I had lunch with Liza and Sasha yesterday and we didn’t notice that we’ve been talking for more than four hours already. We talked about kids, family and of course, blogging. I’ve learned so much from these two. They’ve been blogging way ahead of me that’s why they know things like SEO, backlinks, html, moola among others. I especially like the tricks of attaching all my blog links in my comments and joining memes to get some backlinks. =)

After lunch and coffee, I stayed behind to find a gift for my father on his birthday. I noticed that there were still so many items on sale. I plan to go back within the week. My window shopping was cut short because my dear sister arrived and she wanted to go some place else. I promise not to frequent the malls this year but with so many sales and bargains around, it would be truly hard.

It’s a month before my blog anniversary and I’m not sure if I should have some sort of blog contest. What other ways do you celebrate your anniversary? Or if you even celebrate it at all…

Blogging my year away has been one of the best adventures I’ve had in years. That and having a baby in my 30’s. Off and on, I get inspiration from my everyday life and I write it here. Some mundane, some significant and a lot of ramblings and rantings. It’s as if my life in the past year has been stored in a warehouse or is recorded and filed in some library. Amazing. Blogging has been a creative outlet for me and it brought back my love for expressing myself in written words. I still remember when I used to write with a Bic pen and a one whole sheet of pad paper. A manual Olympia typewriter came in next. It still exists. I left that typewriter with a defective “e” key in my dad’s home, rusting and gathering dirt. I might use it to decorate my new home. It would forever serve as a reminder how I typed away my younger days. Unfortunately, the papers are not with me. I don’t know where I hid them but I know that mites have already beaten me to it. And now, the computer. The computer that can produce essays and manuscripts faster and more efficiently than a manual typewriter ever could. And of course, the internet. Where we could meet people without leaving the house or even leaving the bed.

Anyway, back to blogging. What has blogging done for you so far? My friend Sasha has written her share here. And it’s quite inspiring. I hope I can do half of what she has accomplished. Then I’ll be happy. But I’m happy now as it is. Having survived the first year of blogging when normally, any activity I get into would last a few months before I move to another hobby. So I might stay here for awhile and hope nobody or anybody gets tired of me. =)

If someone calls me ‘fabulous’, that would really make my day. And today, someone did call me one. I got this award from my niece Ane who is equally fabulous in every way. Thanks Ane!

Now, I’m sharing this award to fabulous women in the blogosphere. I hope I make your day when you receive this.

Today I was thinking of what to give my father (who has two other daughters and a son) on his 62nd birthday. I have probably given him everything in my capacity to give and I can’t think of anything more. Another cologne, another watch, another shirt…what else, really? I’m trying not to give him repeat gifts. Something different would be nice but I don’t know what. While I’m busting my brains here, my brother suggested to just give him money so he can buy what he truly wants. Is that ok? When it comes to fathers and gift-giving, I swear I’m clueless. Mothers are easier to please. Fathers, they don’t say anything. You don’t even know if they liked it or not. I still have 12 days to come up with something. At least something…

I don’t normally write down any resolutions for the new year, but I do try to keep in mind the things that are important to me so that I fill the year with people and things I love. A couple of things on the list:

More cooking and more eating at home. When you calculate all the expenses of eating out, you would be surprised at how much you’ve spent. I could actually buy a branded laptop and a half with the money I spent on all those salads, burgers and chicken nuggets. So this year, I vow to cook for my family. And limit eating out to once a week or twice a month. I will really try. And if I’m craving for some company, I would invite people over for dinners, brunches or even for just coffee and desserts or do some pot luck. By the way, who would eat out if you have products of Jamie Oliver at home all the time? Sadly, they’re not available here. But I do love the styling and products from his new line of food and dishware. I also love the tags for his jams and chutneys.

And another thing, I would spend more time on weekends having fun and less on doing chores. I would do chores on weekdays and not let them accumulate and take up all my time on weekends. Promise. No matter how much I hate chores.

I hope I can keep these resolutions. Imagine the savings if I really did keep the first one.

It’s back to the grind again. I woke up late this morning and that meant only one thing, MG was late for therapy. But we managed to get there just 15 minutes late. Not bad.

Anyway, I got a call from a friend who now lives in the U.S. I was thrilled to hear that she was contemplating parenthood. Cola (not her real name), is one of my new friends but we clicked right off the bat. We have a lot of things in common. She’s a design consultant. She’s smart and amazingly talented. She’s a good listener and would often listen sympathetically to my tales of romantic adventures and misadventures.

Going back, she asked me if it’s alright for a lesbian couple to have kids? If it’s fair and right for the baby to have two women as parents? Cola and her partner Coca (not her real name), have been living together for two years now. And they get along fine. Well I said, “I don’t know. I’m not sure.” Kids suffer from having socks of different colors and being teased about it. What more having two women as parents? This is not the only problem I see. And I’m quite open to such relationships. What more for the others who are not so keen about same-sex relationships? I know this is a hard issue for some. But I think everyone, regardless of sex, should be entitled to parenting. Especially if you’re capable to be one. I mean, there are others and I don’t want to start on that, who bring babies to the world and just let them be adults without any guidance. I really don’t know.

On the other hand, I think Coca and Cola would be great parents as a couple and even as individuals.

What a day!

I have a new blog and I’m giving away my stuff. But you could participate, too. It’s a fairly new idea (at least to me, that is) so I’m open to suggestions. Visit it here.

photo: abbietabbie