A Walk Through Life

It's still September but, if you look around, some people have already started putting up their Christmas decorations and making their homes feel like it's already the most wonderful time of the year. Oh, for some reason, I'm also excited that Christmas is already near. It's going to be a long December for many of us, indeed! Been planning to add Christmas series lights and a lighted lantern right outside the home to contribute to the Christmas-sy feel of the community. Husband thinks we should still put it off, though, because the country has been experiencing bad weather in succession lately and he wants to make sure we won't just ruin what we would spend for the decorations. Okay, so maybe we could start with a new Christmas tree inside the house? Spell budget. Budget spell. Well, we don't have to spend so much, right? :-)

Here comes December! Things are going fast, huh! We didn't realize it until invitations to Christmas parties from friends kept coming today. Wow, should we go to all of these parties in the spirit of Christmas? Hopefully, we can, especially if schedule and budget will permit. Speaking of Christmas, I decided to buy the traditional lanterns because they're quite affordable than the ones made of Capiz shells which are sold between one thousand to thousand pesos, although I originally wanted the latter to grace our home this Christmas. However, I wanted to be able to save a little bit more from the decoration expenses for our gift-giving activities; thus, we somehow ended up getting frugal with Christmas decorations. We intend to add Christmas outdoor lights later to be one with our neighbors in keeping the spirit of Christmas alive.

Every time we would pass by a neighbor's house, I can't help but admire how he has put together his Christmas tree, ornaments and decors. He is simply one such talented and artistic neighbor. Quite inspiring, I should say. Thanks to him, even though we are still not feeling the ultimate chilly breeze of Christmas yet, just the sight of those Christmas decors, the glitters and all, already sends a Christmas-y , winter chill to my spirit. Did I mention winter? Yeah, I must admit that sometimes I would look forward to just one day of winter and I want it just for the experience. :-) Right now, a friend of mine who is based in the U.S. told me that she is now getting busy looking for new snowboard storage racks for easy keeping and organization. These are the least of my worries here but I do wonder what it would be like to shop for these items. When she asked for my opinion on what to buy (like I am one expert, huh!), I told her I'd go for the wall-mounted type of storage rac...

What do I get her for Christmas? I am almost running out of unique ideas. If I ask my daughter what she wants to get, I am sure she has lots of things on her list that I may end up broke. LOL! Although I thought of granting her own wish to own a new pair of Barbie sandals, I also thought of giving her something that I have decided on my own - a gift that she would be surprised to receive because she didn't ask for it. Wasted no time, I have looked around online for ideas and found some really nice toys for girls that I knew she would love to have and play with. She is at this stage where she would enjoy playing with dolls and animal figures. Hopefully, I can get her th e caravan toy or any Sylvanian Families toy just in time for Christmas. As a mom, I hope to make this season of giving and love the merriest experience for my daughter; although I don't just mean the material things. This is why I also want to make sure that husband and I get to spend the best quality time with ...

Several years back, I've had mixed feelings about Christmas. It was like a part of me wants to rejoice and celebrate in this season of giving but there was also a part of me that grieves and aches for the loss of my mom. Yes, it was five years ago, a few days before Christmas, when we lost mom. It took me some time before I have overcome this huge feeling of loss. At the time of her death, it has only been less than two months since I got married.  I remembered I was juggling my time between work and married life that all I did was wish I could go home and see her. Who knew we would lose her that year? Definitely we were all clueless. If I had known, I thought I would have put off everything else and spend most of my time with her that year. But everything is all in the past now. I know she's happy where she is already. Every time I think of her, I would recall the happy times with her. I would also recall those times when she was starting to worry that I didn't have a lo...

As an employee, there are many things that I love about Christmas. Aside from the 13th month pay which I look forward to receive (I'm smiling here), we also have our weekly Kris Kringle as a prelude to our company Christmas Party. It's really exciting to receive gifts even though we still have no idea who is giving us our presents every week. Anyway, we will find that out during the revelation. Here's what I received so far from my Mystery Giver Another thing that's just as exciting as the 13th month and the Kris Kringle is our Christmas caroling contest during the party. As for our group, we haven't been seriously rehearsing yet. In fact, we are still trying to agree on what karaoke version of the Christmas song to use.We can't seem to decide on the genre of the song yet. Some of us wants to sing the pop rock version while the others want the classic version. I am almost tempted to suggest that we buy cme wireless midi at Musicians friend so we can conve...

This early, many parts of the city are already glittering as homes and establishments have already put up their decorations and lights as their way of welcoming the Christmas season. Stores and malls have already made their themes even more Christmas-y than last year. Some weeks ago, I had been to J Centre Mall in Banilad (one of the newest malls here) and I just love how they have put up their decorations. Here's a picture I took of their entrance when I was there to buy some personal and office stuff. this one is at J Centre Mall entrance I love going to this mall because it's near my workplace and it is not too crowded yet. Moreover, the stores that are in this mall that I have been to are selling a lot of good stuff at reasonable prices. I'm pretty sure they also have plenty of activities lined up for this year's celebration of Christmas. I hope to be back soon.

A few days more to go and it's already Christmas. I'm in the middle of work but yours truly is feeling kind of nostalgic because of the many Christmas songs that are being played on the radio. I really can't help but sing along and make a quick post about this as well. Right now, as I am writing this post, they're playing " A Perfect Christmas " by Jose Mari Chan. I so love all his Christmas songs but this one is my favorite Christmas song of the week. I think it is safe to say that I will forever be a Jose Mari Chan fan. Period. I dedicate this song to our families and friends. You know who you are. I hope to see or hear from all of you this Christmas.

The last time he gave me something for Christmas, it was a pair of shoes (Hush Puppies). This Christmas, I am not going to expect to get anything from him because I am already aware of what our money can or cannot buy. Anyway, it goes for him as well. Everytime I would attempt to buy him a new shirt as my gift for Christmas, he would warn me not to because we have to make ends meet first. Yes, he's not the type who would agree to buy gifts from credit card. Obviously, between the two of us, he's the more frugal and practical type.

I'd like to write about our memories from the past Christmases we've had here in A Walk Through Life . Let me just say that last year's Christmas was our first Christmas together with our then nine-month-old baby. So far, we have enjoyed the challenge in our journey and life as parents. Yes, this was how it was three Christmases ago. Just got married here. And this was how it was two Christmases ago. A picture of us taken during a company Christmas party - where I wrote about my merry bloated Christmas. Why I called it a merry bloated Christmas ? Let the photos speak for themselves. :-) Now, I realized when I wrote about last year's Christmas in my other blog - I showed photos of me wearing the same pink blouse I wore when I was still pregnant. I also wore the same blouse during my daughter's baptism when she was about four months old. Do you know what this means? It means I don't have a lot to wear! Kidding aside, I think it looked like I los...

Me: Use " meretrisha " in a sentence. You: Use it. Me: Meretrisha and A Happy New Year! Okay, that wasn't funny, was it? How about this? Me: Use "meowy" and "puppy" in a sentence. You: That's hard. Use it. Me: Meowy Christmas and A Puppy New Year! Haha! Sorry about that one last joke, too. I just remembered my ex-officemates' creativity when it comes to coming up with a concept for a Christmas decoration. :-) The company came up with a Christmas Decoration contest last 2007 as a way to motivate us more to beautify the room and give it a Christmas feel. It was a unique concept that we did for the room and we liked it but unfortunately, we didn't win. Turns out that our officemates from the other departments were more creative than us. :-) Anyway, Christmas reminds me of gift giving, Christmas parties, and Christmas bonus. Well, speaking of Christmas gifts, do you already have one for me? A Blackberry Curve would ...

This song always makes me remember my late Mom. She passed away in 2007, just a few days before Christmas. Always has the same effect on me everytime I listen to this song. Would you like to know what Christmas is all about? Listen to this song by an alternative band called NewSong . The Christmas Shoes (Lyrics) It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously Pacing 'round like little boys do And in his hands he held a pair of shoes His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe And when it came his time to pay I couldn't believe what I heard him say Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time You see she's been sick for quite a while And I know these shoes would mak...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - at least here on A Walk Through Life . I noticed that my 2008 post A Merry Bloated Christmas has climbed up to No. 3 on the list of my Popular Posts (see sidebar). I was still very pregnant with my daughter back then and this gave me a pretty good excuse not to join my ex-officemates during their winning performance. Yes, they bagged the First Prize for their Christmas presentation. I was like the stage wife to my husband during this performance. I am not in this video but you could hear me laughing so hard in the background. Hahaha I was really amused. I guess when you're pregnant and bloating, you could either be super depressed or super happy - glad I felt the latter! So, here's that controversial video I took of them where you could hear me laughing in the background. The first few minutes of the video has a dark effect because we had the lights put off to highlight the candles. But don't worry, you will not see d...

There are two things to celebrate for this month of October - our wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday. FYI, and as usual, we are going to celebrate them our own way (the frugal way, that is. LOL). You know, I'm always excited about the anniversary of important dates in our lives even though my excitement doesn't mean we are going to celebrate them in a major kind of way. Somehow, it just feels great to remember what it was like on our actual wedding day. When that day comes, we will have officially reached the three year milestone in marriage.  Yes, up until now, we still smile when we look at our wedding photos. Ah, priceless! Three days after our wedding day, it's going to be hubby's birthday - truly an October to remember. If you want to know how we celebrated this month last year, check out this short video that hubby made for us. Then comes November. Oh, let's not talk about my birthday. Okay, we can talk about it. It's funny because I ...

Christmas is all about family. This is why I feel a little sad to know that I'll be missing my two brothers this Christmas 2009. I don't know why I miss them when all they do is try not to be around home almost all the time. I feel like they wanted to be with their friends rather than be at home celebrating the holidays. Oh yeah, maybe that's how brothers are. They show up at noche buenas and then sneak out to see their peers, have silly conversations with them, and enjoy getting drunk and all that. Still, despite all that fact, I miss my two brothers. Such sweet fellas hekhekhek. It's like they've been gone for a really longgggg time. Merry Christmas, bros! Hope to see you both soon.

I'd still like to think about having a happy Christmas! However, even up to this time, it still gets me. You know, this whole thing that I have to go through. The days before Christmas. I really can't get past it until now. Everytime December gets nearer, my heart is less than happy because it makes me miss my mom even more. Somehow, December would always remind me of the time that we lost her. You can't blame me. I am my mom's daughter. I will always be thinking of her and I will always remember the beautiful memories I had with her. So, to all of you sons and daughters out there. Seize the times or the moments that you still have the chance to be with your mom or your parents. You'll never know how much chance you've got! Here's an old picture of me with my mom(+) and dad... I will always be their loving daughter :-)

Meretrisha and a Happy New Year... Hello friends, I'm back. It has been a pretty longggg time minus the blogging. I had been wanting to update my blog but, for the past few days, sleeping (next to eating) became my passion. After reading some great blogs from my favorite friends and bloggers, it would already feel like it's bedtime. I couldn't think of anything to write, anyway. I can only imagine our bed, the pillows, and a good night's sleep with my husband. So what has kept me busy for the past week or so? Our company just had our Christmas Party last December 13th (yeah right, it's the same date as my high school reunion). It was a successful event. We've been wanting to go home with the washing machine but Stephen won an MP4 from the raffle, instead. I on the other hand won a computer keyboard. That's not all--our team won the Christmas caroling contest! Because I'm pregnant, I had the privilege of not joining in the presentation and games. Sometime...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… Everywhere I go, something always tells me Christmas is definitely just around the corner. People already started to put up Christmas lights and decorations in their homes, Christmas songs are frequently played over the radio, malls are having their own pre-Christmas sale, blogs about Christmas are everywhere, and people are already busy thinking of what to give to their loved ones this Christmas. I used to look forward to the Christmas holidays until last year came and broke my spirit. It was December 20th of last year that we lost our mom. Everytime I think about it, I feel like asking myself “What’s there to celebrate?” Christmas will always remind me about losing her. But then I guess I need to look deeper into the real essence of Christmas. That it’s not just about merry-making, get-togethers and family reunions. Come to think of it, we are celebrating our Savior’s birthday. This is not our day. It is His. Since it is His, there’s so mu...