My Cousin's Wedding

A day after Christmas, my brothers and I have another wonderful occasion to attend to.

It was the wedding of an elder cousin.

My brothers and I were all asked to become secondary sponsors. My brothers were groomsmen while I was the veil sponsor.

my siblings and I

Their simple yet beautiful wedding was witness by close family members and friends from both sides of the groom and bride.

They exchange their wedding vows at Christ the King Church in Veterans Village in Quezon City.

Because we were not familiar with the location of the church, we left home at 1:00 pm and was at the venue an hour earlier than the scheduled wedding which was at 3:00 pm.

While waiting for the ceremony to start we had a chance to take pictures and to chat with relatives we haven't seen for a long time.

The wedding started a little pass three in the afternoon and as the couple said their "I do's" you can feel the love that they have for one another.

the newly married couple

Everyone in church were happy to witness their union specially the groom's mom, my Aunt Med because finally my cousin, the groom, Kuya Jeff finally found his heart's perfect match.

We at the groom's side were suprised that he had a girlfriend because his sight is all set in growing old alone. He keeps on saying before that he's not going to get married and that he'll just help in raising his nephews, his sister's children.

But fate had its way and soon he found himself falling for his beautiful and good hearted bride Ate Ella.

the couple with relatives from the groom's side

The reception followed at the Shangrila Restaurant Cuisine in West Avenue, Quezon City, a ten minute drive from the church. There were so many yummy dishes served at the wedding, we had crispy lechon, yangchow fried rice, fried chicken, sweet and sour meatballs, stir fry squids with vegetables, lumpiang shanghai, and other dishes.

Because the married couple were both shy by nature, they opted to scrap all the wedding related activities except for the cake cutting, bouquet throwing and the garter toss.

Most of the guests left already but my brothers and I opted to stay at the restaurant so we can still bond with our relatives and have our pictures taken with them.

at the reception with my cousin and nephews

It was a tiring day and my brothers and I can't wait to hit our beds.

Their Wedding Day was truly a happy and memorable event in their lives.

And it is my wish...that their union be blessed, their married life will be full of happiness and as they grow old together they will find themselves more deeply in love with one another.

Fish Spa

Do you go to a spa to have treatments? for a facial or a massage and other services? But have you heard of a fish spa?

No a fish spa is not a place for your pet fish to relax but it is a treatment wherein small fishes nibble on your feet's dead skin, calluses and cuticles giving off a soothing sensation.

Tourists, local and foreign alike are visiting Tibiao, Antique to experience this unique spa treatment. What made this treatment different is that for as little as P20.00 for the first ten minutes and an additional P2.00 for each succeding minute you can have a feel of this relaxing fish spa. They also have a student rate, students are charged P20.00 and only a peso for each succeding minute. How affordable is that.

The fish spa in Tibiao is able to charge at a minimum fee because Flord Calawag , a marine fisheries graduate of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, discovered last year a kind of fish from a friend's mountain pond able to niblle on dead skin cell.

As of October of this year, their fish spa were able to serve 2,000 guest since they become operational in June 2009.

With the popularity of the fish spa in Tibiao, Antique they are now planning to expand and start operating in the nearby province of Iloilo and hopefully in Boracay, Cebu and in Manila.

I can't wait to try this fish spa!

History Repeats Itself

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the "Feast of the Holy Innocents."

"When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger." Matthew 2:16

It is a horrifying scene to see, young babies and toddlers being slaughtered just because the King feared that from these boys will come a great leader that will become a threat to his reign.

Fast forward to November 23, 2009, Maguindanao, Philippines; Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr ordered and headed the massacre of more than fifty people, women and journalists who were on a convoy to file the certificate of candidacy of rival Toto Mangundadatu.

Ampatuan over see the killing because he wanted to silence the people who will become a threat to his political dynasty.

Tsk....tsk....tsk.....what greed can do to a man.

Pacquio's Movie Not Doing Good in the Metro Manila Film Festival

Manny Pacquio's superhero movie "Wapakman," is not doing good in the box office.

"Wapakman," one of the films featured at the annual two week run of the Metro Manila Film Festival only earned P750,000 on its first day of showing.

It can be recalled that two years ago, Pacquio also starred in "Anak ng Kumander," a MMFF entry too and it did not do well also in the box office, earning less than two million pesos.

According to noted director Jose Javier Reyes this happened because " Filipinos adore him Pacquio) as a prizefighter...as an athlete, but apparently not as an actor....."

The other films in the festival with their corresponding first day earning are the following:

1. Ang Panday P16.9 million

2.Ang Darling Kong Aswang P16.8 million

3.Shake,Rattle and Roll XI P16.2 million

4.I Love You, Goodbye P11.7 million

5.Nobody,Nobody But....Juan P8 million

6.Mano Po 6 P6.9 million

7.Wapakman P750,000

Christmas 2009

It was a truly blessed and happy Christmas for me and my family!

On the eve of December 24 because I was still recovering from my sickness I only prepared ham, queso de bola ( edam cheese ball ) and vegetable salad for the family to eat.

The following day, Christmas Day, my family went to church and attended the Christmas service of our parish.

After the mass since I was feeling a lot better, I took care of our lunch and prepare our food for our Christmas feast. My youngest brother and his girlfriend helped me in cooking.

These are the food that we had for Christmas.........

Roasted Chicken ( a family recipe )

Carbonara ( my own recipe )

( Vegetable Salad )

I forgot to take a picture of our dessert which is our home made refrigerator cake.

Our Christmas feast.....

I've eaten so much.....I must have added another pound to my weight. I must shed the extra weight I've added during the holidays. I hope dieting and exercise works for me but if it doesn't I might need a Liposuction already.

But aside from the food on our table, what makes Christmas happy for me and my family is the presence of one another. We may have a lot of food on our table but when one member is missing, Christmas is still incomplete.

Our family is grateful to God for all the blessings he had showered upon each and every member of our family and we are thankful that He has blessed us most specially with a loving and happy family.

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Happy Holidays!

Like what I've fear, I'm still not feeling well today, still had cough and colds! I guess, I'll be sleeping for the rest of the afternoon to conserve on my energy for tonight's celebration! I hope I'll be okay on Saturday because I'm one of the bridesmaids in my cousin's wedding.

I hope and I wish all of you a Blessed Christmas! Let us not forget to reflect on the Lord's great love for us and be grateful for the many graces He has bestowed upon all of us. Enjoy and cherish your celebration of Christmas with your loved ones!

.

Let us not forget to greet our Savior a..........

glitter-graphics.com

A Hectic Weekend

My throat is really itchy.....I think I'm going to have colds and cough. Yay! I don't want to be sick.... Christmas is just a few days away!

There were so many activities over the weekend, that I only managed to have less than four hours of sleep for Saturday and Sunday. I wish I could catch up on sleep or take a nap during the day but I barely had a chance.

I only managed to put up Christmas decorations at our house and do some general cleaning last Saturday. After cleaning the house, I was off to the supermarket to do the grocery. I bought ham, the ingredients for the carbonara and other dishes for Christmas. Later, in the night, my brothers and I went to a bazaar to do some shopping for gifts for our godchildren. There were many people at the "tiangge," but we were able to buy everything for the people in our list. The sad part was we were not able to buy anything for ourselves. We arrived home at 10:00 pm.

After arranging what I have bought for my godchildren, I was in bed at 11:00 pm but I have to get up 3:00 am on as Sunday because I have a choir service at 4:00 am for the dawn mass. After the mass, I had a nap for thirty minutes. And off I was to have my bridesmaid gown repaired. I don't know but my gown was a disaster. It doesn't fit me well. I hope the seamstress can do something about it before Saturday in time for cousin's wedding. After my gown, I dropped off my brothers' barong at the laundry shop for dry cleaning. Before I knew its time for lunch already.

The rest of the afternoon were devoted to other household chores.

Later in the evening, my family met up with my aunt's family for dinner. My aunt's family is spending the holidays at Macau so it was sort of a pre Christmas dinner. We stuffed ourselves with the dishes spread at Something's Fishy buffet at East Wood in Libis, Quezon City. After dinner, we strolled around Libis and took some pictures. We went home at past eleven.

I was able to sleep at 12:30 am already and have to be up at 4:50 am to prepare for work.

That was how hectic the weekend was and no wonder I'm feeling sick right now.

Simbang Gabi

I'm so sleepy! I only had five hours of sleep last night because I attended the Anticipated Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo of our parish, the St. Joseph's Shrine. My former choirmates (I've filed an indefinitely leave from the group) invited me to join them for their service so I had the chance to sing with them during the 9:00 pm mass which ended at around 10:30 pm.

I know a lot of Filipinos practice this well loved tradition of Simbang Gabi which literally means "Mass in the Night," because the mass takes place while it's still dark; and is also known as Misa de Gallo because the liturgy is held at dawn before the "gallo" or the cock crows.

When my lola (grandmother) was still alive, we never fail to practice this very Filipino Christmas Tradition every year. We would walk to church at 2:30 am because Lola don't want to be late for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. After the mass, we will bring home puto bumbong and bibingka. (I miss my Lola!)

Now that I don't have anyone to accompany me to church and the fact that I get really irritable when I lack sleep, I observed hearing mass for nine days either at the 6:15 am mass or the 6:00 pm mass. In this way even if these masses were not at the traditional time of the Simbang Gabi, I can still reflect on the gospel reading, be grateful for the many blessings poured upon me and my loved ones, to pray for our needs for the coming year and to spiritual prepare myself for Christmas.

Lost and Found

Every Saturday my brother and I go to Nepa Q Mart to buy our family's food supply for the week. I would wake up early to check the list of items made by my father so I have an idea on how much money I will have to bring.

Our first stop is to buy our pork and beef. I'll just hand out to the butcher our list, he will compute it and then we'll just come back for our order and pay for it after we have bought our fish, vegetables and fruits. Since, this has been my chore for the past two years, I have a prefered vendor for each item or what we call as "suki."

At the fish stall, I bought half a kilo of matang baka and galunggong for P128.00. I handed a hundred bill, a twenty peso bill and a 10 peso coin or P130.00 for the purchase to the vendor. Our suki gave P402.00 change. I returned the P400.00 extra change she gave me. She said that its 402.00 because I handed to her P530.00. I insisted that I paid her only P130.00 and left her stall.

We then proceed to the vegetable section of the market. After buying all our vegetables, we left what we purchase to the vegetable vendor because I want to buy curtains and bedsheets at the dry section of the market.

I got a huge discount on the curtains and bedsheets I bought. Walking back to the vegetable vendor, I counted my money to check how much I was able to save for the week. While counting it, I realized that I was P500.00 short and that I don't have enough money to pay for the meat I bought. Then I remembered that the fish vendor was right all along, I gave her 500.00 pesos and not P100.00.

I went back to the fish vendor and she happily returned to me my P500.00. She said she knew I'll come back for the money once I've discovered about my mistake. I'm just grateful that the vendor was honest. She could have lied and tell me that, I only handed P100.00 and not P500.oo.

Then yesterday, Bf and I went to Taguig to fix his sister-in-law's personal computer. It was a long travel for us because I'm from Quezon City and Bf's from Marikina. Since we were in Taguig, we decided to go to Market!Market! to buy our Christmas gifts for our loved ones after repairing the computer.

There were a lot of good buys at reasonable prices at Market!Market! Bf bought me a pair of shoes and pants as Christmas presents. After two hours, we were done with our Christmas shopping.

On our way out of the mall, I noticed that the sweater I had brought with me before we entered Market!Market! was missing. It was my favorite sweater because Bf bought it for me about a month ago and it's really pretty!

I knew that I'll be sad going home without it. So, I asked Bf if we could look for it at the shops we have visited at the mall. With the mall jampacked with people doing their shopping, I knew that there was a very slim chance that we're going to find it.

Fortunately, on the first shop we stopped by to ask, the saleslady had my sweater already.

I'm really happy. I said to bf that I 've been lucky the past two days. The money and sweater I have lost have been returned to me. Yipee!

Bf said, I must be careful with my things and money because I might run out of luck the next time around.

On our way home, I pondered on what bf said. I know he said it as a reminder to be mindful of where I place my things and with how I deal with money. He said that I might run out of luck the next time around. And he was right, because people run out of luck.

I should have instead said: "I'm blessed" and not "I'm lucky." I will never run out of blessings because God is the source of all blessings. He abundantly showered each one of us graces upon graces upon graces.

I'm blessed because I was able to deal with honest people in the market and in the mall.

Response To Your Comments

Gracie, Bambie, Rocks and Marose left comments on my recent blogs. I'm posting my answers to them here because I just want to express my happiness for all the wonderful words they left on my blog. They made my week extra special.

For Gracie...... Thank you sis for not only posting the awards I gave you but also for all the kind words you said about me in your blog. It really made my day! You are one of the first people I've developed an online friendship with. We will meet soon.

For Bambie.....You are truly one the sweetest people in the blogosphere. I really appreciate your taking the time to visit my blog. I missed you when you did not post for days. And I got worried when I did not read any post on your blog.

For Rocks......I am truly blessed to have met wonderful friends in the internet like Gracie, Bambie and you!

For Marose..... I am grateful because God is truly my healer! Not only for healing me physically but for also healing my broken spirit. Again, thank you for inspiring me to attend the Kerygma Conference.

Friendship Awards

Thank you to my dear friend Bambie for sharing these awards to me. I really appreciate the friendship we have. You are truly very sweet!

I in turn would like to give this award to Grace, Enchie,Joy and Rhia. Thank you for the friendship.

Got Heart 2010 Planner Giveaway

There are a lot of blogs sponsoring contests and promos this time of the year. And the prizes and giveaways are all wonderful.


I wish, I'll win something because I was never lucky in raffles. The last time I won was when I was still in grade school and I won three big cans of Ovaltine ( a chocolate powdered drink, is this still available in the market? ) I was disappointed when I won because I wanted something else but my mom was happy with what I got because we won't be buying that powdered drink for more than a month.


That was the first and the last raffle I won.


I hope this year, I'll win something I really like; like this Got Heart 2010 planner from Got Heart Foundation.

Vera of "Where the Moon Shines," is having a promo and she's giving this lovely Got Heart 2010 planner.

Here are the rules to join and earn a raffle entry in the promo:

1. Visit her blog and leave a comment on her post about the promo, here's the link.

2. Leave a comment about any of her post from December 7 till the 25th and

3. Blog about the promo on your site (5 raffle entries for blogging about it and an additional raffle entry when you leave the url of your post in her blog )

That's how easy to join her promo.

So visit her site.

Time Off

It has been four days since my last post! Since October, I diligently try to post something almost everyday. But in the last few weeks, I have been lazy with my blog updates.

My good friend Sunshine posted a comment on my last post if everything is okay with me because I have not been updating my blog; and I really appreciate her concern. She's one of the sweetest people in the blogosphere.

Everything is well from my end. It's just that I'm a liitle frustrated with work and I'm sulking about it and that's the reason I'm not motivated to blog.

I'm just giving myself some time off to reflect on my next career move.

No More Back Pain - My Kerygma Conference Healing

I attended the Kergyma Conference, a Catholic gathering, last weekend. The final activity for the conference was a healing session with Brother Bob Canton.

Bro. Bob, is a lay healing minister based in the United States and was invited to the Kergyma Conference.

Since I was seated at the Upper Box B Level of the Araneta Coliseum, I cannot go down to the Ringside area where Bro Bob was. A lot of sick people where brought to him and he lay his hands on them.

There were a lot of miracles that happened that day, the lame where able to walk, the deaf was able to hear, those with eye problems got their clear vision back, and those with cancers and tumors were healed and other healing.

Bro Bob reminded everyone that it was not he who heals but Jesus and that he is just being used as an instrument of healing.

And since Bro Bob cannot possibly lay his hands on all the 10,000 people gathered at the Araneta specially those in the upper level of the coliseum, he said a special prayer of healing for all present. He even said that we are all healers. Our faith in God can heal us of our infirmities, we just need to believe.

While saying his prayers, he said that he had a revelation that those with back pains will be healed.

I was suffering from back pains for weeks already. I know its the result of my poor posture and the stress I have at work.

I was happy to hear that those with back pains will be healed. I touched my back, and I can still feel the pain. After I did that I've completely have forgotten about my back aches.

The next morning I remembered the healing and keeping prayer made by Bro Bob Canton given at the conference. I prayed it and it was a beautiful prayer not only for physical healing but also for emotional and spiritual healing.

When boyfriend visited me in the afternoon he asked me about the conference and I excitedly told him how wonderful the conference was and I told him about the miracles that happened in the conference.

While we were chatting, he placed his hand on my back which he usually does to correct my posture and to give it a massage because I always complain to him about my back.

I was surprised because when he touched my back I did not feel any ache at all. I touched my back just to be sure that there was no pain and it did not hurt when I did touch it. Actually even if I don't touch my back I can feel the pain in my back up to my shoulders and neck almost in a daily basis.

There is no back pain for me already and I can feel that my back is no longer a vulnerable part of my body unlike before.

It has been five days after the healing session and I still don't have any back pain attacks. I am grateful to God for this blessing.

Here's the prayer by Bro Bob Canton

HEALING AND KEEPING PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me.

I thank you for sending Your Son, Our Lord

Jesus Christ, to the world to save and to set

me free. I trust in Your power and grace that

sustain and restore me. Loving Father, touch

me now with Your healing hands, for I believe

that Your will is for me to be well in my mind, body,

soul and spirit. Cover me with the most precious

blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, from the

top of my head to the soles of my feet.

Cast anything that should not be in me. Root out any

unhealthy and abnormal cells. Open any blocked arteries

or veins and rebuild and replenish any damaged areas.

Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection by the

power of Jesus' precious blood. Let the fire of Your

healing love pass through my entire body to heal and make

new any diseased areas so that my body will function the

way You created it to function. Touch also my mind and

my emotion, even the deepest recesses of my heart.

Saturate my entire being with Your presence, love, joy,

and peace and draw me ever closer to You every moment

of my life.

And Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and empower me to

do Your works so that my life will bring glory and honor to Your

holy name.

I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Kerygma Conference 2009 - Day 2

Day 2 of the Kergyma Conference 2009 started with Rev. Fr. Joseph Skelton leading the worship service. Fr. Joseph, an American missionary based in Bohol lead a truly amazing, faith-filled, very powerful worship. Everyone in Araneta were on their feet singing with all their hearts and dancing for the Lord. I was moved by the worship, that I was really dancing and almost shouting the lyrics of the song because my heart is telling me I'm singing and dancing for God..

Bro Bo Sanchez did the last talk for the conference and he really inspired me to let my light shine before others. I'll expound on this on my next post.

The Holy Eucharist led by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales followed. He said in his mass that if we want to win big in life we should remember these numbers:161931. He jokingly said that we should jot it down and take care of it. Everyone thought that it was the numbers for lotto. But these numbers he said are the chapters and verses we must read from the gospel of Luke. When we follow the teachings in Luke 16:19-31, we will win not only here on earth but it will also get us to Heaven.

It was my first time to attend the mass with Cardinal Rosales presiding. He was a soft spoken man and there's so much love in his words, you can sense that he is a man full of love.

After lunch, everyone prepared for the healing session with Bro. Bob Canton. Bro Bob is a lay healing minister based in the United States.

When I first saw Bro Bob on stage, he doesn't look like someone who was on a healing ministry. Because personally, I assumed that someone in the healing ministry should be straight-faced and very serious. And Bro Bob is different, he is so jolly, he was cracking jokes the minute he stepped on the stage while relating to us his healing ministry.

He emphasized to us that it wasn't he that heals but it's Jesus and that he's only being used as an instrument of healing.

A lot of people got healed that day, those who couldn't see were able to see, the lame rose from their wheelchairs and started to walk, a boy deaf since birth were able to hear and their were revelations about those with cancers and tumors being healed. I was so blessed to see all these miracles before my eyes.

Those in the ringside where priviledged because Bro Bob can lay his healing hands on them but for those of us in the upper levels of the coliseum he just said a prayer for us. He reminded us that all of us are healers. We just need to pray to Jesus and asked to be healed and we will receive the healing we need. He instructed us to pray for the person to our left and to our right and to pray for the healing they need; and intercede for one another in Jesus' mighty name.

The Kerygma Conference 2009 is truly an inspiring, full of healing, miracle-filled event. I can't wait for next year's conference.