I am not getting any younger. Just the other day I was browsing FB when I saw a caption of one of my contacts. It said "my nth honeymoon". I clicked on the the album to see what it was all about. I recognized the place, Thailand. I did not recognize the "nth honeymooners" though. I looked hard this time and I was surprised that the matronly woman staring back at me was my high school classmate! She still looked pretty but in a matronly way. Do I look that old too?

Ethan thinks I am ancient. As I look at old pictures I can't help but think that Ethan is right... I am old. I guess vanity plays a part as to why most women fear growing old. I don't think it's the chronological age that matters but the wear and tear that "age" has brought upon us that we fear. Sigh... it seems like it was just yesterday when my skin was stretched and supple. I am not really vain, just a little.

I sometimes I think about the good-old-days and I can't help but feel a little sad about the things that I should have done but did not do. Sometimes I wonder if I could still pursue some of my shattered dreams. I was in a very fragile state, emotionally, when the phone rang. I answered it, listened for a few seconds, said "thank you" and hung up the phone. It was a telemarketer, offering me a free life insurance quote.If she offered a "youth" pill, I would have ordered a box-full.

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March 27, 2010 is Earth Hour. Everyone who is conscientious enough to care about Mother Earth's plight should turn off their power supply for an hour - 8:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. What's an hour turning off electricity for a more sustainable future?

Mead Johnson and WWF-Philippines have collaborated to host the Kids' Earth Hour on three areas simultaneously on the said date. The venues will be at:

1. the 3rd level of Trinoma
2. SM Mall Of Asia open grounds
3. Bonifacio Global City open grounds

The thrust of Kids' Earth Hour is to encourage kids to "unplug" their electronic gadgets not only during Earth Hour but on a periodic basis so that they could enjoy the benefits of actually playing outdoors.

A lot of activities are lined up for the kids. Registration is free. You can just bring your kids around 6:00 P.M. and let them have a blast playing "piko"; trampoline; rocky mountain; human parachute and more. During the switch-off hour, a shadow play will be presented and kids will be given glowstick to "light" up.

If you can't drop by the tree venues, there are over 1,000 cities and towns that are participating too. Check your locality. Or! Do your own Earth Hour at home. We will. I have invited guests over for Earth Hour. Candles? Check! Matches? Check! Laptop battery and digicam battery? Check!

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For the last three days, D2 has been going home past 10:00 P.M. It is graduation season this side of the hemisphere and D2 being a teacher is busy with the million and one things that a teacher does for graduation. It is usual here in the Philippines to hold a grand moving-up day for grade 6 students.

The other night, D2 was the faculty guest speaker for the high school's graduation batch testimonial dinner. She was chosen to be give an inspirational speech because the high school batch 2010 was her grade school batch 2006 - a batch she dearly loved. It has been four years since D2 planned on getting her masterals and the plan has not materialized yet.Being a graduating batch adviser is not an easy task more so for D2 as she is hands-on in everything and anything regarding teaching.

For the coming school year, D2 already expressed her desire to be transferred to a lower level so that she could finally further her studies. Even if she opts for an online university, she would still need to be less saddled with her teaching load. She had looked into Western Governors University and learned that the online university offers M.S. Special Education - the Masteral degree that she wants. The website information says that a 20-hour weekly session would be sufficient to finish the 41-unit degree in no time at all.

What's great about the tuition rate is that, you don't pay per unit. You pay for the time as tuition is at a basic and flat rate of $2,890 regardless of how many units you take. You can save a load of money if you could handle more units per term. It is therefore possible to finish a 4-terms degree into 3 terms or even 2 terms if you go full time. Loans and financial aids are available too for qualified students. Great huh?!

WGU offers a wide range of undergraduate courses and Masteral courses in the field of teaching, business, information technology and health profession. Better check the site out for more information.

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I had a guest the other night for dinner. We had not seen each other for quite a while that we had a lot of catching up to do. After dinner, as was customary for him, he went out to the patio to smoke a cigarette. He asked for my lighter and since I had none I got a large box of matches. He was quite amused with the matchbox and asked me where my designer lighters are.

"I quit smoking two years ago." I said.

"What?! You quit smoking?" he echoed.

"Yup! I had to. Smoking was giving me chest pains already and since I wasn't getting any younger, I had to make a healthy choice." I lectures. I continued by telling him that although I quit, I still had a transient ischemic attack (mild stroke).

My friend was surprised by my story. He said he has been wanting to quit too but just can't seem to succeed. I told him to browse online and look for a product called electronic cigarette. This "cigarette" will let him puff away without the harmful (and smelly) effect of real cigarettes. It does not require lighting up and has no second-hand smoke effect. I think my friend had already purchased a trial kit.

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The regular academic school year is officially over. Ethan's culminating activity for the school year was a trip to a pizza parlor where they were taught to make their own pizza. The kids were in aprons and chef's hat while preparing their pizza. The dough was already mixed and in its pan. The kids just had to put in the tomato sauce, tons of mozzarella and ham. Each pan was numbered so there was no mix-up when the pizzas were done. There were some parents who participated in the pizza-making session. I was there but I ordered putanesca instead. While some of the parents were busily preparing their dish, I was sitting in one of the corner tables, waiting for my food. I got to talking with the new Korean mother and I found out we have so much in common including the shapes of our eyes.

Ethan was pretty lethargic when I woke him up yesterday morning. I told him we have to go to his reading therapy and that made him almost explode in exasperation.

He said: "Mom! It's summer vacation. No more school!"

I explained that his reading therapy is not a regular school. After a few more minutes of explaining the whys of his reading therapy, we got up from bed, got one of the imitation Nascar jackets given by his "ninong" and told me that he'd wear the jacket to his therapy. It was hot and humid outside so I had to say no. By the time Ethan and I were in the car on the way to therapy, I must have uttered about 12 "NO's" already. We are starting the summer vacation on a wrong footing.

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Are you in a hurry to lose weight? Well, be wary of products that claim to a guaranteed wight lost of 25 pounds in two weeks. As a pound is equal to 3,000 calories, the 25 pound weight lost equals to 75,000 calories out of your system and body. This means you would have to burn an extra 5,357 calories a day on top of your daily caloric requirement. Or you should not eat for 14 days and run about 6 hours a day at 5mph for the duration.

So what am I saying? Heck! There's no way to lose 25 pound of fat in 14 days. Not even those dir pills that contain phosphacore. Bottomline? There are diet pills that can boost your metabolism but you should also see to it that you exercise and eat right.

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If I was put with these men in one room........



...........heaven!

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It's too dang hot! I am now sporting a tan even if my only exposure to the sun is the walk from the school or mall's parking lot to my car. From where I live, using an umbrella to ward off the sun's ray is a common practice. I guess using an umbrella to ward off the sun must look pretty weird to people from the Northern hemisphere.

My kids and I were in Washington DC one summer visiting the many sites. The hop from one site to another entailed a lot of walking under sun. UVB and UVA rays are my skin's worst enemies so I brought out my umbrella and used it. I swear, the Caucasians at the park where all looking at the crazy Asian with the umbrella. Who cares?! I need to protect my skin. Too much sun causes wrinkles.

Now, I have proof that too much birthdays cause wrinkles too! I need an anti wrinkle cream. I wonder which brand is best? Now I know what crow's feet are.

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My brother is a relic of the 1970s and 1980s wherein the best souvenir from the USA is a can of SPAM, a bar of Dove soap or bottle of Jergens lotion. I almost choked laughing when my brother asked me if I wanted a box SPAM when he comes home to Manila from New Jersey in less than two weeks. I told my brother that the luncheon meat is available here in Manila at 93PHP. Bro was surprised for the said that the famous luncheon meat is $3 per can. Well then, I told him the I'd buy him a box for him to take back home in NJ.

He asked me what else I need. I thought long and hard as I have already made a list. The thing is I am not sure if he already bought any item from my list! So, I one again rattled off what was in my previous list and added another item - eye cream. I told bro to please buy all the best eye creams that he could lay his hands on as my eye bags are starting to get pretty obvious. My eye bags are starting to bother me - aesthetically speaking. I am not ready for surgical eye bag removal though. I will try out the eye cream first.

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My son's the three weekends prior to my his hospitalization were spent with him going out of town with his classmates as requirement for one of his subjects. On those three week ends I shelled out quite a sum to pay for the trip. Next I was stressed-out due to the possible tsunami that could have hit the coast where they were. Then he got real sick and was even hospitalized because a mosquito from one of his trips bit him and gave him Dengue. Now my son is still quite weak, is terribly sunburned and peppered with pimples. I gave him some topical acne medicine yesterday and I hope it works. However what irks me more now is the fact that his teacher does not even have the consideration to exempt him from the final exams in spite of being sick and hospitalized due to his freaking outdoor activities.

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D2, D3 and D4 joined the Ateneo aquathlon last weekend. It was a dual event of a 600 meter swim and a 6 kilometer run. D2 and D3 were partners with D2 doing the "swim" part and D3 doing the "run" part. D4 and Jan were partners with D4 doing the swim and Jan, the run. The initial duo was supposed to be D2 for the swim and yours truly for the run. D3 was supposed to be partners with my son with D3 doing the swim and my son, the run. Well, no can do as my son was hospitalized 3 days before the event.

It was a good swim for D2 and D4 though considering that as they have not been in training for the longest time. D2' time was at 12 minutes while D4 was at 11 minutes. Others in the event took as long as 35 minutes and they were supposed to be "in training". D3' run timed at 35 minutes while Jan finished at 33 minutes. Not bad. The girls said that the aquathlon is one great natural belly fat burner. I am glad my girls are swimming again. It's too bad that D1 can't find the time to train too.

The girls are looking into the possibilities of doing triathlons. Now, where did I store their tricycles?

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In just a week's time, school-year 2009-2010 will be officially over. Summer vacation will commence with Holy Week, a tradition that has been faithfully observed here in the Philippines. I am not really sure if it is all in the mind but Holy Week always seem to be the hottest week of the year. However, I am not so sure though if the 38 degree Celsius temperature that registered on March 6,2010 somewhere north of the Luzon island will be topped. 37 degree Celsius! That's as if the whole populace in Tuguegarao, Cagayan were running a fever. On that same day, Manila had its hottest day at 35.8 degree Celsius. If my memory (sometimes "failing") serves me right, that Saturday was freaking hot as all the air-conditioners in the house were on to the consternation of hubby.

My brother said it is still cold in New Jersey. As matter of fact, he said school is out today due to a snow storm. While we at Manila are melting, they are frozen back in NJ. I wonder how the weather is in Orlando? My friend is off for a vacation in Orlando and she cannot decide what clothes to bring. I said that that's the least of her problems as the greater problem is the possible shifting of the poles. I think I antagonized her. :D

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Spending one's birthday at the parking lot of a hospital at 2:30 A.M. is bad enough. Spending two days in a hospital is worse. Yup! My son had to finally be confined in a hospital because his blood platelets were low, white blood cells low, and so was the hematocrit count. Ergo-Dengue fever.He was weak and dehydrated in spite of oral hydration.

Remember my post about my son being in Baler, Aurora when the earthquake in Chile happened? I advised (more like panicked and commanded) my son to come home then for fear of a possible tsunami on that eastern coastline town. He came home safe but it is now clear that this was not so. It seems like a Dengue mosquito was somewhere lurking about in Baler, found my son, then bit him. My son's fever started on March 5 and ended March 7. He went back to school on March 10 then came right back home that same night because of rashes that became evident.

He is fine now and I will take him back to his apartment later. I am tired. I guess the stress of everyday living gets to me at times.

Before I drive my son back to his apartment, I have yet to see to it that the air-conditioner in my son's bedroom gets to the repairman first. It conked-out. The blower stopped working. What irks me is the fact that I had some new window blinds installed two week ago and taking out the air-con for repair means the blinds have to be taken out too!

Most of the time, I feel like I am mother-father-driver-handyman-doctor-nurse-maid-tutor...and not necessarily in that order.

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My brother and his family are coming home to visit this spring break. I have not seen my niece and nephew for quite some time now. I guess the two are all grown up. My nephew is 18 and my niece is 16. We are set to spend a vacation somewhere in the south. My girls already filed their vacation leave to coincide with my brother's homecoming. His decision to come home was a spur of the "airline-ticket-sale" moment. He and his family were set to spend spring break in North Carolina as bro already asked about Outer Banks vacation rentals as early as September of last year. However, the ticket sales offered by one airline company was just "irresistible"! I can't wait for them to come home. I wonder if he's halfway "buying" the stuff in my "bring-me-home- these" list.

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Yesterday, March 11, was my birthday. I spent the first few hours of the day at the ER with my son. He had high grade fever last weekend and when it abated, he went back to school. The same night he called and told me that he has rashes all over.

At 2:35 A.M., on my birthday I was at the hospital parking lot contemplating on the past. When I was in my 30's I thought that when my kids are all grown up surely I'd be less stressed out being a mom. Well... no. It seems like motherhood is an evolving condition, phase or situation. One does not stop being a mom. That I am sure of.

My girls came home before dinner bearing gifts and cake. D3 said she was supposed to treat us to dinner but since "baby boy" is sick, she said she'll just order in. I said there's no need as I cooked dinner anyway. D4 brought home a mango torte (to die for) and D2 made her special Korean kimbap. Dinner was noisy as usual. We had fun trying to assemble D3's gift - a portable laptop desk. When it was done D4 brought out her portable lamp with an electric fan that is supposed to go with the portable desk. D1 was on duty.

When dinner and desserts were over, I helped in putting out the dishes by the kitchen sink. The pile of dishes and glasses was tall and it times like this, how I wish my kitchen has 2 stone sinks. I wrapped up my birthday in my bedroom, tap-tapping away on my laptop on my portable desk lighted by my portable lamp, as I responded to the many greetings I received through FB.

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I am so saturated with the campaign jingles and celebrity spiels of candidate endorsers that I want to barf! A presidential candidate's jingle would probably be in the TOP 40 as every kid around the block(except Ethan) keeps on singing (or rapping?) the dang jingle. The campaign ditty starts with a question "Lumangoy ka na ba sa ilog ng basura?" of which the literal translation would be "Have you swam in a river full of trash?". You can take the question literally or figuratively, but if you ask me, both applies.

Another presidentiable's slogan or thrust in case he wins is that he will never ever steal from the public. So I say, haha. That's old news as that empty promise has been said a million times before. Then there's this presidentiable who claims that during his term (as president) nothing untoward had happened which is quite an insipid statement for it was during his term that EDSA 2 transpired!

What is really irritating is the municipality where I live in was able to source our (daugthers and I) mobile phone numbers from our provider. Since the town's incumbent is in his 2nd bid, his campaign strategy is to spam our mobile phones with his daily schedule.

I can turn off my new Samsung HDTV (the one I bought last month) and stop listening to all the national candidate's crap but I can't turn off my mobile phone just so I won't get a detailed daily sched of the town's mayor. I did the next best thing. I asked the texter if he/she could be my textmate. No answer.

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