All I want for Christmas are... Strawberries!

I love strawberries! In fact, the only reason why I even considered migrating to the United States was because of those big, fat, juicy strawberries I see in the supermarket. During my almost one-year stay in Baltimore, I literally gorged on these luscious fruits almost as big as my palm, either with chocolate fondue or whipped cream. If heaven is made of your favorite things, mine will be full of strawberries, full and ripe.

Back home here in the Philippines, I ached for strawberries of my Baltimore days. I longed for them like a lost friend. When I got pregnant with my second daughter, the cravings became more pronounced. I perpetually hounded my husband about strawberries, but alas, my pregnancy was ill-timed. I didn't crave for them until after the strawberry season and the ones that were available looked like emaciated children that I couldn't bring myself to eat them because I felt too sorry for them. (Pregnancy hormones really hit me hard during my second pregnancy.)

I don't believe in maternal impressions or lihi, but my daughter was born with a vascular birthmark or a salmon patch on her forehead. I have one too, which only appears when I am ecstatic or livid. I call it my mood birthmark. I attributed it to the unfulfilled strawberry cravings I've had.

And so, this Christmas, I was blessed with a family friend who bought strawberries for us in Baguio and they were large firm ones that I have no qualms in eating them. And so this Christmas was spent making chocolate fondue for the strawberries. My daughter and I had fun dipping the strawberries in chocolate and arranging them in a dish.

Although I was mourning for Santa Claus, I comforted myself with white wine and strawberries, watching reruns of Ugly Betty with my husband and brother-in-law. My eldest was sitting on my feet reading Lemony Snicket's "The Austere Academy," an early Christmas present from her Santa Mommy and Santa Daddy.

I hope all of you had a great time these holidays as we did. I'm also sharing with you one of my digital scrapbooking pages. I've been into this hobby for a few months and I'd like to share this hobby with you, my dear readers.

Digiscrap Credits: Berry Patch Kit by Kristin Cronin-Barrow of Sweetshoppe Designs.

Should Your Children Believe in Santa Claus?

Yesterday, at age 7, my daughter learned that Santa Claus is not real. Her dad and I broke it to her as gently as we could. We were met with a blank stare and an unsure smile at first. Later, I tried to joke around with my kid and tell her about how I scoured SM for a snowy owl stuffed toy last year with her in tow. How I was able to have it wrapped twice so she wouldn't know it was for her and how fulfilling it was to see her eyes light up when she saw Hedwig in her stocking.

It was as much a painful time as it was for me, but my ever-leftbrained husband told me that we were doing her a disservice if we didn't reveal that the fat jolly old man who comes down the chimney (or in our case, through the back door) does not exist. What convinced me was the thought of having my daughter laughed at when she boasts of Santa giving her a set of Nancy Drew Notebooks just like she'd requested. At least, we were the ones who told her, unlike this article about how a teacher informed her students about how Santa Claus does not exist through a worksheet.

So now I'm torn about what to tell my second child. Should I still tell her about Santa Claus? Is letting your kid believe in Santa Claus deceiving her?

Last night I asked my daughter how she feels about Santa Claus not being real. She said it's okay and then whispered, "Can I still write to him even if I know he's not real?" My feelings of apprehension were somehow quieted.

How about you? Do you let your children believe in Santa?

I Love Beautiful Pens and Notebooks and Why You're Confused with My Blog

I spend hours and hours in bookstores. And not only because of the beautiful books, but because of the beautiful pens and notebooks they offer. I can spend hours just wading through the number of pens available at National Bookstore, trying them out until I find a perfect pen that glides smoothly on paper. The same goes with notebooks. Forgive me, trees, but I love thick paper on notebooks. I absolutely drooled over the Notebooks available on Target, Barnes & Noble, and lately Fully Booked.

And that explains why I kept changing blog templates. You've heard about my agonizing about my blog's looks and finding bloggerized Wordpress themes, and I must have changed how my blog looks another dozen of times and I was wondering “What’s wrong with me?” I can’t seem to make up my mind. And then I tried going to Wordpress and starting a new blog there. And then I found this amazing blogger who has such a wonderful name, Penelope Trunk, who gave one of the soundest advice about blogging. So I decided to stick with this one.


Then I remembered those countless hours I would spend just finding a new journal or pen for writing and that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. And I think for now, I’ve found the right fit… Until I change my mind. *sly smile* So what? This is my blog after all and I OWN IT! (That feels so good.)

Found My Natural Conditioner!

As you may have read in my blog, I am slowly trying to look for more natural products for myself and my whole family and I've found great organic soaps in Cyleina and the bee products from Ilog Maria. The Honey and Propolis Shampoo did not necessarily eliminate my dandruff completely and left my hair feeling weird and wiry. I wanted to use a conditioner, but I've found out that dandruff-causing fungus loves chemical conditioners. It usually worsens my condition. So I've tried to leave my hair at that, dry and feeling like a scouring pad. Then I found this lovely site by Darlene Del Mundo of By Nature Handmade Soaps.

I loved her site. So full of wonderful information about natural personal care products. I'm actually thinking of ordering some soaps from her. Then I read about her vinegar rinse solution to dry hair caused by natural products. And while I'd rather die than put vinegar on my hair (such a drama queen!), Ms. Darlene's statement about hair should be slightly acidic to be conditioned stayed with me. So that's why Ilog Maria recommends calamansi for hair conditioning!

So I put two and two together and decided to dilute calamansi juice in a dipper full of water and started using it as a final rinse. And you know what? It worked! My hair is softer now and I don't suffer as much itchiness as I used to with my dry scalp. I couldn't believe it worked! I now how my natural hair conditioner. Certainly beats the uncomfortable thought of using vinegar on my hair.