happy that we were able to partake in the Holy Eucharist. Easter Sundays are also renewal days of every Catholic’s Baptism. I remember, every year, having to answer questions asked of our Parents and Godparents in our Baptism and then the priest would bless everyone with Holy Water. That Sunday was different for the priest asked if we brought along a candle with us. We didn’t. Only two among the churchgoers had candles with them. The priest was dissapointed and even told us that “Ah hindi kayo pinaalalahanan ng inyong pananampalataya. (your faith did not remind you)” Now, that isn’t a nice thing to say right? I felt bad, mind you.

Anyway, after the mass, I dropped Ane home so he could get more sleep and then I proceeded to a Rotary event where we met up with the GSE (Group Study Exchange) Team from Korea. The team consisted of five and they are all nice and adorable. They understand basic English and two of them even speak good English. Throughout lunch though, they were silent…until I decided to talk to them. As our conversation went, I realized that they were just waiting for someone to start chatting. I did. They even asked if I studied in the US (which I didn’t) because they said my diction is very good and my pronunciation very clear. So there, the point of this paragraph is to brag! Hahaha Nah. I was just confident because they aren’t Caucasians, heheheh. It was so sweet of them that they gave me a phone chain from their country.

Later that night, Ane and my brothers were in Eastwood to celebrate LBB’s birthday (DOB April 4). We went around the mall, LBB got himself a new pair of Chucks, and Ane a new pair of Ipanema (taksil!). Then we just had dinner at Something Fishy (we always dine there but that night, we decided to try some other dishes) and had dessert at some Chinese Resto (only because we felt bad seeing the place with no guests). We were supposed to get some coffee but we were all full and tired so we went home.


So…..I just realized that I am being a bit chatty again and this post has become too long. I’m afraid my readers are getting bored already (yes the three of you!) so I’ll stop. I have stories to tell still but that deserves another post.

February and March Roundup

I know this is a bit late (at least for the March round up) but I wanna post it just the same. There are things I cannot trust my memory with, so I'd rather note everything here, however late.

Round Up Prompts from Katie the Scrapbook Lady :)

Books and/or magazines I read:
February – my usual local chismis mags (Hi!, Starstudio, Yes and Buzz mwehehehehe yeah jologs stuff) and Ane’s FHM.
March – same as February plus February and March copy of Reader’s Digest (came in late again and I also stopped my subscription!), an old issue of Scrapbook Answers magazine I saw at The Podium, Books: Digital Family Photography and Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic and Baby (finished reading in less than 24 hours!!!).

Movies I watched:
February – Charlotte’s Web at The Promenade, Happy Feet on Ane's IPod, Wedding Crashers over at HBO
March – Pursuit of Happyness at G4, 300 at The Promenade (I fell asleep!)

Special days?
February –

1 5th Hunnyversary (just a simple, ordinary day)

10 Bebots’ EB (fun!)
14 Valentine’s Day (had work!)
24 Li’l Bro’s Prom (Bought his date Lizzie’s Boquet and Corsage, also drove for them).

March –

2 Dad’s 55th Birthday (lotsa people remembered him…as in lots!! We started serving food around lunch time and finished around 10pm! Nonstop!)
11 my 29th Birthday (fine day at the mall with the whole family)
21 Sheliza Vittoria was born to my cousin Frenz and his wife Sheila.
24 my sister’s 30th Birthday (called her but missed talking to her, they went to Monterey. TRIVIA: My sister and I are just 11months apart so when I turned 29 on the 11th, we were both 29! We are oftentimes mistaken as twins!)


Gifts given and/or received?
February – Given: An educational toy for David (Ane’s godchild and my guy friend Randy’s son), A Book and 2 cases of beading stuff for Leanne (Ane’s Godchild who he last saw on her baptism, shame!, and Leo & Connie’s daughter). Received: A new pair of Havaianas (Brown Slim Café) from Ane.
March – Given: An educational toy each for Louis (Michelle and Otep’s Son. They are Ane’s badminton co-team members) and Dominick (Gilda’s Son. She is Ane’s former Teammate), and a Cash gift for Gabby (Edwin and Sheridan’s Son. Edwin is Ane’s High school Buddy), Lightning McQueen pillow for Nathan (My friend Arlene and husband Handsel’s firstborn). Received: Two new pairs of Havs (Black Baroque and Pink Summer 2007) from Ane.


Illnesses or health concerns I had?
February – Bad cramping just when I tested faint positive. Turned out I was just delayed and it was a bad case of false alarm.
March – None. Good.



Fun things I did with my friends and/or family?
February –

4 Movie date with Ane and my Brothers at the Promenade;
10 Chikahan and Pictures galore with the Bebots at Rona's Office in Galleria Corporate Center;
11 Whole day Family Valentine’s Date: at Glorietta (with Ane and Brothers only after hearing Mass )- Lunch at Kaya, Playtime at Timezone and Coffee at Starbs; Dinner at Harbor along Wilson in Greenhills (it has a new name already but I forgot to note it down) and then Coffee and Dessert at UCC along Connecticut;

18 David’s First Birthday party at their Home in Baesa. Real birthday is February 20, the same as his dad Randy’s birthday;
25 Leanne’s 7th Birthday Party at Kids at Work in SM North EDSA.

March –

2 Entertained Dad’s guests at the Garden;
3 Family trip to Hidden Valley in Laguna. We were all wasted from the previous day’s “event”. Had breakfast along SLEX (Pancake House and Starbucks). Got at the resort around lunch time. We had a lot of time to relax and just enjoy each other’s company. No Drama. Hehehe. Had Dinner at Grace and Rose Bulalo along SLEX on the way home;
4 Louis’ Christening day at St. Francis Church in Ortigas. Ane was Ninong. Reception followed at Zhuang Restaurant along Pioneer;
10 Ane’s First meeting for the project they accepted for extra income at the Podium. We had merienda at Fuzion and while they were meeting at Dome, I was was waiting for him at Cheesecake Etc;
11 My birthday. Had to attend to Dominick’s Christening first because Ane was a Ninong. Didn’t attend the reception anymore as we already had plans to celebrate. Went to G4, had lunch at Seafood, Seafood, watched Pursuit, had coffee and Strawberry cheesecake at Starbucks and the capped the day off with a light Dinner at Razon’s in Greenhills;
12 Dibide shopping at Metrowalk with my Brothers, had lunch at Pancake House. Later Accompanied Ane to Café Mediterranean at Greenbelt 1 to meet up with his colleagues for the project which unfortunately did not push thru after the client gave them the first installment. I had dinner that night for free though. hehehe;
15 -16 Rotary PESETS at Punta Fuego. We came in last because Mom had to attend to some legal stuff first before we go there. We spent most time of the 15th at Robinson’s Malate so we got to Batangas at 7pm already. They ran out of hotel rooms so we were assigned to one of the houses which was gorgeous. Food sucked and the sessions were kinda boring (I already attended the PESETS last year). So I think this entry is in the wrong group of prompt hehehehe;
18 Nathan’s 1st Birthday party at the Oasis. It’s nice to see Odie, with Wes & Leisha, and Jacq, with Allan, Alyssa & Nikki;
9 16 & 23 Friday Hang-out with the Chikadorang E’s at Dampa Libis. Issues tackled, mwehhehehehehe. It’s always nice to know that there are people who will absorb all the tension and fight for you, ehhehehehe;
24 Gabby’s Christening when Ane became a Ninong again (3 inaanak’s in a month, now, that’s record-breaking!). Church was at Twin Hearts and Reception at Shangri-la West;
30 4xForce Anniversary Celebration with the E’s. We are starting to get addictive of each other nyehehehehe. I squeezed in meeting my old church friends at Music21 in Timog because Jeff was in town and we didn’t have a gathering of sorts since I dunno when.

New foods, recipes or restaurants I tried?
February – Everything we ordered from Harbor, the Spinach Soup stood out, the rest taste like all the other Chinese food I’ve tried

March – Bulalo from Grace and Rose (perfect!), Everything served at Loius’s Christening party at Zhuang (normal Chinese Food), Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas at Fuzion (Yummy!), Seafood Rice at Cheesecake Etc (Ack!), Everything we ordered from Seafood, Seafood (again nothing extraordinary), Grilled Chicken with Rice Pilaf at Café Med (lip-smacking especially that it was free!)

Special or unusual purchases I made?
None for both months (unless you will consider my addiction to Havaianas unusual hehehe)

Disappointments?
February – That pesky False Alarm.
March – Ane’s new 12hour work schedule; the craziness of the Baddicts election (‘nuff said.)

Accomplishments?
February – Tarp designs for Merchandising, Tarp Designs for the Dad's paraphernalia, Uniform Design for the Basketball Team (we won Best in Uniform!), purchashes a sporty dress for the Team Muse (we won Best Muse!), Keisuke’s trip to the Vet, Scraps – 2 (eck!)
March – nuninuninuninuninuninuni can’t think of anything except that I had so much to work on and that I helped my brother with dad’s website, Scraps – 4 (I badly need to improve!)

Anything else noteworthy to record?
February – Internet is finally transferred to the office from the receiving area. Rotary Intercity meeting that our Club Hosted (was successful).
March – Surprise call from Ajee (college bud and theses mate based in Palawan). Max leaving us for good and the other car entering our lives (or theirs…heheheh)

Huli man daw at magaling, naihahabol din :)

Layouts Galore (and backlogged entries?) :)

Ok, so today is the last day of the third month (which reminds me, March Monthly roundup is due, and I haven't even written my February roundup, arrrgghhh!! I suck.). And here I am updating a forgotten blog. I decided I won't explain where I've been or how has life treated me since the last time I posted. I will just have to type away. I probably won't realize I am blabbing again, heheh.

And I won't promise anymore that I will never neglect this little space of mine again. I feel I am bound to break that promise again, anyway.

***me thinking where to start, how to start...got tons of stories to tell and am left speechless, huh...organize, organize thoughts!!!! nunininuninuninuninu....***

I guess I'll start with new happenings :)

Yesterday was Ane's restday (he's in a new project with 12hour-shift, no he's not a security guard heheh, and takes Fridays and Saturdays off). We left the house after lunch, went to the garden, so I could check the cafe. Before 5pm, we were Manila bound. We thought of going to The Zone in Makati to check out new Havaianas stocks but decided against it...we didn't wanna get stuck in rush hour traffic. So we ended up at The Block and checked out Chocolate. And a happy me left that store with two new pairs of Havis :) Yep two!!! My DH is the best for allowing me to buy. I am now a proud owner of a pair of Sunny 2007 (the Pink one!!!) and a pair of Baroque (white top and black sole). I so wanted to have that Orange Cartunista but there were no sizes for me :( and there are no beige ones of that Summer Dots model (the picture of which I posted here in one of my previous posts).

By 7pm we were already seated at our usual Saturday-after-game-hang-out-place 4xForce located along Granada St. near Greenhills. It was their 1st year anniversary and as regulars, the E's (that's us!) scheduled to be there to support them on a Friday night :) (really, seeing each other on fridays is turning to be a regular thingy because of different "agenda" springing every week! Last night was the fourth friday already!) Great time! There were bands and free drinks. Ane and I were supposed to get there later but because we didn't wanna miss on anything, we got there after J and before everyone else! By 9pm, we were almost complete and I had to leave them and go see my old church friends at Music21 in Timog. I entered room 18 and there were Beng, Cherie, Jeff, Jeje, Jojo and Randy already. Kuya Jim came later. It's nice to be with old friends. Wasn't able to join them for coffee at Starbucks because I had to return to 4xForce by midnight.

I woke up this morning with Ane asking for "something" (ehem), then I fell asleep again until he was telling me it was time for him to go. Ane and his parents were scheduled to go to Libis to leave Max there and bring home Rubio (I think that's what I wanna call the new car!). Sadly, Max was traded in for an Isuzu Sportivo. I'll miss Max, wwaaaaahhhhhh!

I went to the garden around lunch time today. I fixed a few things, downloaded something from the net and Mom listed my bank itenarary come Monday. I would have stayed, if only for the Champorado Tita Grace was preparing but it became so noisy, I couldn't take it anymore (plus the fact that Ane was waiting for me already). See, election fever has struck our small town. Candidates' jingles all around...including Dad's. Yep he's running for office.

Before I left, I went to see Mom in their room and I saw a book, entitled: Mommy Talk: the "Oh's" and "Oh no's" of Motherhood. It's a compilation of weekly articles at Philippine Star of Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan. So I asked mom who owns the book and what it was for. And I was taken aback with her answer: "Sa iyo yan, binili ko (it's yours, I bought it for you)". So I took it, smiling. No, we're not pregnant yet (and am not gonna dwell on that). Mommy made me smile today :)

Didn't last long there because Ane will play at GBC and I, to stay here at Brothers' house. We are spending the night here, as usual. I decided not to play anymore (I stopped playing Badminton about three months ago and not sure yet if I wanna go back playing...deserves another post). So here I am, updating this blog. We got here around 4pm and I immediately finished the layout I started on Thursday, which is this one:

Credits here.

Sheliza Vittoria was born on 4:04pm 21 March 2007 to my cuz Frenz and wife Sheila. Sheila was in labor for almost 24hours and has a lot of labor room stories to tell! Pictures for this LO were shot on day3 as the new family was preparing to go home from the hospital. Tomorrow will be Vittoria's Christening and I am one of her Ninangs :) She's the latest addition to my 20 godchildren (whew!).

And this one, a long overdue LO share:

Credits

I "finished" this layout in January but had to wait for Rissa and Robie's Wedding picture :) Journaling Reads: They say whoever gets the Bride’s bouquet, will marry next. I caught Sheila’s and I passed mine to Rissa.We got married six months after the other. That’s three weddings in a year!

This next one is one of my first wedding LO's:

Credits here.

The picture in the LO is by far our favorite! Everybody agrees :) This may be considered an accidental shot because Flea positioned himself at the altar to get this shot only because he had nowhere else to place himself (we had 5 photogs, remember?). This came out really really nice!

The next three layouts are my take for the Bebots' challenges for the first half of March. Too bad I wasn't able to join the second half.

Scraplift-a-Bebot Challenge. Credits here.

Heritage Challenge -- Honoring Women. Credits.

AD Challenge. Credits dito.

Am done :) For now. Hehe. Ciao!

29

So I'm 29 today. I just feel so bad that I haven't blogged and neglected my posting "duties" for a month (what's new heheh), and I'm here popping in just to greet myself (hahaha how pathetic is that, noh?) :)

Anyway, there are so much to share and I'm working on that already...

But I just have to post this simple RAK:

Download here.

It has 6 12x12 papers, 4 scalloped ribbons, 4 ribbons, eyelets and stickers. It's nothing extravagant but I figured, this is the only way I can give back to the digiscrapping community/ies that I get my freebies from... As Aggie puts it, "pay it forward" :) And I designed the kit so this makes it a labor of love :) Pasensiya na, nagpifeeling ang lola niyo hehehe.

I'll return for more updates soon.

Happy birthday to me!