for my mom

so everyone around the world spent mother’s day yesterday. that one day when you get to treat your mom extra special.

but it got me thinking, for all the things done by our mothers, one day isn’t enough. it should be everyday.

i may not have that perfect relationship with my own mother, but it works for us. she rants, gets mad once in a while, we keep quiet. she calms down. i, most of the time listens to her rants and stories and even orders to clean every nook and cranny of our home.

when i was a teenager/younger, i would have a scowl on my face everytime she asks me to fix this, clean that. but now, well, not so much. because now i know the feeling of the one giving orders to clean up.

my mom knows that when it comes to expressing feelings to her and my dad, i’m not that eloquent. usually it’s just a smile or a grunt. but she gets the message.

she knows that when there’s something troubling me, she won’t force it out on me. she waits. patiently until she gets a long handwritten letter taped to their bedroom door. (i missed doing that). when i need a massage for a painful migraine attack, she knows just by me lying down on her lap.

it’s those simple things that makes me treasure our moments together. our interests may be oceans apart, but one thing’s for sure, i am grateful that my love for books, reading and being inquisitive all came from her. unexpectedly or forced. i am just happy.

i may not tell her everyday that she’s special, but i know deep down she feels it everyday. it may be from the love that radiates from my three boys. i constantly remind them that when i’m not at home, mama rules the “kingdom” and that she should be treated as a queen.

so even if i’ve been a mother for 6 years, nothing beats my mom for still being the best mom for 30 years. so i guess, she deserves more special treatment and love 365 days. i’ll know for sure when my time comes, but for now, i’m still that little girl who draws her cards during special occasions and tapes it to the bedroom door.

happy mother’s day (although belated) to all the mothers! 🙂 ❤

weekly challenge #2: drink lots of water

i’m notorious for not taking in fluids that much. give me coffee and i’m good for the day. at least i’ve lessened my intake of colas, since it made me feel more bloated than ever.

so for this week, i challenged myself (since officemate has bailed out on said challenge) to drink more water. the most that i can take in a day is just 1 bottle (i can hear gasping!) and so, i bought 1.5L of water. and made sure i finished it today.

and i did!

although with the “lunod” feeling after. plus the fact i went to the CR every 10 mins, like i was pregnant again. it’s crazy! but, the upside, i don’t get hungry every 2 hours. and hopefully, my increase in water intake would make me more healthier. 🙂 and they say, taking in water helps flush out the toxins and make your skin glow (i’m also taking vitamin e capsules to help my dry skin especially on my legs) and healthier.

yesterday, i was able to finish the whole pitcher of water, thanks to the heat.

this is one challenge i’m willing to continue. 🙂

weekly challenge #1: wear heels

i created this weekly challenge to well, inspire me to try new things or things that i’m too apprehensive to try/do. this was inspired from one of the conversations i had with an officemate. in a way he challenged me to come to work wearing heels. i’m notorious in wearing flats or sneakers day in and day out.

so challenge accepted.

today i “unearthed” one of my heels. paired it with a striped tank top & jeans – which i was able to wear again after so long! 🙂 i wore this last wednesday btw.

striped tank top, jeans & heels

the shoes c/o SM Parisian

and as additional motivation; my beatles charm bracelet.

the beatles charm

hubby complimented me saying, he likes seeing me this girly and hopefully he gets to see more.

now i’m thinking of the next challenge for next week. (wearing a dress would be too soon ok?) baby steps for now.

* kerol if you’re reading this, this is how i look like now after Plana Forma. 🙂 nakakapag sleeveless na ulit! haha!

date a girl who reads

this is in response to Charles Warnke’s You Should Date An Illiterate Girl :

Date A Girl Who Reads
by Rosemarie Urquico

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

i highlighted the descriptions that were very much similar to me. i live for books. i’d give up my shoes and clothes but not my books. i’ll even give up my favorite pillow for books!

reading have been second nature to me. it has been part of my formative years, my childhood, my teenage years, my adulthood and now motherhood. and i have been exposing my kids as early as now to love books and reading (and perhaps in the future become successful writers).

i’m glad hubby dated & married a girl who reads. 🙂