Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post as I'd like to greet everyone a

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It's already 7:55 pm here in the Philippines- 4 more hours before Christmas Eve! 

Filipinos go to mass and celebrate Noche Buena at midnight but we won't be going to mass tonight since my father isn't around, no one will drive us to church. It'll be dangerous to just walk since there will be a lot, and I say, a lot, of fireworks by the road tonight. Noche buena can wait till my father is back. It'll be Media Noche then (for New Year's Eve).

Anyways, right now, my Nanay is asleep, I'm tired from my last minute shopping earlier (I had too for my brother's camping on Monday), and my brother has set up his tent in the middle of the living room! Really! We won't be opening presents at midnight.. because there are no presents!haha We decided to do that on New Year's Eve instead. Also, our poor 10-foot Christmas tree had an accident and now she's shorter by 4 feet. :P We removed all lights to keep it away from even graver danger. :D It badly needed a chiropractor! Our house is a mess to since the construction for our ceiling isn't done yet (hence my brother's camping in the living room).

I'm preparing some salad though and maybe pasta for tonight. I still haven't decided. It can wait till tomorrow. If time permits, I'll be baking some cupcakes too!

Oh I just wish my father was here so that we'd be complete.

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Let us not forget the true essence of Christmas. My Christmas may sound lonely, but no, it's not. As the song goes, Christmas is in our hearts (or, something like that).

I'm still blessed. My father isn't around because he's at work. My brother is camping in the living room because he's excited for his week-long camp starting Monday. My mother is asleep because she just wants to rest, haha. Our house is a mess because of the construction. Our Christmas tree is still standing. And we have food and still-unwrapped presents. I'm content. I'm blessed.

Compared to the people in Mindanao who experienced the flood, lost their belongings, their houses, their loved ones, their own lives. Will they still be able to celebrate Christmas? Do they still have Christmas trees? Have they already prepared for Noche Buena? Above all, do they still have homes and families?

Who am I to complain? I'm still happy, I'm still blessed.

Okay, let us not be sad :) Together, let's pray for them. We can all help too!

Again, Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you have a good one!

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Notes on Typhoon Sendong and how to help,

visit: The Philippine Red Cross

Images

Meet me on Monday: Christmas Edition

   CHRISTMAS EDITION!! FIFTEEN QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK! :)

Questions:

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper!I love wrapping them up. You get to put more love in it than simply placing them inside gift bags. Also, you get to be more creative. I don't care if it's torn apart after. As long as they look really good, I' happy. :)

2.Real or artificial tree?
Artificial. I'm from the Philippines, and that should probably explain a lot!

3.When do you put your tree up?As early as September, IF possible. Yes, and it gets too dusty come Christmastime! But this year, we had it up by November. YES, we're a bunch of excited people!

4.When do you take your tree down?After the Three Kings Festival (Epiphany), which us January 6. We try to take all decorations down on or before that. But we had one set of decorations that are always there - yes, year round. HAHA!

5.Do you like eggnog?
I've been reading a lot about eggnog on my timeline in Facebook recently, all from my non-Filipino friends. It has probably something to do with Christmas, which I am not aware of.

Well, this is the eggnog I know, and YES, I like eggnog. ;-)

6.Do you have a nativity scene?
We wanted to, but we never had time to shop. So, no. We did have in our previous house, but that was owned by my grandmother. :)

7.Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's a Wonderful Life. 

It really makes me cry every time. I love it! Oh, George Bailey!

 8.Favorite Christmas cookie?
Okay, limme change the question to "Favorite Cookie".. Chocolate chips! 

via

Christmas or not, it's my fave. Better if there's mint!

9.Where will you eat Christmas dinner?
At home. With my Nanay (mom), and Brother. My Tatay (dad) will still be at work and he'll only be able to join us for New Year's. So well, Christmas dinner will be at home, with family.

10.Angel, bow or star on top of your tree?
Star!
I wanted to show you our tree but then there's some minor construction going on at home right now so I better not stand there and take a pic. Those guys might think I'm taking a picture of them!
11.Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Traffic! Everywhere!!!

12.Do you like Fruitcake?
No.
It's hard, and well, I dunno! The rhum, or whatever it is mixed with it doesn't appeal to me. If someone gives us fruitcakes, we end up just taking a bite from time to time. It'll reach Valentine's. :)

13.What are you most excited about the holidays?
Staying at home, wrapping and giving presents and of course, getting them!

14.Do you open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Eve. We can't wait!

15.Will you still be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
I still haven't made/bought my gifts. I'll probably be wrapping until New Year's! Merry Christmas!! 6 Days before Christmas!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

So I've been downloading, uhm, illegally (it's Christmas anyway), some albums recently.

And my theme? CHRISTMAS!

***
So that some of you may know (according to ME), today (December 16) marks the 'official' start of Christmas in the Philippines.
Though malls and radio stations play Christmas songs as early as September 1, I consider Christmas to officially commence with the Simbang Gabi, or the 9-day dawn mass until Christmas day. They say that if you get to complete the 9-day mass, your wish will be granted.

I wasn't able to wake up and join the mass this morning, so let me move on. *bitter*
***


Anyway, so much for the segue, back to the albums. Here are my favorites:

I like Zooey Deschanel's voice, it's so distinct and just, beautiful!

Genre: Indie Pop

My favorite: I'll be Home for Christmas

All I know is that Michael Buble is a crooner but does this album belong to the Jazz genre?
Anyway, my favorite from this album: Jingle Bells! It's so cute!
Also, the album made me feel like Michael was singing to me. Eek! haha :D Never knew a Christmas album would make me feel that way.

Meet Christian Bautista. He's a Filipino yet he's very famous all over Asia. He has a Christmas album too.

I'm still looking for a copy of his album though. I heard that it went platinum so  it must be good! 

Here's a preview:

I don't know why I'm doing a post like this. I just wanted something Christmas-sy to post about!

And I like listening to Christmas songs. I love the gloomy-sounding ones. :D 

Winter Wonderland, I'll be Home for Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, White Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

9 Days before Christmas!

I just couldn't resist posting these photos. 

Don't you just love those eyes?

*This post was published/finished on December 16. I changed the settings to have the date changed but then it wouldn't. WHY!?
Finally! It's fine :D

Wordless Wednesday

Say hi to Santa!

{He looks a bit creepy}

  

"He sees you when you're sleeping;

He knows when you're awake.

He knows if you've been bad or good-

so be good, for goodness sake!"

11 Days before Christmas!

Twenty-six

Today, December 13, 2011, marks my parents' 26th wedding anniversary.

Actually, the photo above was taken on February, 1987.

My parents got married twice. Of course, to each other. Both were church weddings.

They must have loved each other so much they did it twice. haha :D

There's a back story, but then I don't know the exact details. But as far as the version I know, the story is sooo cute! I'll probably share some other time. And all I'm sure of is that the first celebration was a "secret" one. They had to do it again - to make it legal. :) Well, that's what they always say anyway. And so that family and friends could attend.

I was born exactly 9 months after their first wedding. ;-)

Happy wedding anniversary! I love you both very much! Thank you for everything.

P.S. Sorry I forgot to greet you both this morning. And this year, I failed to make a surprise. 

Don't worry, I promise not to forget next year, hehe. Love you Nanay and Tatay!

12 days before Christmas!

Meet me on Monday

Questions:

1.  Tomorrow I'm going to _________?
SCHOOL!
I'm following up on my grades (or let's say I'm asking the professor to pass me!). I was supposed to finish last semester but then there seems to be a problem with a subject. My graduation (this March) is still hanging by a thread! Oh, everyone who gets to read this, PLEASE, pray for me. Together let's pray that she lets me pass (she's a Judge, so she scares me!). 

Thanks!

2.  Pudding or Jello?
Jello! :D 

Jello reminds me of my happy childhood days! I loved them frozen.

3.  What book are you currently reading?
Would Constitutional Rights and Social Demands - Notes and Cases, by Father Joaquin Bernas count? It's on my desk. My goal is to finish it this December (uhm, in preparation for November next year's exam, haha!).

Okay, so seriously, right now I'm listening to an audiobook by George Carlin entitled Napalm and Silly Putty. Somebody mentioned to me that he enjoys George Carlin's humor. Well, so far, it's so so. Not really my type but he does have a sense of humor!

4.  What is the first concert you went to see?
I can't remember!

I think it was a Gary Valenciano concert back in Cagayan de Oro. My uncle had tickets and no one would go with him. I was in grade school that time. I can't remember exactly how old I was, but it was just him and me, a kid. haha It was fun because it was the first time I saw my uncle dance! 

Gary V. is the Philippine's Mr. Pure Energy!

5.  What is your current weather?
Hot and super sunny! 

Why aren't there winters in the tropics!
I think I'm ready, haha! If only.

Ukay-Ukay Friday

 Ukay-ukay (ʊkaɪ/ʊkaɪ) Friday

.. on a Saturday! ;-)

Let me start of by sharing with you what UKAY-UKAY is. 

Ukay, in the local dialect means dig. So ukay-ukay can losely translate to digging. There are a lot of ukay-ukay stores in the Philippines. So they're like flea markets, second-hand, thrift, or bargain stores. They usually sell clothes, shoes, and bags from USA, China, or Korea. They usually pile up clothes and you dig through them to search for that perfect piece of apparel. Or, if you're lucky enough, there are those that display the clothes on hangers, but that would mean they're more expensive. 

Just to give others an idea, here are pictures from the internet.

There are other ukay-ukay areas that aren't as crazy and packed as the last photo above, but then, you get the picture ;-)

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Okay.. So yesterday I was blog hopping in search of new interesting blogs. I chanced upon Katie's blog and I'm glad I did! I enjoyed reading her blog and finding out about all her thrift finds. I myself am a thrift-store lover. I'm good at haggling too, if permitted! :) 

And now, I am joining her Guiltless Grab Friday blog hop.

My Friday started off with my mother coming home from mass. She said she dropped by an ukay-ukay store and that she bought me something for only P10.00 (1 USD = 43.00 PhP)! It was a black button down blouse. I wanted to take a picture but then she washed it right away. Now, I don't know where it is. I'll probably share it some other time.

What I'm really showing off for today is my Wish Mini Journal. I love notebooks, journals, planners, and diaries so I was so happy to spot this treasure over at the local Booksale. 

The actual look. It's a bit dirty but it's crisp and clean on the inside!

I got it for only P70.00. I think it's already out of print but if you check their website, it's still being sold at $8. One site is still even selling it for $18!

I bought a similar journal from the same publisher months ago. It was a coffee-addict's journal. :) I'm pretty sure I'm not going to write on them, and I don't know why.

I just love looking at them (and smelling them too!).

Check out the other journals I have posted about before. :D

So that's it! I'm excited for next week because I've got a lot lined up already. And I'm excited to check out the other blogs too!

Marian Visit and a Roadtrip

The Church celebrates the Immaculate Concepcion every 8th of December. At least, for the Catholics and Marian believers. I'm a Catholic but I wasn't able to go to church yesterday because my brother has this arthritis which gave him severe ankle pains and he couldn't walk. I stayed with him at home while my parents went to hear mass.

Anyways, it was fine with me since last Monday, we went to Simala (I mentioned the place before here) and paid Mama Mary a visit. It was the first time we went there alone as a family (sans my sister who's already based somewhere else). 

What I like about this place is the wonderful view -  perfect for prayer and meditation. Sometimes though I wonder if a place dedicated to the Virgin Mary should be this grand. I understand though that the money used for the construction was from devotees who wanted to give back. Well anyway, we each have our views, the important thing is our faith and devotion.

After leaving Simala, which is about a two-hour drive away from home, my father decided to go to to this steakhouse he used to frequent went he was still working in the South. It was another 20-minute or so drive down south.

The bar had that rural Filipino feel, having walls out of bamboo and overlooking the highway. However, when you open the menu, you get to quickly realize that it's probably owned by an expat. True enough, upon checking their website (they have free wifi), the place is owned by an German couple (Pinay wife).

I ordered the Australian Porterhouse steak. I like it medium rare. I also ordered the mushroom sauce and some fries. I shared it with my brother though since the waiter said he (my bro) might not be  able to finish one serving. Hmph. We shouldn't have listened to him since I still wanted more. But I was full though since I finished my father's soup. haha It was a pricey meal, considering we were 2 hours away from the city. Or was it pricey because we were away from the city. :/

Anyway, if any of you happen to drop by Alcoy, Cebu, do visit Bodo's Bamboo Bar. You wouldn't miss it, it's just by the road.

While we were eating, we were discussing as to what place was located at the southernmost tip of the island of Cebu. We all thought it was Oslob. And so my father said, how about we go to Oslob, and maybe even ride the barge to Dumaguete? Dumaguete didn't seem to be a great idea since it's am island away and we weren't prepared. 

But still, we headed south. And upon reaching the end of Oslob, we found out it wasn't the last municipality of Cebu. HAHA! There was stil Santander. So when we saw the sign "Welcome to Santander", my father said we should head back home as he was already sleepy. haha :D

Google Map says that the road trip would be about 103 km and would take only about an hour and twenty minutes. I beg to disagree. What's that? Driving at about 70km/hour? You can't do that here with small roads and big buses around.

Well, that was a great unplanned roadtrip with the family for me. We finished a whole CD of 72 Pinoy Rock songs and brought home torta from Argao and chicharon fron Carcar.

For the first time in a long time, I actually puked on our way back since my mother and brother wanted to turn off the aircon. I was at the back seat (back of the shotgun, so I didn't have any view and air!). I eventually begged for them to roll down the windows instead and thankfully they agreed. I felt better then.

 

My father said we should plan a next trip and this time really head for Dumaguete. I hope it pushes through since planned trips don't usually happen! And also, he said we're going back to Bodo's since he was on a no red meat diet when we went there. He's the one who super loves steak and I felt sorry for him that he couldn't eat one. :P We're surely going back!

Any roadtrip tips you've got there? :D They'll surely come in handy during our next family trip!
 

It's Christmas!

December 3 marked my first Christmas party of the year. And hopefully, my last in Law School. I am not officially enrolled this semester but I still chose to attend, and well, join the fun! 

There was a "Talent Show" with a Christmas theme and me and my friends decided to join. My friends don't usually join this kind of activity, much more, dance, but hey, it's going to be our last so why not make the most out of it.

We never practiced, but we prepared our audio. It was a mash up, haha! We were ambitious!

At the last minute, we even decided to sing an acoustic version of Price Tag!

 Initially, we wanted somebody to take a video for us but nobody wanted to do it, hmph! We ended up having only a few pictures, but that's fine anyway. It was just a crazy experience, I'm glad I don't have to go to school everyday. 

Our presentation included the following songs/audio:

Jingle Bell Rock (from Mean Girls)

A ho-ho-ho-ing Santa Clause

Kung Fu Fighting (Foo Fighters)

Footlose

Dougie

Mr. Roboto (Styx)

Thriller

Price Tag (Acoustic, Live, my version :)))

Super Bass

Bad Romance

Weird, right? But it wasn't that weird when we were there. We were always laughing. Good thing we were the 6th and last to present amongst the other "serious" entries.

Well, we didn't win, of course, but we got a consolation price which we spent for coffee (well, actually my father paid for mine haha). 

Overall, I enjoyed the night. And I'm looking forward to more Christmas parties!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The sooner you fall behind...

... the more time you'll have to catch up.

It's the first day of the last month of the year, and I'm here to say that I'm back! Well. I just wanted to post something anyway. I haven't been here for the longest time!

First off, I am so worried with my SwapBot account. You know, people go crazy sometimes and worry about things they're not supposed to worry about, loose focus and eventually forget. I had a hard time in school and I set all the other things aside. My outgoing mails just piled up and I was never able to mail them! I'm catching up though. I bought lots of Christmas cards and I'm planning on mailing a letter of apology to each person I flaked on over at SwapBot.

Cards!

I hope that would be enough. For some people who take swapping seriously, I've already committed a mortal sin.

Have you ever had that feeling that you've laid down the map of your life yet at that very moment you don't have any clue as to where you're at. It's crazy. Right now, I honestly do not know my standing in school. Have I graduated or not? I mean, is this even possible? I'm hoping, praying, crossing fingers and toes and everything else I could, for the best.

Last November, I was supposed to fly to Manila during the last weekend. My plan was to go with an Uncle in Tagaytay, join the Bar Operations in Manila, and go to Pampangga to visit my nephew. A very vital exam forced me to do a no show. I wanted to buy a new ticket but the exam made me feel so detached after that I got addicted to basil leaves, bought toothbrush as a birthday gift, bought violet contact lenses for myself, skipped (and didn't reply to) friend's invitations, and crocheted lots of rubbish.

Last October, I wanted to sign up for the audiobook challenge. 12 audiobooks by the end of the year. I was on my 6th (in 2 weeks - because I was catching up), but stopped because of the exams! And well, because I couldn't get hold of Lauren Kate's Passion which I really wanted to listen to that time. Never thought I'd be glued to those kinds of stories. Daniel is not my type though. I think I'm on Team Cam.

Last September, I turned a quarter of a century old! I had plans, but my parents had plans to. I ended up celebrating at home - with lots of food! Only 2 of my friends were able to come (the others didn't forget, they just didn't go), the rest were all relatives (good thing those people I didn't know didn't come, I hate that!). I bought glittery hats for my cousins and wore a fascinator hat myself even if what I really wanted to wear was a tiara. Yes, I'm weird at times. Well, most of the time. I also wanted to share my 25 before 25, which I postponed and tried to call it 25 after 25 instead. I eventually decided on 25 before 26 - just because.

August went by too quickly I couldn't even remember what took place!

And so I'm back just in time for the holidays. I've got plans of totally revamping my blog. I'm a lady, I'm entitled to change my mind every now and then, you see. I'm also planning, just planning, to really post with sense next time. My posts bordered on totally random that they're too dense. I hope I get to accomplish this though.

So soon you'll probably be reading more about my attempts in the kitchen, my crocheting skills (or the assumption of a presence thereof), and some other things I'll get to think of along the way.

Oh by the way, I can't remember when, but I busted my laptop. It short circuited right after I plugged it for charging and the plug sent out this crazy spark. So now I'm left with sharing a desktop computer with my brother. I don't get to log in to my other social networking sites more often because I hate logging out then back in. I always log out from the desktop, just to be sure. I haven't had the time to check on my bookmarks too, because I've lost them all. My friend suggested that we chop-chop my laptop and get the hard drive out and use it. Freaking motherboard toasted and buying a new one is more expensive that buying a new laptop. grrrr

I'm off to sleep now.

Goodnight.

I'm checking on my status in school tomorrow. I hope I passed the exams. I'm going to die if I didn't, or at least, somebody would kill me.

I hope somebody gives me a new laptop.

Merry Christmas!

-post title totally random-