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? :-)

Today would have been the end of it all - I really thought my blogging days here are over but, thanks to dear husband, he has motivated me to keep this blog alive again. I sure was ready to let go and move on when I was having second thoughts of renewing this domain because I also rarely had the time to update this. The husband knew I loved this blog and wanted me to keep it for as long as I want it and if I still would want to do something about it. I am quite thankful he's extending his all-out support for this blogging hobby/pastime of mine. I love you, husband. Now, I hope to be able to pick up where I left off. 

Today, I'm happy I've had the chance to send my little girl off to school. Rarely do I get the chance to do this because of my work schedule. This is why whenever  I would enjoy a day off from work because of a holiday or a service incentive leave, I would always want to spend it by making time with my daughter. When she woke up this morning, she was so happy to see me. At first, she thought it's still a weekend (and that's because she found me not in a rush  to go to work) that she refused to prepare to go to school. She eventually complied after I've explained to her that it's a Monday and that her mom is just enjoying a holiday off. Thanks to Presidents Day, I'm so glad to have enjoyed long weekends at home with the family. Tomorrow is going to be a lot different than today, though; but no matter how busy the rest of the week would turn out for me, I think I am already prepared for it. After all,  I have already recharged myself for a couple of days. Brin...

I am not even sure if I'm prepared to do a blog today but it sure feels awful not being able to see anything new on my page. Thus, I really feel like sitting down for awhile and see if I can make even just a single update. It was a fun December last year for me. I can't remember exactly how many parties I joined and went to but I had remembered what it felt to celebrate with friends and family. At a company Christmas party where there was a raffle draw, I won and brought home an induction cooker. I've never been lucky with raffle draws. Almost always, my name would never get picked that I never expected to win anything anymore. Anyway, I'm glad I won that appliance. It's good to have one so that we can have something  we can conveniently use when our gas stove runs out of LPG.

October wouldn't be complete without celebrating our wedding anniversary and husband's birthday. I am happy and proud to say that, in our own pretty simple but special way, we've happily celebrated both occasions each year together. I know there's still a long way for us to go. Although I also know that there are still more trials to overcome and more storms to weather, I am confident that we can face them together without fear. After all, everything brings about a learning experience for us. Soon, there will be a lot of stories to tell to our growing daughter. Despite the high-magnitude earthquake in the middle of the month, October for me is still not as bad as I thought. Somehow, it's an opportunity to help other people in need and it's also a chance to contemplate on the things that are yet to come.

Many times, in this walk through life, our faith in the Lord keeps getting tested. So many trials came our way yet we've always surpassed them. Gradually, one by one, we were able to weather our storms. And while there are still more battles to hurdle, we're going to take it as positively as we can. After all, that's just what makes this life even more exciting and challenging! :-) We have always known that it's because of God that we're getting help from people at the right time that we needed them. Sometimes, we didn't even have to ask God for these things. Whether these are financial blessings, work opportunities, or some random acts of kindness from people we didn't expect to do them for us, all these just came in perfect timing! This is why nothing worries me that much anymore (although I can't help myself from being emotional sometimes because that's just the way I am). Whatever the future holds – I will keep reminding myself that I should no...

My 30-day personal challenge has long started but I have not even started yet. I am 13 days short of time to meet my goal of getting 25 articles approved in Ezine within 30 days. Waaaaaa. I hope I don't get too busy this weekend as I really need to get this personal challenge to work for me. No excuses this time. :-)

Saw this image with inspiring message on Facebook. Indeed, the world is filled with so many problems - many of which are the consequences of indecision or wrong decisions. However, it is also true that it is through mistakes that we can all  learn from, become better persons and succeed in life. Still, I don't believe that the success we are getting in life can be solely attributed through our own efforts. Ultimately, we owe our success to God so that we may use it according to His will. Sometimes, too, failure and setbacks are God's manifestation of His existence - that we may never  forget that there is a God who can lift us up and help us through life's difficulties. Without  Him in our lives, success is meaningless and ultimate happiness, personal fulfillment and peace can never be achieved.

Just want to take this time and space on my blog again to thank my friends for their existence in my life. Like I said before, I don't hold a long list of friends. I do have new friends but I also keep the old ones in my heart and in my thoughts - even though I seldom to never see them. You see, some of them keep in touch while some just went missing in my life as the years go by. The funny thing is that I miss all of them. I will forever remember and cherish the memories I made with each one of them. I do hope that someday I get to cross paths with those I didn't get to see again for ages.

What's keeping me sad sometimes about us moving back to our own home (even though I know we are doing the right thing) is leaving my daughter to a nanny when she could have been happier being with her cousins at the in-laws' place. Deep inside, I feel really guilty every time we have to extend extra hours at work because I know my daughter is patiently waiting for us to come home every single day. Had she been under the in-laws' watch, I would not be as guilty as I am  these days. Indeed, parenting is a little difficult when you cannot find the right balance. Anyhow, husband and I are now planning on reporting earlier than usual at work so that we can make it home earlier as well. This also means that we need to get to sleep earlier than we normally do. Unfortunately, I am still up (and blogging!). There's one more post to do before going back to bed to join husband and daughter.

I am not really insomniac but there are really times when I can't get to sleep even when it's already past bedtime and even when the lights are already out. This is one of those times where I am still trying to keep myself sleepy while husband and daughter are already in the middle of their sleep. This gets me totally envious especially when I hear one of them snore! I'll leave that up for readers to guess which of them is the snoring type. :-) By the way, the reason why I'm having trouble sleeping today is probably because I had too much caffeine during the day. I rely too much on coffee (and sometimes cola or soda!), which is also why I can't bring my weight down. Actually, I can let go of soft drinks any time but my day would never be the same without a drink or two of coffee. I thought perhaps it is about time to go for brewed coffee instead of instant coffee mix. Hopefully and pretty soon, we can have our own coffee maker at home.

Earlier I mentioned about my dream of becoming a professor in the future. Isn't it pretty neat to have teaching as my ultimate profession? I thought so. Husband thinks so, too. Speaking of husband, he has a dream for himself as well. He said he'd like to hone himself to become a successful seller or marketer someday. He has already envisioned that one day he'll be showing around his metal business card to his prospects. In order to succeed, though, he has acknowledged that he needs to work harder to improve his communication and marketing skills. I  would be happiest if he gets to realize all he wishes to become one day.

I told my husband I would like to be a teacher in the future. I remembered when I was a child, this was what I earlier dreamed to become but this dream got buried away when I also thought I wanted to become a lawyer someday. Unfulfilled dreams, huh? These days, my thoughts suddenly went back to wanting to be a teacher and this is probably because I thought it would be great to teach while my daughter is schooling. How convenient can that be for us? :-) Anyhow, these are just plans and thoughts for now. I just thought of writing these thoughts down even though I am not really one hundred percent sure about this plan. May the Lord continue to guide me in all that I do.

Give her anything Barbie and her problem is solved.  Little girls these days - I sometimes can't understand why their fascination for beautiful dolls are somewhat exaggerated to the point that they will cry rivers of tears when they don't get them. Good thing though that nowadays she's also okay with a popular toothpaste with a Barbie picture on it. She's actually excited to use it that I am actually happy that we discovered something that can motivate her to brush her teeth on a regular basis.

When our HR personnel sent a message today congratulating my husband for his anniversary at work yesterday, I got teary-eyed. Her message was a great reminder that it has already been a year since we have been welcomed by my in-laws in their home. Moving away from our own home was something we needed to do since we couldn't find someone we can rely on to take care of our little girl while we are going back to work in an office environment. We are so lucky and grateful that the in-laws have been very gracious enough to welcome us into their home and to have unselfishly poured over their love and attention to our daughter. Hopefully, come January 2013, we are going back to our own home, bringing with us all the unconditional love and support they have shown to us while we are staying with them and while our daughter was in their care. No words can ever express how grateful I am for their kind and thoughtful ways. Although we have already found someone reliable to watch over our kid...

The past few weeks went pretty hectic that I again find it really hard to sneak in to blog as well as to blog hop. Yes, the line had been very busy again. Thinking about it, I felt sad about not being able to see my good friend before she went back to the U.S. There is also another friend that I have been meaning to see and she's even just around the corner from where I work. Oh, I really felt bad about not being able to attend to two consecutive birthday parties hosted by these two mommy friends. My little girl should have enjoyed the two separate Jollibee birthday parties but it was too bad because her mom got caught up with other pressing itineraries. It's a good thing that these mommy friends understood me and my situation. I do hope to make it up to them next time! I have not even written/blogged long enough but my daughter wouldn't get to sleep if I don't sleep beside her. So, off to bed will I go now. I'll probably just pretend to sleep and sneak back in i...

Yesterday marked our fifth year of marriage. We were glad it fell on a Saturday so we can have some time to celebrate. Weeks before our anniversary, we actually thought of traveling to my hometown but since the weather is not that great days before our anniversary, we decided to put off traveling. We then agreed to celebrate this important day with our Dipdip at SM. I think celebrating it with our daughter (the fruit of our love) is the best way to celebrate as a form of our renewal of love and commitment to one another. Initially, we planned on watching a movie with our daughter. It was supposed to be her first movie experience but we can't find any movie that's suitable for her age. Besides, if it's not a Dora or a Barbie show, she's not that attentive yet. Thus, we ended up watching an Art Exhibit at the Art Exhibit Center, buying socks for ourselves (bought 3 pairs for each of us) at the department store, a Snow White book and Barbie puzzle at the Toy Kingdom. A...

Some people think that I am comfortable with my weight but they don't really have any idea what I am going through. I've been planning on losing weight for ages but just can't find the means to achieve it. All those negative talks directed towards me that are supposed to motivate me to lose weight simply didn't help at all. Instead, they only add up to my anxiety and stress and has somehow caused me to eat some more - a great alibi for not being able to trim down. Lately, it is getting more and more difficult for me to lose weight. I remembered I had my chance last year when I was hospitalized because of dehydration due to severe diarrhea. I lost a lot of weight during that time but quickly regained it within two weeks after recovery. I want a healthier body for many reasons. Aside from the fact that I want to look and feel great again, I really don't want to be a burden to my husband and loved ones. I am well aware that being overweight can be a detriment to my h...

I promised to devote a separate post about a friend of mine who recently arrived from the U.S. for a vacation. I think, it was about two years ago when Jenn and I last saw each other. At that time, she was still planning on her pregnancy after marrying her husband for the second time here in the Philippines. They had their first wedding in the U.S. and had carefully planned for a Philippine wedding after that. Although we weren't really talking about our wedding plans before,  we were happy about the fact that we share the same wedding date as her very first wedding that was held in the States. Isn't that great? There are many things that I am thankful for this friend of mine. Aside from being a thoughtful friend that she's always been, I will always be grateful for being one of those partly responsible for leading an officemate (now my husband) to me. Had it not been for her and another officemate's pushing (the 'instrumentals'), I am not sure if my guy would...

I feel like making another blog update today because I bumped into a happiness quote being shared on Facebook. This is a good thing about social networks, you get inspired by the positive things that are being spread around. Photo: Not Mine Indeed, happiness in this walk through life is hard to achieve and this is due to the fact that most of us are bound to seek it only for ourselves. We tend to look for it for our own benefit. However, if we start wanting this happiness to be felt by the people around us and actually doing something about it, this feeling will simply resonate with us. Let's not also forget that it is not through material or financial things that can give permanent/ultimate happiness. It is the peace within ourselves that can bring about that feeling. No one else can make us feel that way but God in His goodness and grace. A blessed Sunday to all of us.