A mother's worst nightmare happened to me yesterday. I lost Dionne while we were shopping in the supermarket. She and Paolo went off to the noodles section on their own while I was stupidly examining the label on an eye cream.Of course I was imagining that my daughter had been snatched and because she was darn pretty, anybody can put her up for adoption. What more, Dianne seemed worried about her "missing" twin sister. After ten minutes of my panic attack, the intercom blared:Paging the mother of a four-year old girl wearing pink jeans and pink sandals, please proceed ... Continue Reading...

There is something about the Manila Christmas this year which is a bit more somber than the previous years. Just the same, we have to get on with the business of buying Christmas presents because it's called for by tradition. Maybe it's the economic situation but the department stores don't seem so crowded and the traffic is not as bad. All I know is that I am almost through with my Christmas shopping list but somehow it gets longer because there is always someone I forgot to include on the list. I also attended my first two Christmas parties last week and they were ... Continue Reading...

What is the Mooncake Festival and why are the Chinese crazy about them at this time of the year?According to tradition, the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the time when the moon is said to be at its fullest, brightest and nearest to the earth. As such, it is a good excuse for all Chinese families to get together and celebrate the occasion.I didn't know about this until my Rotarian buddies told me we had to attend a Mooncake Party as we were co-hosts of the event. "Come one, come all! Dinner's for free with prizes galore," enticed our club ... Continue Reading...

Aside from not blogging for the past few days, I must be so out of touch with reality because I didn't know till yesterday afternoon that a relatively strong earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, shook Manila in the early hours of dawn. Sometimes I am guilty of sleeping so soundly that I wouldn't know it even if the whole house was on fire, and that is baaad for a mother who is supposed to be on emergency alert 24/7. But then again, I dread earthquakes so much I don't like to feel it during my waking hours (see earlier post).It all started when a big quake, ... Continue Reading...

I know, i know, this is almost like a Friendster survey. But I hate writing about boring, depressing topics so I answered this to amuse myself. It's actually a take-off from one local celebrity's blog:Four names you go by:1. Anna2. AJ (circa 90's)3. Juju (circa 80's)4. Nallen (as my mom/sis would call me)Four things you like about yourself:1. My honesty2. My sense of humor3. My passion for life and living4. Being Superwoman!Four things that annoy you:1. Men behaving badly2. The Philippine Catholic Church and their grossly outdated ideas/meddling in politics3. The ... Continue Reading...