Last week, everyone was talking about the latest high profile carjacking incident that involved the parents of actor/model Derek Ramsay.

The incident happened right in front of the actor’s house. The thieves took their vehicle forcibly and subsequently used the vehicle to further their carjacking activities.

I’m not the panicky type of driver but this really really scares me. These are not mere carnapping incidents anymore. They involve gun-toting thieves and they happen in broad daylight…right about the time when most of us are all driving. And they don’t choose areas anymore. They don’t strike in dark, empty allies. The incidents happen in front of houses and in parking lots.

Ever since this fresh wave of carjacking incidents I have been on guard. In the past when I would bring my kids to school, I would sit in the car while their yaya would go down with them. I would simply lock the door and wait. This was because the kids didn’t want me to go with them. It was quote, “embarassing”, to have their Mom take them to their classroom.

Now I never stay in the car until I have to. I go down with the kids even if they don’t want to be seen with their Mom. I walk until the gate and see them off and wait until there is a wave of people going to their cars. As much as possible I don’t go alone. I’d rather be caught in a little bit of foot traffic as well as vehicle traffic instead of risking the possibility of being caught off-guard by a roving carjacker because I happened to be alone.

Anyway, since I’m at it, I also started reinforcing the house. Lets face it, folks, when carjackers strike, the “akyat bahay gang” will not be far behind. I made sure that all our door locks are secure and I installed new ones as well. I’m thinking of getting a motion detector…if we can afford it.

You can never be too safe. And too paranoid.

Tags : family, gripes, thoughts

Bad? Well, not really. My friends are completely aware that if there is one vice that I cannot shake, it is shopping. I am always on the lookout for sales and I am unabashedly subscribed to all my fave brand’s mailing lists. Just so I know when something nice and used to be expensive is on sale.

Most recently….like 2 days ago….I purchased this online.

I was watching it closely (and I mean so closely I was logging on every night for the last 2 months) until it finally went on sale. Without thinking twice, I bagged it! Woot!

I have several items on my watchlist now and I am itching to get my hands on them soon. Never mind if some fashion purveryors will scoff at my “last season” purchases. I don’t follow trends anyway.

So this brings me to Cyber Monday. One of my most anticipated events this side of the cyber universe. I can’t wait to find out if some of my fave brands are going on sale.

I know I need a new watch. And a bag too. And maybe a couple of pairs of shoes. And those caftans I love too….Geez..I really need to have a garage sale. Gotta make space.

Tags : Shopping

Kung ano ang di mo magawa, yan ang gusto mong gawin…di ba?

Kung di ka marunong lumangoy…gusto mong matuto. Kung di ka makalakad….gusto mong lumakad. Kung di ka marunong kumanta….gusto mong mag-Karaoke…o di ba ang daming basag ang boses na kumakanta sa sing-along.

Ang mga anak ko iba ang trip…gusto nilang lumipad.

Eto nga si bunso ay mas matindi ang pangangailangan….aba’y nagsuot pa ng superhero costume. Baka sakali namang andyan ang powers eh..LOL!

Tags : kids, Litratong Pinoy

A marathon? Yep, a marathon!

I know, I know…it is almost impossible to believe that someone like me who would most likely pack several patio chairs and watch the marathoners do their thing is actually thinking of joining.

Why? Well, firstly, its for an absolutely good cause. Second, I really need the exercise. Third, many of my Mommy blogger friends are going. And last and most importantly, my kids are invited too and that makes the event’s fun level go up a gazillion notches higher.

So for all you Mommies, Daddies and Kiddies out there….LEZGO!!

More details HERE.

Tags : event, family, Fitness, kids

Being the daughter of a business minded father, it was almost fate that dictated that I would tread the same path when my time came. I really don’t know if the reason I eventually took the same road my Dad took was because I was groomed for it or maybe because I had his blood running through my veins. Whatever the reason, starting a business was what I wanted to do more than anything else.

Why am I suddenly going nostalgic? Well, after years of running several businesses and looking out for the best franchise opportunities and having to go through all the hardships of start-up, I saw a glimmer of hope after hearing the president’s State of the Nation address.

Huh?!?

You see, everyone knows that getting a business off the ground, no matter how small, will have to go through the rigors of government red tape before even starting. That alone costs a small fortune in money and time. And if for some lucky individuals who happen to have a thicker wallet and longer credit line, going to a fixer is almost always the way to go.

But PNoy said that he would help alleviate all these problems. He said that he would cut the time of business registration to a mere 15 minutes. He said that he would cut the paper work from several pages to a mere 1 page. He said that he would make doing business easy and that he would make sure that the people running the show do their job properly.

This is a bit of good news for business minded individuals like myself. Sometimes the roadblock otherwise known as the DTI and the Mayor’s Office is enough to make a businessman rethink his strategy.

I hope he follows through with his word. And maybe then we might see a boom in new businesses. Being an Economics graduate, he is supposed to make sure that the principle of laissez faire should be enjoyed by the businessmen of his country.

Tags : business matters, Philippines

Saw these vintage cars as we were on the road to my in-law’s place. The guy driving the older black vehicle was amused tha we were taking pictures that he kept honking.

Tags : family, PhotoHunt

Two days ago I received a call from my Mom that she wanted to be brought to the hospital because she wasn’t feeling well. I had just arrived after taking my kids to school so I immediately drove to her house to bring her to the nearest hospital.

Apparently, she had eaten some bad oysters the night before and she had a serious case of the runs. Really bad. All throughout the evening she was making frequent trips to the toilet and by the time she called me she was already feeling pretty weak.

Other than dehydration, I was afraid that her body had already lost precious electrolytes and potassium. I’ve heard of cases of folks with the runs who just keeled over and croaked because of a bad drop in potassium.

I brought my Mom to the ER so she could be given the proper care.

A few tests confirmed that she was indeed dehydrated and that her electrolytes and potassium were already low. Thank God for modern medical equipment, you can actually determine these vital results within minutes of taking samples.

So the attending physician recommended that my mother be confined so they could rehydrate her and so she could be given the proper medication.

This bag was her last bag of dextrose. It was left hanging there…not completely consumed. She responded so well to the medicines that were administered that she was given the green light to go home the day after.

Tags : family, health, PhotoHunt

This morning my husband alerted to a recent online article from our favorite blog, Chuvaness.

She wrote about the recent spate of carnapping incidents in the metro one of which involved a college classmate of mine.  He had just come home from a vacation with his family and they were on their way home from the airport when the carnapping incident happened.  To make matters worse, he was shot pointblank and was left bleeding while the carnappers took off with his vehicle and his family (wife and kids)  inside.  Fortunately, he was found by a good samaritan and was rushed to the nearest medical facility for treatment.   He survived. His family was dropped off by the criminals somewhere in the city.

This really scares me shitless.  You hear and read about these dastardly acts but when it happens to someone you know, it becomes more apparent that it can happen to anyone, including you.  What makes it scarier is that it hits close to home. Aside from the fact that I personally know the person involved, I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with these unscrupulous elements in the past. And I’m shit scared (pardon the profanity) that it might happen again.

I haven’t had the misfortune of having my car stolen. However, I’ve been held up at gunpoint and the memory still scares me to this day.

It happened a few years ago at the little cafe I used to run. We were having a good stroke of luck then. Customers were aplenty as we were winding down for the evening, we had a lone couple finishing up their nightcap.

Sometime before midnight 3 customers approached our store. One of them stayed outside, apparently to finish his smoke then the other 2 came in. One of them took a table and the other approached the counter to order. I took the order. After the waiter served them, he came back to me and whispered that we were being held up. One guy was pointing a gun at the couple and ransacking them of their money and jewelry. The other guy was blocking the door. And the other guy had a gun pointed to my head asking me to empty the cash register.

Luckily for me I had remitted most of the day’s sale to my partner who left a few hours earlier and I only had maybe 3 thousand bucks left in the box. Still I gave it along with my cellphone.

I had just gotten engaged then and I was wearing the diamond ring that my now-husband gave me. I carefully hid it in my backpocket just to be sure and they didn’t see it. The couple, unfortunately, wasn’t so lucky. They were stripped of their jewelry and cash (the woman had just come from an ATM at Eastwood).

The good thing, though, was that nobody was hurt. All those crooks did was steal. It took them all of 5 minutes to complete their dastardly act.

From then life never has been the same. Sure I can go about my day like everything was all good but I know that this could happen again. And now that I found out that somebody I know met an even worse fate, it makes me worry again…especially now that I have kids. This makes the worrying multiply tenfold. Maybe even more.

Lesson learned…always be wary. Always try to stay low key. And when it does happen, don’t fight it. Give them the car. Give them your valuables. Don’t look them in the eye.

Remember, the value of your vehicle…your jewelry….your valuables…even the contents of your wallet are no match to the value of your life…your kids’ lives.

Tags : family, gripes, kids

Most people call these “jelly marbles” but my kids call them kisses. When you buy them they look like colored peppercorns. You then submerge them in water and watch them grow until they become as big as marbles. My kids (and their friends) are convinced that they are alive so the marbles are now considered pets. Each one of the “gang” has his or her own bottle with kisses and on the weekends they all compare their pets.

When my mother-in-law found out that these were the “in” pets in our village, she promptly bought several bags of “kisses” and grew them for my kids. So now they have the largest collection of “kisses” which, among them, makes them the coolest kids around.

Tags : Mellow Yellow Monday

A few days ago I found out that my husband was going to be meeting with a very good friend of mine.  It was purely by accident.  I had to borrow his laptop so I could print something for our kid’s homework.  He was just checking his emails and when I took it I came upon an email with my friend’s name on it.

To make the long story short, they were going to meet up this week.

He doesn’t know my friend so he wanted to know more about her so he asked …

Hubby : “Does she have a strong personality?  Baka naman she’s too nice, lalamunin sya dun ng buhay.”

Me : “What do you mean?  Like is she mataray?”

Hubby : “No not mataray…basta strong personality.”

Me : “Ah…you mean, is she like ME?”

Hubby : “I said strong personality.  I didn’t say BITCH!”

Tags : Husband