Snowmen

Thanks to Joy, I was able to see my men on the cover of National Geographic. Unfortunately, I haven't received yet my own subscription copy!

When you are told to study and you go off gallivanting

Today, I have a rare chance to go online while my boys are being entertained by their auntie, uncle and grandparents.

K gave me this chance because I've been moaning all the time that I need to rewrite my course essay and submit it before deadline.

So my mother-in-law cooked Sunday lunch for everybody.

And they don't have a faintest idea that I'm just bloghopping.

I can't study while I'm online, y'know!

Myra Cabrera

I was disturbed last night when I saw the news about the death of Myra Cabrera, a Filipino nurse in Swindon.

She was a victim of gross negligence from a hospital and staff who were supposed to provide excellent care.

Although this happened in 2004, an inquest's ruling on her death just came out which highlighted some safety policies that have been ignored by hospitals in the UK.

More of Myra Cabrera here.

To my Husband

Happy Anniversary!, originally uploaded by Soyy.

We had lunch outside today. Had to be lunchtime. We don't like to leave our boys in the night, do we?

While eating, we looked at each other and wondered how time flies! We decided not to have dessert and went to the supermarket instead to buy cake so we could share it with the rest of the family.

We went for a walk in the snowy hills of the Peak District. It was lovely. I scrutinised my boot prints on the snow and noticed how tiny they were compared to other boot prints of other walkers.

We recalled our favourite moments during our wedding. We received messages from my family back home in the Philippines.

You made me feel special today.
Thanks for the happy years together.

work lunch

work lunch, originally uploaded by Soyy.

When I'm at work the whole day, I usually bring my own lunch. Rice is painstaking, when I only have one hour to prepare in the morning. It should be a treat but the only other kind of food I can think of to go with it (one that doesn't need 15 minutes to prepare) is tuna with pureed tomato and loads of black pepper.

If only I could make paksiw the Surigaonon way...
If only I could make paksiw the Surigaonon way that doesn't whiff off vinegar and garlic...
If only I could just...

But I don't have a choice, unless I go back to my mother-in-law's house to feast on her baked tuna and cheese and some other sorts with only 5 minutes to spare before going back to work again.

So I make do with this concoction of raw vegetables. (Cheese was added after I took this photo.)

And my stomach started to rumble soon afterwards.

And I still have 3 hours to go before home time!

move!

move!, originally uploaded by Soyy.

Morning. School day.

Wake up the children, give them breakfast, bundle them up and deposit them to school or nursery.

Then, parents will go straight to work. Whole day.

Afternoon.

Leave work, pick up the children, take children to after-school activities, ie, music lessons, karate, swimming, etc., take children home, give them supper/dinner.

After eating, plonk them in front of the television.

Bath time, then off to bed with a story.

Good night, children!

Morning. School day.

Start again.

Whew!

Sadly, this is a reality in most families in the west. There might be conversations among the family members but it is mostly about questionning the children what they've been up to the whole day and telling them off. What did you do today? Oh, don't do that! That's not good!

Fortunately, these children don't know what they missed because that's the only lifestyle they know. Physical contact is less because they don't even sleep with their parents.

So what's the point of having children then if they're just dragged around to fit the work and lifestyle of the parents?

Unfortunately, most parents don't have a choice. Either they work or not survive at all in this ever-materialistic world.

What a pity!