LIVE FULLY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE

With an expiration of less than twelve hours,

what does Jesus count as all most important? 

"And he took bread, GAVE THANKS and broke it, 

and gave it to them..." (Luke 22:19 NIV).

Jesus offers thanksgiving for even that which will break Him and crush Him 

and wound Him and yield a bounty of joy.

As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. 

Whenever, meaning-now; wherever, meaning-here.

Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. 

Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our "Yes!" to His grace.

-- a few of my favorite lines from my current read, 

Ann Voskamp's 

"ONE THOUSAND GIFTS: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are."

PERFECT TIMING.
Thank you to KLG and The Today Show
for the recommendation.

'Thank you' are among my favorite words. My Gratitude Journal is among my most valuable possessions. That's why I easily gravitated to the book One Thousand Gifts.

Living in gratitude is easy through good times, tough through bad. But because I've experienced the truth in this -- The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now...(Ann Voskamp) -- I choose to give thanks, no matter what.

As the book reminds us, Jesus revealed the secret to happiness, through his own example. In his dying hours, He still chose to give thanks. (Mamamatay na, papatayin na, nagpapasalamat pa rin.) The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live.


Today, I'm especially grateful for:

1. Our Amazing Adventure. Wow.
2. Thank you, God, for the wonderful opportunity. 
3. Thank you for all the life-enriching experiences.
4. New perspectives. 
5. The next chapter. 
6. The new road.
7. New Dreams
8. Stronger Faith
9. Our marriage. 
10. Our families. 
11. Tita Time!
12. Our friends.
13. Good health.
14. Our lovely home.
15. Our quiet little life. 
16. Freedom!
17. Current work set-up. (Pwedeng ganito?! Bongga.)
18. Because it can get too hot -- Thank you for cold showers, the swimming pool, the air con, and finally some rain!
19. Successfully crossed-over to advertising after doing TV for more than a decade. 
20. The opportunity of crossing-over into another dream industry. *praying*
21. The reminder to be cautious as to who you let into your life. 
22. Ikea
23. Today's errand was finished in less than an hour. We're pleasantly surprised. 
24. Thai massage. Pinoy dinner. American Idol.
25. Jessica Sanchez. We're in awe of the girl's talent. She's been making a lot of people, especially Pinoys, happy and proud. Final results in a few hours!
26. Be grateful that God doesn't grant us everything we want. Instead, He provides us with everything we need. 
27. God's Plans are greater than our dreams. (I never imagined I'd be where I am now. Again, pwede pala 'to?! Bongga.)
28. Thank you, God, for loving us the way you do. 

Try starting your own Gratitude Journal. List everything you're grateful for. Not of gifts you want but of gifts you already have. That's the dare to LIVE FULLY right where you are. 

PRETTY PANCAKES

The Date: Breakfast in Bed

Proud of my perfectly imperfect pancakes!

When you can't do perfectly round pancakes, I suggest you make them prettier and yes, yummier with bananas, strawberries and lots of honey.

Making life better is really in your hands. A lovely life lesson one Sunday morning. *wink*

WE HEART PUNGGOL

We're really happy here in Punggol. 

Feel namin ang pagiging "probinsya" niya. It's at the end of the purple line. Around 45 minutes away from the city, via train; 15 minutes away from the city, via taxi. It's quiet, clean, green and spacious. Amidst the many HDBs (public housing / flats) and condos in the area, may effort to go green. Yey! 

Below are photos from the reservoir, a mere 10-minute walk from our building. 

The reservoir.

bike parking

The park's lovely wooden benches.

I could just sit and read (and nap?!) here for hours.

The bridge that connects
the Serangoon Reservoir
and the Lorong Halus Wetland.

Trellis

Perfect for joggers, bikers, skaters,
Moms with strollers / prams.

monkey bars

The park's restroom.
Hubby calls it The Modern Cube-beta.

restroom interiors

Empty pag weekdays.
Puro families during weekends.

This bridge looks lovelier at night, with its lights.
Try namin kuhanan next time.

Round and round we go.

Uulan na!

WISH LIST

We don't do Christmas. Read more about it here. But I love dreaming so I'm joining the season's wishing spree! I'm sharing three of the many items on my list.

(1) I'm hoping to be one of those people who wake up every day to their calling, doing something that does not feel like work. Dreaming of fashion / beauty / travel / performance-related careers. 

Photo from careervanity.com

(2) New York in 2012. I don't know how. Pero libre mangarap...

Photo from antarticaedu.com

(3) Our very own Ikea home here in SG. 

OK, kahit bedroom lang muna by 2012. Lol.

Photo from smarthomearchitectures.us
Top 30 Ikea Bedrooms for 2011/2012

What's on your wish list?

IKEA XMAS

We were in Ikea...again. Ang lapit kasi, hehe. Bought little things. But this entry is not about what we shopped for. Just want to show that Ikea's Christmas decors are already available. Wala pa sila last week. Everything's so lovely!

Starry, starry nights...

Red, black and white.
The palette reminds me of Home.

Happy Holidays!

IKEA DREAMS

I know not many are impressed with Ikea. My Dad, an engineer, always says "hindi matibay." Learned from a local that even Singaporeans are not so into it (How true? The long lines whenever we're there say otherwise). Pero dahil simple lang kami, happy na kami sa Ikea. LOL. 

And the good news? There's a free shuttle bus from Punggol to Ikea Tampines. Free, yey! Ikea's a mere 15-minute ride from our building. (There's also an Ikea store along Alexandra Road, SG, but we've never been there.) 

We spent a Satur-date hopping from Ikea to Courts (appliance store) then to Giant (supermarket). All three mega stores are in one area, in Tampines, as in tatawid ka lang to get to the next building. Kayang-kayang ikutin ang tatlong stores, in one afternoon.  

It was fun dreaming about / planning for our SG home. This will be our third love nest, God-willing. First, was our newlywed apartment in QC which was very oriental. We gave that up when we bought the second, a condo in Mandaluyong, which is very red, black and white retro-pop. Then, ito, sana. *fingers crossed*

Sarap mangarap! 

Hubby fell in love with these
hanging, multi-purpose poles & cabinets.
Interesting!

My ideal laundry area.
We don't mind small spaces.

Both of us wondered:
Pag bangon nyo,
di kaya kayo mauntog sa lamp? LOL

Very Little India
with its vibrant colors

We like this bed frame.
But not the beddings -- too floral for us.

Everything black and white.

Macho kitchen

Me playing house.
"Honey, I'm cooking dinner!" LOL

Dream Kitchen Space!

Who's coming to dinner?

We're in love with the leather sofa!
Just the sofa.

Hubby in the Library.
We could do this for all our books!

For all the parents,
ito ang perfect play kitchen ng kids!

The sofa bed looks so comfy!

Dream: His & Hers bathroom sinks.

Would love to entertain guests here!
Black, white, pink & magenta. Lovely!

Bagay sa Manila condo namin ito!

SIX DEGREES WITH PARIS HILTON

Paris Hilton is in Manila. No, I didn't get to see her (have no plans of doing so). But just for fun, I'm playing six degrees, haha.

Paris arrives at the NAIA.

Every one wants a piece of her.

Paris had dinner with Manny & Jinky Pacquiao.

Makati Shangrila Hotel

Read from chuvaness.com that Paris is here for Century Properties' latest project, Azure.

Among Century Properties' award-winning high-rise projects is Essensa. Other Century Property condos: the SOMA project at the Fort, Grand Soho, Century City in Makati, the Versace-designed Milano Residences, Acqua, and our condo, Soho Central.

There's the connection! She endorses Century Properties, we live in a Century Properties project. Ang layo. LOL. So magka-level na ba kami? Hindi rin. Hahaha!

Paris with the Antonios,

the real estate family behind Century Properties.

Does the Paris connection make Century Properties' Soho Central a more prime property? Will that be good for us if we do decide to sell our unit as we go on our SG adventure? We'll see. *wink*

"It's a small world after all..."

Photos: from the internet 

IKEA, WE LIKE YAH!

Date venue: IKEA Tampines, Singapore

Date plan: Ala-500 Days of Summer

To play house in every room set-up, hahaha!

Game!

photo from Wikipedia

KIDS ON CONDO LIVING

Condo Living in the eyes of children...

My baby sis when she was six, viewing our condo's model unit years ago:

"Why would you want to live in a hotel?"

Made us LOL.

To a six year old, a condo unit and hotel room are one and the same.

Magkasingliit kasi! Hahaha!

My four year old niece on our current unit:

"Tita A, you must be rich because you live in a condo. Your building's so tall! And you even have a pool."

This made us laugh even harder.

Sana nga, Dear, but no.

Mayaman lang sa pagmamahal. Hahaha!

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Enough commercial break.

Now back to looking up at real estate ads.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...

Above: Our condo's lobby tree

The sinamay (fabric made from banana plant fibers) makes it very Filipino.

I appreciate that especially since the building's tenants are multi-cultural.
Ibida ang Pinoy touch!

Above: Our neighborhood mall's tree of toys!

Shangri-la Plaza

Above: The Shangri-la Mall hanged their stockings!

Have you done the same?

Giant stockings could only mean lots of gifts!

Above: Our office is dressed as a Gift Box for the Holidays!

GMA Network, EDSA side

The Network's annex pedestrian gate

How are things looking at your side of the world? =)