Leave It to Me!

---

It has been a while since I did the laundry. My sister or my brother-in-law used to do it. But, since they were needed at work, there was no one else to do it but me. No problemo! I rolled up my sleeves and viola! I just never thought that it would take me five hours to finish everything.

My hands feel dry. My body hurts a little. But it is okay as long as I can say, "Leave it to me!"

From :0( to :0D

---
Oh, you! Why do you keep coming back? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I am a girl, right? But, why do you have to bother me every month?! Arrrrgh! I hate PMS! Hmff!

Marking the calendar is a great help. Now, I get to know that you have come!

Feeling blue this morning and wanting to eat like a horse this afternoon gave me the signal that it is time for a break. Yeah, time to break this PMS mode! Har! Har! Har!

It's time to change :0( to :0D

First, satisfy thy carving appetite. "Sandy, are you hungry?" said I to a colleague. "Yeah," she replied. "Let's hit McDonalds then!" And, so, French fries, cheese burger and Coke float put my carvings to an end. (Burp!) End? Nah. Just lessened.

Second, play! Play at the workplace? Yeah! Why not? Good thing I have a playmate in the office named Nikkitita. (I gave her that name. Hehehehe. She calls me Kiti-Kiti.) What did we play? It is called chubibo! She turned me round and round and round while sitting on the swivel chair for five minutes! (You really never know what might happen when boredom strikes. ^^,)

Third, count. Count thy blessings like:

1. A gentleman gave me his seat in the jam-packed bus.
2. I was never late again this cut-off!
3. A job always awaits me and my pocket always has something to look forward to twice a month.
4. Coming back from work, there are a home and family always waiting for me.
5. I can afford myself food and clothing and other things I want and need.
6. My oldest sister is pregnant! An adorable and lovely baby will add to the family!
7. And more and more and more and more....

Fourth, say good words. "I am beautiful. I am gorgeous. I am voluptuous. I am one of a kind." Melt those blue feelings away.

Ahh. It may take long before you totally leave me. You may lurk anytime but I'll always be on my guard. ^^,

Shoot Me! (12 of 52)

----

Shoot Me! It's time to post a picture of YOU (yes, you) every Thursday with your child, your spouse, your friend, your dog, or even by yourself. Just get in the picture, you'll be glad you did! And, just jump in now with 1 of 52. You can do it! - Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans

Woohoo! I never thought that it would be extremely fun! It surely terrified every inch of me when I was about to take control of such huge vehicle. But, as soon as I handled the steering wheel and stepped on the breaks and stuff, I learned how to do it my way. Bus driving - a dream come true!

What am I saying?

That's my bag, not the steering wheel.

As if! :P

Wanna link your own Shoot Me post? Oh, please do! Just type and add your link to MckLinkly (just below Carin's post) and then visit other Shoot Me posts from our fellow bloggers by clicking their names in the list. Make sure to leave some love, too! Comments! Comments! Comments! Who doesn't love comments? \(^^)/

Be a Laodicean, I'd Rather Not.

---
A cool water, an iced cold orange juice or an almost frozen Coke is the best to quench my thirst.

A nice cup of hot coffee or Milo warms my body when it is feeling chilly. (I like watching the smoke from a hot drink.)

When it's sizzling hot, would I prefer lukewarm water? lukewarm juice? or a lukewarm soda? That will just add discomfort.

When it's freezing cold, would I prefer lukewarm coffee or lukewarm choco? That wouldn't make an inch of my body warm.

Add more ice to make it cooler. Boil some water to make it hotter.

Be a Laodicean, I'd rather not.

Revelation 3:15-17 (New International Version)

¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Tiny Katerina

---
Prepare for a touching and moving illustration of Experiential Learning from a sniffling yet unwhining toddler. Oh, I feel like pinching Katerina's rosy, plump and adorable cheeks!!!

Director: Ivan Golovnev | Genre: Documentary | Produced In: 2004

Synopsis: Northwestern Siberia, Russia. Small Khanty girl Katerina observes and understands the outer world. She learns the voices of people, animals and other beings. Gradually she approaches the unknown and the unknown comes closer - not far from Katerina's nomad camp an oil rig appears.

Watch it here from Culture Unplugged for free!

I Don't Have the Confidence to Bear a Child

----
That was what Kyoko said.

When Kyoko found out that she was pregnant, she instantly felt that she didn't have the confidence to bear a child. Her life was such a mess in her adolescent years. She was a rebel and even a gang member. She caused nothing but headaches to her family and in the society. It came to a point when even her own parents rejected her.

She was worthless. But that was until she met Katsuya Honda, a student teacher in the middle school she was attending (or not attending at all).

Their love story is one of the best love stories I have read in manga series. It is altogether funny and touching and even realistic I may say.

Here are the comforting words Katsuya said when Kyoko seemed to lose hope of being a capable mother. I believe that we can apply such words as we interact with a child -- as a parent, teacher, older sister and the like:

Do you know that being pregnant means that there will be another living human being?

The current you will have no problems!

Everyone is a human being who has emotions. Things that you feel happy about and things that you feel sad about...remember all of them in your heart!

Hug the child more. Touch it more. Hear what the child says. If he does bad stuff, then tell the child nicely why those things are bad! If you were too emotional and made the matter worse, then apologize nicely and hug it tightly!

Together both of us will bring up the child using this way!

Fruits Basket Manga Chapter 92, pages 10-12

(emphasis mine)

That's true, isn't it? After all, LOVE is what matters.

Care to read Kyoko and Katsuya's crazy, tragic, magical, beautiful love story? Then, flip through these Manga pages (Chapter 90 page 15 - Chapter 93 page 16). It is really worth the read!







FYI: Fruits Basket does not revolve between Kyoko and Katsuya alone. Rather, the Manga mainly focuses on their daughter, Tohru, and her life with the Sohmas.

LP: 02. Pamilya (Family)

ako si yen

What does my hand have to do with Litratong Pinoy's theme for this week? I spent some time last night thinking of what to share in LP. And, here it is. Fingers. Family. What's the connection?!

All of you are surely familiar with the nursery song "The Finger Family" wherein Daddy Finger (thumb), Mommy Finger (index finger), Brother Finger (middle finger), Sister Finger (ring finger) and Baby Finger (little finger) are part of it.

My family is like that, too. ^^,

• Thumb is Papa Rey (Daddy Finger).
• Index finger is Mama Tina (Mommy Finger).

I don't have any brothers so there is no Brother Finger.

• Middle finger is my oldest sister Ria (Sister Finger).
• Ring finger is me (Sister Finger).
• Little finger is Aissa (Baby Finger).

Got it? ^^,


Hmmm... my sisters and I were orphaned at an early age. It's sad of course. But, God is really good. We overcome the daily challenges coming our way. And, God doesn't lack on giving us our needs.

The three sisters were left alone. But, big brother Wilson is there. He is a one of a kind brother-in-law. He serves as our older brother and father (and our clown too!) at home.

From a family of five to a family of four. That's my family.

Happy LP and a nice Thursday to all of us! (Don't forget to click the LP logo below.)

Ano ang kinalaman ng aking kamay sa tema ng Litratong Pinoy ngayong Linggong ito? Kagabi ko pa pinag-isipan kung anong larawan ang aking ibabahagi sa LP. At ito nga ang aking naisip. Mga daliri. Pamilya. Anong konek?!

Pamilyar kayo panigurado sa nursery song na "The Finger Family" kung saan kasama sina Daddy Finger (hinlalaki), Mommy Finger (hintuturo), Brother Finger (hinlalato), Sister Finger (palasingsingan) at Baby Finger (hinliliit).


Parang ganyan din ang pamilya ko eh. ^^,

• Para sa hinlalaki, si Papa Rey (Daddy Finger).
• Para sa hintuturo, si Mama Tina (Mommy Finger).

Wala akong kapatid na lalaki kaya walang Brother Finger.

• Para sa hinlalato, si Ate Ria (Sister Finger).
• Para sa palasingsingan, ako (Sister Finger).
• Para sa hinliliit, si Aissa (Baby Finger).

Gets nyo na? ^^,


Hmmm...sa ngayon, naulila na kaming magkakapatid. Malungkot syempre. Pero, mabait ang Diyos eh. Nalalampasan naman namin ang pang-araw-araw na pagsubok. At, di nagkukulang ang Maykapal sa pagbibigay ng aming mga pangangailangan.


Naiwan ang tatlong maria. Pero, andyan naman si Kuya Wilson. Isa syang dakilang bayaw. Siya ang tumatayong kuya at tatay (at payaso din!) sa aming tahanan.


Mula sa lima, naging apat. Yan ang aking pamilya.


Maligayang LP at magandang Huwebes sa ating lahat! (Huwag kalimutang i-klik ang LP logo sa ibaba.)

Shoot Me! (11 of 52)

this is yen

Shoot Me! It's time to post a picture of YOU (yes, you) every Thursday with your child, your spouse, your friend, your dog, or even by yourself. Just get in the picture, you'll be glad you did! And, just jump in now with 1 of 52. You can do it! - Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans

My Twin Update



Remember my Twin? Here she is now!

May, also our close friend since college, had her daughter's christening on the first Saturday of this month.

Since both of these dear friends of mine are already married, I just get to see them once in a while.

I was so happy to see my Twin again that day because I haven't expected her to be there! She was due this month. Anyway, the doctor advised her to take a walk more often so that it would be easier for her to give birth. Meaning, there was nothing to worry about.

May, Aileen and I -- at last we have seen each other again!

= = = =

1 message received. It was from Aileen!

Frnd, lumabas na c chin2 knn mga 11am. d2 kmi si0s0n gen. hosp nw

Friend, I finally gave birth to Chin Chin at eleven this morning. We're here in Sioson General Hospital now.

Twin sent this message last night but I was able to read it just this morning. My twin is already a mom! It's time to celebrate!!!

Wanna link your own Shoot Me post? Oh, please do! Just type and add your link to MckLinkly (just below Carin's post) and then visit other Shoot Me posts from our fellow bloggers by clicking their names in the list. Make sure to leave some love, too! Comments! Comments! Comments! Who doesn't love comments? \(^^)/

What's My Inner Self?

yen

I took another personality test in Facebook and it is entitled, "What's Your Inner Self?" I learned about this from Issa who introduced me both blogging and Facebook! She is A Moon-like Person. I thought that I would get just the same result because its description suits me.

A Moonlike Person.

You hide your emotion sometimes .You are a moon type of person. You tend to be the quiet type or in contrast, you are not happy but sometimes you act it out in order for you to not burden your friends with your problems. You've faced some problems in your life. Your heart has been dealt blows before . You tend to think about things a lot more than other people, and you may get annoyed with people who act out without thinking about consequences. You are also the type of person that others often come to with their problems because you've been through plenty, and you are very understanding. Though you sometimes feel lonely, your demeanor is usually chill, and relaxed. You usually are logical, and rely a lot on facts and information on decisions. You often keep things to yourself. This is just one side of you, and you have different faces in different situations and environments, just like the moon has phases.

But, I didn't get what I expected. Surprisingly, I was described as someone I have never thought of -- A Universal Person.

A Universal Person.

You are a perfect balance of everything. You've gone through a fair share of things and you are able to put yourself in other peoples shoes. You are caring and understanding. You are fun and warm to be around. You tend to help people. You know what it is like to be at an all time low and you know how to deal with things. You consider all of your friends to be "good friends. You are kinda like the Goldilocks of personalities. The things you do are practical, but sensitive to whom it would affect. You are at ease with yourself, and have spent a good deal of time finding yourself, and now that you have, you've finally bloomed into something beautiful.

Me??!! I was more surprised when Issa commented and said, "hehe..kate.. true.."

The Johari Window applies to this. A part of my Blind Self was revealed to me.








Is the test accurate? Maybe. Why don't you try it? Just take the "What is Your Inner Self?" quiz in Facebook and tell me about your result! ^^,

yenyen

Wanna Have a Free Blog Makeover?

yen

Since I've become a blogger last January this year, I chose and customized templates a lot of times. I realized that not only writing is what's interesting about blogging but as well as customizing templates. Customizing a template enhances my creativity, resourcefulness, critical and analytical thinking skills altogether. Not to mention, it also helps me exercise my patience. LOL.

As you can see on my rightmost sidebar, I have My Blog Kit showing the sites that helped me customize this template I am using now. Thanks to Klodian, Vin, Pocket and Kuya Kevin for their unwavering assistance to amateur and professionals bloggers alike.

And, just this morning, as I was browsing through the blog sites I've been following, I stumbled upon Kayce's post telling about a Blog Makeover Giveaway. (Thanks Kayce!) A blog makeover? What is it about? I found out more about it as I dropped by the blog of the one who started it all - WAHMaholic!

So, what's up for grab?

Up to $100 worth of WordPress or Blogger Makeover including:

• custom header and footer
• custom background
• custom favicon
• custom navigation bar
• custom post footer (for Blogger)
• fancy post title font
• 125×125 button/badge
• personalized signature
• fancy comment section
• layout style of winner’s choice
• and anything else that will make the makeover fab

I love my own template. Of course, I liked it even more after spending much time and effort customizing it. But, with a giveaway like this, I think it is worth a try. It's another venue to enjoy and learn more about blogging!!!

Okiedokie! I better start my to-do list now to gain raffle entries and qualify in this giveaway! Why don't you try it too? Come on, let's join! Better hurry because this contest runs until May 31, 2010 only.

For more details, just click WAHMaholic's raffle banner below.

FYI: The Filipina behind the contest is Ms. Kaye Mendez - a freelance writer and Blogger/WordPress blog designer. I haven't known much about her yet. And, so, here I am just about to follow Ms. WAHMaholic!

yen

LP: 01. Estranghero (Stranger)

yen

Commuting has already been part of my everyday life. And, I get to blend with various strangers each time I commute...

...in the jeepney waiting line

...on the overpass

...on the MRT train

...on the bus

...like Mr. Jeepney Driver

...and also like Mr. Bus Driver and Mr. Bus Conductor



That's a lot, isn't it? This is my first entry ever in Litratong Pinoy. Hurray!!! If you also want to join this fun activity, just click the LP logo below.

Ang pagbiyahe ay parte na ng aking pang araw-araw na pamumuhay. At, sa bawat pagbiyahe ay samu't saring mga estranghero ang aking nakakasalamuha...

...sa pilahan ng jeep

...sa overpass

...sa MRT

...sa bus

...sa loob ng jeep

...tulad ni manong jeepney driver

...at tulad din nina manong bus driver
at mamang konduktor.

Ang dami nila, di ba? Eto ang aking unang pagsali sa Litratrong Pinoy. Yehey!!! Kung gusto nyo ring sumali sa masayang gawaing ito, i-klik nyo lang ang LP logo sa ibaba.

Shoot Me! (10 of 52)

this is yen

Shoot Me! It's time to post a picture of YOU (yes, you) every Thursday with your child, your spouse, your friend, your dog, or even by yourself. Just get in the picture, you'll be glad you did! And, just jump in now with 1 of 52. You can do it! - Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans

Ladies in Blue

It was purple last time.
The other day, it was yellow.
Some decided to wear red few days ago.
Most of the time, it is black.


It is really mostly coincidental.
Just rarely that it is planned.
No one can expect what the
color of the day
will be in the office.
It varies.


What do you think?
Did we all agree to wear blue that day?
Actually not. ^^, Isn't it fun?
We all look cute and gorgeous! Hehe


By the way, it was Ate Hershey's birthday
when this picture was taken.
(11 May 2010, Tuesday)


Oh, we were so happily blue!!!

Wanna link your own Shoot Me post? Oh, please do! Just type and add your link to MckLinkly (just below Carin's post) and then visit other Shoot Me posts from our fellow bloggers by clicking their names in the list. Make sure to leave some love, too! Comments! Comments! Comments! Who doesn't love comments? \(^^)/

Philippine's First PCOS Experience

yen
It was my first time (every Filipino's first time actually) to participate in an automated election. I felt excited and anxious at the same time about it. Excited because of the new technology. Anxious because of the possibility of having a failure of election.

Thanks God for the successful first automated election in the country. Although there were several PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) machines that malfunctioned and the canvass didn't finish as immediately as expected, there are no major reports of violence or protests so far. (I hope that the violence rate in this year's election would be a lot lesser than in the elections in the past.) Most importantly, there wasn't any incident of brown-out or black-out anywhere. Whew!

Thanks to my oldest sister who went to our precinct early in the morning to get our numbers (voters should get a number first and wait for their turn to vote). So, we spent like just almost 15-20 minutes to end the entire process when we went in our respective precincts that afternoon - falling in line, writing down our signatures, giving our thumb marks, shading our ballot, entering the ballot in the PCOS machine and having that indelible ink on our index finger.

Honestly speaking, at midnight of the election day, May 10, I had this last-minute dilemma of whom to vote between two presidentiables. (Sigh) But, I managed to make up my mind.

indelible ink on my index finger, ink on my thumb and my voter's ID

At this very moment, the election is already over. But, the votes are still being counted. However, some newly elected local officers (such as Mayors) were already proclaimed in their respective areas. As of 3:49 today, 88.69% of the total Election Returns have already been transmitted (from gmanews.tv). A new Philippine president will be proclaimed soon.

So how was your vote? Are the candidates you voted in the lead? If not, what is your reaction right now?....Election is over....now, what's next? What should be our response if our personal choices didn't win? What should be our response to the newly elected leaders of our nation? What should be our role in this new government leadership?....

READ MORE. by Mariah of A Woman With a Mission.

This Speaks to Me

iamyen

Thanks, Mariah!

Shoot Me! (8 and 9 of 52)

this is yen
m

Shoot Me! It's time to post a picture of YOU (yes, you) every Thursday with your child, your spouse, your friend, your dog, or even by yourself. Just get in the picture, you'll be glad you did! And, just jump in now with 1 of 52. You can do it! - Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans

Yup! This time, I posted two entries
to make up for the week I've missed.
^^,

(1)
as Ate Elsa and I were killing time last Saturday

Note: ate /uh-teh/ is a Tagalog word
meaning 'an older sister' which Filipinos
say to show respect to older female siblings,
friends, relatives or even strangers.

(2)
And, with no good reason at all,
I suddenly thought of doing this
before hitting the sack that night.
Kinda creepy. hehe

yyyyyyyy

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Wanna link your own Shoot Me post? Oh, please do! Just type and add your link to MckLinkly (just below Carin's WW post) and then visit other Shoot Me posts from our fellow bloggers by clicking their names in the list. Make sure to leave some love, too! Comments! Comments! Comments! Who doesn't love comments? \(^^)/