Merry Christmas!

It's the second time that I'm celebrating Christmas away from home. But I'm glad that it's not that sad at all as I expected. Thanks to my dear ones who are around and it also helped that we reached that age wherein substance over form really matters. My Abu Dhabi friends and I opted to celebrate our Christmas party in a more meaningful way. We served lunch and distributed gifts and other stuff to 130 OFW wards (househelpers who ran away from their sponsors for different reasons) currently sheltered in the Philippine embassy. It was one of the best moments of my life. The joy is beyond words. I know that helping our fellows doesn't need to be big and can be done anytime. I pray that we can help each other, especially the really needy ones, in our little or big ways.

I wish everyone a merry Christmas and more blessings for the coming year!

Purrrr-dita!

Hello everyone! Yeah, I'm still alive and I'm picking up through this cold November air. *Embraces the winter in the UAE*

What with this post's title? As Winello reached his peak of manhood, we got a new kittycat and we named her Perdita (you may pronounce it as "purrr-dee-ta" or "per-di-taah". Why Perdita? Taken from one of the characters in William Shakespeare's play A Winter's Tale and based on the name of inner satellite of Uranus because our new kitten's eyes are shaped like a beaming satellite! She's amazing and so cute. However, we're still dealing with 'siblings... errr, cat rivalry' because Winello seems jealous.

Breaking Dawn. I know I'm over my Twilight addiction, but I think being a Twi-hard will be in my veins forever. Like a first crush, it dies but is never forgotten heehee. This morning I learned that Breaking Dawn (last of the four film adaptations; well, the fourth book's adaptation had to be split in two parts to properly showcase the story's details) is already in the UAE cinemas and we watched pronto! Funny and heartwarming is that some people randomly remembered me for anything Twilight. Heehee. Oh, the teeeeny prestige of being an old fanatic! I'm not embarrassed, anyway. I'll always be proud that once in my life I wanted to be a vegetarian vampire and that a wolf would imprint on me. Hahahaha.

Concert marathon. I've been to Britney Spears', Incubus', The Cult's and Sir Paul McCartney's concerts as part of the F1 after-race concerts. I have tons of stories and photos to share. That will be in my primary blog.

Got Talent! We had our own version of Got Talent in the office as part of our annual retreat. No, I was not one of the performers but maybe I should try next time because of the generous prizes heeheehee. But I was so scared that I'd win the Most Workaholic award through a poll. I'm glad I didn't win. Other awards, to name a few, were Most Distinct Laugh, Biggest Fan (of the company), etc.

Wow, I did miss blogging a lot!

The highschool scent

I am reunited with Johnson's baby cologne. It smells wonderful! It makes me feel young(er) at heart. It's amazing how a sweet young scent can bring back a lot of good memories. :)

Today's breakfast is brought to you by Jollibee! :)

In reference to this entry's title, that means that I am home. Really, really home!

And there are rainshowers for a couple of hours everyday.

The Filipino dishes, the kakanins, and all the things that make me fat. Heehee.

And the best part? Most of the people I love are here.

Ahhhhh, there's no place like real home.

It's amazing when...

It's amazing how simple words of appreciation (not that I am kulang sa pansin) at work can take out all the hardships and eyebags. (*wink*)

It's more amazing when you come to a happy home at the end of the day; the stress at work won't matter at all.

It's most amazing when we sleep peacefully with a big smile painted on our face because we know we did the best that we can (at work, at home, taking care of relationships) without expecting in return.

It's ultra amazing when we know what really matters in life. :)

PS. If you are looking for another fun and feel good reading, Winello the Cat's blog can paint a big smile inside your heart.  Yes, he's my charming kittycat.

Because it's my birth month

I'm extra happy because it's my birth month. I turned a year older and happier!

More sources of happiness:

• One of my closest friends in Abu Dhabi has given birth. The baby girl is so pretty! It's amazing to finally have met the baby whom I was speaking to practically almost everyday during workweek. I remember my friend telling me that the baby would kick when she would hear me speaking to her. 
• I came up with a new version of chicken adobo and my diners told me that that's the best chicken adobo they've tasted! Naks! I know they were telling the truth. I couldn't believe that I actually cooked that. I hope that was not tsamba and I can still replicate that. :)
• We watched the last installment of Harry Potter and Cars 2 (like watching grand prix).
• And more!

It felt good that I held the spatula again

Time has been running crazily lately and it proved over and again that if there's a will, we'll find a minute.

Last weekend, just when I have a long(er) list of things to do, it felt liberating to forget my takehome work and savour the overnight stay in Yas Rotana Hotel. I was a nerdy to have brought a laptop with me, which only sat in the room. We spent most of the time swimming, chatting, laughing and eating.

And for today? I'm more than glad that I was able to bake kiddie cupcakes again (after several months) after cooking dinner. Little J started attending the summer camp yesterday and she will bring the cupcakes tomorrow (assuming few pieces will be left tonight) . It's amazing how we don't get tired when we do things for people we love. And I, of course, feel like a superwoman when the tiny efforts are appreciated.

I am really the biggest fan of gift of time.

Happy are those who sleep peacefully

Our kittycat is a joy to watch especially when he's asleep. I guess he dreamt that we did a belly rub for him. Amazing how he held his feet up that long!



This creature is truly a stress reliever. :) :) :)