What holidays are made of

Ola! Wow! Sorry for my absence of late. I almost, almost give up on blogging again. Ive been mia for a few months and now I'm back, inspired on writing about whats going on with my life. Ive been wanting to write sooner but capital sin sloth hit me again. I had to strike back at it. Ive had to.

Im back! Im alive! :)) I feel like I owe my page a lot of posts. Now lets start with the highlights of my December. Of course its my favorite month because I get to home to my family for the long holiday vacation, reunite with old friends, get acquainted with new ones, and spend quality time with my family (extended family included).  Amidst all the crazy here and there Christmas rush, I say I had a blast.

Here with my mama, siblings and my lolo (grandpa).

With my 3 year old niece, Isabelle. Too cute not to mention heavy. haha

 Treated my cousins to one of my favorite restos in town. I heart Mexican food :)

To those who know me by heart, I am not a kitchen person. But Christmas is the best time for me to take charge of the kitchen. To learn what Im weak at. Chicken rosemary is one of my favorite dishes and I really did give my 105% for this recipe. Thanks to my friends and youtube, I made my mama proud! Haha! Look ma! :p Giving myself a lil pat on the back for this one.

Kids, kids. I miss them everyday. Spending more time with these kiddos back at home. Coz man, they grow up so fast.

Of course an annual gathering with my special friends back home. The marines. :)

Seafood is happiness! And I mean 'cheap' seafood at its best.

Someone misses driving! Spending time with this man back in our hometown. He was so happy to be home again after a year, even just for a short period. Reunited with his family and bella (this car).

In awe at all the fireworks on NYE. Goosebumps.

Spending quality time with this man, back at our hometown, with his family and mine. :)

Kulitan with these boys. The two little ones were so happy to see their kuya/uncle once again, which only happens every December. Imagine the lambingan. haha

Priceless. :)

Jollibee and kids. I cant explain the madness children could turn into when they see this giant bee. LOL

The magical place that is Divine Mercy hills. Grateful. Always.

Ladies and gentlemen, my family. The reason of my happiness and my existence. Ultimately, ma famille est ma vie. 


So there goes the summary of how half of my December went. Well more of how my holidays went. I hope you all enjoyed your vacation and your time with your loved ones.

P.S. All photos were taken using my phone.

When boredom strikes

Old notes on facebook that I'd like to share here =)

1. What is your name : Gay

2. A four Letter Word : Game

3. A boy's Name : Gile

4. A girl's Name : Gwen

5. An occupation : Geologist

6. A color : Green

7. Something you'll wear: Gown

9. A food : Granola

10. Something found in the bathroom: Grime (ew!)

11. A place: Garden

12. A reason for being late: Got up late! =p

13. Something you'd shout: Gaaah!!!

14. Movie title: Garden State

15. Something you drink : Green tea

16. A musical group: Gorillaz 

17. An animal : Goat

18. A street name: Gomez Street

19. A type of car: Grand Cherokee

20. The title of a song: Gotta have you (The Weepies)

Rebuild

Let things go,
See with your 'new' eyes,
Stand in the other person's shoes.
Most importantly, stand in your own shoes
And examine where you had lost yourselves along the way


(Modified from Chelangat)

P.S. Thank you for the eye-opener blogpost. =)

Best ideas

To all my friends who persist on asking, what takes me so long in the shower: Here you go. haha

Thank you phd comics for making me (and others out there), SANE.

Link to the source of laughs and relate-able graduate school comics here.

16 small steps to happiness

1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it.

4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

14. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

15. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

16. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

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