And Life Goes On for a Filipino Mom

SkinWhite and Nuffnang bring you Snow White and the Huntsman

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Back in the days when the first generation bellbottomed-denim pants thrived, my skin was so flawlessly fair and pink. Most called m beautiful complexion "balat sibuyas" as it was soft, smooth. Over the years of Cavite sun and salty air, the travails of motherhood and familyhood, my fair and youthful skin gradually faded. I woke up one morning and saw staring back at me, a taunt,dark and melasma-spotted face! Oh no! I looked so old!

I don't have the time and inclination (and money) to troop to the nearest dermatologist to fix my face. I just want to look the melasma out and for my face complexion to even out. I heard about SkinWhite - that it's supposed to you that :"beautiful blush white skin". Alright. It had me at "beautiful".

Well, the result was not instant but in a week's time I saw some improvements. After a month's use, the melasma are barely visible. In two month's, the melasma is gone and my skin was more subtle, with less wrinkles. In three month's time, my friends said I looked like a "meztisa" as my facial complexion is fair and pink!

Seems like SkinWhite has that SYNCHROWHITE ACTION that:

WHITENS the skin’s surface

REDUCES formation of new dark pigments at its source

NOURISHES skin with Vitamins

PROTECTS skin against toxins and UV rays

... and that is how I got my beautiful blush white skin! Even my three Princes Charming (hubby, my son and Ethan) noticed!

https://www.facebook.com/skinwhite/app_137541772984354

Happy Mom's Day to Me

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:37:00 +0000

Countless moms the world over were toasted, honored, loved and showered with gifts on Mother's Day. Even the pastor's sermon yesterday was tied up with the occasion. There are moms who were treated-out for lunch or dinner, given flowers, chocolates and cakes. Some, undoubtedly, received expensive gifts from their children. I did not receive traditional gifts such as flowers, perfume or any article of clothing. My kids (and grandkids) are more creative than that. I received something priceless.

The Avengers: Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, Ruffalo and Johansson

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Finally, D1, D3, Ethan and I finally watched The Avengers. D2, D4 and my son have been raving about this action movie. Every FB contact who had watched the movie had nothing but praises for the flick. Ok, I am a fan of Robert Downey. I think I have watched his every major movies. I loved Ironman 1 and Ironman 2. Come to think of it, the 2 Ironman movies both opened in May (2008 and 2010) as with Thor and The Avengers (2011 and 2012). I did not watch Captain America though.

We watched the movie in 3-D, which I did not particularly like as I don't like wearing a 3-D pair of glasses over my real eyeglasses. That (the 3-D) is the only thing that I didn't like about the movie. I think I got a bit dizzy with the zooming in and out of those aliens.

Robert Downey's quips were funny. His delivery were quick and so ordinary that I think not all who watched with us got the jokes. Chris Evans as Captain America is a hunk! He was one of the Fantastic Four sans the really buff body. Chris Hemsworth as Thor is still captivating! He is so muscular and tall that he dwarfed the other characters. Mark Ruffalo is Hulk. Well.. what else can I say. He's Hulk. The Black Widow is portrayed by Scarlett Johansson. She was steaming hot! Hawkeye is played by Jeremy Renner. Oh, I had no idea who this actor is but he caught my attention as his super duper buff biceps were made more :attractive when he shoots those high-tech arrows.D1 said Renner is the new Jason Bourne. Loki is portrayed by Tom Hiddleston., the same Loki in Thor.

On a scale of 1-10, the movie is a 9 for its entertainment value and probably a 10 for its high-tech production.

Tulfo Sues Raymart and Claudine and Vise-Versa!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:12:00 +0000

In the May 6 NAIA 3 Raymart-Claudine-Tulfo fiasco, who is suing who? Well it seems that both parties filed charges against each other. Ramon Tulfo filed charges of grave coercion and physical injury against the Raymart-Claudine tandem while the same tandem filed physical injury and child abuse against Mon Tulfo. Yes. Child abuse. Looks like Raymart, Claudine and their lawyer just have to add another complaint to even out with Tulfo. I just hope that on that "fateful day", the children were far enough not to hear their mom say cuss words to the airline's ground crew. When the fist fight erupted Claudine should have had the sense to take her children away from the scene instead of diving into the fist fight herself. I just don't get it. If these were done, then the kids would not have been privy to the fight scene. Ramon Tulfo abused their children? That is funny, if not outright silly.

the "injured thigh" and yellow nail polish

Who threw the first punch? Raymart said it was Tulfo and Tulfo said it was Raymart. Claudine and Raymart claimed Tulfo kicked Claudine that's why Raymart and his cohorts pulverized Tulfo. Now, why in the heck would Tulfo punch Raymart and kick Claudine? As a media person, Tulfo is more susceptible to punches from celebrities ( i.e. paparazzi) than him throwing punches at celebrities. If he did kick Claudine, I wonder if it was really intentional or was it accidental? View the :"famous" fist fight video in slow-motion. It seems like the guy wearing the pink shirt accidentally kicked Claudine.

I almost fell off the chair the other night as I watched Claudine limped her way to the Pasay Police Station to file her complaint. The "limp" meant she was really kicked hard by Tulfo which does not make sense since her thigh bore only smudges of dirt as seen in the photo that I sourced from TV Patrol.. There was no reddening of the affected area. For someone as fair as Claudine, the tell tale sign of bruising should have been evident at once. What can I say? Is that even a shoeprint? It it was indeed a shoeprint, is part of NAIA3 muddy? Looks like oil streak to me. Call CIS! Well, I guess the medico legal examiner took care of that. According to GMA News, Claudine reached out to Gabriela for help. I wonder if the two female ground crew of Cebu Pac reached out to Gabriela too. Gabriela is a NGO women's advocate group in the Philippines.

I am not a fan of Claudine or Raymart (but I do like Randy!) I certainly am not a follower of Tulfo or his brothers (it was only yesterday that I found out that he has 2 other brother other than Erwin). The bottom line is this day and age of social media and citizen journalists, the media (is even more) entitled to take pictures, videos, report and express opinion on anything and everything under the Pinoy sun. That is their privilege. Public figures have the responsibility to act accordingly and not use their status to lambast the common people. Airlines must be more responsible and responsive with their passengers' needs and luggage! Peace!

Kicking or Riding?

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:37:00 +0000

Ethan's summer soccer workshop is in its last legs. In no time at all, summer vacation will be over and it's back to school for the nth time! It will be back to notebooks and books! Assignments and projects. Quizzes and exams. Argghh!

Ethan and his best buds Kyle, Andrei and Leila are in the soccer program. They do enjoy kicking and dribbling the soccer ball and I think they have certainly improved their skills. On the way to the soccer venue is a large field for horseback riding. Knowing nothing about horses and horseback riding, I can honestly say that the riders I see are all equestrians as they are in breeches, riding jeans and jodphurs. I wonder how much lessons cost. I wonder if Ethan would love to take riding lessons. Not!

Tabby-Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:23:00 +0000

D3, Ethan and I attended Sunday services at our home church. The D1, 2, 4 and Tabby attended CCF in Alabang. They were quite excited as Paul Tan-Chi delivered the message. Here's Tabby in her Sunday best, on the way to church.

Last Sunday...

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:02:00 +0000

It was tiring weekend for me. For a change I took my 10-year old Sunday school students for a breakfast communion at McDonald's. It was a refreshing change for my kids as they kind of belong to the lesser privileged and eating-out is not part of their usual family routine. After the church services was a really long meeting. Various ministries of the church are tasked to present their activities for the coming conference year 2012-2013. The meeting dragged on but at around 5:00 pm, I had to go to fetch D3.

En route, I noticed that there are a lot of big-named supermarkets and hypermarts that line Aguinaldo Hi-way from Coastal Road all the way to Tagaytay. An ongoing construction somewhere in Dasmarinas is another Ayala Mall. I guess there is really I need for these commercial areas as the whole Cavite area is now literally peppered with residential subdivisions and housing. Won't it be something if the one of these developers opted for park model homes? Simple no-fuss instant homes.

Raymart-Claudine-Tulfo Fist Fight!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:26:00 +0000

The Ramon Tulfo-Raymart Santiago-Claudine Barretto brouhaha. According to Raymart and Claudine, Ramon Tuifo punched (Raymart) and kicked (Claudine) when they "respectfully" asked Tulfo to stop taking pictures of Claudine while she was lambasting CebuPac staff.. The airline allegedly lost one of Claudine's luggage.

The couple, their children and a horde of yayas and bodyguards landed in NAIA 3 from Boracay. Ramon Tulfo just landed from Davao. He said he's in the process of writing an expose on the many boo-boos of CebuPac. He naturally noticed the commotion going on for who would not notice a crossed and unpleasant pretty woman while she hurdles insult on a "lowly" airline employee? Being who he is (and his current task of writing an article about CebuPac) Tulfo took pictures (or was it videos?) of the scene he saw not knowing that the screaming banshee was Claudine.

Enough said! Just watch the video. Isusumbong ko na lang kayo kay Tulfo!

*** Where the heck is the video that i embedded?***

Anyway... here's the link:

http://youtu.be/EVgnszX_iAo

Kaftan and Scarf

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:08:00 +0000

Ethan,my son and I attended the vesper services at CRL in UP Diliman last Sunday. I asked the girls to tag along so we could all eat out for dinner. Since the temperature was close to 37-degree Centigrade that afternoon, the girls refused to budge from their air-conditioned rooms. At dinner time, they opted to troop to my mom-in-law's house to eat. They were quite surprised to find our ex-seamstress there visiting my in-law. She went abroad more than 10 years ago and heard that she is doing fairly well as she married a nationale of that particular country. She seems to be very financially stable as she gifted my mom-in-law with a beautiful kaftan and cashmere scarf. I wonder what's her line of work.

Gymboree for Tabby

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Come on everybody it's parachute time!

Tabby goes to Gymboree classes once a week. Now, you might ask, what do 10-month old babies do in such a class. Plenty! The baby and parent sing and do movements to increase the baby's cognitive intelligence and improve physical coordination. Tabby loves parachute time. Babies sit on the parachute as teacher blows bubbles.

Tech-Savvy Kids

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:29:00 +0000

no more crayons and coloring books

The Z generation will certainly rule the cyber world. Kids born between 1995 to 2012 comprise this generation and they are the most highly exposed to current (and future) high technology. This is the generation that will be the most internet-savvy. When my kids were little, I used to buy tons of coloring books, crayons, drawing paper and colored pencils for them to 'hone" their artistic inclinations and (in truth) as aid in baby-sitting. Twenty years+ later, the third generation in our clan prefer their electronic devices! However, I still see to it that these kids' use of these electronic gadgets is limited. Sure, these tech savvy 9 year olds do have their own social networking pages but I draw the line on internet browsing, sign-ups and game downloads as one can never tell if a site has ample cybersecurity as protection for their users. Tech-savvy kids. What's next?

CRL Worship through Music

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:09:00 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised when instead of the regular vesper worship at Church of the Risen Lord in UP Diliman, was a fitting worship through music. The soprano was Aileen Espinosa-Cura with tenor Jonathan Malicsi. Espinosa-Cura's rendition of the songs was great but the tenor hit a few flat notes. I know of a Jonathan Malicsi back in the 70's at the UP College of Music (back then). I wonder if the Malicsi of the vesper service is the same Malicsi of the 70's Madrigal Singers. Most probably. Anyway, the songs were quite inspiring. Ethan was not fan though.

After the worship we were all set for an early dinner but not before my son and Ethan took a peek of the catered free snacks after church. I love CRL UPD. It's a great place to feed the spirit and the really hungry!

Freakishky Hot!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:53:00 +0000

It's so freakishly hot! The temperature yesterday peaked at 35.8 degree Centigrade! That was hot! Even if I wanted to closet myself in an air-conditioned room all day, I can't afford it -literally and figuratively. Utility bills continue to rise and a lot of my friends have expresses shock with their latest electricity bill. It must be great working for a gas, water and electric company. They could just hike up their operating cost and consumers have no say but to embrace the hiked-up price. Anyway, the other reason why it was not possible for me to stay indoors yesterday was because we had to attend a going-away luncheon for my cousin and his wife. They're retired and they are off to migrate to the US. Not that they need to but more on "they want to". God bless them.

The luncheon was held in my other cousin's house. This was the house where I spent many hot summers soaking in the swimming pool. Some years ago, the pool was filled-in for the pool's flooring was cracked due to soil movement. It was better and more practical to fill-in the pool than have it repaired. The pool area is now a green area made more ideal by the patio furniture and wicker swing placed on it. The very shaded area offered a relief from the hot summer sun.

Blue Satin Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:29:00 +0000


Tabby's satin navy blue shoes make me think of ballet lesson days.

Summer Music Lessons

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Ethan is presently enrolled in a soccer summer program. His reading therapy (as he's dyslexic) is still current and I still see to it that he memorize the multiplication table to the point of giving out the answer in one second flat. Getting there...Anyway I told him the other day that he has to start in his piano lessons. I'll be his teacher and I've already bought the necessary books for his lessons. He told me that he does not want to take piano lessons and prefers to take drum lessons instead. This irritated me for he never took interest on the mini drum set that I bought for him 5 years ago. Now that I gave away the drum set, he suddenly wants to "play the drums"!

My son heard our altercation and, naturally, he butted in. He said he was at a local music shop buying a reed for his sax when he saw some Fender Custom Shop Guitars on sale. He said some pieces were 20% and could I possibly consider buying him one. What?! I told him that I would gladly buy him a box of reeds and that's that. Well, maybe for Christmas.

It's So Hot!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:02:00 +0000

It is hot! The average temperature here in Manila is from 28 to 35 degree Centigrade! This is equivalent to around 82 to 95 degree Fahrenheit! It's great if you work in an air-conditioned office but if you're one of those whose work entails him to be out in the hot sun, woe on him! I could stay indoors and turn on the airconditioner but that would create a great dilemma when the electric bill comes. What to do? Hit the mall and enjoy the cool blast of the mall's air-conditioning system! You can even go shopping or window-shopping. This was what I did the other day.

It's interesting to note that summer time seems to be one of those times when mall-wide sales happen. The thing is, why would I want to buy a thick cardigan in the middle of the summer season? Well, it's on sale and maybe I could save it as a Christmas gift for who-knows-who. I saw a real elegant mens leather briefcase but I've no idea who to give it to in case I do buy it. So, did I buy it? Well... not really but I did buy the cardigan.

Tabby's First Pool Dip

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 03:44:00 +0000

D1, Tabby and Ethan

Tabby had her first dip in a swimming pool! D2 wanted to teach Ethan and his friends freestyle so we went over a friend's house with a pool. D1 decided to tag along so she could Tabby for a "dip". This baby girl is one gutsy baby! She did not get scared! Maybe she could take her first "swimming" lesson next week.

Yikes!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:43:00 +0000

We had to wake up at around 4:30 a.am. to make the call time for the 7:30 a.m. batch run of Outbreak Manila. We needed to be there at 6:30 a.m. for registration et al. The venue is close to 50 kilometers from our house and even if there's no traffic early in the morning, the first 20 kilometers and last 6 kilometers were interior roads therefore I can't really press the gas pedal to the max.

We were able to leave the house at 5:12 a.am. It was still quite dark when we stopped by a gas station for gas. Once we reached the SLEX, I thought I could finally speed up. No. There were so many cars and buses that it was not really a breeze to switch lanes. One car kept on tailgating our van! Anyway, we finally reached our exit point. The queue to the toll gate was also long. It seemed that every car in line were heading for the fun run. After the toll, we proceeded at a speed of 20-25 kmp to the venue. We finally reached our destination with minutes to spare. But! Parking was another issue. Anyway we were able to spot a parking space and proceeded to the registration tent.

Wave 9 (that's us) started on time. The 5k run was really hysterical. See the picture.

Outbreak Manila: FUN!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:49:00 +0000

Oh yes! My kids and I together with some friends of theirs joined the recently concluded fun run aka Outbreak Manila. There are two types of participants in the 5K (or was it 7k?) run - the runners and the zombies. The runners start with 3 red flags tied to their waist. The object of the run is to reach the finish line with at least a flag intact. The zombies are strewn all over the run trail and their objective is to get the runners' red flags. The run was filled with screams and bursts of speed and terror as runners try to get pass the zombies. Fun! I was able to keep my 3 flags! Why? I intimidated the zombies!

my son was the shuffle bot runner.....

my kids and i with two of their friends

posing with two zombies after the run

my favorite zombie, a friend of D4

this is my group - wave 9

made it!

"I Luv U Tabitha"

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:54:00 +0000

Tabby just turned 10 months old! Yey! She has become more active to the point that I now find it hard keeping her still. She pulls herself up when placed in her crib or playpen. She tends to climb down beds and seats which is actually fruitless as she can't walk yet. We bought her this "walking wings" which is a type of walking aid that she wears like a vest. Is it useful and effective? Well, I guess so as Tabby is certainly having a great time "walking".

I tend to put toys in her playpen and crib so she could play with them. I believe that toys are not just for entertainment but serve as brain stimulants. I especially prefer construction and puzzles. I also make sure that Tabby has her share of musical toys to expose her to different tones, tempos and rhythm. She is presently enrolled in Gymboree and she really enjoys the interaction with other babies her age. I make sure that she gets to listen to classical music too as there are studies that show that classical music, especially the compositions of Mozart, do stimulate the brain. In case this study is unfounded, well, surely there’s nothing wrong in listening to classical music.

Ethan adored his dancing and talking Elmo when he was just toddler. I was able to keep “Elmo” in storage and brought it out for Tabby. Oh she just adores Elmo’s sing and dance act. She actually laughs so hard that my tendency (and the rest of her adoring fans) is laugh with her too. She loves her other stuffed toys too! She loves that talking Teddy Bear that says “I love you Tabitha”.

I wonder what are the latest stuffed animals from Toys R Us now? It’s a good thing that there’s a store 10 kilometers from my house. This makes toy shopping more convenient. Maybe I could just drop by and window-shop. While I am at it, I should maybe look around for an inflatable pool for Tabby. Yup! It’s summer time and that means fun-backyard-inflatable pool swimming for Tabby!

Skin Care

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:19:00 +0000

It is best to take care of your skin while still young. If only I've known the merits of using sunscreen when I was in my 20s, I think I would have less wrinkles now. Come to think of it, suncreen products decades ago were a far cry from the products of today. Sunblocks back then were thick, white, gooey creams that makes one look and feel sticky. Anyway, there are plenty of great skin products available today and one such brand is pure fiji. It has soaps, hydrating lotions, coconut shampoos and conditioners, body scrubs and oils for better skin care.

Happy Baby

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:56:00 +0000

Happy Tabby getting ready for bed. It's a task to tuck this baby girl to bed at night. She'll play, laugh and do all sorts of things just to deter going to bed. By the time she's ready to hit the sack, we're all so tired!

FB Freebies and Discounts

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:40:00 +0000

Facebook has definitely made its mark as the top social networking site. Statistics indicate that there are now more than 800,000,000 FB users now and continues to grow. I know! That's a lot of zeros. The popular social networking site is also used for advertising products and services too which is expected as who would not take advantage of the large number of users as potential customers or clients. There are plenty of fan pages that offer their followers freebies and discounts. I saw one page that indicated a 20% off through proflowers facebook page. Well, who would not take advantage of an offer like that?

Bikini!

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:38:00 +0000

Alright! Tabby's in for her first summer ever! In preparation, one her aunts bought her a bikini suit! Everyone's excited to see Tabby wear this cutesy two-piece suit. Ummm.. I wonder where she'll have her first dip.

Getting Fit not Fat

noreply@blogger.com (desperateblogger) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:22:00 +0000

As my four daughters and son say, it is time to seriously take a step towards our fitness training. Yes, we're a overweight. Yes, we are lumps of fat wobbling this way and that. Yes, we tire easily as we've nor done any cardio training (not even brisk walking!) for quite sometime now. Summer time seems to be THAT time of the year when fat accumulated in one year (from summer to summer ha! ha!) has to come off! Not that I'd be sporting a bikini while I traipse about in the beach for truth be told, I don't like traipsing about in the beach. Why then? Well... it's because it is easier to loose weight in the summer months because it's too darn hot to eat! It's 33 degrees Centigrade here!