One Last Look at Winter

6:30 in the morning yesterday, outside my window...

...my one last look at winter.

Litratong Pinoy: Ayaw Ko! (Reject)

Ito ang aking lahok para sa Litratong Pinoy ngayong Huwebes na may temang

Ayaw ko!

Pagdating sa photography, ayaw ko ng:

• malabong kuha (blurred) na dulot ng camera shake
• mali ang settings ng camera ko
• mali ang composition ko
• mali ang focusing ko

Kapag passionate ako sa isang bagay, gusto ko na tama ang ginagawa ko at ayaw ko na nagkakamali. Kaya pag pangit o mali ang mga kuha kong litrato, naiinis ako at nanghihinayang dahil may mga pagkakataon na minsan ko lang makakukuhanan, mali pa pala ako.

Ang asawa ko ang aking mentor/coach pagdating sa photography. Kahit minsan ay napagsasabihan ako ng asawa dahil madalas akong magkamali sa pagkuha ng litrato, natutuwa at nagpapasalamat ako na pinagtya-tiyagaan niya akong turuan.

Sana balang araw, maisaulo kong lahat ng dapat kong malaman sa photography para maiwasan ang nga reject ng litrato ko.

Maligayang Huwebes!

I Miss Being Young and Restless

Oh, to be young and in love!!!!

I found the raw format of this collage three nights ago. These were taken on 31 December 2004, exactly five days after being engaged.

Looking at these photos reminds me of how it was to be young, in love, restless, carefee. Those were the good ol' days and how we loved every minute of it!!!!

Okay, I know we are still young and in love..still a bit restless and carefree at times but I'm sure couples who are now married can relate to the fact that being steadies is VERY different from being married. It's just that when married, the responsibilities are huge because we are now managing a home and building a family.

Anyway, now that I got the chance to look at our old photos, it's just nice to know that we made the most of our time being single, being friends, being barkadas, being steadies, being engaged. I'm glad we took our time...followed our dreams first...and just enjoyed being together.

Now that we're married, we highly appreciate the value of waiting for the right time rather than look back and say "I should've done this and that...". It just so much easier to adjust to or accept the responsibilities of being a husband/wife just because we didn't succumb to being married early.

Thru the photos we've captured, we happily look back at the times we: pick each other up from work, hang out in each other's offices, have coffee with our friends, the times we would surprise each other with a note, date and food (once he sent a muffin to me while I was in a meeting---i felt like a high school girl), travels to provincial areas of the Phils, night outs with friends, saturday late nights at my place, endless number of dates in a mall or to wherever we felt like hanging out, numerous movies we watched, times spent with each other's families, celebrating small and big milestones and of course, the times we fought about things we thought were relevant to fight about (sometimes by the end of the fight, we can't even remember what we were fighting about in the first place!).

*sigh* It's just feels so nice to reminisce the good ol' days.

One of these days, I'm going to immortalize some of our old photos by uploading it online. I've already done our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year scrapbooks (there's a 4th one but I haven't finished it!) and I think it would be nice if some memoirs can be seen online too.

Pondering

This has been eating up my mind lately.

I've been thinking of creating a new website where I would write down loveletters to my soon-t-be kids. Weird ba???

I have this habit of writing letters to people who can't read yet (like my godsons/goddaughters) so I'm thinking why not do it for my future kids too? Plus, it could be an avenue for transcibing our preparation for parenthood.

Another website to maintain...BUT...IF I do this, IF we are blessed with kids in the future...WHEN my kids are able to read...the joy of seeing them read what I wrote for them even if they're non-existent yet would be PRICELESS.

Postscript: I forgot my glasses...it's a home so it would be difficult for me to read today.

Tutti Frutti Tuesday

I had a long day at work today. Been working on September trainings then all of a sudden, a training program scheduled tomorrow got cancelled. The "ineedtogetthingsdonebeforeigohome" rush gave me a headache, I thought I was going to pass out. The worst part of all was I wasn't able to go home on time (I missed my bus!) even if I tried my best to run after it.

And so I decided to just wait for husband to come out from work so we can have dinner before going home. While waiting, I walked leisurely to Chinatown. The walk made me feel better. The weather was just right today, not too cold anymore as Spring is just around the corner (oh well, during the day it's not as cold but during early mornings it's still very much winter!). The cool breeze relaxed me, did wonders to the headache. Went inside one of my favorite Asian Video Store and looked at Korean DVDs. I can't find what I was looking for coz there's just too many, I can't seem to focus. Will definitely come back soon.

From Chinatown I walked towards George Street and there I met up with husband infront of Pepper Lunch. I've been craving for Pepper Lunch since last week. Hindi yata ako makatagal nang di kumakain ng Pepper Lunch! This time I ordered the Kawakara Loin Steak. It's a bit spicier than the Tokusen, Shimofuri or Hitokuchi. I liked it too. It would have to be my 2nd favorite now...my 1st being the Tokusen (Rib Eye Steak). The husband ordered the Cut Steak and Hamburger--he always orders from the combination menu. We were so hungry we had 2 cups of rice each.

During dinner, husband and I talked about my latest misadventures at work and of a friendship lost over the net. Hayyyy life. Ganun talaga. People come and people go.

Anyway, I also told him that I was happy I was able to publish my Fr. Fernando Suarez story and that it got featured in whatsikat.com. For a moment it was there, but now, it's gone--I don't know how long it stayed there...I don't even know how it got there in the first place! The husband enlightened me on how it got there though when I told him about it.

Good thing, I captured it via Print Screen :) Souvenir! I had a feeling it won't stay there long.

It's under the "Discover a New Blog" Category...6th to last of the links there. Aliw lang ako :). Finally, all the hard work I'm putting into blogging/writing is paying off. Salamat talaga sa lahat ng nagbabasa at sumubaybay.

Today was a mixture of a good and bad day...of misfortunes turned into blessings. I may have a had a hard time at work today but at least I got to spend time with husband after work to break the monotonous go-home-after-work habit.

Hope you had a Tutti Frutti Tuesday too!

Fr. Fernando Suarez' Healing Mass

In the 3rd quarter of 2003, I had a cancer scare that led me to undergo a major operation. I do not consider myself religious, but I try to live in the way that my faith teaches me how to live a good and generous life. I will also admit that during the time that I was battling thru my cancer scare, my faith has tremendously strengthened. By the time that the general anaesthesia was injected on me prior to the operation, I just let God lead the way. Fortunately, I woke up after the surgery (I was afraid I would never wake up) and the cancer scare turned benign. Since then, I consciously take care of my health, taking note of everything I feel weird (read: painful) inside my body and most importantly, I believe God gave me grace to continue on.

At the start of 2008, one of my aunts told us that a certain Filipino priest who heals people will be coming to Sydney, Australia for a series of healing masses. That was the first time that I heard of a Fr. Fernando Suarez, a healing priest from the Philippines so they call him. When my aunt asked if I would like to join them when they attend his healing mass, I immediately said yes. For some reason that I don't know, I initially felt a calling for me to be there even if I don't know who he really is...I didn't even check his profile online (it is a habit for me to check online before agreeing to anything).

But on a more substantial note, there are three main reasons why I wanted to be there: (1) Healing of my heart and of my loved ones' hearts, (2) Good health for me and my husband and (3) Good health of my family, relatives and friends.

A day before we attended Fr. Fernando's healing mass, I wrote a list of people I wanted to pray for--from family, relatives, friends, neighbors, workmates...and to my husband's amusement, even the friends I've only met online were part of the list I made.

On 14 August 2008, we attended his 7 o'clock healing mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Parramatta after work. We were lucky that my Tita Ma was at the church by 4 o'clock to reserve seats for us as there were several people arriving from work already. By the time we prayed the Holy Rosary at 6:15pm, the church was packed, even the aisles have been occupied.

The healing mass started just before 7:30pm. All eyes were on Fr. Fernando Suarez. I, myself, was in awe of his presence. He looked friendly and approachable but I sense some kind of "holiness" about him.

It was during his homily that I realized that he is "human". He started off by introducing himself, his background and how he came to be a priest. He also injected jokes throughout his homily and that helped in making all of us relaxed. Believe me, the feeling inside the church was so intense, everyone wanted to be healed.

He emphasized two things during his homily: (1) that he does not heal people, but Jesus is the one healing people and that God is only using him as an instrument and (2) that by attending the Eucharistic Celebration, we are all being healed.

The best part of the homily was when he asked us to put our hands on our forehead, close our eyes and bow our heads--it was then that he prayed his Prayer for Healing. That is one portion of the mass that I will never forget because I felt the Holy Spirit was within us at that time. After the homily, I already felt a certain lightness inside my heart.

After the healing mass, Fr. Fernando's healing session began. Everyone lined up just to be prayed over by Fr. Fernando. There were people who sat in wheelchairs who were able to walk again...there were people with pain in their body who left the church with no more pain. It was amazing.

While waiting for him to pray over us, I felt kinda scared seeing people lying on the floor after Fr. Fernando has touched them. According to Fr. Fernando, some people fall because of the grace of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, however, for some reason that I don't know until now, I was hesitant to see myself lie on the floor. When Fr. Fernando was nearly about to pray over us, I managed to tell my cousin who was beside me that "I don't want to fall."

The amazing thing that happened next was when it was our time to be prayed over, Fr. Fernando grab my and my husband's hands and led us to the middle of the altar and asked "Mag-asawa kayo?" (Are you married?"). We answered "Opo" ("Yes"). Then he said "Anong problema?" ("What's the problem?"), and so I told him "Eto po" ("Here") pointing to the part of my body where I got operated on. And so he placed his hands on both our heads, then prayed. Then he placed his hands on my abdomen then prayed again. And before we knew it, Chris and I were lying on the floor already. There were assigned catchers but what amazed me was that I didn't feel falling...when I opened my eyes I just realized my husband and I were lying on the floor. Then I realized, it was the grace Holy Spirit that made us fall and we just let our hearts, minds and souls go. The grace of the Holy Spirit was just so powerful and it chooses you. We were lucky to have been chosen (even if I was hesitant!).

It was the most miraculously thing that has ever happened to me. After what had happened, the part of my body where I got operated on felt as if I got operated on again...and that feeling lasted about an hour. At home, the pain was no longer there! I HAVE BEEN HEALED! Thanks be to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!

I'm truly amazed with Fr. Fernando's healing power. I will probably always ask "How did he knew about our condition?" My only answer to that question was because the Holy Spirit was with him. He is truly gifted and we will forever be grateful to have been touched by his presence.

Other than physically feeling something, my heart has healed enormously. Attending Fr. Fernando's healing mass has given me and my husband renewed strength, faith, hope and love. We left the church happier and more at peace--we feel truly blessed!

For your understanding please:

It took great consideration whether I should share the story regarding my cancer scare, but in the purpose of sharing my experience during Fr. Fernandos' healing mass, I had to write about it even if it meant being a bit vague (I'm sorry but I'm not yet ready to disclose the exact details of my health history). I would greatly appreciate it if you could please focus on the miraculous experience we have encountered and not on my health condition.

Photos in this entry are the best photos we have of that night courtesy of a camphone. Of all days, we forgot to bring a proper camera. But I guess, I was just more focused on attending the mass and being healed that the only time I realized that we needed a camera was when I was inside the church!

Affirmation of the Week: Count My Blessings

I will

count

my blessings

every time...

all the time!

{Photo source}

Litratong Pinoy: Liwaliw at Mithi

Ito ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy para sa dalawang Huwebes na may temang:

Liwaliw (14 Agosto) at Mithi (21 Agosto)

Liwaliw sa Dubai:

Ito ang liwaliw na pinaka-paborito ko sa lahat dahil sa sobrang ganda ng lugar na ito at mga kaibigan na aking nakilala. Sa unang litrato makikita ang 7-star hotel ng Dubai na tinatawag na Burj Al Arab. Ang pangalawang litrato naman ay ipinapakita ang Abra Boat na sasakyang gamit ng mga lokal para makatawid sa Dubai Creek. At ang huling larawan ay kuha sa Gold Souq kung saan maninilaw ang iyong mga mata sa sobrang dami ng alahas na makikita mo.

Para sa mga iba pang litrato, heto ang links sa aking Dubai Itinerary (click click click on the links below please):

Good Morning Dubai

One Day in Abu Dhabi

Chris' Despedida with Bafco Friends at Deira City Centre

Karama Souvenir Shopping

Burjuman Mall

Dubai Creek, Spice Souq and Gold Souq

Al Ghurair City

BAFCO and Deira City Centre

Bastakia Quarter and Bastakia Quarter in Lomo

Jumeirah Beach and Dhow Cruise

Belladonna at Burjuman and Second Cup at City Centre

Desert Safari

Al Safa Park and Mall of the Emirates

Wafi City and Dinner at Seville's

Skyview Bar, Burj Al Arab

Ski Dubai and Irish Village

Big Bus Tour and Festival City and Reunion with EastWestBankers

Ibn Batuta Mall

Madinat Jumeirah - The Arabian Resort

Dubai Musuem

Vu's Bar (Emirates Tower) and Bahri Bar (Madinat Jumeirah)

Goodbye Dubai

Ang aking Mithi:

Na sana ay makapunta akong muli sa Dubai at makapag-liwaliw pa ng mas mahabang panahon.

Maligayang Huwebes!

Nineteen

We had coffee before we head off to work this morning to celebrate our 19th month. In the spirit of trying something new, in this case, a new cafe, we tried cookieman.

I usually write reviews on cafes/restos on a separate entry, but to save you time and money (not to mention space on the internet), let me just say that this was a crappy cafe that served crappy croissant and muffin, and the worst part of all was it served crappy coffee. Not a good way to start the morning, I tell you. I'm not fussy when it comes to food (I eat almost anything edible and I'm not afraid to try different cuisines) but one thing about me is that when the quality of food is less than average, you would definitely hear me say a disgruntled remark. And please, anything but my coffee!!!

Anyway, at least the company was great.

There is no such thing as a bad mood for us even in the mornings. Sleepy and cold and yet we are always ready to make fun of ourselves.

Finally! A decent photograph.

At least their cup says: Life is a journey, take your time and have a cup of coffee, it could be more delightful and joyful than you think.

Cheers to our 19th!

Teardrops on My Guitar (by Taylor Swift)

I haven't had my heart broken in loooongggg time (romantically speaking that is) but i still have a penchant for love songs that speaks of unrequited love.

I've been on roadtrips for the past three weekends and one of the highlights of every roadtrip is that you get to hear songs inside the car either from a CD or the radio. During our Port Stephens roadtrip, I heard this song from Hilda's CD while we were on the way home and the following week, she sent me a copy via snail mail (How romantic is that??? I miss receiving snail mails!).

Last Friday while cleaning the house, I kept on playing this song over and over again...learning and memorizing it. This is the kind of song that makes me regret not learning how to play the guitar (But it isn't too late yet right? Maybe one day I'll get the discipline to learn it!).

And this song has been playing inside my head thousands of time since then...this morning, I found the MTV on youtube.

Teardrops On My Guitar lyrics

Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I need everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without

Drew talks to me, I laugh cause it's just so funny
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night

[Chorus:]

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do

Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly,
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause

[Repeat Chorus]

So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe
Get some sleep tonight

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into..

Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see.

Sunday Snippets =)

Morning: Dedication of Baby David Gabriel. Congratulations to parents Jonathan and Pam and welcome to the Christian World David!

Lunchtime: Celebration of David's dedication and the never ending and noisy chitcat of our group.

Afternoon: Surprise roadtrip to Blue Mountains!!!!

Just so we can have hot chocolate and cake at

Thank God for friends and surprise roadtrips!

Friday Special

Friends have been wondering why I'm almost always on a day-off on Fridays. The simplest explanation would be, in my office, an employee is entitled to 2 days-off per month given that he/she is able to render 140 hours. That's why some weeks I only go to work for four days. I usually take Fridays off coz Mondays are the craziest day at the office so I need to be there.

Anyway, this day-off is the first time in 4 months that I spent by my lonesome (just like old times) because the husband already started work this week (thanks to everyone who prayed and gave their enormous support). I was actually looking forward to another day out with him but surprise surprise, he got called in to start work last Tuesday. So now, I'm back to spending one whole day of "Me" time.

To make my day a little more special I decided to watch Mamma Mia! (I enjoyed it very much) and try out a new cafe named "Cafe Mondeo".

I've been thinking of having coffee at Cafe Mondeo for like a year already but the location of the cafe doesn't allure me. However with the closing of Starbucks, I thought that today would be the best day to try it out.

I only ordered my usual Cafe Americano and a Caramel Cheesecake.

But I didn't eat the caramel bit.

I got amused by their chair...do you remember the chair from Pepper Lunch? Now look at Cafe Mondeo's chair...

Eyeluvit!!!! I swear when I get rich, I'll get myself someone who can customize my chairs for me and have something carved on it.

Then they have this very big photograph on the wall with a quote that said...

Poetic but very true. =)

I had a very long day today. Slept late last night because we attended Fr. Suarez's Healing Mass (that's a different blog altogether as I'm still collecting my thoughts from the wonderful and miraculous thing that has happened to me) and woke up early still because the husband wanted me to prepare breakfast for him and see him off (and I thought I could sleep in late but noooo). Was up at 5:30am, did the laundry while getting dressed, then at 10am I was already at the mall. Home at 3:00pm, went online, cleaned house, folded clothes, prepared dinner, cleaned up the kitchen. Now, we just finished the koreanovela we were watching for the past two weeks or so. Wow, I had a productive day. I feel happy, tired but relaxed! Pwede bang maging tired pero relaxed???? Maybe, coz that's what I'm feeling right now.

Okay, I'm off. I'm really sleepy now. Need to catch up on lost sleep. Good night and have a a great weekend!

Snowy Mountains - Epilogue

An entry I made on my Ibyang Doodles site:

Monday, August 11, 2008

After The Snowy Adventure

If only I could capture a certain moment in my hands and just enjoy watching it again and again, I would capture my Snowy Mountains trip.

The trip was one of the most perfect travels I've had. A shared travel with my husband and friends, it was planned but we managed to make it spontaneous, it was full of laughter (a pure celebration of good times), the weather was beautiful (sunny and windy during the roadtrip...then snowfalls all throughout our stay in the Snowy Mountains), safe and sound travel, spur-of-the-moment stopovers...it was sooo much fun. I dreaded going back home to our normal lives.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

Posted by Ibyang Sanchez at 10:26 AM

And now let me just say thank you to our wonderful friends: Jojo, Jackie and godson Caleb; Jore, Pam, baby David, Mamita and Jenny, for the lovely company all thruout the trip. It was fun and fabulous!!!! Until now our laughter resonates so loudly it still very vivid in my head (and heart!).

And thank you to my husband, whom I've waited for so long just so I could experience a LOVEly winter adventure. In The coldness that the Snowy Mountains weather has brought me, you have been my source of warmth . This is my 3rd winter as a migrant in Australia and I've been putting off going to Snowy Mountains for the past two years, just because I want to experience it with the husband. Just like any other shared experience with him, it was all worth the wait.

Each Snowy Mountains memory will never be forgotten.

From the preparation:

Mr. and Mrs. Smiley's Going on a Winter Adventure

To the more than 6-hour roadtrip:

Off We Go to the Snowy Mountains

To arriving at Alpine Village and waking up to the morning greeting of snow:

Arrival at Snowy Mountains

Good Morning Snowy Mountains

To enjoying then snowfalls at Perisher Blue:

Snowy Mountains I Love

Snowy Mountains - Before Going Home (Video)

To finally having our last stopover on the way home:

Stopover at Parliament of Australia

Some things you need to know:

• That Australia's winter is from June to August. You usually hear Aussies say "Christmas in July" or "Christmas in August" because when the other side of the world is experiencing the hottest of days, we are experiencings the opposite.
• Not all of the states in Australia has winter. We are such a big continent that the other half doesn't have winter.
• During roadtrips, you will see endless landscapes of Australia. This is such a beautiful country, it's so mesmerizing. And expect animals crossing the street!!!--and kangaroos skipping infront of your vehicle (gasp!).

One amazing thing I learned:

That when snowflakes fall on you, it is indeed star-shapped! I thought it was only true on TV/movies that I see...but it looked like star crystals. If only it won't melt, I could've kept it.