Not a Lady of Leisure

Dawn Zulueta is a busybody, beautifully keeping a happy balance between being wife (to Anton Lagdameo) and mother (to one-year-old Jacobo) and her newly-revived showbiz career.

When Conversations called her up one Saturday morning three weeks ago for an interview-pictorial, Dawn was in laid-back Davao enjoying her two-week respite from the hustle-and-bustle of Manila. That’s how she keeps her sanity – by shuttling between the two disparate cities.

Told that the appointment was set the next day, she quickly squeezed us into her tight schedule. "I’m flying to Manila late this afternoon. I’m okay tomorrow afternoon."

The pictorial, as you can see, hardly shows the wear and tear (if any) that Dawn has to go through in pursuit of two demanding careers ("housewifing" and "mothering" are certified careers, too, aren’t they?). How does she do it? You’ll see.

Since she gave birth to Jacobo, her and Anton’s first child, in October last year, Dawn has buckled down to getting back in shape and getting back to work, with "the new Dawn Zulueta" flashing an I-did-it smile from those giant Myra-E billboards around the country.

"I’ve always been a working girl," she said (as if we didn’t know). "Even when I took an indefinite leave of absence from showbiz, I was never idle. I was preoccupied with married life. I concentrated on things that I loved to do but which I missed because I was busy with showbiz – like cooking and just keeping house."

Being back in circulation also means being fodder for the gossip mill. Dawn dismissed them as "hazards of the trade."

For instance, is it true that she’s bumping heads with Gretchen Barretto (the true Lady of Leisure who has recently decided to return to showbiz for what she called for "a sense of self"), one of her co-stars (along with Pops Fernandez and Ruffa Gutierrez) in the abortive Regal comedy Desperada (inspired by the popular US TV series Desperate Housewives)?

Sorry, folks, but the following Conversation goes above and beyond the petty thank you. Dawn has better things to do and talk about, and you will find out by and by.

You are Marie France’s poster girl. How were you able to shed so much weight (from a high of more than 155 lbs. to about 118, which is ideal for her 5’6.5 frame) in so short a time?

"Marie France invited me to try its treatments in November last year, about a month after I gave birth to Jacobo, I couldn’t work out because I delivered by Caesarian section and I couldn’t go on a diet because I was breast-feeding, so Marie France decided to have me try FMS (Fat Mobilization System), the cold-wrap treatment which speeds up metabolism. It wraps the areas which need some trimming; you wear the FMS for about 25 minutes. They did the treatment on my thighs, my arms and my waist."

Are you still going through it?

"You see, I’m a work in progress, so as long as I want to lose weight, I continue with the FMS treatment."

Is it recommended only for women who have just given birth?

"No, it’s for anybody, male or female, who wants to lose weight. Even if your weight is okay but you want to firm up some parts here and there, Marie France has other treatments for that, too."

Are there medications that go with it?

"None. It doesn’t involve any injection or taking pills. It’s losing weight without pain."

What other beauty regimen do you follow?

"Just healthy living. I quit smoking when I got pregnant. Actually, what’s important is to follow a healthy diet and to exercise regularly. I used to follow the South Beach Diet but now, I just avoid meat and eat mostly vegetable, with a little meat every now and then. My all-time favorites are nilaga, sinigang and sinampalukan. I also happen to be a water person. I drink more than eight glasses every day. I don’t drink sodas; I rarely have juice but if I do it has to be freshly-squeezed."

And the body of evidence is, of course, pretty obvious in those Myra-E billboards all over the metropolis.

"If I can, so can anybody!"

Jacobo turned a year old last Oct. 19. Why did you name him Jacobo?

"I like the name Jacob. I like the sound of it. It must be my Middle-Eastern ancestry (Dawn’s mom is Palestinian. – RFL). There are many Jacobs in the grandfather side of my family tree."

Jacobo is very memorable because you underwent a difficult pregnancy (that confined you to bed during the first trimester).

"He was eight years in the making! Before Jacobo, I had a blighted pregnancy. I suffered a miscarriage."

What do you feel when you look at Jacobo now, growing up so fast?

"My goodness, it’s overwhelming! Time went by so fast that I hardly recall anymore the hardship that I went through during my pregnancy. He’s such a bright boy, so full of energy, so malambing. He’s starting to take his first steps and to say ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’."

How has motherhood changed your life?

"Oh, in a big way. I always thought that motherhood was nice but I never thought that it would be this nice and this lovely. I’m enjoying it despite the drastic lifestyle changes. Now, my only late night-outs are when I have to work, whether taping or filming. I spend weekends at home; I don’t socialize anymore. I’m happy to be productive in terms of work. But the time that I’m not working I spend with Jacobo."

You still breast-feed Jacobo?

"Not anymore. I breast-fed him only during the first two months. I wanted to do it longer but I wasn’t producing enough milk."

How do you juggle your time between mothering and showbiz?

"It’s hard because home for me is Davao, right? What I try to do, though, is try to schedule things for work here in Manila for two to three weeks, para tuluy-tuloy so I can take Jacobo with me; he stays with me for two to three weeks, When I finish work, I go back to Davao where I stay for two to three weeks before I come back to Manila to work. That way, I don’t have to fly so often. It’s a matter of time management."

You were gone from showbiz for so long... about nine years since you and Anton got married in December 1996.

"After getting married, I started to lie low, until I accepted the hosting job for The Price is Right (ABC 5) in 2002."

How did you spend your time away from showbiz?

"That was the time I did my wifely duties – you know, just keep house for Anton. The usual stuff that I never had time to do when I was single and working like mad. Away from showbiz, I was ‘domisticated.’ I wanted to feel how it was to be a wife. I learned how to cook. I was able to enjoy working with my hands. I joined Christmas bazaars and I loved that. In short, I was able to make time for the little things that I missed out on."

How is life in Davao compared to life in Manila?

"Life in Davao is laid-back, very slow and very quiet, compared to the fast-paced life in Manila. It’s a peaceful kind of life, conducive to lowering your blood pressure. But then, I don’t really recommend it to everyone because you could get bored especially if you are used to the hurried life in Manila. I guess I’m lucky because I get to enjoy both kinds of lifestyle. When I get bored in Davao, I fly to Manila to work. Just when I have enough of the hurried life, I go back to Davao and unwind. I’m having the best of both worlds, so I’m fortunate."

Is it okay with Anton for you to go back to showbiz?

"I think he does... I guess he appreciated the fact that I successfully made the turn-around change after we got married. He knew naman that my intention was to be a good wife. I tried so hard to have a child; I wanted to be a mother early on in our marriage. When he saw that I still have my creative juices and want to express them, I told him, ‘I’d like to go back to work because I do find fulfillment in my productivity as an artist, sana you’d let me.’ He must have been hesitant in the beginning but after a while, he saw how happy I was shuttling back and forth between Davao and Manila, and he’s happy, too."

So you’re not cut out to be a lady of leisure.

"Oh no, I’m not. I don’t think so. Since I was young, I’d been working. For a while, when I was burned out, I thought how nice if I could just be a lady of leisure. But I realized that I cannot be one; I’d get bored. I really am used to working. I love working."

How soon do you and Anton plan to have another baby?

"We’d like to start on the second one next year. But wait, let me enjoy my Marie France body first. I worked hard for it and I want to enjoy it longer."

How many kids do you want to have?

"Originally, I wanted three. But two are enough, I guess."

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