And in a few days, the issue for the back-to-school month shall be on shelves all over.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Better late than never!
Here's our offering for May, the month on which Mother's Day falls, hence letting us feature (as we did in last year's issue) yet another batch of moms who, in one way or another, are responding to the challenges of being parents in these times --
And in a few days, the issue for the back-to-school month shall be on shelves all over.
And in a few days, the issue for the back-to-school month shall be on shelves all over.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Expo Mom this weekend!
Looks like the coming weekend is going to be a full and fruitful one for moms who'd like to learn, experience, see what's out there, take advantage of discounts, meet other moms, touch base with the different entrepreneurs behind labels whose wares they've seen online or in stores, and appreciate all that is in store for them.
The two-day Expo Mom 2009 is set for May 9 & 10 at the Rockwell Tent. The first 500 who pre-register receive an Expo Mom bag at the entrance (pre-registration is not required but highly encouraged).
The sortie opens on Saturday at 10 am, and to make the most of your day-out, do take part in "Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding" organized by preschool teacher and soon-to-be-certified breastfeeding counselor Meg Murrf Trinidad. This will give young moms a wonderful and positive start to breastfeeding, and for regular Baby mag readers, you're already familiar with Meg's positive style of imparting much-needed information on different aspects of parenting, wellness, and child care. You can expect the same vibe and expertise at the two-hour session (9:30-11:30) on Saturday, May 9 at Yu Ming School on 15 Ideal St., Mandaluyong (I haven't been there but I believe it's a couple of minutes away from Pure Gold Shaw Blvd). For only P250 you get all this plus handouts and freebies.
So, right after "Best Beginnings..." you can head on to Expo Mom for the rest of the afternoon. Of course, like last year, Baby mag shall be there on both days! Look for our booth -- for those who've been raring to buy copies of back issues but couldn't drop by the office, here's your chance.
To pre-register for Expo Mom, go here
For more details and to confirm attendance at "Best Beginnings in Breastfeeding," text or call Meg at +63917-551-0626, email her at teachermeg@gmail.com or call Yu Ming School at 717-0498.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Life on the road, Part 1
Those stored-value train tickets really come in handy. If you've never traveled by MRT during rush hour, you can't possibly know the implication of owning a stored-value ticket. Even though queues at the station can reach kilometric proportions even when it's not within the day's rush hours, walking ahead of all those queuing up to buy a single-journey ticket does give one some sense of relief that he is in a way better off than those unfortunate fellas.
Today, my ticket proved invaluable again. But it was a taxi ride from the train station to the office that started my day of interesting commuting ruminations. Getting to one's destination by way of a cab instead of driving oneself does have its advantages -- foremost on my list is that since you aren't doing the driving yourself, your whole person is liberated from the constant alertness that can drive one crazy as far as road alertness for Manila driving is concerned. In other words, you can simply lay back and relax instead of watching out for potholes, pedestrians who seem to think that pedestrian lanes are mere street art, kids who come out of nowhere to cross the street, and motorists who seem to think lines separating lanes are street art, who probably don't know what signal lights are for, or who are living out fantasies of taking part in the Indie 500. Being a passenger on a cab somehow frees you from having to deal with all that.
Thing is, cabs don't have signs that say whether their airconditioning system is working great or not, so you can only tell if you're in for a nice and comfortable trip or one where you'd rather open the windows to be able to breathe more easily (and feel like getting your money back for such a stressful ride) when you're actually seated and well on your way.
My cab ride was pretty much the latter, except that the driver was nice and quietly apologetic about it, immediately adjusting the aircon vents once he sensed I was fanning myself in the backseat. In a few minutes, he switched the setting to "high." Only after I started fanning myself with some scratch papers I had in my bag did I remember the "taxi-driver-ego-hurting-via-passenger-fanning" experience from years ago, but that didn't stop me from trying to get more wind in my face. Anyhow, the ride wasn't that long and I ended up paying less than I had expected, so that sort of made up for the discomfort.
Later in the day, I hailed yet another taxi. It was an FX taxi, and I was the lone passenger on its Buendia-MRT station route. Nice. And the airconditioning was working okay.
At a stoplight more than halfway to the station, the driver started collecting some coins from across his dashboard. "Lumipat na lang ho kayo sa iba," he said, turning to me and looking like he was handing back the fare I had given him earlier.
"Bakit, saan ho ba ang punta nyo?" I asked, bewildered that I was being told to get off and look for another way to reach my destination.
"Iikot na lang ho ako, walang pasahero eh," was his reply. Walang pasahero? Ano kayang tawag sa akin?! was running in my mind.
"Eh bakit kayo magsasakay tapos pabababain niyo?" I quizzed him, I suppose with one eyebrow raised and in a tone far from what one hears in posh elevators in snazzy buildings where a soothing female voice announces what floor you're on.
"Sige na, sige na," was his quick response (in that okay-cool-it-you're-overreacting manner), putting the coins back on the dashboard. "Huwag ka na maingay." Well!! "Nakikiusap lang naman eh."
Nakikiusap my foot. *I roll my eyes*
"Nakikiusap daw," I muttered, loud enough for him to hear. "Pineperwisyo niyo ang mga pasahero..."
Now I realize I could have handled the situation in a better way -- probably still saying basically the same things, but with more cheer, more patience, and sans the rolling eyes and head-shaking. A friend I told about the incident a few minutes ago said the same thing has happened to her, but she got off the taxi and took a bus. A few years ago, I probably would've done the same... but... I don't know. For some reason, the lack of consideration demonstrated by the taxi driver's actions was simply glaring to me, and I wasn't about to put up with it. Good thing, though, that he didn't happen to have a gun, or else I probably would've ended up the subject of one of those police-beat stories you read in the papers about people getting shot or knifed for seemingly petty reasons. Needless to say, I made it home alive and in one piece :-)
Today, my ticket proved invaluable again. But it was a taxi ride from the train station to the office that started my day of interesting commuting ruminations. Getting to one's destination by way of a cab instead of driving oneself does have its advantages -- foremost on my list is that since you aren't doing the driving yourself, your whole person is liberated from the constant alertness that can drive one crazy as far as road alertness for Manila driving is concerned. In other words, you can simply lay back and relax instead of watching out for potholes, pedestrians who seem to think that pedestrian lanes are mere street art, kids who come out of nowhere to cross the street, and motorists who seem to think lines separating lanes are street art, who probably don't know what signal lights are for, or who are living out fantasies of taking part in the Indie 500. Being a passenger on a cab somehow frees you from having to deal with all that.
Thing is, cabs don't have signs that say whether their airconditioning system is working great or not, so you can only tell if you're in for a nice and comfortable trip or one where you'd rather open the windows to be able to breathe more easily (and feel like getting your money back for such a stressful ride) when you're actually seated and well on your way.
My cab ride was pretty much the latter, except that the driver was nice and quietly apologetic about it, immediately adjusting the aircon vents once he sensed I was fanning myself in the backseat. In a few minutes, he switched the setting to "high." Only after I started fanning myself with some scratch papers I had in my bag did I remember the "taxi-driver-ego-hurting-via-passenger-fanning" experience from years ago, but that didn't stop me from trying to get more wind in my face. Anyhow, the ride wasn't that long and I ended up paying less than I had expected, so that sort of made up for the discomfort.
Later in the day, I hailed yet another taxi. It was an FX taxi, and I was the lone passenger on its Buendia-MRT station route. Nice. And the airconditioning was working okay.
At a stoplight more than halfway to the station, the driver started collecting some coins from across his dashboard. "Lumipat na lang ho kayo sa iba," he said, turning to me and looking like he was handing back the fare I had given him earlier.
"Bakit, saan ho ba ang punta nyo?" I asked, bewildered that I was being told to get off and look for another way to reach my destination.
"Iikot na lang ho ako, walang pasahero eh," was his reply. Walang pasahero? Ano kayang tawag sa akin?! was running in my mind.
"Eh bakit kayo magsasakay tapos pabababain niyo?" I quizzed him, I suppose with one eyebrow raised and in a tone far from what one hears in posh elevators in snazzy buildings where a soothing female voice announces what floor you're on.
"Sige na, sige na," was his quick response (in that okay-cool-it-you're-overreacting manner), putting the coins back on the dashboard. "Huwag ka na maingay." Well!! "Nakikiusap lang naman eh."
Nakikiusap my foot. *I roll my eyes*
"Nakikiusap daw," I muttered, loud enough for him to hear. "Pineperwisyo niyo ang mga pasahero..."
Now I realize I could have handled the situation in a better way -- probably still saying basically the same things, but with more cheer, more patience, and sans the rolling eyes and head-shaking. A friend I told about the incident a few minutes ago said the same thing has happened to her, but she got off the taxi and took a bus. A few years ago, I probably would've done the same... but... I don't know. For some reason, the lack of consideration demonstrated by the taxi driver's actions was simply glaring to me, and I wasn't about to put up with it. Good thing, though, that he didn't happen to have a gun, or else I probably would've ended up the subject of one of those police-beat stories you read in the papers about people getting shot or knifed for seemingly petty reasons. Needless to say, I made it home alive and in one piece :-)
A bright photo....
...for a rainy day --
It's supposed to be the height of summer but the changing climate has become obvious the past couple of weeks. Imagine, a thunderstorm in April! One night had rain coming down in sheets and lightning and nerve-wracking thunder sending my dog Sabrina whimpering and scampering for protection under the car, behind some old boxes and who knows where else until the following morning when -- after repeated rounds of the yard, garage, and every other spot outside the house -- I saw her emerge from amid ferns and bushes behind a small image of the Virgin Mary near the front door. Even the dog knows where to take refuge during "tempestuous times."
By the way, the photo above is from the charming craft and sewing blog Hello My Name is Heather.
And check it out -- a magazine bowl!
Came across this after some blog-hopping when I ended up at Patricia Zapata's blog entry on how to fashion this bowl. This is the kind of art and recycling I'd like to try my hand at -- especially as I've got tons of magazines that I really don't want to trash. But when they're taking up too much of your limited space, what do you do with them? I've made two little "log cabins" out of some pages -- photos of which I'd yet to take -- but those account for only about 40 or 50 mag pages. Looks like these bowls will be my next project :-) See more of Patricia Zapata's imaginative recycled art here.
It's supposed to be the height of summer but the changing climate has become obvious the past couple of weeks. Imagine, a thunderstorm in April! One night had rain coming down in sheets and lightning and nerve-wracking thunder sending my dog Sabrina whimpering and scampering for protection under the car, behind some old boxes and who knows where else until the following morning when -- after repeated rounds of the yard, garage, and every other spot outside the house -- I saw her emerge from amid ferns and bushes behind a small image of the Virgin Mary near the front door. Even the dog knows where to take refuge during "tempestuous times."
By the way, the photo above is from the charming craft and sewing blog Hello My Name is Heather.
And check it out -- a magazine bowl!
Came across this after some blog-hopping when I ended up at Patricia Zapata's blog entry on how to fashion this bowl. This is the kind of art and recycling I'd like to try my hand at -- especially as I've got tons of magazines that I really don't want to trash. But when they're taking up too much of your limited space, what do you do with them? I've made two little "log cabins" out of some pages -- photos of which I'd yet to take -- but those account for only about 40 or 50 mag pages. Looks like these bowls will be my next project :-) See more of Patricia Zapata's imaginative recycled art here.
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