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Why It’s Great to be a Pinay

Two guys (Jun and Chuck) tagged me with this meme. Thanks a lot, guys! You just gave me something to chew on this weekend — right around the corner to Independence Day!

I think this meme is going around pretty fast as I’ve already chanced upon several blogs with this theme. I would have put all their answers into this blog post (family, faith, humor, forgiveness, hospitality, etc.) . Now I’m wracking my brains trying to think of something someone has not yet enumerated — and NOT SUCCEEDING, haha.

So instead, let me give my answers a little twist by looking back at the occasions when I traveled and situations that made me proud to be Pinay. Continue reading “Why It’s Great to be a Pinay”

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How to Fold A Shirt (video)

Following on the heels of my previous post on wrapping books, here is a how-to video on folding a shirt. This is for all my mommy blogger-friends, especially Cess, who just conquered a pile of laundry the other day. On second thought, those who are still single will also benefit from this video…

The first time I saw this video was when our son M1, who had just come back from a China trip as part of their school curriculum, showed me a video he captured on his digicam. His China program coordinator had shown this to them while they were abroad and the boys thought it was just so cool. Unfortunately, the video was NOT in English and I have seen versions of it in Japanese as well.

Whenever hubby traveled, my role in the packing involved folding all the shirts he would bring. I think I did a pretty job of it though sometimes I could not align the shoulder folds equally on both sides and had to re-do the folds.

Thankfully, a quick search on YouTube produced several home videos done in English. This was the best I could find so far, more so since the guy who produced this showed both a short-sleeved and long-sleeved version.

Thanks to Screeners Choice for posting this.

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The Art of Wrapping (without climbing the wall)

There are 2 seasons I dread: school opening and Christmas — and it all has to do with WRAPPING!

Being the “shopper ng bayan” in our immediate family, I do the Christmas shopping AND wrapping. It used to be fun when I was newly married and even more fun when the kids came. Somehow, wrapping a toy or book you knew they’d immensely enjoy added to the fulfillment of wrapping. However, it got to the point where wrapping gifts now already includes the classmates of the kids (I have 4 kids multiplied by an average of 20 friends each), the village guards, the hospital doctors (and their secretaries), the tutors, and the ever growing list of inaanaks….

Then, as classes are about to open next week, here I am again — on the floor — with a 5-meter roll of gauge 3 plastic and a pile of books and notebooks to wrap. It has become an art — measuring the books’ dimensions on the plastic and arranging these in portrait or landscape format — to maximize the number of items one can wrap with the least amount of plastic wastage). Then there is the art of folding the plastic around the covers so that the line mark made when you folded the plastic in half hits the spine of the book dead center. The covers also need to look very firmly wrapped around the front and back. Wavy, loose plastic is a no-no. Continue reading “The Art of Wrapping (without climbing the wall)”

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Jane’s 6 Oddities

(I got tagged by Chats of iMom and frankly, this is the first meme I am answering because when I got the other emails with “You’ve Been Tagged” in the subject header, I promptly trashed them, thinking they were spam email.

This topic is pretty tough to blog about because what I consider normal could be weird for others. So who do I call? My own kids! Let me just say I have been adequately forewarned about the possibility of my kids being totally honest in answering me).

Before getting to the meat of this post, here’s how the tag rule goes:

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 6 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!

Okay, with that out of the way, here are the top 6 weird stuff about me (according to my 4 brats kids): Continue reading “Jane’s 6 Oddities”

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Pilipinas Kong Mahal

Phil Flag

One needs to LEAVE this country and LIVE elsewhere to realize just how much we love it. Never in my whole life did hearing “Lupang Hinirang” stir me to tears than when I was away. I have lived in the U.S. and over the years had the chance to visit several Asian and European cities. Still, I opt to stay here precisely because despite everything negative we see in this country, the positives far outweigh them.

Sure, there have been many, many times when I felt hopeless seeing the political tragedies, moral decay and corruption happening all around — but always, after giving it a few days and really thinking about it, I reaffirm my love for this country.

So as Independence Day approaches, I pray that in His Divine Time, this country will be renewed spiritually and economically. I also call on our youth NOT to give up and turn their backs on our native land. There are so many of us who can collectively and individually do good for this nation.

(Thanks to Anton of Our Awesome Planet for the flag.)

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The Pinoy Moms Network Mommy Lunch

The day all the PMN mommies were waiting for finally came. Last May 26, 2007, 12 mommies came together (many meeting each other for the first time) to attend the mommy lunch of the Pinoy Moms Network organized by co-founders Connie Veneracion and Noemi Dado. Venue was Swiss Deli & Bistro along Pioneer St., Mandaluyong.

I cannot describe the feeling when I finally came face to face with the mommies behind blogs I had been visiting. Instead of just a thumbnail picture, here they were in front of me (the likes of Noemi, Dine, Rach, Cess, Feng, Chats, Salen ). There were others who had no pictures in their blogs but as soon as they introduced themselves, we would instantly connect them with their blog alias “Ah, ikaw pala si (blog pseudonym)…!” (like Julie, Lisa, Lynn). What I found amazing was how a group of strangers bonded instantly like long lost friends — and all because blogging brought everyone together through PMN. From blog posts, most of us were delighted to see Nico and the other kids in person. Their faces were long familiar to us,

Right after lunch, I had to run home and finish packing for an overnight trip just outside MM (at Pililla, Rizal) where daughter and her Ateneo friends were spending the night. It was a hectic afternoon for me but I would not have missed that lunch for the world.

The success of this first-of-many (o ayan, nagpaparinig na kami…) lunches, dinners, outings, pow-wows — whatever you call girl friends’ excuses for coming together for more bonding — should be credited to none other than the 2 hardworking mommies behind PMN in the first place…Connie and Noemi. Thanks to you both, you are opening up further the world of blogging to us and showing us that this goes beyond just being an online diary.

To all my new mommy friends: it was so delightful to see all of you. It was well worth it! I am sure we are all looking forward to meeting all the other PMN members in future events.