My "Thank You God" List for New Year's Eve 2010

Advance na lang ni kay I can't wait til midnight. Sooo sleepy na me. (Yeah, right! Eat pa me spaghetti. Mi favorito! hehe.)

I am grateful for 3 major things:

1. The gift of life -- here on earth and the one that awaits us in heaven -- life everlasting. Thank you, Jesus for coming here on earth, becoming one of us, suffering the indescribable agony on your cross, our cross, and saving all of us from the slavery of sin. I praise you Lord Jesus, now and forever. Thank you, Lord. Your love truly is incomparable. I am utterly humbled by your love for all of us, sinners that we are.

2. The gift of love -- from God, from my family and friends. Thank you everyone, for making 2009 memorable for me. May God continue to shower all of us with blessings, good health, good cheer and endless love, peace, joy and happiness all throughout the coming year. Peace be with all of you!

3. The gift of yet another year -- hope I make it til the end of 2010. Hey, only God knows what's in store for me, for all of us so cheers to everyone! Have a blast tonight but please, please be safe. No firecrackers, I hope. Basta, be safe lang jud. Much love to you all! Hugs and kisses! Happy new year! La buona fortuna! (Hope I got that right. In any case, good luck, everybody!) Praise the Lord for another year! I can't wait to unravel what He has in store for me. Yipee! Nyt nyt Peepz! See you next year! And the countdown begins. Mana daw ang new year sa New Zealand, ingon c Marjo. Hahaha. Ka late pud nato oi. :)

My "Thank You God" List for Saturday, 12/26/09

I know. I wasn't able to make my usual list for Christmas day. Sorry, I got too caught up in my blog about Father Bob's sermon that I was too tired to write anymore after that. In short, tingbon lang nako karon. hehe.

I am grateful for:

1. The birth of our Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus for saving poor wretched sinners like us (hmmm... too much ra pud ang wretched no?). I am forever grateful for the gift of salvation and life everlasting. Thank you, Lord!

2. The chance to spend quality time with my half-brother and cousin. Thanks, Vin and Don! I had a blast! Even though nag cramps jud ko from all the walking we did... sakit from feet to upper thigh. But what the heck, these muscles need to adjust kay I intend to start walking again, bahala na maabot na pud ko ug airport ani walking. hehehe. I sorely need the exercise so Evz! :P

3. Hanging out at the mall with my best cuz, Donna (and almost running into her old karela. wahahaha. now that would've been one very awkward moment!), and then eating Mais and sharing a 500ml-bottle coke on the way home. Mas lami pa kaysa mga fastfood sa Gai Mac. As in! :)

4. Coming across some of my old write-ups during our local general cleaning. Forward mags, natch! As in napa ako pic didto nga naghiyong ang mata pag first year! Tawn pud oi. hehehe. Nice man diay mi mo write even back then. Char! Self-promotion ayo. I'm thinking of bringing these mags gai to our reunion tomorrow though not sure pa ko if katunga ko kay sunod2x jud ako laag ron ay. Medyo kutas pa... yeah right! Ako? Kutasan laag? Now that will be the day!

5. The prospect of seeing some of my oldest writing pals from college. Forward Fipol reunion tomorrow -- for those who have not received the memo from our ever responsible organizer, Belle. Now this, I have to attend! Wish me luck, peepz! Cuz I need to convince the fam to let me go pa. Kinda feeling Britney, er, "overprotected" here...

6. The promise of yet another warak, este, kodak moments come Tuesday with K2y and the gang. Looking forward to that jud! Bahala d ko sugtan ana, moipsot jud ko. Ing ana ta mo ka love Noemz. (Diay to, ikaw na pud ako alibi Noemz. hala ka! hahaha. peace wui!)

7. Hearing about Marvin's call center antics. I never realized lingaw man diay ang call center jobs, irate callers and all. Thanks for the advice pud, bro! Will chill re the job thingy. I know God has a plan for me so I'll wait for His go-signal. Kay I wanna be in for keeps this time. Lord, your will be done! My calendar is yours, iuli na pud nako Lord, kay You're much better at planning my life than I ever will be. I surrender my occupation na pud this time. Thank you, God!

8. I am grateful for all the laags pud this month, and all the laags that are still coming up. Can't wait, y'all! Looking forward to more chika, sungog and perhaps harassment suits? aw unsa ba? wahahaha.

Seriously though, I have a lot to be grateful for this month alone. I'm sooo psyched I embarked on this journey of documenting my gratitude on a daily basis. Gives me something to look forward to each day and maybe something to look back on in the near future? When I'm old and gray, I hope my blogs will still be around cuz I sure would love to reminisce about the things I have been grateful for. I bet magbalik balik ra jud ni ba. Life, love, good friends and loving family. Ah, God truly is good! Thank you, Lord Jesus! Happy birthday again! :)

The Lord of Lords (and why the other lords don't matter)

This afternoon I'm reminded why I absolutely enjoy listening to one of Father Bob's sermons. His theme for today's mass was, of course, about the birth of our Lord. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he had a list of other "lords" waiting. Seriously!

First, he talked about drug lords. Now who doesn't know one of those. Admit it, even if you don't know one of them in person, surely you've heard who they are and what they are now infamous for -- their business, I mean. For those who are still in the "buffering" stages, drug lords are best known for heading drug "rings". Okay, I have to admit, I kind of inserted the rings part. I was really tempted to shout "lord of the rings" earlier so you're gonna have to forgive me for that pun. It was intended. Sorry.

Anyway, Father Bob talked about the next set of lords, the warlords. You know, like the ones who staged the whole bloody massacre in Maguindanao. For those who are offline, (not even buffering), the Massacre was a whole bloody mess, pardon my British accent (?). Well, these lords are even worse than the druglords. They kill... actual people! And they don't have any qualms about getting their hands (or someone else's for that matter) really dirty!

At this point, I'm gonna have to stop and say a short prayer for those who died in Maguindanao. May they rest in peace. Lord, please forgive them for all their sins and may they see the light of your presence in heaven. Thank you, Lord, Amen.

Next, Father Bob talked about the gambling lords. You know, the ones who made jai-alai infamous in the Philippines. Those who "manage" casinos and other gambling rings, legal and illegal. I won't go on and on about it since I really wanna get to the next bunch.

At this point, I was really fidgeting a lot, dying to shout out my favorite (sugarcoated!) set of lords -- the ones I came to know quite well back in college during my rebellious years -- the landlords. And yes, Father Bob mentioned them. He even said the word "sugar lords". I think he was referring to those who owned haciendas in our provinces and oppressed sugar farmers.

I was really tempted to giggle at this point cuz I was just watching Spidey 3 earlier and I couldn't help but think about Sandman during the time of his transformation from just another fugitive to, well, Sandman. That's how I pictured sugar lords would look like. But that's just me. Yes, I'm that weird. Sorry. I didn't giggle though. I was in church and the topic was serious. Talk about inappropriate. I still have my manners, thank you very much!

Anyway, I'm quite familiar with the brand of "killing" landlords do. I won't bore you to tears with my version of that tale. Needless to say, they "kill" farmers little by little with each passing day simply by withholding Filipino farmers' God-given right to own the land that they till -- the land they work on from daybreak to sundown until they go home bone-weary to their families to eat their meager dinners and get a few hours of sleep before waking up in the wee hours to go back to the same routine. Day in and day out, they till lands they don't own. That's how our farmers "die" a slow death.

Well, some landlords have no problem about killing farmers point blank, no questions asked. I've met quite a few landlords who were not afraid to show off their different guns. Yes, I mean the ones that blow people's brains out! But the rest of them are even more brutal. Forgive me Lord for my harshness but this is such a sore topic, I just had to write this down.

And so, the point of the entire sermon was simple, really. Father Bob stressed that we have only one Lord, the one who became man, suffered and died on the cross to save all of us. He became sin so that our sins would be forgiven. He was God, even before our creation. Yet, when He came here, His people would not accept Him for who He was and still is -- our Savior -- the promise of the Father. And so, all those mini-lords are or should be put to shame! Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior came here to save us. Yet, these mini-lords still have the gall to lord it over others, to put it bluntly.

Now you see why Father Bob made mention of all those lords -- to put into contrast the damage and devastation they have made to the salvation that our true Lord brought us. Yes, the offer still stands, eternal life, the forgiveness of sins and your salvation. Your choice!

As a footnote, I admire the way Father Bob used his own personal loss to highlight a silent killer, an epidemic of sorts -- lung cancer. His exact words were, "to all men out there, if you want to die young, then keep on smoking your sticks of cigarettes!" You see, his younger brother died of lung cancer due to chronic smoking. They buried him yesterday, the day before Christmas. My condolences to you, Father Bob.

And so I will end with a short prayer for Father Bob's brother. May he rest in peace. Lord, please forgive him his sins and may he see the light of your presence in heaven, this I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

3 Surprising Negative Effects of Overeating

The obvious negative effects of overeating are extra weight and jeopardized health. Most people are well aware of these negative effects. But overeating affects so many other aspects of your life, too. As a psychiatrist who has worked with overeaters for decades, I understand that if you’re an overeater, there is so much more at stake than just your weight.

Take a look at these surprising negative effects of overeating:

1. You Still Feel Hungry


Emotional eating is when your hunger for emotional fulfillment gets turned into physical hunger for food. The only problem with eating for comfort is that while your stomach is getting filled, your heart still remains empty. Eating might make you forget about your emotional needs for a few minutes, or even an hour, but no matter how much food you eat your real needs never get met. The more you eat, the more your emotional hunger grows. As time passes, using food this way leads to feelings of defeat and depression. Looking for the real source of your hunger and addressing it directly will help restore your hope.

2. Your Psychological Growth Gets Stunted


When food gets installed as a coping mechanism, it becomes a quick fix instead of finding a real solution. Once you get relief from food, you turn to it to deal with more and more problems. Suddenly, you’re eating when you’re overwhelmed, tired, bored, lonely, frustrated, irritated, or to deal with just about any uncomfortable feeling that arises. As time passes you no longer believe that you can handle life without food and even simple tasks suddenly feel too difficult to take on. The more you turn to food, the more insecure you become. Psychological skills are like muscles. If you don’t use them, you lose them. Thinking things through and developing new skills will help you feel confident and efficient.

3. Your Relationships Remain Unfulfilling


When food becomes a substitute friend or lover, it can become easier to eat than to deal with fostering intimacy in your relationships. Human relationships can be hard work, but all people crave connection and food never replaces love. Perhaps you’ve found yourself eating when you’re lonely or to compensate for an unsatisfying relationship. As time passes you turn to food more and more to fill your relationship needs. The more you use food in this way the less motivated you are to develop new social skills, or to heal an ailing relationship.

Doing the work to make your relationships more fulfilling will help you feel close and connected.

It can seem like the only way to lose weight is to restrict your calories and exercise more. However, sometimes it’s better to approach things in reverse. Start to see the ways that you are using food as a coping mechanism as your guideposts. Use them to point you towards the places where you need to grow or develop new skills. As you focus on your life more, you will naturally focus on food less. The result will be a life that that’s more fulfilling. Losing weight will simply be an added bonus.

My "Thank You God" List for Christmas Eve 2009

I have so much to be thankful for, not just for this day, but every single day that I've been blessed with in my oh-so-dramatic life. In the spirit of Christmas, I would like to focus on one thing, just one single blessing that I am and always will be grateful for.

Thank you, God, for:

1. The gift of unconditional LOVE.

Thank you Lord, for loving me and the rest of us sinners in the most precious, amazing, unconditional way. And thank you for giving me such a wonderful family and fabulous friends. My cup is overflowing, Lord. Truly, I am blessed. I love you, Lord Jesus! Happy Birthday! Mille Grazie!

Buon Natale peepz! :)

My "Thank You God" List for Wednesday, 12/23/09

Sorry for the major delay. Would you believe I slept for almost 12 hours last night? Or should I say early this morning? Hehehe. After painting the town bright red with my favorite bunch of friends, I got home at 1am, slept past 2:30am after the inevitable txt barrage, woke up past 2pm, stretched until almost 3pm and woke up just in time for the 3 o'clock prayer. Well, I must admit, it's way different than my normal routine but I simply could not care less. I had a blast! So much fun, in fact, that I can't wait for the next "warak" (I'm beginning to love that word! lol).

So here's my list for today, albeit a bit late.

I am grateful for:

1. The gift of life, love, laughter, great friends, good cheer, and a very understanding and supportive family.

2. My 3 helpings of Gelatissimo last night, c/o our balikbayan bff, k2y. Boy, those calories were worth the intake. I had two chocolate macadamia and one chocolate biscuit. Hey, I still believe in the ice cream diet, can you blame me? Hihihi. All I can say is (other than mille grazie, k2y!) is oh my ice cream, how I love you! :P

3. That chat-filled taxicab ride from SM to Ayala. Who cares about traffic when you've got friends who won't stop gabbing, right?

4. Roaming through all the Ayala terraces restos for the best dinner place (free, thanks again k2y!) and finally settling down at Cafe Laguna. Hey, I forgot La Tegola was in Ayala too so forgive me for not taking everyone directly to my all-time favorite resto!

5. The mouth-watering staples of Cafe Laguna -- Lechon Kawali, Dinuguan, Pancit Canton, Tanguige and their oh-so-yummy shakes and juices. Free plugging na pud! Pastilan!

6. The inevitable banter that led to me being labeled as "Lady-boy" which, according to them, is what they call transsexuals in Thailand. You know, those who have had their breast implants inserted and their adam's apple taken out. You won't believe how many times our waiter left us giggling like a schoolgirl because k2y won't stop telling him I'm a guy? Man, that was sooo embarrassing yet sooo much fun at the same time! Me, a "Lady-boy", who would've thought? Oh well, my attitude was, grin and bear it. I almost went into the men's room even... nah, that's stretching the truth. I could never get away with that, even after a dare. lol.

7. Heading over to Starbucks after meeting Amy and polishing off two different cheesecakes (with their help, of course), my all-time passion, blueberry cheesecake and another one with choco on top. Amy won't tell us what that cake was called, sorry peepz. You have to ask the Starbucks peepz or else take me with you to identify the perp, er, the cake. :P

8. (Over)Staying at Starbucks (we left at 1am), talking, exchanging personal and work-related fiascos, chatting up a storm and laughing the whole time. I'm still reeling from all the sugar, let alone the laughter but I can't help but say this -- kulang pa!!! Rematch! Rather, take two please! Can't wait to meet up with Irene, Noeme, Amy and our resident balikbayan (from oz, natch!) k2y! Sa uulitin peepz ha? Dapat may part 2 jud kay we've got sooo much ground to cover.

9. The feeling of peace and contentment that comes from knowing that no matter where each one of us will end up, even as a "Lady-boy" (hahaha), we would still be the best of friends. Nothing beats grade school friendship, we may still be sip-onon until now but that's not the only thing that remains the same. The bond is still strong, stronger now, even, and for that, I am sooo grateful! Thank you, God for giving me friends like these -- fiercely loyal and protective, kind-hearted, sooo much fun to be with and way libug! As in!

10. Going to bed in the wee hours with a huge smile on my face and Alicia Keys' "The Element of Freedom" in the background. Nothing beats a fabulous night out on the town with good ole friends. I can't believe I'm still on a natural high until now. That's how fantastic these people are. I love you all, you know that right? See you soon, after Christmas, I hope. We've got lots of ground to cover and even more waiters and people to harrass. Hehehe.

And so, this list is obviously centered around my friends. I am forever grateful that God has showered us with so much blessings and yet He still gives us the chance to get together, even though it's not that often, to share these blessings with each other. Peepz, your mere presence is a blessing, so mille grazie, I, Noemz, My, and K2y! I mean it! Praise the Lord for giving me berkz like you. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

My "Thank You God" List for Tuesday, 12/22/09

This is gonna be short cuz I'm all out of time. Mag "warak" pa daw mi according to my balikbayan berk. Hehe.

I am grateful for:

1. The gift of life, love, good friends, and a loving family.

2. The chance to reconnect with old friends.

3. New opportunities for growth, both personal and professional.

4. Ice cream again tonight! Free pa jud! Wheee! Gelatissimo, here we come! Hehehe. Shameless plugging na pud da. :P

5. The gift of forgiveness. Nothing can beat a conscience bereft of guilt. Praise the Lord!

Maybe one more?

6. Tita Julie's (now) infamous Leche Flan, which I heard she is giving to me as a Christmas present. Yipee! Many thanks, Julz and Yan. See you both soon, I hope!

And to everyone, much love, blessings and happiness this Christmas season and in 2010 as well! Luv y'all! Hope you have a blast! Just remember to be safe, always. Buon natale! :)

My "Thank You God" List for Monday, 12/21/09

This time I'm including stuff that went on last night. Here goes:

1. The gift of life and love and family and good friends.

2. Catching up with one of my closest friends last night. Thanks, Noemz! I'm amazed la ka na bored sa atong chika. Mora ako ra man to cge tabi. No wonder grabe kalabad ako ulo. Hahaha. Although, it might have been the ice cream no? Choco overload 2 days in a row. Waaah! I'm officially an ice cream addict. Saonz. Dating gawi na pud? Hay. I had a blast though. Sooo much fun jud. Can't wait for part 2 with the rest of the gang (including our mysterious balikbayan? hehehe).

3. Small miracles. Like getting ahead of everyone else (about 10 people) in the vhire line to Opon just cuz I'm riding all by my lonesome and everyone else had companions. Only one seat was left you see. The driver even scolded me cuz I skipped the line but the passengers ahead of me were so nice to point out that only one seat was left. Ah, the perks of being single and free! Hehehe. Nice people, those passengers. Mr. driver was a bit mean but hey, I'm letting that go.

4. Second small miracle? Reaching church in the span of 30 minutes! Just in time to reach the final mass for the night. I arrived there at exactly 8pm, just in time for the priest, et. al. to reach the altar. Was already in the front seat when the mass officially began. Praise the Lord! I even got to help out with the projector. Seems there was a slight problem and the guy in charge had to go out for help. Unfortunately, he didn't come back after mass had started so I had to wing it. Thank you Holy Spirit for the guidance. Wasn't able to do much about some of the songs though. Not familiar with the new ones, didn't know where to find them. Oh well, charged to experience.

5. Third small miracle? Lola was in the mood to help me pray our 2 novenas for the week even after spending over an hour in church. Amazing, my nana. I don't know where she gets her "power" but I'm glad we were still able to say the novenas together after such a long day.

6. Yet another good night's sleep. Third night in a row! Yay! Thank you God!

7. Finding everyone in a good mood when I woke up this morning. Now that is such a rare occurrence that I'm sooo grateful. Lunch time with the fam! More stuff for the list later on, I'm sure. Laterz peepz!

My "Thank You God" List for the day...

Before I dive into my list for the day, I just wanted to share something amazing that happened last night when I resumed my "Miracle Hour" prayer. While I was on Scripture readings, the instruction is the same as always... ask for the help of the Holy Spirit and then open your Holy Bible to some random page and then look for a word that "leaps" out of the page and then ask the Holy Spirit what He wants to teach you through that word.

Imagine my surprise and immense glee upon opening my Christian Community Bible last night and reading the word "heaven" upon first glance. I was so moved, I immediately closed my Bible and my eyes and waited for the Lord to speak.

I know some people may find this "corny" but here's what God told me last night: "The gifts of heaven are yours, My child, if you choose to accept it." And accept it, I did. No way I'm turning that offer down, even if it means I have to take up my cross and carry it from that moment on. They say we have little crosses too, and I am so inspired these days that I don't even see them as little crosses anymore. I see them as little opportunities to turn crosses into blessings!

Amazing doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. The Lord had other instructions for me but I'm keeping that to myself for now. Some of them are a bit personal, others relate to my family.

Upon the Holy Spirit's urging, I skipped the Intercessions and Petitions part and immediately began my Thanksgiving prayer. After that, I turned off the lights, immediately dozed off, slept like a baby and woke up with praise on my mind and on my lips. This is such a miraculous experience that I just had to write about it. Imagine getting that message from the Lord! I have no idea why or how that happened but it's truly life changing. It has totally altered my outlook on life. No way am I giving despair any room from now on!

I am still on a natural high right now so you'll have to forgive my enthusiasm. Anyway, with this miraculous experience as my jump off point, I'm officially counting my blessings for the day.

Here it goes:

1. The gift of life and love. Such an amazing package, if you ask me. No other present could ever match God's gift to all of us. All I can say is, thank you Lord!

2. The gift of inspiration that did not dissipate even after a good night's sleep. In fact, it's building up to something entirely hard to keep to myself. Amazing!

3. I just have to mention getting a good night's sleep on today's list. Even after the 2 glasses of coke and yesterday afternoon's mocha (a.k.a. coffee) chocolate ice indulgence, I can't believe I had no trouble catching those oh so elusive ZZZ's. I guess peace of mind is one powerful weapon against troubled sleep huh?

4. The chance to meet up with one of my closest friends later this afternoon. It's been a while since I've seen her so this is gonna be a chika-fest. Can't wait!

5. Last night's miraculous encounter with the Lord. This is just such good news that it deserves a spot on today's list. And I choose to add it under my favorite number. Now you know, 5 it is.

6. So many opportunities, I've literally lost count. For this one, I am still reeling. God truly is great! He knows what we need even before we ask for it. I don't want to brag so I won't mention all of the job opportunities that God has sent my way. I simply want to thank Him for showering me with so many blessings during Advent, for that matter. He truly knows how to lift and heal a broken spirit. Goodbye despair, hello bright future! Thank you Lord!

7. The chance to spend lunch time with my Grandma. That's why I have to say bye for now. Need to have some quality time with my "Nana." God is good. He loves you and me. Time to spread the good news! Catch up with y'all later. Might be another list later tonight, who knows? Until then, have a blessed Sunday everyone! May God be with you! :)

My "Thank You God" List for the day...

Wow! Now I have a total of 10 things to be grateful for. The list is growing peepz! Yay!

So here are my 10 things to be grateful for today a.k.a. my "Thank You God" List:

1. The gift of life. (natch!) Told ya this was gonna be a staple. :)

2. A good night's sleep. (Finally!) After days of too much work and stressing over it, I finally woke up at past 10am today feeling refreshed and ready for anything! Waking up past 10am is simply glorious! Everyone should try it. lol

3. Starting off the day with the first 7 parts of my "Miracle Hour" prayer book. Just a few more pages to go and I will have completed the whole hour today. Can't wait to resume. Hope to "hear from you" Lord! Love you, always!

4. Getting the go signal to work wherever I want from someone who matters. (Yay me!) Amazing! Thank you Lord!

5. Losing 2 more kilos in less than a month (without a proper exercise regimen!), just found out today. That's 2x2.2 to convert into pounds so yay! Note to self: gotta get more cardio workout (walking, of course) into my daily routine. Need to get over my phobia of Tamiya (Basak) and Marina Mall (Save More). Z, you know the reason for this phobia so keep mum or else! Hihihi.

6. Sharing a single lasagna with my aunt without craving more food. Guess this means my carb and junk food craze is officially over. Sooo glad to get over that phase. Healthy me, here I come! Glad to be back on the healthy living bandwagon. I have no idea why I left it in the first place. Hmmmm...

7. This one is really special (less so compared with my Miracle Hour experience but you get my drift)... The Gelatissimo "Christmas of Chocolate" (free plugging pa yan ha! hmph!) Thumbs up for their "Chocolate Macadamia" and "Mocha Nut Crunch" ice cream flavors. Didn't even hurt that it cost me Php150.00 for the two flavors combined. Sinfully delish! I was happy and content, that is, until I remembered that mocha=coffe! There goes the perfect choco ice cream combo! Huhuhu. I just hope i get some sleep tonight after having coke for lunch and mocha near dinner time. Hehehe. Guess it'll be chocolate macadamia only from now on... until I find another flava to replace the mocha a.k.a. coffee flavored one. Oh well, still yum!

8. Getting the next vhire ride while the others had to wait for several more minutes. Thank you Lord! God is good jud oi! Hay! Plus, the added bonus of "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" blasting through my cellphone headset during the whole ride home. Nice, my regular Mimi fix.

9. Getting home in one piece to find my Uncle Buddy home from his cargo ship looking in tip-top shape with such a flattering haircut.

10. Dinner and videoke with my family. Now this is what I call a perfect end to a wonderful day. Had a blast! Thank you God! As in! My cup is overflowing! Ciao for now. Hope I don't lose my voice though. Hahaha. Z, practice na pud ko for our new year's party, this time. Bantay lang jud mo. :P

My "Thank You God" List (the second one for today!)

Here we go again! When inspiration strikes, it doesn't stop until you've written everything down, or fallen asleep trying. Hehehe. Seriously though, I have 5 more things to be thankful for today, or should I say tonight?

1. The chance to attend simbang gabi. I love our local church's idea to hold 8pm masses every night in addition to the early morning (or dawn?) masses. It's just as solemn, without having to face the hordes of people who (I heard) reach our city plaza due to their sheer number each day. Plus, I like walking to church at night. It's like going to our monthly healing mass, only better... cuz we get to do it everyday. And oh, I love the fact that different choirs sponsor the mass each night--different sets of songs every night. Gotta love the variety that offers... I know I do!
2. The opportunity to help a stranger (an old man and his family) carry their Christmas gifts from one of our local church's volunteer gift-givers. He was clearly carrying a burden (the basket was laden with gifts so I'm not surprised manoy was willing to lug it around) and, well, softie for old people that I am, I just had to help. Nothing beats helping people in need, especially the elderly. Reminds me of my lolo and lola each and everytime. Thank you manoy. Best of all, thank you Lord for that opportunity to do good today.
3. Getting $5.00 for 2 or 3 hours worth of writing. Not exactly a whole lot of wealth but it was a "something-I-need-to-prove-to-myself" project so there you go. Just glad I could help out a friend during her own version of a "writing emergency" situation.
4. Receiving a Congrats, you've been accepted to (a new writing group) email. Yay me! I just hope I can live up to their standards... or live, period. Hahaha. Wish me luck?
5. The peace of mind that comes from saying the Rosary with my family, plus our 2 pre-Christmas novenas right after the mass. Nothing like a good family prayer to prepare us for sleep.

All in the span of 5-6 hours! And here I thought I only had to come up with 3 things to be thankful for today! Guess this is gonna be a start- and end-of-the-day habit. I am one grateful gal. Life is wonderful!

My "Thank You God" List (the first in a series)

I picked up this cool idea from my healthy living newsletter today. It says making 3 things to be grateful for list (or what I'd like to call my "Thank you God" list) helps bring good cheer. And so, I'm giving it a shot. I just hope I can keep it up. And so, here I go... (drum roll please!)

Three things I'm grateful for today:

1. The gift of life. One more day. Yay! (I think this will be a staple on this daily list.)

2. The chance to take a break from writing.
This is why I absolutely love freelance/home-based work--you get to choose what to do and when to do it. For now, a mini-vacation... just in time for Christmas.

3. Discovering the buy one-take one burger promo at burger king (for lunch!) today. All I can say is... burp!

So that's officially my first entry for this daily 3 things to be grateful for (Thank you God) list. More to come in the next few weeks, I hope.

Abortion is Murder! It should be Banned and Abolished!

Abortion is such a horrible topic—but one that should be talked about until every single item relevant to the whole issue has been worn out. First off, abortion is horrible. Medically speaking, it is a whole bloody mess. The whole procedure takes a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears with little or no relief for both the doctor and the patient. Literally, abortion is a procedure that should never, ever be performed, let alone discussed. Yet discuss it we must.

With the approval of the pro-abortion bill, one might think that the entire member of congress has gone nuts! Why anyone would ever approve the inhumane and deplorable murder of an innocent, unborn baby, a living entity, a would-be grown human being with feeling, rights and privileges is something that boggles the mind. I kid you not!

I’ve been meaning to write about this subject but I never got around to it. I kept thinking, oh if I put it off for one more day it won’t bother me as much. But with each day that goes by, the knowledge that such an unforgivable practice would not only be condoned, but even legalized and given extra means to grow and prosper gives me the heebie-jeebies!

Today, I took one look at Bo’s KFam Report and decided to put into writing my opinion about the whole matter. FYI, Bo’s KFam Report merely states the amount they spent in order to rescue 15 babies from abortion, with a bit of vital information thrown here and there. And yet, this simple email struck a chord in me that just would not stop reverberating.

Abortion is wrong! It is unpardonable! It is shocking! It is dreadful! It is appalling! It is downright unacceptable!

Why anyone would approve such a bill only goes to show how loose the morals of our lawmakers have become. Not only have they given free-rein to the outright murder of innocent lives many times over every single day or even hour for that matter; they have also let loose the unborn babies’ version of one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse. I am not exaggerating either.

We should be scared, very scared! Abortion does not just snuff out an innocent’s life it endangers the life of the expectant mother as well. Both baby and mother are in mortal danger each time a procedure for abortion is performed or even attempted.

I remember watching the movie “The Cider House Rules” featuring my favorite actor, Tobey “Spider-man” Maguire, and I recall cringing every time he would bring out this small “arinola” as we call it here in the province, knowing that it contains one or more fetuses coming from the young girls or women who visit their clinic just to have their babies aborted for reasons ranging from their youth, the fact that they were raped and don’t want the baby, or simply because they weren’t ready and not expecting to get pregnant, like Charlize Theron’s character.

Abortion is such a depressing topic—the mere mention of it makes me want to rant and cry at the same time. For the life of me I have no idea why anyone would condone let alone promote such a practice. My best friend, who happens to be one heck of a doctor (she’s a genius, you see), was once asked to perform an abortion on one of her friends. Even though the approach was discreet, my friend was appalled and she said a firm “No!” right then and there. This makes me love my best friend even more. I know I’m biased and all but the mere fact that she would not even consider the request restores my faith in doctors and humanity, even only for just a little while. Knowing that there are many doctors out there who would never perform such a lamentable procedure like abortion makes me smile, for just a minute or so. That smile is still on my face right now. Hey, I really love my best friend!

To put it bluntly, abortion should never even be mentioned in any circle, whether out loud or in hushed tones. It’s something that should be kept 10,000 feet underground, under hundreds of locks and guarded by that three-headed dog in Harry Potter. That’s how unpardonable abortion is in my opinion, and nothing would ever change that!

So there, I’ve finally said my piece on abortion. This has been a constant reminder for me. A voice keeps telling me each and every night to take time out to write about abortion. In my head, that voice is God. Out of deference to Mama Mary’s Immaculate Conception feast, which happens to be today, I am publishing this blog on all of my social networks. Don’t care what anyone thinks about this last part. At least tonight I can sleep soundly knowing that I have finally done what God has been asking me to do for so many weeks now. Abortion should be abolished! Right here, right now!