If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

(a classic poem by Rudyard Kipling)

Supporting Earth Hour Campaign

Going green has become the new black – a fad, a lifestyle, a commitment. People, in one way or another, are now responsive to the escalating threats against our beloved Mother Earth. It has been gaining momentum lately and I hope we could save our planet before it’s too late.

At 8.30pm tomorrow (Saturday March 28), 1400 cities in 75 countries around the world are going to switch off their lights to support Earth Hour Campaign which is a demonstration that people want action on climate change. Our world will turn black for a cause and it will be the biggest show of support ever.

I’m glad that for the second time, our country is exerting efforts to join and widen its awareness. At least, amidst the economic as well as political chaos, for once we are uniting for a good fight. I, as an advocate for planet green, am glad to observe the hour in my own little way. I am going to switch off lights, unplug the TV, turn off my mobile phone, and not use the air conditioner from 8.30-9.30pm. This is not only for our Earth but also to my baby and his next generation to come.

My friends, I’m inviting you all to join the WWF’s Earth Hour tomorrow. Let’s vote Earth!

How to Manage Your Finances Well

We hear and feel the singsong of global economic crisis, people losing jobs, commodity prices going up, and so on. Are we really going rock bottom? If we are, then we’re lucky because there’s no other way but up, right? If we aren’t, then we really have to tighten our belts more and longer.

From my end, I consider myself fortunate because I and my family are not affected directly with all these. (Or not yet.. simbako intawon!) As long as we have food on our table, love in our hearts, good health, honest profession, and divine blessings – which I deem are the truest wealth- we’re okay, alive, and kicking. However, I consider myself frugal too; frugal in the context of saving more and spending less. Yes, I drool and spend (sometimes on impulse) on fashion, books, and other chuvah chuvah, but I feel guilty when I go overboard, and when I feel guilty, I make amends on my budgeting right away. I deduct here or add there, you know. Thus, I’m frugal who knows how to plan and enjoy life at the same time.

I want to share Miriam Quiambao’s financial plan which she shared on Ruffa and Ai’s show a month ago. She learned it from a seminar abroad and she assured everyone that it works when followed earnestly. I am trying to employ it myself and hopefully it will go a long way for me financially.

Basically, you just have to distribute your net earnings. Let’s say you have net salary of Php 5,000 a month. Here’s the breakdown:

Necessities (50%) Php 2,500 -Food, clothing, rent, utilities, transportation expenses, etc.

Financial Freedom (10%) Php 500 –Investment for properties, businesses or interests, etc.

Education (10%) Php 500 –Education for kids (if there’s any) or further education for yourself like maybe you want to study web programming or painting or dancing, etc.

Long-Term Spending (10%) Php 500 –Pay long-term debts like car loans, housing loans, etc.

Play (10%) Php 500 –Travels, eating in fancy restaurants, watching concerts, etc.

Give (10%) Php 500 – Kindness spreads happiness, remember? So don’t forget also to share to your family or friends or the church or any charitable institution.

Okay, okay, okay.. I cheat sometimes. I cut bigger than 10% for Play, and cut it out from the rest. But the main thing is, I have a plan. It keeps me on the right path to financial freedom. Hopefully, as I've said, it will take me a long way. I can only hope for the best.

For the Love of Fashion

When Sharon Cuneta’s 3M Hermes bag was featured on SNN some time ago, it was hugely commented as “extravagance” by kibitzers worldwide. Some said Sharon could have donated the money to hungry children instead; others say she was not helping the weak Philippine economy by being lavish. Nonsense! Sharon can’t save our country or the hungry children by not buying Hermes bag alone. She is working (ads, albums, shows, movies, concerts, etc.) thus she is earning thus she has the right to purchase anything she wants and needs. So please, give her a break.

This also goes to Ruffa Gutierrez’s lavish shoe collection which was shown on SNN last night. Before it will create a wildfire on the internet again, I want to say that Ruffa, like Sharon, deserves these indulgences too.

Thanks PEP for the photos. See more of Ruffa's shoe collection here. Related post here.

V for Victory

My man Rafael Nadal has been unstoppable since he won his 4th Grand Slam at Roland Gaross, 1st Grand Slam at Wimbledon, and when he finally got the hard-fought and well-deserved world number one ranking last year. Just in the first quarter of this year, he was crowned as new Australian Open champion, and he won the coveted title in the recently concluded ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Indian Wells.

He is my man on court and I love him so much.

In case you may ask if he has a girlfriend, he has, and a very pretty one at that – Xisca Perello.

Here’s his and other football stars’ new commercial for Nike entitled V for Victory.

Good luck in Miami, Rafa! Vamos!

The Anatomy of Lechon

My sister Joy passed the Nursing Board Exam in February and had her Thanksgiving Party last Saturday. Since I couldn’t go home, I just called her up and asked what food were served to the guests. She said, “oh, you should be here, I know you’d love the adobo, pork chop, pancit, shrimps, crabs, salads, etc.. and of course, the crispy lechon. You know naman nanay when it comes to preparing a bash, she goes all the way man jud. “ Sigh. I missed eating lechon.

When I was about to ask Mark to buy me lechon for lunch (so as not to deprive my craving which I qualified as "paglilihi"), the SMS came like an apparition, “manang, if you happen to crave for lechon, forget it, it’s bad for the baby, you know, it’s fatty.” Ahhh, when it rains, it really pours. So I didn’t try to push my luck for the reason that I don’t want to harm my baby in any way.

But mind you, luck was on my side because yesterday, after Mark and his staff had their field exercise in Talisay, they brought.. guess what?.. lechon for lunch! Yes! Lechon.. slurrppy.. finally. I couldn’t resist the temptation because its smell was too good for me to deny. And so I ate with my hands like everyone else seated at the long table and I ate with gusto, wiping out everything including the bones (our cat had its own fair share as well). It was indeed bad for my health but certainly good for my soul. However, I promised to myself not to eat lechon as often as I want to because it’s really rich in fat and cholesterol.

Yet it’s hard not to yearn for it especially I’m living in the Queen City of Lechon (errr.. the South). Cebu’s lechon is really the best in the country, you know. It’s crispy, tasty, and flavorful. It’s said that Cebuanos in the lechon business guard their methods and recipes like gold that’s why one can find the yummiest lechon only in Cebu.

In Market Manila (my favorite source of food insights), it is said that the secret lies on the tanglad (lemongrass) which is stuffed inside the pig (it explains why it smells so enticing) and the pig skin is rubbed with knorr sinigang mix, salt, pepper, and olive or canola oil. Or herbs are injected to the meat and then the skin is basted with milk or soda or coconut milk. Also, Cebuanos use native pigs and they roast them gradually over open fire until it's tender inside. They put into effect the virtue of patience well that’s why their lechons are crispy to the bones.

Well, enough for lechon baboy talk today. I’m now wanting another roasted delight, another Cebu’s best - lechon manok! Hmmmm. Sr. Pedro here I come!

20 Things You Don’t Know About Me – Yet!

1. When I was in grade school, I had a big crush on McGyver. Not the actor Richard Dean Anderson himself but the character he was playing in the series. I thought having a mind with almost infinite scientific resourcefulness was way too cool. I even had a life-size poster of him in my bedroom back then.

2. My mother gave birth to me in my great grandmother’s old house, delivered by a quack midwife, and my placenta was buried in the backyard. My four younger siblings were all delivered in our town hospital by the same town doctor.

3. If there’s one house work that I do best, it’s doing the laundry either with my hands or with a washing machine. On the other hand, I do worst in ironing clothes.

4. I am a frustrated painter and novelist.

5. I am afraid of total darkness, ghosts, and slimy animals.

6. I have this thing about restrooms. I can’t pee in smelly dirty restrooms. I judge a house, mall, restaurant, park, or any public or private place by its restroom.

7. I am claustrophobic. Though not severe but I seriously avoid being confined to tunnels, prison cells, caves, very crowded places, and small locked rooms.

8. I’m closer to my father than to my mother. Thus, I’m proudly tatay’s girl.

9. Two most prominent physical assets that I love in my husband are his broad shoulders and his chinky eyes.

10. Next to red and white, I like the blend of green and cream colors.

11. I am a certified Kapamilya. I love watching ABS-CBN’s programs and artists more than its major competitor second rate trying hard boring copycat GMA Network and any other network, for that matter, on free TV.

12. There’s only one person I can confide with anything – my sister Jill. We’re like salt and pepper. One is incomplete without the other. Though she’s five years younger than me, I feel that we’re twins.

13. I literally drink ten glasses or more of water every day. I started this habit when I had kidney infection in 2007 and the doc said I had to fill my body with lots of fluids as I can. Then it has easily become part of my lifestyle.

14. I want to grow old gracefully that’s why I don’t sulk on frustrations, hatreds, and failures.

15. I can be maldita when I am crossed BUT I don’t hold grudges against anyone and I can easily forgive and forget.

16. My mother, two younger sisters, and I have the same shoe size – 5.

17. I have four active email accounts, three blogs, and three YM's.

18. I love my two nephews – NJ and Daniel – more than their dads, my younger brothers. In the same way, I think, lolos and lolas love their apos more than their own children.

19. I dislike monotony. That explains why I change the theme of my blog every now and then and why I tell my husband to learn the art of taking the wind out of my sails from time to time. Otherwise, I’ll get bored to death.

20. I secretly (now it's not a secret anymore) wish for a hot balloon ride.

Iloilo Homemade Delicacies

Mark was in Iloilo for the past two days and when he came back this early morning, he brought me delicious Iloilo’s homemade delicacies. Yippie! I looove eating Ilonggo’s chow like lapaz bachoy and pancit molo as they always satisfy my craving for exotic palate, and with their delicacies, my sweet tooth is certainly indulged. Ilonggos really live to their standard – daw namit gid ya ang pagkaon!

And so, to my heart’s content, I munch with gusto these mouthwatering treats..

Pinasugbo - made of sugar, banana saba, sesame seeds, and margarine. Saraaap!

Piaya (read as pi-ya-ya) - made of enriched wheat flour, vegetable shortening, butter, sesame seeds, honey, and salt. Honesty, I don't like it much but my husband does.

Barquillos - made of banana, brown sugar, and sesame seeds. Crunchy!

Biscocho - made of enriched wheat flour, cane sugar, palm oil, margarine, skim milk powder, iodized salt, and yeast. This is my most favorite because once you crunch one, you'll ask for more and more and more. It's super tasty!

Aside from being known to delectable foodstuffs, Iloilo also prides of having very malambing people. My younger brother Jai is married to a beautiful woman from Jaro, Iloilo and boy, she's a sugar! So whenever I think of Iloilo, I always get lost with some sugary thoughts!

Another Day in a Military Wife's Life

The sound of rain drumming on the rooftop woke me up around ten this morning. “Tap tap tap”, said the rain as if cuing me to get up, take a shower, and have breakfast. My growling stomach (or my baby pushing the gases out from my digestive tract) made me pull myself out from bed thirty minutes later.

I was in for a treat at breakfast. I feasted on fried fish, boiled egg, seasoned okra, and red apple plus the necessary anmum milk and folic acid. Our cook is not only good in the kitchen but also considerate about the health and wellness of the troop especially with me after he learned my condition. Every menu is well-thought of. My most favorite amongst his special dishes is katuray, a mixture of vegetables and shrimp which only a true-blooded Ilonggo can concoct.

After that.. alas! My eyes were slowly and involuntarily drooping again. Was it because of the gloomy weather or the effect of having a baby growing inside me? Hmmm.. I guess it’s the latter. My mother must be right when she said, “liwat jud ka nako magbuntis day, di maselan, but sige lang katog and kaon.” And so while half the world is on the go, I nailed myself into our tiny yellow bed once more.

At one thirty in the afternoon, I roused vaguely from the half sleep which I had finally succumbed. I half opened my eyes and shut off the incessant sound of my alarm. Then I had lunch of sinabaw na baka with cabbage and freshly squeezed orange juice. Slurrpy!

Right now, I’m fighting off my droopy eyelids yet again but I need to feed my mind and so after posting this I'm going to blog hop, check mails, catch up with my friendsTER, and keep myself abreast with events in the tennis world particularly the ongoing ATP Masters Series in Indian Wells. I’m such a tennis fan, you know. I even mentioned to hubby that our child is going to be a professional tennis player someday. (Ops, stage mother is in the making!) When we’ll move to our new house inside the base, the first thing I would like to install is cable TV so that I can watch a match as it happens.

Speaking of hubby, he is still in a nearby island accomplishing an assignment for the glory of God, country, and people. He will be back on Saturday yet. It’s his first time to be away from me since we learned that I’m expecting. The upside is I could cheat on my curfew which is 9 pm. Last night, I watched "The Other Boleyn Girl" and slept around midnight. One thing I can't do if honey is around. (By the way, I download movies via Mininova using uTorrent.) The downside is I’m feeling so alone. I miss my hubby na.

Oopss.. I can’t fight my drowsiness na naman. It’s time for me to go back to slumberland!

ZZzzzz..

If I Were a Tea

I would be a Black Tea because..

I have a bold personality. I am not afraid of simply being myself. I have the courage to speak the truth. I am fearless in my actions. I come off as a bit intimidating and unapproachable. Only confident people are attracted to me. I don't try to scare off anyone. I'm just an intense person!

What Kind of Tea Are You?