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A Royal Wedding in April

I’m one of those hopeless romantics who will be following the live coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29. Many years ago, I also sat glued to the TV set, watching as Prince Charles wed Princess Diana.

What’s it with royal weddings that brings out the romance and the curious in us?

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they live such sheltered lives and any news published about them (except for the tabloids) passes through some sort of censorship and approval from Buckingham Palace. For me, the fascination lies in the fact that the royal family has come a long way from their traditions and customs. Princess Diana paved the way for a slow acceptance of commoners marrying royalty, of the royal family being more visible and closer to the people, and of love being of a high priority (up there with duty).

This wedding is more special to me because the foundation clearly is LOVE. Prince William and Kate have been together for 8 years. That is a long time to build a strong foundation for marriage. And with Prince William bearing a lot of the influence of Princess Diana growing up in terms of her capacity for compassion towards others, her popularity with people from all walks of life, and her strong sense of duty, it is widely believed that he will eventually be a modern monarch in all aspects.

In my other blog, The Philippine Beat, I assembled a list of popular apps available now on the royal wedding. You can also find there a link to the official royal wedding site.

This April 29, I will surely be at home, watching the entire event on TV.

Do you plan to watch? What are your thoughts on this wedding?

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Tomatis Philippines helps alleviate hearing difficulties

It is so much easier to tell if something is wrong with our kid if the manifestation is physical – a toothache, rashes, fever, and so on. But sensory difficulties are a lot harder to detect, especially if our children do not verbalize their difficulty or the impairment is not too bad so as to totally affect how a kid functions or socializes.

One of the difficulties I faced when one of my boys was still small was an inner ear problem. We brought him to Otomed in San Juan where he underwent hearing tests. Test results showed that he could only hear several decibels higher than the average person. It was not a severe problem but his hearing was definitely slightly impaired.

Did you know that social behavior is affected by hearing difficulties? That shy kid you have who doesn’t want to socialize may not be able to hear well and so does not want to engage strangers out of fear. That kid who is not doing well in school may be very bright but could not follow the discussions in the classroom because he cannot hear the teacher well.

Take a look at the list below and see if your kid exhibits any of these. If he/she shows some of these symptoms, your child may have some hearing problems:

  • short attention span
  • easily distracted
  • oversensitivity to sound
  • misinterprets questions
  • confuses similar-sounding words
  • frequent need for repetition
  • inability to follow sequential instructions
  • poor sentence structure
  • reading/writing/spelling problems
  • fidgety behavior
  • clumsy, uncoordinated movements
  • poor sense of balance or rhythm
  • disorganized
  • restless/hyperactivity
  • low frustration tolerance
  • low self-confidence/shyness
  • difficulty making friends
  • tendency to withdraw
  • irritability
  • immaturity

Some mommy blogger friends and I were recently introduced to the Tomatis method recently. The Tomatis method, developed by Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis, an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist. The Tomatis Effect is his discovery that links the ear and the voice. His extensive research revealed that when the ear functions at full capacity, a child actively listens, has better muscle control, and a better grasp of language and abstract thinking. Obviously, when a child cannot hear that well, the opposite effects manifest.

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Earth Hour 2011

This is the 5th year of Earth Hour (it began in Australia in 2007 when 2.2M people and 2,000 businesses turned off their lights for an hour as a message about climate change). The following year, it became a global initiative with other countries, including the Philippines, joining in.

Since it began in the Philippines in 2008, my family has taken part as seen from my posts:

Earth Hour 2008

Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour 2009 At Home

Earth Hour 2010

The urgency to take action and reverse the effects of climate change can no longer be ignored. The recent quakes that are getting stronger and more frequent are already signs that our Earth is not as it was before and that it is the effect of decades and decades of abuse to Mother Earth. Stronger typhoons, floods in places that never flooded before, drought in once lush places and more should be enough evidence that to save our planet, it takes the whole world to join hands.

This year, my family will again join the rest of the world as we turn off our lights at exactly 8:30pm and keep it off for an hour. Beyond lights, we’re actually going to turn off other appliances as well, including our computers, save for those that necessitate security. I’m leaving my modem on though so I can document our observance of Earth Hour using my iPad and keep up with the Earth Hour goings-on in the rest of the world.

This year’s theme is “Going Beyond the Hour”. Turning off lights for an hour is just a symbolic gesture. More importantly, saving energy needs to be our ongoing lifestyle. I was involved recently in a green campaign and those few months made me painfully aware of all the mistakes I have been committing, adding my own pollutants to Mother Earth. I am slowly trying to change our habits here at home and going green and organic.

Here’s a video of Earth Hour 2011:

HOW ARE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY OBSERVING EARTH HOUR?

Let’s all join hands on March 26, 2011, 8:30-9:30pm. Wherever you are, turn off your lights in support of saving Mother Earth.

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Suchero, an all-natural sweetener

My Dad had Type 2 diabetes. This means my children and I may have a higher risk of developing diabetes if we are not careful with our diet and lifestyle.

The scary thing is that for many who are at risk of diabetes, or already there, the alternative has always been artificial sweeteners. Years ago, it was Nutrasweet and Equal. But aspartame, which is what both are made of, has had problems as recent studies are showing it to be more toxic to the body than helpful.

Now, the popular artificial sweetener is Splenda. But because there are still very few clinical studies using Splenda, it will be years down the road before we know if Splenda is indeed very safe to use or it will go the same way as Nutrasweet and Equal.

Recently, I was invited to attend the launch of an all-natural sweetener, Suchero. The invitation to the launch mentioned that Suchero was coconut sugar so that excited me. Here in the Philippines, we are very rich in coconut resources. Coconut is often called the miracle fruit because its insides and outside parts are all useful. Coconut has been transformed into shampoo, body lotion, soap, virgin coconut oil (VCO) and the husks are used in tropical countries as a floor cleaner for wood. Its juice, alkaline in nature, is drank by those with kidney problems and the flesh is delicious to eat.

Present at the launch were the 3 partners who are behind Suchero: Joey Villa, Antonio Magcase and Vida Pamatian.

Seated: Joey Villa & Antonio Magcase. Standing leftmost: Vida Pamatian

Joey Villa gave us the lowdown on how Suchero came about and what is exactly in this sweetener that they believe is a much better alternative to the artificial sweeteners in the market now.

What is so great about Suchero?

The best selling point for Suchero is found in its glycemic index or GI. GI measures the effect of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Anything you eat (like carbohydrates) that release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream has a high GI; conversely, the better foods are those that release glucose more gradually into the bloodstream and have a lower GI. Food with a high GI tax the pancrease unnecessarily because when it senses all that glucose, it signals the brain to release more insulin. Consuming regular food with high GI levels can lead to diabetes.

Cane sugar has a glycemic index of 65; Suchero’s GI is only 35. Doctors who have tried and tested Suchero, Villa said, have been recommending Suchero as a substitute for white sugar for their diabetic patients or patients who need to manage high sugar levels. They are aiming to position Suchero as an affordable, low GI, all-natural sweetener that can help in the proper management of diabetes, weight control, and prevention of heart disease and obesity.

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Kefir: A Post for my Readers

(Update: My own kefir grains died some time back so I won’t be able to provide any for now. But I do have a small community on my Facebook page, Manila Kefir Sharing, where you can post a request for kefir grains. Just provide your location as well so potential donors can check if they are near you.)

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about kefir. But my past posts on kefir continue to draw responses from readers who have been asking me for free grains.

To those who have left comments on my other kefir posts, please be patient. I’ve got only a limited batch of kefir and I cannot give out to all of you immediately as I need to wait till the grains multiply before dividing them. I am trying to arrange pickup of the grains on a first come, first serve basis and I will email you privately if your grains are ready for pickup.

This is a chance for those who have already received my grains to pay it forward by dividng and donating your excess kefir grains. If you have received grains from me and you are willing to be part of the donation process, please email me privately or leave your email address in the comments section below. I hope we can get a good number of kefir users to share their grains as well.

If you have never heard of kefir yet, here are my posts on this potent probiotic:

Kefir – An Intro

Kefir – Paraphernalia & Process

A Kefir Smoothie

Kefir – Loads of Good Bacteria

Kefir – Time for a Second Look at this Potent Probiotic

 

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U.S. Embassy in the Philippines holds its first web chat

(UPDATE: This has been discontinued by the Embassy and as a result, the Facebook page is no longer available.)

In an unprecedented move by an embassy to connect with Filipinos and answer some burning questions, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines is hosting a web chat right now (Feb. 23, 2011) as I am typing this post out. The first topic: U.S. Non-Immigrant Visas.

The hour-long web chat (from 4pm to 5pm) was well-announced. First, a Facebook event page was created. Then I heard the announcement of the web chat several times since yesterday over Crossover 105.1 FM. And a friend told me it was also announced over DZRH when a consular representative guested.

The chat room has about 117 participants as of this writing which includes people from the U.S. Embassy who are answering the questions posted on the chat room. To log on, go to this page.

The questions range from general questions — like what documents are needed to apply for an immigrant visa, why certain people were denied, how long before a schedule can be given — to specific family situations like an entire family wanting to apply for visas to attend a wedding.

I believe that this move not only brings the U.S. Embassy (and its government) closer to the Filipinos but attempts to address issues that are close to the Pinoys’ hearts. The issue of non-immigrant visas was a good choice, considering summer is very near, and many are planning vacations.

There were a few technical difficulties at the start of the web chat but I believe those are just birth pains. I hope that this marks the start of more technology-based communications with the Filipino people on matters that are of importance to both countries.

I’d like to congratulate the U.S. Embassy in Manila as well as the entire team behind it. More power to you!