J: SONGS FOR MUM

Are you a little short on budget? Well, as the older folks say, there's nothing sweeter than  being serenaded. So, why not serenade your mum this mother's day? Stage a little performance with your dad and siblings or if you're an only child like me, just let your dad tag along with the singing, maybe cooking breakfast for her and then serenade her after eating would be a nice idea. I've also done before a simple video with the compilation of our pictures and then a recorded audio of me singing!

Mums are sentimental, it's always the thought that counts ;) So I will list here some songs that may be perfect for serenading your mum on Mother's Day!

1. Ugoy ng Duyan (Lea Salonga)

This is a Filipino song. it's very mellow, like a lullabye. This is my first song choice because my mum always sings this to me when I was younger to put me to sleep. The melody is so soothing and calm. I find the message of this song really emotional, it's about a child longing for the hug of a mum; a child missing her mum and the warmth of her love as she rocks the her cradle when she was younger. It's that wishful thinking of just going back to that moment and stay there with her mum forever. And, don't we all wish that? To be with our mum forever to love and protect us? I know I do.

I may not be the sweetest daughter there is, but I try to always make it a point that I hug them atleast once a day just to let them feel my love, though I don't say it that much.

Favorite Line: "Sana'y 'di magmaliw ang dati kong araw, nang munti pang bata sa piling ni nanay. Nais kong maulit ang awit ni inang mahal, awit ng pag-ibig habang ako'y nasa duyan. At sa aking pagtulog na labis ang himbing. Ang bantay ko'y tala, ang tanod ko'y bituin. Sa piling ni nanay, langit ang buhay. Puso kong may dusa, sabik sa ugoy ng duyan." (How I wish that I could go back to my younger days with my mum and that it will never perish. I want to hear my mum's song again, a song of love as she rocks me in my cradle to sleep. And, as I sleep, the sky watches over me and my security are the stars. It's like heaven whenever I'm with my mum. My burdened heart is longing for her rocking my cradle as I sleep.)

2. Like My Mother Does (Lauren Alaina version)

I love this song so much! I have always been told that I look a lot like my mum when she was my age. Some of her classmates during her last HS Reunion even said that they thought I was my mum. Though, I always hate it when people say that I don't look like her daughter because I am a tall, voluptuous gal, I love it whenever they say that I resemble her so much. When I was younger, I was always told that I looked like my dad, which made me feel that I looked like a man (I was young, i'm slightly irrational) and that affected my confidence but when I started to enter my teenage years and I'm already receiving comments that I look like my mum, that's one of my happier days!

Let me just rant here a little: But, since I am a tall and fat girl, people always mistake us as sisters, heck! someone even said that I looked like her older sister and I was just a high school sophomore then! That was when I started to hate being told that we look like sisters, because to me that's saying that I look 20 years older than my age.

Anyway, of course I address this to my mum and she never fails to make me feel better about that. Just like what the song says our mums has their own way of talking that can make everybody feel good about themselves. This song is perfect for my mum and I, we never really had a perfect relationship but at the end of the day, she's still my mum and she always forgives and loves me no matter what! And, everything I am right now, I got it from her.

Favorite Line: "When I love, I give it all I got like my mother does. When I'm scared, I bow my head and pray like my mother does. When I feel weak and unpretty, I know I'm beautiful and strong because I see myself like my mother does"

3. I Promise (Stacie Orrico)

This song isn't really specifically for mums but when I first heard it, I can't think of nobody else but my mum. This song is really sweet, it's about every child's promise they make to their parents; to take care of them, to always be there for them, to hold their hands and make them strong. Every child makes this promise to their parents, some of us forgets about it as we grow older, we might even be very impatient towards them (so guilty of this), but then when the going gets tough, I just think how many times they could've given up on me when I was a child but they never did, never even crossed their minds. We tend to forget things as we grow older and live our own lives, but I think we should always be reminded the promises we made to our parent as a child and fulfill them while we still can.

Favorite Line: "Will I take tender care of you? Take your darkest night and make it bright for you? Will I be there to make you strong and to lean on? When this world has turned so cold, will I be the one that's there to hold? Will I be there when you call me in the middle of the night? Will I keep the rain from falling down into your life? I promise, I promise I will."

4. A Song for Mama (Boyz II Men)

This is for the guys to sing to their mamas! I guess it's just typically like that, the sons sings about their mamas while the daughters sings about their dads. But whether we're a daughter, a son or anything in between, we all feel the same way about our mums and that is what this song is all about, the title says it all; this is a song for mama. We should express our love for our mums, our parents, everyday! We've all watched the same scene over and over for too many times about children pleading for more time with their parents to show how much they love them. Let's not fall to that, let's always seize the moment; hug them while we still can, love them as much as we could while they can still feel it and still love you right back.

Anyway, this song's about nothing but love for our mums. Hence, the title. That's pretty much self explanatory, right?

Favorite Line: "Mama, you know I love you (you know I love you, Mama). Mama, you're the queen of my heart. Mama, just want you to know; loving you is like fruit to my soul."

5. Girl On Fire (Alicia Keys)

Every mum is a superhero, they all have super powers! They are the most patient, loving and understanding human that God has ever made. They are angels sent to Earth to guide their children so they would grow to be angels as well :) With our economy now, women aren't made to just stay at home anymore, women right know also work their asses off to earn and still manages to be a wife and a mum when they get home. If that woman doesn't have superpowers, then I don't know where the heck they pull that strength from. I would know about this, because this woman is my mum. I see her work everyday and still be a wife and mother the moment she steps in our home. She's the best!

Favorite line: "She's just a girl and she's on fire, hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway. She's living in a world and it's on fire. Filled with catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
Ohhhh oh oh oh oh! She got both feet on the ground and she's burning it down. Ohhhh oh oh oh oh! She's got her head in the clouds and she's not backing down"


Yep! my mum is a girl, or better yet a woman, on fire! So let me take this time to dedicate this post and these songs to her. And let me just say that I love you very much!! Happy mother's day!


Spread the love and positivity!!

-J

A&J: It hurt the first time we did it

“There’s a first time for everything,” we all have heard and used this line. And although not all first times are nice experiences, like the first time you fell down the stairs, or the first time you slept in the bus with your mouth open, or maybe the first time your skirt got stuck in your undergarments after you went to the rest room. Haha! Those would have really sucked. But then again, there are first times that are worth remembering; your first time in a foreign country, the first time you performed on stage, you’re first bouquet of flowers, your first kiss... we can go on forever.

Funny enough, most times, we have the power to allow a “first” to happen. However, not many of us may be courageous enough to let “first times” happen, not many will face their fears, and not many will let a new experience come their way. And we are proud to say that we do not belong to that group (at least not so much). Just recently, we both faced our fears, and let a new “first time” happen.

The first time I lost so much blood ;) – A

I have always wanted to donate blood, and have also always chickened out once the opportunity is there. I don’t like needles. Oh wait, that's an understatement. I HATE NEEDLES. I have always had shots when I was younger until I was a teenager, but none of those vaccinations helped in reducing my fear of being poked with a pointed metal. I even recall nearly crying on my medical examination for the completion of requirements for my second job. Yes, you read that right; second job. I’m all grown up but I still have not gotten over the fear. And you know what scares me more than injections? Bigger injections! Just the thought of it weakens my knees. But last weekend, I faced that fear.

There was an announcement about a blood donation drive in church two Sundays ago. The idea thrilled and scared the crap out of me at the same time. Like I said, donating blood is something I have always wanted to do, but just cannot go through with it. So to cut it a bit short, I, together with my boyfriend, signed up for the blood drive. We slept early the night before the day of donation and we made sure that we're early in church the following day. After getting to the venue of the blood drive, we just immediately registered our names and identification numbers, and went ahead with answering the questionnaire provided to us.  And then after the screening with the doctor and testing my iron level, I was given news that made my hands really cold; I passed the screening, and I can donate blood. I was asked to lie down on one of the beds, and was told to relax. So I layed myself down and tried to relax while sharing to the nurse that was assisting me how nervous I was because that was my first time. She tried to comfort me and convinced me that it is all for a good cause. She even told me that unlike in the Philippines, they give a shot of anaesthesia first before injecting the needle that will help  draw blood out. It was like music to my ears, but my boyfriend thought it's pointless. He said why would anyone choose to be poked twice when he/she can just do it in one shot. But yeah, who cares what my boyfriend thinks? Haha! I was handed a red stress ball and was asked to tightly squeeze it as the nurse injected the anaesthesia. I remember the pain and how scared I was. A few minutes after the anaesthesia injection, the nurse told me she was already going to inject the needle for taking blood. I took a deep breath, and tried to hold it until she said it was done, and before I knew it, she had the needle already inside. I felt nothing. I was happy. Then they connected a tube and hanged an empty "blood bag" at the side of my bed. After everything was set up, I was asked to "squeeze and let go" of the stress ball until I finish filling the bag. By that time, all my fear was gone. I was happy I got over all the poking, and I was excited to finish with the whole process. 

I filled my bag quite fast, but that came with a price. Not long after they took my blood bag, I became very dizzy and felt like I was going to throw up. The lady on my right who passed out didn't help in making me feel better. One of the nurses and the doctor assigned there attended to me and positioned my feet on a level higher than my heart to help the blood go to my brain. So yes, needless to say, I was okay after a couple of minutes. We went to the refreshments area and tried to replace the fluid taken out form us with some cold chocolate drink and some biscuits. It felt really nice to have finished the process... ALIVE. Haha!

We were given a certificate that states their appreciation for the act that we did, and a notebook which is inside a transparent blood-bag-looking plastic case.

On the process of screening, I was asked if it was my first time to donate blood, and after I said yes, the lady who attended to me gave me a round pin  that says, "Please be gentle with me," I think it is their way to easily recognize which ones they would need to spend more time with when it comes to briefing what to expect on the whole process. Another pin was given to us upon signing up for the blood donation drive; it was that lovely droplet-looking pin at the lower right of the photo. And of course, the stress ball that I squeezed repeatedly while having blood drawn out of my body.

The feeling was priceless. Not only did I face my fear, but I through it, I now have the chance to help save a life. How's that for hitting two birds with one stone? Now I know that I can get over fear with my fear of needles. What I needed was just some encouragement and a good reason to be poked.

Oh btw, I found out my blood type is B+. Anyone in need of that kind of blood? :D



The first out of body experience ;) - J

Last month my very nice cousin, Ate PX, treated us to Enchanted Kingdom (an amusement park in the Philippines). A week before going to EK, my kuya Lean and ate Vivian kept on daring me to go on this new ride called EK-streme, which is an extremely scary ride as the name clearly states! I said that I would never do it because I am too scared, though riding the space shuttle or going on to any ride to that extent is part of my bucket list and my resolution for this year. It's kinda symbolic for me as well, because it's really about conquering my fears. And then, we went on the whole day riding the usual stuff; Rialto, Roller Skates (like a caterpillar or the roller coaster ride but without the hoops, it's a children's ride, really. LOL.), bump cars, my favorite Flying Fiesta, Rio Grande Rapids, and all that stuff.

And then, the night time came and while we're waiting for the fireworks display and my cousins, kuya Lean and ate Vivian, were still daring me to go on EK-streme. I was really thinking about it then, but I was still really scared and then I said I'll just ride this quite scary ride called Disk-O-Magic, which is basically a disk, where the people will sit on the edge facing outward and then it will spin while slowly going up and down the tracks (See video below.)

That ride was so exhilarating! My adrenaline just went swooshing in!! By the time the ride was done I told my other cousin, Girlie, who was really eager to ride EK-streme that I will go with her! I just felt so nice after that Disk-O-magic ride that if I stopped for a even a minute, I will lose my strength again. I was really ready to conquer my fears. So, my other cousins along with my father, aunts and uncle cheered us on as we walk to our next ride, the EK-streme!!

So, when we get there, there was no line at all!! I never saw a line there since we arrived that afternoon. So we were immediately strapped in. This ride is just basically me sitting with my feet hanging out and with a loose protective stopper across my chest, you know the one you pull down so it goes from your shoulder up to your belly, and then it was attached to a buckle in between my legs. We were pulled up this very high pole, which I believe is higher than the Space Shuttle's highest point, and then when the top was reached, it was detached from whatever was holding the seats up and then free fall! I felt my legs go up and my bum slightly lifted while my face kinda felt numb from the pressure!! It was like my soul left my body for a moment! It then slowed down a little after the halfway point until we were safely back on the ground, and yes, my soul returned to my human body. Haha!! I can't even remember if I screamed while we're on our way down or not. I just went blank, really! It was just like a 10-second fall and then around 30 seconds going up. to view the ride, see the video below. I was the one wearing the printed black and white leggings screaming for her life!

When it was time to alight that life-defying ride, I really couldn't stand up immediately. I remember my cousins giving me a hand so I could stand up. I was like in a daze after that, I remember being teary-eyed and just so happy that was over. Haha! it was really fun, though! And, I conquered my fear that day, and checked another one off my bucket list ;) And, oh! of course I bought this shirt that said 'I did it!' beside a picture of the ride and I am wearing it very proudly!

Next time we will do it Fear Factor Style. Who knows, the next time may be bungee jumping or eating bugs or... who knows? Haha! We will soon try some more first times, and we will survive, we're sure of that. Because evidently, fear is not a factor for us. (Thanks, Joe Rogan.) :D