Slim is In!

Definitely not the biggest loser in Asia! I'm talking about THE MR. SLIM, world's richest according to Forbes . And with $74 billion net wealth,  Carlos Slim Helu's  2nd straight year as world's #1 has solidified Asia's (especially China) burgeoning quest to dominate the world economy. I believe in the years to come, there will be a more or less equitable distribution of the world's wealth . As Steve Forbes , head editor of the biz mag noted, "There are literally millions of people around the world who have the opportunity to be creative".  So extract those creative juices and start your centavo to the million NOW! Take it one day at a time :-)

"Our premise is and has always been that we leave with nothing; that we can only do things while we are alive and that businessmen are creators of the wealth they temporarily manage." - #10 Principle, Grupo Carso's Top Ten.   (A beautiful statement of faithful stewardship!)

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Almost missed it on a dot! But it ain't so when there's cat in the hat!

Sounds familiar? the rhymes and riddles, i love it so...but it isn't a line from Dr. Seuss' books. It is an attempt to make one, actually! Oh how I love Dr. Seuss! And what a more fitting way to celebrate his 107th anniversary than to write about the works of the man, Theodor Seuss Geisel?

As long as i can remember, I always drool over Dr. Seuss books the way I did in my teens for the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series.  Its simplicity and not-so-dramatic pictures have taken me into some distant lands not known of.  Being a mom now,  I love that my 2 kids also love Dr. Seuss' books. Thanks to Booksale, we can always raid the store and still leave not penniless. When Dana and Boj started reading at 4 and 5yo, never did a night pass by without leafing through "The Cat in the Hat" 

And sometimes i would complain (guiltily!) because there as sooo many pages and we keep on reading the book every night! When it was Boj's turn, I suggested the " Foot Book" would be better  - go figure why :-) and it also comes handy for a Math activity

 

English and Math, well even cakes now have the cat and the fish too (check this out - lovely designs for Dr. Seuss' themed cakes)! And who could ever forget the Grinch and Horton that heard Who?

So here's a toast to a generation of readers! And along with it comes a prayer that, may our tribe greatly increase!                                                  

The Real Thing

I was pleasantly surprised by the new Coke litro-sized bottle. Well, most likely  not new at all, but just saw it when we feasted over lechon baka for lunch (!) in the office a few days ago. Coke brings a lot of good old memories in a personal way . never fond of the soda but just the thought of how THE company has been an instrument in raising a family of 13 children speaks a lot of goodwill (even up to now , a cousin is also working for the company). My lolo Paking, of my mother side , to me was the ultimate salesman. I can recall, from my mom, how his sales exploits brought him to various places in Mindanao, and yes,  a child - two or more, were born in one of those.  From him I learned the value of treasuring family ties – going out on weekends, treating us, the grandchildren with hot bowls of oatmeal, and if  we could’ve have played back then, he must’ve challenged us with a chess game or scrabble and crossword puzzle.  A hopeless romantic, so poetic with words, it’s not a wonder the offspring came to more than a dozen! From my lola Inday , the meticulous homemaker who gave up her nursing career to keep house,  I learned that a lipstick a day, keeps your man at bay!  Kiddin’ aside, lola Inday always has this regal bearing from the way she dons her daily wardrobe (aka duster dress ) , to the fine lines of her eyebrow makeup all the way to how the lips are painted from pink to red … it was a pure bliss watching her while growing up. How I just wished she’s more of an adventurer.  Up to now she’s so much comfortable in her own nest.  Anyway, if the Coke’s “everyday happiness” ad was coined long time ago,  my mom’s family would be a poster hit. The bottle would always take it’s rightful place in the dining table!

So staring back again at the bottle –

with it's iconic,  vintage design, brings me down to memory lane .. that Coke is it no matter what.  Even recent news show that the well-guarded “secret” recipe is out, no one really cares. Even if it takes a new form to keep up with the ever-changing times (check this out, this young genius’ proposal is really cool), the taste buds still signal the same old feeling that goes to the brain. That truly, more than the soda,  the dozen ads and claims to be the world’s #1 , they really do not matter . What matters to me are the memories brought about by this stately bottle that has been a centerpiece for generations (at least in our home)– shared with laughters and tears, great news and not so great ones, etc etc … Coke truly celebrates the “real thing”!

I AM BACK!

Whew! I AM BACK! Seemed like my time machine zoomed from a not-so-distant planet and back to yet another space, the blogsphere! I need not rattle off what happened to my 2010. It was a truly great, marvelous, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious year!  Now into the end of 1Q of 2011, I verily put a smile on my face – yes, it is a conscious act – and say, thank you my Lord, we’ve crossed our own Jordan river, and now, we as a family, are out to break the walls (not of Jericho!) and subdue the giants that come our way!

February or beyond, I’m wishing everyone love, love, love!