TOPAZ HORIZON

When newsman Ted Failon was reporting on Saturday on what happened to Leyte when Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda roared through last weekend, he found it hard to define in Tagalog what a storm surge was. Naturally (since I am a lover of words), I just had to find out what it is.

It's daluyong.

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The word brought to mind the old song "Iisang Bangka" by The Dawn, and I thought it was totally appropriate for the times.



And I love the words.

Kay dilim at kay ginaw sa kalawakan ng dagat
Ubod lakas kung humiyaw ang galit na hanging habagat
Ngunit buo ang puso mo'ng ang daluyong ay susugurin
Magkasama tayong katahimika'y hahanapin

Ating liliparin, may harang mang sibat
Ating tatawirin, daluyong ng dagat
Basta't kasama mo ako, iisang bangka tayo
Anuman ang mithiin ay makakamtan natin

Iisang bangka tayo, Pilipinas! Kaya natin ito! Please share this song to everybody!

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I had been planning to write about my birthday last week over here at Topaz Horizon and our Disneyland trip over at Topaz Mommy but in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, I wasn't in the mood to talk about fun.

Actually, this weekend, I wasn't really worried about Yolanda. After all, we Filipinos are typhoon veterans. We know how to deal with typhoons. We get at least 20 typhoons every year! But when photos, videos and news reports started coming in on Saturday afternoon, I was in shock. I think everyone was. But I had a personal reason for being alarmed: My parents are from Leyte—Mama from Tacloban, Papa from Tolosa—and many of our relatives still lived there. They weren't responding to calls, texts and messages on Facebook. Just silence all weekend long.

Then finally this morning...

You know, I've been through some pretty nasty things. Life hasn't exactly been perfect. But it never is, right? But in recent years, I've finally learned to really believe in God and to trust in Him. Yes. I've been a Born-Again Christian since I was a child, was even a youth leader in my early 20s, but apparently I never truly believed in God. I allowed hate, bitterness, anger, resentment and fear to rule my life for almost two decades.

Only when I finally gave up control of my life to God (marriage, my mother's death, and the birth of my kids had something to do with this phenomenon!), did I realize that whatever storms we're going through, there is always hope, peace and joy if we have complete faith and trust in our Sovereign God.

Okay, I'm in a better mood! I've been seeing a deluge of interesting and uplifting stories on social media. These are my favorites:


Okay, newly engaged women! Here's your chance to wear a beautiful wedding gown and help out the typhoon victims! Makes me want to sell my wedding gown actually, like what Patty Laurel did last year for the Typhoon Pablo victims. Let me check first if it's still in good condition—it's been packed away in its box since 2007!

image source and story here

This is from Shekinah Eden. People failed to mention her Hollywood connection. She's Zachary Levi's sister! Anyway, she Tweeted that adorable photo of kids in her neighborhood. My goodness, aren't these girls so inspiring?

God bless these people! They were here to relax but they chose to help instead!

Here are some links I found re: guideline on donating in the most effective ways. The font is different because I copied and pasted from my Facebook:

Ok, I've been reading a lot about what to donate, etc, and everyone says DO NOT DONATE CLOTHES. Best pa rin daw is cash so that the proper agencies can buy the things the survivors need (tents, medicine, food, water, blankets, etc.). http://www.howstuffworks.com/10-worst-things-donate-after-disaster.htm

Eto pa. It says while everyone wants to help immediately after a disaster, it's also a better idea to donate waaaaay after the event. Right now, funds are being used for rescue and recovery but in the ensuing months, rebuilding happens. By then, no one cares anymore and the survivors suffer another "disaster". http://goodintents.org/disaster/the-dos-and-donts-of-disaster-donations

But here's a good list of things to donate that people don't think of. For example, underwear and sanitary pads. Oo nga naman! I think we should add diapers, tissue paper, toilet paper. http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/culture-causes/after-disaster-twelve-unexpected-things-victims-need

Okidoki, Pinoys! Let's do this!!! Don't give up. Don't lose hope! God bless us all!

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I'm turning 37 on Thursday. Hooray! Another birthday! I love my birthdays!

Now, I look good for a 37-year-old woman but I look like a woman in her 30s nonetheless. I'm okay with that. I certainly don't want to look like I did in my teens...

... or in my 20s...

I finally grew into my looks. I'm glad that the blossoming happened in my 30s. I can say for certain that I got my man and my career because of my talent and personality, not because of my looks haha!

I like my 30s. This has been a fantastic 7 years. I got my dream job, I got married to my great love, we built our lovely home, I had his children, I have made a few but truly wonderful friends, I retired from the dream job because my family was dreamier, and now I'm just writing for a living. My life is all about my passions. I can't ask for anything more!

But... I should do more. Exercise. Eat healthy. Drink more water! Although I'm proud I look great for my age, the fine lines have started, the freckles that used to be cute are now sun spots, the pimple scars are getting deeper. So I started on Shiseido Ibuki skincare regimen. But now I also want to drink drink drink water! I was shocked when I saw this:

That's just from drinking 12 glasses of water a day, folks. Here's the story: "Drinking three litres of water a day took TEN YEARS OFF my face!"

Argh! I can't even finish three glasses a day! One liter is 33 oz. A glass is 8 oz. So a liter is 4 glasses, which makes 3 liters 12 glasses. How on earth can I drink 12 glasses a day??? My dermatologist says I need more water. My dentist says I need water. My husband says I need water.

Drinking more water has been my birthday and New Year's resolution every year. Every single year. It never happens. But one look at those before-and-after photos and I'm really seriously doing it. I just need tips. How do you drink water, dear readers? Help me!!!

Plus, wouldn't it be fun if we did this water thing together? Okay, let's take a photo of our face today, Nov. 4, then drink our 12 glasses of water a day every day, and then take a photo again on Dec. 4! Oh, this is going to be so exciting!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!
A reader who is a registered nurse, and who I'll hide under the pseudonym Ms RN, sent me this caution:

Hi Ms. Frances. I saw your post about water. While it's really great to drink lots of water, just enough should do the trick, say 8-10 glasses a day. Too much water dilutes essential nutrients in the body and flushes out minerals too

Para di ka maoverwhelm, you can try half glass every hour Or a glass every 2 hours. Annoying lang kasi iihi ka ng iihi. 

By the way, people should also be careful drinking lotsa water when they [eat] too much salt because it can cause water retention. So less salt and more water talaga Another thing to remember is when an individual has a kidney disease, water intake should be limited depending on the doctors order. Hope I helped!



So, readers, let's stick to the 10 glasses max muna, okay???

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