Hair Maintenance

Real beauty comes from inside.... inside the beauty salon! 

Thank you to Carl of Hairshaft! Have a happy hair day! 

The Best Hood of All

It can be unpredictably crazy, incredibly daunting, and downright scary. It can make you question yourself and ponder the ridiculousness of all your decisions. It can make you sob desperately, sigh with worry, scream in fury, and pull your hair out in frustration.

But still, you know in your heart of hearts that it is a job you will not give up for anything else in the world. You'll keep at it and try harder. You'll take whatever is thrown at you and bounce back up with more determination to get it right. You'll forget yourself and love another with your entire body, heart, and soul. As if your life depended on it. Because in a way, it does. And that life depends on you, too. 

You'll feel the need and unhesitatingly, you'll feed it and fill it with all you've got. 

And then comes the reward. Oh, the reward! The unparalleled satisfaction, the immense joy, the  unparalleled high. An unexpected kiss, a bear hug, a silly smile, a grateful look in the eye ... any tiny gesture of appreciation and everything is worth it. Everything.  One good day out of a hundred embeds in the memory and keeps hope and happiness afloat. 

Truly, there ain't no hood like motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day!!! Spread the love! 💖

Pillow Talk

Never underestimate the power of pillow talk.

I've been married to my husband for 16 years. Prior to our wedding, we went out for almost eight years. One thing that has helped keep our relationship intact is communication. We talk about anything and everything under the sun, the moon, and the stars.  And more often than not, we do this right at the comfort of our bed just before nodding off to sleep.

At times, we discuss big things - our still unfulfilled dreams, significant plans for the future and our family, ideas for the improvement of our business, and other profundities that may or may not turn out to be life-altering.

But more often, we simply chat about the most mundane trivialities. We discuss encounters we've had during the course of our day... a client's improbable demand, a friend's hilarious Facebook post, a mischievous prank pulled by our son, a cool show discovered on Netflix, a hyped-up restaurant that fell below expectation. Nothing is off topic - politics, showbiz, sports, work, religion, the weather. We just go on, taking turns speaking and listening. His new haircut, my blue nail polish, his motorcycle trek, my shopping adventure, his aching shoulders, my tired feet.  We rave, we rant, we argue, we listen, we laugh, we sigh, we ramble, we smile. We pray. We dream.

The result is cathartic. We find that being able to let things, big or small, off our chests brings about lulling comfort and a soothing lightness of being. A fitful sleep is the reward. Usually, it is only upon waking up the next day that we realize we dozed off mid-conversation. 

I read somewhere that relationships are harder these days because conversations become texting, arguments become phone calls, and feelings become status updates. Don't allow yourself to get sucked into that walled and filtered mire. 

Log off, lay down, grab a pillow and start talking. 

Fore!

I refuse to be a golf widow, so I decided to take up the game with my husband. 

I realize that I actually enjoy it. The surroundings are so calming and peaceful, and getting that one good hit feels so amazing that it makes up for all the lousy ones before it.  

But you know what I really love about it? Getting to driving the golf cart! It's so fun speeding about the lovely hills and taking in the breathtaking views in my little vehicle. 

It's simply exhilarating, made even more so when my son is with me on the ride. His whole face beams with joy as we weave across the course and jump in and out the cart for every hole. During those moments, I forget all my worries and cares and just forge on ahead, savoring the moment. Wheeeeee!

See you at the greens! 

The Kiss

My six-year old approaches me looking uncharacteristically shy and a tad embarrassed: "Mom, I watched kissing. But it's in the cartoons... so that's okay, right?"

Bwahahahaha!

Celebration

As G.K. Chesterton said: "The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul."

Let's celebrate all the good things that happened in 2010 and look forward to even better things to come in 2011!

Twitter Bug

Follow me at http://twitter.com/LoonymuseIrene so we can be tweet buddies!

Woot! Woot!

The Best Gift

All the expensive presents in the world will never compare to the value of the hand-made card my son gave to me on the eve of my birthday.

It was all I needed to feel such overwhelming love, happiness and gratitude.

Everything else that followed was just icing on the cake.

Staying Alive

Unbeing dead isn't being alive.

- ee cummings

Love Blossoms

Thank you for the beautiful bouquet of red roses, my honey! I feel like the luckiest woman in the world for having you in my life.

From that fateful moment we met many moons ago, I have amassed wonderful memories of Valentine's Day celebrations happily spent together. Whenever I think it can't get any better, you always do something to surprise me and prove me wrong.

You have an endearing way of keeping the romance burning.

My heart feels so ever content.

My gratitude is boundless.

You are my saving grace and I love you endlessly.

New Label

Upon spotting one of my bras lying on the bed, my impish toddler suddenly exclaimed:

"Mommy, you forgot to wear your booby belt!"

BWAHAHA!

Resolution

"Resolve to make at least one person happy every day, and then in ten years you may have made three thousand, six hundred and fifty persons happy, or brightened a small town by your contribution to the fund of general enjoyment."

- Sydney Smith

Farewell to Cuteness

My 4-year old's teacher told him he was so cute and pinched his cheeks.

His indignant reply: "I'm not cute... I'm not a baby! I'm a big boy... I'm handsome!"


BWAHAHAHA!

People Power Lives On

There it was, weaving its way through the crowded city, a startingly simple truck carrying the simple coffin of a simple woman who in her own simple way succeeded in summoning the people's power to unite and fight to regain our country's freedom from dictatorship through peace and prayer.

Even the heavens seemed to be in mourning as the wet drizzles from the sky mingled with the yellow confetti showers falling from the skyscrapers of Makati. Everyone left their office buildings and sacrificed their lunch hour to wait outside for a glimpse of President Cory Aquino's casket.

She always had the gift of bringing together Filipinos from all walks of life, and there they all were... reuniting of their own free will, paying their respects, shedding tears for her, flashing the famous L sign for LABAN and reliving the moments of the 1986 EDSA revolution when we rallied to her cause and stopped soldiers and tanks with nothing but rosaries to shield us.

She strove so long and so hard for peace. Though the entire nation is saddened by her loss, our hearts are also rejoicing with the certainty that Tita Cory is now finally permanently at peace in the arms of the Lord together with her husband Ninoy.

Thank you. We will never forget you.

A National Treasure

“I don't have any formula for ousting a dictator or building democracy. All I can suggest is to forget about yourself and just think of your people. It's always the people who make things happen.” - President Corazon Aquino

Rest in peace, President Cory. You will always be a cherished part of our country's history.