Day 30: A Day for Father's

Happy Father's Day to the special men in my life...

First to Papa who has always been there for us, even at times when we have disappointed him, he never makes us feel that we are less loved.  I thank him for all his love and understanding, his guidance and unfailing support morally, emotionally and financially.  I could never repay all that he has done for me, but I hope that in my own little way I could make him proud...

To my brother Lucky who would be celebrating Father's Day for the very first time...  I hope and pray that you would be a good father to Yuna and would always be there to love and guide her.  May you be her strength and shield when life gets a little tough...

And to my husband, and the father of my kids... Happy Father's day Ross.  Thank you for everything that you have done for us.  I pray that you will continue to be strong against all the trials and challenges that may come your way.  We love you so much!

To all the Fathers, whom we call daddy, papa, tatay... Happy Father's Day!  May you continue to be a guiding light in your family...

Day 29: Something to be thankful for...

My lola or "Nanay Nita" as I fondly call her turned 92 years old last week. But at her age, she has far more better eye sight than me, lol!  We celebrated the occasion with a simple dinner and the great grandchildren performed a surprise song number during the occasion.

 As a kid, I grew up with Nanay in our ancestral home in Tacloban City.  I would sleep with her sometimes and we would pray the rosary every night before going to bed, and I would remember silently wondering why we had to recite the Our Fathers and the Hail Mary's over and over again.  When I would take a bath, she  taught me to do a little brushing and scrubbing on the bathroom  floors and walls every now and then just so dirt would not accumulate.  I have been following that practice since then and I would also teach the same thing to my helpers and hopefully to my own daughter when she is old enough to take a bath on her own.  My grandmother was very particular with keeping the household clean so we would sometimes walk around the house with rugs on our feet to clean the floor.  Nanay taught me that it was important to know how to do simple household chores and not to depend on our house helpers to do everything for us.

She helped take care of me when Mama was not around and she has taught me so many things.  I could never thank her enough for everything that she has done for me.

I am blessed to still have a living grandparent.  My lolo on my fathers side passed away when I was a toddler so I do not have memories of him, only stories that papa would share with us.  Both of my maternal grandparents also passed away, but I was fortunate enough to have grown up knowing them and spending time with them.  I know of some friends who never got the chance to know their grandparents.

It sometimes scares me to think that there would come a time when I would no longer see her.  That the time would come for Nanay to be with Tatay in heaven.  I don't know if I would ever be ready for that day.  So every time I visit Nanay, I would hug her really tight and kiss her.  I hope she knows how much I love her and that I thank the Lord for her each and every day...

An old photo of me and my brothers with Nanay

During Nanay's birthday with Auntie Maia, Ross and Micah, with Auntie Tidad behind us :)

Grateful for family :)

Day 28: A quote you try to live by

Choose to be happy.  That is something I try to live by everyday.  Despite whatever life throws at you, how you react is your choice.  You can choose to be angry, frustrated, disappointed... but it would not get you anywhere.

You have a choice each and every single day.  Problems, trials and stress are part of life.  It is your choice whether you would let it affect you.   Life is too short to waste on negative emotions.

 So choose to be happy.  Whether things are a bit gloomy, even when you feel like the world is on your shoulders and life is weighing you down, I hope that you find it in your heart to still choose happiness.

There will always be a reason for you to be happy...

So live your life well and make the right choices...

Choose to be grateful, Choose to feel blessed, Choose to be happy...

I choose happiness ♥

Day 27: The Legend Villa - Our Home for the Weekend

A few weeks back, I accompanied my husband to Manila for his diplomate exams.  We were booked at The Legend Villas in Mandaluyong for the weekend.

As a blogger, I may need to improve on some aspects like taking photos, and getting details about the place.    I was planning to explore the hotel on my own while my husband was reviewing, but I ended up catching up on sleep.  I actually scolded myself for that, but lesson learned and hopefully If I ever get the chance to go somewhere again, I won't end up curling in bed like the last time, lol!

This was the room we stayed in

The room we stayed in was what they called as a Studio unit.  It comes with a queen-sized bed, a cable television, a mini-ref and fully air conditioned of course.  The bathroom was spacious as well.  I guess my only complain would be our bed, because the mattresses were so firm that it seemed I was sleeping on the floor, and the pillows were the opposite, it was so soft that it felt like my head was drowning in pillows, lol!

Me smiling like a kid.  Obviously excited :)  

I was going over the menu looking for something to order, but we decided to go somewhere else to eat.

Hungry and tired from the trip, but still happy :)

Our room had a free breakfast buffet coupon so we started our Day 2 with a bountiful breakfast at Lola Maria's Restaurant.  They also offer lunch buffet's daily from 11 am to 2 pm.

Good thing there were still a few guests so I had the chance to have this photo taken by hubby :)

Breads and jams of all kinds

Aside from the food on the photos, they also had an area to order pan cakes and you can also order how you want your eggs cooked.  The dessert area had native delicacies like biko, sapin-sapin and puto.

Caught up with our friend/neighbor who also was there to accompany her husband for the boards.

After having breakfast, I had the chance to wonder around the lobby of the hotel and had the chance to take some of these photos...

I so love this sungkaan :)  This area was located at the side of the lobby and you can actually play sungka here.

A table with a tic-tac-toe board game :)

Part of the hotel lobby receiving area.

They also have a pool but I never had the chance to check or even get some photos, too bad.  During our stay, I noticed that most of the guests came in groups or families because they do have some family suites or rooms that could accommodate groups of six or more.

I liked the hotels architecture, the facade reminded me of Spanish Villas.  The room was spacious.  Service was good, they provided clean towels everyday.  I enjoyed my stay there and would gladly recommend it to friends who would be looking for a place within the area,

These are the things I would miss most about Legend Villa, the free newspaper hanging on your door everyday and these cute little things...

Looking forward to another weekend get-away :)

Day 26: Write something about how you feel today...

Today I wanted to write something about how I feel...   but I can't put the feelings I have into words.

 It's a bittersweet mixture of all these emotions that I have.

The closest I could get is probably best expressed in the images I would be sharing.  I would let them tell the story :)

Hoping and praying that the best is yet to come :)

Day 25: My Everlasting Friends

A quote I found on line which talks about "everlasting friends"...

It's been said that everlasting friends go long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship.  These friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday regardless of how long it has been or how far away they live, and they don't hold grudges.  They understand life is busy and love is there.

I am blessed to share this kind of friendship with three special ladies I have known for more than a decade.  Despite time and distance ( we are all based in different parts of the country and one is based in Cambodia), the friendship never changed and has grown even more stronger.  We all have our own differences, but I guess one thing that binds us together is knowing that we respect each other, and that we can be who we are without being judged.

In times when I feel I am at a loss, these ladies always has a way of making me feel that I am not alone.  Thanks to FB messaging and SMS, we can still keep in touch with what's happening with each other's lives :).  We may have other friends, each special in their own way, but what we share is something that I always consider as one of life's greatest blessings.

Sandee, Apple and Rizza... Thank you mga mana for the friendship ♥

This was taken last May 12 when Sandee and her family came to visit.  Too bad Rizza was not able to come because this was a late night coffee date...

This was during Rizza's surprise party for Jerome last May 24, 2013.  

I think this is the last photo of the four of us together this was a few days after Apple's wedding.  Hopefully we would have another one in the near future :)

Looking forward to our planned all-ladies get together soon :)

Day 24: What's New?!

Today I changed my blogger header.  I have been planning on it for quite sometime and at long last I was able to finish and happy with the outcome.

The original concept I had in mind was a sketch or drawing of a girl writing under the shade of a big tree and I wanted the name of my blog in hand-writing style.  Of course the girl on the sketch would be me, so my next problem was finding someone to sketch that picture I had in mind.  I initially contacted a friend who was very good at art, but never got to discuss the project in detail because of a conflict in schedule on my part so I proceeded with concept number 2.

I wanted a blog header that would somehow tell a story. So each picture on the header means something to me... a dream, a favorite thing, a hobby or a passion.

The Eiffel tower represents my ultimate dream.  I would really want to visit Paris someday, eat the original french macaroons and visit the famous Louvre museum.  I have a sweet tooth and I love to read books which explains the stack of books in between two cup cakes :) I could always rely on a cup of coffee to boost me up on occasions where I need to work for long hours.  The sea shell represents my love for the beach, music player because I love to listen to music and sing along with it too!  The lipstick, is my favorite beauty essential.  As they say, "put on a little lipstick and you'll be fine."

And lastly, I added an old photo of myself taken by a friend during an outing.  What I like about this photo is that it brings back funny and happy memories of that day.  It always reminds me to be thankful for the life that we have and to appreciate the  people that makes our life more meaningful.

No matter what you are going through, love your life and the people in it...

Forever Grateful...

Day 23: Taking a Step Towards Something

Today, I took the first step to achieving something.  A small step that hopefully would lead me into something bigger.

I love my life, but there are times that I feel that I'm missing out on things.  I feel that I am holding myself back to exploring what else life has to offer.

There is this need inside me to be able to do something different.  I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but I know that there is more to life than just the four corners of our office.

Today, I am telling myself not to worry about tomorrow and just think about what I want to do with my life today.

So today I am taking a big leap into something that I have been wanting to do, but never had the courage to pursue it.  I am entrusting my future to the big guy up there.  I know I am in good hands.

Trusting an unknown future to an all-knowing God...

Day 22: Find the Joy in Letting Go

I have this habit of holding on...

Holding on to a thing, a memory, an idea or a feeling.  I hold on to something because I never want to forget, the happy memories and worse I even have the habit of holding on to the painful ones sometimes.  If I have this idea in my head, I hold on to it even if I know that it's something that will never happen.  And the more I know I can't have it, the more I hang on to it.  But holding on means getting stuck and not allowing yourself to appreciate what is out there for you.  Holding on means hurting yourself more...

So today I choose to let go.  Let go of all the things that are keeping me from moving on towards something better.  Today I choose to let go, knowing that it is for the best.  It may not come to me at this very moment but I know that there is joy in letting go.

Close your eyes, clear your heart and just let go...

Day 21: One personal belonging that you can't live without

This is a no-brainer for me.Without even thinking, I would readily say "my glasses",  In reality, of course I would still live without my glasses on, but only seeing shadows and figures, colors appearing dull and not being able to appreciate the beauty of the world around me would not be living at all.

I am legally blind.  I have had high prescription grade for my eyes since high school.  I used to have thick glasses way back, and I would not really wear them because they were so heavy.  Good thing contact lenses and ultra thin lenses were invented so I was able to get rid of my thick glasses.

I used to wish I had normal 20/20 vision, because there are things I want to do that I obviously would not be able to because of my poor eyesight, like scuba diving for example.  But then I realized that I should just probably appreciate what I have and be grateful that I still have my sense of sight.

At least now I could change my eye color from brown to aqua or maybe try out something wild like purple, who knows :)

Day 20: What's in a bag?

For today's blog challenge, I would be sharing what is inside this floral toiletry kit that I bring with me on a daily basis.  I may add a few things depending on the occasion, but the usual contents on this bag is what you  see here.

I call this my basic survival kit.  A vanity kit would have been nicer but I don't have a lot of kikay stuff for it to qualify as a "vanity kit", lol!

- Wet Tissues:  I am not brand conscious but I prefer the Hello Kitty ones you see in Watson's because they're cute.  Unfortunately they ran out of stock :(

- Hand sanitizer:  You should always have one handy most especially if you have kids.

- Pain reliever:   I always bring pain meds with me because migraine attacks may strike anywhere :(

- Breath strips:  To keep your breath fresh even on the go.

- Angel's smile cologne:  I would normally prefer colognes over perfume.  So for my everyday scent, I switch between this cologne and Nenuco. 

- Hand lotion/Antibac:  A lotion and a hand sanitizer in one.  Keeps your hands smooth while keeping the germs away :)

- EOS lip balm:  my lips dry up so easily so I always use a lip balm to prevent my lips from cracking

- Clinique chubby stick:   it's a colored lip balm, when I need to add color to my lips.

- Clinique powder blush:  colors on your cheeks brings life to your face :)

- Maybelline shine free cake powder:  for that quick shine free look

- Johnson's baby face powder:  my all time favorite.  I need to have loose powder wherever I go.

So that's what is inside my floral toiletry bag.  

How about you ladies, care to share what's in your bag? ♥

Day 19: A Picture of a Happy Memory

I took these photos of my kids last week when we attended the summer outing of CCMC's Tumor club.  I was sitting under the shade watching them in the pool, and just took these random photos of them playing, Andre carrying Micah on his back pretending to be a dolphin and later on Micah sharing her cookies with her brother.

Looking at them made me so happy.   I must have done something good in the past to be blessed with my kids. It makes me proud whenever I see how they take care of each other.  

I am just glad I brought the camera that day and was able to capture those special moments that are now part of all my happy memories.

Day 18: Sugat in Minglanilla

"Sugat" is an Easter Filipino tradition observed by most Filipinos.  This marks the end of Holy Week and usually starts on the evening of Black Saturday where the image of Mama Mary would be paraded in a procession, followed by a dawn Easter mass celebrated on Easter Sunday.

It was a spur of the moment decision to visit Minglanilla, which is known as the "Sugat Capital" of the south.  The Kabanhawan festival which is a celebrated event in the municipality is annually held every Easter Sunday.  Since the resort we were staying was in the municipality we decided to head out after our night swim and drive around the area.

We arrived just in time for the fireworks and took photos of the images of Jesus and Mama Mary before the procession started.

Micah still not in the mood to walk, tired from all the swimming.

I don't know about you, but I love "dirty ice cream" or sorbetes, lol!

The park in front of the church

Andre trying out street food but no sauce dipping...

The Risen Christ

Mama Mary

Another image of the Blessed Mother

Church facade

The moon staring at us...

It was a full moon that night,  We headed back to the resort all looking forward to getting a good nights sleep and preparing for another day of swimming ahead :)


Until our next Easter adventure...

Day 17: Photos of your most recent trip

Just last week, we went home to Tacloban to visit papa on his birthday and at the same time attend the baptism of my niece. (I will be posting the photos of the baptism in another blog ♥)

It was just a short trip and we had to come back to Cebu after a few days, but it was worth it.  Although I did not get to see friends, I got to spend time with my family which was what I was looking forward to.

Let me share a few photos taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)

Just outside our house

The mall is just one pedicab ride away, isn't that cool :)

Micah with the sun behind her...

Eating out on Sundays has always been a family tradition

Andre showing off his muscles just like Uncle Lucky

Always a Papa's girl at heart

Missing Cocoy and Althea

Micah with her funny antics :)

I could only count the times we are able to go home to Tacloban, so I make the most out of those few occasions that I am able to visit my family and luckily see my friends.  

Writing about this makes me homesick, but I am looking forward to my next trip back home.