"Why join a race?"

I came across this topic in one of the running forums I'm visiting lately and asked myself the same question. Why do I want to join races? What motivates me to run? Each runner has its own personal reason why they run: health issues, camaraderie, to beat personal record and the list goes on and on.

And I just want to quote what Self-coached Runner said:

"A race is the validation of all your training. Why train if there is no race to run to? Why do intervals, or long runs?

A race brings the best or the worst in us. It is a test of our character, our will. It reveals and it should reveal the real "us," the real "me."

Races also teaches many lessons.

When you are tired and about to give up, when you see others huffing and puffing like you do and not give up, it teaches you not to give up too!

And when you overtake others, espeicially that last 100m, it teaches you that the lesson that you are never the last in a race.

When somebody pippes you or overtake you, it teaches you that you are also not the fastest.

And it teaches you that you can be faster.

Races are also building blocks of future improvements, of future races. You race a 5k now, so you can race a 10k later. A 10k later, to race a 15-16k down the road. That 15-16k becomes a 20-21k. And later on, it is a marathon. When you think about it in those terms, you realize that regardless of age, sex, or what has given you, you are capable of doing very remarkable things if you set your mind to it. And you prepare for it. Preparation means discipline. And only discipline and proper training can deliver you the results.

Races also teaches you to be humble. You learn to respect the distance. You learn to be patient. You learn to wait. And yet you also learn to be a tiger, to risk it all when the time comes.

And you learn from races that you cannot use only your heart to finish a race. You have to use your brains. You have to use both heart and brain to do well. You can't do well with one lording it over the other. You can't just shout to the heaven's that you will finish 42k. No courage or determination can make you cover that distance if you don't think and prepare for it.

Races, is not really about medals, trophies, the girls, or the guys, or the artista we might see. It's about memories. It's about excelling and being better than what you thought you were. Races should bring out the best in us. It should make us reflect, and see the hero in ourselves, even as we see the heroes in others. Races should bring out our true character. When the pain is great and unbearable, it shows us which way we will go and what we will choose.

Yes, races are not just about making friends, and winning medals, and getting t-shirts, and loot bags. Above anything else, races, should really reveal the real you."

Very inspiring, indeed :) I will always keep that in mind sir. Thanks for this!

HSBC 135 and Unilab Run United 2

Yes! We already registered and got our kits :)


So excited with the Unilab race since this is the first race organized by Coach Rio that we'll be participating in though got turned-off during the 1st day of in-store registration at Planet Sports, Trinoma. I was there 10am but Runrio staff arrived at 230pm and had problems with their on-line registration. I've waited till 4am but their "chuvaness" system isn't working at all so I decided to go home and fortunately, my friend Louie who was with me, took care of our registration and finished almost 6pm. My gulay! almost 8 hours! Mas matagal pa hinintay namin para makapagregister kesa takbuhin ang 5k run na yan :( Buti na lang ganda ng singlet nila hehehe...

(more details of the race here)


We registered online and paid registration fee at their HSBC Savings branch (staff were very friendly and accommodating) in Cubao. I'm excited to get my kit and singlet since it was designed by Mr. Rajo Laurel (kahit man lang sa singlet makapag-RAJO ako hehehe....)

(more details of the race here)

Getting serious about running? I think so! :)

My upcoming runs

I'm back! After almost 2 months of not blogging anything, I'm now writing about my upcoming runs. Yes, I'll start running :)

It has been my dream to do marathons and this will be the start. My number one motivation actually is to lose weight and running is the answer. I'm 33 years old and not getting any younger, weighing almost 130 lbs. I think (my last trip to the weighing scale, I was 120 lbs. already) and so I have to get my acts done: to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle, I hope. And to make it more exciting, I have my besties Jos and Louie as my running mates.

Here are our upcoming runs:

(Adidas King of the Road - will participate in the 5k category since its the shortest. This will be on Oct. 24 at Bonifacio Global City)

(Bluewater Day Spa Fun Run - Since this is my 1st ever run, I will be participating in the 3K category. This will be on Oct.17,MOA)



(Next tentative race will be the HSBC Run on Nov. 6 and the Unilab Run United 2. Haven't registered yet that's why its tentative.)

Oh, did I mention about collecting singlets and eating out every after race? hehehe....

Ordinary People

Just want to share music video of John Legend's "Ordinary People". First heard this when Markki Stroem performed in Pilipinas Got Talent as his semifinal piece and loved it eversince :)

Here's the video:



ORDINARY PEOPLE

[Verse 1]

Girl im in love with you
This ain't the honeymoon
Past the infatuation phase
Right in the thick of love
At times we get sick of love
It seems like we argue everyday

[Bridge]

I know i misbehaved
And you made your mistakes
And we both still got room left to grow
And though love sometimes hurts
I still put you first
And we'll make this thing work
But I think we should take it slow

[Chorus]

We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow

[Verse 2]

This ain't a movie no
No fairy tale conclusion ya'll
It gets more confusing everyday
Sometimes it's heaven sent
Then we head back to hell again
We kiss and we make up on the way

[Bridge]

I hang up you call
We rise and we fall
And we feel like just walking away
As our love advances
We take second chances
Though it's not a fantasy
I Still want you to stay

[Chorus]

We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow

[Verse 3]

Take it slow
Maybe we'll live and learn
Maybe we'll crash and burn
Maybe you'll stay, maybe you'll leave,
maybe you'll return
Maybe another fight
Maybe we won't survive
But maybe we'll grow
We never know baby youuuu and I

[Chorus]

We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow (Heyyy)
We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow

Spanish Sardine Pasta

Just want to share my own version of Spanish Sardine Pasta. I've first tasted it from Fleur de Lys Restaurant located at Tomas Morato when my bestfried Jos invited me for dinner. At first, I was hesitant to try it because for me, sardines and pasta didn't match together but then Jos convinced me to give it a try because it was very good "daw" according to her. And yes, she was right! That lead me to cook my own version here at home so that family members could try and they love it too!

Ingredients are: linguine pasta (spaghetti noodles can do), spanish sardines, tomato, capers, onions, garlic, olive oil and salt & pepper to taste. Top it with Parmesan cheese and pair it with your favorite garlic bread.




(sorry for the blurred 1st pic)

Try this and enjoy!

Update on my "anakis"

Matteo is doing okay already. He cough once in a while and has a slight cold but still very active and so "madaldal". His appetite went down a bit but now, he finished a bowl of rice with mashed potatoes and carrots and a little bit of sauce from the menudo dish for dinner and after that, ate 3 pieces of "monay" bread with skin off.

We have a schedule pedia appointment tomorrow for his flu vaccine but I doubt if Dr. Avendano will give him his shot because of his condition. I'm thinking of postponing the visit and will go on Aug. 17 instead; well I guess, he'll be perfectly okay come Tuesday.

I will post some pictures of Matteo's recent drawings when I figure out what to do with my expired Bluesoleil program installed from my my laptop (pictures and video's taken from my phone cam).

My "anakis" is sick again :(

Matteo is sick once again, bad case of cough. As of this writing, his temperature is 37 degrees (I will give him paracetamol as soon as it reaches 38.5 degrees).

He's coughing so hard and has the tendency to throw-up. He is kind of irritated with the phlegm sticking to his throat; he does not know still how to spit it out. He had a hard time sleeping because he kept on coughing and coughing. I put a generous amount of Vicks Vaporub on his chest and back and eventually, went on to sleep.

Since yesterday, he is taking Ascof Lagundi syrup for his medication and I let him drink lots of fluids, water in particular.

His appetite is there and very active still but I hope he gets better soon:(

Dinner time with Louie and Jos

Last July 29, we had dinner at Mann Hann, Trinoma with my bestfriends Jos and Louie. Matteo is always tagged-along everytime I meetup with them. It has been a weekly tradition for us to see each other, to have dinner and some chit-chat so we could catch-up with what's happening to our lives.

This particular dinner I will never forget because it was like a feast! We were only 4 but we ordered for like 7-10 persons hehehehe...we had yang chow friend rice, spicy squid, spicy spareribs, beef with brocolli flower, hacao, fried noodles, green spinach soup and lotus fried tofu. The food were very delicious. I like everything but the lotus tofu was my favorite. Matteo had fried noodles and soup of course which he loves since he's into noodles and soups lately.

Here are some pics:








(Thanks Jos for the pics!:))

After that sumptuous dinner, we went straight to Starbucks to have some frappucino and blueberry cheesecake.

Thanks for that good night guys, sa uulitin! Love you both!

Tribo Escapade At Anilao

Last weekend, Tribo Palaboy went on a weekend getaway at Anilao, Batangas and stayed at the Bartolome's residence.

I will never forget this trip because its tribo's first time to have gourmet food as meals. Yes I said gourmet because of Tito Amor no less, who was our "chef" during the said trip. He prepared sinigang na baboy, grilled tahong and tilapia for lunch. Then we had sashimi, roasted pork and marinated octupus (can't remember what its called but it taste so good!) for dinner and my favorite of all, okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake for breakfast. We were so full every mealtime because the food were so yummy and delicious. And the best part was when Tito Amor taught us how to make sashimi and okonomiyaki :)

Here are some pictures of the trip:

me, snorkling

the yummy okonomiyaki

raw octupus

jenga time!

jen and her maki

tito amor

the boys

matteo

Thanks to Jen and Dane for the pics; love you both!

We did snorkling, the boys played jenga and had a couple of beers; Matteo enjoyed throwing stones to the water and playing jenga by himself; we all had fun! And also, it was a very relaxing trip for all of us I must say; away from the busy, polluted and stressful city life.

See you on August 20, Anilao! We can't wait hehehe...

The LDS Blog Train

I am so happy with the August's LDS Blog Train collaboration named "A Name and A Blessing". Its all about newborn babies and baptism; in time for my next photobook project. I hope I can finish with the birthday photobook so I can start with the baptismal one.

Here are examples of kits you will get from the beautiful collaboration:





Thank you very much to all the designers who participated; so generous of you to share your kits with all of us :)

Mojo, Oh Mojo...

... where are you? I can't seem to find you! It's been weeks since my last LO. I need to finish my son's 1st birthday photobook since my 10 free 8x8 photobooks at Artscow will expire in September. Need to to do his baptismal and 1st year photobooks. Oh my gulay! I need to start working or else, I won't have nothing :(

I need to do the following layouts in a 2-page spread: party venue, party program, cake blowing, loot giving and gift opening; this means, 10 pages more. Also, need to finish and revise the following lay-outs: party details, kids and adult guests. A total of 16-pages work load.

Be positive! I know I can do this :) 3 photobooks in 45 days, so help me God:)

BIR

Thank God! I'm done with BIR. I started my week with them and just finished everything today.

I'm the person in-charge of fixing my titas and titos' capital gains and documentary stamp taxes. Actually, I started that last week already. I prepared all the necessary documents before heading to Intramuros. Very tiring but still happy because I've learned and accomplished something eventhough it took me years! hehehe :)

Next step, the Register of Deeds in Manila. Our lawyer told me, she will handle it since its her territory ( She works as a Clerk of Court at RTC Manila). Goodluck Atty. Pascual! =)

Booksale Buys

Now, I'm enjoying going to Booksale and everytime I leave the shop, I always have something on hand. Primarily, I go there to get back issue magazines about scrapbooking. But lately, I'm also into getting cooking, parenting and celebrity magazines, all back issues since they are way cheaper than the new releases. The other day, me and hubby bought 7 magazines for just a fraction of a cost (if i remember it right, total amount is P365) and the magazines were:

* Playhouse Disney (Aug 2010)- for Matteo
* Car Craft (May 2010)- for Roy
* The Oprah Magazine (Jan 2009)
* Parents (July 2009)
* Cooking Light (March & April 2009)
* Creating Keepsakes (July 2009)

I'm looking for other scrapbooking magazines like Digital Scrapbooking and Memory Makers. Hope I can get them in other Booksale branches. And now, I'm starting to read my magazines and looks like we got a good "buys" :)

Jake Cuenca

I can't believe this! Yes, i'm blogging about Jake Cuenca. I can say he is one of my showbiz crush now and thanks to "Rubi", one of ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida teleserye. I'm so hooked with that show that I even searched for live streams so tI can watched episodes that I missed. I love his character as "Alejandro", the very handsome-looking doctor whose very loyal and loving to his family and to his partner, Rubi and now, Maribelle. I'm really drawn to him because of his character; he's the type you want to have as a boyfriend and a husband material. That explains why I dreamed of him a couple of days back hehehe...

The show will end in three weeks time and I promise not to miss an episode. I want to know if he'll be true to his promise to Maribelle that he would marry her. I want to know result of Rubi's "paghihiganti" to Sylvana and what her relationship to Hector will end up. From the trailer, it looks like Alejandro will fall for Rubi again and I'm not in favor of that! I'm for Alejandro-Maribelle and I hope the ending will be favorable to them :) Let's wait and see.

Enough of it. Back to reality :)

Cherry Mobile P1i

Got myself a Cherry Mobile P1i in pink today. It was hubby's gift to me. He promised me that a couple of months back because I really need to retire my Sony Ericsson T610; thanks for the 6 fruitful years :) So, my globe sim will have a new home and I hope their relationship will last for years hehehe...:)

My CM P1i




(sorry for the blurry image; phone cam was used)

Specifications:
* Single SIM dual band
* STK function
* Polyphonic
* Dual band 96 x 49
* 1.2” B/W screen
* Alarm
* Calculator

Not bad for a secondary phone since its very affordable (for only P999) trendy and easy to use, even though it functions for text and call only.

Thank you very much mahal!

43 Things You Don’t Know About Me

Snagged this from Sis Diane :)

What color is your toothbrush? Pink
Name one person that made you smile today? Matteo
What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Looking at Bookoto site
Have you ever been to a strip club? No
What is the last thing you said aloud? Matteo!
What is the best ice cream flavor? Pistachio and Double Dutch
What are you wearing right now? Guess shirt and shorts
What was the last thing you ate? Inihaw na balat
What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? BBQ
Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on facebook? Ate Larcie's

Do you take vitamins daily? Yes, ascorbic acid
Do you go to church every Sunday? Sometimes
Do you like sweets? Sometimes
Do you like Chinese food better than pizza? Yes
Do you drink your soda with a straw? Yes
What did your last text message say? Regarding infant bottle cleaner from Grace
Are you someone’s best friend? Yes
What are you doing tomorrow? Clean the room
Where is your dad? Sleeping in his room
Look to your left, what do you see? My son's closet and high chair

What color is your watch? Red Nike Presto watch, silver and black Kenneth Cole, silver Fossil, black Casio watch
What do you think of when you think of Switzerland? Watch
Do you use chapsticks? Yes
What is your birthstone color? Amethyst (purple)
Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive through? dine-in and drive thru
What’s your favorite number? 8
Do you have a dog? Yes, Tsico
Have you met anyone famous? Yes
Any plans today? Tonight? Just stay at home, watch tv and read magazines
Ever gone to college? Yes. I am a BS Architecture graduate from UST

Do you dye your hair? No
Last song listened to? Baby by Justin Bieber
Can you say the alphabet backwards? Of course!
Do you have a maid service clean your house? Wala po
Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My Zara black flats
Are you jealous of anyone? Friends at work, pero minsan lang naman :)
Is anyone jealous of you? I don't know
Do you love someone? Yes, I love Roy and Matteo
Do any of your friends have children? Yes, most of them
What do you usually do during the day? Go online and watch over my son

Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Wala naman po
Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily? Yes.
Do you like cats? Yes

LO: Birthday Cake

Credits:
1. Layered template by GG template challenge 1
2. Brown paper and orange strip by Disaster Piece Studio 's Birthday Bash freebie
3. Lucky stripes and green polka dot paper by Peppermint Creative's Miss Mint kit
4. Purple polka dot paper by Marie Stone's Spring Punch collection
5. Paper 5, cupcake and cake by Little Dreamer Design's Simple Pleasures (Leora Sanford)
6. Stars by Dianeskie's Dulcie collection
7. Green ric-rac by Danos Pookie Designs (Heather Greene) Glittered Chaos
8. Silver doodle dots by GM Design's Happy Birthday collection (recolored)
9. Circle strip by Julia of Everyday Mom Ideas' Backyard Play kit (recolored)
10. Brown and pink-a-dot alpha by Shabby Princess' Promise kit and Marie Stone respectively
11. Bracket and framed paper by Dianeskie's Maree collection
12. Barney and friends from Google images
13. Brown stitching to follow (can't find from the folders)

LO: Face Paint

Credits:
1. Layered template by Cindy Schneider for the Sweet Shoppe Designs
2. Artist critter boy, color pallete, orange paint and star clusters by Julia of everyday Mom Ideas' Creative Critter kit and Paper 02 from the Backyard Play kit.
3. Brown tag by Delicious Scraps' Awesome Autumn collection
4. White button, stitched page border, brown alpha, polka dot brown paper, plaid paper, and orange circle paper by Shabby Princess' Harvest Spice, Promise, Splendid, Happy Go Lucky and Two Soon collections
5. Yellow ribbon by Amy Teet's Sun porch collection
6. Green ric-rac by Marie Stone's Egg-Static kit
7. Pink-a-dot alpha and purple polka dot paper by Marie Stone
8. Glitter splat by Britt-ish Design for Scrapmatters' "Im Yours" add-on
9. Lucky stripes and green polka dot paper by Peppermint Creative's Miss Mint kit.
10. Brown and orange star by Disaster Piece Studio's Birthday Bash kit
11. Paper 2,4 & 5 by Dianeskie's Maree kit
12. Stars and paper 4,6 & 7 by Dianeskie's Dulcie collection
13. Staple wire to follow (can't find it from the folders)

My first scrapbooking magazines

Got myself back issues of "Creating Keepsakes" magazines from Booksale at SM City Sta. Mesa. I've been looking for this for a week now and fortunately, I got hold of 2 back issues; June and August 2009. Also, got back issue of "Real Living" magazine.

Will read them and I'll see of it will encourage me to go into traditional scrapbooking and I'm keeping my fingers cross :)

Matteo's new toy

We got him a wooden magnetic building blocks last Friday. Actually, he picked what he wanted. He doesn't want simple peg puzzles, too easy for him I guess. We also got him his 2nd box of smart cube. Yes, he's into educational toys lately and we're happy about that :)

I just took a couple of pictures while he was playing with the building blocks:






The figures in the photos were "penguin" according to him :)