STUFFY NOSE

Been feeling lousy since yesterday. I have this cold and it's just nasty. Yesterday I just felt terrible and sulky. My poor boys had to put up with my gloomy disposition. I napped the whole afternoon because of a headache and today there seems to be no sign of my cold disappearing despite my efforts to drown it with Vitamin C (yummy orange juice) and water. By afternoon I couldn't take it any more so I took a decongestant and analgesic in one and by evening my headache was gone. My cold is still here but my nose is not as runny any longer so hopefully it'll go away in the next few days.

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We're all set for the weekend. We're going to the nearby cities of Pagadian and Dipolog (plus the nearby Dapitan City) for our roadtrip. It's Mommy's birthday this Sunday so it'll be a fun, on-the-road celebration for her. We already made her a special book (titled A Book About Mimi) and we're planning to bring it with us so she'll have a present to open while we are in Dipolog. I hope she likes it. Nikki is quite excited to give it to her. :) I am excited about the trip too. I haven't been to a roadtrip in Mindanao ever so this will be quite an experience for sure. Plus, I am excited to take photos as well. I might find many interesting things along the way. Yup! Excited.

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Today I read in the newspaper about this boy, Efren Penaflorida who teaches kids in slum areas out of the goodness of his heart. His library? A pile of books in a pushcart. That's how dedicated this boy is. His story is sooo inspiring. I wish my boys would grow up to be selfless and as concerned about other people as he is. Here is a short article about Efren from www.inquirer.net: (P.S. Please support his cause; visit http://dynamicteencompany.org/)

CNN honors Peñaflorida as modern day hero

A 27-year-old Filipino worker who grew up near the slums of Cavite has been named a “CNN Hero” as part of the news network’s program honoring ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary feats around the world.

Efren Peñaflorida Jr., who organized Dynamic Teen Co. as a teenager to bring education to unschooled and neglected street children, was featured on CNN’s Larry King Live last Friday, March 5.

Born to Efren Sr., a tricycle driver, and Lucila Geronimo, a housewife, Peñaflorida grew up near the city’s open dump, where he played and swam near the garbage.

Although he was harassed and threatened by gangs that terrorized his school, Penaflorida realized early on that many less fortunate children didn’t have his opportunity to go to school.

At 16, he recruited three high school friends to go to the slums on Saturdays to teach younger kids. The group, which began as a club to keep students from joining gangs and notorious fraternities that were thriving on campus, has become a 10,000-strong volunteer force that has tutored some 1,500 children from the slums.

Peñaflorida teaches at a private school in Cavite City and still accompanies volunteers to the slums every Saturday.

Peñaflorida is the third of about 32 CNN Heroes to be unveiled this year.

A blue ribbon panel will then select the top 10 CNN Heroes before the public selects the “CNN Hero of the Year” by voting at the CNN Heroes site (www.CNN.com/Heroes).

At a year-end gala, CNN will honor the 10 heroes and reveal the “CNN Hero of the Year,” who will receive $100,000.

In its second year in 2008, CNN Heroes received nearly 4,000 submissions from 75 countries.