Who is Oscar the Grouch?

Remember when I wrote about learning Spanish from the Fiesta CD of Sesame Street? I mentioned that I don't like Oscar, right? Now I'm writing again about Oscar because I already found another view when hearing his harsh and not so nice lines. It all started when my friend Ezekiel of Family, Life and Relationships left a comment saying this:

“I agree about oscar, when he's in the scene I always tell Clarence that Oscar is one grumpy monster and he should not follow his behavior. i think that's Oscar purpose in Sesame Street for the kids to see what's to be like being a grouch.”

I realized that Oscar gives parents the opportunity to educate their children. And since I promised Eva of All About Life that I’ll to introduce to her Oscar even before the baby comes, I searched for more information about Oscar.

Oscar the Grouch
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body (during the 1969–1970 season he was orange), has no nose, and lives in a garbage can. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". Although "The Grouch" aptly describes his misanthropic interaction with the other characters and even to themselves at times, it is also the name of his species. The character is performed by Carroll Spinney, and has been performed by him since the show's first episode. Through Oscar, children actually learn about respect and tolerance instead of disrespect and intolerance, and they discover that people with different views and lifestyles can still be great friends.

Read again, “Through Oscar, children actually learn about respect and tolerance instead of disrespect and intolerance, and they discover that people with different views and lifestyles can still be great friends.”

I know a lot of people including myself who sometimes forget that differences exist and that we need to practice respect and tolerance. Well, I think I’m starting to like Oscar… LOL!

Benefits of Walking

It's been a few days since Gab and I got the chance to have our morning walk bonding. As I said earlier, it's because for the past few days, it's been drizzling and all we can do was watch Gab's favorite cartoon DVDs.

I so like it when I spend half an hour or so everyday bonding with my baby. We get to bond and exercise at the same time.

Gab enjoys walking around.. chasing birds and butterflies... watching other kids playing outside... giving hand salute when we pass by the subdivsion guard... and following his shadow when the sun is up and smiling :-)

Mom enjoys the walk also... I get the chance to teach Gab other things like the fun of exploring... things that we can't learn inside the house while playing with his toys, learning from his books and the internet, and watching DVDs. I enjoy it most importantly because I know that with the little time I spend walking, I get lots of other benefits.

My Second Award

Wow! It's been drizzling for the past few days and it's so nice to wake up with a fine weather today! With the fine weather that I was just starting to enjoy was a very nice tag that my blogger friend Donna gave me. Can you now tell how beautiful this day is for me?

Alright, now it's time for me to share this good day to all my other friends with whom I have been spending a lot of fun with since I started blogging. :-)

Oh wait, there are some rules to follow for this award:

1. Put the award in a post when you receive it.
2. Name and link to the blogger who gave you the award in the post.
3. Write the reason why you love to blog.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers that you know.
5. Name and link to your recipients in the post.
6. Let your recipients know that the award was passed on to them.

I'm done with 1 and 2. Now let me proceed...

The Reason Why I Love To Blog

Blogging gives me my own spot in the world where I can pour everything.. and when I say everything, it means just anything from sadness, which I want to flush away to all the happiness, which I want to give away in sharing.

Now, I'd like to pass this award to the following:

Arnie
Carms
Shy
Delia
Ayu
Eugene
Sam
Tony and Geraldine
Paulo
Yogi

And I would like to especially award this back to Donna. Thanks again friend!

Now, I need to run and tell the others that they've got something to grab! :-)

Goodbye to the King of Pop

Even after reading the Yahoo News that Michael Jackson already died, I still can't believe that he really is dead. Perhaps I still can't believe it because (I can't remember when, but) I saw the banner while browsing online that he's gonna have a comeback concert.

Well, I guess I should just believe. He's a great name. A lot of not so nice things happened to him. It's just kinda sad that the comeback did not happen. Maybe it was going to be his way of really coming back and standing up. But maybe that's life. Sometimes you lose the chance.

Parkinson's disease

My mom and I visited her cousin whom she has never seen since she cannot recall when. They’re both 65 years old already but my mom’s cousin has Parkinson’s disease and I’m guessing that’s the reason why she looks a bit older than my mom.

I did some reading and found out that most people with Parkinson's disease have it for no specific known cause. The website also says that there are far less common causes of Parkinson's disease including genetic, toxins, head trauma, cerebral anoxia, and drug-induced Parkinson's disease.

After reading, I asked my mom if any of the less common reasons of having the disease is applicable to her cousin but she said none of it and she’s pretty sure.

I have another aunt who also has Parkinson's disease and I have yet to find out the reason. I hope that with all the health awareness that people on the internet are getting, lesser and lesser people will have that disease. My mom's cousin seems okay but my mom of course is better because she doesn't have that.

I also found out that the disease was named after the English physician James Parkinson, who made a detailed description of the disease in his essay: "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy".

My aunt does shake a lot.

Who's coping mechanism is it?

My baby has gained a lot of weight since his dad left to work abroad. It's only been less than a couple of weeks and yet I have observed his appetite unbelievably increasing! He still doesn’t like to eat rice but has started to like eating sweets and cookies and chips.

Could it be that Gab has developed a teenager’s coping mechanism this early? Or should his mom stop acting silly and admit the crime! LOL. Uh-oh. I guess I should start taking control or we’ll both end up waddling like penguins!!! ;-)

Your Blog Makes Us Smile Award

I received my first award!!! I am so grateful to Analou of Me and My Dog

Me and My Dog

for including me in the list of the awardees.

Firsts are always notable and I love it because the first award that I received says in it "Your Blog Makes Us Smile". I love making people smile. And I like it best when I saw the smile after a frown. :-)

I would like to pass this award to the following people who are also deserving. Truly, they make me smile when I'm at their site!

Family, Life and Relationship
All About Life
chuvaness
i.am.sam
My Journey
My Daily Thoughts and Moods
angel of the waters
Womensselfesteem.com's Blog
random rants
Sexy Jessie
Live. Love. Learn. Laugh.
ayamaya’s toot toot

Of course the list won't be complete without Analou's page! Her blog does make me smile. :-)

Me and My Dog

Thanks again Analou!

being senior in high school, fun or nightmare?

Senior year in high school I think is for most people one of the coolest experiences in life. It’s the time when you get the chance to become superior at school. It’s when you get harassed with all the requirements but you still keep up with the parties and the good times. It’s when your all anxious about passing all the subjects or you’ll suffer another year at school… and the worst part is that you’re gonna have to spend it with the people whom you have bullied all year round– the juniors. LOL. No one likes that! With all the excitement and fun of being a senior is the pressure of qualifying for that dream college or university which you have started to dream about because either cute guys are all over the place or nothing, you just wanna belong.

I was talking to a niece and she was whining about all the stress she already got this early. They only started the school year last week and she said she’s always up late to finish all the home works. Add to that the tough training they were given on the first weekend (and it will be given every lovely Saturdays thereafter) which she used to spend watching her favorite mushy movies.

Well, I’m not sure if the times have changed and the senior year is not as fun as before, but, I think if that’s their school’s way of preparing them for more challenges in the future, she should start getting used to it. What she can do is find ways to relax when done with all her home works and stop whining!!! Again, stop whining!!! Find ways to enjoy! After all, I don’t remember any elder saying that having fun is forbidden when you’re asked to stay focused and drill a hole all week on your study table.

Does your toddler get all jumpy when having a hair cut?

Went out to get Gab a nice hair cut today and like in the past, it did not turn out as nicely as I wish it would. It’s his 4^th time and we still had problems keeping him calm. Like his first and second and third… we were not able to hold him still long enough to get the hair cut done. And again, he was hysterical the whole time.

All I wanted was to give him a fresh feeling because his already shaggy hair makes him sweat a lot when the weather is hot. But I think my good intention caused something bad. He was screaming and crying all throughout and I can only wish that the experience did not give him a trauma. I’m planning to buy a nice pair of scissors to train him at home. I’m not sure yet what scares him when at the barber shop but I’m guessing finding it out will help control the situation when I decide to bring him back.

Summer is over and I hope that a chilly weather will give us enough time to let his anxiety fade.

what happened to the date?

I wonder what happened to my previous article. It showed June 20 on the date when I published the post. Then I changed something on the body and on the title. After which, the date changed to June 19. I wonder why.

Does any one know?

busy or just plain selfish?

Why is it that there are people who are only interested in what you say if they know there's an ROI? In finance, ROI or return on investment is the ratio of money gained or lost (whether realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested.

Money, time, cellphone load, ears to listen or shoulders to cry on are all investments that some people don't give generously unless there's a possible return. There are people who consider his/her interest as the basis for decision making... not whether or not the decision is for the good.

Why did I ask? Because I know a person who gave me a reason to think that he(or she) would only consider spending time in answering my calls if he (or she) expects to need something from me sooner or later.

There are times when I'm not able to spend enough help(money, time, cellphone load, ears to listen or shoulders to cry on) to some people I know. But it is for a reason like I am busy or attending to something more important. But, never because I think I would not benefit from the person who's trying to ask for it in return.

I believe it is not fair when you only talk to people when you are expecting something in return. There's a chance though that he (or she) might be busy when I called... or maybe attending to something more important than what I was going to say.

Makes me think that when I'm unable to help because I'm busy or attending to something very urgent, I should get back and explain to that person, whose call I missed, just to clear things out. I don't like anyone to think that I'm uninterested because there's no ROI. ;-)

I learned Spanish

I learned a lot of Spanish words today! We bought a “Fiesta” CD of the Sesame Street some few weeks ago but my kid did not like it at first. And because we bought other CDs with it…. Barney and Dora which he likes better… weeks passed without watching the Fiesta CD. I decided to add some “lively participation” when I tried to convince Gab that Fiesta is as interesting as the other new CDs. Now, Gab requests for it when it’s movie time for him. Mom’s lively, and add to that, silly participation when watching always works in pinning Gab’s eyes on the TV. LOL.

As I said, I learned some Spanish words after watching it for the nth time now. When Gab learns to talk, I’m pretty sure he can say and understand the words listed below. =)

Hola – Hello/Hi
Carnaval – Big Festival / Street Party
Carroza – Float
Uno - one
Dos - two
Tres - three
Cuatro - four
Cinco - five
Seis -six
Siete -seven
Ocho - eight
Nueve- nine
Diez – ten
Buenos Diaz – Good Morning
Buenas Tardes – Good afternoon
Amigo – friend
Siesta – nap
casa de los alimentos – house of food
arroz – rice
papa – potato
gracias – thanks

There’s actually a lot more Spanish words used in the educational CD. If you are a mom or a parent or you are thinking of a gift for a little one, then maybe this one is a great idea.

P.S. I just don’t like Oscar. The CD is for the little ones so I think his attitude of being harsh or different to the other characters is not appropriate.

Personal Moving and Storage

RSVP, respond if you please, please respond

Wikipedia says,

RSVP may refer to:

Répondez s'il vous plaît", a French phrase that translates to "please respond" and word for word means "respond if you please"[1]. It is with this meaning that invitation cards and similar documents are often marked with "RSVP." It is standard practice to reply to an RSVP request whether confirming attendance or declining.

Sometimes, there are people who forget the last part, and, they tend not to reply when they are not attending the event. I just finished talking to a friend whose event will happen in less than half a month's time and yet there's around 25% of the guest list who have not confirmed their attendance yet. She said she's already having a headache because there are a lot of things that affect the silence of that quarter portion of the invited guests. She mentioned some, like the seating arrangement, the number of plates she will let the caterer prepare and some other personal plans she has for t he event.

When you are given an invite which has the letters R-S-V-P printed, are you courteous enough to call and confirm whether you are coming or not?

Do you dream of having an Apple iPhone?

I don't want to tag my phone as a useless phone because I can still make a call, send text messages and take pictures (especially now that our digicam is partly dead) using it. I just hate it when the battery goes dead and I’m not at home or anywhere near the computer to recharge it.

If I’m not working on a financial plan, I would want to buy a new phone. While dreaming on a phone that does not go dead just when you need it, I browsed some websites and found myself staring at an Apple iPhone.














Then I felt as though I was thumped. And I was. I realized I still have some 15% of my target to accomplish.

According to one article that I read, when I want something and I don’t have the money to have it. I should save for it… and, before I knew it, I would not want to buy it anymore. Then, I’ll have some extra cash for something that’s really important.

a stress free month part 2

By the way. I came across an article of one of the blogs that I follow. I felt a bit sad and as I told the author on the comment that I posted, I guess there are a lot of people who needs to read his post.

Read “She is a human too..............”, you'll pick up something... and please, if you are one of those that I said who should be reading, I hope you'll change your treatment to these people who makes possible the stress free months for us. =)

a stress free month

It’s been a month since our new household helper arrived. I gave her the first month salary and she went on a rest day. She told me that she'll be celebrating her birthday next month and that she will go out to see her mom so that she can give the money in preparation for her birthday celebration.

I’ve had a lot of experiences with different household helpers. I already got used to different attitudes and the stress when they leave. This time, it's a different set of experience.

It’s been a month and I haven't had any major stress factors from her. LOL. When she went home from her day off, she brought hamburger sandwiches, ice cream and chocolate drinks for my son. I felt a bit ashamed because she spent the money that I gave her as salary in buying her treats. But on the other hand, I was touched because she's very thoughtful. She’s very young, 19 years old. And sometimes, she shows signs of childishness. But when it comes to doing the household chores, there's no problem.

I’m glad it's been a month and I have no thoughts of letting her leave the house. A month is already a month. =)

Defective Canon Powershot A510

I just got off the phone with the customer service associate of Canon Philippines. It was regarding our Canon Powershot A510 camera which stopped working last summer. The optical lens got damaged and the service center is charging us around five thousand pesos for the labor and the new optical lens. I think it’s too much repair fee for an old model of a digicam. I’m sad though because we’re really satisfied with the camera. It has great features and the quality of the photos is really good.

I wish the charge is lesser than what they are asking... because I don’t want to let go of the cam. But maybe I will have to if the cost is really that huge.

Lindsay Lohan is reportedly wanted for questioning over alleged jewellery theft

This lady sure is very controversial... or is she notorious?


Jewels vanish after Lohan shoot

The diamond necklace and earrings were modelled by the 22-year-old actress during the Elle shoot at Big Sky Studios near King's Cross in London on June 6. The jewellery, which was loaned to the magazine by fashion house Dior, was reported missing two days later.

Lohan is among a number of people present at the studio who could face questioning, the Sun newspaper reported.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We had an allegation of theft made to us on June 8 and that is being investigated.

"There have been no arrests yet. We want to speak to a number of people in connection with the inquiry.

"It is alleged it is a necklace and earrings with diamonds with an estimated value of £250,000."

blog template change

check out the new face of my blog. i like it and i hope you will like it too. :-) it's late. i'll deal with the rest of the changes tomorrow.

thanks malen!!! if you need help, just drop by her site and ask for it. LOL.

Influenza A(H1N1), a pandemic

A week before my husband left for Singapore, I convinced him to get a flu vaccine shot because he catches flu when he is overly stressed and because of the pandemic, Influenza A(H1N1). I told him that since he catches flu very often, he is more susceptible to catching the swine flu. It was my non-medical-person analysis of the health crisis effect on individuals… and I was wrong. LOL.

The health article I’ve read said “Still, about half of the people who have died from swine flu were previously young and healthy – people who are not usually susceptible to flu. Swine flu is also crowding out regular flu viruses. Both features are typical of pandemic flu viruses.”

And so I thought that I should have also gotten a shot.

Following are some of the things that I learned, one of them I mentioned already, is against my non-medical-person ideas (From the health article: Flu vaccine developed as pandemic declared).


Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG said yesterday it has successfully produced a first batch of swine flu vaccine weeks ahead of expectations.
The vaccine was made in cells, rather than grown in eggs as is usually the case with vaccines, the company said.

For many weeks, US health officials have been treating it as a pandemic, increasing the availability of anti-viral flu medicine and pouring money into a possible vaccination program. And scientists have grown to understand that the virus is generally not much more severe than the seasonal flu.
“That helps to tamp down any fears that may be excessive,” Frieden said at a news conference – his first as CDC director.
But the virus can still be deadly and may change into a more frightening form in the near future, and so people should not be complacent, he added.


“Still, about half of the people who have died from swine flu were previously young and healthy – people who are not usually susceptible to flu. Swine flu is also crowding out regular flu viruses. Both features are typical of pandemic flu viruses.”

Swine flu is also continuing to spread during the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. Normally, flu viruses disappear with warm weather, but swine flu is proving to be resilient.

“Countries where outbreaks appear to have peaked should prepare for a second wave of infection,” Chan warned.

up again

just finished reblasting my sister's computer. i had my friend on the phone while i was doing it. needed help with a lot of techy things while working on the machine. i will be using this unit for the mean time.

it was nice of my sister to lend me the extra computer that she's not using at home. all i needed to do was buy a piece of memory card. plugged it. ran some clean up on the system. and now, i'm up again. thanks sissy!

Elmo the Fighting fish

We bought a fish bowl and a Fighting fish for Gabriel. Fighting fish is the only one available at the pet shop which does not require filters, aerators and big tanks according to the attendant at the store. Since the fish is red and Gab cannot talk yet to give his first pet a name, his dad decided to call it Elmo.

Gab is entertained just by watching Elmo swim. He’s very happy when he feeds his pet every morning. Dad let’s him watch every time we clean the fish bowl too.

Having Elmo has already taught Gab to be careful; like the glass fish bowl should not be pushed and that he should not shake it or Elmo will die. For only less than a week, Gab already learned to care for his pet. He would normally ask someone to come with him (every morning) while he check Elmo. He knows where the jar (for Elmo’s food) is. He’d point at the jar to tell us he wants to feed Elmo. Surely, having his first pet will teach him a lot more things in the coming days.

It’s great that there's a lot to discover when it comes to finding ways that will both educate and make our kid happy.

My eyes and whole face got all puffy

After a few minutes of crying profusely, I went to the CR to wash my face. I was so hurt and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. I felt my head was about to explode. I thought that washing my face would ease it up a bit and doing something else like walking to the wash room instead of pounding my head with sad thoughts would help divert my attention and forget the crying. I was shocked to see myself on the mirror. It was like I was looking at someone else’s face. My face was all puffy. It was a long time since I last cried that much but I can’t recall seeing that face on the mirror after crying. My heartache was replaced with curiosity as to why my face got all bloated that much. I thought that maybe something’s wrong with my glands.

I rummaged around some health and science websites and found this on one of them.

The other physical changes associated with crying, such as swollen eyes, a red nose, and puffy face, occur because of why we start crying. Humans have two nervous systems, which control every part of the body. The first one, called the parasympathetic nervous system, is controlled by parts of the brain responsible for our day-to-day involuntary bodily functions, such as digestion, breathing, and the beating of our hearts.

The body's other nervous system, called the sympathetic nervous system, is controlled by centers of the brain and spinal cord that respond to stressful conditions, such as danger or strong emotions. When danger, anger, or fear activates the sympathetic nervous system, we experience a "fight or flight" response. Adrenalin surges through our bodies. Pupils dilate, the lacrimal glands secrete more fluid, the heart begins pumping more blood more rapidly, breathing increases to bring in more oxygen, muscles tense, and our senses stand ready to respond to danger. The body reacts to any strong emotion, such as crying, in this manner. The face becomes flushed and puffy, the facial muscles twitch, and the throat constricts, further changing the quality of the voice.

Hmmm. I think the explanation matched my situation. I thought that perhaps I should settle the problem and stop myself from feeling strong negative emotions or I’ll see that face on the mirror often. :-(