No need to put Christmas lights around it because it already has its own lights shaped like flowers. No need to put accents to it as well. Cute one!

A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria’s Josef Fritzl.

The two daughters were made pregnant 19 times; there were nine births, five miscarriages and five terminations. Seven of the children are alive but suffer genetic deformities.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons banning the identification of his victims and the surviving children, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court, northern England, and was sentenced to serve 25 life sentences to run concurrently. - CNN.com

Incest is something not everyone of us is comfortable discussing. The impact of this crime is just so huge. It is not only physical but every aspect of a human being is affected by an incestious act. Remember that other man who also fathered several kids from his daughter that he kidnapped and jailed in their basement? No one will be normal in that brood for the rest of their lives. They can try living a normal life. But the horror of what happened will haunt them forever. The same thing will surely happen to the victims of this British man, or animal is more like it.

Let’s pray for the countless victims of incest in the world. Let’s pray that they have the courage to face their ordeals and overcome them. And let’s pray that the criminals inflicting this pain in their victims be caught once and for all.

Instead of buying a floral arrangement, why not buy flowers and accents separately and arrange it yourselves?

That’s what we do whenever we visit my mom’s grave. We would go to Dangwa, a place here in Manila popular for fresh flowers and accents. You can haggle and get great discounts, especially when you go there early in the morning, around 5am.

My mom loved orchids so we would always buy a bunch for her.

You can arrange the flowers the way you want it. In our family, my sister, R, is the talented one when it comes to floral arrangement.

I was looking out the window when I heard her a few hours ago, talking in her usual loud voice. She was telling another neighbor about another neighbor’s mentally handicapped kid. The kid is mentally retarded, is actually already in his late 20s, and is always naked inside their home. Our loud neighbor was telling everyone who would listen that she saw the kid playing with his penis. This she said in a vulgar way, the Tagalog word of “playing with his own penis” is really crude.

I almost turned away when something caught my attention. Her kids were in front of her listening! With all the cuss and crude words she used, I wonder if her kids even know half of what she’s saying. And if her kids are repeating the crude words she carelessly utters in front of them.

I remember my mom once uttered an indecent word in front of me. I repeated it to a classmate when a teacher overheard me. She immediately called my parents and told them about it. My mom was so ashamed and never repeated it again.

I wish parents are more careful when talking about sensitive topics in front of their kids. And careful in saying words that they don’t want their kids repeating in front of company.

I just read in a local newspaper that a college student suffering from a bipolar disorder committed suicide in front of his webcam, for all the online people he’s hooked up with to see. According to the report, the kid announced his desire to end his life by 3am and proceeded to do just that… overdosed on medicine in front of his webcam. What a waste!

Suicide is never an option. There are so many people out there not given a chance to breathe one more day and yet some people are flaunting their desire to end their lives for no apparent reason. I know depression can trigger these things. But I do wish that friends and families of these suicidal people can spot it right away and help them recover.

A family member, a friend, a relative, someone close to you or just about anyone you know might be in dire need of help to get out of a suicide plan. I got these signs and symptoms of a person planning suicide from a medical web site. This will let you know…

What are the signs and symptoms for suicide?

Warning signs that an individual is imminently planning to kill themselves may include the person making a will, getting his or her affairs in order, suddenly visiting friends or family members (one last time), buying instruments of suicide like a gun, hose, rope or medications, a sudden and significant decline or improvement in mood, or writing a suicide note. Contrary to popular belief, many people who complete suicide do not tell any mental-health professional they plan to kill themselves in the months before they do so. If they communicate their plan to anyone, it is more likely to be someone with whom they are personally close, like a friend or family member.

Life should not be wasted like that. There is more to it than what you currently have, what you are surrounded at the moment.

When someone mentions suicide, even jokes about it, treat it seriously. It may be a hint to what that person is feeling, planning, for his life. It could be a hint as to the state of his mind. We never know that they are warning us of their plans to just do that, end their lives.

Suicide is never an option. Remember that.

Joining memes is not really my thing. When it was still that popular, I was one of those who religiously post it. But these days, I only do when I feel like it. If you notice, this blog only joined Weekly Questions, Weekend Snapshot and Food Friday. I want the memes to be something related to family matters and home living which is what this blog is all about. There are other memes out there with the same theme I know but I am content with these 3. There are weeks when I don’t even participate, joining more memes would seem superficial.

Do you join memes a lot? What are those?

I love Sundays. This is the only day in the week that you will surely find the whole family together. Since my sister and my brother are both working and going to school on Saturdays, we only get to eat lunch and dinner together on Sundays. Sometimes we eat out.

This is the only thing I look forward to on Sundays. Spending time with the whole family.

What about you?

Join us here.

Note: I haven’t joined Weekly Questions in a while but I still want to answer past questions. I will be posting it later

Thank God for this wonderful blessing!

If you know anyone who also took the board exams, you can find the results of the elementary and secondary teacher exams here.

2. I am addicted to the Twilight series! I love Edward Cullen so much! Yay!!!

3. I am a very open minded person.

4. If I have more than enough money to spend, I would rather spend it on books, food and travel than on anything else. Di kasi ako kikay
5. I can’t sleep properly if I haven’t read. No matter how tired I am, I would have to read even a chapter of a book so my mind can relax. Weird ‘no?

6. I love songs of Enya. My sisters hate it! They think that her songs are too creepy.

7. I am a forgetful person. My friends and family tease me about it. I haven’t been operated on so I don’t know why I am like this. Maybe early signs of aging?