Philippine Nutrition Month 2012

Oh my gulay! It is the last day of July today. At bago pa ma-out of season ang topic na 'to, I'm writing about it today.

Government and private health institutions and most especially schools, public and private alike, celebrate this July the Philippine Nutrition Month with the theme, "Pagkain ng gulay ugaliin, araw-araw itong ihain."

It was on Saturday when Baguio Higher Ground Christian School (BHGCS), where Nikki attends, held a program for the said campaign. The school had a common program for all students in the morning. As expected, there was singing, dancing and poem recital, of course, in accordance with the theme.

After the program on the school grounds, each class went back to their respective classrooms to do their own thing that the class adviser had prepared. There were parlor games ,and the main event in each classroom was the preparation of a dish using not only vegetables but also fruits. 

Posted on Nikki's classroom's chalk board were her class' colored drawings of fruits and vegetables.

I knew this was Nikki's because of the handwriting. I know, my family is not so much into the artistic side. But I'm proud of Nikki's handwriting. Nice!

Nikki: Mommy, ito ang drawing ko oh.

Running Tips By Coach Jim Saret For The 36th National Milo Marathon

I find these running tips from the leaflet in the Milo Marathon registration kit very helpful. I think they're not only applicable to this particular event but to all other runs and marathons we may be participating in the future. So I'm sharing them to you.

But before that, who is Coach Jim Saret? Honestly, I do not know him, so again, from the leaflet:

Coach Jim Saret

Performance Enhancement Specialist/Speed and Conditioning Coach

MSAT, PES, SAQ, CAPT, M.S. Athletic Training/ Sports Medicine Brigham Young University, USA

I think this is his website. And this is how he looks like.

Image Source

Now, the running tips.

36th National Milo Marathon: Baguio Leg

Today, Elmer came home late and with these. 

Two kits of the Milo Marathon 5K run

He was telling me about this Milo Marathon weeks ago and that he would definitely join this event. I never thought that he was serious. More than that, I never thought that he would like to run with me because he never asked me to join him. That's why I was surprised when he came home with two kits and one of them has my name on it.

One for him and one for me.

The Ultimate Cam Whores In The House

Aside from singing along YouTube videos like this one that I posted, Calli and I also love cam-whoring during lazy afternoons. Like what we did one afternoon not long time ago. 

Calli enjoyed my making faces. I said "Ayoko na." but she insisted that I made some more. And she laughed at me every single time. Okay, ako na ang clown b*atch niya. 

She simply loves the camera. I wonder if she has a future in acting or modelling or photography or whatever that has something to do with cameras. I have yet to find out.

What do you and your kids love doing together? 

Ciao! ♥

Another Fun Day

I know Calli also gets bored from staying home the entire week while Daddy and Mommy go to work and while her Ate Nikki is so much busy and having a great time in Pangasinan doing a lot of things with their Mama Shirley. So whenever Mommy and Daddy have a day off work that falls on the same day, we go out. That's what we did yesterday. We brought yaya with us but we let her go her own way. I think that was a good idea. Parang day off din niya. She doesn't want naman to go out of the house nang 'di kami kasama e. Plus,  when Daddy, Calli and I, just the three of us, had merienda, 'di namin siya kasama kaya nakatipid kami. Haha! Apparently, she went shopping for clothes and watched the Kapuso Mall Show at the events center. 

These are some photos of Calli that I took in Playmates, Quantum and Sooo Good! (KFC).

In-avail niya lahat.

An Accidental Bonding Moment

Our yaya had requested long time ago to have a quick vacation in April because she's attending her cousin's wedding. She already left for her 2-day vacation yesterday. Calli and I had to bring her to the terminal of transport vans going to Cabanatuan City.

Calli: Ba-bye Ate Lyn. Mahal-mahal kita. 

Aaaw, Calli's so sweet talaga. 

I already had planned to take a cab and drop by SM Supermarket for a quick grocery shopping after that. Because the van terminal is just right beside Burnham Park, instead of taking a cab right there from the terminal, I decided that Calli and I take a walk through Burnham Park and take a cab from the southern side of Burnham Park on Lake Drive. I thought that was already quite a long walk for both Calli and me. 

I was surprised how Calli enjoyed running outdoors. She ran and ran...and ran all over until she got tired of running. Well, actually, she didn't get tired. I had to make her stop because we already had to leave for the supermarket.

Look at these photos of her at Burnham Park. 

A Good Way To Start My Day

...or maybe not.

I was feeling so much guilt about me not doing any thing productive yesterday. So I've decided to start my day right today. I told my self I was gonna start it with jogging. So kagabi pa lang, kinausap ko na si Elmer na magjo-jogging kami bukas, which is today. Then mamamalengke kami after. The original plan was to leave the house at mga 4AM pero may dumating kaming bisita at 3:30AM. Yes that early. His Tita Sol from Batangas. So chika chika muna and everything. To cut this long story short, we weren't able to leave the house until 6AM. Maliwanag na. Conshus pa naman ako tumakbo 'pag maliwanag na. Arte lang!

How often do I jog? Regularly. Yeah right, mga once a year. ^_^ This is another thing that I feel guilty about. I do not jog or even exercise often. But that's another story to tell.

Going back. So Elmer and I started jogging from 118 Liwanag Subd to our destination which was Burnham Park like we originally planned. When we were already in EPZA, Elmer said, "Mahal, jogging ito, hindi alay-lakad." Haha. Okay fine. He already started jogging. Ambilis niya. Hanlalaki kasi ng hakbang niya e. Until I couldn't have a sight of him anymore. You know here in Baguio, every after a couple of meters, there's a curve. Hanggang hindi ko na talaga siya ma-sight. 

Loakan Road to me is a perfect route to take when jogging, sans the vehicles passing. Hundreds of vehicles passing. Jeepney, cars, buses. There are parts pa naman na "nauubos" ang sidewalk. So gilid gilid lang dapat. Mahirap na.

When I reached Scout Barrio, I found Elmer already waiting for me sa waiting shed. Nagmemeryenda na ang loko! Nagutom na daw kakahintay sa akin. Antagal ko daw. 

Elmer: Nag-jogging ka ba o naglakad?

Me: Nag-jogging. Pero andami kasing sasakyan e.

Elmer: Madami pala. Sumakay ka na sana.

Deadma na lang. Bakit ako sasakay?! Heller! Wala kaya ako dalang pera. Nasa kanya kaya! ^_^

A Happy Artster Sunday

It felt like it was just an ordinary day for our family yesterday. Elmer and I had work. But I tried to make it a li'l special for Calli. In the morning, Elmer did some quick grocery shopping. I specifically instructed him to buy eggs and water color. Calli and I were making Easter eggs! He bought a dozen eggs and water color. Even if he still had to work in the afternoon, he still went on a quick grocery shopping in the morning because I said I needed those. I told him that I was gonna blog about the Easter eggs that Calli and I were gonna make. Before, he would give me a face whenever I talked about my blog, this blog. I thanked him for being obedient. I think he's now getting my blogging. Okay, that's another story.

On a different note, I have always wondered why eggs are so famous during Easter? They even have to be hunted, yes? And there's the bunny and the painting of the eggs to name a few more. I didn't bother finding out until last week.

According to my source, Easter is a Christian festival. For Christians the custom of giving eggs at Easter celebrates new life. And legend has it that the Saxon goddess Eostre found a wounded bird and transformed it into a hare, so that it could survive the Winter. The hare found it could lay eggs, so it decorated these each Spring and left them as offering to the goddess. Howkei.

Going back. We used water color because it was cheaper than any of our other options. Check out how it went and Calli's mess-terpiece!

Calli And Barney And Friends

Who is that purple and green Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur singing along with neighborhood friends? Kids can answer that question with no sweat. Barney! 

Barney who? Doesn't ring a bell to me. If you're a mom and that's how you roll, then I'd say you're an alien. You must be from Mars. Who doesn't know Barney and the gang? Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff? 

At an age of a li'l less than two years old, Calli already met and knew Barney. I would let her watch videos of him on YouTube. She liked him, but I can't say she loved her already. I can still remember how Nikki, when she was about that same age, would spend the whole morning watching her entire collection of Barney DVDs over and over. That, I'd say, was love. But that's another story to tell.

Passe' Maundy Thursday

For my family no more.

  

But I have to say, I am a Catholic. I was born and raised in a Catholic family. I grew up in our barrio where senakulo or pabasa occurred (and still does) every Holy Week. I studied for eleven years in a Catholic school. I studied for four years in a Catholic university where I had taken religion classes. But  I guess those were not enough and as I got older and  mature, this is what I realized: I am not religious at all. At ayoko ipilit. Plastikada lang?! Fortunately (maybe unfortunately), Elmer and I share the same attitude towards religion. Our family does not go to church every Sunday, next to not at all. Oh no, I'm not proud. Just saying. I have to partly credit that to the nature of Elmer's job and mine. Well, that's another story to tell.

Every Holy Week, we still eat meat just like how we do mostly on regular days. This is how we spent our Maundy Thursday.

Big Daddy

My New Errands Buddy

That's Nikki!

She's 8. And she now makes a very good and convenient buddy when running some errands. She can walk by herself, can eat by herself, has urinary control, has opinions on things I buy, reminds me of important things, etc. She has no complaint sa walk-a-thon. Only complaint I have about Nikki is that she gets hungry so fast. I have to feed her every now and then. Kids!

Nikki and I went to SM today to shop for shoes, white stockings and a cardigan for herself, for her class' presentation on her school's Recognition Day. I picked her up from school then we went straight to SM.

On the way there, one would hardly miss this!

Since when was this here?

Is it just me, or SM really has to put this up where this is the first thing people would notice when coming from that area to its building? Pa-good shot lang sa mga tao?

Moving on.

Summer Kiddie Fun

It was just 2011. There was Christmas then New Year's. January came and go, as well as Chinese New Year. And now, it's already March! March 7 it is. Where have all the days gone? The'yve gone so fast. It's Nikki's 8th birthday tomorrow.

*Natawa ako sa sarili ko. Umiral na naman ang you know. I tried to spell out 8th in words - eigth. I told myself, parang mali. Sige, eighth na lang. Parang tama na, pero parang mali pa din. Sige, 8th na nga lang. Best in Spelling pa naman ako nun. Chos! ;)

Happy birthday, Nikki. You're 8 years old na tomorrow. You literally are a big sister now. I love you Mahal!

In a week or two, school year is almost done. One last school event, Recognition Day, and it is official, bakasyon na! I've been asking Nikki what she would like to be busy with this summer vacation. She attended a month of ballet classes 3 years ago and never came back. I asked her if she would like to do ballet again. She said no. Among her most feasible choices are guitar and drums lessons, swimming and tae kwon do. She may take swimming lessons but not here in Baguio. She has to stay with her Mama Shirley, Elmer's mom, in Pangasinan where there are a lot who give swimming lessons, if she chooses that. I have not heard of anyone giving swimming lessons here in Baguio except for one who does it in Asin but Asin is, to me, very very very very very (exaj lang) far from the city proper. Oh, and Hotel Supreme pala. But I'm not sure if they do it every year. So far, I think, she favors tae kwon do. I'll see if she changes her mind soon.

Tara Lets!

I have been so into reading travel blogs lately.

As 2012 entered, I started to have this feeling of the need to be somewhere this year that I have not been to before. Almost everyday I've been thinking about travelling. This time, I am gonna make it happen with or without anyone with me. I realized that my plans of travelling before were never realized because I didn't want to travel alone. But these travel bloggers whose blogs I've been reading/following a lot lately, inspire me so much. Some travel alone, backpacking as they call it. There's also this thing they call budget travel. Which is true, really true. I don't want to spend too much on accommodation because I'll be out of the hotel room almost the entire time.

One of them even said in her blog that there's no reason why one cannot travel. Time, money, <insert reason here> are not acceptable reasons why one cannot travel. And I realized, that's so true. People say "If there's a will, there's a way." So I am making a way. I am gonna make it happen. In fact, I've made my first step. Secret muna.

It's More Fun in the Philippines. I like. I support. So, in the meantime, I'm moving away from the idea of travelling overseas. I gotta familiarize myself first pa sa do's and don't's ng travelling by doing it first sa domestic travels.

Plus, I found this site. And I'm making this as my inspiration. Look naman kasi how pathetic mine oh? 

My Lakbayan grade is D!
How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.

Okay, I'm back to travel blogs reading.

Ciao! ♥

  

Spotting For A Spot

Mohammed once said (no, not to me ^_^), "Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled."

Ouch! I feel so dumb, stupid, moron and all now. Yes, you got it. I am one of the (sooo) many Filipinos who are not privileged (time-wise, budget-wise, convenience-wise) to travel a lot, or next to not at all.

Earlier last year, I planned of going to Hong Kong as my first destination overseas. It never happened. Later last year, I again planned of going to Singapore. It never happened. Sometimes, I would feel like the right timing would never come.

Before 2011 ended, I told myself that whatever happened, I would go somewhere in 2012. I thought of, again, Hong Kong. I've always wanted to bring Nikki and Calli to Disneyland. Then cross over to Macau. And because Elmer and I are celebrating in August our 10th year of being together, we agreed on being somewhere we've never been and doing something we've never done before, preferrably without Nikki and Calli. He said we'd just plan another thing for all of us some time. (But I've already planned of going to Star City+Manila Ocean Park+MOA or Enchanted Kingdom+Tagaytay this summer vacation with Nikki and Calli.)

Typhoon Pedring: The Aftermath

I think Typhoon Pedring has already moved away from Baguio, if not the Philippines. Yesterday, there were only little drizzles, not too strong winds, clear skies. Better than Tuesday's weather. When I left the house at 3:15 AM, everything was black. Brownout kasi. Andilim! But the sky was bright. Not bright na bright talaga ha kasi wala pa naman araw. Heller, 3:15 AM? Madaling araw? Okay, I confess. I have poor vocabulary. Pero try natin ito, auroral? Thanks to dictionary.com's thesaurus.
Going back. So I think today is gonna be a fine day. Maybe not too much sun yet but there will be sun. I hope. I can't describe how much I hate rains. Not really a fan. I also don't understand Elmer's love of rains. Most of the time, tinatamad siyang lumabas ng bahay pag okay ang panahon. At excited siyang, wait for it, maglakad-lakad (?!) sa Session kapag umuulan at lalo na pag bumabagyo. His reason: Konti lang ang tao sa Session pag umuulan. Pag okay ang panahon, lahat ng tao raw ay nakakalat sa Session. Okay, may point siya. Pero ang point ko naman, bakit kasi siya pupunta sa Session umuulan man o umaaraw e wala naman siya gagawin dun. Ano, rampa lang? Basta, yun ang trip niya.

Kahabaan ng Session Road taken last summer

But still, we still went out yesterday afternoon because we had to settle our water bill. Past due na yun. Kasi ang aming lovely landlady na si Mommy Espie, nawala pala ang aming water bill statement. Hindi niya sinabi agad at sinabi lang nung tapos na ang due date. Hello 10% surcharge! Bakit daw ako nagmamadali magbayad ng bill sabi ni Elmer, na para bang hindi niya ramdam ang sense of urgency. Our faucets ran dry on Tuesday but that was maybe because of the typhoon. Don't get the connection? Ako din! Hahaha! Then I thought, what do I know, this is Baguio. Feeling ko, hindi dumating ang tubig nung Tuesday kasi hindi pa kami nakabayad ng bill. Kaya I felt the need yesterday to pay the bill. At ang galing, dumating ang tubig kagabi. O di ba?! I always get worried when we do not have water supply in the house. Brownout na nga, wala pang tubig? I will always choose water over electricity if I really need to choose between the two. Pero syempre naman 'di ba, mas okay kung parehong meron sila.

And still, brownout pa din today when I left the house. Cellphones and laptop already ran low on battery. Buti na lang nakapag-charge ako ng cellphone dito sa office kahapon. Yes, dito ko sa office sinusulat ito ngayon. I am hoping, really badly, na sana magka-kuryente na today. Please Lord, have mercy on us! Gusto ko na makapanood ng TV. I don't know how much damage Typhoon Pedring has caused the country. For sure there's damage but I hope not too much. Thank you Lord, my family here in Baguio is safe and so is my family in Nueva Ecija.

I hope all of your families are okay too.

Ciao! ♥