2014, Of Hellos and Wishes

Our wish for 2014 is for all of us to have an abundant home filled with love and laughter. We wish numerous days of fun adventure, learning experiences, dreams coming true and smiles in our heart. We hope 2014 will be a year where we can shine brighter and be more hopeful. May it be a year of possibilities and accomplishments. :)

It's always in the New Year that I make an extra effort in coming up with food on the table. This year we had Baked Ham topped with caramelised apple, Pancit Bihon, Panettone Cake and Fruit Salad. It was surrounded by 13 different fruits. 

To make it more festive, we brought out a bottle of Scarlett Bubbles, a marriage of rose and raspberry juice made by Tamburlaine Organic Wines. 

At 11:30pm, we lighted the Prosperity Candles that my mom sent us. Each candle symbolises various aspects of life:
Red for Life
Blue for Peace
Yellow for Good Spirit
Green for Money
Pink for Health
White for Brightness
Violet for Material Wealth

The candle that melts the quickets symbolises the good fortune that the New Year will bring followed by the rest. In our case, the smallest candle was Pink, then came Yellow, Blue, Violet, Red, White and Green.

At midnight, we watched the Sydney fireworks show on TV and then said a prayer before blowing out the Prosperity Candles. 

It was a low-key NY celebration but the start of every year is always meaningful to us. 

Enjoy and be merry in 2014! 

Sydney Welcomes 2014!

Happy 2014!

This year's Sydney New Year Fireworks was the best yet. I love this year's show because they had fireworks at the Sydney Opera House. They have also improved the way they do the waterfall fireworks on the Harbour Bridge (it's not as smoky as before). Another attraction were jet skis on the water that added "Wow!" to the ensemble. The 6.8 Million fireworks show drove 2 million people to different vantage points in the city and it was a party that didn't disappoint. Below are photos and the full video for you to enjoy (photos from http://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/ and Reuters, while the video is from the Telstra website).

(video source)

Message from Reg Mombassa (Creative Ambassador) on why he chose SHINE as his theme and the human eye as a symbol in this year's fireworks show:

The eye struck me as a suitable logo for the Shine theme as the individual soul and personality of the human shines through the eye like some organic laser beam.  It also relates to the harbour setting as the eye is a watery harbour nestled in the superstructure of the face, a blue or brown eye pond surrounded by ridgelines, gullies and promontories of flesh and bone. The eye image is continued through the banners and backdrops for the various parties along with a forest of gum trunks, native animals and depictions of iconic Sydney buildings.

Thank You, 2013!

2013 was a great year for me. While I never ran out of challenges from time to time, I believe this year has been a wonderful journey of achieving milestones. I experienced a lot of breakthroughs as an individual and a wife and partner to my Husband. I appreciate my moments of awakening as a person. I seem to know myself more, of my needs and wants, of people and moments that matter to me. Some of my biggest learnings include: 

• go back to my core when I feel uncertain 
• that I take a different path from others...my journey is mine and I shouldn't be pressured to do anything I don't want
• that most of the time, I don't owe anyone an explanation 
• to think, feel and speak kindly towards everyone 
• that it's okay to ask for things to be easy instead of asking for strength or patience (God listened to me a thousand times and more often, he's made things lighter for me when I'm getting weak)
• to walk away from anything or anyone that disturbs my peace and happiness
• to find joy in the ordinary
• to spend on experiences instead of things (because when accumulation of things are mismanaged, they just create clutter)
• time is the greatest gift that one can give to a loved one
• to love more and live more

My "Thank Yous"

Thank you for the abundance of blessings that 2013 has brought me:

…the gift of courage to stay away from unproductive things and negative people

…the gift of discipline to give up habits that doesn't do me good

…the desire to always learn, whether it involves my job or personal interests

…the opportunity to have a job that I love and one that loves me back

…the passion to do things as best as I could; be more proactive and think of results instead of excuses

…the gift of forgiveness and healing, to acknowledge my faults, forgive myself and forgive others

…the gift of peace and acceptance

…the chance to travel and experience another country’s food and culture

…the gift of coming home to our motherland, the Philippines. 

…the gift of time spent with loved ones, of friendships that re-connect and hearts that reunite.

…an abundance of indulgences in the form of material things, good food and great company

…the gift of friends; their friendship is food to my soul

…the gift of good health and a safe home

…the gift of faith that never waver, for a God that always listened and gave

…my family, their love is the most valuable thing in my world

We have done well, 2013. Thank you, dear God. Thank you, Universe.

Most Liked Photos In Instagram for 2013

I think this statigram is cool as it gives you the five most liked photos from your instagram account. 

Here's mine:

I love the turnout of this video as it showcased all the things I love: travel in Seoul with family, the icons of my beloved Sydney: Opera House and Harbour Bridge, making good food and being underneath the Cherry Blossoms with the love of my life. 

To all my IGmates, thank you for taking time to look at my instagram photos and for giving generous likes.