graces i pray for

I do not want to make resolutions for the new year. Instead, i want to pray for the things i really want. I know my God loves me, irrevocably so. Over the years, i have been so amazed at how much He does and it is always with ceaseless wonder that i behold all the wonderful blessings He has given me. 

I have been shameless in asking Him for a lot of things but He has never disappointed me. And no matter how many times i sinned, He has always forgiven me and given me another chance. Nobody has loved me the way He does. It is a love that is persevering. I know that if God could roll His eyes at my adventures, He would have done so a million times.

We have a weird relationship, my God and I. I've been angry at Him so many times and have rebelled in childish ways over time. But one song, one smell, one leaf, one rainbow could make everything alright again. I would sense Him laughing with me again. Whenever I meditate on His face, the words he would always say is, "Nasad?" meaning, "You did it again?"

In times when I feel so down and guilty as if my heart would burst with pain, He would sit by quietly and listen to me with tears in His eyes.  As if my pain was also His, my tragedy His to bear.

This new year of 2009, I ask my God for these graces:

1. to love teaching again. i have been remiss and i have fallen short as a teacher.

2. to accept wholeheartedly whatever challenges married life has to offer us.

3. to regain my passion for things lost that still matters.

4. to be able to "look with awe and wonder" again.

5. to listen with loving kindness and to talk with great care and respect.

6. to touch hearts anew.

7. to find the courage to fight for what i believe is right.

8. to be patient and therefore loving.

9. to understand more and complain less.

10. to be strong in the face of new challenges.

Its 5 minutes before the clock strikes 12:00 midnight. Soon it will be a new year for everyone on this side of the earth. 

May we have the peace we long for. Happy New Year, everyone!

the men in my life

i did not become a big fan of the idiot box until we transfered to cdo from surigao. back in my old hometown, tv shows are one week delayed and i was always mystified how sharon cuneta could change the length of her hair in one short week. of course, i had no idea that the shows are not live. and back then, i couldn't care less. there are other more fun things to do aside from watching t.v.

in cdo, i got hooked on television at the time when US TV soaps were a hit. from then on, i would sleep as late as eleven in the evening just watching reruns and trailers about my favorite men. through the years, i have admired and obsessed and dreamt of these men. if i had read about the The Secret then i would have made it my personal mission to make them fall in love with me. hahaha!

meet the leading men of my teenage life.

Brandon of Beverly Hills 90210

Jason Priestly

Bret "The Hitman" Hart of WWF

Dr. Ross of ER

George Clooney

they should thank their lucky stars i have my own man now or else i will use the law of attraction to bring them to me. we will see if the universe will conspire to give me my heart's desire.

going vegan on christmas day

my fervent wish is that my lechon-soda-spicy-lumpia addiction will desert me this christmas.

i want so much to live a healthy life. life as described by charlie. life without antibiotics, bad cholesterol, hyperacidity and hospitals.

i envy him for not never being sick his whole life. for aging gracefully and having baby smooth skin and super soft hair.

i envy how he smells so good even without perfume, for not having to worry about bad breath and body odor.

i envy his superhuman ability to detest lechon on sight, while i drool.

i wish i dont have to look at a pig and think porkchop and liempo, sinigang, pata tim, crispy pata! cows are not so bad. i dont like beef so much. chiken is another matter. who doesn't love turbo chicken? or kfc hotshots? who doesnt like french fries dipped in sinful spicy gravy sprinkled with msg?

to go vegan is insane! crazy crazy crazy! imagine life without mcdonalds, kfc, greenwhich, coke float!

i will miss my hyperacidity, my dextrose and hospital bills too. hahaha!

but seriously. i do want to go vegan. if marvin kiefer can do it, i can too! and charlie has been nagging me every waking moment to eat right. eat healthy. the litany goes:

"shals, i told you not to eat that! think where that meat comes from. think of the antibiotics in there!"
"but hon, this pork is from a farmer i know personally ! he feeds the pigs with bananas!" (lie)
"where did the bananas come from?"
"from his farm."
"where is his farm? did you see how he plants his bananas? does he use fertilizers and other toxic chemicals?"
"the bananas just grow"
"come on shals. dont be an idiot!"
"i know this pig is safe!"
"yeah right"

or the conversation could go this way:

" i have to buy another dress for the party coz my red dress wont fit anymore"
"why?"
"its tight around the tummy"
"you're getting fat."
"no, im not."
"are you telling me that your red dress shrank?"
"no. i mean, i havent had my period yet. thats why"
"thats baloney.its because of all the trash you eat."
"i dont eat that much meat anymore" (lie)
"then why is your stomach getting big?"
"i told you"
"you're getting fat"
"i'm not. i don't go fat. its just my tummy."
"yeah. its where it all starts. i dont want to live with a fat woman" (scare tactic.always works)

then he would start sending me videos about GMO's and animal rights. after months of studying everything, i understood what he meant by it all. but old habits die hard. and he is thousands of miles away and cannot snatch away the double cheeseburger from my hands.

now i get so guilty if i spend a week eating just pigs and cows. i get all sorts of psychosomatic stress from eating all these poor animals. then i would splurge on vegetables and fish for redemption. only that i live with carnivorous animals at home and its hard to resist a slab of tender pork meat.

then tonight i talked to marvin and told him going vegan is difficult coz of my hyperacidity (an excuse so he could give me something to throw at charlie). unfortunately, i was talking to a great disciple of healthy eating and he told me:

hmm hyperacidity means your body is off balance.. its not a trick its way..eating healthy means balance..eat alot of nuts except for peanuts. or take an alkaline vitamin c.. salads, fruits(but not too much).. raw foods.. dont mix too much food together. stay way from vinegar, deep fried foods, hydrogenated fats, white bread and rice and no softdrinks... instead of eating 3 big meals a day eat 6 small ones. research on acidic and alkaline foods and meals.

 kinda long but thats not even the half of it..

think yin yang..

then i said..its christmas! temptation is so hard to resist! and vegetables takes a long time to prepare. he said,

well eat something healthy before going to a party so dont eat that much but at the same time not depriving yourself.. some food takes long to prepare but some take a minute.. but generally your talking bout fastfood which you generally can call useless. you survive by cooking your own food..the only way..

ugh.

ten things i was

i got tagged by mikee over at multiply. the rule is to list down ten things people dont know about you then tag ten more people to spill their secrets too. hahaha!

i decided to give it a twist and list ten things i WAS. as in past tense. i've changed so much over the years but i like nostalgia. i'm dramatic to an extreme degree. so these are the things i was and wish i still am...

1. i wrote and finished 3 books that nobody has ever read. there are still two titles that are unfinished.
2. i can draw a portrait using pencils. i drew mostly actors so i have a leo dicaprio, robert sutherland and jeremy irons.
3. when i was in first year highschool, i was so obsessed with bikes that i made one using wood. i finished it too! only, it wont run.
4. i thought i was in love with bret "the hitman" hart. i collected everything about him.
5. i had two secret blogs.
6. i went mountain hiking when i was 9. i reached a helipad and stayed there until sunset.
7. i used to eat mango leaves for snacks. i would climb up a mango tree with salt in my pocket and munch on reddish baby mango leaves.
8. i knew how to cook.
9. i took a bath under the moon and stars.
10. i always escape home to be alone.

now i want to know who you were! passing this on to nitz, ana karenina, tonton, edz, melmel, errol, agnes, ken, mark and richie.

the story of stuff

i logged on to facebook and saw a link posted by kuya alwin. it says "the story of stuff".  i was intrigued by the cartoons at first and out of boredom decided to check it out. i went to the website but couldn't figure out where the video was located so i opened good old you tube . and there i watched all 7 chapters of this story.

for those who don't really understand economics, consumerism, global warming and other nose-bleed terms only nerds and activists talk about, this video is really good. it's very educational and i watched through it all without blinking. hahaha! for those who are teachers out there, you should let your kids see this. for the mommies, make sure your kids understand this.

here is a teaser:

how to say sorry and mean it

There really is nothing you can do except be what you are meant to be. The change has to come from within. And you cannot do that individually. You need each other.  You have to start working together before it's too late.


When that happens all of us will know it. Everything will happen spontaneously. You will find that being good is not so hard after all ,as long as you do it together. The key is in helping each other, not pulling others down.


Do not be selfish. Sacrifice if you have to. That is, if you feel your class is worth it.


Do not take my decision as a punishment. Take it as a lesson. It is hard I know.  Rest assured that I will struggle along with you. It does not mean it will make things easier though.


 Do not speak in behalf of others. Let them take care of themselves. Your apology is accepted though. :)

awarded!

Seems like I got another bloggy award! Yey! It somehow gives me a feeling that I should write something more relevant other than cartoons. Hahahahaha! But thank you to my only follower Ka of Just About Anything  for constantly checking in. I dont know who Mary Antoinette is and what she did with her life and I'm not sure why she gives awards but this is her:

To keep the award-spirit going, I am passing this award on to the following blogs that I really like:


1.  Nito of Inkversified for his colorful posts and updates.
2.  The happy little baby on the road, Sam of Samantha's Own for updating me on the Pera Family.
3.  The cool teacher at Manaia Kindergarten in NZ with a blog called ICT in Early Education for introducing Toondoo.
4.  My playmate MelMel of Lock Me Tight and Never Let Me Go for reminding me how beautiful life really is.
5.  Future mayor Tonton Neri of Republika Neri for great posts on leadership the Blue Way.
6.  My art partner Ana Karenina Pahimalan-Pera of In His Steps for forcing me to pray each time I drop by her blog.
7.  My beloved Pongracz Bees of Ecce Signum for keeping the hive alive.

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discovering toondoo

Thanks to Entrecard, I discovered ICT in Early Education. It's a teacher's blog in NZ that talks about using technology in the classroom. This is exactly the kind of application I am looking for. I guess i could use this in one of my classes. 

Introducing Toondoo! A very cool way of making cartoon strips! The application is truly user-friendly and easy to learn. Anybody can now make cartoon strips with a few drag and drops coupled with a huge dose if creativity.

I tried making one of Dan's blooper. I know I can still improve but I had so much fun doing it that I don't really care for now whether it delivered the message. Hahaha!

Look! Just let your mouse hover and you can see the whole strip.

by shalz2021 | Make your own at www.toondoo.com