Life’s a Charm!

Thank you for following me in this blog.

I have recently transferred all my post in my new blog.

I will not be blogging here anymore.

 I hope to see you there.

 

Life’s a Charm!

www.lifesacharm.net

Building a Tower

Matthew, Buildiing a Tower
Photo taken on Oct 15, 2008

Prayer to the Guardian Angel

This is the traditional Catholic prayer to the Guardian Angel.

Angel of God, my guardian dear
to whom God’s love commits me here.
Ever this day/night be at my side
to light, to guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

I learned this prayer in kindergarten. I grew up praying this before going to sleep and before going anywhere. We even prayed this in school at the end of the last period when it was time to come home.

As a child, I sincerely believed in the power of this prayer that i didn’t feel safe going out anywhere or even going to sleep without reciting this in my mind. As an adult, I don’t pray as much anymore. Whenever I do pray, my prayers have become less memorized.

Photo taken from Christian Clip Art.

To read more HEADS or TAILS entries, and for more details, visit the home of HEADS or TAILS.

Giveaways, From Juicers to Footwear

These are interesting products for giveaways, from state of the art juicers to kids’ footwears.

Lexen Healthy Juicer from An Island Review Giveaway ends on midnight, Nov 7th This product looks like a state of the art appliance that promises convenience in the kitchen. See product details from 1-877-MY-JUICERS.com

Sportys DVD from An Island Review Ends midnight, Nov 7th “The Sportys is a DVD series featuring a team of lovable animated characters being taught about baseball (such as strike vs. ball vs. fair vs. foul), teamwork and sportsmanship by the voice of Academy Award nominated actor Michael Clark Duncan as “Stitch” the ball.” – Read more from The Sporty’s Site

Thomas Great Race Game from An Island Review Ends midnight Nov 5th This game available at Briarpatch Online shop is perfect for toddlers. Also available in Briarpatch are variety of toys from games, puzzles to card games.

$50 Certificate from Shellamie Jewelries Giveaway from Sandier Pastures Ends before Nov 10th Fabulous Jewelries hand-sculpted out of high quality gold-filled and/or Argentium sterling silver wire by Michelle Williams are available at Shellamie Jewelries.

Polliwalks Kid’s Footwear from An Island Life Ends midnight, Nov 9th Easy on/off for young children, Cool colors, cool animal design kid’s footwear from Polliwalks.

First Halloween in America

Matthew as Elmo, Halloween 2008

It’s our first halloween in America. I know we won’t experiece the normal Trick-or-Treat tradition here at the campus. But I still dressed up Matthew as Elmo. I was just going to take Matthew to Lori, our only neighbor, for Trick-or-Treat. But the ladies of the Admintration Office were so gracious that they invited Matthew to come to their offices in his costume. So we went. Matthew emptied their candy containers. He was just taking candies to his heart’s content, transfering the treats to his Elmo bucket one piece at a time.

In the late afternoon, Lori took us to the town hall outside the school campus for a Halloween Party. It was just a small assembly but it was fun seeing kids in costumes and parents like me who are happy to show off their kids.

Bumble Bee and Elmo

There was a sandbox where kids dig up the treats. Matthew is so choosy. He only picked the lollipops. In the costume contest, Matthew took the first prize they gave away. I think, it was for the cutest costume category. I’m not sure.

The whole time we were there, Matthew kept his Elmo costume on. I think he likes his costume but he kept pointing out the girl in Bumble Bee costume and saying ‘Mick Mou-’. He thinks it’s ‘Mickey Mouse’. Maybe next year, we’ll get a Mickey Mouse costume for him.

Treats only please, Lollipop

He collected a handful of treats. Some of these treat I’m hiding from him or he would have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between – the lollipops especially.

All photos are taken on October 31, 2008. Click photo to enlarge the photo. Click here to view more photos.

First Crushes

‘I Remember When…’ is a Sunday Meme from Mom of 3 Girls, a great idea to start thoughts and memories going, and a reason to stop putting off writing about them.

This is my first ‘I Remember When…’ entry.

There was this boy in school. He was a classmate in Grade-4. He smiled a lot and I liked that about him. We weren’t friends but I knew he had a crush with the prettiest in class. He transferred school the next school year. I don’t remember ever seeing him again since then.

But who I considered my first real crush was the new kid in town, a boy in the neighborhood who lived at the other end of the block. It was when I was in Grade-5 at 11-years old. I called him Mr. Bike since he biked around the block with his friends every afternoon. I remember just anticipating every afternoon he would bike by our house and watching him through the window.

Since I went to an exclusive school for girls in high school, there wasn’t anyone in school that I can have a crush on. So this is probably why I had a crush on Mr. Bike for a long time. It went until I was 15, but we really didn’t become friends. And then my aunt, my mother’s youngest sister who is a year older than me, started to visit and spend the weekends with us. Somehow during her visits, she got acquainted with him and the guys from the neighborhood. Come to think about it now, she had more boy friends and suitors than I ever had in the village where I lived since birth, where she would spend only the weekend. She always had that pleasing personality that boys like, while I was shy, aloof and just unattractive.  Anyway, my aunt, who was so clueless about who my secret crush was, introduced Mr. Bike to me. At that time he was becoming her boyfriend.

I honestly didn’t mind my aunt and my crush being together. A few times, I would even cover for them when they sneaked out. More than anything, I was excitied at the chance to see him up close. But that started the demise of my having a crush on him, not for the obvious reason that he was dating my aunt and that their relationship was getting more serious. But because up close, I found out stuffs about him that wasn’t too impressive. I found out that he wasn’t as special and extra-ordinary as I thought he was. He is a lot better looking at a distance and he was kind’a dumb and shallow for lack of better terms. He lost his mystery and I lost interest.

Then my aunt found out that I used to have a crush on her boyfriend. She told me that if she had known, she wouldn’t have dated him and would set me up with him. I just smiled and thanked God she didn’t find out before. At that time, I already had my eyes on someone else. Eventually they broke up. He cheated on her. She cried, but she quickly got over him.

The last thing I’ve heard about him is he got sick from drinking a lot, still unmarried and still hangs around the neighborhood. Remembering about this now made me smile. I am glad how things turned out especially for me. And I am just glad that in the short list of boyfriends I ever had in my life, he isn’t on it.

Ghost and Things Ghostly

Have you had any ghost encounters or ghostly experiences? Do you believe in ghosts?

My father died when I was 13. I was starting High School then. During the first year after his death, I swear, there were a few times I would smell his scent and I would hear his distinct coughing from the location in backyard of our house, where he usually hangs around when he was still alive. The thing is I could see from the bedroom window that there’s nobody there.

Also, there were those night I spent studying at the dining room as late as past 12 midnight, when I would have that feeling of a heavy hand in my right shoulder, eventhough I am the only one still awake in the entire household. And I would have the same feeling as when my father scolded me and told me to go to bed when he was still alive. This usually is my cue to start going to bed, ’cause at that time I’m too scared to stay awake. On my way to the bedroom, all my actions are calculated. I am focused NOT to glance to just anywhere, especially at the dark areas of the house, for I am scared that I might actually see something. This went on until I graduated High School. (By College, I wasn’t living at home anymore.)

Those are the most ghostly experiences I’ve ever had. Although I didn’t see my father face to face or in a ghostly apperance, and it could easily be just my mind playing tricks on me, I just had that strong feeling that he was there each time.

Related Post:

• It was a bleak, hot Monday Morning

For the Catholic Community, Nov. 1st is All Saints Day and Nov. 2nd is All Souls Day, a.k.a. Feast of all Souls, or Day of the Dead. It’s this time we commemorate the faithful departed.

For my father, a good man, faithful departed
Eternal rest grant unto them him, O Lord.
And may perpetual light shine upon them him.
May he and the souls of the faithfully departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Aloha Friday originated in Kailani’s An Island Life. If you would like to join in the fun, simply answer the question as a comment then visit Kailani’s An Island Life for more details. However, your answer and comments are welcome even if you do not want to participate.

Treat or Trick

More Bloggy Giveaways, Fall 2008

$10 Gift Card for Build-A-Bear from Val’s View Ends on Monday 11/03/08 at 11:59 pm est $25 Gift Card for Build-A-Bear from Three Ladies and A Dad Ends on Saturday, November 1 at 12:00 p.m., CST I have not seen Build-A-Bear Workshop around here in our little town in Alabama but I’m be willing to browse through our navigation system to look for the closest location. I am curious and I want to see first hand how I can get a personalized bear or furry friend for Matthew.

Mini Art Tranquility Pendant from Tara’s View of the World  Ends on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 I just thought that this is such a pretty pendant! I actually think that because of its design and simplicity, it can go with almost any outfit.

Mosaic BusyBodyBook from An Island Life Ends before Midnight, Nov 2nd This looks like a fun gift idea for someone with a big family on the go and I know exactly who to give it to. I just hope s/he is fond of planners.

All About Cute Giveaways from The Giveaway Ends November 7th, 2008 at 11:59 pm PST Orla Kiely Small Boulevard Zip Wallet, Searcey Designs Sterling Silver Necklace – You Will Be Loved , and Little Star Locket by hop, hop, hop – all above $50 dollar value. They are very nice gift ideas. perfect for this Christmas…

You by Crocs Giveaway from An Island Life Ends midnight, Nov 21st Before today, if you mention Crocs, i’d say it’s those rubber footwear with holes on them, known for comfort and it is about what most people I know own. I don’t own one because I am not too fond of the holes. So can’t really say anything about Crocs, until I saw the footwears and boots from it’s new line YOU by Crocs, courtesy from An Island Life. If the footwears are really as comfortable as what everyone says Crocs are, and looks fashionable at the same time, especially if I get it FREE from the Giveaway in An Island Life. Life will be much better, and my Mrs. Santa Custume for this Christmas will look especially fabulous!

Pearl Pendant – Circle of Motherhood Creation of Pearl Girl Tags from MomDot It must be the shiny pearl but I really like this one. Other jewelry creations from Pearl Girl Tags are really nice but I specially like the Watermelon Slices second to this Circle of Motherhood necklace.

$25 Target Gift Card from A DayCare Life I love giftcards. What can I say.

Also for grabs:

• Nice Blue Earing from Apponted by God
• $40 Amazon Giftcard from Perfectly Normal …
• Ruby Groovy CD from From Melissa’s Desk.

Bloggy Giveaways, Fall 2008

I’m a sucker for giveaways and I love to win these prizes:

DVD “The Flight Before Christmas“ from An Island Review I love Christmas Movies and this one fits our Christmas tradition to watch christmas movies on Christmas day. It will be exciting to watch a new Christmas movie this year especially if I got the DVD copy for FREE.

Book “Cole Family Christmas“ from Adventures in Mommyland This looks like a great book for family and would be great to have, especially to a growing family like ours.

Custom Scrapbook Album from Lily Avenue Paper Designs

I already know what I am going to do with a Custom Scrapbook Album especially since I have too many photos stacking up. Looking at Lily Avenue which has a detailed portfolio of really artistic designs of scrapbook pages, I know that 10-pages Custom Scrapbook Album will be especially nice and pretty.

Short Sleeve Fly-High-Joy T-Shirt also from Sandier Pastures The shirt is from Fly High Joy and they look so comfortable. The designs are funny and inspiring. Just looking at them makes me smile. It’s a great gift idea, although I wouldn’t mind wearing them to spread the joy.

9×12 Print of Red Poppies Painting from Sandier Pastures Red Poppies Painting is a creation of Sterling Clark. Her floral creations showcased in SterJay Gallery have a very interesting appeal. They look so elegant in deep colors.

Toddler Tee with Silly Monkey Personality Design from 3 Garnets and 2 Sapphires

The silly monkey design is just so cute. I can’t pass this chance to win it for Matthew.

Also for grabs: $30 PayPal from Sandier Pastures, and a lot more from Bloggy Giveaways

How to Eat Breakfast

Matthew's Breakfast: Toast, Egg and Oatmeal
Photo taken on Oct 12, 2008

Parents’ Nightmares and Parents as Nightmares

I came upon this TV show while flipping TV channels. It talks about urban legends that are mostly funny but some are scary. One of them disturbed me a lot. I think it’s because when I watched it, and heard the story for the first time, I was pregnant with Matthew and overwhelmed with maternal instincts. I was, at that time, in the peak of preparing myself to become a parent for the first time.

Anyway, the story goes like this:

There was a girl and she was babysitting. The parents had gone out to a party and had left their infant at home with this sixteen-year-old girl. So she was babysitting and they phoned just to see if everything was all right. She said, “Oh. Fine! Everything’s great! The turkey’s in the oven.” The mother went, “Oh, okay. Fine.” and she hung up. Then she looked at her husband and went, “The turkey’s in the oven? We didn’t have a turkey!” He said, “What’s the matter?” So they decided they had better go home and see what was the matter. Maybe there was something wrong with the babysitter.

They excused themselves from the party and went home. So they walked in the house and saw the babysitter sitting in the chair freaking out. She had put the little infant in the oven and had thought it was a turkey.

- Reference: Wasted and Basted, Snopes.com

There are other variation in this story. Sometimes it is incorporated with the babysitter being high on drugs. Knowing that it’s an Urban Legend, it’s suppose to have not happened at all in real life. But it still gives me the chills. It makes me think about real life dangers that could happen to my child. I cringe at the thought of them.

And then, I watch the news. There are so many cases worse and scarier than this urban legend. Little kids or even babies as young as a month old in real life are being killed. Crimes against innocent children are bad enough. What could be worse is that some crimes were committed by the children’s parents. Cases of shaken babies, for instance. Or when babies are left forgotten in the hot car by their own parents deliberately. I have also read about mothers cutting off their babies hands to elicit sympathy from people. So that they will get more when they beg for money and food. And how about those parents who kill their newly born baby because she is not their preferred gender. As a mother, these acts – I just can’t understand. When the parent, who are suppose to be the child’s protector and the ultimate caregiver, becomes a child’s nightmare, it’s disturbingly sad and scary! And if they could do harm to their own children, what’s going to stop them from harming other people’s children? What’s scarier is they could be the next door neighbor, the school nurse or the postman.

To read more HEADS or TAILS entries, and for more details, visit the home of HEADS or TAILS.