Life, Day by Day

I have 2 children...a 20 year old son and a 3 year old daughter. People not in the know would almost always ask...Why such a huge gap between the two?  I understand their curiosity because if I were in their place, I would wonder too.  And so, I would always take the time to explain that my children are adopted.  But it wasn't always that easy when my son was growing up... not because I wanted to keep it a secret.  On the contrary, by the time he was 4, my son knew that I was not his only mother and that he had another one who gave birth to him.  The act of adoption, fostering and guardianship were nothing new or strange to my family.  There was always an adopted aunt, cousin, nephew and niece in the past and present generation, so it wasn't like being adopted was such a big deal to us.  But you see, I used to think that saying he is adopted would make people treat him differently and I did not want that.  I get so tired of people telling me (and...

The Negros Bloggers in cooperation with SM City Bacolod sponsored a Blogging Seminar entitled “Everything About Blogging: From Hobby to Money” this morning at the SM Event Center.   More than 50 participants registered to listen to our 2 invited lecturers, Enrico Dee of Biyahilo.com and Lloyd Tronco of Talonggo.blogspot.com . We would like to thank SM City Bacolod through Lorena Quizan Martinez, for allowing us the use of the Event Center, Audrey for the delicious Sugarlandia barquillos and barquiron, Eduardo Mirambel Joven for the tee-shirt raffled off and most of all to Enrico and Lloyd who shared their time, talent, experience and passion for blogging pro bono.  To all of us...happy, fruitful and prosperous blogging today, tomorrow...and beyond! registration table

Okay, so this is a continuation of sorts from my last post ...after doing all that, what next? The answer came two days later.  I am now participating actively in a local blogging community, the Negros Bloggers . We are a growing group of people from or in Negros who blogs about anything and everything under the sun.  They have started to organize in 2009 and I was invited by a friend through Facebook to attend a blogging seminar they organized in October 2010.  It was serendipitous I think, because I met some really sincere people who are so into blogging, I felt this was my chance to expand my blogging into something more than just an on and off hobby.  And so, after connecting with more experienced bloggers...here I am now...an active member of Negros Bloggers. So far I have attended 3 enjoyable meetings, the last one was downright hilarious...this is a group with a very good sense of humor but definitely serious about blogging and in fact we have several activiti...

What does one do when one is suddenly given 60 days to do nothing? The possibilities are endless...I can eat   ...pray (photo courtesy of DLFC/Grace) (photo courtesy of DLFC/Grace) and love... something that I am constantly surrounded with by my family who I know loves unconditionally...my true friends who support me whatever happens, and most importantly, I now know how much God loves me.

Boracay is totally changed since we visited in 2000. If at that time, the island already looked crowded, it has grown even bigger in terms of infrastructure and population, all in the name of progress.  The island's enchantment and purity in the 70's is all but gone. Once upon a time it was only people from Aklan who knew of its beautiful beach.  Of course, even the best kept secret does not stay a secret for long.  Eventually, the few settlers with land titles in the island decided to either develop, sell or lease their lands. Today, there are hundreds of resorts, both beach front or in-land, high end or budget type, varied restaurants, either local or franchised, coffee shops (yes, Starbucks is in Boracay), all kinds of bars, expensive boutiques ( I saw a Mango Outlet), and even food carts can be seen in Boracay.  I now call the place little Metro-Manila with a beachfront.  It is one big party place, THE PLACE to be seen not just in summer but at all times of...

The first time I went to Boracay was in the year 2000.  My cousins living in Davao (then) and Manila were all going to meet up there for the Holy Week and we (my mom, brother, son) decided to come along to celebrate my birthday there as well.  We stayed at Marzon's in station 3 while my cousins stayed at Tirol & Tirol in station 2.  It was a good thing that we did because the resort was only a few steps to the beach, it was clean with friendly and accommodating staff and above all quiet since it was far from the noise of bars playing loud music and party atmosphere in station 2.  We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days and although we enjoyed the beautiful beach, the company and the resort...fact is, Boracay is the worst place to be on Holy Week and so, I swore never to come back at this time of year.   Then come 2011...my mom wanted to spend family time with the kids before summer vacation ends, as my nephew was going to Manila for college.  The initi...

After experiencing Amanpulo , then what... I have been to famous white beaches like Boracay and Panglao Island in Bohol and I have been to Miniloc Island of El Nido Resorts in Palawan as well as Apo Island in Negros Oriental , and honestly,  Pamalican Island's (home to Amanpulo) pristine white beach surrounding the island is not much different but , taking everything else into consideration, nothing else compares to what this breathtaking island has to offer .  For one, the island's owners and Amanresorts have seen to it the island's lush tropical surroundings, flora and fauna remained untouched.  I cannot say the same for the other famous beaches in the country. Whatever development made in the island was done in such a way that modern amenities built did not change its natural beauty nor cause destruction to nature. Our casita was surrounded by wild vegetation and we had a resident bayawak living in the rocks and trees but this did not in any way diminish the ...