It’s one day before Christmas and I think I had everything in my checklist accomplished so I’m ready to celebrate it! Now, I’m done wrapping all the gifts that I want to share to family and friends this Christmas season. It makes me happy to spend time shopping for gifts and wrapping them with beautiful christmas wrappers and finally send them to kids and special members of the family… it brings joy to my heart and makes my christmas complete.

Aside from gifts which some of them I acquire a month before Christmas, I also make it a point to prepare and complete all the stuffs, ingredients, etc… for “noche buena” a week before Christmas. I wanted to avail of the “Mall Sales Promo” which it usually runs 2 days before Christmas but I just can’t take too much of the holiday rush that sometimes will spend almost the whole day in the malls.

Home Christmas decors are also part of my preparations… the house needs to be in a Christmas atmosphere so family members and friends who come to visit for Christmas feels the spirit of the occasion. But most of all the big preparation that is found at the last of my checklist is “myself”, did I prepare myself to be worthy of celebrating the commemoration of Christ’s birthday? How did I prepare myself?

Well, I know I’m not doing a great job in preparing myself yet… but at least I believe that this is the best I can give as my presents to the celebrant… and that is to create a ripple of generosity this Christmas.

A Happy Christmas to all!

Today, I witness how the young and lovely bride say her “I dos” not just in front of the many witnesses and to her groom but most specially in front of the Lord. It is a music to my ear when she sweetly utter the “Yes, I do” during the early part of marriage rite.

For me, this is the part where the bride needs to be 100% aware and sincere of her answer and this is the beginning of a new stepping stone of married life. A wedding of a lifetime does not only mean expensive gown, cakes, entourage, flowers, foods and venue, but the real essence for it to be a lifetime wedding is the sincerity of the couple in answering their “I do” in front of their family, friends and to the Lord.

The priest who represents God will ask the couple to join their right hand and express their intention before God and His church, the church stands for the people who witness the occasion. I remember the important questions are as follows which should be clearly answered “Yes, I do.” by the bride and groom themselves:

• Bride, do you take your groom here present, for your lawful husband according to the rite of our holy Mother, the Church?
• Do you give yourself to him as his wife?
• Do you accept him as your lawful husband?
• Groom, do you take your bride here present, for your lawful wife according to the rite of our holy Mother, the Church?
• Do you give yourself to her as her husband?
• Do you accept her as your lawful wife?

My cousin who is the groom is a very lucky man to have finally get the “I do” of a very lovely and young lady who now become his wife. As the one who bind them with the cord of married life, I wish them all the best of being together as a couple and soon raise  beautiful kids and be happy family with God at the center of their relationship.

This wedding is the featured occasion.

for Lunch - Blue Elephant The Walk IT Park

for Lunch - Blue Elephant The Walk IT Park - his favorite

for Dinner - Giligan at Ayala Terraces

I got lots of options in mind how to make him happy on his special day. I will share some of them to you:

• Go out of town together in the place where we both haven’t gone to
• Buy him a new gadget, his favorite (psp, itouch)
• Throw a party at home exclusive for his friends only
• Treat him to a spa
• Dinner in the best restaurant in the city

Well, I have to pick only one though since I’m not a millionaire to have them all in just one day. I realized that aside from all these gifts and treats just to make hubby happy, one important thing that cannot be bought and too expensive but I know I can afford is “Time”. So even both of us are busy in our respective career, I make it a point to meet him for lunch near his office. So we have lunch in “Blue Elephant” at the “The Walk, IT Park”. I chose the place because it’s new and we haven’t tried it yet. The food is good and affordable, and the place is cozy.

I did not choose to throw him a party or go out of town but one thing I realize is that having a simple and sweetest time together even in the middle of your hectic schedule already means a lot to the man you love. A dinner in “Giligan” in Ayala terraces completes the occasion. So just finding time together will make a husband happy on their birthday.

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!

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”!

With lots and various emerging high tech trends nowadays, I can’t think of a reason if I still fail to send a long distance greeting to family members, friends and loved ones for any occasion. Not unless if the reason is being “unthoughtful”, busy, or simply no time to do so…

I have listed some options I can think of for me to be able to extend even a simple “Happy Birthday” message to a long distance friend of mine:

• Connect to the internet and login to any popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Friendster – post a shout out to her wall or send a private message.
• Write a blog with my special birthday greetings in my personal website and send the link to my friend – it’s another way of greeting a friend with a personal and unique touch.
• If I’m in travel but within the “Wifi” area, grab my iPhone and connect to a free instant messaging that we are both subscribing. My favourite is the “YAK” application, very simple and handy.
• Send an email with personalize electronic greeting cards – there are lots of beautiful e-cards flashing in the internet.
• Grab a cellphone and dial her roaming number – it’s expensive but we can hear our voices and exchange talks.
• Lastly, chat and open my video cam – especially if I know my friend is also always online.
• And oh, sending birthday cards by snail mail is also an option!

Well, there are lots of options to take, the “techy” way or the “old-school” way – whatever our option is, I believe that sending greetings to loved ones will make us a part of their special day and will surely make them happy.

yummy "cookies n cream" cake from "Red Ribbon"

Happy birthday to the best dad I know!

I’ve been thinking how to make my dad happy on his special day, then I realize a birthday celebration for dad need not to be expensive or extravagant. Dads are usually happy with a simple happy birthday greetings coming from their loved ones. Well, maybe because unlike women, some dads usually don’t spend much time partying.

I can’t find a perfect birthday present for him yet… but I’m sure bringing him a birthday cake will already make him happy…

Want to share this poem I like to send to my Father on his birthday,  from poemsource.com

Good Man

Dad,
Every year, your birthday reminds me
how grateful I am that you are my father.
With all that’s going on in the world today,
I’m thankful I get to watch you,
to look up to you, being an example of a good man.
What a privilege it is to observe your strength,
your competence, and your kindness.
I am so blessed to be under your wing,
your protection, your care,
learning important life lessons from you.
If all fathers were like you,
the world would be a very different
and much better place.
Happy Birthday, Dad!

I tried to recall how we usually celebrate our anniversary way back in high school and it makes me smile… I remember that I wanted to make sure that I greeted a “Happy Anniversary” to the 5 of them first so I set my alarm clock 5 minutes before 12mn, so I can send a text message greeting right away. One of our favourite activity to make the celebration complete is to make sure that we heard holy mass together in our school chapel. The simple exchanging of gifts and letters will mark a remembrance of the celebration also.

Now that we have different lives, hectic schedule from work and family makes it difficult for all of us to bond regularly, some are even out of the country. But despite of the distance and time, I’m still proud that we remain friends for more or less 15 years now… and counting. Amidst all the misunderstandings, petty fights and long silence between each of us, the essence of friendship when blessed will never vanish. And we will always remember that we call ourselves ‘Cheramis’, which means ‘best of friends’.

Happy Anniversary Cheramis!

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.

on the way to her culminating activity

I’m one of the many proud moms watching my little 2 year old performing in the stage… Sitting in the front row, I can’t help but to clap my hands all over again from start to finish when Claire’s batch perform their “My toes, my knees” song. I’m amazed how she simply cooperates without running and moving around the stage.

We got her certificate of completion and also her report card… and I’m so happy to see all her compiled art projects that according to the teacher, Claire performed them all. I’m just glad we decided to enroll her to this summer activity. Now that summer is over, our little sacrifice to wake up early and change work schedule just to drop and fetch Claire in School is also over,… I can say that it was fruitful and such a great accomplishment as a parent.

Bright Academy

Claire's Play Group Certificate.