Cats and Dogs

These guys fight like crazy. You'd think five years difference would mean no fighting.

Wrong. They can fight so often and so relentlessly that the voice out of my head sounds like a strangled cat on a hot day.

You’d think they don’t fight over the same toy just because they’re opposite sex?

Wrong again. They screamed and will kill each other for this.

I hiss at them to stop fighting. Use all my power to stop them. Yell. Cursed. Begged, Cried.

It's infuriating. Fighting is the one thing that really grates on me. I ask other mothers of two if their children fight and the answer is always yes.

But they also miss each other, make up, start all over again.

They laugh and fight, make up then start fighting again. But they adore the hell out of each other.

I adore the hell out of them too. So much I can hardly stand it.

Of Sunshine and Liebster Awards

As much of a tell-all person I have become since I started blogging, answering questions quite excite me now. And it doubly stimulates me if I will be the one to ask you. I remember when I was just starting blogging, I could have adjusted myself with silent reading, and get through the normal phenomena of checking stats, and agonizing over numbers of followers and counting the comments.

But then I realized blogging thrives in a give and take relationship. It has to be two-way. I realized that I might be denying you good people of hearing about who could bee the best literary genius this world could ever have (please don’t fire gun at me. We are all narcissistic people in some way, you know.) But really I am very thankful to you my readers--especially those of you have read this far.

*anaconda hugs to you all*



My special thanks to Buzz Lightyear for the Liebster award and Genskie for the Sunshine award. Sorry Genskie this is kinda late. But thanks nevertheless. I love the awards!

And to continue these awards to fly around the blogsphere, I am passing them both to these people who shed tears and blood to write their posts. They are:

1. Arvin of Chateau de Archievener 
2. Jon of JonDmur;
3. Kotz of Isip Ko Lang 
4. Pao of Life N Canvas 
5. Gracie of Gracie's Network 
6. Ellen Marie of The Impeccable Sophist 
7. Sarah of Not On My Own Anymore 
8. Direk Alecx of Blog-ags and Tsugugs
9. Diosa of Sense and Sensibility
10. Margj of Between You and Me

But wait! there’s rule to follow.

• Each person must list 11 things about themselves. 
• Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you PLUS you MUST create 11 questions of your own for the 11 people you will nominate with this award. 
• Choose up to 11 bloggers linking them to your post. Go to their page and inform them of the nomination. Absolutely NO tags back. 
• Remember to ONLY tag bloggers with less than 200 followers. 

BTW, here are the questions I was obliged to answer:

1. How do you find time for blogging? I do it every other day. Begin writing on the first night and finish it off on the second night.
2. If you could travel back in time in a time machine what would be the top three times/places you'd visit? First, around 3 or 2 BC in Jerusalem to see Jesus Second, sometime 3000BC to AD313 to check Zeus and company and third,1884, year Jose Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere.
3. What is the coolest thing you have ever built or constructed? A dried black pigeon perching on a branch. Feathers falling off. For biology class.
4. What is one historical story in your family that you are most proud of? Mother lives to tell how she witnessed the World War 2. She recounted digging a hole in the ground and came out only to get relief goods. I am proud of it. She witnessed what I only read from the book.
5.  Do you like to cook or bake? No to both. Tried making this no-baked cereal bars last christmas, but it turned out like a slob of Elmer’s glue.
6. Have you ever found any interesting old artifact or something antique ? None. I loathe them. They smell like old cabinet. 
7. Do you have any pets? None.  
8. Do you ever have a commonly recurring dream? None. My dreams are often random. 
9. Who would be your top 5 people from the past you would like to meet?
   1.My husband. I’ll tease him that we’ll end up together in the future.
   2.My ex. To plot a good revenge he’ll never forget.
   3.My father. Ask him why he had done the things he had done.
   4.Robby Rosa- the lead singer of Menudo. I thought I will be married to him.
   5.My self. To tell her to go ahead and leave worries and insecurities behind because you are amazing, and are going to live a good life.
    
10. You won a huge amount of money in a lottery, you give your family half of the money. The other half you have to give away. What would be your top 3 ways to dispose the money? 1.Give to local charities. 2.Donate to impoverished countries 3.Pay off the country’s loan to World Bank. 
11. Favorite movie?  Fireproof.

Of course, here's my own set of eleven questions you need to answer.

1. What side of the bed do you sleep on? 
2. Do you believe in ghosts? 
3. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life what would it be? 
4. If you could only read one author until the end of time who would it be? 
5. Would you rather serve a week in prison or try and survive for a year alone in a jungle? 
6. How old are you? 
7. If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? 
8. What would you want to be written on your tombstone? 
9. If anyone in the room could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? 
10. What was the last thing you said to someone? 
11. If you had to choose between a millions bucks and being able to fly, which would you choose?

Let's Take Away Those Monday Blues

As I read from Francis Kong's blog (feel free to click the link found down below at the left side): the wishbone will never replace the backbone says Will Henry. But to live life with joy, always be conscious that you too have a funnybone. I say with the war happening in Algeria?, or the rob-out in Atimonan? or the Manong Driver who kept on spitting every 10 seconds and his saliva flew through the window all over you, yes you could use some humor.

Don’t grow tired of finding comedy even in littlest thing. After all life is what you make it. Don’t turn sour each day. Think young, there’s a big difference between laughing and being laughed at.

Here are people I found hilariously funny in their own genre.

1. Jessica Zafra- not a professional comedian, but a professional writer. She writes well and I like her for being both witty and funny.
   

   “If you're on a plane and the person in front of you starts slowly tilting to one side, it means he's letting out a fart. Take cover!”

   
   
   
2. Jon Santos- one of the few local comedians that I think deserves to be on this list. His impersonations of local celebrities and politicians are hilarious. Although he is not a "purist" stand-up comedian since he wears costumes, he is a complete performer and actually writes his own materials. 

“Pag una pa lang kayo nagkita, court of first instance ‘yon. ‘Pag nagandahan na kayo sa isa’t isa that is court of appeal. ‘Pag todo todong kayo na that is already the supreme court. Pero ‘pag sobra na kayong close, eh, ibang court na ‘yon, Victoria’s Court.”


3. Vice Ganda- a stand up gay comedian, once featured at Readers Digest Asia for being one of the best Filipino humorists. I find him funny, although offensive at times.
   
   Sumakay siya ng jeep na walang laman papuntang palengke)
   Vice: Manong bayad po.
   Manong1: Ilan ‘to?
   Vice: Ay manong dalawa yan, nakakahiya kasi sayo, kahit ako lang mag-isa
   sakay mo, dalawa na ibabayad ko,
   libre na kita kahit sayo ‘tong jeep.
   (Bababa na sya)
   Vice: Manong, para.
   Manong: Bababa ka na?
   Vice: Ay hindi manong, sasakay ako. Sasakay ako ulit, dun naman ako sa bubong, mas presko kasi dun.
   
   
   
4. Bob Ong- a skilful Pinoy writer, who like Jessica Zafra, both witty and smart in his writing style. Until now he hides in his pseudonym and has never appeared at any book launching, not even his own, nor on TV.

"Ang pag-ibig parang imburnal...nakakatakot mahulog... at kapag nahulog ka, it's either by accident or talagang tanga ka.."

The world is already full of bitter, boring, selfish, serious looking individuals.

So why not change it one joke at time?

Happy Birthday Friend!

Today, a friend celebrates her 39th birthday. Woohoo!!!

Now who is near mid-life crisis?

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to make a special tribute to her today in this blog. I've talked about her a few times here and I know I've always said she's amazing. Well, she is and I swear I'm not just biased. Of course, she's not perfect but no one is, anyway.

Allow me to share with you some of the reasons why I think my friend here is awesome.

1. She is a giver and never asks anything in return.
2. She lent me her white dress that I wore to a wedding, and stays generous even if she is now half way across the world. 
3. She is polite and never talked ill to anyone.
4. In one way she’s like a bra, always there to give me support. 
5. In another way a four-leaf clover, hard to find but lucky to have. 
6. And when we were still single and wandering about love and the boys, I almost hitched her to a married guy. But she never despised me. Yes readers, I am not normal some days.
7. Finally she is a friend because she knows me yet she still likes me.

"You're precioouuuuus..."

You're welcome friend!

Mid-Life Crisis: What Of It?

Wikipedia said mid-life starts at 40. Technically I don’t fit in yet. I am only 39 this June. But for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I just like to torture of reminding myself that I’ll be rocking 40 next year, I’d probably list this anyway because that will not be an easy transition. And what’s the best thing to do but to start putting those survival plans in order. As they say the earlier you talk about it, the better.

Here’s the list of awkward things to expect when you’re 40.

1. Somebody says: Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache. 
2. One woman says: “In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wingspans. We are no longer women in sleeveless shirts, we are flying squirrels in drag.” 
3. Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see your rear end without turning around. 
4. Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and realize that it is the only time someone will ask you to appear topless on film. 
5. Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream “Listen honey, even the Roman Empire fell, and those will, too!” 
6. Mid-life brings with it the wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we’re sitting on our biggest ones. 
7. Mid-life is when you look at your know-it-all, cell phone totting teenager and think: “For this I have stretch marks??” 
8. In mid-life your memory starts to go. In fact, the only thing we can still retain is water. 
9. Mid-life means that you become more reflective. You start pondering the “big” questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it’s no longer a healthy choice? 
10. But, mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important.

      We realize that everything sags, hips expand, and chins double, 
          but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile. Would any of you trade the 
             knowledge that you have now for the body you had back then?

Now what’s your thought about it?

Cuteness Overload

Meet the cute Ryzza Mae Dizon from Pampanga. She’s the latest addition to your favorite Eat Bulaga at lunch time. She was just your average 7-year old until last year, when she made her debut on the national television when she bagged the show’s Little Miss Philippines title. But the best, most exciting part? she is short, fair, flat nose but cute and beautiful just the same. And she’s the latest in a group of trailblazing kids who are making a difference just by being themselves. I love how times have changed now. Beauty is no longer what you see. It is how you feel in your own skin. No stereotypes.

As TAPE Inc.’s Tony Tuviera, the man behind the 30 years old Eat Bulaga said, "She is charming and equally deserving of same opportunities regardless of any physical, economic and social condition given to any child in the industry.”

Dance to her “Cha-cha” song and get that good, old belly dance.







>

"Para po pumayat kayo, sumayaw lang kayo ng Chaha tuwing umaga
at saka po tanghali. Huwg kakalimutan nakanganga at saka
ang Chacha po dapat nasa puso."

Everything I Ever Wanted To Be

I'm sure you see her.

Why is this girl so happy?

She's the one whose clothes are neatly pressed, nails perfectly manicured, waist so narrow, house is immaculate, and children polite and behave. (Sigh). Mine are so wild sometimes, even Dora can’t explore them.

She is everything I am not.

But I'm trying. I'm really, really trying.

I know I told you I don’t have a resolution.

But I promised myself that for the New Year I will be the best me.

And I've really tried to stick with it--I'll spend wisely, eat better, stay active (*finger cross*), and take charge of all my work stuff.

But then there's me.

The me that everyone sees. Fat arms. Outdated clothes. My husband threatened to burn this one blouse I still use. He said he saw me in this blouse even before I gave birth to our eldest. I wonder if Sigmund Freud is right about penny-pinching.

I am always tired. My hair is flat. My nails are broken and unkempt.

Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, but seriously? I don't feel great most days.

I feel like there's this person inside of me just waiting to bust a move in the outside world.

But instead she's buried in laundry and all the rest of the mundane chores a woman has to do every day.

So, this year I decided I'd change all that. I will work hard all weekends to get the house organized and in order. I’ll set time for manicure and pedicure.

But I woke up last Saturday morning and reality hit me: Saturdays are reserved for cooking, cleaning, and generally un-fun things. And Sundays are saved for ironing.

But thanks heaven, manicure I did.

But you know what happened when I hung my clothes up in the laundry?

I chipped the polish off of my newly manicured nails.

Gah.