Mom suffered a mild stroke
I received the terrible news at 2pm yesterday. People who have taken my mother to the nearest clinic thought she’s suffering from stroke because her mouth twitched slightly and had difficulty talking. The hot weather might have caused my mom’s blood pressure to shoot up. She was under observation for a few hours at the emergency room of the East Avenue Medical Center, where she was later released upon doctor’s advice. She is resting at home now. I’m thankful to those who brought my mother to the hospital. Nanay’s younger siblings were also there to comfort her.
I wasn’t able to rush to her side yesterday as I was the one who was looking after my nieces and nephews in our house yesterday. I will visit her today and be backto finish a couple of assignments. My sister will arrive on Thursday and will stay for eleven days to take care of our mother.
Friends, I’m requesting you to include my family especially my mother in your prayers. We love our mother so much and we cannot afford to lose her at this point in our lives. Thank you…God Bless!
Hubby’s dream TV
Hubby has yet to buy his dream TV set. He saw this stunning Samsung Plasma TV and fell in love with its sleek features and modern look. Good thing about hubby is that he invests in appliance based on functionality and quality rather than mere good looks. We have a couple of appliance at home that we bought five years ago and they still provide quality sound and picture until now.
FTF – Lunch at Ocean Adventure
It’s been a while since my last entry for Food Trip Friday… This is the meal given to us during our Ocean Adventure guided park tour last month. It’s not a free meal. We actually pay for it as part of the tour package.
More delectable meals at Food Trip Friday. 
Three times
bigger the size of the lovely mom in the picture LOL. That’s how I will describe my shapely figure as of this writing. he he
If you are in for a ‘big’ surprise, go and tease other girls here. Have fun and stay safe this weekend. Happy GT! (miss you marce Niks)
Honesty
Does it pay to be honest? Of course. Syempre walang gulo, maayos ang takbo ng relastionship niyo.
I’m honest, meaning I speak my mind when it concerns family matters; when I don’t like the attitude of certain people (I tell him even those things); when it concerns money matters (walang kupitan, that’s bad, bad, bad); during our intimate moments (no details please, hehe); to the most trivial – hubby’s outfit for the day. But in fairness, magandang magdala ng damit ang jowa ko. 
I could go on and on telling you instances in my life or my married life when I ‘exercise’ honesty. Ang hirap mag-recall eh. But for now, ito lang muna ang maishi-share ko. The enty is kind of late…if you have been intrigued by this topic, why don’t try reading the entries of more brave women here. Happy weekend everyone!
Valid entry
I received my confirmation letter from WOW Philippines Travel Agency this morning validating my post about the contest as entry to the Free Boracay Vacation Package. Announcement of winner will be on July 5, 2010.
My ticket to my first Boracay trip 'wink' 'wink'
Free Boracay Trip!
Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency
WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it’s 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.
Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers – Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities – Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS – 5,000 peso Spending Cash
Read More Information: http://www.boracay-packages.com
Beautiful blogger award
I got another award from two beautiful and sexy mommy bloggers from Japan, Bambie otherwise known as Anzu’s mom and Marce Seiko. Thanks, Bams and marce for remembering me. 
I’m a couch potato. (singlaki ko na couch namin)
I love pizza. (and the fat-causing ingredients that goes with it)
I’m a procrastinator. (may mamaya pa nanan)
I rush into things (kapag gusto kong gawin ang isang bagay without giving it much thought).
I’m hopeless romantic (kinikilig pa rin sa romantic movies)
I worry less about life. (because I leave everything up to Him)
Development of kids 13-to 16-year-old
Middle adolescence is a time of blossoming development – the insecure, inwardly focused 13-year-old becomes a cheerful, charming 16-year-old looking toward the future. During this time your child’s thinking skills take a decidedly adult turn, his body matures, and friends and social networks outside the family become increasingly important. Now is when you will really begin to get a glimpse of the adult your child will become.
Physical Development
Boys and girls still exhibit markedly different levels of physical maturity as they enter middle adolescence. Girls’ rapid growth is generally tapering off, while many boys have yet to see the beginning of their much anticipated growth spurt. By the end of this period most girls will be near their adult height; boys may continue to grow until age 18 or 19.
Girls:
growth in height continues, but at a slower pace than earlier; adult height is reached by age 16 or 17
- breast development continues
- pubic hair thickens, darkens, and takes on adult triangular pattern
- underarm hair thickens
- hips widen; fat deposits in buttocks, legs, and stomach increase
- menstrual periods become regular; ovulation is established; pregnancy becomes possible
Boys:
- rapid growth in height and weight
- muscles fill out and strength increases dramatically
- voice deepens
- pubic and underarm hair appears and thickens
- body hair increases
- penis, scrotum, and testes enlarge
- ejaculation and nocturnal emissions occur
Both Girls and Boys:
- always hungry; appetite is great
- need for sleep increases; may sleep quite late on weekends
- oily skin and acne may be problematic
- sweating increases
- rapid growth may cause clumsiness and lack of coordination
- sexual desires and fantasies increase
Intellectual Development
Between 13 and 16 your child’s ways of thinking about himself, others, and the world shift to a much more adult level. He enters middle adolescence with a focus on things he can experience here and now, and moves to being able to imagine the range of possibilities life holds. Expect the following changes as a progression of development rather than as age-based milestones:
- arguing skills improve (and are demonstrated often and with great passion)
- reasoning skills improve:
- begins with the ability to apply concepts to specific examples
- learns to use deductive reasoning and make educated guesses
- learns to reason through problems even in the absence of concrete events or examples
- becomes able to construct hypothetical solutions to a problem and evaluate which is best
- focus on the future develops:
- begins with a present focus, mixed with some fantasy
- learns to recognize that current actions can have an effect on the future
- starts to set personal goals (and may reject goals set by others)
- decision-making skills improve:
- begins to independently differentiate right from wrong and develops a conscience
- learns to distinguish fact from opinion
- learns to evaluate the credibility of various sources of information
- becomes able to anticipate the consequences of different options
- may challenge the assumptions and solutions presented by adults
She wants an ipod for her birthday
My daughter requests for an Ipod Nano for her birthday. Since she has been a good daughter and a diligent student, there is possibility that her wish will be granted. So Daddy is starting to look for pre-owned ipods at eBay or tipidpc. We bought our laptop and digital camera from online seller so we are hoping to get similar bargain for ipod this time. My daughter is excited when she learned about it. We told her that it would be our birthday gift and advanced reward to her in case she will be included in the lists of Achievers next month.
Our baby is turning 13 tomorrow. I think I’m going to cry (sniff). Happy birthday, baby.
Keep you hands clean
Children are exposed to germs that cause a number of illnesses when they are in crowded areas like school where they’d be sharing or holding the same infected things and surfaces.
It’s also inevitable when a student would accidentally sneeze right after your kid. We can’t always shield our children from the possible sources of infection. But we can always do something about it. We can tell them to observe simple rules of cleanliness.
Like my kids, I let them bring a small container of alcohol or a hand sanitizer just in case there is no water in school to wash their hands before and after snack and lunch time. Aside from their hankies, I also put some tissue papers inside their bags.
But as much as possible I encourage them to wash their hands before and after they eat their lunch in school. Simple hand-washing can prevent potentially fatal infections from spreading from one infected person to another. Even when preparing food at home be sure that your hands are properly cleansed.
The proper steps to wash your hands:
- Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
- Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
- Continue rubbing hands for 15-20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy Birthday” twice through to a friend.
- Rinse hands well under running water. (Remember the birthday song?)
- Dry your hands using a paper towel or hand dryers. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet.
- Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
Pen paper pan review
I’m sharing here the links of reviews made by awesome blogger friends and marce on this site. The reviews were part of Pehpot and Kaye’s Blogversary Contest which will end on March 18. I’m sure everyone’s excited to find out who will bag the biggest PayPal cash during the announcement of winners. I think I have an idea who the lucky person(s) is. Don’t forget to share.
Ok, here’s what they write about Pen, paper, pan. Visit the site of these ladies. Enjoy reading!
Gene — http://teacherjennysdiary.blogspot.com/2010/02/pen-paper-pan.html
Mys – http://www.writtenbymys.com/2010/02/pen-paper-pan-review.html
Kikamz — http://www.kikamzpera.com/2010/02/pen-paper-pan.html
Chris – http://www.mommyjourney.com/2010/03/pen-paper-pan-review.html
Business necessities
If you are planning to put up your own business shop here’s a checklist that will make doing business easy for you on a day to day basis. Aside from merchandise that you will sell, you will hire people to work for you. And you will need the following POS systems to manage the cash flow in and out of your business. These are POS computers, touch screen monitors, cash drawers, barcode scanners, barcode printer, receipt printer, receipt paper, credit card processing software, among other things. You may also want to invest on low-cost security cameras to keep an eye on your business even if you are not around. There are a lot of good sites on the Internet to scout for these equipments. You just have to be patient in looking for cost-effective brands.
RP raises tsunami alert
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology earlier raised a Tsunami Alert Level 1 following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit south-central Chile Saturday morning (afternoon in Manila). Phivolcs head Renato Solidum said if ever the tsunami triggered off Chile happens, it is expected to arrive between 1:30pm and 2 pm Sunday. (See update here)
Earthquake-generated tsunami (source)
An earthquake may generate a tsunami if the quake:
- occurs just below a body of water,
- is of moderate or high magnitude, and
- displaces a large-enough volume of water.
Most tsunamis are generated by underwater earthquakes
Art books for Naomi
My daughter is looking for contemporary art books on the Internet. She wants to get some tips on how to properly apply water color to her drawing. The last time we were at the mall she was checking an art book. It’s a bit pricey so she looked for other less expensive art books. She saw two practical guides to drawing animals and portraits. Hubby used his credit card to pay for the items that also include a few pieces of art materials. My daughter was excited to have her first set of art books. When we have extra cash we might buy her guide book to drawing still life and another book that teaches step-by-step exercises to apply water color to drawing. By the way, she is celebrating her 13th birthday on Monday. One of her wishes is to enroll in art classes this summer.
