Odes to a treasure: Carmen Mirasol Manaloto
"Memories are a great gift. Memories are given to us by God. As a keepsake, as a treasure…"
I BELONG to St. Scholastica’s Academy Class ’68. Although my years spent with the class was limited to just 4 years from Grade 2-6, nonetheless, the bond that has been established in tender...
Mothers
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. - Abraham Lincoln
AS WE are celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend, I surfed through the net and browsed through the Mother Day’s quotes and this one for me is the best with author unknown.
A baby asked God...
Gboy’s pictures paint a thousand words
IT IS the month of May and tagged, along with December, as the Marrying Month of the year, although I heard that, for this year 2012, there are more weddings lined up this June. It must be the influence of fung shui.
There are many elements that are staple to a wedding and one of them is...
Doing something special for your loved one
SPECIAL occasions need special treatments. Usually on occasions like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or birthdays, the norm would be to plan a dinner outside the home and be with a loved one. But the traffic in restaurants and hotels on these events are as heavy as EDSA during...
A bed and bath shower for Katy
I HAVEN’T been to a bridal shower for the longest time!!! Women my age are not exactly in the wedding registry stage. So when I was invited to Katy Estella’s shower, willingly I said, “Yes!” most especially that she is betrothed to my youngest Andre.
The event was slated between 4:30-5:00...
Jamete and Kaila: A vintage wedding
INVITATIONS say more than just the printed words. When I received mine from Jamete and Kaila, immediately I knew it was a cozy, intimate wedding highlighting on the word FUN!
Sipalay for the summer
THANK GOD for friends who have summer homes just within Negros!
Sipalay seems a most sought after destination with its white sandy beaches and warm summer breezes. The group had thought of going to Sipalay over a year ago but plans never seemed to materialize. All in GOD'S time, as we...
Takatuka: A trip in itself
HAVE you ever been to a Salvador Dali Museum? Well, in the town of Figueres in Catalonia, Spain, near the border of France, is the birthplace of Salvador Dali and is now home to the Dali Museum. Salvador Dali was a skilled draftsman and is popularly known for his striking and bizarre...
A lazy summer afternoon
THE day after the Lacson Reunion held at the Bacolod Golf and Country formerly known as MARAPARA, I received a call from Wayne Forte inviting me to his cousin’s house, Edward Lacson Garcia, down Lacson Street. Without batting an eyelash, I said yes.
A true Lacson by blood but Causasian in...
The glory and power of the Lord in Niagara Falls
IT’S Easter and Helen Steiner Rice writes about the Lord’s promise: “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19).
Spy Wednesday now Holy Wednesday
HOLY Wednesday to most is the last day of work and preparations to go deeper into Lenten reflection. There are sundown retreats or recollections. These past decades, however, Holy Wednesday is the time to pack and leave for a holiday-be it to the beach to savor sun, sea and sand or to some...
Tres Marias
AREN’T we familiar with the phrase Tres Marias? I know people would say, “Ari naman ang Tres Marias,” when they see three best pals together but I never figured that it had a Biblical connotation.
The Message of Lent: Charity
WE ARE now approaching the holiest of weeks in our Catholic calendar and the culmination of the season of Lent. We are always taught that Lent means sacrifice and abstinence and fasting and almsgiving.
Amazing ancestral gold collection
WE LOVE our country so much that when we have visiting guests, we spread out the red carpet and bring out the best to impress them to the max. So what would be more fabulous than a dinner especially designed at the Ayala Museum. Putting it together was not a difficulty, as the new Director of...
On board the M/Y Isla
MY UNCLE had American guests and it was their first time ever to visit the Philippines. So, to make their trip relevant and interesting to their heritage, a trip to Corregidor was arranged.
The cross wrought by man; the Cross brought by God
I WAS listening to the homily of Fr. Chao and he focused on the crosses that come into our lives. The first one, the cross wrought by man, is easy to relate with. In life, man brings upon man many crosses. The cross of betrayal, denial, false witness, lies, physical hurt, abusive language and...
Totus Tuus…all yours
WE ARE in the season of Lent and the Latin phrase Totus Tuus is so significant. Totus Tuus is the motto of John Paul II, the most beloved Pope during his papacy which was one of the longest in the history of the Catholic Church.
“All Yours” was how Jesus lived His earthly life for the...
The San Agustin Church in Intramuros
WE SOMETIMES go through great lengths to visit basilicas and churches abroad, not realizing the wealth of heritage that is within our midst.
Antoni and Loveli’s Wedding
HAVE you ever experience a civil wedding? I have not and it was an experience for me.
The wedding took place at 21 Restaurant. The groom, Antoni Jose Maria Espinos, son of Bajoe Espinos and Cristina Gamboa, being an owner of the esteemed establishment, saw it apt to have both the rites...
Mely's Garden
BACOLOD City is so known for its food and delicacies. Guests who come for conventions, golf tournaments, reunions and all kinds of events just ooze with praises about food next of course to the renowned Negrense hospitality.
How sweet to be 16!
ONE of the sweetest girls I know Andrea Macasa Sanson wanted to celebrate her 16th birthday.
Excitedly, her mom Ana Maria “Ang” Sanson and dad Francis Sanson were all for the party. After contacting coordinator Ice Valderrama, they set the party at of 21 Restaurant.
The medical mission turns into a rescue mission
A FEW weeks ago when I was talking to Marivic Rodriguez, she mentioned to me about a medical mission that was coming all the way from Canada. This mission was concentrating on cataracts and eye refraction. The head of the team was Dr. Hugh “Chip” Parsons and he is heralded as the best retina...
The purity of “Pureza”
I MADE it a point to watch the gala showing of Pureza despite personal circumstances (we just buried my Mother a few days past) because I knew that this documentary was most important. It dealt about my past (even way past my past) and onto my children’s future.
So there I was, open to...
Apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette
ONE of the most renowned apparitions of our Blessed Mother happened in Lourdes, France. On February 11, 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to a girl named Bernadette Soubrious. Her family was one of the poorest in town and Bernadette was sickly girl, uneducated but had a pure heart.
The freshness to the New Year
WE WERE just reveling the New Year 2012 and then came the Chinese New Year of the Water Dragon. As people say, “New Year, New Life”.
We are told by Fung Shui experts to follow rituals to make this a more auspicious year. We may listen to all these and in our own little superstitious way...
