The Moment "Love You Forever" Became My Favorite Children's Book

One of Sophie's assignments at school is to have someone read to her regularly.  Earlier, like all the other nights, I told her to look for a book.  This time, though, she couldn't (or didn't want to) find one that she liked.  So looking through all the books we have, I pulled out one that I was sure she would enjoy.

Me:     This is a nice one! It's a very nice story and it was Ate Caila's favorite.
Caila:  No it's not!
Me:     It was when you were very small.  You even couldn't go to sleep without it.
Caila:  I don't remember. Can you read it to us?

reading "the richest man in babylon"

I haven’t been able to read much of The Richest Man in Babylon (I only get to read it on the bus in the mornings going to work), but from what I’ve read so far, there’s a whole lot of information and learnings you can get from it. Contrary to most financial self-help books, this is more like a novel with stories that you can learn from...a bit like parables or Aesop’s fables. It’s mostly about Arkad, and he teaches his fellow Babylonians the things he did to be able to become the richest man in Babylon.  The language used is a bit weird because it takes place during the ancient period, but it’s still pretty easy to understand.

Until now, I’ve only been able to read less than 60 pages, but this has already covered the lessons “A part of all you earn is yours to keep” and the “Seven Cures for a Lean Purse.”  These are explained in detail very simply throughout the stories, and when you read them, it’s like an eye-opener because you’ll realize that if you only had discipline, they’d be easy to follow. But of course, discipline is not enough. You need to know what you’re doing and where to keep your hard-earned money.

Just to give you an idea, the Seven Cures for a Lean Purse are:
   • Start thy purse to fattening
   • Control thy expenditures
   • Make thy gold multiply
   • Guard thy treasure from loss
   • Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
   • Insure a future income
   • Increase thy ability to earn

Although I haven't read the entire book yet, I still highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be financially independent. Seriously, it’s really good. And if you would like to win a copy, just join my birthday giveaway. Now na! =)

fifty shades...in my hands, but out of my reach

Okay, okay, I admit I’m one of those who got curious when the hype of the Fifty Shades novels by E.L. James came out. Several blogs I read discussed the trilogy, and it’s been a hot topic in n@w lately. So being a bookworm who’s been looking for a good read for a long time, I searched around the bookstores here. Naturally, with the kind of story it has, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Who was I kidding that it would be sold here?! Fortunately, a n@wie announced that she had the pdf of all three books, so I requested her for a copy which she e-mailed to me within a few hours. Thanks, Sis Maricar! =)

have a little faith

Thank you for the gift, Aiza!

The most inspirational man I know only reached his potential by helping a child reach his.
"Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe."
"From generation to generation...rituals are how we remain...connected."
When you come to the end (of your life), that’s where God begins.
"It is far more comforting to think God listened and said no, than to think that nobody’s out there."
His morning prayers began with “Thank you, Lord, for returning my soul to me.” When you start that way, the rest of the day is a bonus.
"The secret of happiness...Be satisfied. Be grateful. For what you have. For the love you receive. And for what God has given you."
If you could pack for heaven, this was how you’d do it, touching everything, taking nothing.

for one more day

I sooo love Mitch Albom’s books (I also love novels by Nicholas Sparks, but that’s another subject). His stories are really inspiring and full of lessons about life. I have three of his books at home: Tuesdays With Morrie, The Five People You Meet In Heaven, and For One More Day. Out of the three, I like For One More Day best, probably because it’s about a mother’s love.

nighttime routines

For the past few evenings, Caila and I have gone through a routine.
Before dinner, we would settle ourselves on the carpet in our living room and I would take out my mobile phone and play Caila’s latest favorite song.
My daughter would then hold the phone and sway her head from side to side while sitting in my lap. The song is played over and over until it’s time for us to have dinner.

love you forever

This afternoon, while I was working away at my desk, our office boy dropped off an envelope in my tray. I thought it was just ordinary mail (an invoice or contract or newsletter) so I didn’t bother to look at it right away. It was only after I had finished everything I needed to do that I found time to check out the orange envelope. And, boy was I surprised! As soon as I saw who it was from, I opened it immediately...and here’s what I found:

“Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch...autographed by the author himself for me!

I wanted to jump for joy! Of course, I couldn’t (it wouldn’t be appropriate since I was at the office). Instead, I showed it off to my 3 colleagues who were also mothers, telling them that this book is a really nice story to read to their children.

I’m so excited to read this to Caila. Actually, when I first heard about this book from n@w early this year, I began reciting the verses of the song to her every day…and then the time came when she would join me in saying “baby - bee” when I would reach the last line. It’s so cute!

I hope that when she’s back with us next month, she’ll still be interested to hear the full story...and join me again each time I recite the verses of the song.