blog facelift

i'm bored and have nothing to do so i'm giving my blog a facelift. will need help from friends who are html-savvy though to help me make further changes and fix errors.

how do you like it?

6-month countdown

as soon as the wedding was over, i wiped out the words 'diet and exercise' from my vocabulary. i stuffed myself silly with rice, bread, pasta, and purefoods hotdog while in the philippines. back in the states wasn't much different and all these after i told myself and my friends i plan on losing 20 more pounds by the time michelle turns 1 year old....i have six months.

seems like a long time, right?

but it's sooooooooooooooo hard to go back to diet and exercise! i hate working out and i love to eat. my husband asked me once, 'beb, bakit puro food ang iniisip mo?' ouch!!! it's true though hehehe but in defense, i do think about food a lot (as much as guys think about sex maybe hehehe) but like guys and sex (they think about it a lot but don't get enough?), i think about food a lot but do not always give in to my cravings...if i did, i probably would be morbidly obese! anyway, i think a lot about food because i love to cook and watch the food network alot. (fine! sige matakaw din ako!!!!) ;-)

for the past 4 days, i tried to go back on the south beach diet and failed each day. like tonite for example, we went out for indian food at naan n curry. you cannot not eat rice and naan when you're eating very spicy food...the food was gooooooood. eating at naan n curry was an interesting experience... you go up to the counter, order your food, they give you a number, you sit down and they bring you your food. you help yourself to your own plates, glasses and silverware from a shelf against the restaurant's wall and no one comes to your table to give you your check (no waiter stops by your table every minute and asks, 'so how's everything so far?') instead, the restaurant relies on honesty that their customers will go back to the counter and pay for their meal. i wonder how many not-so-honest customers have dashed out of the restaurant without settling their bill?

ate a lot of indian food. south beach diet down the drain.

will try again tomorrow.

after all, i have six months.

my heart desires...

my routine when i get to work is open my read emails and then visit my top 5 favorite websites: cnn.com, sfgate.com, msnbc.com, inquirer.net (do you see a pattern here?), and last but not least, gospelcom.net

i am always hungry for information that's why i visit these sites, but nothing enriches me more than reading the word of the lord and today's daily bread really struck my heart and encouraged me to turn to the Lord to fulfill all of my hearts desires.


Beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. —Luke 12:15

Driving through Ireland to a Bible conference, I saw a fascinating billboard. It was large and white with nothing on it but a woman’s red shoe and the bold caption: "Is Shopping The New Religion?"

The pursuit of possessions continues to be one of the most powerful motivations that people can experience. But can the accumulation of things bring true satisfaction?

In Luke 12:15, Jesus answered that question with a firm and uncompromising "No!" During a discussion on material wealth, He said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." Life must always be more than just the inventory of the things we own.

King Solomon also attempted to find satisfaction in the pursuit of things. He discovered it to be full of emptiness (Eccl. 2:1-17). If we have placed "the abundance of the things" we possess at the center of our lives, shopping may, in fact, have become a substitute for God—a new religion. But such endeavors will always result in emptiness.

David prayed, "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Ps. 145:16). Only God is able to bring real satisfaction to our lives. —Bill Crowder

O Lord, help us to be content

With all that we possess,

And may we show our gratitude

With heartfelt thankfulness. —Sper

You are rich when you are satisfied with what you have.

God is truly my all in all. when he says, 'I Am', he is all we ever need.

im back

I'm back from my trip to the philippines. It has been a very very busy trip…preparing for the wedding, the actual wedding, thoughts of getting michelle baptized in the philippines (not pushing through with it…di talaga kaya ng powers!), and getting everything else done in the 2 1/2 weeks we were there was just a little bit too much.

I found myself eager to get back to the states where life for me is more laid back and quiet. I'm not used to going somewhere every single day, except going to work so when we had to be in manila almost 80% of the time and dealing with traffic…it was just a little to much. On top of everything, I spent one night at a local hospital because of something in the water….yup! My friend from infancy, the good old unicellular bacteria called amoeba. My mom kept insisting that I can drink tap water because I grew up there so I listened to her and drank the water. But my stomach couldn't take it so I had to go the hospital and spend the nite there. It was an unpleasant experience…both the amoeba thing and the hospital stay. The hospital seemed very unsanitary, the nurses weren't all too friendly, there was a dog barking throughout the nite, and it took forever for them to calculate our bill. Oh well! At least now I know never to take my family to that hospital if ever they need medical care.

Wedding…wedding over! Yey! Gosh…weddings are so exhausting! It just drains everything…your pocket and your energy. Everyone I spoke with really enjoyed the wedding especially the ceremony. (syempre alangan namang sabihin nilang hindi sila nag enjoy no!) It was unique, very personal, and most important of all, the presence of the Lord was there to bless all of us. It's a good thing our officiating pastor, Pastor Jerry Ambi is someone who knows us personally. He was able to speak from his heart and share his insights regarding our marriage. So I suggest to all my friends who are thinking of getting married soon, know your pastor or priest! I'm not sure if at Catholic weddings, the couple has a lot of input regarding the ceremony but if they allow the couple to make changes or additions to the ceremony to make it more personal, then I suggest the couple ask the priest. I wish people stayed until the end of the reception and danced. But I have to give credit to the guests who actually attended the wedding…they did not eat and run. =) some of them actually stayed for a while after dinner was served. I was not too happy about many little details about the wedding but I'd rather not go into that. It's over and done with. Like I said before, I've learned to let the little things go. I'm glad the wedding's over, I can go back to working on other things.

Michelle handled her first overseas trip very well. She was an angel during the flight to and from manila. She was a wreck when we arrived in cavite because she was taking in so many new things…new weather, new house, new people. It was just too much for her to take all at once. But soon after that, she was all smiles, laughing and giggling at everyone and everything. I think she enjoyed her morning strolls with her grandfather the most. Maybe we'll take her back to the philippines when she's 2 years old. She can then enjoy the beautiful beaches of boracay, palawan, or bohol. =)