Tutti Fruity Wednesday - A Royal Diet Day

The Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton is fast approaching. Royal mail has just arrived. I know I have to prepare for that big day one month from today. I've been thinking what to wear on this very special occasion but I'm having a hard time deciding. I been trying all of my suits in my closet but nothing seems to fit anymore. I admit, I been eating too much and can't give up the greasy meal and sweet desserts. I've been trying to call a well known fashion designer to no avail or maybe I've dialed wrong International Numbers. Well, I have decided to go on a diet, I have ample of time. I started earlier at lunch, I had a "fruitful" lunch in an undisclosed location.





The Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton are just around the corner. And yes, I am NOT invited. I was just daydreaming. I've realized, I can’t give up a sumptuous meal over fame and riches. But a day of diet with fruits wasn’t painful as I’ve figured. In fact I feel lighter and refreshed Perhaps I need to prepare a heavy lunch tomorrow. I’m thinking of Crispy Pata and Leche Flan for dessert. Sweet, I can’t wait for tomorrow’s lunch.


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Visita Iglesia - The Santo Nino Church and Convent






We didn't stay long in Cebu City. What we do with a limited time is to maximize it visiting the City's tourist main attraction: The Santo Nino Church and Convent. The church is said to be one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. The structure islocated right in the heart of downtown Cebu City. On our way to the church  I've noticed that its akin to Manila's Quiapo, vendors were lined up on the street but its more organized.






The ancient Bell Tower is old and dingy. Grayish and dusty color shows that it has existed for a very  long time. A legacy of towering faith, Cebuanos were known as religious, Christ-centered people. Visiting this religious attaraction was mentally stimulating somehow uplifting. Its towering facade blends Muslim, Romanesque, and neo-classical architectures.






The facade is clean, made of cut coral is decorated with niches in which images of saints are placed. Inside the Sto. Nino Basilica Church is a small museum holding artifacts of different kinds of Sto. Nino's and other relics such as donations to the Sto. Nino, Sto. Nino idols, old money (from different currencies around the world), church stuff, etc.






A line at the Sto. Nino Basilica Church caught my attention. It was leading to the patron saint Sto. Nino. Falling in line gives you a chance to see the miraculous Sto. Nino to touch him or to pray to him. Candles are not allowed inside the church, however, devotees may light a candle ,drop their wishes and say their prayers in a corner around the pagoda.



Water and Wisdom







I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. There is not any part of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surfaces of the water. - D. H. Lawrence






The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.from Gitanjali - Rabindranath Tagor







For those who have seen the Earth from space, and for the hundreds and perhaps thousands more who will, the experience most certainly changes your perspective. The things that we share in our world are far more valuable than those which divide us.- Donald William








Instead of a bottom-line based on money and power, we need a new bottom-line that defines productivity and creativity as where corporations, governments, schools, public institutions, and social practices are judged as efficient, rational and productive not only to the extent they maximize money and power, but to the extent they maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological sensitivity, and our capacities to respond with awe and wonder at the grandeur of creation.- Michael Lerner








For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.- James Baldwin







People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.- Thich Nhat Hanh


Photo Credit: Marcial V. Bolen