After dinner, I’m usually in front of the TV, digesting and unwinding with a glass of tea. Normally, I prefer coffee over tea, but I feel that the latter is a more agreeable beverage for the evening. Not only does green tea aid in digestion and relax the digestive process; it can also stimulate the mind and keep your nervous system in excellent form. These days, I am busy with a new project called blogwatch.ph (Voters education) . I usually have some more work to do after dinner, and tea is the perfect drink to help me stay awake and focused without causing insomnia. Can you tell that the word “VOTE” is plastered all over my face that my husband bought me this tee as one of his Christmas presents.

I’ve tried a number of teas before and my current favorite has to be the new Real Leaf Green Tea. For one thing, it’s got a delicious honey lychee flavor that invigorates and satisfies the craving for something sweet after dinner.

Oh, and did I mention that drinking green tea regularly also helps you lose weight? Green tea contains high amounts of catechins, which works with other bodily chemicals to increase the amount of fat oxidation and the speed of your metabolism. I used to drink Real Leaf Green Tea after dinner for its refreshing taste, but I’m glad to know that it also helps burn calories! I think this is something we can all use after all that food we ate on Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I know that it’s a little late for holiday giveaways, but I’m giving away an amazing prize to one lucky reader or subscriber who is based in the Philippines . All you have to do is share a photo with your Real Leaf Green Tea Story! It’s really simple.

1. Take a picture of a person enjoying Real Leaf Green Tea.

2. Post the photo in your blog, Multiply site, Friendster account, or Facebook wall, Tumblr along with a description of

• why the person was drinking Real Leaf Green Tea
• the situation the person was in.

You could also be that person just like my Real Leaf Green Tea story.

3. Reply to this entry with a link to your post before January 30, 2010.

Contest starts December 28, 2009 till January 30, 201.

We will pick the most creative, funny or cutest photo to win the 8GB iPod Nano. Additionally, Coca-Cola Philippines will select one winner from the five who will receive P10,000 in cash plus a year’s supply of Real Leaf Green Tea.

Note that four (4) other similar giveaways can be found at the blogs of Yuga, Chris, Anton and Apples and participants can only win once.

Good luck!

Sample Photo and Description

It’s midnight and I am sleepy but I need to finish my work. This Real Leaf Green Tea helps me stay focused so my face does not drop onto my laptop.

I know I need to get up from this chair and burn calories but hey, Real Leaf Green Tea helps me burn calories because of the catechins. Excuses , excuses. I promise to do regular workouts but let me finish my work first.——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith

Not all is calm. Such is life. Things do not happen as planned but it does mean that the Christmas spirit will be affected. Today, I found out that Christmas truly reigns in my heart for all time.

Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man. Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.

Despite the challenges, I honor Christmas in my heart. Never mind if the outside appeared chaotic.

I am gentle with myself and I take care of my tender heart.

The gift we give ourselves is a gift we give to our children what they would want for us: for us to find as much peace in whatever way that we possibly can. If I could give each of you a gift I would want to give you the gift of peace, as much peace as you can possibly find.

Let me share Christmas in Our Hearts (as sang by my two girls and the 1999 Manila Children’s Choir) so the message rings all throughout the year:

“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.”

To all the Christians, may the spirit of Christmas be always in your hearts. And to all, happy Holidays!

With love, peace and gentle thoughts this holiday season.

Yours truly
Noemi

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens

How did you spend Christmas day?——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. Agnes Pharo

During my stage mother days, I never tired of listening to my children sing over and over again. Singing is a tradition in my immediate family but sadly, I don’t have the voice yet I can tell if the singing is sharp.

Singing Christmas Carols has been a treasured family tradition. I remember the last Christmas I had with my mom. I was 18 years old then. All the 7 siblings gathered around the Yamaha organ as my late brother, Oscar played festive carols. Sometimes it was mom who accompanied the songs in the piano.

These days the two girls refuse to sing in front of me. Good thing Manila Children’s Choir recorded an album and with that I converted 3 Christmas Carols in mp3 format. Lauren was 12 while Marielle was 11 years old with another girl and 2 boys from the Manila Children Choir. The choir conductor chose only 5 children for this recording but with recent technology, it sounds like they are a big group of kids.

1. Hark The Herald Angel Sing (Click here to download- 2.9 MB) – Charles Wesley/Felix Mendelssohn , adapted by Jack North , Arranged by Jack North/John Wilson
2. Christmas in Our Hearts (Click here to download- 3.0 MB)- Jose Mari Chan , arranged by Carmina R. Cuya
3. Pasko Na Sinta Ko (Click here to download- 4.8 MB)- Aurelio Estanislao/Francis Dandan , Arranged by Bernadette de Leon

I created a video greeting for all of you to share our Christmas through the years in three different homes, starting in Pasig, then Makati then back to Pasig. I made a shorter one for facebook. The card template is a bit off-tangent with the music but it’s cute. Pasko na Sinta ko is actually a love song but the melody is very poignant . It reminds me that my love would not have been with me this Christmas due to marital conflict. Some of you may find that you can relate to the lyrics.

Pasko na sinta ko
Hanap-hanap kita
Bakit ka nagtampo
Iniwan ako

It’s Christmas, my love
I’m longing for you
What did I do

that made you leave me

Kung mawawala ka
Sa piling ko sinta
Paano ang Pasko
Inulila mo

If you’ll be gone
From my side, my love
What will happen to my Christmas
That you made so lonely

Refrain:
Sayang sinta ang sinumpaan
At pagtitinginang tunay
Nais mo bang kalimutang ganap
Ang ating suyuan at galak

Our promises have gone to waste, my love
And our love that was so true
Do you wish to forget everything
All our affection and joys

Kung mawawala ka
Sa piling ko sinta
Paano ang Paskong
Alay ko sa iyo.

If you’ll be gone
From my side, my love
What will happen to my Christmas
That I offer to you.

There is something about Christmas carols sang by children. Their innocence and eager spirit shows the true meaning of the Christmas season. It has been said that music can open a window to the soul. To anyone with a loss, music may either drive a knife into an already festering wound, or it my begin to soothe and bring comfort to a shattered and broken spirit.

Christmas Carols sang by my children keeps me happy even if my other child is no longer with us.

May you be blessed with peace and love during the holiday season.

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

I’ve been there. I’ve been judged. I understand the anger of @Miltary_Mom when people started to judge her when she tweeted on the drowning of her two-year old son Bryson Ross in the swimming pool of their home in Merritt Island, Fla.

Shellie Ross otherwise known as @Miltary_Mom and who blogs at blog4mom.com tweeted the following:

5:22 p.m. – a breezy update about the fog rolling in and spooking the chickens as she worked in her chicken coop.

16 minutes later, , a 911 call was placed from her home saying that Bryson was lying at the bottom of the pool.

6:12 p.m. “Please pray like never before, my 2 yr old fell in the pool.”

5 hours later, she wrote in tweeter “remembering my million dollar baby” then posted photos of the little boy. (Some of these tweets and photos have since been removed.)

Not long after that, a firestorm erupted on Twitter, with strangers wondering what kind of mother tweets during a crisis. The debate has been going on for days around the Internet, with critics calling Ross callous (and suggesting that if she had been paying as much attention to her child as she had to her Twitter account, her son would not have come to harm) and supporters (many who know her in real life, and others who have never met her) describing her as a caring mother who reached out to her virtual community during a tragedy.

A local paper quoted Madison McGraw saying that “If she didn’t want questions raised at such a painful time, perhaps she shouldn’t have tweeted immediately after her child died. A child is dead because (of) his mother’s infatuation with Twitter.”

In Madison’s blog, she points out that “Between the hours of 8:37 a.m. and 5:22 p.m (her first and last before son was found drowned in pool) she tweeted 74 times. ”

Social media specialists said criticism of Ross is unfair, noting that she’s simply tech-savvy and using a familiar way to communicate. They added that it’s inappropriate to question her actions at such a horrible time in her life.

How dare these people judge Shellie! Were they there when the accident happened? Is this the right time to make insensitive remarks? Shame on those who yelled out cruel words. Can they even comprehend the depth of Shellie’s grief? When death comes without warning, the shock and disbelief can be overwhelming. Shellie turned to twitter to seek comfort from her community.

My heart goes out to Shellie. While my son was dying at the emergency room, I was too much in shock to talk to anyone but my sister called another sister asking for prayers from other relatives. If posting on Twitter comforted her and made her feel connected and allowed her to ask for prayers for Bryson, then that is her process. She could have been in shock so great that the only way she could balance it was to do what she normally did…twitter. Everyone grieves differently and I would never criticize her for reaching out to her community. There’s no “right or wrong” way to grieve and nobody should judge, especially if they were not there.

Madison goes on to say

“I’ve seen people react [to a death], but they’re screaming their heads off, crying and they don’t know what to do,” she said. “They’re not on Twitter. I’ve never seen that before and I was just shocked.”

Clearly Madison has no idea on the grieving process. The situation is just so surreal. I never screamed or yelled or cried when my son died. It was only days after.

I don’t see the point in punishing her more after this tragic loss. For a parent, there is nothing more devastating than the death of our child. Let her grieve in peace.

If you want to question the death of her child, there is no good in putting blame on the mother. There are lessons learned from the incident but blaming the bereaved mother is not going to help.

When the unthinkable and the unspeakable happens like the death of a child, that is not the time to be judgmental, and especially, not to be mean or nasty about it.

Think: Is this is the appropriate time or place to be chastising anyone? Where is the compassion here?——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

On the second Sunday of December, parents worldwide join together and light candles for their dead children.

For 12 years, parents gathered on the second Sunday in December in homes, churches, parks and gyms. Sunday night, families all around the world lighted candles at 7 p.m. in remembrance of their beloved children. It has been 4 years for the Compassionate Friends Philippines.

“You wish you could be naive again, go back to your life the way it was,” said Kristy Mueller, who organized the South Bay candle-lighting ceremony in Palos Verdes Estates in the USA.

“But you can’t,” she said. “You don’t get over it. . . . And this is a hard time of the year. When you can’t help but think about what you’re missing.”

For many of bereaved parents, this is a difficult month. Holiday traditions bring families together, but they also spotlight grief and amplify loss.

The company of other parents is part of what made Sunday’s candle-lighting so special.

A fellow parent wrote this poignant poem in Tagalog.

Sa Bawat Hakbang
by Vilma Dee

Sisinghap singhap ako’y nagsikap
Upang sa kalaliman ng dagat ako’y umahon
Tila ba sabik sa salubong mong yakap
Tulad ng hamog sa sariwang dahon

Unti-unti mula sa kawalang hanggan
Lagusan ng kamalayan aking narating
Tila ba sabik sa salubong mong yakap
Tulad ng maog sa sariwang dahon

Ano’t nasilaw sa bagong mundo
Sa dating payapa ngayo’y magulo
Tila ba lahat sabik ako’y masdan
Tulad sa hamog ng sariwang dahon

Di malimot unang haplos na iyon
Maipadamang pagmamahal tanging layon
Tula ba lahat sabik ako’y masdan
Tulad ng hamog sa sariwang dahon

Sa unang hakbang kamay mo’y kaagapay
Lahat ng gawin nais mo tayo’y sabay
Tula ba sabik na ako sa iyo’y matulad
Tulad ng paruparo mula sa kanlungan

Kay ganda din pala buhay sa lupa
Nguni’t di singganda ng tahanan ng MANGHUHULMA
Tila ba nagising sa mahabang paghimlay
Tulad ng paruoparo mula sa kanlungan

Sa piling mo nadama ko kaibang pagsinta
Nguni’t di singtulad ng pagibig ng MANLILIKHA
Tila ba nagising sa mahabang paghimlay
Tulad ng paruparo mula sa kanlungan

Iglap lang pala tayo’y magkakasama
Salamat AMA sa maikling magsasadula
Tila ba napagod sa pagsamantalang laya
Ngayo’y bumalik sa IYO puno ng sigla

AKING AMA, ako’y narito na
Dala ang masayang kwento sa lupa
Mula sa pansamantalang laya
ANAK mong ito’y muli kang bibigyang saya

A short video of our beloved children

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

“If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not able of developing compassion for others.”- Dalai Lama

I glanced at the man behind the wheel, the same man I’ve been seeing the past 32 years. My heart raced “Oh my, he looks unusually handsome and dapper in his crisp barong tagalog “. As I reached out to hold his hand, I remembered I picked a fight just 2 days ago and held back. He had chased me all the way from home, not knowing his car was tailing behind the tricycle I was riding.

That’s how our married life is. bati, galit, bati, galit and probably will always be, hopefully more good days than bad. The reasons behind some of our spats are immaterial but the latest conflict started with an illogical jealousy fit making our love story some sort of tragic comedy. Tragic in the sense that Ondoy caused property damage yet reunited us somehow. And the comedy part? His cave got ruined by the floods and he had no choice but to crawl back to our bedroom.

I believe that more marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse is hurdled.

Indeed, the past 3 months was stormy.

That’s beside the point. This entry is not about our marriage. It’s about me.

The most important person in our marriage is me. While the going was rough, I affirmed that I am my own person with or without my husband. I constantly work at loving myself. It is a work in progress which can be slow or fast-paced. As you may have noticed, I lost a considerable amount of weight, 25 pounds since June. I shopped like I never shopped before, embarked on a a new project and just loving myself into all that I have always wanted.

I took a step further and rediscovered myself through the eyes of friends and classmates in my youth.

To know myself, I needed to set down a true statement of those that ever loved or “hated” me. It meant reconnecting (oh yes, even the first love) and losing some friends in the process.

That is the radiant glow that Art Samaniego teased me about when he saw me at a tech event. The same glow that my younger sister noticed in the photos I placed in facebook.

I am not where I am today if I didn’t learn to nurture myself. I wouldn’t have a second or third wind in my marriage if I didn’t have a loving relationship with myself first. How do I nurture myself?

1. When I am hurt, I ask myself what I need to help myself feel better.

2. When I feel alone, I reach out to someone safe like my sister, my best friend. Without feeling that I am a burden, I allow my sister to be there for me.

3. I rest when I’m tired, eat when I’m famished, have fun when my spirits need a lift.

4. I give myself gifts… a trip to my favorite beauty salon, a massage at the spa, a new gadget, a new dress.

5. It means having a long hot bath or sauna to forget about my problems for a few moments in time.

6. It means being gentle with myself. Instead of being angry with myself, I beat myself with a feather instead of a whip. I am also open to the nurturing that others have to offer to me.

I believe that “You cannot give what you do not have.”

Tonight as I type this entry on my bed, I am snuggled beside my husband. I feel loved. I feel blessed. I don’t hold on to pain, old grudges and bitterness.

Yes, we are fine tonight. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

How have you been loving yourself lately?

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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“The bad dream known as martial law has become an absolute nightmare under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!” , an activist during 37th Anniversary of Martial Law, September 21, 2009.

Photo Credit to newshopper

I was 15 years old when Proclamation 1081 was declared by then President Ferdinand Marcos. My folks seemed overjoyed with the news. The administration did a great job brainwashing the old folks that the country was in turmoil and thus, Martial Law needed to be declared. I didn’t know it then, of course.

I felt a bit alarmed that any house could be raided for “subversive materials”. Any reading material might be “subversive” in the eyes of the military. Dad was wise. He started buying books and magazines that were pro-Marcos. But all of these inconveniences were insignificant compared to the pain of detained and tortured “political prisoners”, the loss of freedom of speech, the pain of seeing my brother in jail and so with my barkada. I was never brought to detention due to luck, perhaps.

Soon after Marcos declared martial law, one American high-ranking official described the Philippines as a country composed “of 40 million cowards and one son of a bitch” otherwise, he reasoned they should have risen against the destroyer of their freedom.

“Never again, never again – never again to martial law!”

It took 14 years later to be free from this dictatorship and the painful lessons brought out a constitution that ensured martial law should only be declared:

In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding 60 days, suspend the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. “

Thirty-seven years later, our dear President Arroyo declares martial law in Maguindanao (Proclamation 1959) with a stroke of a pen but this time to just a part of the Philippines. The situation looks like it needs it after a large cache of arms and ammunition , enough to supply a brigade-size unit of the military near the mansions of the Ampatuans in Shariff Aguak, capital town of Maguindanao. Her move leaves me with a bad aftertaste. This does not feel right. I don’t trust our president anymore. Do you wonder why Pulse Asia’s latest survey shows a combined 79 percent of the respondents said they would “surely not vote for” (43 percent) and “probably not vote for” (36 percent) a presidential candidate endorsed by Ms Arroyo. Now that reflects people’s attitude or distrust towards her administration?

I don’t trust her.

Besides, why does it have to be signed at 9:00 PM on a friday?

Is there even a need for it? The 1987 constitution says

*Within 48 hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress.

*The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President.

*Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.

That means Congress should convene in the next 24 hours. It’s 24 hours since she signed Proclamation 1959. I wonder what happens when Congress is unable to convene in the next 24 hours. I hope she explains her reasons. Invasion or rebellion are the only grounds for a declaration of martial law.

I say Oppose Martial Law, Congressmen. It is not needed. I fear that a precedent will be set for other parts of the country.

This time around, there is one bitch and 92 million Filipinos but are we cowards?

Do I hear the chants, “Never again, never again – never again to martial law!”

Statement of Brigadier General Danny Lim- Today Maguindanao, Tomorrow the Nation

Office of Brigadier General Danny Lim 
 

Press Release
Contact: Belle Enriquez
Spokesperson for BGen. Danny Lim

BGen. Danny Lim: Today Maguindanao, Tomorrow the Nation- December 5, 2009

Rebel General says the military lacks the consciousness and discernment to implement Martial Law

Detained Brigadier General Danilo “Danny” Lim today described the proclamation of Martial Law in Maguindanao as part of a sinister and grand plan to remain in power through the use and abuse of the military apparatus of the state.

In a statement, Lim said “the imposition of Martial Law in Maguindanao is a clear sign that Mrs. Arroyo is using all her multiple trump cards in an attempt to be in power forever.” He said Maguindanao is a conduct experiment for an all-our military rule with the entire nation as the real target.”

“Like what we have said time and time again, amid the public fear of Mrs. Arroyo becoming a member of parliament and the country’s Prime Minister, there is still the impending threat of her declaring military rule, hence, leading to the failure of the 2010 elections,” Lim said.

The dissident soldier-turned senatorial candidate also asserted that the military lacks the necessary consciousness and mindset to implement martial law and as a result, the tendency to abuse such power is very high.

“Being a military man myself, I strongly believe the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the influence of corrupt leaders and who in turn take their command from an illegitimate president does not possess the necessary discernment to implement such a critical order. Martial law under Marcos and replicated by the likes of Palparan proves this point,” Lim stressed.

“Granting without conceding that martial law in Maguindanao is valid; an implementing army that is systematically depoliticized and demobilized by Malacanang through years of patronage and transactional politics is a cure worse than the disease. Mrs. Arroyo, unwittingly, might be opening a pandora’s box she herself cannot handle,” Lim said.

Lim also pointed out that Congress plays a crucial role in this unfolding event. He said the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao coincides with a Congress suffering from a lack of quorum and on the brink of a long recess. “In such a scenario, the institution that has the power to revoke a president’s declaration of martial law anywhere in the Philippines is effectively captured,” Lim said.

Lim called on the highest sense of Congress to challenge the validity of the government’s martial law declaration in Maguindanao. He challenged Congress to represent the true will of the people. He also enjoined the public to mobilize and to publicly display their opposition on the matter.

“Civilian supremacy must reign in this issue. While the military will surely play an important yet subordinate role in preserving the peace and in putting the perpetuators of the massacre behind bars, it is the sovereign will of the people that must be prevail,” Lim concluded.

Lim is running as an independent senatorial candidate. However, the Liberal Party has adopted him as a guest candidate. He is currently detained under maximum security at Camp Crame in Quezon City for rebellion charges and purported military revolts which was said to be against the Arroyo government’s crimes of plunder, corruption and human rights violations.

Make it quick and get out of Maguindanao – December 6, 2009

Former Army Brigadier General Danny Lim today challenged the national government to prove it has no hidden agenda in putting Maguindanao under Martial rule by immediately taking into custody all those behind the massacre of 57 people, restore law and order and quickly get out of the province.

“For a government that cannot be trusted, I suggest that the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines finish their jobs the soonest possible time and immediately leave Maguindanao. They should not follow any illegal order and do whatever sinister plan by Mrs. Arroyo,” he said.

While he is against Martial Law, Lim said he is willing to bend a little in the case of Maguindanao if its purpose is to account for all the suspects in the killings and bring back law and order. But again, it has to be quick.

Still, the former commander of the Army Scout Ranger said the problems in Maguindanao were the makings of Arroyo as it was her who recreated the Ampatuans through the tainted elections in 2004.

Also, Lim said Arroyo could not escape responsibility over the large cache of weapons that was found in Maguindanao, and which was believed to have come from the military and the Department of National Defense, since she is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Brig. Gen Lim is a close friend of my departed friend (Noynoy Tan). Before my friend died last August, he told me to check on Danny. Belle Enriquez, Lim’s spokeperson emailed me this press release.
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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

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The most important political office is that of the private citizen. ~Louis Brandeis

I love my children.
I think of their future.
I hope for a good leader.

We all want that for our children, right? So listen up…

Do you wonder if our candidates think of the future of their children, or if they are single, the future of the kids of their friend or sibling. Does President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) think of her grandchildren’s future?

Dear readers, don’t be swayed by herd mentality that this candidate is good for the country or their emotional appeal, or celebrity status. Some of you are probably supporting a candidate this early but it pays to make the decision on informed choices. You are opinion leaders who can probably influence a non-internet user.

To the second district of Pampanga, I appeal to your conscience. Vote your candidate based on their character, competence, and platform. It’s that simple.

1. Character- Does your candidate have the commitment to serve or are they just after the power behind the position? What is their true motive?

2. Competence- How did your candidate behave in office? What is their track record?

3. What can your candidate do for us? What are their platforms? Is the “platform” merely motherhood statements, a “feel good” platitude about a worthy concept that few of us would disagree with but without any specified plans for realization.

I know you, the kapampangans will benefit if PGMA is your congresswoman. But think outside of Pampanga. Think about the Philippines. Is PGMA sincere in serving your district or does she have other agenda. Conduct a conversation among your friends and relatives.

I appeal to you all because I love my children. I know I could have left the country at the height of the dictatorship but I didn’t. I wanted to help my country by being a mother to the future citizens of the Philippines.

Every day I try to educate my two household staff on responsible voting, on candidates’ character and competence, the candidate’s capability to articulate a coherent platform or roadmap for change and transparency in campaign finance.

I believe the challenge for the May 2010 election is maturity in the way voters and candidates conduct themselves.

I have no other motive in electoral reform advocacy than a deep love for my children. Save their future. Be vigilant and informed. Visit our new media initiative at blogwatch.ph where we provide different perspectives on the elections apart from that of traditional media.

Take up the challenge to make a difference no matter how small.

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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‘The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familiar things new.’ Samuel Johnson
No, I am not the blogger with a published book. Meet 66 year old Annamanila, who blogs at ode2old.blogspot.com. She used to be the editor of my work when I was a researcher at the UP Institute of Small Scale Industries till 1986 when I got fired by the new director. Twenty years passed me by and one day in 2006, I received a comment from Annamanila because of my Philippine Idol post. I was glad to hear from her. A few weeks elapsed, she announced that she started a blog. I groaned. “Oh no, she will read my blog regularly now” but I learned to shrug my “writing skills’ insecurities” off and taking up the challenge to equip myself to be a better writer.

So what is her book all about?

“In Another Dress” reveals in story after story, how she went into blogging as a hedge against retirement jitters and that sure enough it turned out to be something she could do with a passion well into antiquity “as long as rheumy eyes can still squint and arthritic fingers touch type.”

In her pieces, she reminisced about lost youth, paid tribute to people important to her, philosophized about her losses, made mountains of small mounds of achievement, laughed at her spotty record as mom-wife-friend-worker, and brooded over left-over dreams and aspirations.

Anna Manila revealed that she began writing her ode-to-old stories hoping to discover the secret to being old and happy but admitted she had not found this after two and half years trying. Nevertheless, she had learned “without doubt that if I loved myself, I shouldn’t care how old I get.”

In Another Dress , whose title is a take-off from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “… Age, much like youth is opportunity, though in another dress,” is divided into four sets of stories: (1) To Keep the Heart Unwrinkled; (2) Simpering, Whimpering, Blundering Youth; (3) My Spotty Mom Record and Other Middling Stories; and (4) Tales of Women in Love and in Trouble (as told to Annamanila).

This afternoon, I gave a short oral review of the book. I believe that a great personal blog or writer has at least two qualities -

1. When you write about yourself, it’s never just yourself. It can’t be. Who the hell are you anyway? Why should your life be so interesting to people? It could be interesting only up to a certain point. There’s got to be a point when you are no longer talking about yourself. Or even when you are, there are points others can relate to .

2. Educate , enlighten and entertain. Have a way to make them accessible and funny.

Now being funny in my entries is something I can’t do yet. Being a blogger is a work in progress but Annamanila has all those qualities as a blogger and writer. She started blogging at 63 and so can you. If you need a role model, Annamanila is the writer to be, the blogger that yu can be. She is a role model to emulate.

So yes, buy this book at National Book Store for 350 pesos.

This book is worth every centavo as you can easily identify yourself in some of her stories on loss, betrayal, death, youth, getting old , being a mother , love, marriage , friendship and retirement. Even my husband is very impressed with her writing. I wonder what part he read.

I don’t have plans to publish a book at the moment but I do plan to come out with an ebook because my archives are full of entries that are hard to dig into.

For my Philippine-based readers, I am giving away a copy of her book which I bought just to create buzz for my friend. Just comment below why you think you deserve a free copy.

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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

“We can’t call him an animal because I have pets and they are tame. No, he is a monster. They are monsters” Mangudadatu on Ampatuan Jr. and his gunmen.

Photo Credits to Reuter
View Slideshow of Other Photos

Pat Dayrit a Twitter Follower gasps: Oh my god. The politics of this country is appalling.

A facebook friend posts at her wall: Mangudadatu told reporters, referring to Ampatuan Jr. and his gunmen. “My wife’s private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it,” he added. “They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. I could not begin to describe the manner by which they treated her.”

I condemn this brutality. I feel so much for the families who lost their loved ones in the Maguindanao massacre. I weep as I see the mutilated bodies in photos . How do they even begin to comprehend the immensity of their loss? Such unfamiliar territory . There are no words to express my utter disbelief that this could happen in a democracy.

Continue reading my commentary on the Maguindanao Massacre at blogwatch.ph
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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado