So, what makes me busy these days? Work and motherhood, mostly. Oh, and how time really flies! Our baby NJ is now a preschooler! (Guess I need to practice omitting the “baby” after her name now.) She joined a summer camp last month and started attending summer class last Monday. Here’s one great thing we discovered: she loves going to school! So far, we’ve never had a hard time waking her up to prepare her for school. She even hates the thought of arriving late and making her teachers and classmates wait (oh, it rhymes!). Haha.

Below are some of the highlights of the first half of 2023 for us:

1. We celebrated NJ’s third birthday in February. No big party, though, because budget was limited. We just bought her a cake and had a buffet dinner with family at The Alley by Vikings, Ayala Malls Manila Bay branch. My sister’s American-Mexican boyfriend was in Manila that time so we invited him, too!

2. For our 11^th wedding anniversary in March, the hubby and I took the entire family to Boracay. It was NJ’s first time to visit the popular tourist destination (same with my parents and parents-in-law) and boy, did they have so much fun!

3. We took NJ to Enchanted Kingdom one March weekend. That was her first time to go to a theme park and as expected, she had loads of fun there.

4. We had a short vacation in Bohol in May. We also tagged my parents and one of my sisters along. We all stayed at my in-laws’ place there. It’s NJ’s second time in Bohol and this time around, we took her on a semi-round Bohol tour that she truly enjoyed.

5. I had my office team building in May, too. We are now a big family at work and most of the new ones are young blood. Which made me realize I needed to up my game if I wanted to stay relevant. Haha.

6. NJ joined a summer camp in June. She was very excited about this. She said she enjoyed it a lot and was ready to go to preschool. Wow, ha!

7. NJ is currently attending a summer class. After this, she’ll be nursery already. Exciting times ahead!

I can’t believe I’m now a mom of a preschooler. I’m actually feeling quite overwhelmed. As early as now, I’m having anxiety already as to what baon I should prepare for her and how I would fare when it comes to helping her in the assignments and exams.  So scary! Haha.

Have a lovely Friday to all!

May you choose happiness always,

The post The First Half of the Year Update appeared first on Life in Manila.

Our family life is okay and we have God to thank for that. Baby NJ, who is not so baby anymore, continues to brighten our days. May she remain as smart and funny and sweet and carefree! Here’s our “official” photo last New Year’s eve:

Work, on the other hand, was definitely busy during the second half of the year. It was transition period in the office and we had a new set of bosses. But we managed to adapt accordingly and we were glad to have been reappointed. So far, so good. Hopefully, we continue to live up to their high expectations.

May we all have a safe, sound, peaceful, and prosperous 2023!

May you choose happiness always,

The post Happy 2023 appeared first on Life in Manila.

1. One weekend in April, I invited over my friends way back during my Jollibee days (circa 2000s) when I was still a working student in college. It was a reunion of sorts and I was happy they took time to be with me and my little family. We had a Korean dinner courtesy of Than’s samgyupsal business (he’s the other male in the photo).

2. Back in May, we had a short family vacation in Bohol, the hubby’s province. Baby NJ met some of her relatives there for the very first time. We also spent a night in Panglao Island so she was able to enjoy the beach again (she said she had so much fun there!).

3. I got COVID-19 in June, my second bout with the disease. Same symptoms of sore throat and dry cough. I endured and survived it. Thank God!

4. We have a new boss in the office. As coterminous employees, we need to get reappointed to our respective positions and we’re still waiting for that. *fingers crossed*

5. Good news to no. 4 is that our salary still gets processed, albeit with some delays.

6. My family is okay. Baby NJ is growing so fast in all aspects! To say that we are having a fantastic time as parents is an understatement. So, so, so grateful to the one above.

7. Two years after I gave birth to our rainbow baby, I’m still fat. Blame that to Citibank’s 50% off promo in all The Bistro Group restaurants every Saturday. Haha. But I’m working on my fatness because I don’t want to spend money on bigger clothes!

8. The hubby and I have finally finished paying our 5-year car mortgage last month. Our last payment was July 3rd, to be exact. We’re so happy about this particular life update. The plan is to maximize the use of British (our beloved Hyundai Accent car) until he gives up on us. To British’s more years of service to us!

9. We took baby NJ to St. Pio Shrine in Batangas one weekend in July.

10. We’re still looking for a renter/leaser for our Bacoor condo. It’s a nice property in a resort-living community in a good location. Plus, it’s already semi-furnished. If you know anyone interested, please let me know.

11. My parents-in-law (PILs) are back from Bohol last July 23rd. They will be staying with us until they decide to travel back to Bohol again.

12. We celebrated my PILs’ 51st wedding anniversary last July 30th (it was supposed to be the 31st but we opted for an earlier celebration to fit everyone’s sched). We rented a private pool near our place and invited Mama Tining’s brother Kuya Cito and his big family over.

13. We also celebrated Mame’s 68th birthday through a family dinner.

the Mabalays

14. The hubby has recently made it a “devotion” to visit Baclaran Church one Sunday morning of each month with me. We light candles and hear whatever is left of the hourly mass service there. It doubles as our couple time na rin so it’s a win-win for us.

And that’s it. August is here, the feared “ghost month,” so let’s all hope for better days ahead, friends.

May you choose happiness always,

The post Life Updates appeared first on Life in Manila.

The hubby and I got married on March 17, 2012. It’s been 10 years since that life-changing day and look where we are now, we’re still deeply, madly in love with each other. Hahaha. Kidding aside, we just love each other to the extent that we continue to choose to be together in spite of and despite of. Our marriage is not a walk in the park but it continues to work and it continues to make us want to stay married, so I guess we’re doing just fine. When Pippo (our little angel in heaven) and NJ (our rainbow baby who’s a cheerful toddler now) came into our lives, our life together became happier and fuller. And we have God, our families, and friends to thank for that.

So, just like in our past wedding annivs, our 10th called for a celebration of sorts. The hubby and I took a leave from work for two days (March 17-18) and opted to go to the beach with baby NJ in tow. We were quite excited because it was her first time to experience the beach and we thought she would really have a wonderful time there (she did!). I initially wanted to book a room at this posh resort in Laiya, San Juan, Batangas but changed my mind when I checked out Klook and saw this promo at Palm Beach Resort (also in Laiya). I’ve been to Palm Beach for an office outing back in 2013 so I knew it was pretty decent. It was a good thing the hubby approved of my recommendation. Laking tipid kaya! Tapos hindi ko na iisipin ang kakainin namin dahil may full board meals dun. Winner!

Checking in to Palm Beach Resort was a breeze. Batangas was already under Alert Level 1 this month so we only had to do a saliva antigen test upon arrival. (Thankfully, we both tested negative and no more test for baby NJ.) We truly enjoyed our overnight stay. Parking was aplenty, our room was clean and comfortable, we were assigned our own cabana for lounging by the beach, buffet food during mealtimes was sufficient and tasted good, and best of all, the place was not crowded so our baby NJ had so much fun at the children’s playground, the two infinity pools, and the beach. The sea was rocky but still swimmable and we brought aqua shoes, so no problem.

Here are some photos to speak of our fun wedding anniv celebration slash family getaway:

Have a bright and beautiful week, friends!

May you choose happiness always,

The post Our 10th Wedding Anniversary Celebration appeared first on Life in Manila.

Our rainbow baby’s second birthday last Monday (February 7th) was celebrated simply and without fanfare. The hubby and I had a limited budget and we never really wanted to spend so much for it in the first place. I think what’s more important is that we made her happy with the few gifts she received and the unlimited supply of love and warmth from all of us at home.

To brighten up our house on our daughter’s special day, I just bought some balloons for decoration and had food ordered in advance. Okay, I must admit I splurged a bit on her birthday cake. I got introduced to this baker on IG from one of the IG posts of my blogger friend Je. I instantly liked her work (she’s good at making detailed fondant cakes!) so I told myself, one day I’ll ask her to make my daughter’s birthday cake. Then came baby NJ’s second birthday and I needed a good fondant cake artist. It proved to be a great decision because baby NJ’s cake for her second birthday looked amazing!

Here are some more photos from baby NJ’s little birthday party:

To all our family and friends who sent their greetings (and gifts) to our baby daughter both online and offline, thank you so much for the love. God bless and stay safe always!

May you choose happiness always,

The post Baby NJ’s Second Birthday Celebration appeared first on Life in Manila.

I, for instance, wasn’t spared from life’s many surprises. Something unimaginable happened to our family early this month and until now, I still couldn’t accept how I’m now obligated to face this new reality. This is not my doing, mind you, but somehow, I got affected and couldn’t do anything about it. I had no choice but to live with it. Weird, right? Things might change in the future, but for now, this is it.

The pandemic is still here so I just want to try to live as safely and peacefully as possible. I was trying to set my 2022 goals the other day but for some reason, I wasn’t that motivated. It could be the uncertainty of it all. Or maybe I was just being lazy. I dunno, I feel that at this point, just being alive is already a huge gift in itself. I have a job, I get to pay my bills on time, and my family is okay health-wise. My marriage is doing fine. Our baby NJ is thriving. What more can I ask for?

Personally, I believe serenity is achievable. Like happiness, it is a choice. Just like how I can choose to be happy, I can also choose to live a serene life. It’s mind over matter and I believe we can learn it through practice by constantly trying to embrace serenity.

There are actually many ways. It could be meditation for some, or simply thinking of positive thoughts for others. It could be exercise or gardening or cooking. It could be a new hobby or a new vocation. For me, as long as I’m choosing to be calm, peaceful, and untroubled by doing things that make me feel these positive feelings, then I’m good to go.

I have always been the type of person who abhors a complicated life. I have always been the type of person who loves simplicity. These days, I just want to live as simply as I could. It’s easy, uncomplicated, and quite economical, too! It doesn’t cost a lot so I’ll surely save money. Our finances have taken a backseat ever since the pandemic started and so I’d like to be able to really save money this year without exerting too much effort, if you know what I mean.

I know a serene life is something that I should work on every day. I’d also like to think it’s a constant practice of mindfulness, gratitude, and to some extent, faith. God is still the one in control of our lives. He never promised us a perfect life, but it was clear when He said He will always be there to bless, guide, and watch over us. I just have to trust more in Him and to not let worries and fears eat me alive.

Serenity in the midst of chaos is my top goal here. Last year, I had a hard time maintaining a composure in difficult situations. I easily got stressed (at work) and was always worried sick (but mostly because of COVID-19). I don’t want that this 2022. I want to breathe more and live more. I want to be able to focus and stay in control when everything is unclear or uncertain. I want to not let things get in the way of my pursuit of serenity. I can do this!

Do you also have a personal theme or one word this year? What is it and why?

P.S. For my easy reference and in case you’re curious, I left these links of my personal themes in the past years:

May you choose happiness always,

The post 2022 Personal Theme: Serenity appeared first on Life in Manila.