My Orange Pen

2022 gave me a Bang! What is next for 2023?

2023-01-03T11:21:00.012+08:00

While for everyone else, 2022 is the time where the new normal is settling in, that everyone is getting used to living with covid, for some of us it’s not quite the same. All of us definitely we had challenges, maybe at school, at work or at home, and handling these challenges may be different per individual and this is alright.

What I want to say is that no matter how strong the storm was, we need to get up again and again and personally I know I need to do the following to continue to be strong, this exactly is applicable to all of us!

As we enter the new year, I commit to doing these things and be more conscious and present.

Xoxo

Just Like that, goodbye 2022

2022-12-22T20:15:00.000+08:00

Time Flies! My last blog post was in February of 2019 and if I recall correctly, I stopped writing because there was a life event change and I think I want more PEACE. Anyways, I was able to achieve that and have transitioned my blogging to vlogging. My YouTube account is kldfernando.

Let me look here, okie what should I write about? Well, it's pretty obvious that Christmas is just a couple of sleep away and 2022 is about to end so what do we need to do then? I saw this great quote from Brene Brown and it's very simple. We need to let go of what we think we are supposed to be and embrace who we are. If you look deeper, this is pretty simple, but is it?

For me, Acceptance is KEY and not thinking about what others think of us is equally important to embrace who we are. It's 2023 and by now we should have learned the ropes that no one else (well ofcourse our family) will accept us from who we are but ourselves, so let's show that!

In one of the movies that I watched, it said that

"Reputation is what other people sees in you"

"Character is who you really are"

So let's focus on our character and the reputation will follow.

Aja! Xoxo

Something to Learn from our Fur Babies!

2019-02-24T23:18:00.000+08:00

When I was growing up, my siblings and I were not exposed to any pets. When I met my husband, that's when I was introduced to pets because he has his fur baby, Ciolo.

Ciolo is a Mixed Japanese Pitz + Tsih Szhu and is a very sweet and clingy one. This is when I started to recognize my love for our four legged family members.

Fast forward to this date, we have one Black Labrador (at home in Laguna), 5 AsPins in Angono and 7 more AsPins in Camella + 2 AsPins that we play with who lives within our subdivision. We have a lot of babies and it's very evident that we love Dogs.

One thing I noticed about them is that they are very approachable, one of course needs to know how to approach our fur babies so that they will not be on attack mode. I will never forget Ciolo, because the minute Sweets honks when we arrive for work, he will not stop barking. According to Mama, Ciolo knows what time aproximately we will arrive, say on a daily basis we arrive at 730pm, Ciolo will wait wait by the door at 7pm (as in nasa pintuan naka tingin) as if Ciolo can smell us from afar. That's how excited they are to play with us.

One thing that I would love to adapt from our fur babies' behavior is to always (as in always, with not single second fail) be positive. As if always saying that Everyday is the Best day of their lives.

That all throughout the day, they are only waiting for us so that they can let us feel how much they loved us! They are very sweet right? I wish we (humans) can be like them at least 75% of the time. If this happens, we are definitely off to a better world!

Do you think so??

Xoxo

Dating Tips from a Stingy Person

2019-02-24T19:21:00.003+08:00

It's still the Love month and this is the month were dates happen very often. Who doesn't love date nights and cuddle time with our partners? Dating is an important aspect of a relationship because it deepens the bonding between two people and it gives an opportunity to get to know your partners well.

Dating is not limited for couples, like husband and wives, boyfriend and girlfriend, partners or simply dating couples.. You can also date your parents, your siblings, your best friends or even your friends. Dating can be as glamorous as the royals or as simple as Fishball dates.

First, we need to find out first the objective of the date. In almost all of the cases, dates are ways to bond, to know people more, build connection, reconnect and most especially to show how much you care and love the the people you are dating.

Let me ask you this. What gets in the way why we are unable to date the people that we love? I can think of two things:

1. Not enough TIME
2. Not enough BUDGET

If it's TIME, this is easy to answer because if a person is important to you, you will MAKE time no matter how busy you are.

If it's MONEY, then this is why I am writing this blog. I have been married for close to 9 years and I would like to share the tipid dates that my husband and I shared. Here goes:

1. Movie nights at home - you may rent a CD or copy a movie to your USB and cuddle all you want while watching in your wide screen at home.

2. Hike - when my husband proposed we hiked a few kilometers going up the mountain.

3. Jogging - we actually went walkaton. We were supposed to really jog, but I kept on talking so it slowed us down but it was a lot of fun.

4. Kitchen Date - when someone is cooking, the other one is preparing the table for dinner. You are both being productive and are spending time talking to each other.

5. Kite Flying - we only did it once but it was a lot of fun. It would be good to create your own kites but as for me and Sweets we had to buy one for convenience sake.

6. Biking - well this entails both of you having your own bikes, but if you don't, there are parks that offers bike rent. This one you can definitely enjoy without the need to buy 2 bikes for this date.

7. Sunset watching - we are lucky because there is a place near our house with a great view of the sunset. It's a nice feeling to watch the sunset together.

8. Gardening - we have a small garden at home. When I am cutting the grass, my husband is watering the plants and while we were both busy with our greens we are having small conversations which definitely are meaningful.

9. Walking your dogs - not only have you bonded with your partner, you also bonded with your furr babies.

10. Staying at home and making all those little chismis and making fun of each other.

There are a lot of tipid dating ideas, we just have to be creative and go back to your objective. No matter how fancy or simple your dates are, if you are meeting your objective then you are having a successful dating time.

Xoxo

Cafe in the Sky: Must visit when in Baguio

2019-02-07T11:34:00.000+08:00

Yes it took me a month to write this blog post about Café in the Sky but even if it’s late, I know it will still be worth it because this post will be informative (hopefully).

When I posted my quick review via Trip Advisor, I have received a couple of inquiries, thus posting an official blog about it (with more details) will definitely help a lot more people who are interested to see the magnificent view on top!

Quick Side Story - Café in the Sky is located at Tuba Benguet and they became extra famous when the teleserye “Forevermore” was played at primetime.
There were influx of tourists at that time and there were some areas of the forest that were taken for granted. The control that was placed by DENR is to make the place a protected forest area and closed them for tourists. Their case is still at the court and who knows when it will end – as for Café in the Sky – they want to end the case ASAP so that they will be open for tourists again and be fully operational.

That being said – I would like to confirm that Café in the Sky has NEVER been CLOSED.

They continue to be operational but not to the optimum level where tourists are coming in and out from breakfast until dinner.

During the day (between 7am – 5pm) there is a DENR checkpoint, where, if you are driving with your private car, you will be put to stop and will be asked for a DENR permit to enter the premises. This is not only applicable to tourists but also applicable to locals (people from Baguio themselves). So it is not advisable to go during the day using your private car. Not only there is a DENR checkpoint, if you are a private driver, I doubt if you will be able to smoothly handle the terrain, as it is steep going up the mountain.

My piece of advise – before visiting Café in the Sky – make sure that you have contacted Kuya Marlon (their Chef at 0946 965 9332). This contact number is also made available online when you look up "Café in the Sky" via Google.

He will be the one to connect you with respective FX Drivers who can drive you to and from Café in the Sky.

The pick up point is at Petron Station (this is just along Marcos Highway).
It will take approximately 20 minutes going to Café in the Sky.

From Mountain Lodge (where we always stay when we are in Baguio), it was only a 15 minute taxi ride going to Petron Station.

We were there at 4:30am, had some coffee and burger from Minute Burger and our FX Driver drove us to Café in the Sky at around 4:45pm. The best time to go to Café in the Sky is before the break of dawn – like as early as 4am to 5am.

Baguio Sky Line with their wonderful lights.

At this time of day:
1. The DENR checkpoint are a lot easier to pass through (I am note sure how it happened but it’s just that).
2. You will see Baguio City’s Sky Line and lights – it was magnificent and to echo what I wrote in my timeline – it was like looking at the galaxy
3. You will see the bright stars (please hope that it will not be cloudy) and the moon. A definite view to look forward to
4. You will witness the break of dawn – though it’s not a sunrise golden view because of the mountains blocking the way – it was still a great experience
5. It’s very cold – I will peg around 10 degrees and it’s cool (haha)

The best view to take photos.

Café in the Sky do not serve a lot of dishes. I would say probably because they do not have a lot of visitors. I must also warn you that they are quite expensive (see below menu) but are a sure win for the stomach, especially their TapSiLog. I understand this in particular because they have low tourist visitors since their area was closed to tourists (again, 4 years ago) and of course they need to earn some money to continue their operation.

Once you arrive Café in the Sky – my tip is for you to not have breakfast yet. Why? You are really there to witness the view and not to eat. My suggestion is to have some biscuits with you if in any case you will feel hungry. Then proceed outside the Café at their terrace – in there, you will see a great view of the Baguio Lights, the stars and the break of dawn. Below is a quick top view of the Café and where I recommend you to head and set up your cameras.

Trust me – when we were there, we accidentally stayed at this spot and a lot of tourists guides were guiding their tourists at our exact place to take pictures – so better be there first.

Be prepared with your winter get up – well it’s not as cold as the winter weather in NYC or in Japan but definitely colder than the metro. Also, the view at Café in the Sky is cool for winter clothes photo opps.

Enjoy your stay there because the view is really worth it!

Xoxo

Welcome 2019!

2019-01-11T14:15:00.003+08:00

Time really flies so FAST! We just welcomed 2019 and now we are halfway through January! January is a special month for me and my family -- aside from our get togethers, it's also our Birthday month.

January 4: KL and Louise
January 30: Papa Gary

I am looking at 2019 with all enthusiasm and positivity that everything will go well! I don't ask for too much from Him, i only ask for these three --

1. For my family (both Diaz and Fernando) to be healthy no matter what!
2. That we continue to spend more time together than we used to! 3. Lastly, to be more forgiving and not being too hard on myself, my friends and my family!

I am actually tired of listing my New Year's Resolution because quite honestly, I am not good at keeping them (and I know how to improve). So I think the best thing to do is to "JUST DO IT".

I am happy that we started the year at the right foot.
We had our yearly Diaz Family Reunion, where the theme is ---
Yes you got that right "GATSBY"

If you still haven't noticed, we love to dress up!
Well baka ako lang -- pinipilit ko lang pamilya ko! hehe!
But when you come to think of it, it's fun to dress up even for only once or twice a year because it gives us a different aura!
You can also visit our Hawaiian Themed Party!

Then it was followed by our Birthday Celebration at Baguio.
I am happy that finally we were all able to go to Baguio together!
The best part of it was we were all together, eating dinner, having some conversation along the fireplace.

How about you? How do you want to spend your 2019? :)

Xoxo

Christmas 2018: Happy Thoughts and Laser Focus Positivity!

2018-12-21T15:47:00.002+08:00

I always talk about - even in previous blogs that my favorite season of the year is Christmas Season! Not only (according to the song) it's the most wonderful time of the year - but because it is definitely the most colorful and festive time of the year!

It's also an excuse to wear those colorful Christmas Clothes wherein no one will mock and make fun of me because its the season =) haha!

PS: This below is the greatest gift that I received!

For me, it's also the time wherein most evidently, people tend to be more patient, forgiving, appreciative, jolly and loving. It's the time where people (I am not generalizing) tend to slow down and step back from whatever we are busy about the entire year - whether it's working, going to school or business. it's the time to really be merry and spread joy and happiness with our family and friends.

Another excuse to take photos together with large and colorful Christmas Trees!

No matter how we want to celebrate Christmas Day -- the important thing for us is to take the time to reflect on the true reason for the season. To recharge and pamper ourselves to get ready for the coming year and most importantly -- To spread LOVE, HOPE and FAITH to everyone!

Remember that Christmas should not only be celebrated every December. It has to be celebrated all year round because it's the Love of God to us that Jesus was born and saved all of us!

This should be seen and felt by your family, the gift that cannot be bought and that no amount of money can ever replace.

How about you? How are you spending your Christmas?

Xoxo

How can we Focus?

2018-11-22T17:47:00.000+08:00

Can you relate with me when I say that there are a lot of things to do? That it’s hard to identify which one to do first if it’s Urgent, Important, ASAP or Critical?

Does your calendar look like this?

Yes, this is my calendar and I was not happy to see this! There are moments like this when I needed to take each meeting and to squeeze them all in — is this healthy? My answer is “NO”.

Why? It’s hard to focus — it’s like, there is no time to breath and think of what to do first. Because instead of planning ahead, there is another meeting coming up that you need to attend. Then action items piles up and not to mention your emails and other adhoc tasks. This is just so NOT GOOD!

So what do we do?
Okie — let me tell you this — WORK WILL NEVER GO AWAY — let me repeat that — WORK WILL NEVER GO AWAY! We need to accept that fact!

Number two, we are not robots who doesn’t get tired of working LOOONG hours. But what if everything just needs to be done ASAP, URGENT, IMPORTANT?? We prioritize and when we do, we focus.

I would like to share what’s helping me Focus:

1. My To-Do List – This is really helpful for me. I am the type of person who is really having a hard time to focus — when I am in the middle of something and then suddenly a file is not saving too fast — my mind will wander and open another email to respond to. Then i will not notice that I was not able to finish what I was actually doing. My To-Do List solved the problem — when I was in a middle of something and my mind wandered — I write it down — that way I can:
        (1) Focus on my original task
        (2) Remember that I have another action item on my plate.

2. I take DND (Do Not Disturb) Status in Skype seriously – In one of the discussion that I attended about Truly Human, there were discussions about the Mind Dimension and its related to Focus. To be able to focus, we should remove distractions and I bet you will agree 100% that pings are a super distraction.   It’s either you will:
     (1) respond – then you are distracted or
     (2) will ignore but will eventually will not be able to remember the ping — if you noticed, when you ignore a ping — it will (for a time) stop blinking.

This can be a two way sword — people might think that you don’t want to be reached out to — this is Wrong. If it’s really important / urgent, then people will either approach you, or even text or call you. Accenture People finds ways — we are good at it.

3. I schedule focus time – In my opinion, attending back to back meetings does not equate to productivity. Yes you may be productive because there’s a lot going on but were there problems solved? or items closed? more often that not, another meeting needs to be set to eventually close an item. Anyways, I schedule “FT” Focus Time. This is blocking my calendar to do an important task so that it will not be blocked by another meeting.   Or even blocking a short breather time. One of my best practice is scheduling meetings for 45 minutes instead of an hour. One, it helps me maximize the meeting time that I have and make sure it’s productive, two, I have 15 minutes more to focus and start another meeting (if unavoidable).

4. 60 – 15 approach – This is when I work for 60 minutes and then breath for the next 15 minutes. How do I do it, i use my phone alarm and it really worked on my focus.

5. I talk to my team and laugh – Really most of the time, when I need to focus — i need some time to talk and laugh (this is me and we can all have different approaches and I am such a talkative person).

These are the things that helped me Focus. This is not something that may be applicable to all but maybe can also help you. Different folks, different strokes so what works with me may not work for others but I am welcome to hear best practices so that I can also apply them. That in itself is Collaboration!

How about you? How do you focus?

Xoxo

Do we Blend in or do we Stand Out?

2018-11-19T12:33:00.001+08:00

We are human beings and a quote says that no man is an island. Therefore we connect with people to be able to relate, live and learn. From the time that we were born, we were surrounded with people, by our family and friends.

Then, when we went to school, we were living our day to day life with our classmates, teachers, peers and school mates. A way lot of interaction around here.

Followed by our work environment, when we eventually enter the corporate world or even start our own business. We interact with different people and we all know that there are a lot of personalities around the world.

The question is, when we are with the rest of the people around us, do we blend in or we stand out? My answer it's not an exact science, because whether we blend in or stand out depends on the situation we are in.

You see, and probably you also know, that all of us are Unique. There can be more than a hundred thousands of personalities around the world and no one can have the same exact personality. With that in mind, we cannot say that in every situation we "Blend In" or "Stand Out".

Let's take some situatuons where I believe it would be best to Blend In and Stand Out.

School Play --
In this scenario you can do both. How?
If you are playing a key role in the play, it is important for you to "Stand Out" and play the role you are assigned to. If you do it well then it will help on the overall plot of the play and make it successful. If you overdo your role, it will appear exaggerated and it will not create a good storyline for the play -- in this particular scenario - you "Blend In". Make sense?

Project Management --
This is when there can be different mini scenarios where you either Stand Out or Blend in -- Here's when:

1. If you are the Project Manager - definitely you have to stand out because you have to manage the entire project and get things going.

2. If you are not the Project Manager - but when there is a task that needs to be picked up. Opportunities knocks very seldom and when they do, it can make or break you. So when there is a task that needs to be done, grab it and "Stand out". Make sure that you can accomplish it :)

3. If you are a team member - who is handling a big ticket item on the project. You "Stand Out" in your turf (to make sure everything is done at your end) and "Blend in" with the entire team - this is another way of saying to become a "Team Player"

4. When a decision needs to be made - you can either "Blend In" with the rest of the people's decision (meaning, you just agree with the majority). Or "Stand Out" and be firm with what you believe in even if it's only you who believed in it (or a few of you).

There can be different scenarios where we either Stand Our or Blend In. What's important is that when we do - it's always for our and our family's best interest. Where we can learn, contribute and be fulfilled.

Bonus: In the Corporate Setting - If you see that an employee is "Blending In" with a lot of decisions and projects, we have to be cautious. Employees who "Blend In" can be someone who doesn't care about a particular decision or someone who needs to learn how to be firm. If it's the first one - we need to start talking to this employee and find out the motivation.

Xoxo

Online Shopping on a Weekend

2018-11-17T13:01:00.000+08:00

We are in the season of buying gifts in preparation for the upcoming Christmas Season. We love to give gifts, no matter how expensive or cheap our gifts are, it really does not matter. What matters is the thought behind the gift and the person giving it.

We are in the generation of digital shopping wherein we love to shop online. My husband's new past time is really online shopping and luckily we have never been scammed nor were not satisfied with our purchase. Reason is that we review the sellers and the reviews they receive (it really helped).

I recently shared a post about supporting our family and friends who are doing small business, it will definitely help.

I am sharing and recommending the Online shoppe of my sister, Louise.

Visit her FB page and look at what you can get for Christmas. For yourself and for your friends.

Enjoy!!

Xoxo

What do you do when you are stressed?

2018-11-13T15:23:00.000+08:00

It's not always a fairy tale story or a walk in the park. Whether its at home, at work or at a public place - there will always come to a time where we will feel sad, frustrated, annoyed or even angry.

One time, Papa and I are bound to Community General Hospital for his Dialysis. We were waiting for a tricycle to bring us there. We had three tricycle drivers who refused to take us to Community General Hospital and I was already irritated by their attitude. Finally, on the fourth try, we were able to take the ride. Then when we arrived at the Hospital, I paid the normal fare because the distance is not even more than 4 kilometers (the same amount I paid just that morning when Louise and I went to Community), but the driver told me that I still lack Php10.00. Since I don't want to waste my energy, I told him "eto ang Php10.00, hindi ko naman ikakayaman ito!"

How do we deal with it?

A lot of studies says that stress does not do any good for our body.

In a study made by Very Well Mind it states how stress is affecting our brain and it's not a light matter.

I am not claiming to be an expert when it comes to removing negative feelings or situations, but these tricks helped me and I want to share with you:

1. Pause - In a burning situation (like a heated argument or a complicated client), more often than not, the best thing to do is to pause for minimum of 5 - 10 seconds. It will give us enough breathing and thinking time to process the situation carefully. If we need to respond to the person we are talking to, the pause will give us the time to think and answer calmly. Remember that sometimes arguments are heated not because both parties are right but because of raised voices.

2. Laugh - after finishing a dreadful or toxic meeting, road encounter and the like, we need to again take a breather. Silence doesn't apply to me much (you know how talkative I am) and so I release this kind of stress by talking to my team (people around me) and just breaking into a great (loud) laugh. When we laugh, we release .... more so when we are laughing with the people we love.

3. Eat - this is the last thing that I would do because I tend to over do it -- and please learn from me. I tend to munch a lot of chips or nuts, spicy food which is harmful to my (sensitive) stomach. So when it cannot be avoided make sure that the food you take will not make you ill. Another one, if you have budget, treat your team with ice cream or chips (my previous lead did it and we were so happy).

4. Reflect - is the situation causing you that stress is really worth the stress. Sometimes, we over complicate things. I remember one situation when one of my family member is having a small challenge at home and in her mind the problem is so big that it caused her to think so much. Only to find out that the problem is something that we shouldn't be thinking about in the first place. Again, reflect if the situation is worth the stress. Else don't bother to think about it because stress will not bring you to the hospital or even pay your hospital bills.

5. Ask Help - whether its from your family, friends or even professional psychologists or psychiatrist. It pays to know when it is time to seek guidance counseling or a person to talk to. There is really no harm is sharing what your feelings are to the people that you trust because we will never know how effective it will be until we try.

How about you? How are you coping with stress?

Xoxo

Arjay and Anni's Love: In the lense of a stranger!

2018-11-11T19:57:00.000+08:00

I have known Arjay for some three years already as my team mate. We always talk about work because he is so workaholic and I only get to hear something about his personal life when I ask. Arjay is my exact opposite, he is not talkative and not as open as I am.

I have met Anni once, as in once, when I attended a Bible Study.
Arjay introduced us and that's it, I was too shy (can you believe it??!!) to start a conversation.

So, in real essence, what I know about Arjay and Anni is close to nothing!
I just know that they have been together for ten years now (which is really something to be proud of).I. only know some snippet but I dont know the details and the logic behind something.

Arjay, being himself, really didn't talk about his wedding so much (maybe because he is a guy?). Sometimes I would ask him about what's happening and he would answer in a very low voice.

Here comes the day of the wedding.. I don't know anyone except Arjay, Anni, Kat, Kaloy, Sheryl, Pinky and Thea. It was a Christian wedding and a very intimate one with only family and close friends.

The messages given by both Arjay and Anni to their parents were heartwarming and I can relate to them. When Arjay and Anni exchanged their vows, you will definitely feel the love!
Everyone got emotional when they continued with their vows and it proves to show that love was really in the air! Both Arjay and Anni's sincerity were felt!

To Arjay and Anni - I may not be the first person that you'll ask if ever you both have some Questions about married life but I will always be here to give my POV when you need one. I am sure that your Love for each other will be more than enough to withstand any trial or challenges. Like what I said in my written message to both of you -- No one is ever born perfect but you both can definitely be perfect for each other!

Ps: I have attended many weddings and this is the first time that I saw a pure white wedding cake! You both are unique and pureness of your hearts really shows!! Muah always!!

Xoxo

Corporate Functions Gantimpala 2018

2018-11-11T10:06:00.001+08:00

Photo by Borj Toribio

I have been with Accenture for a total of eleven (11) years now and through the years I have seen how people work and deliver. I grew up (in Accenture) hearing the tag line of "High Performance Delivered" and i have experienced how high performance is delivered.

When I moved to the Corporate Functions HR People Advisor Team (three years ago), that's the time when I was exposed and have been part of different Corporate Functions Events. One of which is the annual CF Gantimpala Awards night and this is what I want to highlight in this post.

I was privileged to be part of Gantimpala's Core Team because I am able to learn and do Project Management! Project Management is something that I didn't have any training and managing Gantimpala is a great opportunity to learn. More importantly, I am surrounded by people and leads who are very supportive to give guidance. My leads, Ira, Uzzal and Mai, who really empowered me to deliver!

Photo by Borj Toribio

This year, our event was held at Shangri-La at the Fort (Bonifacio Hall). It was our first time to have our Gantimpala Event there and it the venue and food were excellent.

Photo by Borj Toribio

While we were waiting for the event to start -- the guests were delighted about our 180 degrees Spin shot care of Pose and Print. In the three Gantimpala events that we led, this is the first time that we have this.

Photo by Borj Toribio

This is how the 180 degrees Spin Shot look like.

Our masters of ceremony were Ojay Fudalan and Rowie Zamora -- both of them were amazing at how they hosted and appeared to be experts in this field!
They already have an alternative career option :)

My sincerest "Thank You" to both of you, i hope you enjoyed the night!

Photo by Borj Toribio

We were serenaded by our Band and String Quartet - it made the event even more elegant! They have set the mood to an awards night.

Outside the ballroom - and to make sure to keep the momentum we also had Red Carpet correspondents and they interviewed some of our nominees.

Photo by Borj Toribio

Thank you Randy and Francine for a job well done!

You will also see a lot of people taking selfies and seeing them makes me smile.

Photo by Borj Toribio

While the rest of being interviewed, taking selfies and photos, listening to our string quartet and band, our registration team is so ready to get the ball rolling!

Photo by Borj Toribio

You all rock!

Another thank you to our Usher Lead, Arjay and Emman!

Photo by Borj Toribio

Usher duties with Ayie -- Thank you Ayie!

Then we have our beautiful Trophy Girls -- their name may be so "girly" but they filled a big shoes for the event! Thank you Joy, Rhia and Jen for sharing your beauty with us.

Photo by Borj Toribio

We also had Airdance to grace our event.

Photo by Borj Toribio

Thank you Ambe for giving a wonderful message to all Corporate Functions people! We appreciate your presence.

Photo by Tek Altura

I will never get tired of Thanking my Leads, Ira, Mai and for the empowerment and continuous support! Without these opportunities, I will not learn.

My supportive and ever patient counterpart from Marketing, Karen!

Photo by Ojay Fudalan

Thank you also CMC for partnering with us and making yet again a successful event!

Thanks Joan for the trust and support!
Thanks Jane for the literal backbone support, your team (Ivan and Jen) were awesome!

Lastly but definitely not the least, God Almighty for giving everything that we have. Without His Grace, we will not be able to execute such wondrous event.

Xoxo

Dessert Buffet for Joseph Austine!

2018-11-04T17:22:00.004+08:00

One of the things that I love is preparing Dessert Buffets! I seldom do it because it really takes time to prepare and set up but when I do I put all my heart to it. Especially if the Dessert Buffet is for the people that I love.

I was asked by our best friend Tin to create a Dessert Buffet for the first birthday of his second son. I can't say "NO" because I haven't seen this baby since he was born a year ago. Tin also told me that Ochen already agreed to help me out. This was our Birthday gift so Tin won't get stressed and remove the Dessert Buffet from her worries.

Of course I can't do it on my own and I am so blessed to have my best friend helping me out on this.. she actually designed how it should look like. I took care of blowing the balloons (haha).

This is actually my 3rd Dessert Buffet and it was by far the best. The caterer were glad we didn't have any Choco Fountain because it may look so nice (for photo) but it's such a mess! Haha! Good thing I didn't bring my choco fountain (actually I don't know where it is now).

For this Dessert Buffet, all I needed to do was:

1. Look for themes online (what's the easiest thing to do)
2. Buy candies and cookies (a lot but not too many)
3. Buy some colored theme balloons - in this case it's blue and yellow to match the Minions Theme
4. Buy some banner and crepe paper and cartolina for more designs
5. Make sure that there are enough jars, plates and cupcake holder to hold the goodies. We needed to improvise actually and the caterer were kind enough to lend us some plates and glasses.

After preparing all of these - let your imagination bring you to your design!

Here it is!

I loved how it turned out. For me, whatever it will look like for as long as it was made out of love, its beauty will shine!

Ps: Told Ochen to wear something Blue or Yellow, wala daw siya, ayan out of theme siya! Haha

Thanks Chen for this!!

Xoxo

Today: How do we deal with Fear?

2018-10-31T08:56:00.000+08:00

It's a whopping 9 months (parang nanganak lang!) since my last blog post! It was very long considering that I am very outspoken and loves to share a lot of things to people.

Several things and I don't want to explain in detail. *wink*

Let us just say that "A LOT" has happened in the past months that I had to prioritize the things that matters the most - MY FAMILY!

A LOT Means:
A - Amazing
L - Life Changing
O - Overwhelming
T - Tremendous

Events had happened!

After 9 months, I found the perfect blog post to start sharing again and it's very timely. I didn't think about it but it was given to me. It was given to me last Sunday, during mass and I feel blessed.

Last Sunday's Responsorial Psalm it said:

"The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with Joy".

The past months has literally been a roller coaster ride and it was not your smooth roller coaster ride. I meant:

1. Real quick turns along the way
2. Some lose screws that had to be fixed
3. Rusty railings that made the ride slow
4. Unstable base
5. Unreliable coaster operator

And a lot more!

But despite those miseries and frustrations, the Responsorial Psalm reminded me (us) that after all that happened, hey, we should all be grateful because indeed the Lord has done great things for us. When I thought about it, yes indeed, I received a lot of things from Him and to share the bigger ones:

1. My family and I are all alive
2. We know how to take care of our health concerns
3. I have a very secured and stable job (bonus: that I love what I am doing!)
4. I have a great support system from my family and friends
5. I still see Life as a Journey and I have faith in humanity

My list is endless and I can't thank Him for making me and my family strong!

Another thing that I would like to share was some of the things shared by Fr Randy Baluso (we had mass at Padre Pio Eastwood) and he shared a line from the movie After Earth.

"Danger is Real, but Fear is a choice"

This is so true! I can say this because of the circumstances that my family and I experienced. No one will ever help us conquer fear but ourselves and so my take away is we have to be Larger than our Fear.

Fr. Randy even shared two abbreviations od FEAR.

Forget Everything And Run.
Face Everything And Rice.

I would go with the latter. How about you??

Xoxo

Baguio 2018 Teaser: With Louise and CJ

2018-01-20T14:59:00.000+08:00

It's 16 degrees and its a good temperature to spend some quality time in Baguio. Another great reason is that my sister and I celebrated our Birthdays together (as in same date of January 4)!

So it's Louise' first time in Baguio and I am very excited for her! We went up together with her beloved CJ. Of course they will never miss the famous landmark in Baguio which was the Lion's Head - we arrived there at around 3am so it's dark but it did well because there weren't a lot of tourists taking pictures.

We stayed at our favorite place in Baguio (I think it's our 4th time here), at Mountain Lodge.

We chose to stay here over and over again because we always felt like Home everytime we are here in Baguio.. Let me share more about this place in another post..

First stop was at Cemetery of Negativism.

More about this Cemetery will be created in another post.

Then to Philippine Military Academy.
PMA is one of the most visited tourist spots here in Baguio. Aside from the cool breeze, there are a lot more to see on how our PMA'ers live their lives here with a lot of Discipline!

When I was about to graduate High School, Papa would tell me to go to PMA and be a Police Woman because he knows I can handle it. Fast forward to many years from there.. I may not be a Police Woman but I am serving my country in the very best of my abilities.

One of the qualities that we are looking for a person, for our family and friends is also one of the core quality of a PMA'er. LOYALTY!

More about PMA in this other Post.

After we took our rest and lunch, we went ahead to Wright Park.

Know what you can do in Wright Park in another post.

Shortly after we went and had our visw of The Mansion.

Let's end it for now.. see you in my nex post!!

Xoxo

Why is it hard to do the right thing?

2017-10-17T08:36:00.001+08:00

In a world full of people where there are different values and cultures, sometimes its hard to fathom how each and every individual thinks and how they will react on certain situations.

But when we are faced with a decision.. A simple decision, how do you think we should react? In my simplest explanation, we have to do what is right and maybe because doing so will slowly make the world a better place to live in! Am i making sense? Haha!

I must admit, we Filipinos sometimes (or most of the time) doesn't follow the rules.. Like, we will see a bill post that says "Bawal Magtapon ng Basura" and yet we will see trash right below the sign, or something like "No Parking" but you will see a parked vehicle.. How in the earth can't we just follow a simple signage? Hmm.. Maybe because of convenience? Or maybe because we just don't care.

Why am I saying these things? I saw a simple sign and yet it was not followed -- why??? What is so hard to understand in this simple message? I cannot understand!

So how do we proceed with faced with this scenario?

One can be, take it as it is -- pretend that you didn't see a thing and that you don't care and commit the same act.

Two, get the attention of the person involved and try to correct the act.

Or

Three, do the right thing and pray that the person involved will see how it should be done.

Being in that position (seeing a signage not being followed), it actually felt awkward but I was not brave enough to get the attention of the person.. This is not an excuse and I know I can improve in this aspect one step at a time.

I guess what I am trying to say is that..

--> If we want to change the way people values the world by respecting simple rules and signages, I truly believe that it starts from ourselves, slowly and sincerely. Because if in the deepest part of our hearts, we want to do the right thing then we will do what is right even if no one is looking!

Xoxo

Alice: You know how to surprise us!

2017-10-03T15:10:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Sweets and I got up early to start the week with full of enthusiasm and energy! We were both happy because driving going to work has never been that swift (because there was no traffic).

Arrived CG2 at around 5:45am which meant we will not cram in eating our breakfast nor starting our work day. Then suddenly, after alighting Alice (this is our car's name) I noticed that Kuya guard was approaching Sweets. I thought that we were unloading inappropriately (which i doubt and I have a ready spiel in case Kuya guard will make sermon) but then we learned that we had a flat tire.

This was our first time (at least for me and Sweets together) to have a flat tire on the road (luckily we were already in CG2).

With what happened, there can be many reasons why it can ruin our Monday -- but both Sweets and I have the ability to stay calm amidst the storm and thus we both acted the way we were expected to act. Stay calm and fix the tire!

Of course, Sweets did everything because I didn't know how to change the tire but seeing him do the thing made me think that I can also do that! Haha!

For situations like this -- it's so easy to get angry or upset!
Like I can blame Sweets for not feeling a thing (on the tire) or not checking before we hit the road etc. However, it will not help at all -- it will just ruin the moment and the energy spent in being angry might as well be used to fix the thing!

What happened is a reminder that we are blessed for three reasons:

1. We have a car to drive to and from the office
2. There are still concerned people to tell us that something was wrong
3. We have each other (Sweets and I) to support and cheer one another!

A situation may be negative but it is always up to us on how to look at it!
Waste our energy from negative vibes or heightened the positivity!
We have the capability to choose and so choose wisely! It's good for our health!

Xoxo

You are GREAT, wherever you go!

2017-09-28T07:42:00.001+08:00

Last Wednesday, I was watching PBA (of course together with Sweets). I saw that Paul Lee was playing and I can't help but say that he is indeed one of the best players out there. With that I said:

KL: Ang galing talaga ni Paul Lee noh!

Noel: Uu

KL: San nga siyang team dati?

Noel: Rain or Shine

KL: Ah tapos now STAR na siya

Noel: Continued to drive..

Then I said:

KL: Kahit san ka man naroon, kung magaling ka, magaling ka! Noh!!

Sweets continued to drive and I can't decipher whether I am making any sense to him or he does not want to hear more about what I was trying to say!

To him, it was plain and simple a Basketball game -- and he is not even STAR nor Rain or Shine! You should know by now that we are solid San Miguel Beermen.

My point is: We all have our starting point -- our basic education.

Then we are slowly molded to greatness by the organizations where we are.

Now, if we really have the capability and willingness to learn, deliver and perform at our best then we can be an expert in whatever it is that we are doing. No matter where we are!

This is how I connected Paul Lee to what I am feeling right now.

Recently, Kat moved on to a new organization, I felt bad because I will miss how she handled me and my team and how grateful I am for the leadership and wisdom. Kat is a great lead and I know she can share more to us -- had she stayed. When Kat left, does it mean that she will no longer be a great lead and employee? Big answer is NO! Because Kat is a great lead and employee with good work ethics and so I KNOW what wherever she may be -- in Accenture (much better) or in another organization -- she will definitely do well!

Same thing with my new lead, Mai. She is a tenured lead and have been with Accenture for the longest time -- this is her new team but because I believe that she is a great employee, mentor, lead and colleague, even if this is a new team for her -- she will definitely do what she does BEST, which is to continue to LEARN (she is from Learning by the way :p), to DELIVER and to PERFORM!

To these two ladies! You both ROCK!

Do not be afraid to soar HIGH because you have a TEAM to support you all the way!

Xoxo

Featuring Mr and Mrs Spice!

2017-09-18T09:49:00.002+08:00

They say that the best way to start a relationship is look for someone who shares the same interest, someone who mirrors you in terms of what you like and does not like -- i cannot agree more BUT this is not the end of the equation!

I was in our kitchen and saw our spice bottles.. I called them Mr and Mrs Spice -- they are a couple but they have their own names. Mr Salty Spice and Mrs Pepper Spice. What I am driving at is that both of them have their own qualities but they blend well together!

Like in a real couple, like me and my husband -- we have our unique selves, we are SMEs in our own fields but we blend well together. They say we complement -- . There are situations that we have consensus because we know that we will both benefit in our informed decision. There's give and take because we do not want to take each other for granted.

We bring the best out of each other because we are not up for competition and we want to grow together as a couple and as an individual.

I am not saying that we are perfect but I know we are doing our best to grow our imperfect and crazy relationship! We are an ordinary couple who shares struggles and laugh at simple things!

What's important is that we stick together!

If you are in search of your Mr Salty or Ms Pepper -- i would suggest to do self check and know yourselves more before sharing your gift to another!

Xoxo

Listen to your Spouse!

2017-09-11T07:51:00.000+08:00

By now you should know that my husband and I got married 7 years ago, but its only three months ago when we moved into our own place..

Feeling like newly weds is another story all together but this time i would like to share something about Listening and Trusting!

I know these are two "Big Words" and they are very easy to utter but equally hard to do. Why? Let's face it girls -- we just don't listen eh??!!

When we moved in, of course we have to do everything on our own.. Chores and stuff that lazy people (sometimes this is me) doesn't want to do. Like cleaning windows!

All my life -- i didn't clean any window because our windows ain't glass but now we are faced with a window glass and I know sooner rather than later I have to face this!

I have an intention in mind! I will clean the windows and I was so excited to do it.

My first step was to go to Pinterest and search how to clean glass windows. I was delighted to see how easy it was..  I just need some soap, vinegar, alcohol, chamois and water! I was browsing and browsing and i didn't notice I was browsing for two weeks now and still haven't started to clean the windows!

Sweets said "clean the windows"
my response was "alright, I know how to clean it, i just need blah blah blah".

Another weekend passed:

Sweets: clean the windows
KL:         need to mix blah blah blah
Sweets: Gamitin mo yang Sabong panlaba, gamitin mo ang sponge, then tuyuin mo ng dyaryo"
KL"         oh okay, kaso ung particles ng dyaryo dumidikit sa window
Sweets:   It means basa na ung dyaryo, need mo na siya palitan
KL:          Oh okie

Truth: i did everything sweets mentioned and this happened!
This was the glass window -- see how clear it was --
Btw, that's our small garden down there :)

As simple as this scenario I can say that I had to listen to Sweets and trust that what he is saying is true! It was indeed the easiest thing to do rather than procrastinate because what I saw in Pinterest was way too complicated than what i did!

My lesson is that: I may know things that will work but there are far more things less complicated that may work as well! The results are the same but the effort is less! Not only sometimes, most of the time, we have to listen to our spouse because we can definitely learn a lot from them!

Xoxo

Married Life: Our Roles

2017-08-16T09:16:00.001+08:00

One of the topics when we attended the Before and After I Do Workshop was "I will 'ROLE' with it" and admittedly, this is the part that we have resonated very well and got me so interested because to me, knowing what our roles are in a relationship means we know what are expected from us.

Okie -- so after we got married, we called ourselves Husband and Wife but do we really know our roles is this thing called marriage?

In hindsight, we know what are expected from us as husbands and wives (well, because of what we see from our environment) but knowing is a totally different thing from doing.

So when I attended the workshop, it made me realize that knowing our roles will mean a lot to have a fruitful and meaningful married life. That expectation setting is important so that there will be no surprises and that we know how to act.

Let me share with you what I have learned.
These are not new but a good thing to know about.

Role of the Husband:

LeadHer = Leader = the head of the family, one who will lead his wife
LoveHer = Lover = to show in actions that he loves his family and his wife
ProvideHer = Provider = to be able to provide for the needs of his family and wife

These looked very simple but it is may be that very easy to do.

Look at how each word has "Her" in it -- for me it is very symbolic that our husband should be the one to help / guide / support their wives in their marriage.

Role of the Wife:

Help Mate
Help Meet
-- we are here to work hand and hand with our husband and give our 100% support.

Before the discussion happened -- the group was asked to respond to one question "What is your expectation from your husband / wife" -- the responses were collated and what struck me is when one expectation from a wife is to be "submissive".

Being submissive, to me, sounds like a negative thing.
From the Urban Dictionary it means --

Kinda negative right -- but Manny was able to expound what it meant and it shed light to me.

Being submissive to your husband doesn't mean that you will obey everything that he says. That if something or a decision is against your will, you will just obey. It really doesn't work that way!

We are living in a world where women are equal with men and that both has their own fit minds to decide what's best or not. When a decision is to be made -- it is the responsibility of the husband to be firm with the decision and be able to provide justification of the decision -- discussions should happen between the husband and wife, pros and cons are to be assessed then both will decide on what's best. If in the event that the wife still doesn't agree with the decision, being submissive means, after the informed decision making, the wife will wholeheartedly support the decision of the husband and work with him to achieve a certain goal. Should the decision fail -- nagging will not work but both should pray to have guidance from God and decide further steps to take.

What's important is that the the couple stick together in good times and in bad times!

This is enlightening to me and could not agree more!

Now, can the role change?? I would say it can -- but the standard remains and it would be best to take on what's expected to us as husbands and wives.

To me, a successful marriage is anchored from a foundation that both needs to play a role and how the couple is performing their roles -- no one can be perfect in their roles but if both are equally supportive, they will achieve more!

Xoxo

Our Before and After I DO Workshop

2017-08-09T06:43:00.003+08:00

Last July 29 (Saturday), my husband and I were privileged to have been invited to attend one of the events in CCF, which was the Before and After I DO Workshop. We were invited by our friend, Arjay, who booked our day more than a month ago (Since being a married couple means chaos during weekends).

Friday night came and I wasn't so prepared. Prepared in KL's dictionary meant being able to prep my attire a week ahead and printing everything (registration things) way ahead. For me, it was something that I am prepared to attend but not so prepared to be super excited on what are in store for us (me and Sweets).

On the day itself, I was partly blaming myself for signing up for this whole day event because it meant less sleep for me and Sweets on a Saturday morning. Nevertheless, I didn't allow Sweets to notice that I was having second thoughts of attending else I am dead! I actually had to make arrangements with him because his weekends are really sacred!

Anyhow, even though we both felt this event will eat half of our weekend, we arrived at the venue at 7am (event was at 8am) -- talk about not being excited for the event!

It was our first time in CCF, good thing, when we arrived, there were a lot of couples already and right there I knew where we need to proceed. There was a registration table and as I start to notice the cue, what I thought to be a conference room setting workshop was false. Not being as excited as I used to be, I didn't notice that this was indeed a big event and the venue was at the CCF Multi Purpose Hall.

Right after registering we were given our table number (we were assigned at Table 12) and then we were given a loot bag with Before and After I Do print in it. Inside we have gift certificates and brochures (photography, videography) and the Before and After I Do couple journal (where I find very very useful)!

Before we enter the hall, there was a cue for photo booth and of course we indulged!

When we entered the ballroom, it was like, whoah! We didn't expect that the event was so huge! Tables were set up with center pieces and the stage was beautifully decorated with the event's theme. At the back of my mind, this is indeed a biggie event. My mind was then confused if this event is really applicable to us.

From Before and After I Do FB Page

We were sited together with other couples and we have our facilitator couple with us, Ms Gina and Noel Goco - talk about coincidence that Sir Noel and my husband shared the same name. I actually asked how we were identified to be part of Table 12 because the other couples that we are with have been married for like 10 and 11 years and the other one was preparing to get married. Another thing, our table was strategic in such a way that its near the stage, the speaker's holding area and the exit (going to the washroom). While waiting for the event to start, there were brewed coffee and cookies (this is actually unlimited).

Since we were early, there was an opportunity for some photo opps.

Little by little I was getting excited-- imagining how many couple can fit the ballroom and how interesting the topics for discussion will be! During the course of the workshop, we were informed that there were 800+ people, almost half of the population are getting ready to be married, half are married for years with one or two couples having been married for more than 20 years and some single folks -- how diverse!

In summary, here are the topics --

From Before and After I Do FB Page

First Topic by Edric and Joy:

From Before and After I Do FB Page

My Key Takeaway:

Before plunging into marriage -- a couple should understand the reason behind being part of that sacred relationship. It's not for happy moments only but a commitment that one needs to keep.

Second Topic from Manny and Lisa:

From Before and After I Do FB Page

My Key Takeaway:
This is actually my favorite topic of them all -- simply because I was able to relate and see the beauty in it. Don't get me wrong, i LOVED the entire workshop but this topic really stuck with me. What I remember, it is the role of the husbands to be the:

LeadHer = Leader
LoveHer = Lover
ProvideHer = Provider

I don't want to further explain because it's pretty self explanatory.

For the wives, our role is to be the:

Help Mate = Help Meet for our husbands

It is also interesting to note about the LOVE - RESPECT Relationship. That husbands should be treated with RESPECT, the same manner when the wives needs to be given LOVE. This is a cycle and if done perfectly and seamlessly, will result to a great married life. :D

Third Topic from Peter and Jennifer:

From Before and After I Do FB Page

Their topic was all about Communication and resolving conflict:

Who said that "Effective Communication" is only discussed at work or in the corporate world? Let me tell you that this is equally important or should I say a very important aspect of a successful married life.

My Key Takeaway:
Speak your mind but consider the timing!
I am a very talkative person (my family and friends can attest to that)! Why not use this skill to make sure that we have a fruitful married life. It is really important to communicate because our spouses are not Manang Bola where they know exactly what we are thinking about -- gone are the days (well there may still be some) where women don't speak their minds and wait until their partners figure out what they were fussing about -- for me, this is really a waste of energy. Why not tell your spouse what's in your mind AND explain why you felt that way. This way both of you can talk, discuss, agree and complement.

Fourth Topic by Jong and Monique:

My Key Takeaway:
Keeping ourselves pure is important and we can achieve that through marriage and with the help of our spouse. Should there be challenges -- and there will be (because no marriage is perfect) all we need to do is to surrender ourselves to the greater Lord and everything will fall into the right place.

My husband and I were blessed to have this opportunity! It was really an investment for our marriage and from time to time its worth investing especially if is its for the better!

We've been together for seven years now and I can never say that we are a perfect couple. Our married life may not be as bumpy with twists and turns as a roller coaster but it is not a walk in the park either -- what I am trying to say is that we also have our down times but I believe I can proudly say that we chose to be happy and to learn from whatever differences we have!

In my mind, i know that attending these types of workshops is really a MUST because although we know how to handle things -- it's good to be refreshed and re-familiarize ourselves with how things should be done in a married life no matter how long we've been married!

From Before and After I Do FB Page

My overall Key Takeaway -- continue to learn and learn together! It is really fun!
Most importantly, make sure that whatever it is that you learn from these workshops or seminars, you put into action!

Do not forget to Subscribe to hear more from me! :)

Xoxo

2017 is going to be GREAT!

2017-03-21T08:19:00.002+08:00

Oh Boy! It took me three months to start my first blog for 2017 -- I have my excuses yes but I don't think they are all valid.

Let me open my first post by saying that "This year is going to be Exciting".

Why do you think I said that?? Let me tell you this -- in my years of existence -- yes 34 precious years in our world -- i have come to realize that we are one with the universe. We are a tiny wink in the very large universe. What came to my mind is that I do not control the universe and not everything will fall in favor of me and thus I have to live with it.

Let me share with you 5 things that I will practice so that I can say it will be a great year and why you should also follow suit (If you believe these things can apply to you).

1. I will acknowledge my feelings -- if I am sad then I will be sad, if I am angry then I will be angry. What's important is how I will react after that feeling. Remember, when we are emotional we tend to do certain things that we might regret a few minutes after. So, when happy, do not promise and when angry, do not curse. Stop for 10 seconds and do your breathing exercise, you will realize that being silent for 10 seconds will mean a lot.

2. Understanding that I don't have full control -- it is but normal that we will always want to get what we want. But darling, that's not how the universe work! So to avoid stress by forcing the universe to be in our favor -- we need to be able to understand and accept that we cannot have everything and then make sure that we are happy and contented with what we have.

3. Be a believer -- how can we do this? I once watched a movie (forgot which one) and it talked about "HOPE" and it is where people got their drive to be strong and move on. I trust that when we believe that things happen for a reason, we have a high chance of not giving up and this is always the way to go to achieve our goals.

4. Find contentment -- The key to real happiness and satisfaction is to be content with what we have. Yes it is not bad to dream about great things and great goals, they are all for free! But we have to be clear about what we really can do and achieve, we need to be contented and not ask for more than and beyond our means.

5. Share my blessings -- when you say "share" this is not limited to in-kind sharing or donating to charities. What if I am not that rich right? Let me give you some simple things on how we can share our blessings. Be a listener to someone who needs a companion, be a teacher who needs guidance on your expertise, there are many things to share but for me this is the ultimate -- Share your time - to your family and friends. This one will not cost you but you will gain relationship and memories that will last a lifetime.

How about you? What are your thoughts why 2017 will be a great year!!

Do not forget to Subscribe to hear more from me! :)

Xoxo

A Wonderful 2016!

2016-12-29T14:14:00.002+08:00

2016 was WONDERFUL!
This place described everything about what happened this year and let me tell you how.

1. Fresh Air - this is HIS love for us. To always keep us safe and keep us warm. Reminding us that without HIM, we will be nothing.

2. Big Trees - these trees were behind us -- this signified our family, our parents. Whom all throughout the year was with us no matter what. They were our support system and they continued to guide us.

3. Clear Blue Sky - this is how we (Sweets and I) look at our everyday lives. That ultimately, after everything that happened, there will always be a clear day to remove all our worries and fear.

4. Decorative Plants - this year, we met a lot of people and we've realized how they played a part in our lives. Some were thorny, some were flowery and some were plain people riding along the way.

5. Small Nipa Hut - this year was all about building our own home and this year was significant in making it all happen.

6. Couple Shirt - (which by the way was given by Mama Inday) means that we (Sweets and I) were together and we will be there for each other -- that our decisions will always be one same as our love for each other.

7. Healthy Soil - That no matter how far we've grown in our careers and in our lives, we continued to be grounded. This coming year will be no less than the same and will continue to bring joy most especially to those in need.

8. Rocks - most of the time they were stumbling blocks but we made it a point to make it as decorative as possible and see the beauty in it.

9. Lamp Posts - one way or another, we both became a light to someone and we are proud of it. It's as simple as sharing our time and effort to those who need them the most

10. Straight Path - saying that this year we knew where we were going and that the coming year we will continue to follow that path, TOGETHER!

How about you, what's the story of your 2016?
Was it exciting? I'm sure it is!
My two cents: What happened this year was a done deal -- it's either we learn from it or we continue to live the PAST!

Happy New Year Everyone!!