I am November-born

Dimaks tagged me on this interesting birth month meme. The rules of this meme are easy. Let's start.

1. Pick your birth month.
2. Bold the 5-10 that best apply to you.
3. Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months (click this for the list).
4. Tag 12 people from your friends list.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. (I think the first four are related so let's consider that as one). Difficult to fathom (At times, I guess). Thinks forward. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets (Be careful, haha). Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises (I do!!!). High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions (I couldn't agree more). Romantic. Uncertain in relationships (Before.) Homely. Hardworking . High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

That was difficult. Anyway, allow me to tag: Arlene, Louann, Hailey, Auee, Mayi, Julie, Mitch, Karlo, John, Mariz, Malou, Rexy. If you have the time to do this meme, please do! Thanks! I, too, have a lot of tags to respond to.

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By the way, I'll be opening an online shop around next week. All stuff are from the US (branded bags, tops, bottoms, makeup, and some accessories). You may have friends who are interested to buy. I'll be posting the item list next week.

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I found a freeware called Sebran. It's a nice educational software fro toddlers and preschoolers. Vito has responded positively to it. We play it every night for about 15 minutes. Download Sebran ABC.

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Some photos:





From top: (1) Vito and Hubby inside the cabinet while playing peek-a-boo with me. (2) Look-alikes, taken while Vito was sleeping. Hubby shaved his facial hair a few days after and funny thing is that Vito didn't recognize him immediately. (3) Me! Photoshopped it a bit. :)

Weekend without the Nanny

Ironically, I look forward to days without the nanny. I feel more motherly on such days. The weekend just passed was great. Vito's nanny went home to meet her brother who she hasn't seen for 10 years. I was more than obliging to grant her a two-day leave.

I did almost all the house chores (hubby helped me wash the dishes and tidy up the house). Let me tell you how my Sunday went. The first thing I did when I woke up was to prepare breakfast. I made hotcakes and they turned out to be the ugliest hotcakes I've ever seen. I wouldn't have eaten them if I didn't cook them. I was kind of embarrassed to show it to Vito and hubby. I just told them, "tell me, is this your first time to see such deformed and abstract hotcakes?" Hubby just laughed. Vito loved the hotcakes! He kept asking for more. Thanks to Smuckers raspberry spread. :)

After breakfast, I washed Vito's bottles and sterilized them. I gave my little boy a bath afterwards and dressed him up. Then, hubby, vito and I watched TV together. Hubby then freshened up. Then, I had my turn. We went out for a stroll in the UPLB campus. We wanted Vito to be exposed to the environment and he really had fun.



Vito got very tired that he immediately dozed off when we got home. It was a fun and very relaxed Sunday.

Spring is Here

There are four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. Even blogging habits turn seasonal. It happened to me. I'm done and over with winter. Finally, spring is here.

For a while, I hated myself for not blogging, for leaving so many moments in my life unchronicled and unshared to the world that kept me sane when I was at a time of crisis. Unknown to many, I started blogging when I felt that my career was not getting anywhere. I've been in too many jobs in such a short time, which led me to lose grip of my vision for myself.

I decided to start a blog on being a mother, a lifetime role that I embraced at 22. Blogging brought so much joy to me. It did not only make me busy, I also gained new friends, learned more about myself, and in a way, I realized that having a temporary setback in my career is not the end of it all. There are a myriad of things to celebrate and blogging reminded me of that.

Over the holidays, my husband asked me "What was your latest blog entry?" I was surprised that he asked me that. His question led me to think, "Should I blog again or just abandon it completely?" I have a lot of fears. Will I still have readers? Will I be able to devote myself again to blogging? How should I manage my time with my demanding job?

To cut the long story short, I shoved those fears aside that's why I'm here. Spring is here. I can smell the scent of flowers and the grasses. Good thing winter has passed.



Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Angel, a young mom and wife. Just turned 24 last November (and failed to blog about it). I am a public relations practitioner in an international organization based in UPLB. I am an environmentalist. I refuse unnecessary plastic bags in grocery stores. I also love fashion and will be opening up an online store by February (with my sorority sister in the US as business partner).:)



My son Vito is turning two this November. He's such a daddy's boy. He calls his dad, Diddy. He doesn't say Mommy as often as he says Diddy. He just calls out "Ma," when I'm about to leave the house. He loves eating bananas. He likes balls and cars very much. He stays in the car as long as he wants. He watches too much TV that's why most of the words he says are still Chinese to me. But I love him to bits and he's my vitamins.



My hubby is not perfect but he's a great guy. He has never given me flowers but I still consider him one of the sweetest men I've ever met. I have mastered his language of love and I appreciate each gesture he does. He is also very loving and hands-on to Vito.



I enjoyed the holidays but I missed my mom, brothers, and other relatives. It's been a while since I last saw them. I miss you kuyas and mama! I will always be your darling little girl.

Autism as a Biomedical Problem

In today's Inquirer, Chelo Banal-Formoso talks about the new trends in autism research. More and more doctors, especially in developed countries, are moving away from the usual that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a psychiatric disorder. Instead it looks at this so-called new epidemic among children as a biomedical problem.

Have you noticed how prevalent autism is at present? If it were purely genetics that causes ASD, then why do the numbers increase each year. It's strange because, as Formoso puts it, most people with autism never bear children. The advancement in today's autism research brings good news: your child can recover from ASD. One of the ways is to change his diet.

It was found out, through laboratory tests, that most ASD kids had gluten and casein intolerance. Gluten can be found in wheats and grains whereas casein is a component of milk and dairy products. ASD kids are not able to break down gluten and casein properly, which leads to the production of "opiate" substances. As Formoso-Banal explains it, "opiate" is like an opium copycat.

Eliminating food that contain gluten and casein has its merits. Try a gluten-free and casein-free diet for your kid with ASD. It might be an answered prayer.

Read the full article.

Learn more about GF-CF diet.


One mother's story.

I am Hapi

It was on the front page of Inquirer yesterday. Finally, clean buses are plying Philippine roads. I thought it would take another decade for that dream to be realized. The new eco-friendly vehicles were dubbed "Hapi Bus" and are said to be colorful. They run on compressed natural gas (CNG), an alternative to petrol. It is composed largely of methane.

Around 200 Hapi buses are already up and running the Manila/Cubao to Laguna/Batangas routes. Operators need not worry about CNG supply with the Malampaya reserves off Palawan. A liter of CNG costs a measly 14.52 pesos as opposed to the upward spiraling diesel price of at least 35 pesos.
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Vito is back to his old jolly self after suffering from serious vomitting and loose bowel due to contaminated water. The first night upon the onset of the parasite (giargia) attack, Vito vomitted in his sleep almost every hour. That was the first time I saw my son so flimsy and helpless. What added pain to that heartwrenching sight was that he did not even complain one bit.

All that is over now. Glory be to God.
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I started selling some of my pre-loved stuff on ebay. I thought that I would not be able to sell any, being the nonbusinessminded person that I am, but hey, I have sold a few items already. happy, happy, happy.:) I really am serious about this closet cleanup thing. I have nowhere else to put my new stuff! So this has to work.

Online selling is both fun and risky. Fun because just like blogging, I get to meet new friends. Risky because you might have scammers and bogus buyers at your feet. Well, I guess that's part of the whole process. As the cliche goes, "No guts, no glory."
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Work is heavy. Been here for three months already and I am starting to get more organized and I even had the time to write this today. That's a good sign. That means I got more efficient and had time to unwind and relax a bit.

*Sigh* I missed blogging... a lot..

I just hope my hibernation will soon be over.

More photos

Our other photos:

Photos during the trek