My New Year Song

A part of me is still celebrating the New Year so let me share with you my New Year song. 

"This Year" is from the soundtrack of the movie "Serendipity" which is one of my favorite movies.  The movie's OST is also one of my favorite OSTs.  A romantic movie with a good story and really great selection of songs.

For a long time now, "This Year" has been one of those songs that makes me feel better whenever I'm feeling a little low.  I listen to it not only during the start of the year but even in times when I need a little cheering up or when I'm having a bad day.  The song's message has been a source of positivity and hope for me.  This song always reminds me to enjoy the moment even if I may have challenging situations throughout the year.

 
THIS YEAR
by Chantal Kreviazuk


This year, is gonna be incredible
This year, is gonna be the one
All the planets are lining up for me
This year, I'm gonna have fun


This year, I'll paint my masterpiece
This year, I'll be recognized
I can feel like I'll fall in love for real
This year, this year


January, I'll learn to fly
February, love's gonna find me
March, April, May, I'll get carried away
Oh, oh...


This year, I'll reach the pinnacle
This year, I'll get to the top
People will ask where she get that energy
This year, I'm never gonna stop


January, I'll learn to fly
February, love's gonna find me
March, April, May, I'll get carried away
Oh, oh, oh, oh...

This year, is gonna be incredible

This year, is gonna be the one

All the planets are lining up for me

This year, I'm gonna have fun I'm gonna have fun


Just watch me now
This year
This year
This year

Do you have a New Year song?

Welcome 2011!

While I almost didn't prepare anything for our Christmas Noche Buena, I was very much prepared for the New Year Media Noche.  Celebrating New Year is more of a big deal for me because I love beginnings, I love starting anew. 

Our table spread on New Year's eve consisted mostly of fruits, a noodle dish, leche flan (for dessert), champagne to toast to the new year and my main, Baked Ham.

It has been my dream to bake my own ham so I decided last year that I will try my best to make one for the new year.  Thank God I found half of a leg ham in the supermarket a week before Christmas.  It's so hard to find a small whole leg ham here (everything is so big!) so our best option was to get a half leg.

I started preparing the ham on the 30th December.  Boiled the ham in pineapple juice, beer and brown sugar for an hour (no precise measurements, just "to taste").  Then sliced off the skin, scored the ham and pushed whole cloves unto the ham.  The cloves add flavor to the ham and at the same time serves as decoration.  Covered in foil, I stored the ham inside the fridge overnight.

Three hours before midnight of 31st December, I baked the ham (180-200 degrees) for an hour while brushing sauce from boiled ham unto the surface of the ham every 20 minutes.  On the last quarter of the hour, I placed two pineapple slices on top of the ham.

It was a good first try and the Husband approved!

I cooked one of our favorite noodle dishes, Sotanghon Noodles with Scallops and Snow Peas.  If you want the recipe, you can find it here.

At the stroke of midnight, we welcomed 2011 with hopeful, happy faces as we toasted "Cheers to a brighter 2011!" 

Thank You 2010!

My 2010 was a good year.  Not spectacular, not as I what I hoped it would be but it was good to me.  It was year of extremes---moments that brought me enormous joy and moments that gave me so much heartache.  The challenges that 2010 faced with me with situations that resulted to an imbalance in my world.  Lots of times, I lost my sense of equilibrium.  If not for my faith in God, a sunny disposition and support from loved ones, I would have never surpassed this year.

2010 rocked my world!  My phrase for 2010 was, "STEP UP!"  I learned that challenges are a means for breakthroughs to happen in my life.  The difficult moments of 2010 gave me a chance to find my centre and learn that I have the capacity to step up and do more than what I can do.  In 2010, I have learned to use whatever negativity happening in my world to motivate good actions.  I have also learned to be more humble and accept that some things are meant to happen in order to make me a better person. 

Some 2010 Highlights:

Reunions and Meet-ups: My Mom visited us last year.  Our friends Jeanny and Agnes visited Sydney.  Our Melbourne trips gave us the chance to be with friends Dith and Lui.  Chris' College friend, Jemma, migrated to Sydney and we were able to spend time with her.

Photography:  We were able to cover several events and engage in photoshoots last year.  This is something we wish we could do more but time is always a concern because we have a 9 to 5 job that needs to be prioritized.  Last year though, I realized that photography is something I would really love to do in the future.  I see myself having a real career in photography given the right time and opportunity.

Blogging:  2010 was a good year for "A Wife's Charmed Life " (AWCL).  In 2010, AWCL was recognized as a food blog and was finally granted a Page Rank of 3.  A great milestone for the blog and a huge source of happiness for me.  AWCL has also increased in readership and I have received lots of appreciation from readers (turned online buddies) and loved ones.  I'm very thankful for all the comments, feedback and suggestions for AWCL.  I'm doubly thankful to everyone who take time to read what I share here.  Your time is precious and I value the time that you spend here.

Writing:  I never dreamed of writing for a newspaper but last year, I was gifted with a column of my own in a Filipino publication called "Ang Kalatas".  This blessing has given me the opportunity to improve my craft in writing, learn new things and meet new friends. 

Career:  The big bulk of my 2010 was work.  Last year, I had to give up a lot of my time for photography and blogging, even sacrifice time for myself and family, just to give more attention to my job.  Work has taught me to step up and get out of my comfort zone.  I think 2011 will still be busy but I hope and pray that things at the office will be a bit more stable than what it was last year.

Health:  I gained weight last year...and no it wasn't because I ate too much (hehe).  Due to my surgery in December 2009, I had to fully recover from that.  While I was able to do physical activities and even served time at the gym for a while during 2nd quarter of 2010, I still felt pain.  So I had to minimize doing physical exercises and followed my mom's advice to wait a year.  True enough, after Christmas, I tried doing my usual exercises and the pain was gone.  One of my immediate goals for 2011 is to get rid of the kilos I gained from being inactive.

A challenging and humbling 2010, I'm grateful to you nonetheless for the many blessings you brought me and my family.    Thank you dear God.  Thank you, universe.  May 2011 be a kinder and better year to us all.

Make Your Mark in 2011

 Video courtesy of skyshowfan. Thanks to John Fick for the lead. 

Sydney also prepares a Family Fireworks at 9:00PM on New Year's Eve.  It runs for 8 minutes for the benefit of those who want to go home early.

Video courtesy of imodeboi.  Thanks to Lorrie for the lead.

HAPPY 2011 FROM SYDNEY!!!!!!

No one does fireworks more spectacular than Sydney!!!! That's why people from around the world come here just to witness this event.  That's why people book nearby hotels in Circular Quay and pay AUD$1,000 to AUD$2,000 a night just to be there.  That's why people book into restaurants and parks in Circular Quay and pay a hefty price just to be a part of this celebration.  That's why people endure long hours of waiting and sunburn, waiting all day around the city just to save a good spot on NYE.  That's why at the stroke of midnight, Sydney stops whatever it is they are doing, whether at home or outside and look up---or in our case, we look at the TV just and watch the spectacle of the NY fireworks.

The symbol of this year's fireworks was a HANDPRINT to go with the theme
MAKE YOUR MARK.

Make your mark and reflect on the decade that has passed and the lasting impressions left by your actions.

Make your mark by contributing to a better future, a better decade.

As we start a new year and a new decade, let us be inspired to MAKE A DIFFERENCE to ourselves and to the world.

Wishing you a year full of love, joy and peace!