our home

i just took a few photos of the house. six months na kami dito i don't think i have shared photos of the inside of the house just yet.

i'll take better pictures next time (and will include the bedrooms) and replace the ones i've uploaded here.

memorial day

i want to say thank you to all the men and women who bravely serve in the military to protect our citizens, our country, and the world. my salute to all those who died in battle for the sake of freedom. in the words of general mcarthur, 'old soldiers never die, they just fade away...' your sacrifice will always be remembered.

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we went on our annual cherry picking and picnic yesterday. daming food! busog busog nanaman. it was a beautiful day in brentwood and livermore, a great escape from the thick fog that covered daly city for most of the day.

here are our photos.

photos from the wedding

are here!

Garter Toss

here is a video of the garter toss...

claire and jacob

these two love birds tied the knot yesterday during a cold, cold, cold, spring day here in the bay area. it was a lovely event, nonetheless.

claire and jacob, we pray that the good Lord will continue to bless your relationship and union. we will always be here for you guys and we want nothing but the best for two of the nicest people we have ever met. you are a blessing to your family and friends so i'm sure that you will be wonderful parents to your future children. and sabi nga ng marami sa wedding, magparami kayo ng lahi! =D we love and will always pray for you!

when you're about to take that leap....

don't wait for someone to do [this] to you.


masama ba kung aminin kong natawa ako at medyo sang-ayon ako sa ginawa nung lalake?

happy birthday to me!

i'll let it out. i'm not 100% happy today because my husband is far away. =( but i know this will be over real soon and we'll be joined at the hip soon. very very very soon. but despite my husband absence, there are so many things to be thankful for.

the other day, i told my friend cherie, 'i feel that something good will happen to me on my birthday. i can't put my finger on it, but i know there's something coming up.' and yesterday, my family at the voice of victory church threw a 'surprise' bday party for all of us may celebrants. that's one good thing already. i love my vov family and i truely appreciate the gesture.

i have constantly received greetings (via facebook, friendster, email, text, skype, and phone calls) from my friends and family across the world. who wouldn't feel loved when you have people from so many countries calling to greet you on your birthday? nakakataba ng puso.

had dinner with chel and t and bishop abraham and pastora sarah gaor tonight. we are very blessed to have met these highly annointed people of the Lord. i have gained so much wisdom from even the short time that we spend together during their frequent trips here to the states. they really live and breathe the word of God. i am thankful for their guidance and leadership and thank the Lord for having brought them into our lives.

when i woke up this morning (which is really waking up for the second time this morning), the very first thing i 'heard' was, 'BELIEVE in ME and OBEY my words and I will show you what i can do.' i can't say it enough, so i will say it again, God is good, all the time!

thinking out loud at 3 am

i wonder what woke me up at 2 am this morning, but i know what's keeping me up...

i don't know if i should consider myself a facebook addict because i enjoy reading what people have been up to. pag wala ka nga namang buhay oo.

i also like to tweet. i have sent 4 tweets since waking up and i wish there were more people whose tweets i follow. any recommendation on interesting twitters?

gusto ko ng masuka sa hayden kho issue which was all that was talked about in the news from abscbn and gma. even my parents are talking about it and have seen the video. and i'm not just talking about the one where the two were dancing. they've seen the real stuff! my mom has seen it! my goodness! what has the world come to!?!?!??! yes, i've seen it, too. (hides her face in shame)

a friend asked me what i thought about the reaction from alec baldwin's joke on letterman which i happened to see the night it aired. as soon as he said what he said....i said, 'aaah! there goes another violent reaction from people who can't take a joke!' for people who love to laugh, why can't we laugh at ourselves sometimes? para namang wala talagang mail order brides sa atin. i'm sure that if alec baldwin makes good on what he said, there would be millions of mail order brides who would kill for a chance to be his wife. lighten up people!

my daughter woke up briefly from her sleep, sat up, and gave me one of her most beautiful smiles. that makes for an awesome birthday gift! even better, she's sound asleep again!

i should stop writing and start meditating on God's word. i believe this is the real reason why i was woken up. God is good, all the time!

Isaiah 45:3 (New International Version)
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

mauuna na ako!

happy birthday to me!!!!



thank you! thank you!!!

a low key bachelorette

our bride, claire, took a break from her very busy schedule (wedding is 5 days away!) and had dinner with us at the basque cultural center in south city last night. we were not able to throw her a 'proper' bachelorette because everyone's schedule wouldn't permit....or maybe we were just too 'manang' for that kind of stuff.

we had a wonderful dinner at the bcc. the food was amazing and prices were so affordable. we were all so glad we discovered this place. it's a great family-friendly restaurant. when we walked in, chel asked, 'mie, bakit parang puro senior citizen dito?' hahaha! pero after we tasted the food (and they give you lots and lots!), no one was disappointed.

after we were stuffed from dinner, we went back to our place for some tea and entertainment courtesy of michelle.
it was a great evening, albeit, one girl was m.i.a. last night. like i said on FB, you know who you are. :-P

more photos here

silly water

michelle and her 'silly water'

oregon photos

our oregon photos are here. late ko na napost. i've been quite busy. =D

some success...

my first successful bread! it's not pandesal (dinner roll sya), pero pwede na. totoong tinapay na to! edible na!

it will happen soon

i just know it. i know i will be able to make my own pandesal. i tried again for the 4th time and my dough didn't rise. i didn't bother baking it in the oven, sayang pa ang kuryente. when it failed to rise after i waited for over an hour, i tossed it in the trash. i did not make a mistake, like thomas edison and the light bulb, i discovered 4 unsuccessful ways to make bread. i just hope it wont take me as long as edison to achieve success.

nalulunod ako!!!!

sa love at joy na binibigay ng panginoon! i am overwhelmed by his goodness. hindi ko maexpress yung ligaya na naramdaman ko today. i've been struggling in my spiritual life kasi (first time ko aminin dito sa blog ko), lalo na last week na matindi ang toyo ko...i know it was the lack of my time alone with God. nasan na yung pinramis ko dati na read the bible more, worship him more, sing to him more? NAWALA! naglahong parang bula! naku! kung alam nyo lang kung gano kahirap yung alam mong nagkukulang ka pero di mo makuhang gawin yung dapat mong gawin, hindi mo makuhang mag set ng time para dun sa hari ng mga hari. para dun sa nagpoprovide sayo ng lahat...dun sa nagsave sayo from the flames of hell. napakahirap and sobrang heart breaking ng sitwasyong yon.

but today, i woke up early, and the Lord told me, 'almira, if you can't take leaps, take small steps.' so i did. gumising ako ng maaga, binuksan ang aking bibliya at nagsimulang magbasa. one small step for almira, one great leap towards a renewed relationship with god.

this afternoon, i spent some time with my pastor...although we were working on something, nakakarenew parin pag kasama mo is someone who is on fire sa panginoon. nakakahawa yung fire na yun. this evening naman, i invited bishop gaor's family to have dinner at home. i thought to myself, 'if i can't bring my parents to church, i will bring God's people to them.' and they came and we talked about God's wonderful plans of blessing, joy, and prosperity to those who choose to trust and obey Him.

after dinner, bible study naman at sister karen's house just a stone's throw away from our home. napakaganda rin ng tinuro ni bishop kanina! (i will write about that tomorrow.) god is just great. with that small step i took, yung konting salita nya na binasa ko kanina, inulan ako ng magagandang balita at pangako ng panginoon from his dedicated servants.. promises that i will hold on to for the rest of my life. words that i know have already began to change my life. excited ako sa mga susunod ko pang matututunan at mga susunod pang pagbabago sa buhay ng pamilya ko.

i will praise his name always

a recipe for disaster

a full moon + an incomplete holiday + menstrual period only days away

=

a really bad pms

very close to the kind shown below...except for the dog part...that's just gross.

Video Recaps Full Episodes Webisodes

i'm tired of...

...being a 'seasonal single mom'. i want my husband to come back home and to come back home for good.

i don't know how others can do it. swerte pa nga kami madalas parin kami magkasama compared sa ibang mag asawa na magkalayo dahil sa trabaho. we can fly whenever we want to or whenever the tickets are reasonably priced. but nothing's better than having him home at the end of the day. michelle misses him so bad, it breaks my heart every time she calls for him and he's not there.

michelle likes 'sikip'

ito ang favorite commercial nya ngayon. pag ito ang pinapalabas, kakaripas ng takbo papalapit sa tv at manonood. she sings it now too. =)

she misses her dad

is it possible for a 2 1/2 year old to terribly, terribly, miss her dad that she would cry for 30 minutes straight calling his name???

*lungkot*

may is here again

this is my husband's birthday and mother's day gift for mwah...

an upright freezer to help me with the biz. practical nalang talaga mga regalo ngayon. wala munang flowers flowers. i will get my freezer this tuesday, i can't wait!!! seryoso, excited na ako sa freezer ko kasi makagawa na ako ng maraming kung ano ano. bukas nga pala i'll try making pandesal again.

ang saya and at the same time, bitin ang laban ni manny kagabi. natuturete si michelle dahil sobrang ingay namin dito sa bahay. we had a party here at home to watch the match and to celebrate my dad's and my uncle cesar's birthday. sunod sunod nanaman ang mga kaarawan!!!