October 2011: Inspirational Quotes!

There are four things a child needs: plenty of love, nourishing food, regular sleep, and lots of soap and water.
~Ivy Baker Priest ~

Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Start with what they know; build with what they have. But with the best of leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say, we have done this ourselves.
~Lao Tzu ~

To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.
~Terry Tempest Williams ~

Kindness and compassion toward all living things is the mark of a civilized society.
~Cesar Chavez ~

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
~Alexander Graham Bell ~

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.
~Steve Jobs ~

Simplicity of living means meeting life face to face. It means confronting life clearly, without unnecessary distractions. It means being direct and honest in relationships of all kinds. It means taking life as it is.
~Duane Elgin ~

Turn your face toward the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.
~Maori Proverb ~

When you talk about seeing what is real, to me, there is an invisible reality behind the visible reality. What I think it's supposed to look like, I have to let go of, in order to see what it is.
~Jane Rosen ~

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
~JK Rowling ~

If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth ... This is the real message of love.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

Don't be a leader -- be a ladder.
~Jayesh Patel ~

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.
~John Jakes ~

There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.
~Barry Lopez ~

In our sheer preoccupation with technology, we do not realize the inherent artistic choices when creating technology ... and the questioning and reflection that the process of creating art implies.
~Tapan Parikh ~

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
~Mary Oliver ~

Every man dies - not every man really lives.
~William Wallace ~

The dream was always running ahead of one. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was a miracle.
~Anais Nin ~

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
~Samuel Beckett ~

The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have.
~Leonard Nemoy ~

The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free. Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are negative, stay smiling and keep running.
~Fauja Singh, 100-yr-old Marathoner ~

Empathy is the greatest thing. There's an expression I love: 'Let people live in your heart.'
~Toshiro Kanamori, 4th grade teacher ~

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.
~Lewis Carroll ~

We don't see things as they are; we see them as we are.
~Anais Nin ~

But thou, doing kindness, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.
~Matthew 6:3 ~

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
~Lao Tzu ~

Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.
~James Baldwin ~

Not all who wander are lost.
~J. R. R. Tolkien ~

We seek not rest but transformation. We are dancing through each other as doorways.
~Marge Piercy ~

The lines of giving are complicated, you never know how it will come back. But you have to give because you can't let the cord break with you.
~Maria Diarra Keita ~

Happiness is not a reward -- it is a consequence.
~Robert Green Ingersoll ~

on babysitter issues...

{photo via}

I am having a hard time in making the decision whether I have to fire out K.A.'s babysitter or let her stay with us for some more time. Aside from the fact that finding a new babysitter is not easy, I also pitied her because I know that she really needs to earn money for herself and for her family as well.

Hubby told me several times to ask my family in the province to ask my aunt (K.A.’s first nanny) to go back with us or just look for a new babysitter.

K.A’s current babysitter is been with us for more than three months now. She is indeed a very nice young lady and my baby K.A. already loves her.

Having my own rules & standard on how should be my baby will be taken care of; I briefed her and told her to follow my own rules.

Experience wise I know that she knows how to take care of a baby because she took care of her younger siblings and even nephew. Yet my hubby told me that she was raised in the way that cleanliness around the house was not properly observed.

For a while I just observed her on how things were being done.

Here are some of my few findings:

*Proper hygiene for my baby was not properly maintained as well as the cleanliness inside our house. Many times my baby got rushes because she was not properly taken cared of.

*She did not wash K.A’s clothes properly. Several times I find some traces of dirt on the wash clothes. And I suspected that maybe some of K.A.’s rushes were caused by that dirt and maybe some of the detergents left on it.

*She did not even clean the feeding bottle properly. I just observed one time that there are bubbles in my baby’s drinking water.

I conditioned myself to be patient enough.

I still patiently trained her and told her to observed cleanliness for my baby and inside the house.

I told hubby that we should clean the house before we go to the office and when we go home at night and just have a general cleaning during the weekend.

I just decided then that it is better if I do the laundry by myself every morning. And do the other laundry on the weekends.

I also took over the cleaning and sterilizing the feeding bottles.

For awhile, things seem to be ok. So I told hubby that finding new babysitter will be set aside and just give her chance to be with us until such time that she voluntarily say that she will go home to the province or find some other job. Anyway, she is indeed very nice to us. She is just a quiet type of person. She never reasons out or answers me back.

But last week, I observed that laziness strike her again. Proper hygiene for K.A. was again neglected. K.A. even felt so itchy that she scratched and scratched her body and head then sometimes cried and tried to pull her hair.

Then, just last weekend I caught her watching TV intensely while K.A. was busy playing and pulling cords and other stuff under the computer table near the electric socket.

I got angry as I seen that situation. And I told her to prioritize my baby among other things. But I still managed myself not to say that I am paying her to take care of my baby and not for her to just relax and see movies on television.

Now, the idea of finding new babysitter again comes into my mind. Yet I am still having a second thought. While I wanted my baby to be in good hand yet my willingness to help less fortunate people is also in my consideration.

I really don’t know what to do. Should I fire her now or give her one more chance? Please help.

naniniwala ka ba sa P-A-M-A-H-I-I-N?

{photo via}

----------------------------------------------
"Youth ages, immaturity is outgrown,
ignorance can be educated, and drunkenness sobered,
but STUPID lasts forever." -Aristophanes
-----------------------------------------------

Pamahiin is the Tagalog word for superstitious belief or superstition. Superstitious belief, or superstition is the irrational belief than on object, or action, will influence the result of an event although the object, or action, and the event are totally unrelated. (Source here)

Ang mga Filipino ay likas na mapamahiin. Marami tayong mga pamahiin na hanggang sa ngayon ay pinaniniwalaan pa rin ng iba nating mga kababayan.

Hindi ako mapamahiing tao subalit kapag para sa anak ko napipilitan na rin lang akong sumunod.
Sabi nga wala namang mawawala kung paminsan-minsan ay susundin natin ang mga ito. Mahirap din naming magsisi dahil laging nasa huli.

Ilan lamang sa mga pamahiin na aking nalalaman ay ang sumusunod:

when you hear cats meowing loudly, merong buntis o mabubuntis sa bahay
*what??? Baka yong pusa ang mabubuntis!

kapag ang bata ay may birthmarks or sya ay pinanganak na maitim, ang mommy daw ate something dark like chocolates, liver, dinuguan, etc noong sya ay naglilihi

*hindi ko alam ang koneksyon pero baka nga naman

ang bata ay kailangan gupitan ng buhok kapag sya ay isang taong gulang na at itago o iipit sa libro ang kanyang unang ginupit na buhok
*sabi ng aking mother-in-law para daw maging matalino ang bata. Hindi ko alam kung totoo pero ginawa ko ito kay K.A.

ang bata daw kailangang gupitan ng kuko kapag isang buwang gulang na tapos balutin sa papel at ilagay ito sa may bintana o sa ilalim ng sahig kung kawayan ang inyong sahig
*ayon pa rin sa aking MIL, ito daw ay para makakapit agad ang bata kapag sya ay nadulas o nahulog

bawal maligo ng isang lingo ang bagong panganak kasi daw nakakabinat.
*ito ang pinakamahirap na naranasan ko pagkatapos kung manganak. Imagine, summer tapos one week ako hindi naligo tapos ayaw pa ako pahanginan. Whew! Pakiramdam ko para akong nasa pugon. Pero hindi makasuway kasi biyanan at asawa ko ang nagbabantay.

ang bata daw dapat nagbibigkis hanggang anim na buwan para hindi madaling kabagin at hindi lumaki ang tiyan
*buti nalang ang aking naging OB-GYNE at ang pediatrician ni K.A. ay naniniwala rin sa bigkis kaya hindi nila ako napagalitan noong nakikita nilang nakabigkis ang bata kapag dinadala ko sa clinic. Nakatulong din ito para maproteksyunan ang kanyang pusod.

pahiran ng laway ang bata para iwas usog o simpleng magsabi ng “pwera usog”
*medyo unhygienic nga lang pero totoo sya. Noong maliit pa si K.A. ay makailang ulit syang nausog ng aking bunsong kapatid at ng kanyang lola dahil sila ay natutuwa sa pagiging chubby ni K.A. Tapos last new years eve nausog si K.A habang kami ay nasa probinsya. Hindi talaga sya tumigil sa kakaiyak ng malakas hanggat hindi namin nahanap kung sino ang nakausog sa kanya. Ang aking asawa ay malakas din makausog lalo na kapag sya ay sobrang pagod o kaya ay gutom.

(see further explanations here )

lagyan ng kapirasong sinulid o papel sa noo ang bata kapag ito ay sinisinok
*hindi ko alam kung ito ay makakatulong pero ang aking ginagawa ay pinaiinom ko nalang ng tubig

maglagay ng bawang sa bintana kapag may buntis o may batang wala pang binyag
*sabi ng tatay ko hindi raw totoo ang aswang kasi matanda na raw sya pero hindi pa sya nakakakita nito. Pero ako totoo man sya o hindi ayoko pa ring makakita. DUWAG kaya ako!

maglagay daw ng tatlong tingting sa ilalim ng higaan ng baby kapag iniwan ng walang tao ang bahay para hindi sya palitan ng aswang doon
*ito ang bagay na pinagawa sa akin noong wala pang binyag si K.A. pero sa tuwing ginagawa ko ito ay kinikilabutan talaga ako ng husto. Hindi ko alam kung bakit.

huwag paglaruin ng manika ang bata hanggat hindi pa ito nagsasalita para makapagsalita sya ng mas maaga
*hindi ko alam kung ito ay totoo o sadyang sabi-sabi lang. si K.A. ayaw pa rin paglaruin ng manika ng kanyang tatay hanggang sa ngayon.

huwag paliguan ang bata kapag martes at biyernes para sila ay hindi magkasakit
*sabi pa rin ng aking biyanan at ng ilang mga nakatatanda sa amin ay totoo daw ito. Kaya hindi ko rin pinapaliguan si baby sa mga araw na ito mabuti na ang sumunod kaysa magsisi sa huli. Anyway, dalawang araw lang naman sa isang linggo.

huwag kumanta habang nagluluto kasi daw makakapag-asawa ng matanda
*para sa akin hindi totoo yan kasi hindi naman matanda ang aking napangasawa. Wala syang konek.

kapag binunutan ng puting buhok lalo daw ito dadami
*hindi ko alam ang koneksyon. Paanong dadami kung inaalisan mo na nga? Pero sa ngayon uso na ang hair dye kaya hindi na problema yang bunut-bunot na yan.

bawal magwalis sa gabi kasi itinataboy daw ang grasya
*paano ako hindi magwawalis kung ang dumi-dumi na ng sahig? Ayoko kaya ang may naaapakan akong dumi sa bahay. Saka gabi na ako dumarating ng bahay kaya wala akong choice kundi sa gabi magwalis. Kawawa naman anak ko kung lagi madumi ang bahay baka kagatin sya ng langgam o ipis.

kapag may kasambahay na umalis ng bahay habang may kumakain kailangan daw iikot ang pinggan para walang mangyaring masama sa kanya
*hindi ko ginagawa ito. Kahit kasi iikot mo yong plates kung tatanga-tanga ka pa rin paglabas mo siguradong disgrasya abot mo.

bawal maggupit ng kuko sa gabi kasi may maaga daw mamatay sa parents
*siguro ang dahilan kung bakit bawal itong gawin dati dahil madilim, lampara lang ang ilaw nila noon.

bawal magpautang o magbayad sa gabi dahil mawawala daw ang swerte
*minsan ang caretaker namin ayaw kunin ang bayad namin for rental or utilities kapag gabi na ako nagbabayad kasi daw malas. Pero ginigiit ko kapag kami naputulan ng tubig o kuryente dahil hindi nakabayad yon ang mas malas.

bawal isukat ang damit pangkasal dahil hindi ito matutuloy
*nakakatawa kasi ang nangyari sa aking kasal eh medyo masikip ang aking gown. Buti nalang mabilis din nilang nagawan ng paraan para maisuot ko ito.

tumalon ng tatlong beses kapag bagong taon para tumangkad
*hehehe. Noong bata pa ako makailang beses ko itong ginawa pero pandakikay pa rin ako hanggang ngayon.

Ikaw, naniniwala ka ba sa mga pamahiin? Meron ka bang alam na iba pang pamahiin? Maaari mo bang ibahagi sa amin?

what shall we do now

{photo via }

Nowadays that all prices go higher and higher almost everyday, we really have to tighten our budget.

Our salary can no longer accommodate other things that we really wanted to buy.

So what I have to do is just buy those basic needs prioritizing the needs of our baby.

One day I was inside the grocery store.

Before picking up some goods on the shelves, I just checked the prices if it is lower or higher than the other grocery where I usually buy groceries.

That day, an employee of Nestle Philippines approached me while I was checking the price of certain brand of milk for K.A.

She then asked me, “mam ilang weeks po ba bago maubos ng baby nyo yang gatas?” She is referring to a 1.8 kg can of milk.

And I told her, more than a week.

She was shocked. So she asked again, “How old was your baby?”

"One year and three months", I replied.

She smiled and said, “goodluck sa gatas ni baby”.

With that, I smiled at her too.

Then I go on with my groceries.

But it made me think for a while.

Oo nga noh!

Masyado na nga palang mabigat sa bulsa ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin.

Can you imagine, gatas pa lang ni baby more than three thousand pesos na a month.

Eh paano pa yong other needs namin – like house rental, utilities, food, etc. Luckily, pareho kaming may trabaho ng husband ko. Kaya kahit papaano nakakasurvive pa rin.

Paano pa kaya yong mga taong isa lang ang nagtatrabaho para sa pamilya?

O paano pa kaya yong mga taong walang regular na pinagkukunan ng pang-araw-araw na gastusin?

Ang hirap noh!

Ano kaya ang pwede nating gawin sa ngayon?

O kaya ano ba ang kailangang gawin ng gobyerno para maibsan ang kahirapang ito?

how would you...

How would you react if older women called you ate?

At first: I just ignore it. Siguro nagkamali lang.
Second time: Bad trip. Nananadya ka na ha!
Succeeding: I just called her ate in an irritated voice!

It’s so kakainis!!! Feeling nya bata sya. Excuse me girl mas matanda ka po kaysa sa akin. It so happened na nauna lang akong mag asawa kaysa sayo. Taray ko noh! Sorry naiinis lang kasi ako!

Now I understand why my friend got irritated in her too.