Last Day of the Year 2012

Another year is ending, another chapter is coming to a close...

I’m really thankful for all the wonderful things that filled this year : family gatherings, friends’ get-togethers, travels, business explorations, training seminars and so much more. It’s been filled with opportunities to know more and learn more. There were a few people i know who passed away, quite sad to learn they’re gone. Others have gone on to seek greener pastures elsewhere. All the best to everyone. I also got to meet new faces this year and travel to new places and revisit old familiar ones. Happy to say that i got reconnected with old ties (both family and friends) through visits, personal meets and/or via the internet.

Here's my year 2012 in review: 

Have been happily chatting away and reconnecting with Pearl via her blog, Windowshopping, here at blogger. Ansel also writes at Allness World.

Meantime, Glo said goodbye to her blog, Daragang Magayon, as she will be busily clicking away in SG. 

Was happy to note that Gemma became very visible in FB (or was it me getting hooked with too much free time on my hand?).

Kept constantly updated about happenings with friends Cherry and Melai through FB, even though they are already living miles across the ocean.

Enjoyed my Lenten reprieve at our farm in ZDS.

Met with av and stayed at her place then had breakfast at my fave place Rowena's!

 Here are some fam pics in iligan and zamboanga during the summer, fiesta and clan reunion.

Met with QA gals who i have missed a lot. so sweet of them to treat me so kindly. And 'twas a happy birthday dinner for tikz and bona as well. Got updated about news at the plant once again.

Joined a baking seminar so that i can help mommy set up the bakery or home bakeshop that she's been hoping to have.

Also attended the coffee summit organized by the phil. coffee board. Sure learned much about coffee that i never knew before, esp. the topography of the industry in our country. I even took home a poster on coffee planting to bring back home to share with the folks in our farm. Am so wildly hoping to be a coffee entrepreneur someday.

Met with CS friends cath, jing and marvz after such a long time. First, i went with jayne to register at the mandaluyong city hall (yipee, we're officially registered now!) then we hooked up with cath in alabang and proceeded to marvz and jing's new place at la marea.

Lennie and george's family came home for a vacation. Was sure glad to meet with them again. kuya came to meet with george. The kids have grown a lot. And it was my first time to see the twins (who are so opposite in character but both so sweet really!).  How wonderful to talk to a good friend after so long. 

Went to attend siosy's wedding at club balai isabel in batangas. The place is nice. But the people are more important to be with. Happy to see jing, meanne, av, tikz, ganda and siosy once again.

Set up a get-together with CS gals as i was not able to attend the big gathering during this year's Kapnayan. Happy to dine and wine with folks beautiful at heart. And at the same time was able to see the home bakeshop of pretty sis miel in her apartment in marikina. Glad to meet Miel and Din after so long.

Went back to yupielbi to meet the birthday girls (mga bru) loren and bjing. As usual, laughter was overflowing and sharing of memorable moments so priceless!

Sure am glad i was able to see my classmate from high school, meliza dela paz-clancy, who took time out to see me before heading off for their family's trip down south (bohol-camiguin-cagayan-iligan). Still smart and pretty, well-grounded and big-hearted as i remember her.

Was happy that lexa and kwin could squeeze in some time to see me this christmas season just as the holiday rush was coming. AV organized the christmas dinner and i was happy to relate to them my latest raket on the bath and body products i've been making for giveaways.  

And, of course, the AS sisses also had a get-together at det's place. Food was sublime and the talk equally precious.

And here are pics of some items i've  produced as our "market research" attempt. Hopefully, we can go full blast by this year, once things get finalized. I'm happy with the feedback i've been getting. And we continue to solicit comments and suggestions to better improve our products.

Christmas day was celebrated with my family this year at our home here in Iligan. I am very grateful for the faces around the table as we celebrated Christmas day. My family really are God's greatest gift to me. I look forward to a brighter, healthier and happier year ahead. My heartfelt gratitude to all who have been a part of my life’s journey for this year 2012.

My fervent wishes for more blessings to all of us for this year 2013. May our lives be filled with peace and hope and love!

                                            

The Word Made Flesh

Gospel Acclamation:

       The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted Him he gave power to become the children of God. 

John 1 : 1-18

       In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ....

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In this season of joy, divinity came down from heaven to visit us and dwell with us. He lived among us only to die for us. May we not forget the real meaning of Christmas.

Christ is the reason for the season. Without Christ there is no Christmas!

Full Saturday

saturday was completely filled with activity. trish woke me up at four in the morning so we can go to the tiangge. we usually buy clothes for gifts and for ourselves as well at the tiangge where the prices are so low. and what's more, they're all made by filipino garment-makers. as part of my resolution this year to patronize filipino entrepreneurs, i've been buying only philippine-made items for giveaways and for personal use; be it clothes, paper-made gift items, food, bags, clothes, etc. i think that it helps to lift the economy somehow when we are patronizing our very own business enterprises and not the korean and chinese items proliferating anywhere nowadays.

then, we had to rush to bring langga to school as they will be preparing for their school play competition in the afternoon. and off we went to salcedo village in makati to see what's there to buy. again, our own small entrepreneurs are there selling their products and produce. one can see all good food everywhere; e.g., pancakes, milk, gourmet tuyo, tinapa (we bought jaq's sumptuous vodka tinapa and tinapa with malunggay), breads, pizza, pasta, meat cuts, filipino ulam, ice cream, taho, etc..   and the organic produce were a sight to see. trish made sure to buy some stuff and greens for salad at home. after having our fill of what's to see and taste and smell there, we were on our way home.

pics i took were only of the flowers near the entrance/exit when we were already leaving.

hardly have we sat down, when the phone rang and we were fetched by trish's mom, tita chelle, as they still have to check out several places and confirm the venue for their christmas party. we just freshened up a bit and again were on our way out the door. trish hurriedly took a picture of me at Serendra while tita chelle was busy on the phone.

at one o'clock in the afternoon, we had to go back to rockwell to watch the musical competition. it was a competition between the year levels. Grade 7 played The Sound of Music, 2nd Year played Miss Saigon (good acting for their actors!), 3rd Year played Cats and 4th Year played The Phantom of the Opera. well, i was only able to take a pic of the first one to perform and after that, my phone went dead.

here's a peek at the fab costumes of the cast of Cats:

each year level took almost an hour each for their chosen musical so it was already past six when we decided to go home. sure was glad to be back home. took a bath and soon headed off to dreamland.

Simbang Gabi 2012

Simbang Gabi has started, not only here in the Philippines but anywhere else where there's a Filipino community. this is a tradition of filipinos to attend novena masses in preparation for Christmas. originally conducted as misa de gallo or dawn mass, presently it is also celebrated as anticipated mass the night before.

i hope i will be able to complete all nine days this year. i also pray for everyone to be able to complete their novena masses this year.

What Date is Today?

the date for today when written in the shortcut form is quite memorable. just like the 10-11-12 date that i've blogged about before, this date is easy to remember. why? just because... duh!    ",)

it'll take another century to have this date again. i reckon i won't be around anymore when that happens. at the 22nd century, again, it'll start with 01-01-01, then 02-02-02, and so forth... ahh, but that's too far away from now.

looking at things this way, a lifetime is just too short.

need to do all the things that i want to do in this lifetime. need to fill my life with meaning.

Biz Planning

it's quite exciting having something worthwhile to do again... after  along time.

plans are a-hatching. but still need to continue with the 'market research', so to speak. this may take a while but i do believe that all good things come to those who wait.. and hope.. and pray.. and pour in enough effort to bring our plans to fruition.

PacMan Lost by KO

* photo courtesy of pacquiaovideo.com

it's a sad day for Filipinos. the people's champ lost his fight today at the MGM Grand Garden Arena to Juan Manuel Marquez by a knockout in Round 6. i don't really know anything about boxing so i'll leave it to other bloggers to talk about the technicalities of the game. to me, it's just another case of  'you win some, you lose some'.

Lazy Sunday

today was a lazy day for us here at the house. no laundry was done (clothes piling up high now), no food was cooked (we bought food from outside), yep, no heavy cleaning at all (just the light surface cleaning trish did early in the morning to clear up the table from its mess). we were all busy in front of our computer / notebook typing away and/or just surfing the net.

am happy i finally finished AV's order for Christmas giveaways in her canteen. will have to start making the eau de cologne now so they can age in time for delivery.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Gospel Accalamation:

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.

========

Today celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics here in the Philippines. This feast is not about the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, but it is about the conception of Mary in the womb of  her mother St. Anne and by her father, St. Joachim. As per Roman Catholic doctrine, from the very moment of her conception, she was already filled with the grace of God and her most pure soul has never been stained with sin so she could be a pure vessel worthy of carrying the Lord Jesus in her womb and through her God could enter the world.

Prayer to the Immaculate Conception

O God,
who by the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son,
we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain,
so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Invocaion in honor of Mary Immaculate

Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse to you

On Relationships

saw someone post this on FB. i just thought it's nice! and so very true....

My Project

posting here some pics of what i have been busy with these past few weeks. enrolled in some livelihood training seminars (am not employed, you see). need to earn this christmas season. hopefully this will eventually be a business with trish (thanks for the support - moral, physical and financial) and some friends.

At SM Marikina Today

met up with meliza for lunch. meliza is a friend from way back in high school at pisay diliman. she and her family now lives in australia since she married an aussie. they came home for an 8-week vacation. anthony's mom (mel's mom-in-law) came along for the vacay. and she's having fun. their pics on facebook tells it all.

well, had super fun as well, reminiscing and sharing/updating each other on what's happening with our lives now.  was real glad she liked my gift for her.

Pablo Came and Went

when we got wind of the news that a strong typhoon (stronger than Sendong) was coming, everyone back home got ready for another lashing from mother nature.

 

the weather bureau has labelled it as the strongest typhoon to hit Mindanao in two decades. and with the traumatic experience of Sendong from the previous year still very much alive in people's minds, there was intensified info dissemination and LGU campaign to prepare Iliganons for a possible calamity. the power and electric company has advised for everyone to charge all devices that may be needed as it will be shutting down electricity once the storm sets in. there was an enforced mandatory evacuation for those who are in high risk zones. and almost everyone (even those not physically there) were monitoring the news channels and internet updates on the storm. because there was a sudden change in direction and speed of the typhoon, destruction was lessened. still, there were casualties in areas rattled by pablo. Purok 9A across us was again deep in water and houses in Orchids Village were submerged/flooded up to the windows. in surigao/ compostela valley, landslides happened. deaths occurred. some people's lives will be scarred. but with the typical resilience that Filipinos are known for, we can make a move forward once again.

we worried over here in manila because we could't call home in the early hours of tuesday morning, the predicted timing for pablo to enter davao area of responsibility. telephone lines were cut and the various networks were down as well. but my brother was posting updates on his plurk (via mom's so we got pacified. finally i was able to place a long distance call home and talked to mommy. in the evening, daddy called also and told us he could not contacted because he was conserving energy so he switched off his phone to open only when necessary.

now the sun's come out. the storm has passed. will need to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding homes. but most importantly, another opportunity has been given to build up lives, making it stronger than before.  life has got to be celebrated!

Cardinal Tagle

the philippines' very own Manila Archbishop Antonio Luis Tagle is now officially a member of the College of Cardinals. Pope Benedict has installed six new cardinals today and one of them is Archbishop Tagle or should i say, Cardinal Tagle. 

how great is your mighty work oh Lord! 

KCon 2012

attended the first day of the Kerygma Conference 2012 today at the MOA ARENA and SMX Convention Center.



it was just awesome! i told my sis-in-law trish that i'd be dropping by a friend's place immediately after because i was just too excited about what i learned and heard from today's worship and Business stream that i attended and i wanted to share it with my friend. hopefully this will be the start of a wonderful story to move us forward to be champions. please bless us Lord!

Mommy's Birthday

it was mommy's birthday yesterday. texted her early since i slept very late (or rather already early morning) and got her reply just abour mid-day.

we are so blessed to have mommy in our lives. may the Lord continue to give us the gift of you for years to come. we love you, 'my!

Grateful But Once Again

happy to hear mass again tonight. was surprised to see the church so full-packed. turns out that today is the 4th anniversary of the Dedication of the Our Lady Of Fatima Parish Church. so i really felt so happy when i realized that Rev. Gaudencio Rosales came to officiate the mass even though he is already retired. he related that he is already staying in Lipa and tending to the farm. since it was he who officiated the dedication four years ago, the parish thought it best to invite him again and he was so glad to be back.

had a very enlightening evening. again, got reminded about God's constant prodding in our lives. Rev. Rosales reminded us to be mindful that Jesus may be talking to us or trying to get our attention in the varied events happening in our lives right now, be it big or small. so we have to be continually grateful for even the littlest things and to pay attention to our health, it may be His way of getting close to us. let us hold on tightly to the Lord.

I Can Wait

Isaiah 40 : 31

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 

they shall run and not be weary; 

and they shall walk, and not faint."

 

There is joy in waiting. 

well, i'm actually talking about the kind of waiting that's different from the one which we classify as one of the wastes that need to be reduced or eliminated through Lean management. waiting that makes you feel unproductive and wasted is not a really good feeling. i'm talking about the waiting where you get the feeling of excitement for something that just keeps mounting up. although there can be a bit of anxiety as well. but that sense of anticipation for the unknown that keeps you on your toes is something that i think is part of life. it's that time when there is actually something to look forward to. 

i saw the pic above posted by a friend on FB, and i couldn't agree more. some of my friends often ask me how i can be so patient to wait and there are those who say i should stop 'coz it's stupid to wait for something that one is not sure of. well, it's not just stubborn-ness. but this is me. if i want something so bad, i can wait.

Exploring New Worlds

happy to post here this vid i got from YouTube again. it's from the animation Aladdin. this was shown in the early 90's and i really, really liked this song. i think i watched this movie thrice in one week. and on three different cinemas. like... really! it's true.



discovered vastly different horizons since then and explored worlds so different from the one i knew. learned to appreciate various perspectives, multi-cultural environments, and God's immense love through  a number of diverse yet unique individuals.

Back to my Childhood Days

did you have a favorite book when you were a child? i remember when i was young, my parents bought a readers' digest collection entitled World's Best Fairy Tales. i really loved that book. see here below.

  

it's super thick. it had all these amazing stories  (very grimm brothers and hans christian andersenish) that i really loved, like The Little Mermaid, The Bremen Town Musician, Doctor Know-it-All, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Rapunzel, The Adventures of Sinbad, among others. most of the stories were several pages (about 10-20 pages) except for the Sinbad adventures which was really, really long. and there were illustrations so that kids like me could somehow picture the characters in the stories (hahaha, i love the picture for The Emperor's New Clothes). well, we had no disney films back then, or dreamworks, so you see, our appreciation of the fairy tales and magical stories depends on how well we let our imagination run wild.

so i was able to read the original versions of famous children's stories pretty early and therefore i was quite confused and disappointed when the walt disney and other films' versions didn't quite add up.... i mean, see: the little mermaid ending was different, i didn't read about aliens in chicken little's town, rapunzel's hair was not really tangled, the snow queen original version was simpler, jack went up the beanstalk to get the goose that lays the golden eggs in a castle manned by an ogre (like shrek! but i haven't read about shrek yet). and it was only later (much, much later in old age) that i was able to accept that that's the way things are. stories change in the re-telling. and commercial value soars if you give people happy endings. i only hope kids learn the moral lessons that they're supposed to get with the original stories.

Build His House

Gospel Acclamation:

"I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord, that my name may be there forever."

1 Cor 3 : 9-11, 16-17

   Brothers and sisters, you are God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

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... the most important temple of God that we will visit is our own lives. nobody is perfect and nobody is sinless, but let us endeavor to make our lives worthy for the Lord to dwell in and unite with us in spirit. and the Lord that we serve is the One that will bring us wholesomeness and healing. 

God's Love

today when i went to hear mass at our parish church, i had the privilege of attending the concelebrated mass for Fr. Jek's 6th anniversary in the priesthood and it was attended by a number of Dominican priests and parishioners here at the Our lady of Fatima Parish in Mandaluyong. the sermon given by Father Jerry was wonderful and Fr. Jek's mom gave a heartwarming testimony during mass.

i suddenly remembered the mass i attended in dubai (A Blessed Day) where the headmistress for St. Mary's school, Sister Anne Murray, made her renewal of vows. it was such a wonderful experience for me, being a part of the dedication ceremony to the holy life of people who i do not even know personally. fact is, i have just started attending masses in this parish middle of this year and i'm still familiarizing myself with the priests serving here.

the message i received was that we have to acknowledge that priests are also human like us. and though they have been tasked to take care of the flock, there are times when they themselves have burdens of their own but they just hide it with a smile and a pat on our shoulder whenever we go to them to ask for prayers and guidance. they actually get their strength not only from God but most of all from us, the ordinary folks, because they see the face of God in us.

it warms my heart to hear Fr. Jek say, "Masarap maglingkod sa Panginoon! Masarap maglingkod sa Panginoon kasi unang-una, da best Siya magmahal!"  Amen! i say to that Fr. Jek. what a joy for us to feel God's warm embrace everyday of our life. and He gives us that through the people around us and sometimes in the most unexpected of circumstance. however a lot of us do not realize that God is already speaking to us  and answering our prayers. let us be more mindful of God in the world around us.

i received this in my email years ago and found it posted and re-posted on the net because of its very nice message so i'm re-posting it once again:

The man whispered, "God, speak to me"
And a meadowlark sang.
But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled "God, speak to me"
And the thunder & lightning rolled across the sky.
But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you."
And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle."
And a life was born.
But the man did not notice.

So, the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know you are here"
Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

The man cried "God, I need your help"
and an e-mail arrived reaching out with good news and encouragement.
But the man deleted it and continued crying.....

The good news is that you are loved.

HBD Kuya

happy, happy birthday to my kuya!

The Lost Sheep

Luke 15: 1-10

today's Gospel speaks about the Good Shepherd who leaves his ninety-nine sheep and goes looking for one sheep that is lost. it is a story about God's promise of redemption and joy at retrieving one lost soul back to Him. how fortunate we are that we can look forward to God's mercy to take us back again into His fold even after we have fallen into sin.

"The Ninety and Nine" by Elizabeth C. Clephane (1868):

1. There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

2. "Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer: "This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep."

3. But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die;
Sick and helpless and ready to die.

4. "Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way
That mark out the mountain's track?"
"They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back."
"Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?"
"They are pierced tonight by many a thorn;
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn."

5. And all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven,
"Rejoice! I have found My sheep!"
And the angels echoed around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own! 

Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!"

In My Heart

have been going over my music collection for days now. and heard this once again. really, loved this song. still do until now. thank goodness for YouTube.  :-)

The Beatitudes

Gospel Acclamation:

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

====================

in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught a set of ideals that touch on virtues of love and humility and echoing mercy, spirituality and compassion. this came to be called beatitudes, as rooted from the Latin word beatus meaning blessed, fortunate or happy.

i pray that the Lord God bless you in whatever state of life you are right now, whether in a condition of wholeness or brokenness, of sadness or joy, of success or failure, or whether troubled or at peace. please continue to pray. God is listening.


Matthew 5 : 3-12

  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 
  Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.  
   Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.  
   Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.  
   Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  
   Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.   
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  
   Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs 
   is the Kingdom of heaven.   
   Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you   
   and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.  
   Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."  

let me share this vid i found on YouTube. we sang this in school often during my elementary years. i have been blessed indeed. i pray that you too may be blessed!

Undas 2012

today i join all christians and catholics around the world in celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints, whether known or unknown. here in the philippines, we call it Undas or Todos Los Santos.

saints are men and women who, by God's grace, have attained victory over the powers of sin in their lives. the call to a life of holiness or sainthood is a call for everyone. purity of mind and heart is one of the goals of a saintly life.  (Companion 2012 Q4)

Revelation 7 : 4-12, 14

    " I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites. After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb". All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshipped God, and exclaimed, "Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

...... He (the Lord) said, "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."

Donna's Birthday

wishing a friend in OZ a very happy birthday in advance, lest i forget.

Happy bday, dbols!

Happy Halloween

Boo!!!

Happy Halloween!

Celebrations

i just recently realized that there are several things to observe or celebrate during the month of october. allow me to enumerate:

a) for one, it's the month of the Holy Rosary. i have been praying the rosary since i was a kid. we pray at school during october since i went to a catholic school. then i learned to pray the rosary whenever i have some important personal prayer intentions, and i still do until now. i have been steadfastly observing the rosary for life crusade since tita chelle gave me the prayer book that was being disseminated by the Rosary for Life crusade.. (and especially since that was the time when my young niece recited a brief prayer intention during that year's celebration). i guess, i started because it was a catholic practice, and back then, as a child, one doesn't have any other recourse but to follow. i am happy to say, though, that it gives me a great sense of peace whenever i finish praying the rosary so i still continue to pray the rosary and ask the intercession of the blessed Mother Mary in my personal intentions.

b) it is also coffee month here in the philippines. i just got to learn of this. and since i am currently interested in   coffee, i attended this year's coffee summit and met some (if not, got to know) of the bigshots of the trade. i made my own networking and hopefully am all set on executing my plans of being a farmer. (fingers crossed here) :-)

c) october is also breast cancer awareness month. for me, i'm observing it as (well, generally) cancer month, regardless of the type of cancer. it's got a bit of a stigma to it, since we have the big C gene on both sides of the family.

d) then, there's the fiesta here in the block where we live. i have already posted some pics of that one in a previous post.

e) then there's halloween. okay, i know that there are some who find the activity overrated. one just can't understand what all the fuss is with costumes and treats and pranks on this day (for kids trick-or-treating) and night (for adults partying the night away). the trick or treat for the kids here at our place was last saturday morning til afternoon. the hall was decorated very eeriely, it seemed like a horror booth with a really spooky music playing aloud. residents were enjoined to give some treats for the kids who'll be visiting our halls so i asked trish to buy some when she goes to the store. we gave this:

and then yesterday afternoon, i heard someone knocking at our door. i was surprised to see two young kids trick-or-treating when i opened the door. i hurriedly went back in and gave them some chocolates and those marshmallows left from our stock (those that actually escaped my happy munching). and just tonight when i went out to buy Coke, i saw this at our door.

the tenants at 2K have so generously given us a treat and hung one on each door (well, on our floor at least, as far as i know as i didn't check on the other floors). well, looki, lookie here at our treat:

this is it for now. whether you celebrate the same things i do (or not!), i hope that you do have something to celebrate. be it a birthday of a loved one (or yours), a graduation, or just a simple milestone in your life. take time to celebrate. celebrate life!