Cold Rainy Day

Woke up early in this cold morning... and immediately logged to the web as the dawgies cozily snuggled at my feet. Now, the dawn is creeping in and the light slowly kissing the hazy skyline... Good morning all!

Hello World

 It's been years since I last logged in. Good morning world!

With not much to do during this pandemic, hopefully i can increase login time in the coming days.

Anyway just wishing you all a good day. I pray that the Lord keep us strong amidst this health crisis. And keep safe everyone! Let's all hang in there.

I'm Back

Hello world!

Can't believe it's been two years since i last logged on here. By some chance i was trying to visit this site using my mobile phone and for some reason i couldn't access it. Such a techno-ignoramus i am, see.  So i hurriedly opened my account using the pc and here i am once again facing my wall... yep... no other words to describe it... my wall.

So for the next days or weeks or months and so... i will be updating this wall. Maybe not as often as i used to as i wouldn't have constant access to technology when i'm at the farm. But i do want to write again, and maybe live a productive life again... hopefully.

Till next update.

Ciao!

Sad Again

Feeling Gray

irritation is needlessly irksome. it appears at anytime and without much ado. this time again, i woke up with that heavy feeling, like a seemingly double-edged sword hanging above me. 

so finally i snap.

all those years of holding it in and keeping it together. i can't do it anymore.

so just please indulge me.

else, i will be the one to break.  

Thief in the House

it was on a day like this.

my mom couldn't sleep and was up all night waiting for my bro.

last night... i too felt it.

i couldn't sleep and so had to get out of the room every 30 minutes to check if my brother has come home. i was finally able to nod off around two o'clock. then he returned. both me and mom woke up to the dogs barking. i checked the time. it was past 4 o'clock in the morning. i met him and asked for my phone back. he said not to worry, he'd give it back. i insisted to have it right away. he said later.

it's gone. he took my phone and pawned it.

like all the other stuff we have in the house, he took it and pawned it. gone are all of mom's jewelry (those that are valuable and can be pawned anyway) and even our electronic gadgets (several phones, laptop, camera).

and so it'll start again. us asking where it was pawned and how much needed to buy it back. once we get it back, he gets it again and pawns it again and the process repeats until we can not get it back anymore. a useless, endless cycle of saving - a thing and a soul.

now it's tiring.

Devastated

Simply Forty

whoa! just a single entry for this month, and it's on the last day of the month already (our dog Ziva's nine puppies are one month-old already! yipee!). march starts tomorrow.

celebrated my 40th birthday simply, with my family and close relatives. we all could fit at the table, we were that few. yes, few but still happy. daddy will be coming home this weekend to celebrate with us. i originally thought of not celebrating but changed my mind at the last minute. my mom was surprised yesterday when i bought groceries and some food items for chicken salad and food for the gods which i asked her to help me out with. we made it last night so that we only had to cook viands today. my aunty tata from next door even gave me a cake. it was a simple celebration, but a celebration nonetheless- thanking God for 40 good years. the only hitch was that a brownout suddenly occurred. so we dined and chatted and laughed (not to mention, me and my mom were at each other's throat) all throughout our candle-lit dinner. :-) there were two lads who suddenly appeared and sang Give Thanks. later on we learned they were members of a youth club and going around soliciting for donation. one of my nieces present uttered, "aunty gigik is so lucky somebody even came to sing for her." a blessing maybe?  then my mom told me to blow out a candle which i placed in a small glass bottle since it was way too small already. my niece Abbie (same name, yeah) got so ecstatic when the lights suddenly turned on right at the very moment i blew out the candle. her face was all aglow, so i just said, "see i just blew my birthday candle". and she clapped her hands, hahaha, gleefully saying, "yehey, good aunty gigik blew the candle".

ahh, life's simple pleasures!

God's Heritage

Preserve me, o God,

for in Thee I take refuge.

I say to the Lord,

"Thou art my Lord;

I have no good

apart from Thee."...

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

Thou holdest my lot. 

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

yea, I have a goodly heritage.

                                                                                                 - Psalm 16: 1-2, 5-6

Epiphany Sunday 2013

Gospel Acclamation:

     "We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

Matt: 2 : 1-12
 
today we observe the solemnity of the epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ. the epiphany is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how the Lord is manifested in our lives. 

may the light of the Lord continue to shine in our lives especially in this year of faith.

KNovela Marathon Again

i am getting ready to begin my koreanovela watching again. i miss this one of my simple joys. hehe.. and here's one vid i saw on youtube where indonesians were singing a filipino song, the theme of one of my fave koreanovela, Jewel in the Palace.

3 4 U

usually, we are asked to enumerate three things that we want to be granted in our lives. my cousin shared this on FB and i so liked it that i'm posting this here. i really wish this is gonna be true. ",)

how about you? what did you find? i hope yours get fulfilled as well.

Happy New Year 2013

Welcome new year 2013!

we're having a real quiet new year here at the house. an aunt and a couple of nieces came by this morning and just now got their Christmas gifts because they spent Christmas at the farm... late but obviously most welcome.

January 1 is a holy day of obligation in the Roman Catholic church. it is higher than the ordinary Sunday mass. and today also celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. it is the feast of Theotokos (Greek word meaning God-bearer). may we follow Mary's faithfuless to God, continually seeking His will in our lives.

took this pic in Alabang Town Center last december. just loved watching the lights while i was waiting for my friends to arrive. wishing you all a wonderful year ahead!

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. ....

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

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'.