BABBLES...MORE GABBLES...JABBER FREAK

Just love the sound of those words. Besides, "no can think" of what title to use out of "no can think" of what to write. Whatever... Indulge anyway and let's see where we'll be heading.

GAS BILL

March 21, spring started officially and we're still as cold as our winter. The heater is still on after paying more than a thousand euro gas bill. The bill that shocked my husband ( still shocks him when we paid the same amount last year). Thanks to my son's school, where 'pidocchi' (lice) was prevalent for the previous months but is now contained (thanks to a 13 euro shampoo that pharmacies disposed before it expires), the husband paid the gas bill in less "agony".

SALTED CAKE

Work is good. my boss is so generous, so is her ex wife whom I had lunch with last Friday. My first time to taste 'torta salata'(salted cake). More of a pie topped with spinach and 4 kinds of cheese. Ricotta, mozzarella, cheddar and grana. Heaven. Italians must have all the reasons to be known for their cooking.

PICTURE CREDIT:Lo spicchio d'aglio - Ricette di cucina on-line -

The lunch was made more perfect with our laughter. We talked about my kids and her two grown up kids. Gosh, "feminist" was all over her and I liked her more when she talks about "multi-tasking". How she described her passed juggling of mothering, home making, "wifing" and now, the job that pays her new car, Clinique Skin Care and gym fee. A once a month meal with Marina, can't wait what's for April.

LA QUERCIOLA WINES



Back to my boss' generosity. He gave me two bottles of red wine last Friday. His supplies came last week. He said he has this friend in Barolo('La Querciola' Farm) who just started the business and produces excellent world class wines. Because of the on going economic crisis, long time wineries who already made names out of their wines had dropped their prices. To be able to compit or at least generate his capital or investment, my boss' friend from Barolo sells his products at a bargain too. And before he goes bankrupt, he sent his wines to all his friends, imposing them to pay of course.




I had seen the label of my share of bottles dating 2004. Hhmmnn, can't wait to to taste this five years old fermented grapes(lol), maybe tonight.

WORKING OUT DIET

Been jogging intensely, if one hour 3 times a week is considered intense. Yoga too for almost everyday and less rice and pasta. Hmmfff, those minute(read as "may-nuyt" lolz) hard shed pounds easily comes back in one gobble of carbs and a pound of steak. Regardless, minute is better than nothing or gaining, me thinks.




One thing I noticed, staying fit and eating ideal food is quite expensive. Cereals for breakfast. Yogurt and cereal biscuits for snack. A slice of meat, 'insalta'(veggie salad), cereal crackers and pear or apple for lunch. Another snack of English tea, oven-ed peanuts and 2 biscuits of cereal. Dinner which is the same as lunch but meat was substituted with tuna.

To tell you the truth, I strictly follow the diet because its not easy to run the 20 minutes by the pavement which it takes me 40 minutes on my way back through the beach. More effort when you push your foot from the embedding effect of the sand. And my golly gee, grasping breath would make you cough and muscles would later sore when you sprint on the dry soft part of the shore.

THE PRICE

After the work out, you'll feel you had won over your demons. Victory over the inner voice who encourages you that being fat is you being confident of the body you have. Wrong. Staying fit is taking care of the only body you have! That's where your confidence should invest. If you're after longevity of life, that is!

BRANDS



Eeisshh its raining! My Sunday jogging, the longest run is making me write now. I can't go out and try the new "dry and fit" work-out suit we bought yesterday.

Business tactic can fool you if you let them. You see, this sport store had all the line of jogging sports wear in one floor. Nike, Adidas and Champion are on the front line occupying almost three fourths of the place. A pair of jogging pants alone costs 45 to 95 euros. I went at the very end of the floor flipping all the price tag and I found this "PRO TOUCH Teamsport" product which looks very much the same (cloth and style) with the branded ones. It was made in Switzerland against made in China for the well known sports gear.



Huhh, felt like winning the "consolation" price in a raffle draw because I paid 19 euros for my "dry-fit" jogging pants and not 45 to 95. A white blouse came with that too which was on sale for only 14 euros.

Imagine that if I didn't riffle through all the tags and labels, I'll get out of the sports shop robbed with 100 euros.

SHUSH ME



Okay, I'll have to go. That's it for now. Kids are awake and I'll go make them breakfast. Time to join also the husband who is watching the first F1 race of this year, he actually woke the kids up. Till the next time of my babbles... more gabbles and freaky jabbers. Oh did I tell you its raining and I can't jog?

ON SOCIAL NETWORKING

Obviously, one of the many wonders of the Internet is for us to search long lost friends, relatives, classmates etc... To some, hunting(joke-joke hehehe) old boyfriends, girlfriends, crushes or past admirers. It also connects us to our family, never met relatives and even our enemies. Wonder of wonders too when we gain new friends boundlessly across the mountains and the seas.

Taking Friendster for example, a social networking site where most Pinoys gaily post their pictures and have their acquaintances have a peep on their lives. According to Wikipedia, it has 19 billion page view per month, 90 million members and still counting. Mountain View, CA, USA may be the main office of this site but most of the members are Asians. And yes, Philippines is on top of them.

Every time I see old friends, classmates and relatives, I'm like an excited teenager who would not hesitate to let them know I'm happy to see them after a looongg time. Of which to some, its an awkward thing to do.

Many funny as well as sad stories that we can count just by joining this social networking alone. There's that jealousy when past lovers suddenly send a message to your spouse and sometimes would brew up arguments which I think is a normal reaction. Normal, I said, not to justify jealousy but for it as a natural response to the given situation. It would be hypocrite if we deny the pang when exes are concern.

There's also that joy it gives to families far from each other. Even though just with pictures, they see their love ones all happy and well. Specially to grandparents who watch their 'apos' grow through the images they see on their computer screens.

Sometimes upon signing up and you see your old friends, it will make you realize that years had pass and how powerful time is to change every one's looks. It would even make you squint and place that face you seem don't know but you're sure you've seen somewhere else. After a a long look and thought, he/she was a group mate and a very close friend in college.

Meeting NEW friends and relatives too as I've said is magical, Just like my cousins Miss Buguias and Janice. Maybe we've bump into each other many times back home in Benguet-Baguio but it took us to join Friendsters, them in Arizona and Canada and us here in Italy, before we've known we're related.

I have to include this, through Friendster, my sons received a book signed by Mr. Paul Sr. himself of the Orange County Choppers courtesy of Nikki, a mother of three from New York whom I've never met in person.

Dylan, my second child, is always thankful to all the gifts from Ninang Marjh, another found friend thru the net. We hope to meet her if we'll be lucky to visit Austria.

I could go on and write what I am thankful of with signing up to all these social networking. All I wanted to point out is its the new trend of keeping in touch and its going to stay. It may be just in a virtual world but since you're at it, cope with the technology with out losing the proper way to extend comoraderie.

You added an old friend who is actually impossible to locate because you had no idea where in the world he/she is. She/he is then ecstatic to leave your page a comment of appreciation, have the courtesy to say, "thank you", at least. Not only that its the proper thing to do but its what social networking is all about. Otherwise, what's the point? You're merely parading your photos?

As long as you've got no bad intention or ruining any body's life, its okay to say ciao, nice to see you, your family looks great and thank you. That's what I've learned (the hard way) after 3 years of joining the cyberspace craze! For the newbies, take your time, we understand hehehe....

lugan_ikit

The first time I Googled "Baguio City", it led me to the very first forum site I signed in. I was a reader at first (before I became a "boring" 'forumer') of BaguioCityONLINE. A "stalker" too(hehehe) to this particular contributor - lugan_ikit.

If I translated it right, lugan_ikit means "Granny's ride". His avatar didn't give justice to his posts, he is better and real than Yoda. I even sent him a message, "I'm a fan!", said I. My "declaration" was ignored, he didn't reply hahaha. But nothing changed, his fan, remained I.

The Worldwide Dap-ay Forums's Yoda has his own blog now. Join me as we learn more about Igorot, our people, in his Siwat’s Weblog. Let's luxuriate in his 'Jed(i)+aic' prowess and eloquence in poetry.

I guarantee, his wisdom is kneaded from facts, good values, wit and exceptional morality. Above all, in most of his thread writings at BCO, he never fails to profess the serenity of life with GOD in a very realistic and hip approach. The rarity of already great people still bold in saying that HE up there is the greatest, Sir lugan_ikit is truly a "must click".

WOW PDI!

B-L-U-S-H!!! BLUSH!!! Our interview via email by Madam Salve Duplito was published at The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business Section, Monday Edition, 10/06/2008: Here's the article: Business - Money tales from OFWs - INQUIRER.net.

Reyna Elena(photo above...yep that's her with out her crown hehehe)informed us that it is also posted here: Salve Duplito of Money Smarts.

Many thanks to Ma'am Salve for featuring us and Reynz for the link.

THE IGOROT MOTHER BLOGGER

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family; Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one!" A quote by Jane Howard (1935-1996).

To educate solecism and correct the ill stigma concerning how our fellow countrymen see us, THE IGOROTS, may be impossible. A mother who belongs to "this" tribe who happens to blog, only dreams she could help educate the implications of ignorance about her people. But, what if she tries?

Native Cordillerans who're from the Northern part of the Philippines with the following Provinces: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Baguio City, Bontoc , Kalinga and Ifugao, are the IGOROTS, who often referred to as the "people from the mountains". With which in it's context is literally true, but sometimes, it is abused and used as a derogatory remark by those who don't really know us.

CONTINUE READING...

GOOGLE GADGETS

Saw this on Blogger's new dashboard and tried it yesterday:

Google Gadgets in your Layouts blog can now set their height automatically (if the gadget author supports it). Read more about adding Google Gadgets to your blog.

Notice the side bars and the new "gadgets". USELESS KNOWLEDGE had been making me click back and forth to refresh my home page. I love reading them. I find it entertaining(lol). Here are some I had cut and pasted after 7 clicks. Really cool!

1. It would pay to be prudent in the vicinity of the honeybee as it flits from flower to flower not only because of its painful sting, but because each year the honeybee kills more people worldwide than venomous snakes.

2. During the Renaissance, blondes definitely had more fun. Blond hair for women became so much de rigueur in Venice that a brunette was not to be seen except among the working classes. Venetian women spent hours dyeing and burnishing their hair until they achieved the harsh metallic glitter that was considered a necessity.

3. It takes an average of 18 hummingbirds to weigh in at 1 ounce.

4. The first graves in Arlington National Cemetery were dug by James Parks, a former Arlington Estate slave. Buried in Section 15, James Parks is the only person buried in Arlington National Cemetery who was also born on the property.

5. Before she was cast as the sultry Uhura on the 1960s Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols performed as a singer with Duke Ellington.

6. Captain Kangaroo, starring Bob Keeshan, was the first TV network kids’ show in the United States. CBS launched it in 1954.

7. During World War II, in May 1942, U.S. ice cream manufacturers were restricted by law to produce only 20 different flavors of ice cream. But to this date, no explanation for the law has ever been offered.

These Gadgets means more sponsors for Google. Hayyy. much money foy them who have much money already... its okey, its educational even if they tagged it as Useless Knowledge, at least 'man lang' there's something learned even just by clicking this site hehehe...

BLOG MAKEOVER

You're at the right page! Its one of those 'girly thingy' we enjoy - "fickleness considered as a graceful excuse". A new template, new header and additional widgets.

Thanks to BILL From The Boondocks for linking us to Ourblogtemplates.com when I've mentioned on one of my entries that I want 3 columns for this site. I am not good with computer "acrobats" because I'm lousy in following instructions. But with Ourblogtemplates.com, their Installing the template in your blog is easy to do.

After trying more or less 10 designs, I settled with Blogger Template: PurpleRush. For the Background image, we also give credit to GRSites.

I uploaded flowers for the header at first but my husband said its 'pangit'(ugly). Then the one I have now, he said, "that's better!"..... Yeah, he is married to me, I'm convinced hehehe...

Another credit due for FEEDJIT and Google Translate Mini-Flags Widget to the added 'blings'.