"Be prepared to see a lot of bright blue penises." M warned as we headed into the theater to watch 'The Watchmen.'   M and I are big fans of Alan Moore revolutionary graphic novel, and a long with a few other like-minded friends, caught the screening of the movie version over the weeked.

The bright blue penis remark had to do with one of the characters, Dr. Manhattan, who is a blue-skinned, god-like being that spends the majority of the film (and the comic) naked. 

I was surprised to find out how true M's words were, despite the R-13 rating given to movie.

I will withold my criticism of the movie, because I am sure this has been thoroughly discussed by fanboys and girls all over the world.  What I do have is a humorous anecdote regarding the screening I attended.  All in all the movie deviated very, very little from the comic. Imagine the shock I endured when this happened during one of the major scenes in the end:

Character One: "Is that one of your secret weapons again?"

Character Two:  "Yes." (Clicks on a weird-looking remote)

Poof. The screen turns blank and the lights turn up all around the moviehouse.  Everyone gasps and starts thinking, 'Is this how it ends?!'

Our group was shocked. That's not how the story ends. It was so fateful and now this? It doesn't make sense!

A minute later a disembodied female voice creaks out from the movie theater.

"We apologize for the inconvenience.  There has been a problem with the film and we are currently fixing it right now."

For a minute we all thought this was part of the movie too.

Five minutes later, the screen lights up, the lights turn down, and the last five, ciritical minutes of the film plays on.

One of my friends just found out that she's pregnant. I had been teasing her for ages about it, but was stunned to get her text one Saturday that she was in fact, pregnant.

She's been struggling to lose weight since her first child was born two years ago.  I personally don't think she is fat, but when I see her old pictures, I can see why.  The girl was rail-thin then, thus many of her old clothes no longer fit her. While she was obviously happy, she was also a little worried that just when she was starting to lose weight, here she was gaining it all back again.  I guess that's a frustration that many of us moms have.  I am still several pounds away from my 'fighting weight' and it's really hard to lose all the weight I gained when I was pregnant with S.

But right now I am very much happy with my newfound enthusiasm for jogging. I've also been eating healthier, because I don't want to waste all that jogging time with a pack of Oreos.  This transition has been relatively easy and it doesn't feel unnatural or overwhelming.

I know i've been harping on my jogging the past few blogs, but I never envisioned myself as a 'jogger.' I'm not picking up an issue of Runner's Weekly anytime, but I have been toying with the idea of joining a friend's 5km marathon happening in two weeks. 

I've discussed this my now-pregnant friend and she's also expressed a desire to keep her workout regime while pregnant. Perhaps marathons aren't the way for her, but I know that she has learned her lesson with her first pregnancy and is eager to continue this healthy lifestyle into the next nine months. 

I wished her all the luck and researched on some pregnancy-friendly workouts. Meanwhile, I'm toying with the idea of getting a jogging stroller so that I can take S out with me on my morning jaunts.  We'll see!

I mentioned in my previous post that jogging helps me clear my mind. Not only that, but doing it has also helped lessen the depression, migraines, and fatigue brought about by PMS.

This week has been great-- and now it's the weekend!

I've slowly taken up jogging. I don't  know if what I do qualifies as jogging, heaving my butt up the sidewalk, huffing and puffing the entire time, but I do feel a great sense of accomplishment after an hour and half of trudging around the village.  I've written about jogging before, so it's pretty clear that I abhor having to get up in the morning and hauling a$$, but I find that plain dieting is not giving me the results I want.

This is what I've come to appreciate about BelleToday's program.  It starts slow, but it builds momentum over time.  More importantly, you are slowly prepped and primed to make better and smarter decisions about your body and your weight loss goals.  This is by far, better than a quick fix solution like diet pills or restrictive diets. Months ago, not matther how big my belly was, there was no way in hell I'd take up jogging or diet.  I was simply not ready to make the decision.  Here with BelleToday, something that was admittedly half-baked (I kind of wanted to lose weight, but...) slowly became a lifestyle for me. Now I am more consicous about my food, activities, and surroundings. 

This was a two-way thing. The program helps a great deal, but it demands discipline and a dogged determination from me as well. 

I like it. It has really pushed me to respect my body and my mind through its weekly challenges. I hope it's done the same for many of you girls too. :-)

The family went to Tagaytay over the weekend, thinking we would avoid most of the Valentine's Day traffic in Manila.

Boy, were we ever dead wrong. It seemed like everyone had the same idea. Friends reported that there was hardly any traffic in the city, which was a sharp contrast to the gridlock in Tagaytay.

We passed on the swanky places and headed to the homey Mano's, a Greek tavern and dad's favorite restaurant in Tagaytay.  My dad is usually in high spirits when he's anticipating a meal in Mano's, but this time the traffic was so bad that the usual five minute drive took almost forty five minutes. Dad was so incensed (do not get between a hungry man and his meal) that he parked the car into a corner a block away from the restauarant and told us all to walk. Thank God I didn't bring S, who was with her father that day.  I don't mind the walk, but to expose her to the choking exhaust fumes was simply not an option.

Things calmed down in Mano's.  Even if we initially had to settle for the table outside ("At least we smell the barbecue smoke and not the exhaust." Remarked my dear, old, hungry dad), the kind owner bustled us in once a table was free. Thankfully, Greek cuisine is relatively healthy as I was famished at this point. If we'd eaten somewhere else, I would have ordered the biggest, juiciest steak with fries and something that involved ice cream. The BT program was still in my head as I took in an order of Dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat and served with tzatziki, which is yogurt with cucumbers) and the Greek salad.  I stole bites of M's lamb chop and passed on the dessert, after my mom remarked on my sleeker frame (her words, not mine!).  

By the time we finished dinner, the traffic had eased and it was actually pleasant enough to walk back to the car.  I missed S, but was glad that she would be back tomorrow afternoon instead of the morning, that way I can still do my morning jog.

It's been really challenging to do all this work, but I think it's paying off little by little. I've learned to really curb cravings and being smart about my food choices. I don't feel cheated at all, because I didn't cut off any food from my diet, but simply learned to make better and more informed decisions.

Photo taken form www.foodtrippings.com (karlaredor)