The Philippines had many history-making firsts this last year.

In honor of (Filipina) Women’s History Month, I’m proud to share these incredible women of the Philippines with you.

The first time I saw Whang Od Oggay’s picture, I knew there was something very special about her.

Turns out, there are many something specials about her.

Filipinos have strong ties to some powerful nations, including Spain, China and the USA.

So imagine my complete surprise when I discovered some unexpected countries listed on my 23andMe results.

Some of my happiest and earliest memories involve Filipino food.

All of my friends and loved ones know I really enjoy creating happy memories around a good meal.

So you can probably imagine how excited I was unboxing the Patikim Gold Edition Food Box I purchased from the Filipino Food Movement website.

It’s Valentine’s Day this Monday, so I was interested in finding out the origin of the word “MAHAL”, or "LOVE” in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.

Not only did I learn there are more meanings for the word Mahal, like precious and expensive, I also learned the word originally comes from India.