Sandy Hook School Shooting

I woke up today feeling great because it was my Mom's birthday. Upon viewing my twitter feeds though, my heart broke for those who have lost their child in another school shooting. 5 to 10 year old kids were targeted by a truly disturbed man and I simply cannot imagine the horror that these parents are going through.

In a movie I saw, a quote stood out for me which I believe is true. "No parent should ever have to bury their own child."

I pray for the little lives lost. I pray for those families who have their lives ripped apart by this senseless tragedies. I pray for the family of the killer who will be deeply affected by the actions of Adam Lanza.

I pray for the US and I pray for us. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if we are a 3rd world country or they are 1st world ... at the end of the day, we are all human and we are all affected by the loss of these innocent lives.

Christmas Break: What to do? (Pre-school Edition)

Christmas break is coming up and I'm sure all the kids are excited to have a break from school. Some parents look forward to this to catch up with their kids but others dread this 2 week vacation for one simple reason. When kids get bored, the house turns into a warzone of whines and complaints.

So, what's a parent got to do? Here are some things you can provide your kid to ensure that their Christmas break will not only be fun but also productive.

Arts and Crafts! You don't need to spend a lot but I can assure you that they will have fun and at the end of the day, you would have something to show off in an album or your office wall.

To teach them basic shapes, cutting, coloring, and gluing, click here and print the templates you see. You can choose between black and white or colored ones. I recommend the black and white ones. I also recommend printing all the basic shapes and letting them cut it all by themselves. You can buy the baby safe scissors available in local bookstores to ensure that cutting paper will be safe for your pre-schooler.

When they are done cutting it out, combine all the eyes, legs, arms, nose, and mouth shapes so that they can be creative. Let them color it any way they want. Allow them to be creative. Provide a second set. Let them COPY THE COLOR to see if they can follow instructions. It's important that you do both so that they would be able to show you that they are creative and can follow instructions when needed.

Most important? Play music, take videos and photos, show them off to the world and have FUN!

I've printed 10 copies for each shape and can't wait to have B do it for Christmas break. If you tried this with your kids, leave a comment with the link to the photo. I'd love to see it.

Ayala Triangle Symphony of Lights

I mentioned to FM that last year, I wanted to see the Symphony of Light show at the Ayala Triangle. We were not able to because it rained a lot and every time I was in the area, there was a drizzle which caused the show to be cancelled.

Last week, FM and I met up. He asked me if I had plans for us and I said that I really didn't have any. We went around Makati for over an hour looking for parking space. I was starting to wonder where we were going when we finally found one.

We started walking towards Ayala and that was when I realized we were actually going to see the Ayala Triangle Symphony of Lights. Eeeekkk!

I was so happy! The Symphony of Lights was everything I expected it to be. It was amazing, inspiring, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. It was magical. The moment was magical.

It was simply marvelous and I feel like I could actually sit there and watch it again and again. It was simply lovely.

Thank you again FM for this magical moment.

POP Coloud Headphones

First of all, this is not a press review. I have not been contacted in any way whatsoever to write about POP. In fact, I wanted to host a contest here on my blog for this but was ignored. I guess I'm not up there in the PR area and I'm not really a tech blogger.

However, I would still like to blog this because it is simply the most awesome headphone I have ever had. It took me 2 months before I actually bought it but I can honestly say that I don't regret buying this headset.

It doesn't tangle. It seriously does not tangle. I've placed it in small pouch. I've placed it in my jeans pocket and pulled it out and it still did not tangle. I've dumped it in my bag and pulled it out and it just unfolded. I love it! I really, really love it.

I've used it on my BB, laptop, PC, and iPOD. It's been great and I've had no problems with using it. So there, I just wanted to share with you guys that POP headphones are actually worth investing on. If I could get one in every color, I definitely would.

unlearning the things I learned ...

When I first got into a relationship, I learned a few things from the guy that I was with. Truth be told, the type of relationship that he wanted was exactly what I had always thought relationships were supposed to be and so I modeled my relationships the way we had it. Even after we broke up, the guys that I was attracted to and maintained a 2 year relationship were exactly like the one that I initially had.

It was the kind of relationship that takes into consideration the feelings of the other person. It was the kind of relationship where respect was a main ingredient and secrets were not allowed. It was the kind of relationship where the focus was growing together, being together, nurturing each other, and ensuring that you don't do anything to wreck the relationship.

It was the kind of relationship that I wanted. It was the kind of relationship that I saw myself having.

Two other relationships that had this that ended and two more that were wrong in every way later, I finally found a guy that I could say was decent and loved me. Yes, I can still say that he loves me. Unfortunately, there's a glitch.

There's always one isn't it?

He forgets. He forgets a lot of things. He forgets dates he himself set up, he forgets promises so he ends up breaking them, and he forgets things. Sometimes its tolerable and sometimes, just like today, that its not. Sometimes, it just hurts especially when its something pretty important.

The other glitch? He doesn't apologize. He does ... but it takes a while. Between the moment that he hurt me and the time he apologizes, I've already felt so hurt and so much pain that sometimes, the apology just feels late.

Today, I confronted him about it and reminded him that "forgetting" things is really not a good excuse. I reminded him that there's two of us now and that in things I do, I take him into consideration. He replied, "I can't be you."

4 words but it felt like 4 tons of stone just landed on me. It's not even an exaggeration. It simply hurts. A LOT.

With 4 words, I realized that I need to unlearn the things that I learned. I need to adjust and I need to step away. I'm not letting go but I need to put something around me to protect me from words like this. I can't afford to break again. I can't afford to be hurt this much again. I can't. It will break me.

So for now, I just need to step away and protect me. I've been protecting the relationship but I also need to protect me. I just need to unlearn the things that I learned. Then, I'll be okay. After all, after every storm, hurricane, and meltdown, I end up being okay.

The Value of Values

During the Coaching the Wonder Woman workshop, one of the activities that we did was a values auction. They gave us 5400 worth of play money and the concept was to choose from a list of values, and bid on the ones we want or desire the most.

I chose 5 out of the list and did my projection of initial bids. I ended up buying only 2 and blowing off the whole 5400 on these two.

 While the "auction" was ongoing, I realized that Security is very important to me as well as self respect. Self respect because without it, I'd be back to the battered, pathetic person that I was when I was still with B's dad and believed every lie he told me. Security because this is what my son needs the most.

It's funny that it was a simple activity that made me realize the values I value the most. I'm glad that this self realization happened. I'm glad that even with a simple activity, I managed to get security and self respect. I plan to never let go of these two no matter what.

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Coaching the Wonder Woman

A week ago, I received a private message on my blog's facebook page. I was pretty surprised to see that it was from a certain Jackie Caniza. It seems that someone recommended my blog to her and upon reading it, she asked if I would be interested to attend her workshop about work-life balance in heels.

The idea intrigued me. I have heard of these kind of workshops but have never really attended one. The last workshop I attended was back when I was in high school when I became one of the editors in our school paper and up to this day, I still use some of the lessons I learned from that workshop.

Obviously, I said yes and boy am I glad I did .

The workshop started right on time which was a pleasant surprise for me. Jackie was quite engaging and managed to draw the crowd to talk about themselves. Mind you, these were women who had high positions and were very comfortable in their position and power. These were women who were confident about making decisions but are not in the habit of talking about themselves and their emotions.

I honestly felt like I didn't belong with the group. I was just a sales person and a blogger. They were lawyes, IT Managers, Head of Safety and Compliance. They were leaders. They were successful.

As the day went on and the activities progressed, I slowly realized that though I may not be as successful as they were career wise, I was actually more successful than any of them were. The talk about life balance and how to make the most out of everything ... about balancing oneself and one's time .... and how "me" time is just as important as time for others made me see that I was actually able to do what the workshop was teaching us.

I had life balance and I was able to make time for everyone in my life that mattered, including myself.

There were a  lot of activities that were done and I'd like to tackle it in detail on separate posts. I feel that it deserves to be discussed further. For now, here are the other women that I spent the day with.

This is Jackie, our wonderful facilitator.

 And surprise surprise, there was a loot bag given at the end of the workshop. I felt so happy receiving this because most of it were items that my Mom can use and she'd be very happy.

Coaching the Wonder Woman reinforced what I have learned in the 2 years that I was single. ME time is important and focusing on all aspects of your life matters. You may not be alloting equal time to everything but as long as you are allotting time, then you are doing well.

Thanks Jackie for making me realize this. :)

never too old ...

I am 32 and career wise, I am not where I want to be. I wanted to write and create arts and crafts but life got in the way. Lately though, some people made me realize that I can still pursue my dreams.

Early this morning, I spoke with someone via twitter and an idea was born. I don't want to discuss it here yet coz I think its really awesome. Yep, its that awesome.

Promise you'd support me? Please? It's going to make memories last. :)

So there ... I'm never too old and you're never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.

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Old Penang

We were about to catch a movie in an hour. We needed to grab something to eat and this was a place that I haven't tried yet so we ended up giving it a shot.

The first thing I ordered was the hot tarik. For only Php75, you get a cup of hot tea with lots of warm milk. The tea used is very strong but partnered with milk, it was very unique and really, really good.

Truthfully, I am craving it again now. 

The other thing I ordered was the famous penang char kway teow. It was a bit pricey at Php245 but the fried flat noodles with prawns, egg, bean sprouts, chinese sausage, and cockles made for a really good meal.

FM ordered a set meal which consisted of fish fillet in black pepper sauce with rice. It was only Php180 and it came with dessert which I ate. Haha.

Though lunch lasted for less than an hour, FM and I enjoyed our time together.

Ramen Cool

Ramen Cool is a bright spot in the busy, dark streets of Kapitolyo. With the interiors being a bright sunny color, it was a place that I marked in my head. I said to myself, "I'm going to eat there" and late last week it finally happened.

FM decided that we'd have dinner here because he knew that I wanted to have dinner here. I liked the interior of this place. It was nicely lit and the colors were very warm.

FM and I decided to get the basics. I started off with the Salmon Creme Soup which was Php95. It was HUGE and it was creamy. I love the taste of the salmon and the mixture of the greens and milk. It was really good.

The Kohi Ice is Php130. It is made of small coffee cubes, milk, and honey syrup. FM was kind enough to demonstrate how to make it and I really, really love this series of shots.

I love how the colors turned. Best part is that when you add 2 cups of honey, it tasted really good. I also ordered the Seafood Ramen which was Php205. It was big enough for 2 and I knew that FM loves ramen so I got this for him.

The reason I got the ramen is because FM ordered this because he knew I wanted the sushi but not the rice. The Chirashi Regular is Php195 and I love how fresh the fish was.

The last thing on our table was the Tuna Steak which is also priced at Php195. This is the least favorite dish of mine for that night. I don't know. I just didn't like it.

Overall, I'd still recommend Ramen Cool to friends and readers. The place is very nice and the food is overall really tasty.

Camp Rock

I've never really been a fan of this show. It was targeting a much younger crowd and obviously, I am not that crowd. When I heard that they were staging a play, I wasn't the least bit interested. However, when I found out that a friend would be part of the cast, I decided to give it a go. Also, since K loves the show, I decided to bring her along.

K enjoyed the show. There were parts that I liked but for the most part, I didn't really like the cast that much. I enjoyed the performances of Camp Star more than I did Camp Rock. The actors and actresses of Camp Star were far more rehearsed and knew what they were doing.

Here is my friend Karyl who performed under the Camp Star. She was really great and just because of her, the cost of the tickets was worth it. I'm glad that I watched and gave support.

Bulgogi Brothers

I have wanted to eat at this place since I learned to like Korean food. It seems that it wasn't meant to be because this has been one of the choices for the past 8 outings but has never won. Last night though, it finally happened. We ate at Bulgogi Brothers.

Upon entering the place, the sweet smell of bulgogi greeted us. I inhaled and enjoyed the smell. He, on the other hand, was busily looking for a spot. Good thing there was a couch table available.

FM and I ordered the Seoul Style Bulgogi which is a sliced beef with vegetables. This is made of Bulgogi Broth is made of fruits, onions, and soy sauce. This costs only Php595.

We also ordered the Bulgogi Bibimbap which is a traditional Korean favorite. Great combination of bulgogi, various vegetables and rice. This was both nutritious and delicious.

It was a big plate but FM and I both finished it.  It was really really good. I also ordered the raspberry mint tea which was Php150 and almost finished it. I would have if my tummy wasn't so full already.

Overall, I would say Bulgogi would be on my top 3 but Ye Dang and Biwon still takes the cake.

Magnolia Flavor House

FM was looking forward to eating at this place. It reminded him of his childhood and he was really looking forward to it. We had to wait for almost half an hour to be seated though.

Maybe there was just a lot of people, maybe the servers were tied, maybe it was just a stroke of bad luck but the service was beyond horrible. It took them a long time to give us our menu, take our orders, and when they served our ice creams, major ingredients were missing.

When our orders came, it wasn't really what I was expecting. I thought it would be more pretty or jaw dropping. I don't know. Was it just me being older and seeing a lot of prettier ice creams or was Magnolia really a downer?

See what I mean? It was blah and the taste was just your ordinary ice cream. It was a good thing that the kids enjoyed it and FM was still pretty happy.