Achievement

Celebrated the birthday of my grandmother, Daisy Hontiveros Avellana who is also our National Artist for Theater ... and she is now ninety five years old!

When we sang her a birthday song she said, "How old am i?", we said "La, you are now 95."
She said "Boy, i am old." and smiled proudly.

Yes, there is really so much to be proud about ... she has been living a rich life, filled with achievement, accolades, fulfilled dreams and success. She is very loved by her children, in-laws and especially her grand and great grandchildren.

We love you, Lola Daisy, Happy 95th birthday! :)

Me and my Lola :)

My Time

I always go to the mall to buy the kids clothes and what-have-yous and come to think of it i don't do much shopping for myself, specifically for clothes. I have been stuck in the rut with my wardrobe that i actually did not even think of updating my look. But, yesterday while walking along the Womens Clothing section, i found some interesting pieces that i actually want to own. Finally, something for myself, so i hurriedly tried a few things and before i knew it i had a handful with me and was at the cashier.

I guess i am giving in this time, my turn.

I know it will be a long time again before i go and buy myself some things again, so i guess this is worth the giving in.

2012

2012 was greeted with fireworks and the love and warmth of family. This is what is important and what counts above all. My family has always and will always be my constant unhappiness and when i am with them everything feels alright.

This is one of our first moments as we welcome the new year :)

Back Ache

I have a tremendous back pain, and must as i hate to admit it, it really bothering me. I am trying so hard to stand up straight to maybe straighten it as a form of exercise, but the pain is unbearable. Christian last night massaged it with liniment, and it relieved me for some time, enough for me to get some sleep, but like i said it was temporary.

I don't know if it caused by my posture or i woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Wish the pain will go away really soon.

Great Finds

I just love what i find on the internet whenever i search and browse through different sites. The things you can see are actually endless. I have been able to join a lot of online blog contests and i sometimes am lucky enough to win. My usual winnings are girly stuff, like make up, lotion and knick knacks, i yearn for the day when i get some more cool stuff like some barnes & noble coupons, that would really be a great find!

There is actually a site where they give away a lot of things when you answer a short survey, i haven't actually participated in any, but maybe i will as soon as i get the time to do it.

I heart the internet, there are a lot of cool FREE stuff just waiting for the picking!

Donations

If you have anything to share for the victims of Typhoon Sendong, who at this writing has claimed 947 lives and 49 missing. This is just too much.

I was just telling Christian that one person (or just one number) from the total lives lost is already a major impact to one family, so i cannot imagine the anguish everyone is feeling there.

Unimaginable.

The only thing we can do to help is to pray for them, for the lost lives and for the survivors that they can stand up from this nightmare. If you have any donations in cash or in kind there are now ways to send them with no cost at your part. Air 21 and LBC courier service has announced that they will deliver your donations free of charge to the victims of Sendong. This is great way to help, and i commend these two comapnies.

Another is Shell gas, it has announced a price increase today but said that prices in the south area will remain unchanged to help our bothers in Cagayan de Oro in their own way.

Here is LBC's announcement on facebook.

Help On The Way

I marvel at how we go out and try and help each other, casting away everything we have planned weeks before if a tragedy hits. A lot of people volunteered to go to Cagayan de Oro and help in any way they can. I heard the news of sending air ambulance service for the affected people that cannot be reached by land and even on boats because of the difficult path.

No matter if sometimes we do not agree politically, religiously or our views are different from each other, all that is set aside and we all join our hands to help each other in this time of crisis.

I am proud to be a Filipino, and how we help each other in any little way we can.

Blessing

Just heard the news update today on the aftermath of typhoon Sendong .... it is so disheartening.

I cannot imagine the pain my fellowmen are feeling right now while i sit comfortably in our house in front of my laptop ... boy, am i so blessed ... and yet i still have the nerve to feel sad sometimes during the day.

I do not deserve to be sad ... i have been so blessed with even the simplest things. The mere fact that He gives me a chance to live for one more day is already a big blessing that we do not appreciate and take for granted.

We have the gift of life ... let us be happy and be thankful ... for He is good.

Wishing you all a Merry, Happy and Blessed Christmas!

Relocated

My sister called me yesterday and told me their plans to transfer to the condominium in front of their house while they have there ground floor renovated. They were able to ask the administration of the condo to let them stay for two months while construction in their house is going on.

I will be accompany my sister this afternoon to look at basement floor tiles, marble tiles and wall tiles that they will be using next week. She is an interior designer but was not able to practice professionally, but i know she will effortlessly choose the best kinds to make their renovation a success.

Wish we could renovate our house as well ... but we have to get our own house first, lol!

Days

I can hardly feel the Christmas spirit and still faced with the reality that Christmas is coming in just five days. I started Christmas shopping only yesterday, and it was exhausting.

This is the first year we will be having Christmas without my papa .... it is going to be a totally different one.

I hope i find my Christmas spirit really soon, for the kids sake.

Techie Upgrade

Finally, after constant hints with the hubby that i need a scanner for my books that i use in my teaching class, he said, "Yes!"

I was so excited that i scoured the internet for a good scanner and found out there are actually a lot of things to consider in buying one. There are specifications to consider, i have to check my laptop if it can accommodate such scanner. I have looked at a few scanner software to see if they offer the features that i specifically need. I just need something that can effortlessly scan pages of my book and convert them to pdf files. Scan old photographs to make them digital because most of my pictures from way way back are the ones that had negatives.

I recently found out that there are actually negative scanners that converts your negatives into jpeg files, i want one! Heheheh!

December

December is really hear ... Christmas!!!

I can still remember last Christmas all so clear, and now another one is fast approaching. I have to admit the Christmas season has not yet kicked in for me especially that this will be our first Christmas without my papa.

It is going to be very different. I pray that we all find the strength we need to get by this supposed joyous event. It will be hard, since we miss him so much.

What If

Got my complimentary morning newspaper from Jollibee again, love it when i get to read the news and makes it more sweeter because its free. Tee hee!

One of the section i like looking at aside from the Lifestyle section are the classified section, i always imagine myself scouting for a job and search for hotel and Lodging Jobs available. When i spot a nice one i imagine myself going through the interview process. Sometimes i think about what would have happened if i did pursue my career in the hotel and restaurant business instead of deciding to be a stay at home mom.

I would not replace my being at home with the kids for anything, i just imagine for fun, lol!

Yearly

I have to have a lot of things done before the year ends, so i actually made out a long list o the things to do. I have a lot of loose ends that needs to be finalized this month to ensure a good 2012. The list covers everything, even to schedule the yearly cleaning of our wedding bands that we do every December so when January comes it is clean and sparkly. In between the list of things are the much needed dentist appointments for the kids oral prophylaxis.I am just in a fix so as to when to schedule it, before or after the parties. I have yet to sit down and think about this. Will update you as soon as i have made the appointment to really get the final date.

Research

Bea has a lot of assignments that require searching the internet for the needed information. I wonder how would the homework be able to finish if not for the mighty help of the internet. You can really check on anything you may think of, i recently was looking at military challenge coins and was really surprised to know more about it in less than five minutes in front of the computer.

Last night's hot search was about the Advent wreath, what it is and what the color of the candles mean,

I just heart the internet!

Scary No More

Look at the happy faces of my kiddies while visiting their grandmother's grave (Christian's mama who passed away more than 20 years ago) they never met her but i would tell them stories about her, the ones Christian would share with me. They say Sam looks like his mom and Sam is really is interested to see pictures of her grandmother to see for herself.

The trip to the cemetery was a pleasant one as there was not much people yet and it was not so sunny so it was not that hot. We parked the car a few meters from the cemetery and had a quick lunch before we walked all the way.

The kids had a good experience because we prayed over there, lit some candles and offered flowers and prayers.

Holidays

Now that Halloween is almost over, what comes next??

One of my favorite time of the year ...Christmas!

I was at the mall this morning and was greeted by the oh so familiar Christmas tunes, the glass window displays were decked with tress and colorful lights and of course the card racks were laden with holiday cards instead of the usual birthday cards.

Christmas is in the air ... i can already smell it!

I wonder who will gift me a fruit cake this year, this is my favorite treat and no one in the family likes it but me .. all for me.

Cemetery Goods

This is the first time the kids won't be doing their annual trick or treat event, instead we went and visited Christian's mama at the cemetery a few days before All Soul's Day to beat the traffic and the crowd.

I was so surprised to see that inside the cemetery there are a lot of food stalls and kiosks that sell different things and with them around you hardly feel scared being surrounded by the dead, lol!

There even was a stall there that was selling different kinds of wigs and they were tapping the halloween market.

People can really be enterprising, lol!