Sweet World of Joan

Minute Maid Pulpy, Love that Pulpy Taste!

2011-01-10T19:14:00.006+08:00

I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe... I should try it, just to confirm.

I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I... think it passed my criteria for a healthy drink. I have a son that has allergies and he is allergic to most juice drinks available in the market. His pedia advised me to stay away from juice drinks that is full of preservatives and other harmful chemicals.

So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right? Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means... I am assured that my family will have this healthy drink that they can enjoy anytime and anywhere.

So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be, it's got nothing but the good stuff yes, none of those potentially toxic stuff that can harm your brain, kidneys, heart; cause tumors aargh- the list of preservatives' bad effects just go on!!! Anyway, just to prove a point on just how good Minute Maid Pulpy is 'cause it's got NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED, I'm gonna serve it to my family, they are real juice drinkers specially at breakfast. I would also tell my friends how healthy Minute Maid Pulpy is and they should share it with their family too.

Feels good to know about the real pulpy deal, right? C’mon show me a smile on the comment box, and you might win yourself a Really Pulpy Deal! (That’s a chance to win a Minute Maid gift pack simply by commenting. Sweet! C'mon you just might be picked as the lucky 'commentor'!)

Love,

Joan.

Do you like Minute Maid Pulpy too? Join this contest. I heard about this contest from Janette Toral. Thanks Janette!

Reviewing 2010 and looking Ahead

2011-01-03T09:54:00.006+08:00

I had great plans for 2010 but it did not turn out that way, what happened was something much grander than I have ever dreamed possible. God is not just good but GREAT!

In 2010 we became home owners. Owning a house was supposed to be a priority before starting a family, well all I can say is that nothing can compare to the feeling of waking in the morning in a house that you own. I should know, I lived in a rented house my whole life.

Change of plans. In 2010 my priorities changed, family and home became my topmost concern. We were moving into a new house, a new province actually, meeting new people and experiencing a new lifestyle. My professional life took a backseat but I don’t mind for family is more important.

Looking Ahead

At the start of 2011, I started my Snacks Shop here at home and business is brisk and steady. I hope to open a Coffee shop this year. Health is also a priority for us, we live with my parents and I am concerned about them being fit, so their general check up is being scheduled this month.

Everything is looking good so far, there are travel plans, I need to renew that passport soon. I would like to have a piggery, so were studying the feasibility of that one. Plus our ‘hacienda’ in Baras maybe awarded to us this year. I also pledged a little girl to help finance her studies.

My blogs have been neglected this past year, plus my social presence diminished, this year I promised myself to reach out more online and add another blog or two.

Cheers to 2011!

Thank you Lord for giving us this New Year.

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-27T17:09:00.010+08:00

I would like to share how my home now looks. After months of renovations, we have settled in nicely. Although there are still things to do like we still do not have built-in cabinets and the bookshelves are still not here. I can safely say it's a work in progress.

Our Turtle Pong's Pond

My Pink Kitchen

Living/Dining Room

Dragon Ball Cupcakes

2010-08-31T15:09:00.008+08:00

Dragon Ball themed cupcakes for my Godson Jairus Surmeda's First Birthday

Owning our Home

2010-07-21T16:20:00.005+08:00

We have been living here in our new house for two months now. It is a great milestone for us as we just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. A very precious gift from my husband. It took tremendous amount of blood, sweat and tears before we were able to move in but it's all worth it!

The feeling of living in a house that is truly your own is overwhelming. The very first day I woke up in our home I felt very peaceful, that’s the only way I can describe it. Regardless of how chaotic the house is, we ended sleeping in the same room with boxes all around us, crowding the only electric fan, there was peace.

Here are the various picture of the house, it is still under renovation to accommodate all our needs but hey its home.

Yahoo! Meme is here!

2010-02-02T10:37:00.010+08:00

I’ve been microblogging for a year now and it has become an essential part of my daily routine, greeting from good morning to your friends to telling them what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, sharing your immediate moods and feelings.

I find my microblogging community as my support system, we share almost all aspect of our lives on a day to day basis that if you feel down they cheer you up and even help you decide on things if you let them.

This is why when I attended the Blog4Reviews Christmas party last December for their bloggers and partners and Jonas de los Reyes of Yahoo! Philippines introduced us to Yahoo! Meme, I became interested.

Yahoo! Meme is not just any other Microblogging site that it purely text or you are limited to the 140 characters line to express your feelings. With Yahoo! Meme you can share and express yourself thru different media, text, photo, video and audio. Meme also offers easy way of spreading or sharing whatever you find interesting by their one-click repost feature.

Since I signed up in Yahoo! Meme, I’ve meet new people, gone to places I have never been and forged new friendships. Through Yahoo! Meme my world expanded regardless of time and place, I learned new things and saw great places that people around the world share through memes.

My New Motto - Take Action!

2010-01-05T22:46:00.007+08:00

Happy New Year Everybody!

A New Year means a new start, a way for improve ourselves, make plans and achieve goals. I always do an assessment of my plans at the start of the year. Assessing if I have achieved my goals and strategize on the things I would like to do. Check if my 5-year plan is still on track. I would not be sharing my plans with you instead I will be sharing my new motto.

Take Action! Seize the Moment.

I have been thinking of these phrases for quite sometime now, people who know me know I am a great planner. But what they don’t know is that I get frustrated if my plans don’t push through.

Being a Mom, a wife, a career woman and an entrepreneur can take its toll on a person. As an individual I do have goals for myself but sometimes those are set aside or postponed for my priority is my family and I accept that. But I am getting tired of postponing some of them.

So this New Year I’ll start using the phrase “Take Action!” when I feel the circumstances is just right to take the risk and do whatever I intend to do like REALLY put up my own physical store/coffee shop and take a chance in hiring someone as a full time assistant for my business. Before I would wait for the right timing and wait for the right person to come into my life. Well I realize that if I will not Take Action I might be waiting for a very long time.

Taking Action will also be implemented in my personal life where dreams are still dreams waiting for schedules to clear up so we can travel, well I won’t wait anymore and clear the schedules myself if I have to.

2010 is shaping up to be a great year for me. I’m so excited!

Free Limited Edition Cupcakes!

2009-12-10T20:01:00.008+08:00

I will be giving two of these precious cupcakes worth P100 pesos!

To honor and celebrate the friendships I forged through the years I am giving away 2 “Limited Edition” cupcakes to my friends and former students when they purchase in my online store www.mylittlebaker.com. I will not be selling these.

For my students (past and present), who are dear to me I am giving two Christmas cupcakes for a single purchase worth P300 and above. Just contact me through my phones or email me. So I can validate if you are really my student. I keep lists of them. Hehehe.

For my friends, a minimum purchase of P500 and above to avail of the two Christmas Cupcakes.

Two cupcakes per person policy will be applied regardless of how many times you order. I am doing this to make sure that you eat the cupcakes personally and not give it away.

I'll be taking orders till December 20, 2009 only and might be delivering your orders personally.

Hoping to hear for everybody soon!

Creating Art

2009-12-09T20:48:00.010+08:00

They say that left-handed persons are known to be good graphics artists. I can say they are because I know a few who are really good. But, wait a minute. I am left-handed! And I can only draw people as sticks till now. It was my frustration since I was a child and considers myself exception to that rule.

I don’t consider myself as an “Artist”, maybe because I don’t like the conventional “Art” I do admire paintings but as an ordinary person maybe. Even my horoscope (I am a Pisces) says that I should be in the artistic field.

I am starting to believe that I maybe an artist after all. Last Saturday I delivered the baptismal cupcakes that were ordered by a former student of mine. A few days before Saturday, I was already stressed and agonizing inside, doubting myself if I could ever pull off his order of 30 pcs of specialty cupcakes. The situation was not good, I don’t have anyone available to help me assemble and transport the cupcakes.

The burden was great for I usually make this kind of cupcakes for family and they love it (I thought because they love me no matter how ugly the cakes are). This is the first time I accepted an order for the cupcakes to be eaten by people I don’t know, although it helped that my customer is a former student.

The chocolate teddy bears was already prepared beforehand by my sister-in-law at the start of the week, all I have to do is bake the cupcakes, iced the cakes and place in the box with decors(made me really nervous). I made the cupcakes early Friday evening and woke up at dawn Saturday to make the icing and decorate the cupcakes (The Christening was scheduled at 10am at Cainta). I burned the sugar the first try, so I have to do repeat making the icing again. Luckily my mama was helping me by making the boxes and my hubby promised to accompany to the reception. I relaxed when I saw the cupcakes lining up in the table, they’re beautiful.

I attended the reception and was touched by the admiration by the guests on the cupcake tower I made. Some even thought they are just decors and was surprised when I said that they should be eaten soon. Many complimented how artistic I am. It was a very good feeling. I now believe I might not be good in drawings but I can create something good and sweet that can be considered an “Art”.

I would like to invite you to visit my online store www.mylittlebaker.com, I can proudly say it showcases my Artistic talent that is both sweet and delicious!

Zero In: Our History in Art Form

2009-12-07T10:26:00.013+08:00

I love history and very passionate in discussing country’s past and present. I love not just knowing the facts but of what could have been. There are times when I imagine myself living this or that era. What would have I felt and how fortunate I am to live at the present.

I love to know the “untold stories” and how our present reflects our past, like history repeating itself. I would look for answers in our history why so many Filipinos act this or that way. Or question myself if our ancestors have chosen a different path what would we become.

I am happy hear about Zero In: Periphery Series from Arvin’s blog.

He gives very informative descriptions of the different museums participating in the Zero In series this year. Here are some information I gathered from Arvin's blog The Intersections & Beyond. Photos I used in this blog courtesy of Arvin.

Here are the Museums participating in this year's Zero In:Periphery Series:

Ateneo Art Gallery

Featuring: Beyond Frame :Philippine Photomedia

Duration: October 1-December 15, 2009

Featured in Beyond Frame are works executed using different forms of photography by Poklong Anading, MM Yu, Romina Diaz, Ringo Bunoan, Christina Dy, Lena Cobangbang, Gina Osterloh, Rachel Rillo, Steve Tirona, Lani Maestro, Mario Co, Norberto Roldan, Gerry Tan and Tony Twigg.

Address: Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manila University

Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Phone: (632) 426-6488

Website: http://gallery.ateneo.edu/

Lopez Memorial Museum

Featuring: Deleted Scenes

Duration: November 12, 2009-January 9, 2010

The exhibits invites us to explore at things that may have been omitted, forgotten or neglected in our history, those side stories about the japanese and american occupation of our country. Stories not in our history books but if we search deeper in history is present and available to those who seek it.

Address: Lopez Memorial Museum
G/F Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Phone: (632) 631-2417 or 635-9545
Website: http://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph/

Museo Pambata

Featuring: Invisible Children

Duration: November 26, 2009-January 5, 2010

The exhibits highlights the importance of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). The exhibit is an eye opener on how many children today are living in different and difficult situations and that their most basic rights as a child is not met.

Address: Museo Pambata
Roxas Boulevard corner South Drive, Manila
Phone: 632) 523-1797, 523-1798 and 536-0595
Website: http://www.museopambata.org/

History gives us perspective on how should we act and react to the current turmoil in our country. Together let us visit and get to know our past so that we can feel and reaffirm our love for the Philippines.

Callalily Launches 3rd Album

2009-11-29T13:31:00.011+08:00

I gave up going out at night when I had my son Lorenzo. I don’t stay out late because Lorenzo always waits for me to arrive before falling asleep and besides why go out to look for entertainment when you can cuddle him all night.

But this time I broke my own rule, even my husband was surprised and tried to convince me to stay at home. It was the album launch of Callalily and I promised I’ll be there.

Kean and Tatsi, members of Callalily are my students and since June keeps asking me to go to their “Gigs” but I would always decline because it was late at night. They would even kid me of course it should be at night and not at noon. It was also during that time when they were recording their third album and would come to class without sleep, I have seen how hard they worked at it. So I promised that when they launch the album I’ll be there with my son to boot.

So the night arrived, I made sure my son and I had our longest afternoon nap to be able to last all night long. Luckily, Callalily’s Album launch was held at Cubao’s Shoe Expo Mogwai Bar a tricycle ride from our home.

Callalily’s favorite local bands performed as front act and after the show, the Callalistas were in full force. It was really a suprise for me when students in their uniform arrive at the bar even at ten in the evening. The band signed the CDs of the fans who already brought the album.

My son and I had a blast and enjoyed the performances, although it took a while to adjust to the loud music but we had fun. I was impressed by the transformation I saw in Kean and Tatsi, they were in their element and are great performers. My son did not last the night though, around midnight he became very sleepy, so we just waited till the band sang their last song and thanked them for the wonderful evening before leaving the venue.

Congratulations guys! I would always support your careers.

Please buy Callalily's self-titled album under Sony Music Philippines at leading music stores.

Teaching about Blogging

2009-11-24T20:29:00.007+08:00

I teach Interactive Multimedia to college students and one of the topics I include is about Blogging. I believe it is a relevant topic for the subject for multimedia today touches on topics like audio and video and a better way for students to appreciate multimedia is to let them try video blogging and podcasting.

Mini iBlog @ CEL

I love attending the iBlog Summit every summer for I learn lots of things about blogging. It was really fortunate that a Mini iBlog Summit was organized at the Consumer and Electronics Live trade show at the World Trade Center last Nov 15, 2009.

My students were inspired and interested to blog and not just blog as a requirement for the subject but some of them were really determined to blog regularly.

Thank you and congratulations to the organizers of the event, JJ Disini and Janette Toral. And Thank you very much to the speakers, Michaela Rodriquez, Aileen Apolo, Noemi Lardizabal Dado and Anton Diaz for inspiring my students and making my job in teaching them how to blog easy.

My Foodie Secrets Shared!

2009-11-14T15:35:00.011+08:00

Many say I am a great cook and baker, I admit and acknowledge that I have this gift that most if not all of what I make tastes really, really good. But it is not all instinct and genes(my mother is a kapampangan and my father is bicolano) I also did my part, I studied them. No I did not enroll in culinary school, I am an engineering graduate. But I have this great love for cooking and eating great food as well. My passion is eating pizzas and pasta. Anything with cheese on it I will eat but I am also very particular with my cheese recipes and how my food will taste.

My secrets

I love to watch cooking shows since elementary and practice cooking whatever recipes they shared.
I practice. I started cooking my “experiments” in high school. During weekends I am the house cook so whatever I cook my family has to eat them.
I continued to study how to cook. I enrolled in a basic baking class to formalize my knowledge in baking, and recently attended seminars on empanadas, cupcakes and oatmeals.
Lastly, I join food websites. And my recent find is www.SarapngBuhay.com

I love the Sarap ng buhay website and am encouraging everyone to join. What is great about the site is that it’s a “Filipino” website and the recipes you will find there is applicable in our country. If you go to a foreign websites for recipes problems you will encounter are most ingredients and tools you need to cook the recipe is not available in the country and might not be agreeable for the Filipino taste buds. Filipinos are very discerning on the taste of their food.

Another exciting part of signing up on Sarap ng Buhay website is that they have this event on December 14, 2009 is the gathering of cooking enthusiasts, culinary students, kusineros, chefs and foodies for one battle royale featuring cheese, with Kraft Eden products demonstrating their versatility in various dishes, from the savory to the sweet. It is also going to be one red-letter day as all these people work with each other in landing the Philippines in the record books with the most number of cheese dishes.

I love food events and am planning to bring my whole family to the event for be held at Araneta Coliseum and is brought to you by Eden Cheese a popular cheese brand packed with Lusog-Sigla nutrients, it promotes recipes and dishes that highlight good health and vitality for the whole family.

I also shared my Special Cheesy Caldereta recipe on the Sarap ng buhay website. My family love this recipe that I just perfected a year ago. Whenever my brother visits he requests that I cook it for him. So if you want to have a copy of it join and visit Sarap ng Buhay.com

Happy Eating!

Lessons Learned at the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit 2009

2009-11-14T14:27:00.007+08:00

When the DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit 2009 was first announced a few months ago I knew I had to attend the event. I decided that whatever happens I would attend for it will provide such an important opportunity for me to learn and connect with fellow E-Commerce enthusiasts and friends.

The topics discussed were informative and important for people like me who have an online store/website, educator and managers who would like to maximize their websites capabilities. There was also the exhibitors and sponsors’ booth at the event that offers value added services for website/ecommerce owners.

What have I learned during the 2 day event?

That e-commerce is here to stay and would continuously grow in the coming years
Creating a niche and identifying your target market is a key to make your online business grow and sustain itself
Designing your website to make your visitors not just view your site but to buy from you
Making a brand for your business in crucial and like traditional brick and mortar businesses you need take care and protect your brand
Your online business/website still needs to be marketed, and the Internet have all you need to if you want to save costs on marketing.
That even an online business has its own set of challenges and as an entrepreneur you have to dedicate your time and efforts to overcome them.
The trends in E-Commerce and Mobile business in the country is encouraging and we are looking for a great future in business.
And lastly, make all the pages in your website be an opportunity to sell to your visitors.

The summit was also the venue for awarding the winners of the DigitalFilipino Web Awards 2009. Congratulations to all the winners! As a three time judge I would like to say that the winners of this year’s web award that all of you have great websites and that I enjoyed judging them.

All in all I had a great time. The venue and staff was great. Everyone felt the TLC, the food was good and the company special.

Congratulations and thank you Janette Toral for giving me the opportunity to attend. Looking forward to the next E-Commerce Summit in 2010.

Sesame Street Turns 40

2009-11-10T09:00:00.006+08:00

The world is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Sesame Street this week. Sesame Street is an American educational TV Series that started November 10, 1969 and is the longest running children’s program in US television and is show all over the world.

Sesame street is special to me for I grew up watching those Muppets, Big Bird and the gang. It was my first school, I learned to read, write and count numbers with them. I remember begging my parents to attend classes already for I know already how to read and write(on the walls all over the house) but it took 2 more years for me to attend one. So for years they were my classmates and friends.

When I had my baby in 2003 aside from the nursery rhymes CDs, I bought a set of Sesame Street VCDs. Lorenzo was 6months old when he started watching Sesame Street and like me they provide educational fun adventures for my son.

At times we would watch it together and I was amazed of the new characters and topics they tackle on the show. My son loves Elmo and has Elmo blankets that are with him when he sleeps.

Ramdom things about Sesame Street that I know

I discovered after 20 years that Big Bird is a boy, that blew me away thought all these years that he’s a girl because of all those feathers.
When I started watching again after 20 years I thought grover and elmo are the same character. Got confused there for there was no Elmo character when I was watching Sesame Street as a child.(Elmo character was introduced in 1984 and is a very popular character today)
My fave characters are Ernie and Bert, Cookie monster, Kermit and Ms Piggy, Oscar and his pets, count von count, the monsters that are all cuddly and lovable, Mr Snaffuleapagus, rubber ducky and all the human characters of the show.
I felt sad when I watched the show again and saw the human characters Maria and company got old; I treated them as my aunts and uncles.

I am very thankful for Sesame Street. The show taught me and my son to read, to speak in English, write, count numbers, know the alphabet, shapes, colors and encourage imagination and sing and dance.

Thank you Sesame Street for being an important part of our lives and hoping you have many more years with us.

Getting Mobile through Globe Tattoo Broadband

2009-11-06T15:41:00.013+08:00

As IT professionals my husband and I see to it that we are always connected to the Internet and always updated in the latest development in Information Technology. He says that it is our responsibility as an IT person to be always in the “know” of our field. Since the late 1990’s one of the biggest slice in our budget is our Internet connection, other people have their stereos, cars, entertainment center, cellphones, clothes as passions while ours is the internet.

Lately, we became aware of the importance of having internet connection 24/7, anywhere / anytime(we have a landline DSL broadband connection at home), and I started broaching the matter to my husband that maybe it’s time to get a second broadband connection – “One" that we can bring anywhere with us and we can even use even during power outages.

That’s when Globe Tattoo Broadband came to my attention, my brother has one and he even surf and chat while their buying groceries. Globe Tattoo Broadband modem is easy to use, you just plug and play, run the software and you can now connect to the net as fast from 384Kbps to 2mbps 3G or WCDMA connection.

Their fast internet connection caters to your different needs like if you want to have a quick check on your emails, update your blogs or even just read specific updates you can avail of their per KB charging which costs just 15 cents per KB or if your need more time using the internet you can avail of their per TIME connection that lets you surf the net 5 pesos per 15 minutes. You can activate these services by just texting Bytes to 1111 for per KB connection and texting TIME to 1111 for per Time connection. For new users TIME based connection is the default connection, to check your internet connection text STATUS to 1111. I have a 3G phone and a laptop Globe Tattoo Broadband really gave me value for my money.

I’m a very colorful person, I like my stuffs colorful and vibrant, pinks, oranges, violets and reds are very attractive to me. Globe Tattoo Broadband lets you express yourself and shine through their Globe Tattoo Broadband New Skins. At present Globe Tattoo Broadband is having a promo where you can submit your plug it designs at the Globe Tattoo Broadband Gallery and be able to win P5000 for the best design plus get you design produced to actual Globe Tattoo Broadband skins.

The Globe Tattoo Broadband Prepaid kit are now available for P895 and comes with a USB modem, Globe Tattoo Prepaid SIM, P300 promo preloaded SIM and the users manual. Having a Globe Tattoo Broadband is great, now I don’t have to worry not getting home immediately to check on my emails and friends online.

Gearing Up for the Holidays through E-Commerce

2009-11-05T09:56:00.009+08:00

It’s Christmas time again! This is my third year of going online to sell my chocolates and baked products. I admit that I have not fully maximized the advantages of having an online business. I’m not in a hurry, I am taking my time, studying all angles and taking it all in. You might say I’m still a reluctant entrepreneur and have not taken major risks. I am trying to change all that and looking for ways to improve my knowledge and mindset about E-commerce.

I have found what I am looking for, it came just at the right time the “E-Commerce Summit 2009 Doing E-Commerce for Real!” I want to transform my business to a real E-Commerce one and with this summit I believe I can.

The DigitalFilipino E-Commerce Summit 2009 is an intensive 2-day educational seminar on e-commerce strategies scheduled to take place on November 12 & 13, 2009 at the Hotel Intercontinental, Makati City. The event targets entrepreneur and business owners like me, managers, investors, business development consultants and educators.

Some topics to be discussed include, Managing E-Commerce business during a global crisis , creating your niche and identifying your online target market, search engine friendly web designs. It is also the venue for recognizing the Awardees of the 3^rd Digital Filipino Web Awards.

I hope you can also attend and learn with me! See you there!

Goodbye and Thank you Tita Cory

2009-08-05T19:43:00.007+08:00

The first time I heard of Ninoy Aquino was the day he was assassinated. I was in the third grade and was playing near my father when the news from the radio broke that Ninoy Aquino is dead. It was the first time I saw my father cried, shock and anger was reflected in his face, I was puzzled for I personally don’t know any Ninoy Aquino that is related to my family.

As a child I was aware of the changes happening around me after Ninoy Aquino’s assassination. Living near Araneta Center, I witnessed rallies with people wearing yellow and making Laban sign. I first got to know about Cory Aquino thru a comics about her life during the Snap Presidential election campaign, as a child I was really impressed about her life. My parents were very active followers of Cory Aquino, importance of what is happening in the country is taught to us at home. Family friends and relatives were active during the EDSA Revolution.

Living near EDSA brought excitement for a child like me during that EDSA Revolution, it brought endless days of playtime for me for there were no classes then for a week. The real work as a student came when we went back to school. Teachers imparted to us the relevance of the EDSA Revolution and how we had a new president for the country.

My President

I was eleven years old when Cory Aquino became president of our country, you can say she was My First President. I was educated about politics during her time and my political views and love of country was influenced and molded during her regime.

The whole duration of my student life from grade five to high school I was punctuated with the awareness of President Aquino and her administration. Knowledge in Current Events is very important. Her speeches were dissected and discussed in class, people in her cabinet are memorized and events and decisions she made as president analyzed. You can say that because of these I have very high standards and expectations of our government officials, choosing my candidates from barangay to the president to be elected is very important for me.

Thank you President Cory in having a hand in molding me as a Filipino and I am proud of it. Growing up during your regime made me proud of being a Filipino and helped me decide to stay in the country when it was easy for us to leave the country and migrate abroad. Time and time again it was proven to me that I am needed here that as an educator to serve our countrymen.

By your example being a proud Filipino I will continue to serve our country to the best of my abilities. I will start by making sure to choose the next President of the Philippines would have your qualities, serving the country wholeheartedly and not because of personal gain.

Goodbye My President Corazon C. Aquino

Thank you for the renewed Hope for our beloved country The Philippines, you will never be forgotten, you will forever live in our hearts.

My Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blog of 2009

2009-07-29T11:55:00.004+08:00

I had a hard time completing my Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs of 2009. Maybe because I have certain criteria or things that I want in the blogs I follow and read. Anyways here is my list:

1. http://tunaynalalake.blogspot.com

Nakakaaliw, I always love blogs that take your minds of problems, even recommend this blog for my husband to read

2. http://www.pataygutom.com/

So yummy dishes. Nice catchy name :D

3. http://fatherblogger.com/

An intriguing blog to read, interesting topics specially if you have children

4. http://theaccidentalteacher.com

How can I not read this? I'm a teacher too.

5. http://www.letsgosago.net/

Travel and food can't go wrong there

6. http://www.marikinalife.com/

Love the up-to-date info and trivia about Marikina, can't help it I love this city

7. http://lipstickaddict.blogspot.com/

I may not me that kikay but still, when it comes to beauty fill me in

8. http://goodtimesmanila.com/

satirical article but helps keep your mind sharp

9. http://socialmediaphilippines.com/

Really serious tips here

10. http://www.pinoytechpodcast.com/

Very informative

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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, My Review

2009-07-16T18:51:00.008+08:00

As a Harry Potter fan, I am very satisfied with this movie. It showed all the important parts of the 6^thbook and laid the foundation for movie viewers to understand or ready them for the conclusion of the Harry Potter series.

The young actors in this movie showcasing maturity in their portrayal of their characters and the veteran actors that played Prof. Dumbledore, Prof. Snape and even Prof. Slughorn showed us more than what we read in the book.

The movie showed us the side of Voldermort from being a child to a young wizard like Harry it lets us get to known him. The movie focused on the struggles the young wizards undergoes during this difficult teenage year, we saw them make bad choices and how they survive them. But in my opinion the kissing scene of Harry and Ginny is too tame for book 6. Ha ha ha.

I was satisfied with the Quidditch Game, the best! I know there is not much action in this movie but so is in the book.

All in all I gave The Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 4 1/2 popcorn out of 5. I would highly recommend that before watching the last 2 movies is for all to read the Deathly Hallows to really enjoy the movie.

Ice Age3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, My Review

2009-07-07T14:14:00.010+08:00

Ice Age is my son’s favorite movie, he memorized all the dialogs of the first 2 movies and was waiting since last year for this movie. We had big plans for this movie, my husband thought that it will be shown in IMAX but was disappointed that it will not be shown. He wanted the movie to be the first movie my son will experience in IMAX.

Since the posters were advertising that Ice Age3 is a 3D movie, we started asking around for theaters offering 3D days before the movie will be shown. The SM North’s The Block was highly recommended, and since The Block is new we decided to watch there.

The first disappointment came from the Digital Theater of the Block was undergoing repairs on that day a Saturday, July 4, the second day of showing and it was too late to go to other Malls and Lorenzo is already panicking about the delay of his watching the movie. We had no choice but to watch the movie in their regular theater and since the line for buying tickets was long we had to wait for almost two hours for our screening time.

The biggest disappointment for me is the theater itself for I feel the Screen is too small and their sound system is not good. There was a Transformer movie showing beside our theater and you can hear the action scenes from there inside our cinema. And to think that The Block is newly constructed, I can’t believe at this age of technology they would make a low quality cinema. Tsk, Tsk. It’s a good thing my son is just a kid and would not be that sensitive to the quality of the theater but as parents and a paying customer I would definitely not watch again in SM North’s Cinemas.

The Movie Review

For the Movie itself, I would rate it 3 out of 5 popcorn. It was a riot, really made for kids; exciting dinosaur chases, there was drama and suspense but compared to the first 2 movies the plot is not that original or engaging. The Original movie was still the best!

Our Family Adventure at SM North Edsa

2009-07-05T11:16:00.012+08:00

Watching Ice Age 3 is a very big event to my family for it’s the first time we will watch a movie as a family and a great opportunity to check out the changes at SM North, their Sky Garden and The Block. We had a great time even though there were setbacks, watched the movie, eat at Wham! and Mang Inasal bought some things and went home tired but at least Lorenzo was happy.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, My Review

2009-07-04T22:34:00.006+08:00

Things that were important to me while growing up were school, cartoons and playing outdoors. Growing up in the 80’s was a real treat for a kid, Voltes V, Sesame Street, Carebears, Transformers and GIJoe were the staple of my life. I was even a member of Uncle BoB’s Lucky 7 Club at GMA 7.

When movie companies started making live action movies of my childhood cartoons I was really excited but somewhat concerned, could they live up to the original? Would it be just a waste to time to go and watch?

Did you know that I watched Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen alone? Why?

Well first, I had this free time and there was no one else to go with. The pull of the movie is so strong, watching transformers is a must for me for I grew up with them, played with transformer toys.

Watching the movie is like paying a visit to a very dear friend, the movie did not disappoint seeing bumblebee(my fave) and the other autobots and decepticons and hearing Optimus Prime (dubbed by Peter Cullen) brought me back to my childhood. The movie was fast paced and had yummy human character like Josh Duhamel (plays Major William Lennox) I was satisfied. The action scenes were great you can really see hardware getting loose from the robots as they engage in combat. It felt like being in the middle to the battle or your watching a great fireworks display.

Well for the kid in me my rate 4 out of 5 popcorn!

Two Lives Made One

2009-06-22T20:49:00.011+08:00

I attended last week the wedding of my former student Jhay Surmeda. I don’t usually socialize with my students outside school events or even attend personal events happening in their lives. I am reluctant attending those kinds of events, I am aware of the respect they give me and at times I know they avoid talking to me if they can help it. It can be very awkward.

But you can say there are special students I hold dear in my heart that even the passing of time can’t erase that. I do have students becoming my close friends after they graduated and would meet up or communicate with each other once in a while.

So when Jhay requested me to attend his wedding I just can’t refuse him(although it took me a month to really agree attending). It was an honor really, for him to still think of me after all these years and even felt I am special enough to witness a very important milestone in his life.

The wedding of Jhay & Lea Surmeda was held last June 16, 2009, 3:00 pm at the Immaculate Conception Parish, Antipolo Cathedral or more widely known as the church where Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage is in Antipolo City. The reception at the Alta Vista Clubhouse also in Antipolo City followed.

The wedding was elegant and solemn. The bride Lea was radiant and beautiful and the groom Jhay dashing. The wedding was conducted while it was raining very hard outside the chuch but I always believe rain brings blessings for the newly weds. I really felt the love Jhay and Lea feel for each other and how important that moment was for both of them. I said a fervent prayer to the Lord to guide and bless their marriage, the ceremony was really moving.

Familiar faces I saw there were my PUP former students, Jhay and Lea’s batchmates and close friends. It felt like a reunion! I got to catch up on what’s happening to them and how they are doing in their careers. I really enjoyed myself.

The reception that followed was really festive! Their VTR was impressive and the activities that followed lively. The venue was great you get to see Metro Manila skyline at a distance.

I was touched how Jhay and Arvin took really good care of me, checking if I am ok or if I need transport to the reception and if I am enjoying myself.

My gift for the newly weds are the chocolate giveaways in honor of their wedding. It’s the first time I have done edible wedding giveaways and it was distributed after dinner at the reception. My former students were surprised that I would do such a thing, create such goodies just for Jhay, for those who does not know, I give free chocolates to my students and still do so today. I loved doing it actually. It was a labor of love since it took me a week to design, conceptualize and make all those 140 pieces of chocolates.

To Jhay and Lea, Best Wishes and Congratulations!

Why Do People Cry At Weddings?

2009-06-22T16:49:00.007+08:00

I often wonder why people cry at weddings, on weddings I've watched on TV or weddings I witnessed myself. Oftentimes it is the bride that is crying or the mother of the bride or the groom sometimes is the one that’s crying. There are even instances that the wedding guests are the ones doing it.

It is a mystery to me for no one cried at my wedding, it was a joyous event and everyone was happy. I have a sensitive nature being a Pisces and am really a crier if it’s a very sad story. I cried very hard when Dobby died while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; read it three times cried three times too. But I don’t cry even if I am very happy.

Asked people, friends and family why they think people cry at weddings and here is what I found out:

They are so happy
They cry because their child will leave them (sudden realization)
They are overwhelmed with strong emotions
They envy the love between the bride and groom
They feel self pity
They cry because of the life they are leaving behind
They may not want to be married? forced into?
They are so relieved to finally finding mr. or ms. right
Frustration of losing the bride or groom to another person
They are so happy because it's their dream wedding