I finally got my prize from Grendha shoes last week. This is one of the two prizes I’ve won at the PMC 2nd Grand EB last  November.

Grendha Amora

Although I love its stylish and comfy design, slippers are simply not meant for me because I don’t have a good-looking feet. I’m more comfortable wearing flat shoes or sneakers on ordinary working day. So, who will be the lucky girl to get this? My daughter. She loves this slipper a lot. It fits her slim and flawless feet.

I’m actually eyeing a lovely pair of flat shoes I’ve seen on their FB page. I hope they have my size.

Grendha is exclusively distributed by ELRO Corporation, Grendha Amora Ad is available in leading department stores and boutiques nationwide. For more information on Grendha, check www.grendhaphils.com or visit Grendha Philippines on Facebook.

Women my age consider actress Gretchen Baretto as the epitome of ageless beauty. She’s in her 40’s but doesn’t look close to her age. Aside from the fact that good looks runs in her blood, she can afford to maintain her appearance by following a certain beauty regimen. I’m not a big fan of hers, but I’m curious how she managed to keep her skin smooth and glowing like a woman in her 20s.

Last week, I saw Gretchen’s billboard as I was passing through C5 road. She is endorsing a skin product called ivi that promises to erase age mark. Now, I think I know the secret to her youthful skin.

When I got home, I researched about ivi on the internet. The site says its ivi Premium Collagen Powder Drink. I read carefully about the ingredients, direction for use and how it is supposed to work . I’m not used to taking anything to improve my appearance like whiten my skin or slim down, but this one, I want to give it a try because it’s not a pill but a powder drink that I can take with my favorite drink.

I’m not sure if my friends already notice it, but I have this fine line and visible dark circle under my eyes. They are clear indicators of ageing, which I bet you also fear of seeing in your face. We could not stop the ageing process, however, we can do something to delay it or slow it down by limiting exposure to the sun and pollutants that could damage the skin.

From the website, I’ve learned that each sachet of ivi contains the recommended amount of collagen. Collagen is the building block of our skin, the one responsible for its firmness and elasticity. We lost a considerable amount of collagen as we age. Our body stops producing it as we get older. This is where Ivi supposedly helps; (based on the website) it replenish the lost collagen in no time.

My first set of ivi

I guess, it’s about time I try something to improve my skin. So, after giving it much thought, I bought a box last week. I’m not expecting a miracle though, but I want to see for myself if the promise to “erase” age mark is true.

I’m mixing a sachet today with my cup of coffee and hope to see the improvement in 14 days. Watch out for the second part of this post.

Word of advice: Don’t take ivi if you think you are pregnant or if you are breastfeeding. Consult with you doctor first before taking anything.

Ever wonder how your house will look like if you make a grand piano, a saxophone or a mandolin as your home décor. Of course they look good as furnishings, but I’m talking about musical instruments as huggable throw pillow, a wall decor or a rug under your feet? I’ve only seen them being sold in some stores, now I’m thinking of having a couple of throw pillows with the lyrics of my favorite song sewn on it. I want to accentuate our plain-looking sala with these tapestry prints.

I’ve never seen a school that gives so much importance to activities that involve kids and their respective parents. They call it Family Day at PAREF Woodrose, a school for girls in Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa City.

A yearly affair at Woodrose

Family Day is not just picnic day at Woodrose. Both kids and their parents look forward to cheering competition, one of the highlights of the program. At least four teams, the Red, Blue, Green and Gold team vie for the best performance title.

Competition proper

According to a proud mom of four, kids don’t actually expect to get a big prize after the competition because the kids are just having fun and its all for the love of teamwork. The kids, from elementary to high school, perform to the delight of the cheering crowd.

Perfecting their moves

Mini cheer leaders posing before the camera

Family Day is where you get to meet the friends of your kids and their doting parents as well. It also elicits support and strengthen camaraderie among parents.

Profits go to cause-oriented projects

Family Day at Woodrose also means helping out other people. Every year, parents hold flea market and silent auction. Donations vary from books, toys, and office and kitchen stuff from parents themselves. The profits go to various outreach projects of the school including education for poor children, feeding program and catechism activities in the outskirts of Woodrose.

The School

Woodrose School Overview

Established in 1977 by Parents for Education Foundation (PAREF), Woodrose is geared towards promoting academic excellence and character formation to students. This is evident in its Singapore Math and Science curriculum; high ratings in the National Admissions Test; and highly competent teachers.

“Teaching Singaporean Math and Science involve a lot of activities and experiments that are easy to understand,” Ms. Delia S. Udani, Woodrose Executive Director said.

Ms. Udani stressed that students are not just taught to memorize, but to be analytical. They let students share what they grasp or learn about their lesson.

Mentoring System

At Woodrose, they engage parents to be part of their kids’ education through home-school collaboration. They (Woodrose) assigned a tutor, who is also a member of the school staff, to each student. Each tutor also serves as mentor, a life coach, and a mature friend to a child – the ones who provide direction to the girls’ self-development. These mentors are the ones who collaborate with the parents, setting a meeting with them on a regular basis about their kids’ development, both academic and character.

Woodrose Lesson

During the media and bloggers round-table discussion with parents, teachers and students (representing each color team), I was able to learn about the kind of school every parents dream of sending their children to. “It’s a school that is also a home,” said one of the proud parents.

Photo credit: Ms. Janette Toral

Parents beamed with pride as they share how lucky they are to entrust their kids to Woodrose because their kids are guided properly. “Kids are taught to become better persons, more assertive,” another mom said. I’ve observed this by the way they answer questions thrown at them during the round-table discussion.

I also learned that these kids despite their being young are already responsible in putting up a school-based socio-civic organization called Puso, which supports kids from poor families by sending them to school and enroll them in a feeding program in an area in Muntinlupa.

If you are interested to know more about Woodrose and the quality of education they offer, check out their site through the links provided here. I’m sure your kids will enjoy all the school activities at Woodrose.

By the way, the school also accepts non-Catholic students.

After you have decided to be a part of Woodrose, you can complete the following basic requirements for admission.

The Admission Procedure
1. Submission of all required documents
• Accomplished Parents’ Information Sheet
• NSO Certified Parents’ Marriage Contract *
• NSO Certified Student’s Birth Certificate *
• Original and photocopy of Student’s Baptismal Certificate
• Report Card
• 2 x 2 pictures (2 copies)
• Recommendation form accomplished by the Guidance and Testing Office of the previous school
• Recommendation form accomplished by the Class Adviser and Registrar of the previous school
* For foreign documents, Original and Photocopy of the Marriage Contract of the Parents / Original and Photocopy of the Student’s Birth Certificate. Original Documents will be returned to the Parents.

2. Parental Attendance at the Orientation for Parents

3. Interviews and Testing
• Parents are interviewed by a PAREF representative
• Student takes an assessment test
• Student is interviewed by the Level Coordinator

4. It is following this procedure that a Letter of Notice is prepared and mailed to the parents

For more information, please contact the School Registrar, Mrs. Rose Dumlao at 850-6380 to 83 local 111.

When a woman gets pregnant, her food preference greatly changes. It is surprising to find out that she would not like to eat most of her favorites prior to her pregnancy. The fluctuating hormones will also find her craving for varied, and sometimes odd, food varieties that she would not usually eat on any given day. And she would sometimes find herself eating more than her usual intake, which is rather healthy as she will need all the vitamins and nutrients she can get from healthy foods. This is not only to keep her healthy throughout the course of her pregnancy, but also to make sure that the child inside her womb will develop to be healthy and strong, too.

Some of the recommended healthy food for pregnant women includes:

• Yogurt, which will provide her not only with calcium, but also with other essential vitamins and minerals
• Sardines, which are rich in omega 3’s crucial to the baby’s eye and brain development
• Blueberries, especially the wild ones. expecting mom’s will love these berries, not only for the good taste, but also because they have a great amount of antioxidants which are good for the mom and her baby.

A friend once told me that her children were slowly cured of their asthma or at least frequent attack was controlled by acupuncture when she let her kids undergo acupuncture therapy in UP. I’ve thought about this too when my children were very young and sickly. I want to know more about acupuncture and its potential to cure minor ailments. Good thing I can check Acupuncture Winsford for further reading.

We make sure that our home is spic and span as we wait for the New Year to arrive and what better way to keep a clean home than by segregating our garbage. Assign a separate bin for your dry and wet trash. Keep paper, cartons, boxes, empty bottles and jars on one container. If you can, try to recycle those that you can still use, including last year school papers which other sides you can reuse as scratch or for your origami projects. If not, you can always sell these items to the junk shop and make money from your waste. Place your wet garbage in a separate container, too. By doing this, you are not only keeping your house tidy and clean, you are also making the garbage man’s job easier and making Mother Earth smile with your green habit at the same time.

I really love to have a neat garden to make our simple home look nice. Aside from beautifying the home there are also benefits to growing plants. Plants soothe the tired eyes and make you feel happy especially if you have flowering plants. Plants purify the air we breathe as they trap various toxins in the air. Given these benefits makes me want to pursue my dream garden even more. I want to grow different flowering plants including rose and orchids. Our plants at home need a terrible make-over. These plants are originally planted in milk cans and now the cans have deteriorated and need a replacement. I should have included plants in my Christmas wish list then. I’ve checked ProPlants plant gifts for Moms! Not done reading the list yet, but I’ve picked a couple of plants that I want to see in my future garden makeover.

What gift do you want to get this Christmas? As for me, I want to receive some gifts for the home. It doesn’t have to be a lavish one, a simple candle holder or dining or bathroom accessories will do. I’ll be happy to get some bath soap, too.

If you are creative enough, you don’t need to spend so much on expensive gifts. Your imagination can bring out your hidden talent in painting or designing. You can convert some old items that you thought are no longer needed into another useful item. You can play with colors and accessories to come up with a unique design. Pre-loved yet enhanced items are well thought out gifts but you didn’t shell out a hundred bucks for them.

If you have a budget to get your friends something special, you may consider giving them laundry and storage from The White Company. This one will be useful to collect and organize your bed lines and more.

I’ve found a better way to exercise. They say walking is a good form of exercise. Then walking is what I do at least twice a day. I’m walking with a buddy, the best companion yet. He is our dog Oreo. I started walking with Oreo since he learned to do his regular ritual outside our gate. I’m the (only) one who takes him out when his Dad (my hubby ) is not around. Oreo walks as far as he goes to look for his perfect spot. I really don’t know if walking with Oreo will help me shed a pound or two, but one thing is sure, I have the perfect excuse to stand from my computer chair and stretch even for half an hour. I don’t say it’s better than doing stationary exercises using yoga zafu, but at least, walking the dog is just the beginning of having a serious routine exercise.