Cast your burdens upon me.. and I will give you rest.

This song has always inspired many. The many I mentioned includes me of course. But never in my life have I really felt its meaning than during my recent moments of crisis. A crisis so overwhelming, so tragic that like a heavy boat in the midst of torrent waves, I must unload some of the weight to stay afloat. I have to cast my burdens so I can focus on living. So, I did. One night, I prayed to God and asked Him if He could take these lumbers off my shoulder. I don’t want to think and worry about them from now on and He may do whatever he pleases with them.

Little do I know that He not only took the burden and carry them on His own shoulder but He is also working on them. One day, He sent me a note saying… “Your burden No. 1 has been taken cared of”. It’s that easy… the burden that I’ve been carrying for years have been taken cared of. I am a testament to His grace, wonders and blessings. Praise the Lord!

Adam .... my American Idol :-o

Oh my God! He is singing the saddest song ever. It’s one of the songs that have captured my subconscious attention around the early part of this year. I just love Adam Lamberts performances in the American Idol. He’s my secret bet for the winner and I’m just flabbergasted when they announced the first place (same thing happened in the Dancing with the Stars Winner). Adam did well in delivering this song. Even the way he dressed for it, even his very eyes can send out the emotions needed to completely entrance the audience. I knew because all through the performance, I can’t take my eyes off his face. I can’t take my eyes away from looking at his eyes… very intense and full of melancholy. From there and then, I’m Adam hooked.

After the show… I went looking for my daughter and asked her to download Adams Mad World performance in Itunes. I just have to put this in my blog. I promised myself not to talk about the mystery of why he didn’t win because in my mind and heart he’s the winner!


Anyway, here’s the lyric of the song:

"Mad World"

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow


And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
'Cos I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad World

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

Life is a Boat -- by Rie Fu

I like the thought behind the song. It tells about the metaphor of life, the simile of living and the allegory of existence.

Like the two images ... life sometimes feels like being alone in the midst of everything gray and vagueness.

Anything I want Mommy? ... uh, who said that?

I remember telling one of my kids to ask anything and I’ll give it. Hmmm.... it’s because he made it to the honour roll and made mommy so proud. He also said he doesn’t need anything right now but would like to keep the option open. Completely fine with me.

Meanwhile... the other kid thought she could also ask anything she wants. She probably thought that since her Kuya can’t decide what he wants, maybe she could give it a go? And go she did! “Can I have my birthday gift in advance? Please?” Oh, here we go again. Night and day she negotiated. She bugged us to death.

..... until we gave in. A gift that is 2 months early. What can I say? Anything for peace and quiet. :)

Her Kuya’s eyebrow raised and his jaw dropped when the gift arrived. Well, you are just too darn slow!

My two kids are on opposite poles. My son doesn’t want anything and my daughter wants everything! How convinient is that? I guess my daughter is so happy to have a kuya like that....

Happy Birthday to a friend

Today is a special day for it's my friends birthday. Last year, she woke up with this song greeting her. She thought then that it's not a coincidence that brought the song to her for it made her stop and think. This was what she thought then when she heard the song "Hmm... my predicatment exactly. Is this a message for me? I wonder if I get an early opportunity to be closer to my family..." . Since she got the opportunity to work in Manila, she has long to be with her family in Bohol.

It's her birthday again... and this time I guess it is very different. The premonition of last years birthday has come true. She is now re-assigned to Bohol and is now enjoying all her time with her family.

Now, this is my song to you. And like the song says... " It would be so fine to see your face at my door, Doesn't help to know you're just time away". I miss all our happenings.

I hope you opened your eyes this morning with a new song and a new realization. A realization that It's a wonderful world... and it's yours to take.

love always....

Wii Music -- finally! A game I understand!

I may not play it myself but surely I can enjoy watching my kids play it. This new wii game that they are playing is simply awesome! It is called wii Music. They can choose an instrument to play from a wide variety of choices from percussion, string, and wind instruments. After choosing an instrument, they can choose a song to play. They can replay their game and if they like it, they can make a video out of it and save it for playback anytime.

The video below is my favorite of the many they played. My son has chosen Saxophone and my daughter has chosen steel drum to play. At the end of the video, I inserted a short clip of them playing.

Wasn't that better to watch than those fighting and shooting games?? This game is surely mommy friendly. The next video is my son's rock rendition of the song Do Re Mi. It's quite nice ... see if you agree.

Awesome!

The Colors of Fall- The last Show

Before the last leaf falls to the ground
Before the first snow flurry touch the soil
Before all the colors has gone to sleep
And pure white overcomes us all

Let’s capture the last show
That nature has to stage
A kaleidoscope of colors
A cabaret of hues and shades

The show of all shows
Magnificent, grand and free
To entertain the eyes
Fill the mind of what they used to be

Until they bow and withdraw
Behind the white curtain they will stay
Until spring comes again
When they wake up and play

And begin a colourful show
All over again.

Wonderful World of Share

My first concept of Share's birthday gift. I tried adding titles and I think I did not fare so well. When it was finished and I watched it over and over. Still, there is something missing and somehow I was not so satisfied. Which in the end led me to my second photostory, the sweet escape. Just the same, I still want Share to have this.

This is to remind her that she lives in a wonderful world and her pictures shows it. That the world although sometimes pickle is a place full of wonder and love. May she choose to see the world with open heart and may love abound around her.

Happy Birthday Share!

This photostory is a compilation of what makes Share happy. We all have our own sweet escape and these are hers. During the making of this gift, I learned more about her. What makes her laugh, her fears, her dreams. This knowledge made me understand her as she is and it is beautiful.

To you Share... I wish the best. May you find peace within you and around you, today and always.

Keep smiling!

When it rains... it pours...

I never knew Bato Bato Piks birthday will be this significant. Gifts keeps coming in. Sometimes it's a bit scary. The sneaky stork left a shoe box full of sunshine beside my door. It's darn and excruciatingly big. I bit my lip while I watch my daughter dance with joy. It's like Christmas for her.... hehe. This is way too much of a gift. It almost made us feel (well, mostly me) undeserving of such generosity. I would like to have a talk to the sneaky stork about this...

But first I'd like to celebrate this wonderful gift. I have to get my guilt behind and just be glad of such blessings. To my friend... our friendship is priceless.

As Emily Dickinson put it:

The Daisy follows soft the Sun ---

And when his golden walk is done -

Sits Shyly at his feet --

He - waking - finds the flower there -

Wherefore - Marauder - art thou thee?

Because, Sir, love is sweet!

Shift +7 's gift to Bato Bato Pik!

I was surprised to receive this gift from a friend blogger. Well... I did sent out invitations right? And true enough she came, celebrate and brougth this gift. It's already 1:25 AM right now, morning of September 21. I just got home from a family get together to celebrate my nephews birthday. I cooked the whole day of the 20th and went straight to the venue. I felt a bit guilty for not posting an entry on the 20th but I do need to take care of family right? Anyway, I promised to celebrate my baby's (Bato Bato Pik) birthday for a week.

I will start with this gift that we received from Shift+7. The cake looks soooo scrumptious!

This is a very lovely gift. A photostory highlighting three themes. First is Batobato Pik's birthmonth of September with the September song. Second, is the birthday song itself with candle blowing. And third, the wishes... accompanied by the song "Til There was You".

I thank you Jules of Shift+7 for the wonderful gift. It's not easy to make photostories. I've tried it once and it takes alot of patience to connect pictures with the accompanying song. It takes time to split videos, insert pictures and be able to attach the perfect transitions and effects. I had been fortunate to see some of her other works. She's the master of photostories.

It seemed that saying thanks is not enough for this wonderful gift. For now, please accept it. In time, I maybe able to find the proper means of giving back to you ... all the wonderful things that you made me feel.

And I still owe you the 20 or more birthday questions that I have to answer. They will all be blogged. I'm actually looking forward to it.

Thank you!

Power of Two, A dedication

You gave new meaning to the word friendship
For someone like me who had doubts and misgivings
In a world full of adversities and uncertainties
You made me realize that not all is lost
That friendship is not something to be given up
But it’s something to put my hope on.

This is my way of thanking you and letting you know
My true and deep appreciation
From my heart to yours

You rock !

Sino ang Baliw and my Son ... lol

When I posted the song “Sino ang BaIiw”, I tried translating it to English. I convinced myself that the message is good enough to be understood by many and not just the Filipinos. So I started... and it was torture..hehe. Then an idea came up in my mind. I printed the lyrics and went to my son’s room. He’s just been playing his online game for the whole day so i better give him something worthwhile to do. I told him to translate the lyrics of the song into English. He gave me his usual all confusing look like asking....”whatever for Mom??”. Before he was able to utter the thought i told him it’s a test to measure how well he still understand the language... after all, he’s a pinoy and it should not be too hard. He looked at the paper and did a quick speed reading... and his brows started to knot.. iguratively speaking. In my mind is a very wide grin... this will be very exciting.

Here’s his translation:

Ang natutuwang baliw yaman ay pinagyabang
The happy psycho showing off his riches
Dahil ari niya raw ang araw pati ang buwan
Because he says the sun and the moon are his
May isang sa yaman ay salapi ang hinihigan
There is one so rich that he rests on his riches
Ngunit ang gintong baul panay kasalanan ang laman
but the golden chest is just full of sin
Sinasambit ng baliw awit na walang laman
The psycho is (MOM!! what is sinasambit??) (MOM: like sinasabi) saying words without meaning
Ulo mo'y maiiling tatawagin mong hangal
You shake your head in pity and call this psycho stupid (Mom: psucho na stupid pa..lol)
May isang hindi baliw, iba ang awit na alam
There is one who is not crazy, who has a different song in mind
Buong araw kung magdasal, sinungaling rin naman
Who prays the whole day, but he still lies

Sinong dakila
Who is ...(Mom..what is dakila??) *discussion* ..noble
Sino ang tunay na baliw
Who is really crazy
Sinong mapalad
Who is wide (eh?? Mom...what is mapalad? Is it wide?? MoM: that is “malapad”, son) *slapped his own head* (Mom: another word is “swerte”)... o! Lucky!
Sinong tumatawag ng habag
Who is calling for forgiveness (hmm...Mom, is “habag” forgiveness??) (Mom: another word is “awa”)... oh! Okay.... pity.
Yaon bang sinilang na ang pag-iisip ay kapos
Is that the one who is born mentally retarded

Ang kanyang tanging suot ay sira-sirang damit
His only clothes are old and dirty
Na nakikiramay sa isip niyang punit-punit
That ... (mom! What is nakikiramay??)(mom: thats what you do when you go to the funeral...lol ) huh? Like sympathy? K...that sympathizes with his ripped thoughts
May binatang ang gayak panay diyamante at hiyas
There is a young man who wears nuthin’ but bling (mom: eh?? Bling daw??)
Ngunit oras maghubad kulay ahas ang balat
But when he takes them off, his skin is snake like

Sinong dakila
Who is noble
Sino ang tunay na baliw
Who is really crazy
Sinong mapalad
Who is lucky... fortunate (mom: ah...finally thought of a better word)
Sinong tumatawag ng habag
Who is calling for pity
Yaon bang sinilang na ang pag-iisip ay kapos
It that the one who is born mentally retarted

Ooh.....YAhh....... ((mom: hehe patawa ang anak ko)

Sa kanyang kilos at galaw tayo ay naaaliw
At his every movement we are entertained
Sa ating mga mata isa lamang siyang baliw
In our eyes he’s only a psycho
Ngunit kung tayo ay hahatulang sabay
But if we are (*getting irritated now bec of all the hard tagalog words* MOM!! What the heck is “hahatulang”?) (Mom: it’s like,what you get when you are in a court room!) lawyer??? (mom: NO, higher than a lawyer) judge??? (mom: yes) judged at the same time...
Sa mata ng Maykapal, siya'y higit na banal
But in Gods eyes, he is the sinless one

Kaya't sino, sino, sino nga
So who who who is
Sino nga ba
Who is
Sino nga ba
Who is
Sino nga ba ang tunay na baliw
Who is it , the really crazy one?




---- that was really fun and funny!! Hehe. My son was not so pleased though. He said those were not tagalog words at all. But they are...just ones that are not usually used in casual conversations. It is good practice for him. I give him .. a grade of B!

Sino ang Baliw? .... hmmmm...

Ang natutuwang baliw yaman ay pinagyabang

Dahil ari niya raw ang araw pati ang buwan

May isang sa yaman ay salapi ang hinihigan

Ngunit ang gintong baul panay kasalanan ang laman

Sinasambit ng baliw awit na walang laman

Ulo mo'y maiiling tatawagin mong hangal

May isang hindi baliw, iba ang awit na alam

Buong araw kung magdasal, sinungaling rin naman

Sinong dakila Sino ang tunay na baliw

Sinong mapalad Sinong tumatawag ng habag

Yaon bang sinilang na ang pag-iisip ay kapos

Ang kanyang tanging suot ay sira-sirang damit

Na nakikiramay sa isip niyang punit-punit

May binatang ang gayak panay diyamante at hiyas

Ngunit oras maghubad kulay ahas ang balat

Sinong dakila Sino ang tunay na baliw

Sinong mapalad Sinong tumatawag ng habag

Yaon bang sinilang na ang pag-iisip ay kapos

Ooh.....Ahh.......

Sa kanyang kilos at galaw tayo ay naaaliw

Sa ating mga mata isa lamang siyang baliw

Ngunit kung tayo ay hahatulang sabay

Sa mata ng Maykapal, siya'y higit na banal

Sinong dakila Sino ang tunay na baliw

Sinong mapalad Sinong tumatawag ng habag

Yaon bang sinilang na ang pag-iisip ay kapos

Kaya't sino, sino, sino nga

Sino nga ba Sino nga ba Sino nga ba ang tunay na baliw

-----------------------

Very powerful song! Sanity check! Or more like reality check!

My own Bacharach.... in the making :)

My son was practising his piano lessons last night and I decided to take a video. It's not perfect but listening to him play classic music makes me so proud. I hope he continue to find interest in playing and pass down the love of music to his children and grandchildren. I have never had the opportunity to play any musical instrument. I very much wanted to but its financially not possible. I am thankful that I was able to see my dream through my children. Each time I hear a note emmanating from his room sends streaks of joy in my heart. He may not end up playing in a symphony orchestra ... it really does not matter ... as long as he will play for his family. It is my dream to buy him a proper grand piano. In time... for now, he has to continue practising and honing his skill.

This coming Saturday is his cousins debut ball. He will play "The way you look tonight" for her. I am so nervous and excited at the same time. It will surely end up here in my blog so watch for it.

Dito Ba -- Kuh Ledesma

Dito BaDito ba, dito ba, dito ba, o dito ba

Ang dapat kong kalagyan

Na isang sulok kong hiram

Sa ilalim ng araw

Dito ba and daigdig ko ngayon

Bakit ibang iba sa daigdig ko noon

Dito ba kung sa'n naroroon

Ang hinahanap kong wala sa panahon

Dito ba ang sulok kong takda sa ilalim ng araw

Dito ba ako naaangkop

Sa paraiso ng walang kumukupkop

Dito ba naroon ang tagumpay

Magkabila'y ngiti, sa loob ay may lumbay

Dito ba ang sulok kong takda sa ilalim ng araw

Kung saan kay lalim ng ng luha

Ligaya'y kay babaw

Dito ba ang sulok kong takda sa ilalim ng araw

----------------------------------

One of my all time favorite artist/diva is Kuh Ledesma. I just love everything about her. Not only her voice but her beauty.... a true pilipina .

The song in the other hand provokes my mind. It expresses many things. Combined with an excellent melody... it captivates my thoughts and heart. Is it really here where I belong? Is "here", a physical place or a state of mind and heart? Is it really my destiny to be where I am?

Hmmmm.....

Fruits Basket --- Manga? Anime? hold on...slowly..

If my son is head over heals on his PSP... my daughter is totally crazy over Fruits Basket. It's a series of Manga Books about .... hmmm...

This is totally embarassing. Just as I can't understand my son's games...my daughters book seemed to be just as mind boggling. What I am sure is that the book looks like comics and it costs $12.00 each. She can finish 3 books in a day and that she would spend the next two weeks pleeding for me to buy her more. She would spend endless time in u-tube watching the anime and yesterday she showed me the above movie. It was entertaining I must say. Then she said it's a spoof of the real one. Huh? it's not the real story? She said the one with the lady's voice is actually a guy. Huh? again?? ...

Teenager craze is driving me weird....

Bahay by Gary Granada --- My Reality Check

Wish I could translate the lyrics to english. I need some reality check and this song and movie has brought me back to where I needed to stay... on the ground. Somehow.. I have gotten used to the pretty things, to all the comfort that my adoptive country has given me. To the extent of taking things for granted. I now may have been spared from seeing poverty at its worst but I have seen it when I was a child. I grew up almost falling to its trap. There was a time in my life that poverty has gripped my foot tight. I struggled, I persevered, I studied and I worked hard. I could never forget and this song can very much bring me back to those experiences. It also reminds me that alot of people are still struggling from poverty's grip back home. My heart and prayers goes out to them. Most specially to the children....k, i will cry now.

Here, when time for food donation comes ... I do not participate. For my food donations goes directly back home. I know where it is more needed.

No Walls, No Ceiling, No Floors

By Orsa Lia

Let me love you
Come close to me
Locked in my arms,
you’ll still be free

Don’t be frightened
my half flying bluebird
Cause my love has no walls
No walls, no ceiling
No walls, no ceiling, no floor

All my love songs are just for you
Sing them with me and when you do

Don’t be frightened my half flying bluebird
Cause my love has no walls
No walls, no ceiling
No walls, no ceiling, no floor

Go on and fly high in the sky
I’ll never try to burn your wings

Let me love you,
come close to me
Locked in my arms,
you’ll still be free

Don’t be frightened my half flying bluebird
Cause my love has no walls
No walls, no ceiling
No walls, no ceiling, no floor

_________________________

I dedicate this song to my friend who have occupied most of my idle moments.

Akala Mo (Did You Think?)

Akala mo hindi ko nakita

Maligaya ka 'pag ako ay masaya

Akala mo hindi ko naisip

Na kasama ako sa iyong panaginip

Bawat sabihin ko

Alam ko nakikinig ka

Akala mo siguro hindi ko nakita

Akala mo hindi ko pansin

Akala mo hindi ko alam

Mahal mo nga ako kahit hindi mo man sabihin

Akala mo hindi ko napansin

Akala mo hindi ko naririnig

Tibok ng puso mo't kaba ng dibdib

Akala Mo hindi ko nadarama

May kasama ako sa lungkot at saya

Kapag kailangan kita

Dumarating ka

Akala mo siguro hindi ko nakita

Akala mo hindi ko pansin

Akala mo hindi ko alam

Mahal mo nga ako kahit hindi mo man sabihin

Akala mo hindi ko pansin

Akala mo hindi ko alam

Mahal mo nga ako kahit hindi mo man sabihin

Akala mo hindi ko napansin

Akala mo gano'n lang yon

Alam ko 'yon kahit noon

Akala mo hindi ko napansin

Song by Aiza Seguerra