Ten random facts about my mom

I was tagged by momoftwo and this time it's all about my mom. This is a long-overdue meme. Anyway, here goes 10 random facts about my mom:

(1) She's the 4th among 7 siblings. Unfortunately, 4 of her siblings have already passed away, while the 2 remaining ones live quite far; her brother lives in the province (La Union), and her sister resides in Alberta, Canada.

(2) Her birthday falls on the 28th of December, the feast day of Ninos Inocentes or the "Feast of the Holy Innocents."

(3) She has experienced so many griefs in her life, like the death of her husband and firstborn son, and I am truly amazed by her strength during times of adversity. She stood by armed only with her faith in the Lord and emerged from it all a stronger person. I believe I inherited my strength from her.

(4) She successfully ran a furniture business with an inborn business acumen, despite the fact that she was not able to finish her studies due to poverty.

(5) She is a freak when it comes to cleanliness, almost bordering on obsessiveness, though she will try to deny it when you ask her...haha. She never fails to wakes up every 3 A.M. just start cleaning her house. Grabe. This gene, I did not inherit, unfortunately. My husband can attest to this.

(6) She dotes on her grandchildren to the point of spoiling them. I think my angel Raphael would have loved playing with his grandma if he were alive.

(7) She is the most unselfish person I know. She always looks after her kids' and grandkids' needs first before thinking of herself.

(8) She likes spicy food. She can even eat siling labuyo. Need I say more?

(9) Ok, I tease her about this but I've observed that when she offers food to anyone, she always starts her sentence with "Ayaw mo nito...?" And even if I bring this to her attention saying that other people might get offended, she persists in doing it anyway.

(10) And finally, she cooks the best adobo in town. Well, according to my taste anyway.

So there, these are ten random facts about my mom. An extraordinary Filipina in my opinion.

Improving the image of the "FILIPINA"

It's very disturbing when you Google the word "Filipina" and you immediately get a list of dating/mail-order bride sites featuring Filipinas. I first heard of this upon reading the site of Noemi. So, I am now joining this bunch of Filipina bloggers trying to reclaim the word "Filipina" from these nasty porn site.

With Noemi's permission, I am now republishing the "Steps to reshape the sexy filipina image so that the search engine results appear wholesome":

1. Let’s continue to showcase, through our blogs, the stories about the loving Filipina wives and mothers, the professionals, and outstanding bloggers. The Pinoy Moms Network is gaining ground among Filipina mothers around the world.

How?

Men and Women!!

Write at least one entry with the word “Filipina” somewhere in the title of your entry and discuss anything about the Filipina — whether it is about you or some outstanding Filipina Woman you know. Use words like “Filipina, Sexy Filipina, Filipina woman, Filipina sexy woman, sexy Filipina mom, Filipina Mom or Smart and Sexy Filipina” in our blog entries. Chances are a few more enlightened women warriors may want to help reshape the Filipina woman’s image by using the same words to capitalize on the wholesomeness of the same words.

If you don’t have a blog, start one easily at blogspot.com.

2. Continue with the Google Bombing Campaign but let’s all link to just one site.

Why?

The Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) is on page 1 of the Philippines Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) so there is a strong possibility to rank this site as number 1 for the “Filipina” keyword.

Note: “The Filipina Women’s Network is dedicated to advancing Filipina women across all sectors, enhancing public perceptions of Filipina women’s ability to lead and fostering the entry of Filipina women into leadership positions.” FWN is a virtual organization based in the United States, perceived by many decision makers in government, corporations, business enterprises, professions, non-profit organizations, and other sectors as having consistently and continuously grown in leadership and influence since 1996. Collaboration with other organizations worldwide? Plans are brewing as FWN members work on their game plan for “Filipina Power 2012.”

How?

In your sidebar or footer, place this link. [Don’t just write the word, “Filipina.” Instead, insert the link. The highlighted, linkable keyword, “Filipina,” will be the published result. ]

Copy and Paste on your sidebar
"Filipina"

If you have a large community of readers in your site, start a similar sitewide links campaign and use this alternate Filipina link:
"Filipina"

3. Brand it! Use this “Yan ang Filipina” badge (originally designed as “Yan ang Pinay”), created and lovingly donated by Jonas Diego, that links to Filipina Women’s Network.(Right-click on the image to save it in your hard drive. Then, upload and display in your blog. Don’t forget to point the link to the FWN site!)