Maggie and the Ferocious Beast

My husband and I have this friend we like to hang with at happy hour. We call her Maggie. The reason for this is the cartoon you see here. Our daughter was watching Maggie and the Ferocious Beast one day and I thought, "hmmmm, that little girl reminds me of our happy hour friend. Not only does she look like a small version of my friend, she also sounds like a younger version of her. In the picture, you will find Maggie, her piggly friend, Hamilton and Ferocious A. Beast. My friend is who the cartoon Maggie will grow up to become. A fun-loving girl who drinks Newcastle , order's her ranch dressing by making a gesture that is reminiscent of gang sign, and who makes 3 point turns and claims, "don't turn on the coffee pot, ma, we're not stayin'!"

Here is a description of the show as found on Noggin.com "Maggie explores Nowhere Land with the Ferocious Beast, a red polka dotted creature who's anything but ferocious and Hamilton Hocks, a cautious pig with a secret love for music and singing. Every episode is an adventure to a new place on Maggie's map. Each story explores and strengthens the relationship between Maggie, the Beast and Hamilton by emphasizing cooperation, sharing, helping, and taking care of one another. They resolve problems by being smart, sensitive, and silly."

This last sentence is exactly why we call her Maggie. And why everyone loves her. She is fun, sensitive, and silly and this is my tribute to you, Maggie! "Smell ya later!"

What I'm giving up for lent this year...

every year ash wednesday marks the first of forty days that catholic christians all over the world sacrifice something in preparation for easter. throughout my early adult life, i've always given up meat, ice cream, or rice (huge for a filipino, by the way.) anyhow, as i got older, i realized that giving up these things don't really teach me anything besides how much i really miss these things when they are lacking in my diet and the strength of my will power to resist these foods. sacrificing these things don't really capture the true nature of the season. so this year, i've decided to give up being negative. i find this a very challenging thing to give up. it is so easy to be negative especially during such an economic downturn. i'm not saying i'm going to ignore what is going on around me. i am just going to make a better effort to find the brighter side of things. and instead of dwelling on what sucks, i will dwell on what i can do to make it better. we'll see how far i get. wish me luck! are you giving anything up?

Pacifer Weaning

My husband and I started to wean our oldest daughter of her pacifer. It must be tough giving up something that gives you the comfort the way the pacifier gives my 2 year old. This was proven to me when my daughter was having a tantrum about who knows what. She was clearly upset. She said, "Pa-pie-er peeze!" So I asked, "Aw, sweetheart. You're a big girls now, you don't need your pa-pie-er. Do you want a hug instead?" She looked at me with utter disdain and said, "No. I want my pa-pie-er!" As far she was concerned, "No, I don't need a f***ing hug. I wan't my pacifier, b****." So much for mommy's little girl!

ugly magbithang

i am a pretty big fan of Ugly Betty. as much as i've tried to limit my tv viewing, i'm hooked! i don't know if it is the fun, bright colors or the entertainingly vivid characters, but the show just really seems to strike a chord with me. i guess i can relate to miss betty as many others do, which is probably why the show is still on the air. feeling nerdy and trying to fit in is a pretty universal experience don't you think?

here are a few things that i can relate to as a veiwer:
*i am a women of color.
*i come from immigrant parents.
*as a result of the first two items, i am very family oriented.
*i had and continue to have big dreams of making it in a big city.
*i've been burned before by people i've trusted and loved.
*i can be very naive.
*i can be freakishly cheerful or perky.
*i'm a romantic.
*i can be a perfectionist when it comes to work.
*i too have a lot to learn about life.
*i don't quite fit in with the fashionistas either, but they just fascinate me!
*unfortunately, i think i look like her. (not America Ferrera, because she is gorgeous.) this one time, i had Ugly Betty on TV and my 2 year old daughter, as limited as her speech was, saw a shot of Betty and said, "Mommy!" Must be the glasses, dark hair, and roundish figure.

hello, i'm magbithang and i'm ugly!

mama magbithang

So this is my first blog ever...it took me long enough. I guess I'll start by explaining the name of my blog...

mama-everyone calls me Mama for some reason. maybe its my natural inclination to take care of others...

magbithang-my maiden name is Magbitang. Everyone always had a hard time pronouncing it. When I was in college, one of my friends thought it was clever to call me Miss Magbi"thang" and it stuck. No one in my adult life really calls me that now. To me, Mama Magbithang is the essentially who I really am.