1.Gulliver’s castle?…. I really can’t figure out .

2. Swarovski inspired modern bedroom—there’s too much white to carefully maintain, eh?

3. Bedroom/ swimming pool?— obviously, one does love swimming and being in the water too much!

4. Princess and Fantasy – “Cinderella, Cinderella where art thou?”

5. Red Carpet Bedroom – Feels like you were attending Grammy’s except that the celebrities never came!

I was looking at homey bedroom designs on the internet when theses pictures popped up. They were anything from creative to spectacular but never simple and homey, of which is what I was trying to  searched for. They are fun to look at, but never ever will I imagine to have a room like any of this in my home!

Water for Elephants

a novel

by: SARA GRUEN

Fantastic storyteller and talented writer, Sara Gruen has managed to get her readers all aboard a bumpy, intense, shaky train ride full of emotions of colorful imagination. The plot is the story of Jacob Jankowski and his reminiscence of his life after he heard the sound of a door opening, followed with his name being called by his final exam proctor. He was supposedly graduating from Veterinary Medicine then, with a life fully planned ahead that vanished with the death of his parents and ended up with nothing that very morning of his final exams which leads himself tossed by fate hitching up on a rickety train that was a home to the Benzini Brothers Circus- Most Spectacular Show on earth or better described as train circus of America during 1930’s.

Carried away with the storytelling while I was half-way reading the book, I decided to set it down for a moment and searched the web for a safe download of a DVDRip copy of the movie. Sshhh!  I know it is illegal and a “NO to PIRACY” sign was brightly blinking over my peripheral vision but would I be blamed if I am so eager to do a comparison with the movie? I guess not, so moving on… I got lucky and was able to find one in no time.

Jacob played by Robert Pattinson(a.k.a Edward Cullen of Twilight) the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. As a veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. For him, getting on the train was a perfect timing and he likes to believe that somehow his parents had sent it to his way. It was there that he met Marlena, (Reese Witherspoon) the blond and beautiful equestrian star of the show, who is married to August (Christopher Waltz), the charismatic, ambitious but twisted and harsh animal trainer / owner of the circus team. Working at the menagerie he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant and is believed to be the only hope for this third-rate traveling show that is struggling to play with life dealing with the early part of great depression.

Successful with downloading a copy of the movie, I didn’t waste a second to watch it after I finished the book. Since it is my post-Valentine read, I am still at the verge of feeling love in the air and with that, I am confused when I noticed the ambivalent reaction whilst watching the film. The story on the book was fairly fresh still and my expectations for the movie was high. There were actually some personal favorite parts of the book that were omitted  on the film and not to point out changes on some scenes. Nevertheless, it would be of complete dishonesty if I say I didn’t enjoy both presentation of Sara Gruen’s writing. As a matter of fact, simply enjoying it is an understatement for that matter.

I love the whole story, it not just covered the most powerful emotion among us ordinary humans, but it shows us how living creations share this same kind of feeling. To be with the animals is an attachment that is so common yet so rare. With this book, I somehow feel sorry for the beautiful animals that are among the menageries all over the world in any circus crowd while otherwise they will be into the wilds, in their natural habitat, where they can truly live free. Little did we know that behind  every outstanding circus performances and productions that we so joyfully cheered on, are animals that are suffering of pain from their masters due to training maltreatment. Over the years, we heard of thousands of stories of animals risking their lives to save their masters from all sorts of danger and sometimes death.

I feel good choosing Water for Elephants as my post Vday read and movie splurge. The book is a story that I might read again and the movie would belong to those that I would probably spend a day being a couch potato with, specially in month of February. I have a personal experience with an elephant which I wrote about in a previous post. Because of this, I fully understand and somehow connects  to the story when Jacob Jankowsky narrates and described Rosie. If only they are not so gigantic as they are, elephants could have been good pets.

If one truly loves and being loved, expressing this powerful emotion is constant and spontaneous and doesn’t occur on every 14th day of February only, regardless of distance or time difference. For today’s post, there is no greater idea than to show you all how everyday seems to be a Valentines Day for me.

These are the very few, among the many heartfelt lines on Husband dear’s everyday emails that I will never ever get tired of reading.

I don’t pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone and that is you and still wanting to be with you more than any other person, love is trusting you fully and to tell you everything , including the things you  or I might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting my knees weak when I walk into a room and you smile at me

* * *

As I keep telling you I dream of our life together. Your lips to kiss and for my arms around you and loving you every day is what I want forever. To come home to you day after day knowing you’re there or me waiting on you while you are  working  long shifts at the blood bank. What ever our future brings I am always going to be with my love and that is you, my one and only Cel.

* * *

my life has been nothing but a love song since I have you in my life. From the very start when we were just friends and then a couple and now man and wife. I know there is God as he has given me the greatest gift a man can receive on this Earth.  I will protect our love with my life as I will never have a day that I won’t respect  and cherish our love and hold it true.People who write love songs is for people like me who want to express my love but I am not as good at words as the songwriters. All I know is that, I feel and breath the words of love for you and  when I hear those favored love songs, I will always feel my love for you deep with in to my very being.  So every breath I take and every move I make in this life will be to love and respect my beautiful wife, I pledge my heart and all my love to you my beloved beautiful book worm.

* * *

Out of everything I have done in my lifetime, having you as my wife is the greatest achievement of all. When we first met, I was already in love at first sight but never dreamed that my dream would come true and you would have me as much as I wanted you. The day I put that ring on your finger was the greatest day of my life. That is why I kept tearing up at the dinner after the wedding. I knew my life was changing for the better. I finally have the life full of love and the most beautiful wife in the world.

* * * 

I was just existing and life was all just black and white and no happy colors in me. You have added an explosion of colors to my dull and boring life and now I can see the years ahead as nothing but a great love with my great family. To have a chance to have such a wonderful life with such a beautiful woman as you are is more than a man can ever ask for….

* * *

There has to be a God as he has blessed me with a beautiful Pinoy family. A family that loves me as much as I love you all. Life is like a book and its full of chapters being written with each and every year that goes by. And out of all the chapters in my book of life the best chapters started when I met you Cel and the book will end up being one of the greatest love story ever so written. It will have tests and difficulties  that life will throw at us but our love for one another will always prevail. We will always to be together forever as husband and wife and family. I Love You Mrs. Woods!

I LOVE YOU Mer!

With all my heart and soul..

I miss you all the time and

I wish we’re together today and always!

Happy Valentines Day my Love!

The Red Carpet for Grammy’s is one of the highlights of the event that I most wanted to see, aside of course for the winners. I was actually planning to write a more detailed feedback about the ceremonies but I guess I will have to do that later. As for now, I can’t help but write something about this, as a totally attention-seeking, awareness-catching  post!

I absolutely find Nicki Minaj’s arriving at the red carpet with POPE-dressed-up-dude as insulting, disrespectful mockery. I actually didn’t come to notice Nicki Minaj, neither her music nor her style until the little kids started singing her songs. In fact, one of her cute, lovely, talented, sweet little fan’s video idolizing Nicki Minaj has become a hit on YouTube, discovered and featured by Ellen DeGeneres in her show.

I don’t care what others actually think, but Nicki Minaj’s red carpet walk and pose is a fail this time. I see it as COMPLETELY not a good influence for her young fans all over the world. She was already good with all the tutu skirts, colored wigs and girly fashion. Can she just stick to that and stay out of the whole catholic mockery and or disrespect?

I am sorry Nicki, you have just given me a reason to delete you from my playlist and music library albeit the fact that I have started to like your music and talent. The spot for admiration is vacant and is still there though, Please do clean the act!

After swimming lessons this morning, the kids begged for some Jollibee treat. Granting that being so early to be up and about for the day, I haven’t had anything cooked at the house so I gave in. My son ordered his favorite, Jollibee’s ChickenJoy Meal and Burger Steak  for my daughter. Upon paying our orders, the guy handed me a very cute heart-shaped note pad while telling me in his “fastfood crew-fast-manner-of-talking” that for every chicken meal order, comes free Jolly-Love Notes.

Calling in our orders to their kitchen crew he asked me if I liked it. I answered him that I find it cute and I did like it very much. How can I not?? It is free! What is not to like? Right?! Anyways, Stacking up the tray with our food he showed me that there were actually three different designs to choose from. He also offered that he would be glad to change it for me if I decided to choose another design. I opted for the one he handed me the first time and thanked him.

Everyone is soooo in the mood for the big Hearts day already! Little things such as this Jolly-Love Notes will easily get someone who are V-day likers and lovers  hyped up for the occasion. I may be celebrating  Valentines Day away from Husband dear this year but being securely and unconditionally in love with him is more than what gets me to celebrate Valentines day in everyday day of the year!

The first pair she gave me was worn out too much as it did served its purpose while I was working overseas in a very sunny country like Saudi Arabia. On her vacation for year 2010, she gave me another pair at exactly two weeks after the first pair broke apart. It was perfect timing for a replacement since finding sun glasses of similar type here in the Philippines is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I have searched and inquired at almost all of the biggest and small time optical shops in the country and to no avail finding none. For others, online shopping would have solved the case but like wearing transitional lenses for spectacles, online shopping doesn’t suit me at all, not unless of course for books and other products that I don’t have to wear. With my never ending ‘Thank you’,  I am always grateful for my aunt for giving me this very special gift along all other stuff that she generously hands out to us.

Few days back, her shipment or the balikbayan box for us Filipinos, arrived from Vancouver finally. She was home since December and as usual, shipments are delivered late considering the holiday rush and all of it’s traffic. From the box, my aunt handed me two pairs of fit-over glasses in their cases which she carefully wrapped in a small LONDON DRUG shopping bag to protect it during the shipment. She mentioned that it is not the expensive type but she was thinking of me when she saw it on the display at London Drug.

the goodies from the box. a.k.a.- my eyes’ BFF

It says, SOLAR SHIELD, FITS OVER. It is made of polarized lens that provides 100% protection from UV rays.

I can’t deny how happy I am to have new SOLAR SHIELD-Fits Over sun glasses in my hands. Take note, not one but two pairs of my personally must-haves!

Like a giggling little girl handed with candies, I can’t wait to try it on.

Oooppss! Too much excitement, I even forgot to take the tags off!

so here goes…….

it fits over perfectly on my glasses, just what I needed it to…

They feel good worn and they look good over any spectacles.

Whatever you say, they also look good on me! Ha!Ha!

A very special gift, so..do you think I care on how much it cost? NEVER! It’s the thought that counts and never the cost. I know February is Valentines day-month, but I felt like this is still an extension from Christmas. In lieu with the big hearts day, I know I am loved, and I love you “Auntie CC baby” with all my heart!

MADONNA is a fantastic artist and performer.She might not be among my beloved favorites but with no doubt, I like her. I sang her songs when the radio plays it at times when it is rocking the hits. Everyone if not all sees her as in icon and named her as the Queen of Pop.

As soon as the buzz was out on who will be the half-time show performer, it has given everyone the verge of anxiety. For this performance, other artists like M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, LMFAO and Cee-Lo Green joined her. A more or less thirteen-minute show packed with medleys of her songs and some, which ended with a fully lighted ground that reads WORLD PEACE.

Did she able to give the world a peace of mind with her performance for the NFL SUPERBOWL XLVI?

Wanna’ have a second look of the half-time show? Check this out!

Madonna look marvelous and I guess she will always be. She added her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin” to the line up along with other classics like Vogue, Music and Like A Prayer. I find the whole act kinda incomplete. Don’t get me wrong, I love Madonna but I just didn’t see her in her usual 100% stage performance. The choreography was awesome, the projection was great but there’s something in there that left me hanging. Was it just me or some of you out there noticed it too? Was it a lip-sync?? ..Oh boy! For crying out loud.. I do hope it was not!

Well, How do you guys find the Queen of Pop- Madonna’s SUPERBOWL XLVI Half-Time Show? Wanna share points of view?

Related articles

• Madonna SUPERBOWL SUNDAY ! (runtc.wordpress.com)

1. “THIS KISS” by Faith Hill, OST of the movie Practical Magic(1998). Written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff and was released March 10,1998 as Faith Hill’s first single on her self-titled album FAITH.

2. “BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME” a song from Céline Dion’s album Falling into You, OST of the movie UP CLOSE and PERSONAL(1996), released as the first single on February 19, 1996. Written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster.

3. “I DON’T WANT TO MISS A THING” by Aerosmith, written by Diane Warren and released year 1998, OST of the movie Armageddon

4. “HERE WITHOUT YOU” an alternative rock love song by American rock band 3 DOORS DOWN. This song released on August 11, 2003 and was written by the band’s vocalist/drummer Brad Arnolds. The song is about being away from someone and missing them, and it’s not about how long you’ve gone, it’s about the loneliness that comes with missing someone. It’s also about a state of peace that comes with dreaming of the missed loved one(wiki).

5. “THE WAY YOU LOVE ME” by Faith HILL. It was the second single off her 1999 Breathe album, released as a single in 2000.

6. “214” by BAMBOO featuring the original RIVERMAYA. Released year 1994 in the Philippine tracks and praised for by it’s fresh , exciting and new pop/rock sound and was one of the best songs in their album. Still a favorite by many Pinoys up to this date. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the official music video of the song.

7. “IRIS” by alternative rock band GOO GOO DOLLS. Released in April 1998 and recorded as OST for the movie City of Angels.

8. “YOU and ME” from the group LIFEHOUSE. Written by the band’s lead singer Jason Wade and American record producer Jude Cole. It was recorded and produced by John Alagía. Released January 28, 2005 and has appeared as featured song on many television series like Smallville, Coldcase and my favorite Grey’s Anatomy.

9. “THIS I PROMISE YOU” the third and final single released from Irish singer/songwriter Ronan Keating’s fourth solo album, Bring You Home. Written by Ronan Keating and Paul Barry. Released in November 13,2006 by Polydor Records.

10 “LOVE WILL SHOW YOU EVERYTHING” by Jennifer Love Hewitt. OST of the movie IF ONLY.

These are only the top 10 love songs among my favorites. If I were put all of them in this blog I would have to install my playlist in here for that.

More to come for LOVE’s best of the best!

she was brought to this world with a promise of life ahead

and so she begins to take the steps

every time she sets her foot in a path

you’re the guiding strength that gives her a hand

for her every start that  looks so dark

you’re an unending light at every spark

for all the questions in her mind

your answers are always one of a kind

your words tells her the reason why

that in the sky full of life she needs to fly

when she is weak with all the pain

you cried with her under the rain

in a journey that never ends  in a mile

you’re on her side to make her smile

looking up to you as she is getting older

because she know what it takes to be the best mother!

Happy Birthday Mama!

I Love You so much!

-puddinggirl-

When I was little I used to spend all my playtime outside the house, in the streets together with my cousins and other children in the neighborhood. We climb trees, hide by the bushes, play with the grasshoppers, ran all day and burn all our energy chasing the cats or the occasional tricycle passing by a then not so busy and crowded  Arellano-UM Street. Summer vacations in the Philippines where children are off from school are on the months of April and May and these were our play-all-day time of the year. We put up tents made of sticks and old tarps and streamers, made use of just about anything and everything we found on the yard as toys and play to our heats content. Inside those “tents”, our world was on the games we played, oblivious of the nagging voices of our mothers and aunts telling us not to stay too long in those tents where it is extremely hot and humid under the sunny day of summer, nevertheless happy childhood memories were made.

This photo was taken  Summer of year 1984. Obviously, the picture quality tells it’s age. Digital cameras were not born yet nor Photoshoppe and digital image enhancement. By the way, that’s ME over there, partly hidden, fourth from the right. We may look like refugees but who cares? As we grew older, our games were also getting modern, physically sporty and technical eventually as the era of game and watch, family computers and brick games have evolved.

Nowadays,  children are less seen on outdoor games. They don’t play the games we played. They seldom climb trees like we did. Instead, they are indoors and opted to spend their time on computers, laptops, tablets and other hand held video games. Their playmates are the friends they have on their Facebook and they play games online or by themselves. I know that this scenario is common not only to my household but perhaps to most.

In a hi-tech world we are living now, it is very surprising that kids as young as six or seven are technically literate. I admit, the games online and those android games loaded on our gadgets are addictive. Back then, our parents knew who our playmates were and even their families. As a mother of two computer literate children who tend to splurge on video games, I see to it that in one way or another I will become their playmate. I control the time they spend on computers and games as well as the movies and cartoons they watch. When they play, I compete with them and YES, they are better than me. We share the same virtual playmates and these are our favorites:

1. PLANTS vs. ZOMBIES

.

2. ANGRY BIRDS

3. BOOKWORM Deluxe

4. CUT the ROPE

5. FaceBook’s  Farmville, Cityville, Café World  and Pet Society

The good thing about these games is that it occupies their time when I have house chores to do and needs to finish doing it up. What is bad is that, they get so hooked and they want to play often that they keep bugging me to fire up the laptop which they know how to but can’t because I secured it with a password. These games may be good because they will learn strategies and bad at the same time since it kept the children from all the physical activities their young bodies need to exert. My kids on the other hand does a lot of running around good enough on what their bodies needed…… or so I think. Well, they appear to do so because they looked like they were on a-hundred mile fun run every time they come home from school.

When we play, we take turns and compete in terms of scores and game levels achieved. Virtual games can’t be all that “VIRTUAL”…. we mothers can be their playmates too!