Posts Tagged ‘church’

Shopping Spree, Flowers and Tsim Sha Tsui dinner for my birthday

September 15th, 2010

a surprise bouquet of my favorite flowers

Claire playing on her table while waiting for the food...


It’s a good thing to have availed of a birthday leave and away from my office desk and laptop so I can enjoy my birthday the whole day. I’m not going out of town this year or any lavish party at my expense for this special occasion of my life. But I only wanted to have a special dinner with the 2 most special people in my life and a shopping spree treat. I even did not expect an expensive bouquet of flower to be delivered in my office the day before my birthday.

I always make it a point to go to Church first before all other occasion activites and hear Holy Mass as my thanksgiving to the good Lord who has given me so many blessings in my life. And this year is even unique because I am able to go to Confession as well. It’s a perfect day, the weather is good and the planned dinner to Tsim Sha Tsui in Ayala makes my stomach full… It’s my first time to this restaurant and I’m pretty satisfied with the food and the ambiance is good, maybe because the place is mostly coated with my favorite color.

I also got everything I want from my shopping, from shoes, to dresses, spa, etc… and I can say, I got all I want for my birthday plus a surprise bouquet of my favorite flower coming from the love of my life completes the occasion. Indeed a very happy birthday to me!

Nativity of Mary

September 8th, 2010

For Roman Catholics, September 8 is a very special Marian day in commemoration of Mary’s nativity. This occasion is celebrated as a liturgical feast highlighting Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ.

Mary’s birth was extraordinary, because she was conceived without original sin for God had chosen her to be the mother of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Her parents Joachim and Anne were beyond their child-bearing years so they prayed that God would grant their aspiration for a child. It was clear that the grace of God already started with her parents when they asked God to grant them a child and He gave them the Virgin Mary.

I remember when my Theology teacher asked the class to write an essay about who is Mary in our life.  And all our answers amazed our teacher because it’s almost of the same thought and same belief. Mary is my “protectress” to all bad elements in life and a “bridge” to Jesus, I turn to her when I’m down and ask her guidance in my daily activities. I’m so blessed with Mary in my life and despite my unworthiness, I continue to feel her presence and with so much faith, I continue to embrace her into my life.

Happy Birthday “Mama Mary”!

Leather Wedding – 3rd Anniversary

August 4th, 2010

our church wedding

One of my favorite occasions is an “Anniversary”, may it be my parents’ anniversary, friendship anniversary, and birthdays can also be an anniversary though in a special way. Well… it makes me feel good when I’m being thoughtful especially to an occasion that involves loved ones. The best anniversary occasion is of course my own wedding anniversary. In general a wedding anniversary is shared intimately and quietly between the couple in a special, private and romantic settings. And how we celebrate this occasion? Here’s my simple sharing… :)

Hubby and I celebrates our 3rd wedding anniversary which is traditionally known to be a “leather” wedding, it’s symbolic in a way that it represents the durability of your marriage. Though we did not exchange gifts together like leather belt, leather bag, leather wallet, etc… I believe that being together on this occasion and accompanied with our only little girl is already a durable representation for me.

Let me share some highlights of how we celebrate the occasion.

ucc coffee cafe terrace

cyma restaurant - greek cuisine

For our lunch date, we decided to pick a class A restaurant where we are both first time. We went to Cyma restaurant then in Ayala and relished the Greece cuisine, it’s definitely a good dining experience for me, loved their food and the salads… my hubby loved the prawns.

Dinner should be more special, so after a quick strolling and shopping, I reminded myself to pick up our little girl at home in order to join us for dinner and hear the 6:00 pm holy mass at the same church where we exchanged vows. The mass is the most important activity for me, because it is one special way to thank the Almighty that we reached this special occasion. After the Holy Mass, we had dinner, which we also wanted to pick up a new dining place and it’s him who personally choose “UCC Café”. Though it’s not really our first time, because we had dine at their Makati branch when we were still engaged, but it’s our first time in Cebu since the cafe opened.

It is simple and spontaneous, that is how we celebrate our 3rd year! After all, whether it’s our 3rd time or 50th year, it is important to celebrate wedding anniversaries together in a special and memorable way we can afford.

Sinulog @ 30 – 2010, Viva Pit Senyor!

January 16th, 2010

One of the grandest and popular occasion in Cebu is the “Sinulog” which is celebrated annually by all cebuanos and not just the town folks but even many Filipinos in the country and foreigners around the world. The celebration even started with a ‘Sinulog Street Fair’ from December 01, 2009 and will end January 31, 2010. It is indeed a festive days in Cebu during this time, the activities and different events will surely make everyone happy, from Sinulog contestants’ street dancing, to mall fairs, not to forget eating and dancing and of course, one of the best thing I see during this event is the big religious crowd in the “Basilica del Santo Nino church” hearing the novena masses and praying.

This grand occasion is not just street fairs but the most important one is a thanksgiving to the main celebrant, who is the baby Jesus himself. That is why, the days celebrating in different corners of Cebu is not complete when people will not drop by the Basilica and pay homage, pray and hear the Holy Mass.

First thing, I will probably be going to the Basilica with my family then party in the streets with my friends! See you all and Viva Pit Senyor!

Below is  the schedule of religious activity during the actual Solemnity feast day which is on January 17, Sunday in the Basilica:

4:00 am – Mananita Mass with Msgr. Frederick Kriekenbeek
6:00 am – Pontifical Mass with His Eminence Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal
every hour – Holy Mass

Happy 2nd Birthday!

November 21st, 2009

claire_bd

Since 2 years ago… I never get tired of thanking God for giving me the best gift I could ever imagined – my one and only little girl! We are celebrating her birthday and the more I thank God for giving her good health all these years… Like all mothers feel, nothing can compare how happy I am seeing her every milestones and today is one of the highlights. My Claire understands that it’s her birthday and even if I did not throw any kiddie party, she was so happy and so energetic seeing all the familiar faces of the whole family surrounding her.

For me, it’s still a big party at home because we are a big family and everybody is in the mood to celebrate this special occasion… It is such a busy day, from malling in the morning, buying her gifts, balloons, cakes, then preparing the food at home for dinner, and of course we don’t want to miss the Holy Mass as a thanksgiving. Then the rest of the night is eating and drinking and Claire is still up playing, running and laughing with her cousin on her same age. One thing for sure, this little girl is happy! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday baby! We love you!

Getting Married

November 8th, 2009

wedding_ringIt always excites me when my friends deliver a sweet announcement of; “Hey, guess what? I am getting married!”

My friend who is the groom to be popped me a message over MSN last Friday that he is getting married 2 months from now… the news didn’t surprise me because I’ve been expecting this kind of news since 3 years ago.. hehe! I’d love him to get married already and at last I’m so happy to hear it directly from him. He asked me to be one of their secondary sponsor and it is such an honor for me to be part of this special occasion of his life and I don’t want to miss it!

I am not a wedding planner, (although I wished to be one…) but I always love to volunteer a little service to make the occasion possible… designing give-aways, even going to the market and different malls to purchase the raw materials, designing invitations, researching the net for the best wedding gown design, name it… and I’d love to do it for my friends. Most of my girl friends are not married yet because they are still enjoying being single and in-love, and I am looking forward for their turn to give me a ‘getting-married’ news… :)