As I woke up early today I said a little prayer “Thank you Lord, I am alive” !  Indeed, we have to be thankful for the mere fact that we see the light of day because there are people who died in their sleep.   I woke up thankful that my husband is still snoring besides me, which means he was with me the whole night unlike other wives who fell asleep waiting the whole night  for their husbands to come home.   Thankful too, that we have something on our table to eat even how simple it might seem unlike for others who still have to beg just so they can put something into their mouth to alleviate their hunger.  Thankful that we have the means to communicate with our children who are far from us unlike others that they are at a lost on how to trace the wherabouts of their loved ones.    Thankful that we still have a nice pair of shoes to use where others can’t walk because they lost their limbs.   Thank you for the many blessings… thank you!

There are a lot to be thankful for.   And this morning, I am greeting the whole world “Good morning!”

On Sunday, I spent some time in a cave park with my husband and some close friends and I had a nice day, despite the scorching heat outside.  We walked aimlessly, went to Starbucks for caffeine and muffins and wandered around till I chanced upon a souvenir stall in a nearby flea market.  I got a few finds for some great prices. However, hubby is not sold to the idea of what I bought… but it is nice to treat myself to some small things which brings a smile anyway..

10 days to go and the  “ber” month will be here.  Slowly but surely, there is no escaping from the month long festivities in the Philippines as December will usher in.  My husband brought home 3 big empty boxes for us to fill in with such as non-perishable food, household items, shoes, electronics, toys, designer clothing and toiletries.   The boxes are called balikbayan boxes (literally means retun to one’s homeland box) which we usually pack 3 months in advance calculating that it will arrive just in time for Christmas.   We will have it shipped by air which will take around 7 days or by sea cargo -about 45 days.  Freight forwarders are doing a brisk and lucrative business here because most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are their costumers. It  has developed into a way of life of  the family of the overseas Filipino. 

We still have a lot of shopping to do so we can fill up the almost half full box.  The other two are already securely taped and once the other box is full, it is ready for shipment.  For sure, my children and relatives are looking forward for the boxes.  

There is joy in giving you know….

It is simple actually, if you want to fast then go ahead!  But if you opted to eat, then do fast-eating.  Why?  You have to eat fast before someone catch you eating while others are on fast.   However, if you eat too fast, you can swallow air along with your food and end up with a case of having hiccups.   So better do your snacking or lunch somewhere else, away from your computer for a while and eat in peace.  The better you will enjoy your food without any worries that a Muslim colleague might show up any moment. 

 The old adage ” Eat like a king on breakfast, a prince at luch and a pauper at night” holds true.  For me, the trick is to eat heavy breakast so I won’t be tempted to snack in between.  It is tried and tested that the fullness of a heavy meal will last us until work is over. 

 If we will fast then well and good, if we opted to do fast -eating then we better be careful.  Really, the choice is ours….

Sentimental me!  Time flies fast and our my daughter after  her debut last year will be celebrating her 19th b-day this September.  We can’t help shed tears  for she has grown to be a fine, charming lady.  Although, there are times that she wants to have her own way but we  know she is learning her life’s lessons well.  Afterall, she is accountable for her actions.

I remember well after my delivery, we got the shock of our life when we were told that she had congenital defect- that was cleft palate.  We exhausted all means to have her operated on and before she reached her 2nd b-day, she had undergone plastic surgery called Pharyngoplasty and cochlear implant because of her speech defect and hearing problem.  And miracles did happened!

Now, our daughter has grown up to be talented &  charming!   She is indeed God’s many wonderful blessings to us!

As I stand before the  majestic Quiapo church and marvelled at it’s facade, I can’t  help but  remember  my college years in Manila wherein my Fridays won’t be complete without  a visit to Quiapo church to hear mass and proceed to card and palm reading afterwards.    I was hooked on  fortune telling that I never missed it whenever I am within the area.  At the back of my mind, I know that this is not for real but I still love doing it.  It always give me that light and good feeling hearing interesting forecast about my destiny especially my love life.   It thrilled me no end!  And I kept coming back for more, I guess giving bright idea s and signal  for that palm reader to make her forecast more interesting because Iwas a good catch.   I was an unsuspecting costumer!  That continued for years till I stopped going there when I went overseas and that habit was cut short.

While on vacation, I had the chance to have visited  Quiapo chuch last week  for the mass but  I never even dared look for fortune tellers in the area.  I’ve realized that destiny are not foretold, it is meant to happen in God’s time. 

Nah! The last card forecast told me years back was I am going to meet and marry a chinky-eyed guy.  Wow! Chinese!  Slit eyed, fair-skinned! Not bad!   I was very hopeful and anticipated for a Chinese suitor but my destiny happened to be a wide-eyed, tall, dark and dark man.   I ended up with an  Ilocano husband.   No misgivings! 

Fortune telling?  No way!