wedding planning and interior design

I’ve been coordinating wedding for friends for quite sometime now. I also had 2 non related official clients this year and last year. I’ve been thinking of pursuing this as a career but I don’t want to just jump in without proper education. How I wish I could attend a course or seminar but it’s expensive although I am not closing the doors of that opportunity. This coming may, another friend is getting married and I am designated as the coordinator/ planner too. I love coordinating weddings and organizing birthday parties I just hope I’ll be given the chance to make it to something profitable in the next year to come.

In regards to wedding, Sheffield school in Manhattan offers a course in wedding and event planning. I browse upon their site and I find their course in wedding very comprehensive. I wish there is something like that here in our place with also a not so expensive fee. They also have course in interior design so if you love decorating houses and you want to turn it into a career you might be interested in taking interior decorating course. Take a peek in their website and you’ll see there the course outline. I think the money you will spend is worth it. They began as interior design school so that’s what they do best. You can also read testimonials from graduates there. And what else they also offer a course in feng shui now.

I wish I could have a formal training in event planning soon.

Skywatch Friday

These beautiful sky photos were taken last Christmas in my sister’s place in Bulacan. We spent three days there and we have captured a lot of beautiful photos. You see, we had a very nice weather last Christmas. I know most of you on the western side of the world had a white Christmas while we here had blue clear skies. Love it! I wonder how clear the skies are in the Outer Banks now. Happy skywatching everyone!

My wish

Thanks Nancy for this tag. It's very timely because it's one week to go before my birthday. I am not used to wish listing on my birthdays but I will do it now. I think it's fun and who knows it will all come true.hehe! Anyways, I have friends reading this blog naman siguro.


So for my birthday this year, here's my WISH.

1. To finally see that 2 pink lines.

2. A laptop

3. A DSLR camera (ok it's hubby's wish actually)

4. More online opportunities

5. Slim PSP for my gaming pleasure

6. An Ipod for the hubby

7. House and Lot (OA na wish pero malay nyo di ba?)

8. A nice vacation for me and hubby (I can see this coming)

9. Money..more money so I can share more

10. Good health for the whole family especially my mom and dad.

and oh, don't we all wish to find some Cheap Blinds especially in crisis times like this?

And here are the rules...

1. Make a list of what you want on your birthday...
2. The list should be 10 numbers
3. Post the image of this award in your posting
4. Give it to 10 friends of yours.

I'm giving it away to Carmel, Abelle, Joy, Melisse, Jown, Jan, Mari and Jody,

Share your wish ladies!

Where is my STARBUCKS PLANNER?

Until now, I still have that card full of red cups stickers. Where is the planner? baka naman December na di ko pa makuha planner ko? first time ko pa naman. tsk..tsk..

40 Tips for a better life (part 2)

here's the second part, 20 more to go. For those who want to read the first ten. click here.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

- Plenty of water na lang mas affordable

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

- Yeah, better if more people

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

-This reminds me of unfinished cleaning in my desk.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

- I'll try to remember this every time those negative thoughts crawl in my mind

15. 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.

- OO nga naman

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

- I only do the breakfast but will try to do this tip too.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

- Ay love it! ako naman madalas lang laugh and smile palagi

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

- God is good kasi all the time

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

-Correct so don't hate anyone ha?

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

- Hahahaha!

I'm tired

but it's ok..

I still feel good today, I am supposed to get some rest before we start printing t-shirt again but blogging is like resting na rin for me.

I am tired yet I feel fine. All these fund raising we are doing makes me feel tired but I know worth it lahat ng pagod. The Lord keeps on blessing us, He keeps on assuring us that He will provide for the Macau trip.

I've been trying to change my sleep pattern but been sleeping late again for the last 3 nights.

I hope right after the mission's conference, sleep will be better.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Took this photo the other day at the pantry of our office. Look like it will rain but nope. I just love taking pictures of clouds formation. Happy Skywatch Friday everyone! See more skies here.

40 Tips for a better life

My cousin emailed me this and I'm posting it here with my comments of course. I'm doing this so I can remember what tips to follow or not. But mind you all the tips are good if you will do it. Anyways, I am making it four posts since 40 is too long, you might get bored, here's the first ten.


1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

- I will try this starting today promise.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

- Hmnn..I think that’s not too hard to do.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

- The problem with my sleeping late is not the TV but the late night blogging and surfing. I guess I have to find another solution for that. I think I have to get my own laptop so I can blog in bed and sleep - but don't have the budget yet. Maybe before the year ends. I am actually looking for Toshiba Satellite now. I wish I can afford one.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'

- It’s a nice idea. I’ll try to do that too.

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.

- Yey!!! I love this? See playing games is not that bad right? my hubby should read this. More farm frenzy!! More harvest moon!

7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

- PRAYER is the BEST!

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

- That means I have to visit my parents more often. :) love that too!

9. Dream more while you are awake.

- Sorry, I’m in the office while awake baka the boss will get mad at me.hehe!

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

- I would love to practice this too. less processed food is healthier.

Wedding Planning!!!

Am back to wedding planning again! and I am excited though Grace told me to be mum about it pa, eh sa excited ako eh..haha!

Grace is a good friend. An Indonesian by birth but a true blooded Filipino na.

So she'll be having a blue and silver wedding-which makes me even more excited because that's the original colors I wanted for my wedding but of course I had blue and yellow instead.

Wedding always makes me excited -lalo na if it's a close friend's wedding. So now, I am looking forward to two friends wedding this year.

One this coming May and another one in November.

I guess I really have to force myself to lose weight this time.

Monday Sickness

I am severely afflicted and I admit it.

It is so hard for me to wake up early on Monday morning because hubby can sleep as late as he can. It’s his day off and I am so jealous that I have to get up and go to work. Even more if I am having some hormonal changes due to monthly period which by the way I am right now. I noticed it’s been 2 months since I had my period. No, I did not even think I am pregnant because well, I just know I am not.

Hubby and I have not been talking about it lately. We discussed some plans of moving on and out of where we are now, we talked about doing missions together this year but we have never talked about being pregnant or the Doctors check-up. None at all.

Well, did we get tired of talking about it? I guess not.

I would actually want us to discuss it again, what are our options, where to ask for help? Shall we consult another OB?

It’s gonna be hard going thru some tests again but we will try again.

Debt consolidation and my goal

It’s weekend once again and half of the month is over. The week past as fast as it can and I am just glad. Why? Because I want it to be Christmas again, obviously my favorite season of the year.

I have listed several goals to make or achieve this year. You van visit my personal blog at http://raua.blogspot.com if you like and I pray you'll like it. Lol
I listed it down just so I can always take a look at it if I want to and check If I’m doing right according to my goals. I hope I’ll be able to at least check 3 out of that 5 stuff I listed down.

One major major goal is to eliminate some debts. I was actually happy as I computed the other day because I know at least I did well in paying up last year although I did well too in spending. Ugh. So I’m hoping I’ll be debt free within a year and a half. I think I still need debt consolidation to finish it early.

If you need advices or help about debts, try visiting mydebtconsolidationadvice.com. There is a page there where you can see guides and debt plans that I’m sure will be of help to you. The debt plan is actually very doable. There is also medical debt consolidation for the expenses and debts incurred due to hospitalization and sickness. I hope no one in the family get sick this year. Of course they can help you with rental debt too. Thank God that I do not have to pay for any rent right now though I am getting ready for next year because we’re planning to move out on our own.

Whatever, I’m so looking forward this year and next year.

Happy weekend everyone!

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

This one is my current desktop background now and is one of my favorite picture taken in Anawangin, Zambales.

I took this photo while I was in a hammock. I thought it was nice to have a close up picture of those pine leaves against the blue sky.

I have loads of photos taken during that trip. How I wish I have a good camera but still I’m pretty satisfied with what we have now.

Happy Skywatch Friday everyone!

Questions of the Week #45

1. How secure do you feel in your job?
- In our company, no one is indispensable but right now I think I am secured until they discover I’m blogging at work..hehe! good thing we don't have wireless security system here.

2. What is the first word that pops to mind beginning with the letter ‘N’?
-Nothing

3. If you could, would you shop online for your every day essentials?
- I guess no.

4. When you go home after going out, what’s the first thing you do, or reach for?
- Take off shoes, rest in bed for a while

5. If your kid asked you “Where does the moon go when it’s not there?” , what would you say?
- It’s just somewhere out there

6. If you were homeless and had to stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign, what would you write?
-“take me home” lol

7. Would you feel offended if someone said he or she dislikes your name?
-No, I don’t like my full name either especially when I was a kid.

8. If your childhood had a taste, what would it be?
- Sweet

9. Have you ever fainted out of pure joy?
-Not yet

10. Tomorrow, I absolutely refuse to __________.
-Feel bad. I’ll choose to rejoice whatever tomorrow brings.

Join here.

Michelle is pregnant!

Got good news today, my cousin Michelle who recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary is now pregnant!

Yesterday, we were talking about it over YM but she has not taken the test yet, this morning it’s confirmed. Praise God I am excited for her and I am so happy for both of them. I’m sure her mom will be excited too!

Surprisingly, the news didn’t hurt me that much like before. Maybe not unless super duper insensitive people would comment again and again to me saying “Ill be the next” or sometimes it can be so blatant as “when are you getting pregnant?” duh.

I hope they were able to read the do's and don't article so they won’t be insensitive.

Anyways, back to good news and good mood. I am just plain happy and excited to see Michelle give birth and see the baby..haha! to think it’s still 8 months to go.

And I’m happy too that I’ve changed. I am now at peace to whatever God’s will is for us.

For now, I'll just do my best and will try not to think about it that much and concentrate more on just being good to my self, implement exercise and diet strictly, hopefully because I don't want to resort to taking alli pills. Not just yet.

Again, Congrats Mich! So excited for you and Dax!

2009 Official Public Holidays

Just so we can plan our long weekends for the whole year.

April 6 -Monday (Araw ng Kagitingan moved from April 9)

April 9-12 - Holy Week

May 1 (Friday) - Labor day

June 12 (Friday) - Independece Day

August 31 (Monday) - National Heroes Day

November 30 (Monday) - Bonifacio Day

December 25 (Friday) -Christmas Day

December 30 (Wednesday)- Rizal Day

SPECIAL NON WORKING DAYS

August 21 (Friday) - Ninoy Aquino Day

November 1 (Sunday) - All Saints Day

November 2 (Monday) - All Souls day

Christmas Eve on December 24 which falls on a Thursday, has also been declared as a Special Non-Working Day this year.

Another Special Non-Working Day is New Year's Eve on December 31 which falls on a Thursday.

To sum it up : 8 long weekends, 4 days off for Christmas and 5 days for the New Year.

You can file leave for Dec 28 and 29 and that will give you 11 days. You can also file a leave for April 7 and 8-that will give you a 9 days off from work! Yay! How nice!

Wish I could squeeze in one long weekend getaway with hubby for our Anniversary Celebration. For those who have all the means, you can now start booking!

Me? Have to pray for more assignments pa so I can avail of those cheap airfare promos. And speaking of assignments, I have to do cattle supplies now before it expires.

Have a nice week ahead everyone!

Awards

~Thanks Dez for the awards~

Engagement Rings

Never thought I'd get one in my life but I did. Hubby gave me one few months before our wedding and I treasure it so much as I treasure our wedding rings. It's not the expensive ones but the beauty of it lies on the love that me and my hubby shares.

For those of you who is not engaged yet and is looking for engagement rings, there is a variety of designs available on the internet. Solomonbrothers.com offers nice jewelries. I actually saw one similar to my ring. I love their wedding rings too. I am still thinking of buying our dream wedding ring someday.

And I know we will.

New Year's Questions of the week

1. What do you hope to have accomplished before the end of 2009?
-Established a home base business. Oh I have the more realistic list here.

2. How’s the New Year treating you so far?
-Pretty good,

3. How do you feel about yourself right now?
-I feel I badly needed to change a lot (personal) like eating and sleeping habits. I feel I need to take good care of my self now. I feel like taking Anoretix anytime soon.

4. What are the seven wonders in YOUR world?
- My hubby, my parents, my nieces and nephews, my computer, my bible and my friends.

5. ‘Sometimes I can be ________________’
-dangerous..hehe!

6. As a child, what job did you hope to have?
-a teacher which I become only to quit after few years.

7. List 3 things about which you consider yourself very knowledgeable.
-I don't think I have 3 things that I am "very knowledgeable" because life is a continuous learning process and even in the field of what I do right now I still have much to learn everyday.

8. List 3 things that you do very well.
-Multi tasking, internet surfing (hehe), eating.

9. Do you think you look your real age? Have others ever made comments that they think you look younger or older than you are?
-Honestly I think I look more than my real age but weird people say I look younger than my age.

10. Are you an artist? If so, what do you create?
- I think so. I used to draw, I also design some friends wedding invitations.

To see more of those who answered the same questions, click here.

Babies for Sale

Don't worry they are fake babies. They are dolls. They call it reborn dolls and are being sold in the UK or maybe in the US too.

I don't know but I don't like the feeling of having them. I maybe longing for a baby and been praying for one for two years now but there is no way I am gong to buy something like this. They're cute yes, no question about that but I just can't. Weird feeling.

Found the images here.

Weekend is over

How’s your weekend everyone? Mine is over, that fast. How time flies indeed. It’s Monday again tomorrow and even now I am already having Monday sickness, like I don’t feel like waking up early tomorrow. Where have my weekend gone?

Well, I don’t know if it’s busy because I just stayed home the whole day Saturday but I had my hand full. We (me and Jemimah) ventured into selling street food on afternoons because we needed additional funds for our first mission trip on February. It’s fun though, we enjoyed the first two days but it’s tiring. We are still thinking of some fund raising ventures in the next few days. Probably I’ll do some garage sale too. What else ba? If I could only sell term life insurance that quick I might have enough funds in no time but crisis oh crisis, I think no one is buying any insurance now.

Howell, I’m sure God will supply all my needs. I am certain of that crisis or not. The Lord we serve is unaffected of any economic situation and I praise HIM for that.

6th folder-6th picture tag

Nancy of realpixgalore tagged me with this very unusual tag and like her I also wonder why 6th? hehe! Anyways, I am so curious of what is the 6th picture is in my 6th folder and also I'm challennging myself If I could tell the story about the picture, so let's see.


And here's what I've got. It's Hannah's picture on her 7th birthday held last July. She's one of our godchild and I helped her mama in organizing her 7th birthday party which was a huge success of course. She's the youngest in the family and the only daughter, very well loved and cared for. It was such a big challenge for us as we tried to make the center (it's where we held our sunday services) look like a castle because her theme was disney princesses. If only we have nice venue with wall fountains it will not be that hard. But nevertheless, the party was still a hit!

This tag is very interesting because I just uploaded the image without even looking at the picture,just saw it when it was here already. Good thing it's avery good photo.

So, as always have to tag other bloggers but I just want to make sure that the ones I will be tagging will be interested too in posting the 6th picture in thier 6th folder picture file and tell the story about it. I'll think of them and will edit this post lwhen I have names already.

Happy Birthday Tay!

Dear tay,

I know I don’t always say I love you but I’m quite sure you knew how much I do. You may not be the perfect father in this world, you may be even far from being the best dad this world could have but I don’t care, I am not the perfect daughter either and yes I am not even close to being the best daughter there is.

But I am so proud of you, so proud that you have taught us good values, you have taught us how to love the family in the best way you can and Tay whenever I hear people say that you are blessed with how your children treats you and the whole family I just smile. It’s how you brought us up kasi.

We may not be rich but we are always abundant in love and care for each one of us.

You are now 72 years old and you’re still strong, please take good care of your body even more. Don't gain anymore weight and exercise more so we won't be seeing doctors this year and we won't be needing Lipovox too. I hope you and Nay remain healthy this year. I still have dreams for both of you. I dream of touring you around the Philippines and who knows even outside the country? There is nothing too difficult with our God.

I love you tay and please wait for your apo in us ha?

that's us (the whole family) during their 50th wedding anniversary last year and they'll celebrate their 51 st this coming January 24. We are indeed blessed! we're a bunch of healthy people. :)
From left : mE (youngest) ate weng (eldest) ate rina (third) and the only son kuya mon (second)

with all the grandkids and adopted sons and daughters..hehe!

I will forever cherish these pictures and the memories !

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Some of the photos I captured during our new year get away in a secluded cove.
Click here for more sky photos.

It's my 501st POST!

I know it’s not that big deal but nevertheless I just want to make a special post about it.

I’ve been blogging since 2005 but back then I only post for some wedding updates because as you can see this is originally a wedding blog. I became active again just last year and I am quite proud of what I have achieved (if there’s any) in the blogging world. I know I learned a lot of things last year especially in the field of paid blogging, also learned something about ranking, SEO, about being cached by Google, Alexa, Entrecard, Technorati and a lot more.

And this is my 501st post. Can I say it’s quite an achievement for me who juggles work, ministry and wife duties? I think so.

Speaking with post and blogging, I still have so many December events to blog and for me not to forget it, let me make a list;

1. “Batang Pag-asa” - Christmas Party – December 21
2. The concert – (I’ll try to make a post about it although I don’t want to talk about it anymore, but let’s see.) - December 6.
3. Young Couples Costume Christmas Party – December 14
4. A post about my father who’ll turn 72 years old tomorrow!

So that’s it. I hope I can finish them all in between making those assignments which are scarce this time. Thank God I was given one with the Nevada auto insurance keyword.

And I bid you goodbye with that. Again, congratulations to me for my 501st post.

Image credit : google/wikimedia

Our Anawangin Adventure

Our original plan was to stay for 2 nights and 3 days but when we saw the place we decided to extend it for four days and 3 nights.

HOW TO GET THERE AND BOAT RATE

We went there December 29, Monday, we left Manila at around 7:30 AM and arrived Pundaquit at around 10:30 AM. The trip was a breeze because it is still holiday, there’s no traffic and of course we passed by NLEX and the new SCTEX all the way to Olongapo and then San Antonio, from San Antonio another 5 minute drive or less to Pundaquit.

At Pundaquit we went to Wild Rose Inn just to inquire for a boat and a place to park the car, a lady and a boy ushered us somewhere near the shore and then we rented a boat there (a major headache when we are about to leave na, Imagine they want to change the price from 1000 to 2000? We paid 1600 including the parking fee which is 80.00 for overnight) The ongoing rate for boat they say is at 1000 for day trips, if the boat will stay with you overnight there is an additional charge.

the boat

Note : it is only a small boat so if the waves are too strong be ready to get wet.
Tip : We made sure our belongings are packed in a plastic bag to be safe.

WHERE TO STAY IN ANAWANGIN

None so bring your own home (joke) tent. You can rent one from Aling Ligaya (the caretaker) but she has only one tent for rent so it is best to bring your own.
There’s a bathroom and a “poso” water pump in both camping site.

There’s two camping site. Aling Ligaya’s place is the one who had barbed wire fence. She also rent out hammock just in case you forget to bring one.

Our tents

Note : There is no electricity and no mobile phone signal there.
Tip : Make sure you have extra batteries for your torch and lamps.

CAMPING SITE RATE

This one I am not so sure because they said it’s 100.00 per head for overnight. But then we only paid 150.00 per head for three nights. So I guess they gave us discounts. Probably because we’re the only group left for the New Year. I think the fee is for the use of the poso and CR.

the CR

WHAT TO DO IN ANAWANGIN

Swim- At first we were afraid because of the ongoing talks about the recent drowning, so you need to be very careful, don’t swim too far because the water can be deceiving, you don’t know where the part where it can be deep.
The water is so clear and warm. Sayang naman if you don’t swim di ba?


Trek/Hike – the nearby cliffs/mountains, the husband and our 2 Canadian friends did this and they enjoyed it.

Tip: Bring your camera, the sight up there is amazing according to hubby.

the three who climb the nearby mountain

Read – You’ll will not get bored if you have good books with you.

Watch sunset – I did this for 3 afternoons and see what I captured here;





Fishing -yes, you can go somewhere near the lake, the guys tried two times and was able to catch one small fish..hehe!

the lone fish

the lake

Sleep and Eat – Make you sure you have enough food with you. We ran out of food because we thought we’re only staying for 2 nights, we asked the ice cream man (yes there’s one guy selling ice popsicles there) if he could buy some food for us because he said he goes home to Pundaquit everyday, so he agreed to buy for us but turned out he can’t go back the following day kasi new year nga naman, so she gave Aling Ligaya our stuff. A bit pricey lang kasi we also gave them extra. A bottle of 1.5 coke cost 70.00 there. Bring also lots of drinking water unless you want to drink straight from the poso which we didn't do pero we use the poso water to cook rice. :)

our new years feast

So there, it is still best to go there summer or weekend para there are other campers around but if you do not want a crowd try going there weekdays.

I'm sure we're going back there someday.

More pictures here.

No more fuel charges for Cebu Pacific domestic flights

Another good news form Cebu Pac!

No more fuel & insurance surcharge for Cebu Pacific domestic flights
First Philippine carrier to remove surcharges

Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ leading low-fare airline, removes fuel and insurance surcharges for all domestic flight bookings starting January 7, 2009.

Candice Iyog, CEB spokesman, said, “We are committed to offering the public the most affordable fares coupled with the newest planes. In fact, we have made air travel a viable option for those who would normally travel by bus or ferry. We will continue to give EveryJuan more reasons to fly as we expect to take delivery of six brand new aircraft in 2009.”

Iyog explained that the removal of fuel and insurance surcharges will now allow passengers to easily compare airfare with the fares of buses and ferries.

The airline also cuts its fuel and insurance surcharge for select international routes. CEB’s Manila-Bangkok and Clark-Bangkok one-way surcharges are slashed from USD80 to USD50 and USD80 to USD60, respectively.

Moreover, CEB’s Manila-Osaka one-way surcharges are lowered from USD110 to USD100 and Manila-Hong Kong surcharges are reduced from USD45 to USD40 per way.

Iyog concluded, “We encourage everyone to book their flights via www.cebupacificair.com , call the reservations hotline (632) 70-20-888, or visit their nearest travel agents.”

CEB has the most number of inter-island routes and connections from its hubs in Clark, Manila, Cebu and Davao. It will fly to 28 domestic destination and 15 international cities.

Got the news here.

Psalm 55:22

Got this in my email this morning, so good so I thought of sharing it to you.
*****************************

You really need to read this.
"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."
This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart " building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a Gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying " don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "He heard you, and He sent me."

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fuelling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the
car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?"

This definitely made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the fl utter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Here is the prayer:

"Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could You please get that for me?"

On cold weather and fireplace

Did you notice how it is getting cold everyday? I was surprised nga because when we were at Anawangin, we didn’t even have to use our blankets, our jackets and jogging pants at all because it was hot there. Here in Manila people sleep with their sweatshirts and jammies because it is cold. I even have to use hot water for my bath for few days now. I don’t know when that was but I read from the newspaper that temperature hits as low as 12°C here in Manila and 9°C in Baguio. Wow! That’s really cold for us kasi we are not used to cold weathers di ba?

I remember the last time I felt that cold was when we were in Sagada two years ago, it was like you don’t want to get up on your bed because you’re freezing. Can’t imagine how cold it is in other countries like those countries that snow heavily. Good thing in Sagada the house we rented has fireplace and we were just excited to use it. After all it’s not very often that we can stay in a house like that. I’m sure it is not as good as those from hotprice.uk but it served us well for our three day stay at that house.

So if you’re planning to build a house in cold towns like Sagada and Baguio you might want to take a peek into these Gas Fires and Electric Fires from hotprice.uk. They boast of good quality fireplace at very low cost. Their Hole in the Wall Fires is so nice! Neat! It is wall mounted and like touch screen phones it operates via touch sensitive glass.


In Anawangin, we can only have this kind of fireplace not to give us heat though but to light the place and roast some mallows and hotdogs and our very yummy chicken!

Hubby list

picture way back 2005

Can you remember the day you first met your hubby?
- yes of course!

When was that? (doesn't have to be specific)
- June 2003

First impression.
- cool..lovely voice, funny guy

Were you attracted to him?
- not really

Were you friends before he became your bf?
- Yes, very very good friends

What was the sweetest thing he did for you?
-I guess the wedding song he composed and sang on my wedding march but then he’s doing things on ordinary days that I find so sweet.

What are the things about him that you are thankful for?
-First and foremost, His relationship with the Lord. His steadfast faith with our God that carry us through. I’m grateful he’s my husband.

latest picture from Anawangin few days ago

Thanks Mari for sharing this! I enjoyed doing it. I want to share this with my fellow N@wies- Jacque, Anne, Aggie and Mai.

*Now the rules are simple.

1. Pick your sweetest picture when you were still friends and post it on top of the questions and answers.
2. Another pic now that you are together post it after the questions.
3. Share to how many friends you like.
4. Enjoy doing it c:
5. Let your hubby read it too!

For the meantime, I’m off to look for some nice corsets and later I'm going for my last red cup and the planner too!

Happy New Year!!

Happy new year everyone! I'm back! I was out of town with no electricity and no mobile phone signals for four days and been busy also for some things so I only had the time to go online now. How's your new year celebration? I'm sure fun and noisy..well, ours is so different as we spent it in Anawangin Cove. A very beautiful place in Zambales.

How did you start the year?

Did you make any new years resolution? Any plans for this year?

I still haven’t written down our plans and our goals for this year but hubby and I had a very good talk about it during our stay in Anawangin. It’s good to have some quiet time. I had enough time to reflect and to pray and to worship and ask God about His plans for us this year.

Would anyone know if the Cebu Pacific went on sale again? Haha..I was thinking of that when I was out there in the woods..because last Christmas I was able to buy our ticket to Macau for a very cheap price.

Anyways, I’m making multiple post for my three blogs. I wish I have all the time to spend online but It’s back to normal tomorrow but of course I’ll visit your blogs later.

See yah!

Anawangin Pictures

I'm trying to make a very detailed post about our Anawangin's New Year adventure but for the mean time here are some of the pictures of that so quiet place.