Thank God It's Friday

Good morning folks! It’s another beautiful Friday morning! Beautiful because it is the signal the week’s end and finally some cherished time with the family. Lately, the little one has mastered the art of making me feel guilty for leaving her to go to work. Haaaay. If only she knew how I would rather stay home with her… I’m hoping I’ll be able to that soon. =)

Gratitude Journal

I’ve been keeping a gratitude journal for a couple of weeks now and I’ve realized that there are just too many things to be thankful for. There are so many answered prayers that are left unnoticed and taken for granted.

Keeping a gratitude journal is simple really. It is similar to a diary where in you jot down things you are grateful for that day. However instead of ranting about the disasters and woes of the day (the ones we write about in a diary) we write only good things… and if there are bad events or people, we try to find the good in them and be thankful for that. It has really been an eye opener for me. Even when things are not so good, I am forced to think of what’s good and positive so I can thank God for that.

The gratitude journal has helped me see the silver lining in almost everything I do everyday. It has made me look for the single drop of goodness even in the man whose neck I’d like to wring the most =) It has made me a better person I think… in the past weeks at least. Hopefully I’d stick to this and do it forever. =)

Cebu here we come! Sinulog Festival 2010

I'm so excited! we are planning to go to Cebu early next year for the sinulog festival! weeee! i am really looking forward the trip! it will be my first time to ride a plane and be somewhere really far! hahaha! i know, pathetic huh?

Every January, the most anticipated event of the year brings the city to life. The Sinulog dance.... and vibrant costumes. One of the tourist attractions in Cebu is the annual celebration of Sinulog. It is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines. The festival is held each year during the third week of January in the City of Cebu to honor the the Santo Nino or the child Jesus.

There is a procession. After the procession, high mass is celebrated. Following the mass, devotees who have petitions begin to perform the Sinulog dance. Many people believe that their hopes in life are answered by dancing the Sinulog after the solemn procession.

Thousands of pilgrims and devotees from all over the country flock to the streets going to the Basilica bringing with them candles, rosaries, and replicas of the child Jesus. Likewise, parishioners from different parishes, business sectors, colleges and universities, government officials, archdiocesan organizations and all sectors in the Cebuano community, including group of friends, families and relatives join together in honoring the patron saint.

I really hope we can iron out all the arrangements. we have to book early as this is certainly a peak season for Cebu! =)

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Bye bye Tita Cory...

Tita Cory joined the Lord this morning...

You're free now tita cory... thanks for everything.

Bye bye tita cory, say hi to mama for me...

Cory Di Ka Nag-iisa...

This is the simple statement that accompanied Tita Cory’s smiling picture displayed by the gates of my alma mater, Miriam College. It was a prominent sight along Katipunan Road. After seeing it, I felt a deluge of feelings I have been denying for a while now. The Philippine’s well-loved Cory Aquino is sick and dying. Our Tita Cory. My Tita Cory.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year, you know by now that Cory Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer last year. Yet she stayed strong, continued to fight for what she believed in, attended gatherings for democracy and human rights, rallied behind people like Jun Lozano. She stayed strong for the Filipinos. She stayed valiant for us. Despite her illness, she was a beacon of hope and truth in a country neck-deep in dismal situations. She could’ve curled up at home, sighed wearily and said “well, I’ve done everything I can to fight for you but you resist all efforts to help yourselves. It’s up to you now. I will think of myself for a change. I want to live comfortably, be with my family, free from all worries.” But no. She stayed with us and our fight for what is right and true.

Until cancer made its presence felt more strongly.

Argh…cancer. This miserable disease that has the uncanny ability to choose the kind, selfless, wonderful, loving people in the world, inflict them with pain and turn their families lives upside down. In Tita Cory’s case, the whole country is affected. Not just her family, but every Filipino whose life and future she touched when she, a mourning widow back then, stood up against a dictator, to fight for the country her husband died for.

…and now she has reached a point where her body is starting to give in. She is now under “pain management therapy”. This must mean she is getting controlled doses of morphine to relieve the pain. We went through all that with my mother years ago. Towards the end, my mom often slept. Morphine allowed her some minutes worth of escape from the pain.

I just love how Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said “Let’s drop politics on this one and just wish the former President peace in her heart and comfort in her pains”. Yes, lets.

Maybe that’s why me and my family are so affected. When I told my father the (cruel) news that Tita Cory has died (the terrible false alarm last week), he was speechless for a few seconds, and then he said that it was just like how it was with Mama. The lack of appetite, the pain, the spread of cancer to other parts of her body. It’s like reliving my mother’s deterioration all over again.

And did I mention that mom was a die hard Cory-ista? She was. And that is probably why I am too.

I remember years back when Tita Cory called on everybody, especially those from catholic schools, to go to Ayala and attend the rally calling for Erap’s resignation. No second thoughts. That was the only time I attended a political/peace rally, during working hours, with no permission from my bosses. With 4 other officemates, we just walked out of the office and marched on along Paseo towards Ayala. That’s how I valued Tita Cory’s opinions and views. That is the power and influence she has over the Filipino people.

“Alive or close to death, it matters not. Her spirit is infectious,” Msgr. Ernie Joaquin said in his homily.

Miracles can happen. Tita Cory believed it more than anyone else. That’s why she continued to fight for us. She believed that there is hope for our seemingly hopeless situation. She believed miracles can happen.

Let’s pray for her and her family. Let us unite. “She can draw all Filipinos to herself as a dying mother will draw all her children to her bed of pain,” Joaquin also said.

Tie a yellow ribbon and let’s let her feel that we are with her in her struggle.

Tita Cory di ka nag-iisa.

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LIFEBOOK 2009

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy
5. Make time for prayer
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2008
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day ---- and while you walk, smile

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do ; keep your limits
14. Don't take yourself so seriously ; no one else does
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:

25. Call your family often
26. Each day give something good to others
27. Forgive everyone for everything
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day
30. What other people think of you is none of your business
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right things
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful
34. GOD heals everything
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
37. The best is yet to come
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
40. Always have a grateful heart.

Father's Day 09

Father's day this year was celebrated american style in our family. When my sister asked my dad how he wanted us to spend father's day, he said he wanted steaks and potatoes! hubby was only too happy to oblige! being the weekend chef, he immediately launched into planning mode. darling sister did the shopping for the meat and veggies, hubby did the grilling, i pitched in by cooking the soup and the boiled potatoes.

by the time we were done cooking, our mouths were already watering. hehehe... needless to say we had to bid farewell to our diets that day!

7 pounds lost!

woo hoo! lost 7 lbs in two weeks! hard work and will power is paying off... still lots more to lose...need to stay the course...=)

my goal: get back to my weight on my wedding day... maybe even wear my wedding gown again... bwahahaha! well, if you're going to dream, go ahead and dream big right?!

Laing Pasta...Finally

Last Saturday, hubby and I had to go to the office. Hubby dropped me off while he also went to his office to finish some reports. I finished my work earlier than expected so while waiting for him, I decided to go to the nearby bookstore. I went around the bookstore for about an hour, just killing time, before finally settling to buy a pocketbook P.S. I love you. Hmmm. It’s been a while since I last bought a pocketbook. I’ve been buying self-help, how-to’s for toddlers and scrapbooking titles, it has been years since I last bought a pocketbook. =) I was excited to just plop down and read it.

After paying for my book, I decided to go to Goldilock’s and wait for hubby there. I ordered the laing pasta and the coco guinumis. At last, the laing pasta was available! I’ve been wanting to try it for the longest time but it is not available in every branch I go to.

It was actually spaghetti noodles topped with laing, plus cheese sprinkled on top. Surprisingly, it tasted good! It’s like eating laing with rice only creamier and tastier, because of the cheese. The coco guinumis was not bad too. It was similar to iced buko pandan except I think it has cocomilk (not sure), plus it was deliciously green. I don’t know why, but I recently developed an affinity to the color green, although my green-colored snack was purely coincidence. =)

When hubby arrived, he made a face when he saw what I was eating, but when he tasted it, he had to order his own laing pasta! Hahaha! It was yummy, and I’ll definitely order it again the next chance I get!