customs

I am a very practical person, more so now that I am married with kids. I try to limit my spending to basic needs and things that my family must have (new shoes to replace worn out shoes, etc.) . This way I can somehow stretch our budget until the next payday.

We all have our own ideas and opinions, that's why I can't comprehend grand celebrations, new clothes, new accessories, new everything spending!

Who doesn't want NEW things? Of course I do LOVE NEW things! But sometimes I just have to stop somewhere before spending on anything I consider superfluous.

I was surprised when I learned of grand birthday celebrations for 7 year old boys. The old people (Southern custom = Southern Tagalog to further south custom) say that when your son reaches his 7th year, the parents must celebrate it with a handaan because the 7th year is the luckiest year for the boy and will serve as his lucky amulet, that sort of thing...

I was surprised to learn that the 7th birthday celebration for boys thing is not limited to the southerners, in fact a lot of Filipinos worldwide observe it!

But I want my kids to learn early on being practical and still enjoy being kids. So on their birthdays we take them somewhere to celebrate. Of course they sometimes wish for a party complete with balloons, cakes, spaghetti, ice cream, giveaways, and the pabitin but reality sinks before I overspend (whew!). We always try to console them that,"'having a party doesn't always guarantee better education in better schools. That they will have the best party that they will ever want if they can have better education and finish it. That they can party now but what about tomorrow?'" I know we shouldn't be putting too much "pressure" or "heavy thoughts" on them but I want them to learn early, so one day they'll stand on their own with no hesitations.

We sometimes let them have their way though. In fact, hubby signed and paid for my son's field trip early, the same week that the school sent notices to parents informing them about the school's field trip. Hubby also paid for the yaya's slot 'coz we can't let our son join the field trip alone. We consider it as a prize to our son for keeping his class standing and for having higher grades than the last grading period.

Saturday at the mall

Last Saturday hubby gave the kids a simple treat. He took us to one of the nearest malls and let the kids play to their favorite play place. We found out that the inflated rubber slide was replaced with a huge inflated bunny head.

the bunny head

The kids were a bit disappointed, they were looking forward to playing again at the rubber slide. But they were more eager to try the bunny. They can hardly wait while I bought new socks for them to wear inside the play place.

They were a bit apprehensive at first, not knowing how to get inside the bunny's head and play inside.

An aide was on standby near the entrance (the mouth) and help the kids open the bunny's mouth.

joy tries to get in first with kuya's guidance

that's JB's feet!

inside the bunny's head at last!

playing inside the bunny's head

Meldy and Joy inside the mall near the department store entrance

Meldy watched Gerald Santos' mini concert, here the singer was signing the CD's bought by his fans

being true online

Whenever I say something whether online, in person, in whatever form of communication I always speak of what is true. I dislike lying, this is why I get disappointed easily with other people who lie about things that they take for granted.

Online bloggers, like me, like to do some pay per click (ppc). Who doesn't? It's extra cash for a few clicks.

So I do get disappointed when some bloggers tell you that they've given you $$$mile$$ when they did not really.

It's the same when other bloggers tell you that you did not really return the favor (how? they checked of course!).

I am encouraging real honest bloggers to please return favors honestly. We may be online but respect and honesty are basic communication rules from the crib.

We may be bloggers and are free to do what we wish but we are also building reputations with every action we do online.

Blog on!

Let's make blogging more enjoyable for everybody!

as free as a child

I envy the children...
They can do whatever they want.

They don't worry about the next hour, the next day, only older people worry.

When I was still small, I love to ride on a swing.

I love to kick the dust and let my swing fly, and fly, and fly...
I love the wind against my face, my hair, adrenaline pumping in my veins...

I never worried about other people, I worried more with what I want -- junk food to eat.

Why do people worry more as they age?
I don't even want to hear about the word "worry" sometimes. Let worry worry about itself...
We have our own lives to live and life is too short to worry.

candle light

In my hometown we light candles for departed souls at the cemetery and at church. And before All Soul's Day people gather at the cemetery to clean and paint the tombs. There is some kind of festive atmosphere (don't know why!), more so during All Sain't's Day (1 November) and All Soul's Day (2 November).

These days people observe/celebrate(?) All Soul's Day more than All Saint's Day. I sometimes think that people do not observe All Saint's Day anymore. They just troop to the cemetery with their merienda (refreshments -- cooked snacks, beverages, junk foods), or whole day meals on November 1! They light candles and offer flowers. People use this event to bond with relatives and friends aside from praying together for departed's souls.

one of the neighbors lighted more than the others

In the evening even when we were still residing in Quezon City, the neighbors light candles at their gates or by their main doors. I learned that the lighted candles were for the souls of departed relatives or acquaintances of those who were not able to visit those soul's graves! Inaaaang!

for a dear... dear... departed...

Anyway, it's been our practice to light some candles during Halloween/ All Sain'ts/Souls Day.

solemnly burning...

preserved fruits

In my last Quiapo jaunt, I bought some big apples for my kids. I chosed those apples 'coz they were really big, looked juicy, crunchy, and yummy! At home I was the first one to have a taste (hehehe). I peeled and sliced half of one and decided to bring it with me to work. It tasted bland and paper like, so I decided not to finish even one slice.I learned later that nobody at home did not like the taste of those apples. So everybody snubbed the last apple on the tray.

the apple

It's been a month since I bought those apples, so I was really surprised when I again noticed the last apple on the tray.

another shot of the same apple

It still looked so fresh as if it was just freshly picked! Even the stem looks fresh! Golly! There must be something in that apple for it to look as good as it was when I bought it!

another shot...

I learned that those apples came from C - - - -!

and another...

I don't want to put things in bad light here. But as you can see in the photos of the same apple that I'm writing about, it still looks fresh as if it was just picked hours ago!
I read somewhere, most probably from one of my emails that some commercial fruits are covered with transparent wax to keep them from spoiling faster than their natural shelf life.