I Survived 2020: 2021 Bring It On

Happy new year! Welcome 2021, the year of the metal ox.

I know 2020 was a rough year with all the natural calamities here and there not to mention the worse because of the pandemic. But since there are things that cannot be undone we just have to move on because that is what life taught all of us. One thing for sure is that the virus is here to stay so we have to live with it I guess, the new normal way.

We made it through 2020! For those of us who are still here, I hope that the time spent at home with your family and friends was totally worth it. Despite all the bad things that happened last year, I still have a lot of things to be grateful for. There were ups and downs on the financial side, but my family and I managed. But what I am most grateful for is that none of us got infected by the virus even my dad who never gets tired of going out no matter how hard we tried to stop him since he is a high risk individual due to his old age. He did not catch the virus however, he was hospitalized and had to undergo a minor surgery. Thank God he recovers pretty fast maybe because he’s still got a good immune system.

My twin sister and I also made some home improvements this year, something that we have been yearning to do. We repainted our walls and decorated for Christmas as early as October because we just wanted to feel the holiday spirit to deviate from all that’s been happening. 

I enjoyed online shopping and bought pretty much everything we needed from Christmas decorations to gifts without leaving home since going out is a thing of the past for most people now. Working from home and managing my online shop got me through this whole pandemic. I never appreciated everything until I was left with no choice but to stay home. 

I miss traveling too because I have not travelled for the past two years but maybe things really do happen for a reason. My passport is expiring this year but I have no plans of renewing it until the pandemic is over. In God’s perfect time I will travel again. 

I hope this year will be better one. May this year be filled with so many blessings. I hope the pandemic will be over soon or but for the time being, let’s make the most of what we have. I am looking forward to learning new skills or perhaps opening a new online shop? Change is inevitable so I guess I’ll just go along with it.

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! 

Welcome 2018

Happy New Year!!! Welcome 2018, the year of the earth dog. 

I still have a little bit of a hangover from New Year's eve but I must say that I had a wonderful time spent with my family. My sister and I did all the cooking for Noche Buena and Media Noche it was quite tiring but was all worth it. 2017 was probably the most festive year for me because our decorations are well thought out. We decided to decorate for Christmas as early as September, I guess we're just really excited for the holidays lol.

I started working on decorating our living room coffee table which turned out well so I thought why not decorate our dining table as well? I draw inspiration from Pinterest where I found a lot of  Christmas dinner table setting ideas I'm just really happy on how well it turned out I'm looking forward to doing it every year from now on.

My Christmas presents 

We also had a mini kris kringle (exchange gifts) and opened our gifts at 12 midnight on Christmas day. I guess it is a mandatory thing especially if you have a kid in the family like my 9-year-old niece because kids love gifts right? I got a snow globe, a Hello Kitty mug, and phone case. Don't you just love Christmas? 

Our Noche Buena table setting and buffet bar. Video courtesy of my sister 

For New Year's eve, we had a movie marathon of some of our favorite Asian horror flicks after Media Noche. We waited until 12 midnight and watched fireworks display before opening our New Year's Eve presents. Usually, gift giving is only for Christmas but for us, it extends until New Year's Day just for fun you know. I got this cute message bottle thingy and ball that lights up when bounced from my 9-year-old niece Gabby.

Thanks, Gabby

We had the same dinner table setting for New Year's eve I just changed the table napkin foldings with a little help from Pinterest again of course. Our Christmas theme last year was quite rustic and we had a lot of the color gold so I'm thinking maybe this year it's something like a Winter Wonderland theme, we might have a lot of blue and silver for a change but we'll see.

Our Media Noche table setting and buffet bar. Video courtesy of my sister 

Wishing you again a Happy New Year, let's all make this year count. 

Cheers!!!

Welcome 2017!

Happy New Year!!! Welcome 2017, the year of the Fire Rooster. 

New year, new hopes and aspirations and of course, new year comes with New Year's Resolution, it's a tradition, but to be honest I would prefer to call it a game plan. 

Here's a list of what I'm looking to focus on this year:

1. Get back in shape.

- Holiday binge is over so there's no more excuse. I need to get back to healthy eating.

2. Travel at least once a year.

- I know that work can get in the way but I will still travel whenever I could.

3. Veer away from anything stressful.

- I want to live long. Stress is a killer.

4. Save up.

- This is perhaps the toughest one for me but I've done this before so I am pretty positive that I the key is to manage my expenses well.

5. Take time to learn new things.

- I'm up for anything new, bring it on. 

~ That's it for me. So what's yours? :p

Goodbye 2015, Hello 2016

I almost couldn’t believe that today is the last day of 2015. Before the year ends and I bid goodbye to the year of the sheep, let me recall this year’s highlights and what made it memorable for me.

First off, the Papal Visit happened in January from the 15th to the 19th. As a Catholic country this is the time where Filipinos experienced a renewal of faith when Pope Francis came. The Pope came to the Philippines during the first leg of his Asian trip and brought about the message of “Mercy and Compassion.” Pope Francis was the second Pope after Pope John Paul III to have visited the country.

I am still addicted to online shopping so my sister and I got ourselves mason jar cozies. I will never forget how cute this cookie monster cozy was and the hassle of buying a made to order item. It took a month before I got it but I swear to God I will not order from that seller again. My cozy will turn 1 year on the 25th of January. 

Pets come and go. Our house cat in Antipolo that I named Moonie passed away on February 13th. I don’t know how long he lived but he definitely died of old age. The last time I saw him alive was April of last year before I left for Cambodia to spend my 34th birthday.

I’ve always been a health buff but no matter how careful I am I had some minor health issues in March. I was diagnosed with G.E.R.D and was on medication for two weeks. I had my second endoscopy since my gallbladder operation in July of last year because of some bacteria that thrived in my stomach and was on medication for a month. 

I want a birthday present for myself and I couldn’t think of anything so I had my second piercing and I loved it. I thought it’s cute. My piercing is eight months old and will turn one year on April 12, 2016.

How can I forget my 36th birthday getaway in Hongkong (April 25-27)? It was my first time in HK though I never get the chance to visit Disneyland, I was happy to see the largest Buddha, the Tian Tian Buddha at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island.

It was a sigh of relief when I finally quit my job in July. I got my final pay in August (yay!).

Pets need TLC too. On August 2nd my sister and I brought our 10-year-old German Shepherd to the vet due to his infected hygroma and was on medication for 2 weeks. 

On August 21, Typhoon Ineng hit Northern Luzon big time. Our town was enveloped in darkness for 3 days.

I enrolled in a driving school in September, the rush course lasted only for 2 days. Whew.

Typhoon Lando badly damaged Northern Luzon last October 18. That was the worst typhoon ever. We had no electricity for 4 days. 

Moving into a new house this year in October was the best thing that happened to our family this year. God is good and I couldn’t ask for more.

Just three days after moving into our new house we took Yumi, our 4-year-old Lhasa Apso to the vet because my sister and I noticed that she’s losing weight and starting to smell weird. According to the vet that Yumi's blood test showed that she was positive for some blood parasite. She was bitten by an infected tick so she was on lots of vitamins and antibiotics for 2 months because she was still positive on the 2nd month. Poor little dog, thank God she’s all well now.

Our senior dog Brandon was rushed to the vet again and was confined for three days from November 16-19 due to dehydration. We had Brandon’s CBC checked and was told that his kidney and liver are no longer in good condition because of his age. He was able to recover after three weeks.

I'm a little bit of a gadget freak and an Apple fan. I couldn’t live without my iPhone or laptop so I got myself a MacBook Air 11 as a Christmas present. Happiness overload.

I was happy for a while but that happiness turned to grief when Brandon, our most loved guard dog passed away 2 days after Christmas. His kidney and liver finally gave up. He will be missed. 

I guess life is all about balance. Good and bad things happen for a reason, it is not just mere coincidence. Everything that happened this year gave me a lot of things to ponder. On that note, let me share a quote to wrap up 2015 for me:

“As the year comes to an end, don’t look back on yesterday’s disappointments. Look ahead to God’s promises yet to unfold.” ~ Buky Gelabi ~

Goodbye to the year of the sheep. This is going to be my year so let me welcome the year of the Monkey with a bang. Hello 2016, Let's rock this.

Welcome 2012

Another year has gone. I made it to 2012 yay! Thank God for that. Well, what can I say? This is my first blog in 2012, it's raining and foggy out here... is that a good or a bad thing? I dunno really. Any New Year's resolution for me? I guess I'll do whatever to make sure I don't repeat the same mistakes I made in 2011 but of course the learning experience is something I didn't regret a thing, never. I still want to travel though and continue my journey to wherever this year. Sissy and I are looking forward to spending our birthday this year as usual in a place we've never been, now I'm talking about B-day stuff. I don't wanna be a year older yet. 

Moving on, I want to make the most of everything this year. Health is still my priority. "Health is wealth" remember? I think I need a good luck charm for 2012. This "New Year fever" isn't over yet so Kung Hei Fat Choy 2012!

New Year's Reso

Home-cooked Christmas food 

Happy New Year! 

My 2010 starts today thank God it's my rest day. My twin sister and I welcomed the new year by ourselves it's kinda sad that we've been celebrating New Year's Eve for two years now away from our family. We ordered KFC's holiday bucket feast and white sauce pasta for our Media Noche. My sister and I enjoyed the fireworks display from our terrace.

I spent Christmas last year in the boonies so I was able to relax and eat real food even just for a couple of days. Mom prepares home-cooked meals every time we spend our vacation with them so I had to forget about my diet during the holidays. I wasn't present during our vacation home's blessing because it's held in the afternoon, unfortunately, I have shift that day. 

My only consolation this year is that Christmas and New Year's Eve falls on my rest day. My sister has shift yesterday but she has a fixed morning schedule so she's home before Noche Buena and Media Noche. Lucky enough for her that she has to come to work on Christmas and New Year's Day only but the days after, she's on leave. Their account is generous enough to grant them lots of leave passes. 

NYE feast

I went to the mall earlier I'm glad it's not crowded at all I was able to sit comfortably and download applications from Ovi Store to my Nokia phone over wifi. Ovi Store is where you could download mobile games, applications, etc. I didn't really pay attention to Ovi before but I got curious so I signed up and sent some cool links from their website to my phone. Now I can maximize my phone's potential because of Ovi. 

New year, new life. For my New Year's resolution, I'd like to lose weight this year I promise to work out religiously. No more slacking and food indulgence I've had enough of all that it's about time to get fit so watch out for a whole new me. 

Welcome Year of the Ox

Media Noche food

Happy New Year! Today is the first day of the year of the Ox also known as "Ji Chou" in the Chinese calendar. 


Everyone's still fast asleep after having a blast last night. This is the first time that my sister and I welcomed the new year together in Shaw. It was really awesome being able to watch the fireworks display. I was in awe seeing beautiful lights, the sky was filled with different colors. Everything was so magical how I wish I could freeze that moment. 


We had Penne al Pesto, pizza and Mango float for dessert for Media Noche. The food was great but it's nothing compared to the joy of spending the holidays with family. 


My sister said that her new year's resolution is to start saving this year so I'll see if she can keep up with that. As for me, I'll continue saving for the rainy days.

New Year's Day

Just few months ago I'm counting the days until Christmas, now it's over and we're looking forward to New Year's day. 

I rendered a 30 minute overtime before my rest day. I went home with a Christmas bag of goodies from the office for Noche Buena. I boughts ingredients for fruit salad and waited in line for almost an hour to get a cab home. Last minute shopping was never a good idea especially if you haven't slept yet. I still have colds so my taste buds aren't working as well as my sense of smell. Not good because it's Christmas eve and I hate feeling sick. 

We opened our presents a week before Christmas so there's really nothing more to get excited about. Our elder brother paid us a visit today and brought some goodies. 

We checked out the this new store at the Atrium later called The Soap Factory where we saw yummy looking soaps good for gifts. I thought I'll buy some for my friends but you it's made to order I have to come back after 30 minutes. The soap artist told me that they need to come up with designs and that they don't have a catalogue. They pretty much create whatever comes to mind. They also need time to bake it. I hope someday they sell something handy.

Not So Happy New Year, Arrrrgh!

I spent new year's eve in the office as expected. I'm still not over it because I never had the chance to say goodbye to 2007 and welcome 2008. I was engaged in a call I wouldn't have known that it's 12 midnight already had I not heard from my officemates how amazing the fireworks are. 


I feel sorry for myself. This is the first time I spent New Year's day in the office and we're queueing the whole time for crying out loud. Calls flooded the center after 11PM. My real shift is 12:30AM but I was on an hour pre-shift overtime. The queue slowed down around 8AM. There's free food but I don't have the appetite I was just tired after my shift. The roads are empty on my way home since it's a holiday, it's a ghost town. My twin and I are supposedly celebrating New Year's Eve together and part of the plan is to have a little feast for ourselves but that didn't happen I feel so bad she was on leave but spent NY eve all by herself. Sucks to be me. 

Happy New Year anyway