Yeah I gave my baby daughter Taylor Hanson’s first name Jordan. Why? Because I believe that Taylor’s a really gifted musician, a music genius actually and I want my daughter to get that from him. He’s the one person who influenced me to appreciate music of all kinds by listening to their music. He and his brothers can make rotten leaves sound like fibracell reeds of the best quality!

It just sucks that most people here in the Philippines are not aware that Jordan is a unisex name and many girls/ladies have Jordan as their name. And by the way, no one can question me why I gave my daughter a guy’s name grrrrr if that’s what you believe it’s alright just keep it to yourself and don’t bother me with your nonsense and ignorance.

I don’t know where to begin. The moment I gave birth my life has changed forever. This little baby daughter took over control of my life and everyone in my family. She sleeps whenever she wants and we also only get to sleep when she is haha.. So far it has been wonderful anf very challenging to me physically and emotionally. I want to give her the best I can so I decided on breastfeeding years before I got pregnant then breastfeeding kicked my butt I flew to the wall and got knocked out crying.It has been hard and yet I still continue with all these things with a happy heart. Motherhood has been a blessing and a dream come true for me. I always prayed to be a mother and have a baby and He finally answered what my heart desires.I now have a beautiful and somewhat funny daughter who always makes me laugh. She’s the apple of my family’s eyes. Yes we are exhausted but we’re sooo happy!

Warning: Picture heavy post.

Months ago when I learned that I am finally pregnant I started to read about what I should do and what I should avoid. One of things I should do is stop my usual beauty and cleansing regimen as they may be harmful to the baby. So no more lotions, no more creams with vitamin A and I became careful even with the soaps that I was using. My skin became so dry it has never been that dry before. My husband Bee bought me an organic lotion but I didn’t like that. I was in Singapore during my first trimester and I saw a documentary about Palestinian soaps aka Nablus Soaps I think. It’s natural and no parabens but I felt it’s drying to my skin and it’s not cheap for something that small.

Good thing we passed by Ilog Maria Honey Bee Farm in Silang, Cavite last month when we went to Tagaytay but we didn’t have time to drop by. I finally get to drop by yesterday that’s after stalking their website for like a week.

Did I have a hard time finding the farm? Not really. I realized if you’re coming from Dasmariñas then it’s before the second Petron station from Robinson’s Dasmariñas and right after Monte Luce.

Then the narrow driveway started. Man was I glad I brought a car. I couldn’t imagine walking alone in that long and narrow ‘road’. If someone’s with me maybe I can. Read the rest of this entry »

Is how it feels like for me when my baby kicks. Sometimes the baby’s movements will catch me off guard but it’s a welcome surprise. I love that feeling. Now it’s like I have a more concrete evidence that my baby is there, moving. Before I only get to see the baby move and feel assured that the baby’s ok during ultrasound. So far I had two. First and second times was to find the heartbeat. Ooh that tormented me but that’s over now and I’m happy. My baby’s so active even at this very young age.

In 3 weeks time, my husband and I will have another ultrasound, that one’s to finally know the gender of the baby. I can’t wait to know! Well I guess there’s no surprise there that I’m so eager since patience is not one of my strengths. So it’s a good thing we can finally know soon. To have to wait almost 5 more months to know my baby’s gender would be very hard on me. Hmmmn I really can’t wait to know. A boy or a girl? I need to know!

I’ve always wanted to become pregnant and be a mommy. Since I know that I need to do these kinds of things in the perfect time and with the right person, I put a full stop on this dream for years. Fortunately, I reached a point in my life where I am in that place and everything is right for that dream to happen already. I am now married to a wonderful and funny man, and I felt ready for motherhood since last year even before we got married. I am one who do things when it feels right. He asked me to marry him year 2008 but I did not feel like I am ready for marriage then more so having a baby.

After getting married baby is next on our plan but it seemed to be more difficult challenging for me, that’s what my Reproductive Endocrinologist told me. Still it is possible, we just need some help. So I took medications for a year. Wow, it was not easy on me. Those medications made me feel down and low and even caused me to gain a lot of weight. There are times when I was so down I always cried. It was so stressful and the fear of  not knowing if it will ever happen or if it is even possible was just haunting me. Add to that other different stresses life brings and I was a mess on the inside. I was always mad at the smallest things. Thank God I have my family who understands.

Then by December of last year, a really big stress in my life is finally gone. I guess I was stress free that month and happy. I also reached that point when I just prayed to Him leaving everything up to Him since having a baby is beyond my control. I said to my husband, we will do our part then just pray. If it happens then great I’ll be very happy if not then we just have to try again. Trying again is much trickier since distance is going to be a challenge. But I have my faith. Knowing the odds, I didn’t keep my hopes too high.

Then I got the biggest surprise of my life. It was positive! That was after feeling sick and feverish for about a week .I was actually really scared to test because seeing that single line really broke my heart many times before. I really waited for cycle day 35 before I used a home pregnancy kit. I really couldn’t believe my eyes. TWO LINES!!!! I immediately went to Asian Hospital for the first pre-natal check up. Talking about being excited. I was only 4 weeks and 4 days along then.

Still can’t believe I am now pregnant. My husband is happy same with my Mommy and my Dad is so cute and being extra caring with me. Haha he is really excited which is something I somehow knew would happen. Why? He is the one who keeps on asking me when I’ll give him a grandchild. Haha I told him, “Daddy, you know it’s not easy! It’s not like I could just go to the mall and pick the one with the most dots!”

Now I am at 8 weeks and boy it’s not been a walk in the park! I have trouble eating as it makes me feel like vomiting so I can’t eat much but also, I am always hungry! I’ve never felt this hungry before! This kind is different, the type that worries me. The first week I lost 2 lbs now I guess I lost even more. I really lost a lot of weight. I even wake up in the middle of the night because of severe hunger.

I stopped using lotions. I am extra careful now. I want to use comodynes but I guess that will have to wait until after this whole pregnancy.

All of these inconveniences are worth it because after a few months I will have a baby! I so wanted to have a baby that I tried to adopt many times before and even went to an orphanage just to cuddle a baby. Now I will have my own. Thank You Lord. I am so happy.

I am someone who thinks a lot and someone who is very observant. So in my years of living on Earth, I have a few theories I believe is true and they are:

1. In a family with 3 consecutive same gender siblings, the middle sibling will always be the most good looking one. Example, Hanson brothers, Taylor looks best. My friend’s 3 girls, the middle girl is the cutest. It’s the same in my cousins’ case as well.

2. In couples who are having difficulty of having their own biological children, I heard cases wherein they adopted a baby/kid then immediately for some odd reason, they will be able to conceive their own. I always thought it’s like being close or holding a baby “enhances” your uterus or ovaries. Hmmmn. Then just yesterdayI read about David Bowie and his wife Iman who tried IVF for a year before giving up. Then Iman tried an old African fertility ritual where she held a baby for a whole day then she got pregnant a few months later. I think this happened to me to. I held my husband’s 5 month old nephew on Christmas day but only for a few minutes, exactly a month later I learned I am pregnant! All this makes more sense now.

I have more theories but I need to remember them first. I am so forgetful recently. Hmmmn. Or maybe I am just hungry again.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. Announces Voluntary Recall

February 18, 2011 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. recently announced a voluntary safety recall of some Honda Fit (Jazz in the Philippines) and City models to replace lost motion springs and retainers with countermeasure parts.

Consequently, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) would like to inform its customers that a total of 5,468 units of combined 1.5 liter Honda Jazz and 1.5 liter Honda City, distributed from September 2008 to April 2010, are included in the safety measure.

Findings show that the high surface pressure between the lost motion spring retainers and rocker arm slippers results to increased retainer movement that might lead to spring breakage. The broken spring will then come into contact with other moving parts within the cylinder head and this will initially produce noise and in worst case, may cause engine to stall. No crashes or injuries have been reported related to this defect. With the total safety of Honda vehicle users as priority at all times, HCPI is taking this voluntary safety recall to replace lost motion springs and retainer parts of affected units. Jazz and City models with the following frame numbers are included in the voluntary recall:

Letters of notice will be sent to concerned Jazz and City owners starting February 21, 2011. To conduct the voluntary recall in an orderly manner, customers are requested to call their respective dealers or the Honda Hotline at 1-800-1000-Honda (46632) or (02) 857-7240 and visit our website, www.hondaphil.com, for inquiries and details of scheduling. Replacement of affected parts will be carried out in all 28 authorized dealers and 3 service centers nationwide, free of charge.

Owners of Jazz and City models not included in the list above have no reason to worry since the affected parts are of different specifications. Other Honda models such as the Civic, Accord, CR-V, Pilot, Odyssey and HR-V sold and distributed by Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. are likewise not affected.

-Hondaphil.com

Alright. I’m getting stressed with this. Unfortunately, our car, a Honda City 1.5 E is included in the list. Of course, I have no problem with getting the car checked and fixed as it is for us car owners’ safety and our passengers safety as well. BUT. I tried calling their numbers and they were able to give me a date that’s more than a month from the time I called. What if you are out of the country then? Like I will be? So how? And it bothers me every time I drive to know that there’s some fixing that’s needed to be done. I’m such a safety paranoid even before all this came out so can you just imagine the stress I’m going through now?

As stated in their advisory above, there’s some replacing of lost motion springs needed to be done. I’m just glad it’s not something like the brakes that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. So far, our unit has been in perfect condition, running smoothly, engine so quite there’s an instance I forgot the engine is even on and I restarted it (BAD! I know…) and I had no idea there’s some fixing needed if not for the recall.

I’m just saying, the woman receiving the calls could be a little more nicer, sympathetic and flexible with this kind of situation and stop giving false hopes which they can’t follow through. Edit: The woman I talked to was not nice, but the woman Mommy talked to was very accommodating. She didn’t promise anything but that she will try her best to give us a new appointment date as I won’t be here on the later date they gave us. Then this morning, I woke up with messages in my phone saying I have a schedule this Monday! Perfect date! And she did really try. I honestly gave up hope that I could have Matty (the car) fixed before I leave and I don’t know I’ll be back so this new schedule is heaven sent. So thank you Randy or Rendi? Thanks again so much truly appreciate it.

Still I believe that if you love your car and you treat it like a human being, care for it like you would your girlfriend/wife, then it will also be good to you and it will not give you something to frown about. And I’ve been in love with Mattie ever since I first drove him so I know that I could still trust him with keeping us safe on the road.

Yesterday, I headed to the store to buy my face soap. I was shocked that it got more expensive now. Can you believe that it cost Php180 now when it was only Php140 before? Just to have a clean face, it costs me that much! But of course I have to stick to this skin care regimen I’ve been on since I was 16 or else I’d have break outs. No choice!

This got me thinking on a much broader scale, I wonder, how much would it cost for one person to survive and live? I read or heard somewhere that for a simple and low key family to raise one child decently, it would cost them Php 1,000,000 or 1 million. Yes that much.

Ok that made me re-think about my priorities. Being a responsible adult is scary. You think about every little detail, even things that are far ahead in the future. In this aspect, I envy those people who didn’t go to school and married and have kids young. Why? They have a simple life. Happy to just have something to eat. Happy with a Php 1 packet of junk food. They don’t worry about the time when they need to send their kids to school and how they will do it. They sleep so soundly at night while I, don’t have a good night’s sleep for a long time now, since I became an adult, because I worry too much. Now I kinda believe that the less you know, the less you asks questions, and the more you know about life, the more it scares you. Or maybe it’s just me.

Photo: notmine. Can't find the original owner so can't give credit to the owner. But thanks.

Do you guys bet on lotto? We sometimes do. How do you place your bet? This is how I do it.

I pick my numbers then queue. I then look at the monitor(?) for the amount I need to pay. Turn out this is a wrong way.

Yesterday, I placed my bets in Lucky Circle Corporation in SM Bacoor and the monitor said Php 280. So I gave the clerk/teller Php300. She gave me back Php100. I gave it back because I should only receive Php20 change. Then she gave me my correct change and I left. In my mind though, I had doubts why my bets would cost that much. I always have an estimation with how much I’m suppose to pay (like a self imposed limit). So what I did was compute again all the tickets one by one. Turns out the correct total bill is only Php220. So how come I read there it was Php280?

I came back to the teller and told her that my tickets amounted to Php220 only. She asked for my tickets again and computed it. Gave me back my Php60 change. I felt bad. Why? She said nothing. That was her fault and she didn’t said sorry, worse she didn’t even look at least a bit sorry. Or ashamed about it. I told her, “Miss, how come I read there that it was Php280?, then she answered, I must have not deleted the previous thingy(?).” Ok, we’re all humans who makes mistakes I thought. I went on the side to fix my things but I still can’t contain my feelings like there’s some kind of scam there and I’ve been fooled. See I believe that when they look like they’re so used to that situation, that they really are doing that kind of scam. I called her attention (it was a dead hour then, no queue) and told her in my calm voice, “Miss, when you commit a mistake, learn to say sorry.” Again, no reaction or anything from her.

See I have this thing where I try my best to treat everyone nicely. Say please and thank you all the time and make everyone feel appreciated for whatever it is they do. I’m extra careful to not mistakenly make other people feel like I’m belittling them, especially those working SM jobs. For me we are all equal no matter what jobs we have and no matter what our status in life is. I can just imagine how they treat those people regularly filing for payday advance loan, they could be so mean.

BUT.

Rich or poor, our attitude is non-negotiable. There’s just no excuse for bad manners. You are never too rich or too poor to learn how to say sorry, to admit and accept your faults. Plus your mighty superiority complex will just bring you nowhere.

Lesson here is you have to compute your own tickets and don’t depend on their computer which apparently they can manipulate the amount you have to pay. I hate it that I’m so trusting. I guess this just proves there’s nothing wrong with being a little doubtful once in a while.

I love my sunny side up eggs with it’s yolk a little runny. I specially love it with my fried rice cooked in my carbon steel wok. But I’ve been trying to cut down if not totally eliminate rice from my diet (this actually breaks my heart).

A few weeks ago, I saw Gardenia’s Pinoy Tasty (sliced white loaf). Even though I prefer to eat whole wheat bread, I still bought it for the sake of trying and I loved it. A little sweet like how we Filipinos like our food and it’s soft like it’s under baked. I was happy with it but sad for my diet. Boo! Going through no carbs diet is like telling someone who smokes to stop smoking! I need rehab from carbs!

Then last Friday, after I went to the bank, I dropped by the grocery store which is my equivalent of Disneyland, it really is my happy place. So many things to discover! Saw Pinoy tasty in stock (beside Gardenia’s White Bread) and bought it. When I tried it, it’s not the same like the first time I tried it. I thought, hmmmn, is this the usual case of manufacturers skimping on good quality ingredients once they’re well known? Then I stared at the packaging. It is the same. Then I stared some more. Oops! The brand is Tiffany’s. I was confused.

Then just now, I went to the happy place again. Checked again the Pinoy Tasty with the same packaging beside Gardenia’s White Bread. This time, I looked for the brand. Now it says Gardenia. Bought it with the intention in mind to take a picture of both Pinoy Tasty side by side.

Does the association of *Filipino Panaderos  have an agreement to use the same packaging for all Pinoy Tasty even when it’s made by a different company? It’s confusing for consumers. I had totally no idea that the Pinoy Tasty I bought the second time is not the same Pinoy Tasty I bought the first time. You really have to pay attention to the brand.

*Philippine Federation of Bakeries Association Inc. (PFBAI), Filipino-Chinese Bakeries Association Inc. (FCBAI), Philippine Baking Industry Group (PhilBaking), & Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).