A Cozy Holiday to End a Challenging Year

As the final days of 2024 slipped away, I found myself embracing the holidays with quiet gratitude. It had been a challenging year, but the festive season brought a sense of warmth and renewal that I desperately needed.

Christmas was a visual delight in our home, with a purple, gold, and brown theme that added a unique elegance to our celebrations. The tree shimmered with these colors, and even the table decor matched perfectly, creating a cozy yet regal atmosphere.

Our buffet bar was the heart of our gatherings, lovingly decorated and filled with dishes I had prepared. This year, I tried out new vegan holiday recipes, and they were a delicious success.

My fur babies joined in the festivities, dressed up in adorable holiday outfits. They brought endless smiles and laughter, prancing around and stealing the spotlight. Their energy was contagious, and they truly felt like part of the family celebration.

The holidays were quiet and private, just how I like them. As an introvert, I cherished the moments spent at home with my family. There were no big parties, just the comfort of being surrounded by loved ones and enjoying the little things: laughter, music, and the twinkling lights on our tree.

However, not everything was perfect. A few days after Christmas, the cold weather got to me, and I fell ill. It was a reminder to slow down and take care of myself, something I often forget in the rush of life. Thankfully, I recovered just in time for New Year’s Eve.

On New Year’s Eve, we kept the traditions simple yet festive. We sang our hearts out during karaoke, lit firework sticks, and watched fireworks burst across the night sky from the comfort of home. We opened presents together, each gift a symbol of love and thoughtfulness.

As the clock struck midnight, I reflected on 2024. It had been a tough year, filled with challenges and lessons. But as I stood there with my family, my fur babies by my side, and the promise of a new year ahead, I couldn’t help but feel grateful.

2024 may have tested me, but it also reminded me of what truly matters—love, resilience, and the joy of being with those who make life meaningful. Here’s to 2025, a year I’m stepping into with hope, gratitude, and an open heart.

Holiday Cheers

My most recent visit to the endocrinologist was a week ago, and things are going well so far. I wasn't surprised by the results of my blood test because I've been feeling great lately. I started taking thyroid medicine again, choosing the generic variety over the non-generic because I am not sensitive to it. I am thrilled that my symptoms of hyperthyroidism have so far disappeared. My doctor advised me to keep taking my medications and gave me a request for a blood test in case my symptoms returned. I can't believe how quickly my body responded to the meds, which led me to believe that if I had gone to the doctor sooner, I wouldn't have had to deal with all the muscle issues and all the additional anguish it brought. I really didn't like taking meds because of the side effects and everything, but due to my disease, I had no alternative.

It is understandable that many patients, regardless of how urgent their condition, could not afford treatment because healthcare is generally quite expensive. I hope that in the future, fear need not be felt over healthcare. I suppose I'm just fortunate that I received prompt treatment, for which I am thankful. I still think that the health of everyone should come first. One key insight I had was that, no matter how hard you work, if you don't take care of your health, your profits would ultimately be wasted. As they say, prevention is still preferable to cure. Visit a doctor as soon as possible if you sense that something is wrong.

I've finished all of my Christmas shopping, and the holidays are just around the corner. I shopped from the comfort of my house for gifts, decorations, etc. The traffic, the crowds, and not to mention the fact that COVID is still around make me despise waiting in lines at the mall, so I wouldn't. The best option for shopping is still online because it is less demanding.

2022 is quickly coming to an end, therefore I'd like to enjoy every day I have left of it.

Countdown to Christmas

It's 60 more days till Christmas and there's no slowing down, I guess as soon as we hit the 'BER months.' It's also the last week of October and Halloween is fast approaching too. The pandemic is still here so as much as I would like to go out, I'd rather not. They say that the virus spread is starting to slow down but I really doubt it until the whole population gets tested. It's good to know that more people are getting vaccinated because it's better than nothing at all, at least for our peace of mind. 

Sissy and I are still working on our vegan holiday menu. We'd like to try recipes that are easy to prepare and with accessible ingredients of course. It's been three years since we went vegan and I'm happy that the number of online vegan stores are sprouting like mushrooms which is a good sign because it only means that the demand for vegan food especially during the pandemic, is increasing. I've been meaning to grow vegetables in our backyard and tried quite a few times as well, but I don't know why they end up dying maybe I just need to take it a bit more seriously. Thank God for the gift of chayote fruits that just grows at the back of our house that we can harvest for free. I just wish that the demand for vegan processed food will continue to increase so that more supermarkets will offer it, that way, the cost will be reduced if there's more competition --- talk about the law of supply and demand. 

Since I'm done shopping for holiday presents, now I'm looking to buy stuff for our dinner table. The holidays can be really costly but if decorating is your thing just like me, I'm pretty sure you'll find a way to save up for it especially if it makes you happy. Gosh, I'm just really excited for the holidays!

Hello "BER" Months

Hello September! I may be a week late in welcoming the start of "ber" months but I'm happy that it is the start of the season that "sparks joy" to me. You can tell that I have been watching a lot of "Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo" on Netflix and to be honest, I kinda like it because I've done a lot of decluttering in my life so I can pretty much relate. 

These past few months, my sisters and I have started decluttering, we've disposed stuff that we don't need anymore and sold those that others might still find useful. It goes to say, that we cannot hold on to material things forever but we can always hold on to memories. I still keep job related stuff from my previous jobs like ATMs, health cards, ID lanyards and stuff but I've thrown away my old pay slips, contracts and many other documents and recycled some because most of it have empty back pages and can still used as scratch papers to save trees. To be honest, I don't know why I've kept those for such a long time, until I realized that I'm just keeping garbage for roaches to feast on. I'm no pack rat, thank God, because I know when to stop collecting things. I can say that one of my most priced possessions are old pictures of my family and pets but I kept them safe by storing them online. The hard copies are on regular photo albums and scrapbooks that my twin sister and I started making as a hobby years ago. So you see, it's good to keep stuff that brings joy and reminiscing on good memories, is just part of life. We can always make new memories but in order to do so, we have to let go of stuff that have bad energies and stuff.

Our holiday theme this year

So September is here, which means that I will be busy planning on our holiday decors, gifts, food, etc. My twin and I are always spearheading holiday related stuff in our family because we are always excited to do so. Our holiday theme this year consists of three colors: midnight blue, gold and teal. We'd like to have dark colors this time because we had light colors last year like champagne and rose gold. Thanks to Pinterest, where we always find holiday inspirations every year. But seriously, who does not enjoy Pinterest? You can pretty much find everything you need just by browsing the app, from room decor inspo to fashion, makeup or just anything under the sun. 

I enjoy decorating and planning, I've always plan our travels every year for our birthday but since sissy and I don't get to travel anymore because of the pandemic, I'll just channel my energy on planning holiday stuff, lol. I've already started window shopping but online (I don't know if there's a term for that, hehe) for possible gifts and additional ornaments for our Christmas tree and for our table setting. I still have a lot of ideas, but of course, budget is important in decorating... the cheaper, the better but without sacrificing coherence. Anyone can decorate but it is important to have great eye on details. I just cannot wait to start decorating but I think it's a bit too early to start bringing out holiday decors so we'll just see about that. 

'Tis the season to be grateful and joyous and everything. Does the holiday season spark joy to you? SO BE IT. 

BlogMas

It's 20 days left until Christmas...who's excited? The weather is starting to get chilly especially early in the morning. Everybody wants a white Christmas but for a tropical country like the Philippines, I think we're all set when the weather feels like it's going to snow as long as there's no rain.

I'm still not done with my Christmas shopping but I'm hoping that I will be asap before the holiday rush because I hate last minute stuff and I'm crossing my fingers that it won't happen, lol, but we'll see. 

I've been quite busy these past few months because I'm running my own online business plus two of our beloved pets were rushed to the hospital just few weeks apart. My sister and I brought our ginger cat to the vet because he had a "cat fight" and had his left hand and right foot severely damaged it was all stiched up and was on meds thank God he's fully recovered. Just when we thought that we have nothing more to worry about, our German Shepherd dog caught some sort of bacterial infection he was starting to get dehydrated so we rushed him to the vet clinic and was confined overnight. Our GSD is still on medication we're hoping that his follow-up check-up next week will turn out okay, it will depend on the result of his CBC (complete blood count). Having pets are like having extra family members and getting sick is not easy because it's costly but hey they are family and they also need a lot of TLC  (tender, loving, care). We've lost two dogs early this year and we cannot afford to lose another that is why we make sure to take them to the vet as early as possible when we feel like they need proper care. 

I guess that's it for now. Happy holidays wherever you are!

Happy holidays!

It's 68 days more to go till Christmas. My sister and I are done decorating for the holidays as early as September would you believe it? Nope, we're not that excited, lol. Our holiday theme this year consists of black, white and gold accents, we'd like a rustic Christmas for a change. We recycle our Christmas decors every year because buying new ones is not the most practical thing to do so I just buy a large can of spray paint and change the color of our Christmas balls and wreath as well. DIY-ing stuff is always a fun activity for me, it also gets my creative juices flowing. I thought about selling our old decors and just buy new ones but then again, why buy when you can simply DIY? 

Our rustic holiday table setting

Spray-painted our Christmas balls from last year
from silver and blue to black

These are all empty boxes for now.
For decorative purposes only

I put together this centerpiece for our living room
table

Our Halloween/Christmas wreath, lol.

While unpacking bale of clothes for my online shop, I also found real cute Christmas socks I thought what a coincidence because we really need them. My sibs and I really enjoy coming up with different Christmas motif each year, because why not? Christmas is not just the usual red, white and green but all the wonderful colors that brings about the holiday cheers right? 

Frosty the Snowman

Holly Jolly Christmas socks

Welcome Year of the Earth Pig

Happy New Year! What can I say? I survived 2018. Since this will be my very first blog in 2019, I’ll just make it brief because I still have a little bit of hangover from the holidays. I’ve been busy with decorating, meal preppin’ and all that stuff and I must say I had a blast I hope you guys did too.  

In case you want to know what I’ve been up to these past few days (and months) you may watch this video and the rest of it on my Youtube channel. 

Have a prosperous and meaningful 2019 y’all! Cheers! 

"BER" Month Update

Hello there, glad to be back here after three months of not writing anything...well, I guess it's the time of the year.  As we all know, "ber" months are up and the holidays are just around the corner. My sibs and I have a new business venture that will keep us busier until the end of the year we're crossing our fingers that it'll work out because it's something new to us. 

So far our Christmas lights are giving us the holiday vibes already because we haven't set up our Christmas tree yet we are looking at selling our old one and get a white tree. We're thinking of changing our theme to a Winter Wonderland for a change. I'm still in the hunt for holiday inspirations I want this year to be quite magical or something (lol). I'm quite busy with my Youtube channel and if you're not feeling Christmas-ey yet, you can watch this short video called Calm Before Christmas.

But before Christmas it's Halloween first so in case you're looking for makeup ideas, I'd like to share a video makeup tutorial of Valak from the movie The Nun.

That's pretty much it for now. Happy Trick or treat. Cheers to the holidays!

A December to Remember

Hello December!

It's only 23 days to go before Christmas...OMGGGG!

So, I went to the mall yesterday and bought stuff for our living room coffee table to put some Xmas vibes on it. I can really tell that the holidays are just around the corner because there are just too many people everywhere I go. Does this mean that 2017 is coming to a close? Yeah, I guess so. 'Tis the most wonderful time of the year indeed.

DIY-ed our living room coffee table decors

Decorating for the holidays doesn't have to cost a lot. You can simply use anything you can find at home and just buy additional ornaments if you feel that it is really necessary to complete the look. We started hanging our holiday lights and assembling our Xmas tree as early as October, I know, it might be a little too early for some but who cares if you really want to experience Xmas early then why not right? I think I spent less than Php500 for our coffee table decors from the gold spray paint (I painted our mini old and boring Xmas tree and reindeer gold) to the little details like the gold leaf, corset flower, and fake grass. I added some colorful balls from our Xmas tree and pine cones for a more festive look. 

Hohoho!

I'm also done with my Xmas shopping I did it super early so I don't have to beat the holiday rush. I bought all my gifts online because it's more convenient not to mention that, it is way cheaper too, but that is only if you are willing to wait especially if it's purchased off eBay it will take about a month (or less if you're lucky) that is why I suggest to do it early to avoid problems like your stuff getting lost in the mail just like what happened to the gift I ordered on eBay for my sister thank God I got my refund because my parcel does not have a tracking number and the seller said that she isn't getting any reply from the courier company. If you've been shopping online for almost a decade now like myself, then you must be aware of the fact that online deliveries are overflowing towards the end of the year and it's a big mistake to order something online just a month before Xmas because chances are, it will not make it especially if it's a present so don't take the risk and eventually get frustrated about it and take it on social media or whatever. In case of lost parcels or any complaints make sure to coordinate with the seller first if they can resolve it instead of stressing yourself, just saying.

Listen up, I also updated my Spotify playlist to my fave Xmas songs as you can see hope you'll enjoy listening while reading my blog.


I guess that's it for now, I hope these tips will help you enjoy this wonderful season.

Happy holidays y'all, TATA! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas y'all! I still have a little bit of a hangover from Noche Buena. I feel so bloated but I still can't stop eating because seriously, who doesn't love food right? I have this feeling that I'm being haunted by food spirits if they have one lol!

Noche Buena feast

Caffeine kept me awake from morning till midnight until it's time to open my presents and I'm really happy with what I got from my sissies I'm just a little disappointed that my twin was unable to make it for Noche Buena because she's at work. I'm just lucky that my rest days fall on weekends. Anyhow, I slept an hour past midnight then woke up again so my elder sister and I can attend today's mass. I'm still a little weary and sleepy from last night's food preppin' but I hate to spend my day in bed, it's Christmas right?!

My Christmas prezzies

I did not let Atari cat visit any garden yesterday so he spent all day sleeping which is better than fighting with other cats in the neighborhood, he's not very friendly.

Lazy Sunday it is.

Merry Christmas Baby

Merry Christmas

It’s the festive season and food is just sooo hard to resist I still have a hangover from last night’s sumptuous dinner. Overeating is no good for someone who lost a gallbladder a year ago but I care less even if I suffer from heartburn because Christmas only happens once a year right?  

There’s a bunch of things to be thankful for this year thus, a reason to celebrate. I can’t wait to have Internet service installed in our new home. It’s been 3 years since we had postpaid Internet and I really miss the good ‘ol things that I used to do such as downloading movies, music, etc. I’m a big leecher, not proud of it but I just am.  

They say the best things in life are those that money can’t buy, I totally agree. I’m a hardworking person, I keep working and working even if I’m not happy with what I do anymore until I just quit and move on to the next job. My life has become a broken record, it just played on and on. I take a break by traveling at least once a year to get some fresh air but I guess a temporary vacation didn’t help at all I realized that life is getting way too monotonous for me, a never-ending cycle. I thought I needed to do something to change how things are. 

I must say that this year is the best so far and I think I finally got what I always wanted…time, for myself and I couldn’t ask for more. This year had a lot of unexpected twists, mostly good ones. 

It’s just a few more days before the year ends and I have a feeling that the best has yet to come so bring it on.

Excited over the new year.

Cheerio! 

Merry Christmas Beybeh

My most awaited vacation is here at last. Thank God I wasn't tempted to waste away all my leave credits last month or I'll be left alone for the holidays. My twin and I reserved tickets a week before our trip we thought it'll be such a hassle to get one on the day itself especially during this time of the year where everybody's going out of town for the holidays. I hate falling in line but we had no choice they don't have online reservations yet it's a long queue at the terminal. 

We waited roughly thirty minutes for the 6 PM bus to arrive. We arrived past midnight yesterday the bus stopped in front of our vacation house since it's along Marcos Highway it's still kinda dark the moonlight lighted our path. Sissy rang the doorbell our brother opened the gate it's good he's still awake. We're so tired but it's good to be home, I miss home, my family and real food of course. My parents are quite surprised and worried at the same time they haven't seen me in months they noticed that I've lost a lot of weight they thought I got sick or something but I told them that I'm okay I'm just on a diet because that's the truth. I'm not going to forget about my diet while on vacation but I promise to myself that I will eat properly I don't want to be so hard on myself. 


I need quiet time and I definitely will make the most out of this vacation. We slept early so we missed Noche Buena we opened our Christmas presents in the morning. We loved mom and dad's gifts, a cute rabbit coin banks, yay! We gave them a digital photo frame in return and they liked it a lot. I got my niece two pairs of baby leg warmers she's wearing it right now it fits perfectly. 


That's about it for now. Have a Merry Christmas to y'all. Cheers!!!