GOOD FRIDAY 2022

 

John 11:25: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

11 things I learned and realized in 2011

Before I officially welcome 2012, let me share to you 11 things that I learned and realized for this year 2011.

Here they are in random order:

*life is full of duties and responsibilities and it increases as you grow older

*my daughter will always be on my top priority

*being a wife and a mother is never been easy, it needs a lot of patience, sacrifices, hardwork and responsibilities

*life is always like a rollercoaster and you really can’t tell when will you be up or when will you be down

*getting pregnant the second time around is much difficult compared before

*family is always there to suppot me through thick and thin despite havingmy very own family

*you really can’t please everyone no matter hard you try

*never ever expect anything so you won’t get hurt if nothing happens

*looking & dealing with the nanny is another burden that need to face everyday

*always give time for yourself and make yourself happy

*gift no matter how small or big always makes me smile and happy

And with all those things, I can say that I am more ready to face 2012. Happy New Year everyone. Let us all welcome 2012 with all the positivity in our heart.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Another year is about to end, 3 more days to go and we will official bid goodbye to 2011 and will welcome 2012.

2011 is never been an easy year for me. Lots of trials and hardship came across my way. But afterall those hardship, I can say that there were also a lot of things happened that need to be thankful for.

I am thankful for:

*my husband that always there to understand me and support me in any decision that I made
*my daughter that made me proud to be her mom
*my only sister that always there to rescue me and always there when I needed her
*my family that never fail to support me morally and spiritually
* my friends that never forget me
*my job that I love to do despite and inspite all the stressed that it gave me
*all the gifts that I received this christmas season
*all the wishes granted
*and above all, for the little bundle of joy inside me that is soon to come out and will say hello to the world

Now, I can say that I am ready to face the coming year and welcome 2012 with all the positivity in my heart. May this coming year be more prosperous year for all of us! So goodbye 2011, hello 2012.

New Month, New Hope

Oh, time flies so fast. It’s already September and I can already smell the Christmas in the air.

The past three months were very difficult for me most especially June and July where it was the peak of my “paglilihi”. In August, I started to feel better and slowly get back to normal life.

September makes a more promising month for me because for me it only means that:

 another birthday to look forward to. No grand celebration to happen but the thought of reaching this age makes me more grateful than before.

 another year of blissful marriage

 new nanny for KA

 an office anniversary to celebrate

 cooler mornings

 Christmas feeling that always makes me happy

 Christmas songs to hear

 mall sales to look forward to

 more travel out of town

 and more, more blessings to come

May this September be a great month to all of us! MERRY CHRISTMAS NA! Yehey…. I love it!

Revisiting 2010 and a hopeful start for 2011

Before I finally close my 2010 chapter, please allow me to look back once again.

First, I’ll evaluate my 2010 new year’s resolutions, wishes and wants and tell you what happened.

♠ Go on diet and discipline myself to have a daily exercise – Sorry but I failed to do this. Eating and sleeping became my outlet whenever things went wrong rather than ranting and ranting which will just make the situation worst.

♠ Spend more quality time with the family –whenever times permit me to do so, I always stay with my family and spent quality time with them especially with my daughter. We got lots of bonding time last year.

♠ Visit my parents & siblings as well as my in-laws in the province as often as possible – Ohh…ohh…I haven’t travelled this year. I miss them so much but my schedule doesn’t permit me to visit them. Sorry folks, may this 2011 be a little bit friendlier for us than last year.

♠ Read more books – oh yeah! Of course, I was able to accomplish this one. I’ve done reading 6 books by Sidney Sheldon, 3 books by Mitch Albom, 2 books by Nicholas Sparks and 5 ebooks by Ruth Ann Nordin.

♠ Save up for the future and for KA’s schooling needs – Sorry but with all the financial trouble that I went through, saving up for her schooling needs became impossible for me. I am just lucky to have enough money to cover all our expenses. But hopefully this year, everything will be much better.

♠ Blog more often –Though I did not update my blog as often as I want, I think it is still reasonable to say that I was able to maintain my blog last year.

♠ Save more to buy car and start a business –No saving for that car that hubby and I wanted. But towards the end of the year, my sister and I were able to start the business that we planned to do.

♠ Buy a laptop –ooh…oohh again. No laptop for me yet.

♠ Enroll for a refresher course or to driving class – My time and my financial conditions does not permit me to enroll for a refresher course last year. And as to that driving class, I am no longer interested. After I witnessed the accident and saw the driver died on the spot, I decided not to pursue to enroll in any driving class.

♠ Reconnect with friends and former classmates – sad to say, I did not exert an extra effort to reconnect with them. I only contacted my former teachers and exchange some updates with them.

Next, let me share to you 5 things that hurt me and made me worried a lot but at the same time made me keep quiet just to make things easier for everyone:

♠ The transition period at work.
♠ The controversies faced by our office.
♠ The financial crisis that we went through.
♠ The dengue that hits KA.
♠ The accusation of some military men to my brother as an NPA informant.

Then, of course, if there were lots of not so good things happened, there were also good things that I should be thankful for 2010 and here are few of them:

♠ I am thankful for my good health.
♠ I am thankful for the full support that my husband gave.
♠ I am thankful for my daughter that never fails to cheer me up.
♠ I am thankful for the understanding and love that my family showed.
♠ I am thankful for lots of friends including those online friends who were there to support me morally, spiritually and sometimes financially.
♠ I am thankful for I still have my job and my boss picked me again to be his support staff.
♠ I am thankful for all the gifts that I received this year.
♠ I am thankful for all the books that I had read and for those waiting in my shelves to be read.
♠ I am thankful for all the strength and for surviving lots of challenges that I encountered.
♠ Above all, I am thankful for God that did not abandon me and never gets tired of me even if sometimes I forgot to talk to Him.

Finally, as much as I love writing my resolution, for this year, I don’t want to make a list of the things that I want to happen or accomplish. I just live my life a day at a time. And will enjoy everything that comes along my way, face all the challenges that I will encounter and above all trust God with all my heart for I know He always has a good reason for everything.

I believe and I know it in my heart that 2011 will be going to be a better year for all of us. So friends, I wish you all the best for this year. Let us always keep the positivity in ourselves alive! A prosperous 2011 to all!

Grateful Friday!

{source}

Today, I am very grateful because….

… I already got my Philhealth forms and other requirements needed for my reimbursement of expenses from the hospital where KA got confined. After two weeks of waiting, finally my papers are ready to be filed at Philhealth office.

… I already paid the cash I borrowed and used for KA’s hospitalization. OMG, it gave me sleepless nights because I am force to pay it as soon as possible.

… My family & friends are in good health and safe.

… Tomorrow is no work day so I am not obliged to wake up very early. Though, I am still undecided whether I am going to stay home or go malling/window shopping. *wink*

… Today, I am happy, relax, contented and feel so blessed. I am really enjoying a worry-free day today.

Now, I am spreading some positive vibes here. Have a wonderful & blessed weekend to all. God bless!

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”.
~Confucious~

“Reflect Each Day On All You Have To Be Grateful For
And You Will Receive More To Be Grateful For”.
~Chuck Danes~

likes & dislikes...

It is my privilege to be part of the two months training sponsored by the PAHRDF. It is a two months training but it was broken down into different sessions. The first 2 days was held in PHINMA Training Center in Tagaytay City last March 11&13. The next 3 days was held in Oasis Hotel in Clark, Pampanga last March 25 & 26 and on April 7. The rest will be held here in Manila, but the venue is yet to be determined.

But instead of discussing more about the topic on that said training, let me just share to you some random things that I like and dislike during the training.

First session: Tagaytay City

Likes:

♥ The weather. While it is too hot in Metro Manila, it made me love the cold weather in Tagaytay. The rain drizzled a little during that day and it added to the coldness of the weather. Ang sarap ng feeling. Parang naka air-conditioned pa din sa labas. Hehehe.

♥ The trainor/consultant. I love the way our trainor/consultant teaches us. They are not boring. They are so passionate on what they are doing. And if I am going to rate them from 1 to 10 then I’ll give them a perfect score.

♥ The new learning’s. I learned and discovered a lot of things during our training.

♥ The venue. I like the place where we stayed. The room accommodation, the conference room, the dining area and other facilities are good. It is just so comfortable to stay there.

♥ The food. They provide us with sumptuous meals. Despite the fact that we were just around 20 persons, the hotel allowed us to take their buffet. Their food is good enough that made me gained more weights. *gosh* sira ang diet ko, promise!

Dislikes:

► The irritant callers. There were people that keep on calling me even if they knew that I was in the training. They’re so makulit. There were times that I was forced to turn off my cellphone but they still found ways to contact me which was through the number of my officemate, then made pakisuyo para lang makausap ako. And that really distracted me.

► The sharing part. On the first day, our trainor instructed us to recall all the significant events in our life by drawing our life line then shared our experiences with the group. I hate that part because it touched the very sensitive part of my past. Those even made me cry especially on the part that I had to tell the story about my family.


Second session: Clark, Pampanga

Likes:

♥ The speaker/trainor. Another speaker was assigned for this session and I also like the way she teaches us. The way she explained the topic assigned to her. The way she trained us and the way she treated us.

♥ The getting to know each other better. As we go along with our training, I got the chance to know more about my officemate. Yong mga dating hi-hello lang sa office eh medyo nag-improve na because we have to work as a team. And I love it kasi mas nakilala ko sila.

♥ The new knowledge acquired. Of course, I always embrace the new knowledge that I learned for every session that we have.

♥ The venue. The venue – the room accommodation, the conference room, the dining area and other facilities are good. It is clean and the hotel employees are so accommodating & friendly.

Dislikes:

► The food. Aww, sad to say I didn’t like their food. The fish are no longer fresh. So medyo nadiet ako dito. We complained and gladly bumawi naman sila on our last meal.

► The weather. It was so hot there. Feeling ko mas mainit pa kaysa sa Manila.

► The unexpected reschedule of activity. We were supposed to have our 3-day training last March 25-27 but some unexpected things happened. After the second day session, 5 among us decided to go back to Manila for some personal reason/s. So the trainor decided to postpone and rescheduled the next session kaya kinailangan pa naming bumalik sa Clark ng April 7 (birthday kaya ng anak ko yon) *sigh*

That’s it! Up next I’ll share to you some pictures during our wawa dam adventure!

i'm back!

Gosh! I was so quiet for almost a month now. I’m very sorry for that my friends. I took a blog vacation without even saying anything. But I think that was the best thing to do than to spread all the negative vibes in the blogosphere..

But guys, I would like you to know that I really miss you a lot! I was very busy lately and I don’t even have time to go online and check your updates in plurk, facebook and of course your blog. Bawi na lang ako, promise!

Anyway, I’m back and hopefully I can go online more often now. Hindi ko pa pwedeng sabihing everyday kasi marami pang kailangang tapusing work plus my training is still not over. I think more than a month pa yong training namin. I’ll share some pictures on my next post.

That’s it for now, enjoy and have time to reflect and pray this Lenten season. Be safe everyone!

15 on 15: randomness galore!

I planned to write an update on a weekly basis for this year but sad to say, I failed. After my first attempt on drafting my first weekly update, I felt unsatisfied and hit the delete button in my computer.

Now, since it is already half of the month, I’ll just write 15 random updates, rants, thoughts, feelings, advises, and lessons that I felt and I learned for the past 15 days.

Here they are:

► Fear and sadness are still in the air at the office in connection with the rationalization and reorganization happened to our office.

► Our salary for this year decreased. They said the office don’t have enough funds to cover our previous rate.

► As per GSIS online record, my cash advance last 2006 still has a balance of more than half of the principal amount I borrowed considering that the office started to deduct from my salary sometimes in the last quarter of 2006. And that the personnel concerned in deducting and paying my loan wasn’t able to give me any paper on how much the total amount deducted and paid to the GSIS. So, what I can do now is reconcile everything from the payslip and payroll that I have.

♥ For two weeks now, I keep on bringing packed lunch for hubby and I to save us money from buying foods from the nearby fastfood/canteen.

♥ I need some inspiration and motivation. It is so hard to write or do something when you are actually not inspired to do it.

♥ I received a lot of spam emails this January more specifically from persons who asked help about the money left by their wealthy relatives, etc..etc…Feeling ko tuloy malapit na akong yumaman. Hehehe…

♥ My word for the month is “GOSH”. I don’t know why but that is the first word that always comes out with my big mouth. Lol. That’s my expression whenever I got shocked or simple saying my comments to what other people are saying.

♥ I have to double time on reading. My target is to read at least one book a month. And yet I haven’t started reading for this month. Anyway, I still have 15 days more to go.

♥ I got my 2010 planner and yet it is still clean and I haven’t written anything on it.

♥ When my husband asked me what day will February 13 & 14 fall, I thought he will ask me for a date but I was wrong, he will watch slam dank lang pala. *grrr*

♠ Explore as many outlet as I can. Life is full of surprises. There are a lot of ups and downs that I need to deal with. And that having a lot of outlet during those bad times will really help me take things a little bit easier and move on faster.

♠ Never buy anything that will not satisfy my needs & wants. For example, I am planning to buy laptop or netbook computer this year but I am still undecided whether the big one or the smaller one. My sister told me, please do check and think what you really need & want. And do not buy something that will not satisfy you just for the sake of having such thing or for the simple reason that it is cheaper than the other because sooner or later you will realize that you are not happy on what you have.

♠ Don’t give up! With so many trials that is really bothering me lately, I must admit that there are times that I lost hope and almost give up.

But HE whispered to me this one:


“Dear Eds,


Don't give up. Life rewards those who persevere.
I promise you that if you don't give up, ultimately, you will find that open door. It has been waiting for you.


Your Door Opener,


God


P.S. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Eds , I made you tough.”


(Note: Thanks witsandnuts for the link.)


♠ Stay calm. With a lot of irritants roaming around, I really have to hold my temper. Idaan sa kain ang lahat ng problema, hehehe

♠ Above all, think positive and be positive!


I’m done. Whew, Thanks God it’s Friday again. Tomorrow I am not obliged to wake up very early.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

What are you thankful for this 2009?

2009 has been a not so good year for me. It has been such a rollercoaster that there were lots of ups and downs. But it doesn’t mean that it’s a total failure for me. Of course I have a lot of things that should be thankful for.

I am thankful for the good health that me and my family have.

I am thankful for having an understanding, loving and caring husband.

I am thankful for having a smart daughter.

I am thankful for having a wonderful family.

I am thankful for the new house that we have.

I am thankful for all my friends that never fail to support me morally, spiritually and even financially.

I am thankful that during the typhoon Ondoy, my family and all my loveones were safe.

I am thankful that I still have a job despite the many challenges that came to our office.

I am thankful for having my blog and moving into the next level which is earning through blogging.

I am thankful for all the gifts that I received this year.

I am thankful for all the new books that I have and read.

I am thankful for surviving all the trials that I’ve encountered this year.

I am thankful for getting over those bad feelings and negative vibes that I encountered especially this last quarter of the year.

And of course, I am thankful because at the end of the day no matter how tough the situation is, I can still have a peaceful sleep.

******
This is my entry to the moleskine planner giveaway sponsored by avalonph.

inspirational quote on a monday

{photo via}

Have compassion for everyone you meet,

even if they don't want it.

What appears bad manners, an ill temper or cynicism

is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.

You do not know what wars are going on down there

where the spirit meets the bone.

~~Miller Williams~~

Happy Monday everyone!

Some reasons to be grateful today!

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands,
because if we are not grateful,
then no matter how much we have we will not be happy –
because we will always want to have something else or something more.
~Brother David Steindl-Rast~

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die;
so, let us all be thankful
~Buddha~

Despite the very busy schedule that I have and the biggest challenge that was given to our family these days, I know I have a lot of things to be thankful today.

That today is Friday, last day of work for this week. I still have a lot of things to accomplish and the boss is still out of the office, but I think I can finish everything before I go home later this afternoon.

That tomorrow is another weekend. I am going to spend it with my daughter who wishes to be at my side all the time. But I really can’t because I have to work in order for us to live.

That on Sunday, I am turning a year older again but I still don’t have any plan on how and where I am going to spend my special day.

That I still love my work and I am happy in the company where I belong despite some challenges that we are facing right now. Election is just few months away and that only means that we are going to have a new boss again.

That my family together with the in-laws is still holding on and keeps on supporting each other especially this time that one member of the family is very sick and just given 6 months to live. We are still hoping that God will grant our prayers to add a few more years for him to live and be with his children.

That I have friends that never fail to make me smile and keep me inspired to move on with my life. Friends that remind me that life is still fair no matter what challenges come along my way.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
~Marcel Proust~

Saying thank you is more than good manners.
It is good spirituality.
~Alfred Painter~

We can only be said to be alive in those moments
when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
~-Thornton Wilder~

Thank you LORD. Thank you everyone.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

randomness!

{ photo source}

►I am emotionally disturbed. No matter how I tried my best not to think of other people’s problem and just concentrate on my life, I really can’t ignore them. They are people close to my heart and their problems affect me. I don’t want to see them lonely. This is the times that I really wish to have a magical power to grant their wishes and make them happy ever after.

►I had my haircut a week ago for three reasons. First, I am stressed and fixing my long hair seems to be an added burden for me. Second, I am always in a hurry every morning and having a long hair makes me stay long in taking a bath. And third, I want to save shampoo and conditioner.

►I am a little bit sad because all the chic literature books I am eyeing to buy online were already out of stock. *sigh* I am suppose to order those yesterday. Now, I don’t know how long it will take to see those books available again.

►I already feel that Christmas is in the air and I am very excited about it. I already saw few houses along my way home yesterday having a Christmas decorations. I can’t wait to buy my own Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations at home. And I can imagine how happy my daughter will be seeing lighted Christmas lights again.

►I am silently praying to be included in the travel in Iloilo City or in Bacolod City this coming September. Since I started working here in the office in 2005, I only traveled once to Cebu City last 2006. Although I was offered to travel few times in 2007-2008, I declined them because I am feeling guilty to leave my daughter in her nanny even in a single night. And now that she is old enough and my sister is the one taking care of her, I think this is the time that I really have to consider traveling again. So, Bro can you hear me? Santino I mean Santina is here. Lol.

►I am a registered voter now. After 64 years of being a bad citizen I mean 12 years of not exercising my right to vote, I made a decision to go back to the COMELEC office and registered. At the age of 17, I got frustrated when my first employer did not permit me to go out to register and vote during the SK election in 1996 when my constituents pushed me to run for a SK Kagawad. (Anyway, I won but I did not occupy my seat.) When I was 18 years old I really don’t want to register and vote. I’m in Manila already and no one among the family is trying to push me to do it. But when I reached 21 years old, I went to COMELEC in Quezon City with some of my officemates and tried to register but they don’t want to accommodate us for some reasons that I really don’t understand. And I never attempted to register again until such time that we transfer to another place where we currently live. I want to be a good citizen of the Republic of the Philippines now and I’ll go out and will vote for the first time this coming 2010 elections.

realization for the week!

I miss lurking at plurk. I can’t even manage to open it lately and I think my karma goes down again.

I seldom go online lately. After work or during break time I find myself reading books that I borrowed from my sister. And kinikilig na naman ako reading love stories. hehehe

Busy schedules and urgent works made me burnt out and I want to unwind. Thanks God it’s already Friday today. Later this afternoon I am going to attend a birthday party. Yeheeeey……..

Happy weekend everyone!

assessment & shift of plans

When I wrote my goals and aspirations for 2009 here, I was so inspired and determined that I can be able to achieve them. But when problems started to build up early this year, I knew that there are things that I really have to give up.

As early as today, I know it in my heart that I failed.

First, the enrollment period was over and I was not able to enroll for a refresher course. It’s all about the financial crisis that we are currently undertaking because we spent money for our house renovation more than the budget we allotted for it. Good thing we are slowly but surely moving on. And hopefully we can go back to normal situation in two months time.

Second, I can’t manage my time properly now. I am still getting used to my new schedule. With us living too far away from our office, I need to wake up very early in the morning. Prepare everything and leave home before 6 o’clock in the morning. That made me feels so sleepy while I am in the office. Another thing is, with lot of household choirs to do, I am very much overwhelmed. In the end, I easily got tired and end up accomplishing nothing.

Third, I was not able to update my blog daily. With the poor time management that I currently have, I need to set aside my blog for a while and concentrate first to some other things.

Those failures and some family problems made me feel a little bit depressed too. But instead of concentrating on being a loser, I tried my best to find an outlet and that’s reading books. Thanks again to my donors – redlan, princess_dyanie and to my other friends who lend some books to me and even accompanied me to the second hand bookstore near our office.

And now that I failed to enroll for a refresher course, I’m planning to enroll in a driving school before the year end. I’m just getting ready. Who knows, the car might comes soon. Think Positive! Think Positive!

Also, we are planning to start a small business. Though I have a little knowledge when it comes to the actual operation of business, I know we can do it.

So, wish me some luck friends. Your prayers will be very much appreciated.

Was she trying to deceit me or she really needs some help?

It was Monday afternoon when I felt hungry. I went to the nearest Jollibee outlet, ordered some burger meal. After I got my order, I sat down outside the store. I waited for an officemate to get her share. While waiting, I called hubby and texted an officemate afterward. Then, all of a sudden, a lady across my table approached me.

Lady: Miss pwede makitext?
Me: Ha??? In a mataray voice and with matching taas ng kilay. (mahirap ata magtiwala!)
Lady: Patext naman isa lang. Ulit pa ng babae.

That time, I noticed two policemen seated in front of my table. That made me feels a little bit safe.

Me: Sige, pero ako magtetext. Ano sasabihin ko?
Lady: Andito na ako sa Jollibee.
Me: anong number?
Lady: 0922 …..blah…blah ( she said the number)
Me: ano nga pala name mo?
Lady: Q….. (her name)

Then, I sent the message.

After a minute, the lady went away.
At the back of my mind, I asked myself raket kaya yon or talagang she needs some help lang.

And I went back to the office.

Later in the evening, I told hubby what happened.

H: Akala mo naisahan mo sya dahil hindi mo binigay ang cellphone mo? Kinuha lang nya lang number mo noh!
Me: Medyo napaisip. Oo nga noh! Di bale kapag ginulo nya ako eh di magpalit nalang ako ng sim.
H: Palagay ko nga. Magpalit ka na lang.
Me: Pero tingnan ko muna. Baka naman talagang nangangailangan lang ng tulong yon. Mukhang desente naman sya eh.
H: hmmm…..

And we went to sleep.

But until today, medyo palaisipan pa rin sa akin ang tunay na motibo ng babaeng iyon.

Did you already encountered such incident?

my love for keeping a diary was reborn

Blogging is my way of improving my writing skills, expressing my thoughts and feelings and meeting new friends. But we all know that there is always a limitation on everything. There are things that we cannot share here in the blogosphere and must be kept all by ourselves.

For the past few months, I was so upset. So problematic that was. I encountered a lot of challenges in life. I had the financial problems, family problems and the never ending problems with the nanny.

During those days, I tried to write and blog about what’s happening in me. I drafted it in my desktop but end up deleting them after one or two paragraphs. I am not inspired to write. I can’t put them into a readable form. The tone of my writings seems to reflect my anger and all the hatred in my heart.

To lessen the burden in my heart, I decided to write down everything in my notebook. I list down anything and everything that came into my mind. I scribbled about my real feelings, my rants, even the persons involve and what he/she did wrong to me. For I know nobody will gonna read and comments on my notes.

Day after day, I read what I wrote. Then I start writing again on another page. Until such time that I noticed that the tone of my writings became lighter and lighter everyday.

Today, I can say that I already moved on. I now have a happy heart and my mind can now produce happy thoughts.

It is true that writing what’s in my mind and what’s in my heart in a piece of paper slowly but surely helped me a lot to recover. And my love for keeping a diary was reborn.

How about you? When was the last time you write your thoughts and feelings in a piece of paper?

friday inspiration

Thanks God It's Friday!

And i want to share to you this Inspirational Quote:

Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.

~~Jim Beggs~~

Happy Weekend Everyone!

personal highlights 2008

{photo credit}

It’s my first time to look back and write about the personal highlights for the past year just for the purpose of reflection and memory keeping.

First Quarter

♥ Since my mother left us when I was only 11 years old, I don’t have any chance to meet my cousins and uncles/aunties on her side except for her younger sister who became K.A’s first nanny and her younger brother who accompanied her in the house on the day that she bid goodbye to us. I knew them by their names but I do not have any idea on how do they look like. Last year, marked the difference because I was able to see their pictures for the first time. I was able to talked with them too because my mother gave my number to them and I was able to know them better. Though I haven’t met them in person, I know that someday soon we are going to visit them.

♥ My mother visited us for the first time here in Manila and stayed with us for few days.

Second Quarter

♥ My father and my brothers also visited us and stayed with us for a week after my mother’s visit.

♥ K.A celebrated her first birthday last April.

♥ I was inspired and decided to continue my blog last May.

♥ My auntie, K.A’s first baby sitter left us and made us miss her so much.

♥ We found another baby sitter for K.A. That made me paranoid for the first few months. The time for adjustments for all of us.

Third Quarter

♥ I got my first Nokia camera phone as hubby’s birthday gift to me. And at the same time, my mother-in-law traveled just to be with us on my birthday.

Fourth Quarter

♥ After 64 years, I mean, more that a year of waiting, our housing loan was finally approved. But I still don’t have the house key. The key turn-over ceremony and the orientation will be on Saturday, January 10.

♥ My family informed me that my younger brother is going to get married this coming April 2009.

I'm thankful to God for everything.

Now, I am starting my life for 2009 with lots of hope and love in my heart.

What are you thankful for this year (2008)?

2008 is about to end and a long holiday vacation here in the Philippines is just few more days to go. But before I take my vacation, let me share to you all the things that I should be thankful for this year.

Though life is a never ending struggle for me, still there are lots of good things that happened to me this year.

Let me summarize them this way:

FAMILY for:
I was able to give my daughter a simple yet memorable first birthday party. Hubby and I were not able to experience such a party for our own birthday. Birthday for me is just an ordinary day.

I have a happy married life. Our relationship as husband and wife are still very much ok. Though, we encountered lots of misunderstanding but that thing is just part of life, just a spice wika nga!

I still have healthy and strong parents. Seeing/knowing that both of them are healthy is a big thing to thank God. Though, they have their own separate lives, I know that both of them are happy for each other chosen kind of life.

I have a very much understanding and very supportive siblings. Everyone is willing to help each other in times of needs. In addition, our younger brother is getting married. So, we are expecting addition member to the family and we are all happy for that.

I have a very good relationship with in-laws. I know that they are just a call away if I need some help.

CAREER/JOB for:
I still have stable job. Despite everything that happened to our office, I am still so lucky that I still have my job.

My job is not so demanding and stressful compared to others.

For I only have to report to work from Monday to Friday at 8:00 o’clock in the morning to 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon.

It gives me money to support our financial needs.

I have an opportunity to meet new people.

FRIENDS for:
They are always there to support me through thick and thin.

They are always there willing to cheer me up when I am so down and blue.

They accepted me for who am I.

BLOGGING/ONLINE LIFE for:
This is the year that I started to improve and maintain my blog.

It gives me an opportunity to meet new people and make friends.

It makes me think and exercise my brain and my writing skills.

It served as my outlet when I am so stress with my life.

OTHERS for:
I was able to survive all the trials that came into my life.

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Be thankful for what you have;

you’ll end up having more.

If you concentrate on what you don’t have,

you will never, ever have enough.

{source here}

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This is also my entry for the final leg of the Avalon.ph blog hopping Moleskine Giveaways.