I got this Mommy Merit Badges from Rose of Nostalgic Marveling. I should have posted this on Mother’s Day, but we went to our Nanay’s place to celebrate her special day and we got home rather late. But I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity to say that all moms deserve to be recognized for their love and sacrifices. It’s not easy being a mom; I know that now. As a mom, you have to learn to put others’ needs first before your own. Let me end this piece with a poem that describes how deep and tender a mother’s love is.

A MOTHER'S LOVE
A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand.

~Helen Steiner Rice~

Chris of Chris Chronicles and Willa of My Daily Thoughts & Ramblings tagged me with Hershey’s Better Basket Blog Hop.

Here are the rules:
* Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.
* Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
* Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
* Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
* Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this Better Basket Blog Hop and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
* Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
* Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.


Now, I’m tagging Enchie, Renz, Cecile, Beng, Mylene, and everyone else in my blog roll who thinks this is a worthy cause.

I got this lovely tag from Mys of Written by Mys. This is very timely as Valentine's Day is just two days away.


= Start Copy Here =

VALENTINE LINKY LOVE
SPREADING LOVE ALL OVER THE WORLD

‘For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.’John 3:16
Master List: 1. Pinay Mommy Online 2. Straight from the Heart 3. The Mommy Journey 4. Written by Mys 5. Pensive Thoughts

Rules:
1. Post this tag in your blog if you believe in the message. Please don’t forget to copy from = Start Copy Here = to = End Copy Here =. If you want, please include your own thoughts about LOVE.
2. Tag as many friends as you want to help spread the message to the world.
3. Comment with the link of your post here so that you will be included in the master list.
4. Don’t forget to come back to the master post once in awhile to check and update your own blog’s master list.
5. Please don’t delete this tag or put no follow tags. Let’s spread the meaning of true love and so as linky love for us bloggers. Thanks!


= End Copy Here =
Here’s a funny quote I got from Love Quotes, which is self-explanatory and oh so true!

"Love is blind -- marriage is the eye-opener."
Pauline Thomason

What say you?

This tag is open to anyone who wants to spread the Valentine Linky Love.

Hazel of Delineating Des gave me this very cute Lucky Chinese Tag called Eminent Eights.


8 TV Shows We Like to Watch:
Justin has complete control over our TV, especially in the mornings, because his Daddy leaves early for work. During weekends, however, when his Daddy doesn’t have work, Justin and his Daddy will be constantly arguing on whose TV preferences will prevail. I don’t really get to watch TV that much because I always have more important things to do than just be a couch potato. These are the TV shows that Justin likes:
1. Barney
2. Thomas & Friends
3. Hi-5
4. Dora the Explorer
5. Go, Diego, Go!
6. Wonder Pets
7. Bob the Builder
8. Postman Pat

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink:
1. Jollibee
2. McDonald’s
3. Kenny Rogers Roasters
4. Goldilocks
5. Chef d’Angelo
6. Auntie Anne’s
7. Bigby’s
8. Amici

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Weekend trips to the mall
2. Trips abroad
3. Christmas
4. Payday
5. Approval of writing opportunities I did
6. Receiving good news from family and friends
7. Eating a hearty meal after a particularly tiring day
8. Getting a full body massage

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
1. Woke up early to prepare my son for school
2. Cooked pork sinigang
3. Fetched my son from school
4. Snacked on Cinnabon raisin bread
5. Went to bed early
6. Woke up from a bad dream
7. Processed one of my tutors’ makeup shift request
8. Talked to my Dad, Justin’s lolo, about my dream

8 Things I Love about Winter:
We don't have winter here in the Philippines, but if we do, here’s a list of what we think we would love about this season.
1. seeing snow
2. throwing snow balls at each other
3. taking pictures of each other with snow as our background
4. making Frosty, the Snowman
5. wearing warm clothes
6. snuggling under the covers
7. having rosy cheeks because of the extreme cold
8. enjoying the warmth of the fireplace

8 Things I Am Passionate about:
1. Making sure my son is well-fed, clean, healthy and happy
2. Keeping our house clean
3. Getting things done fast
4. Doing good in my work
5. Blogging
6. Working on writing opportunities
7. Earning more
8. Nagging my husband (LOL!)

8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:
1. I love you, baby!
2. Really?
3. Later.
4. That’s too loud!
5. No!
6. Why?
7. Pack away your toys.
8. Kiss Mommy!

8 Things I Learnt from the Past:
1. I have to work really hard for the money.
2. I should consult a doctor whenever I feel something’s not right.
3. I need to save for the rainy day.
4. A good night’s sleep makes me less grouchy in the morning.
5. Eating too much rice is not really good for me, especially now that I’m not getting any younger.
6. I need to drink plenty of water for my own good.
7. I have to be a better mom to my son and a better wife to my husband.
8. I should love myself more.

8 Blog Friends We Want to Tag:
1. Kaye
2. Pehpot
3. Niko
4. Shy
5. Cecile
6. Willa
7. Jacris
8. Seiko

A Christmas Tag


Just in time for the Christmas season, a very creative mom came up with her very own Christmas tag. Thank you so much, Willa of Smart Mommy, for handing me this tag. Advance Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too!

Thank You for Blogging Award


I’m also thankful to Mommy Jac of Mom’s Special Diary for giving me this Thank you for Blogging Award. I’m really honored to receive yet another award from you. Thanks for always thinking of me. Now, I’m passing on this award to the following awesome bloggers: Santhy, Darly, Karen, Ela, and Nessa.

Race of Bravenet Blog and Shy of Simple Happy Life gave me this Sister’s Week Tag. Thanks so much, sisters!

Start copying here:


Be the kind of women that when your feet hit the floor each morning,
The devil says "Oh Crap, She's Up."
Sister, life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe in everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promise it would be worth it.
Today is sister's day.

To the cool women that have touched my life.
this is for you.....LOVE U!!!

Rules:

Tag all your sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, girlfriends,
Including me if I am like one. If you get tag back seven times, you are loved.
Happy sister's day! LOVE YA SISTA!!!
Girlfriend and sisters WEEK.

To all my sisters and girl friends in the blogosphere, please feel free to grab this very nice tag.

Mommy Jac of Mom’s Special Diary has showered me with a handful of awards and a tag for which I am truly grateful.










And here’s the tag:

Do you think you're hot?
Hot-headed (at times), yes! Hehe!

Please upload your favorite picture


Why do you love this picture?
As all of you can see, I'm basking in the glow of motherhood in this photo. I never knew until I had my son how wonderful it is to be a mom.

When was the last time you ate pizza?
Last payday, September 30. My husband brought home a Yellow Cab pizza for dinner.

What was the latest song you've heard?
"Are You Sleeping"; that's the song my son sang while I was uploading this post.

What are you doing while working on this game?
Getting ready for work.

What is your favorite nickname?
Tetcha.

What kind of person are you?
Responsible.

What is your favorite song?
"How Did You Know"

What is your favorite food?
I grew up eating Filipino food and loving it.

What is the most stressful thing to you?
Being a mommy, being an office worker, and managing the household all in one day without any help.

Mention the 3 must-have items on your purse
Cash, credit card, and cell phone.

What is your favorite color/s?
Yellow, lavender, brown, fuchsia

What is your not-fulfilled-yet dream?
Trip abroad.

What is your favorite city to stay?
I have yet to find out.

I'm passing on these awards and tag to all the wonderful bloggers in my blog list.

Thanks to Onlinemommy of Online Mommy’s Corner for giving me this tag.

What are your middle names?
I’m not telling.

How long have you been together?
We’ve been married for 13 years.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
A few weeks. Haha!

Who asked whom out?
He asked me out, of course.

How old are each of you?
Secret!

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Mine.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Finding the perfect nanny for our son.

Did you go to the same school?
No.

Are you from the same home town?
No.

Who is smarter?
He knows Math and other technical matters better than I do, but I’m better in English and running the household.

Who is the most sensitive?
I am.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Chef D’Angelo because he likes it there.

Who has the craziest exes?
None.

Who has the worst temper?
He has.

Who does the cooking?
I do.

Who is the neat-freak?
Me.

Who is more stubborn?
We are both stubborn.

Who hogs the bed?
He does because he’s bigger.

Who wakes up earlier?
I wake up earlier on weekdays, but he wakes up earlier on weekends.

Who is more jealous?
Nobody because we don’t give each other reasons to be jealous.

How long did it take to get serious?
We started with a serious commitment.

Who eats more?
Me.

Who does the laundry?
Laundry shop for work clothes and our helper when we still had one.

Who’s better with the computer?
He is.

Who drives when you are together?
We don’t have a car.

This tag is open to all those who want to grab it. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Many thanks to Seiko of Seiko’s Diary for this nice tag. Sorry, I wasn't able to post it earlier.

To do this, Create a New Blog Post, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to Know Each Other!", then tag as many people as you like :) Don't forget to leave a message to those you have tagged so that they will know :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8am

2. How do you like your steak? Well done

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? District 9

4. What is your favorite TV show? Oprah

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Philippines

6. What did you have for breakfast? Rice and leftover roasted chicken

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I love my own, so I’d say Filipino cuisine.

8. What foods do you dislike? I can’t think of any right now. That's because I eat anything edible.

9. Favorite place to eat? Bigby’s Café and Restaurant

10. Favorite dressing? Caesar salad

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? I don’t drive.

12. What are your favorite clothes? Pants and blouse or pants and shirt

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Paris, France

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full

15. Where would you want to retire? Philippines

16. Favorite time of day? 5pm because it's the end of my workday

17. Where were you born? Manila

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? I’m not a sports fan.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Are the persons we tag supposed to tag us back?

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? None

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? All of the persons I’m tagging

22. Bird watcher? Not really

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night person

24. Do you have any pets? None

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? My son did well in his first trimester in school.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher

27. What is your best childhood memory? Every time our family is complete during dinner time

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Neither

29. Are you married? Yes

30. Always wear your seat belt? Not applicable because we don’t have a car

31. Been in a car accident? Never

32. Any pet peeves? People who fart and pick their nose in public

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Cheese, ham, pepperoni, green bell pepper

34. Favorite Flower? I’m not fond of flowers, but I love looking at sunflowers.

35. Favorite ice cream? BTIC

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jollibee

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Not applicable

38. From whom did you get your last email? One of my tutors

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Kamiseta

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? None that I can think of.

41. Like your job? I have no choice but to like it. LOL.

42. Broccoli? I’ll have it anytime.

43. What was your favorite vacation? We’re still planning for it.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Husband and son

45. What are you listening to right now? None

46. What is your favorite color? Yellow

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? At least five

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 4pm

50. Coffee drinker? Not much

I am tagging the following: Juliana, Tejan, Ela, Pinaymama, Laine.

Enchie of Sweet Nothings and Yami of Mom Writes for a Cause gave me this tag, which is actually a contest sponsored by Cathara Main.

Here are the rules:
1. Blog about ‘How old is old?’
It should be at least 50 words. You could write it in any way you want. Ex., 65, it’s when most people retire and blah blah… or when an individual is already sexually active etc, etc. There are no rules as to how daring you want your answers to be. :)

2. Your post must contain a link back to this post.

3. Tag at least 5 people and let them know about it.

4. Subscribe to Cathara’s feeds or if you got a blog roll, exchange links with her.

5. Let Cathara know that you entered this contest by leaving a link to your post on her comment box.

How old is old?
Here's my response: Numbers don’t really tell much if a person is old or not. They’re simply figures. You can be fifty but still feel thirty. I guess one is considered old when s/he is no longer childlike. My father is sixty-six, but when he plays with my three-year-old son Justin, he morphs into a tyke, displaying the characteristics of playfulness, innocence, and candor that befit a child. A person can also be considered old when s/he no longer enjoys the seemingly insignificant things in life. When you’re still able to appreciate the sunshine or the rain, be thankful for the air you breathe, or marvel at God’s creations, then whatever your age, you’ll forever be young at heart. Finally and most importantly, a person is considered old when s/he doesn’t look forward to the future. Perhaps, you’ll meet up with a friend tomorrow or you’ll go on a date with your spouse this weekend or you’ll spend precious bonding moment with your child tonight. You anticipate things like these because they add meaning and mirth to your life. Whatever makes you happy makes you young. So, being old is all a matter of perspective. As for myself, I’m forever stuck at twenty.

Now, I’m tagging the following people: Phoebe, Shy, Laine, Cecile, and Genejosh.

Laine of Laine’s Abode, Willa of FickleMinded, and Jacris of Mom’s Special Diary gave me this tag.

1. Try to make a post just like this one and mention this process.
2. From the list of blog sites below remove the number 1 and move the rest in the list 1 step higher (i. e number 2 becomes number 1, and so on). Add your blog name in the 5th position. Don't forget to copy the links. (Here's my list-my site added in the end)

From Laine
1. Pinay Mommy Online
2. Simple Happy Life
3. Sweet Nothings
4. Laine’s Abode
5. Pensive Thoughts

From Willa
1. Pinay Mommy Online
2. Simple Happy Life
3. Sweet Nothings
4. FickleMinded
5. Pensive Thoughts

From Mommy Jac

1. Home of Good Ideas
2. Make or Break
3. The Mommy Journey
4. Mom’s Special Diary
5. Pensive Thoughts

3. List at most five of your friends' blog sites here with link and inform them of this post and ask them to do the same. Here's my list:

The Baby In Between
All About Elizabeth
Beng’s Entertainment Spree
Moments of My Life
trust.loyalty.bliss

Thanks, Kikamz, for this fun hubby tag.

THE BETTER HALF
1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
- News, sports, or movies.
2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
- Caesar salad dressing.
3. What's one food he doesn’t like?
- Paksiw na bangus (milkfish stew).
4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order?
- Juice.
5. What shirt size does he have?
- Large here in the Philippines.
6. What shoe size does he have?
- US 8.5.
7. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
- Cheeseburger.
8. What would he eat everyday if he could?
- Pasta dishes.
9. What is his favorite cereal?
- He doesn’t eat cereals.
10. What would he never wear?
- Muscle shirts.
11. What is his favorite sports team?
- Los Angeles Lakers.
12. Who did he vote for?
- He doesn’t vote.
13. Who is his best friend?
- I’d like to think it’s me.
14. What is something he does, but you wish he wouldn't do?
- He puts used hanky in our underwear drawer on the pretext that it was unused.
15. What is his heritage?
- Filipino.
16. You bake him a cake, what kind of cake?
- I’m not into baking, but he likes chocolate cake.
17. Did he play sports in high school?
- Does chess count as sport?
18. What could he spend hours doing?
- Internet. Play chess. Watch TV/movies.
19. What is the unique talent that he has?
- He’s good at finding solutions to work-related problems.
20. What's his type of coffee?
- He’s not supposed to drink anything with caffeine, so coffee is a no-no these days.

Meikah, Santhy, Katherine, Dhemz, and Cecile, care to bare some of your hubbies’ secrets?

Kreativ Blogger Award
Thanks, Enchie, for this Kreative Blogger Award.


Rules: To accept this award do the following:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
- I’m not fond of flowers and chocolates.
- I’m a huge rice eater.
- I get irritated when our house is unkempt.
- I’m not good at remembering directions.
- I know all of my immediate family’s birthdays, birth years included.
- It takes me ages to reply to text messages, but only when I’m very busy.
- Even when there’s a helper, I’m the one giving my son his morning and evening baths.

This Kreativ Blogger award goes to the following creative bloggers:

Kittykat of Amazingly Me
Roms of Home of Good Ideas
Chuchie of Chuchie’s Hideaway
Winnie of Dreaming
Gracie of Heart2Heart Talk
Cacai of Cacai’s Step and Journey
Abie of The Sweet Life

I was tagged by Willa of Smart Mommy and Online Mommy of Online Mommy's Corner. I love to read pocket books, but when I became a mommy, I barely had time to read the morning paper, let alone a book. But this is a fun tag, and I simply couldn’t pass it up. The rules are:

1. Collect the book that you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.
5. Pass it on to 5 other victims (Oops! bloggers).

The last book that I read, which took me forever to finish, is She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb.


The 5th complete sentence of that book says:

“I been out there for fifteen minutes trying to meditate with my stomach growling.”

What impeccable timing! It’s almost lunchtime. LOL!

(Note: You can overlook the grammatical error in that sentence because writers have the right to deviate from normally accepted practices to achieve a desired effect. That right is called poetic license.)

Now, here are my victims: Kaye of RandomWAHMThoughts, Pehpot of Make or Break, Cecile of Things that Matter Most, Kittykat of Amazingly Me, and Ela of Tales of the Domesticated Husband’s Wife.

We Are the World Tag
I got this really nice tag from Jacris of Mom’s Special Diary.

*Start Copy Here*

You do not have to be tagged to play along. The game is simple and so are the rules.
1. Copy from *Start Copy Here* through *End Copy Here*
2. Add your site(s) to the list. Just be sure to post at each site you add.
3. Tag as many bloggers as you like so the list keeps on growing.
4. Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving me a comment HERE. I will add you to the master list.
5. Come back and copy the master list back to your site, often. This process will allow late-comers to get as much link benefit as the first ones in.

We Are The World Bloggers Master List:
1. Emila Yusof 2. The Other Side of Emila 3. Mariuca 4. Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery 5. Meow Diaries 11. Unlisted One 7. Spiff, the Spaceman 8. My Sweet Escape 9. Nota Nurul 10. Life’s Tapestry 11. Spontaneous Insignificancy 12. LadyJava 13. Miss Igorota 14. AnnyBoo 15. Yoon See 16. Jia’s Life 17. Nessa’s Mumblings 18. Also Mommy 19. The Walk of Life 20.Pretty Firefly 21. Untouchable EARTH 22. Baterya 23. Comedy Plus 24. Bain Cardin 25. Strawberry Milkshake 26. Turn-U-Off 27. Jom Heboh Di Sini 28. Notes by Marvic 29. Memoir Mez 30.Origena 31.Walking Newspaper 32. Nurul Aqilah 33. Bluedreamer 34. Breaking the Boundaries 35. Life According to Me 36. A Great Pleasure 37. Time Goes By 38. Kancing itu Butang 39. In my Kitchen 41. Fyzal’s Territory 40. Wiggy’s World 40. A Simple Life 41. A Taxi Ride 42. Single Life of Me 43. Little Bits of Info 44. Ode to Adrienne 45. KMP 46. Simple Happy Life 47. Chuchie's Hideaway 48.Seiko's Diary49.Moms Special Diary 50. Pensive Thoughts 51. You're Next!

*End Copy Here*

10th Picture in a Folder Tag
This one's from Shy of Simple Happy Life.


This photo was taken at Robinsons Galleria when Justin was only five months old.
Now, I'm tagging everyone on my blog list. Have fun, guys!

Thank you so much Enchie of Sweet Nothings, Mys of Thoughts and Obsessions, Beng of Beng’s Entertainment Spree, and wickedlysexy of Mom from Manila for this Friendship Chain.


~~Begin Copy~~
This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.

2. Increase your Google Page Rank.

3. Get more traffic to your blog.

4. Make more new friends.

Rules :

1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1.Picturing of Life 2. Juliana’s Site 3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space5.My Family is my Life 6. The Simple Life of a Baghag 7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today 8. House Everything 9. The Creativity in Me 10. Travel and Photography 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 12. You Are My Sunshine 13.Song to Remember 14. Super Blog 15. Philiippine Tv Marathon 16.Simply Blue 17. Breaking the Boundaries 18. Top Five 19. A Simple Life 20. Simple Happy Life 21. A Great Pleasure 22. Glossa~licious 23. Time Goes By 24. Sweet Nothings 25. Thoughts and Obsessions 26. Beng’s Entertainment Spree 27. Mom from Manila 28. Pensive Thoughts 29. You're Next!
~~End Copy~~
I’m passing on this Friendship Chain to the following:

Rachel of Heart of Rachel
Kaye of WAHMaholic
Cecile of Life Is Good and Beautiful
Race of Beyond Horizons
Juliet of My Pastime
Beth of trust.loyalty.bliss
Online Mommy of Online Mommy’s Corner
Hazel of Delineating Des

I've been tagged by Race of Beyond Horizons, Kaye of RandomWAHMThoughts, onlinemommy of Online Mommy's Corner, and wickedlysexy of Mom from Manila.

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers. Be sure to tag the person who sent it to you!

1. Where is your cell phone? Under the pillow
2. Your hair? Brown
3. Your mother? Resourceful
4. Your father? Dependable
5. Your favorite food? Rice
6. Your dream last night? None
7. Your favorite drink? Lemonade
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. What room you are in? Bedroom
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Dogs
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Philippines
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren’t? Lazy
15. Muffins? Blueberry
16. Wish list item? Money
17. Where you grew up? Makati
18. Last thing you did? Worked
19. What are you wearing? Eyeglasses
20. Your TV? Hyundai
21. Your pets? None
22. Friends? Online
23. Your life? Okay
24. Your mood? Relaxed
25. Missing someone? Jo
26. Car? None
27. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
28. Your favorite store? Ministop
29. Your favorite color? Yellow
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Dunno
32. Who will resend this? Me
33. One place that I go to over and over? Mall
34. One person who emails me regularly? BuyBlogReviews.com
35. My favorite place to eat? Icebergs

Now, I'm tagging the following people: Melanie, Juliana, Phoebe, Genejosh and Mys.

I got this interesting tag from Laine of Laine’s Abode.

The rules are simple:

1. Open this website: Personality Test

2. Take the Personality Quiz. (It's very short and easy really!)

3. Copy paste the result to your blog.

4. Tag as many friends you can and link to the friend who tagged you!

Now, here's my Personality Test result:)

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education
You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Except for my views on education, the rest of the results are pretty accurate.

Guys, it’s your turn to know yourself better: Seiko, Enchie, Chris, Ness and Chubskulit. Have fun!

I got this tag from Cee of Living A’ La Mode, Seiko of Seiko's Diary and Jacris of Mom's Special Diary.



What is Plagiarism?

According to Dictionary, Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work.

To all Bloggers who exert effort to create noteworthy entries and who continue to maintain a Blog which is a reflection of who she / he is, " Good job! "

To those who have the desire to Blog but are merely scraping contents from other people' s materials, " Whether you are monetizing your site to help you with your basic needs or to satisfy some of your wants, do it the proper way. Stop making money out of someone else's work. Otherwise, you are nothing but a common thief! "

I urge everyone to spread the word around. Stop plagiarizing others’ works. BE ORIGINAL!

This post is long overdue. Sorry, Niko, it took a while for me to post this on my blog, but it’s better late than never. Thanks, dear, for tagging me.


RULES:
1. Link with the person who tagged you.
2. Copy above images.
3. Post this on any or all of your Blog/s.
4. Answer the two-part questionnaire following these Rules. (Feel free to elaborate your answers. For questions 8 - 14, post only the one (1) which you believe best describes your choice.)
5. Share this with at least seven (7) friends on your Blog Roll.
6. Come back to Living A’ La Mode (DO NOT CHANGE THIS LINK PLEASE.) and leave the URL of your Post in order for you/your Blog to be added to the Master List.
7. Have Fun!

~ Parenting Style ~
1. Do you exercise full or minimal control over your child’s / children’s behavior?
- Minimal. There are times my son doesn’t listen, especially when he really likes what he’s doing. I can’t help but give in to his wishes sometimes.

2. Do you expect your child / children to obey 100% or let her / him / them do what pleases her / him / them?
- If what pleases my son won’t pose any harm to anyone, then that’s perfectly fine with me. It’s a different thing when he does something disrespectful or hurtful. This is when he has to obey mommy 100% or else…

3. Do you welcome discussion or you simply set rules?
- I set the rules, but I am open to discussion.

4. Do you reprimand?
- Certainly.

5. Do you use spanking for punishment?
- Yes, I do. This will teach my son a lesson that bad behavior doesn’t go unpunished.

6. Do you use some kind of a reward System for motivation?
- When my son does something good, I shower him with praises, hugs and kisses. Sometimes, I tell him we’ll buy a toy he wants or we’ll go to the mall if he’ll obey mommy.

7. Do you enjoy being a Parent?
- Yes!!! I wouldn’t trade being a mom for anything.

8. Are you a hands-on Parent or do you have a full-time Nanny?
- Though I’m a working mom, I make it a point to be a hands-on mom to my son whenever I can. I’m the one who gives him his bath in the morning and evening, administers his vitamins, cuts his fingernails and takes him to his pediatrician.

9. At what age would you let your child make simple decisions for himself / herself?
- As soon as I feel he’s mature enough.

10.Do you and your Husband have the same Parenting Style?
- No. I easily give in to my son’s wishes, especially when he’s crying, but my husband
sometimes lets him cry until he gets tired of it.

~ Wife Style ~
11. How long have you been married?
- 13 years this August.

12. How do you feel about being a Wife?
- It's not easy being a wife, especially in our culture. A Filipina wife is expected to be a lot of things rolled into one: a perfect homemaker, a caring wife, a loving mother, etc. This becomes doubly hard when you're a working mom. So, to answer this question, sometimes I enjoy being a wife and sometimes I don't.

13. What has been your typical sleeping attire since you got married?
- T-shirt and shorts.

14. How do you show how appreciative you are of your Husband?
- I cook his favorite dishes.

15. What do you do when your Husband annoys you?
- I do something that annoys him back.

16. You are buying or planning to buy your first house as Husband and Wife.
- We already bought our first house.

17. How does your house look like at the end of the day when Hubby gets home?
- Neat and tidy.

18. How do you feel about running a household?
- It’s stressful sometimes, but I get a sense of fulfillment when everything is in order.

19. What is the sweetest gift you have given your Husband so far?
- Our son Justin.

Now, I’m passing on this tag to all the mommy bloggers who visit my site.

Enchie of Sweet Nothings has created a new meme for all mommies!

Here are the rules:

1.Grab the badge.
2.Share your story as an Xtraordinary Mom! It may be through pictures, videos, poems, letters. Anything that your heart desires.
3.Let other moms know where they can grab the badge.

Only in my 9th year of being married did I become pregnant with my son. This is because I had a medical condition known as prolactinoma. After I underwent surgery in 2004, everything became normal, and I conceived in October 2005. So, yes, Justin is our miracle baby.

I used to be competitive and career-driven, but I soon realized I had to make major adjustments in my life because I am now a mother. So, while the rest of my colleagues are climbing up the corporate ladder, I was learning and mastering and enjoying the art of motherhood. I have decided to become a work-at-home mom so I can attend to my son’s needs all the time.

Being a mom has changed me in more ways than one. I have learned to set aside my own personal needs and wants for my son. I also found my life’s purpose and meaning, and that has made me happy and content. I thank God every day because He’s given me a wonderful opportunity to become a mother and to make a difference in a young boy’s life, that of my dearest and precious Justin.