GRATITUDE JOURNAL

by May Since last week, my dad has been asking me for a family picture, here is our contribution. I'm sorry but we are just too lazy to look for a studio or even sit on our couch to have our photo taken. Rommel and I work even on weekends.

by Junnie My wife collected angel figurines prior to our engagement in 1994. It made my gifts on visits and special occasions a little easier since I know what to give and add to her collection. This went to as far as having almost a third of her room filled with Angels. In fact our wedding cake was adorned by blowing angels and our tokens to our lil flower girls were seraphs and cherubs. Fast forward to 2009, and the good news came and the angel is here with us.

by Linnor This is the third and last installment of last Saturday's activities.  After the Chinese birthday lunch and the afternoon coffee, Jerry, Jake and I hied off to Majestic to meet up with Team Cordero, Team Maglana and Team Arbasa, for Chinese (2nd time today) dinner buffet. I think I ingested too much MSG consumed my calorie requirement for the week in just one day!  Parents all:  the Maglanas, George, Jerry and myself, the Arbasas.  We're never too busy to find time to have dinner together. Daddies' mini-me: Christian Arbasa, Gremmie Cordero, our Jake, and Mikey Maglana Starting 'em young.  These boys could very well be the next generation leaders of their dads' organization. 

by Linnor O-kay... If this is not your first time here, you would have noticed that this collaborative blog is turning into a solo blog. Hehe.  Both my brother and sister are busy with a lot of things, but that is not to say I'm not as busy.  I have a husband, 3 sons and a full time job, and the nanny just moved back to her province... yada-yada-yada... I have my share of hectic days too, you know, and that is about everyday of the week.  So what's my point in all this blabbering?  I'm just happy to blog about an afternoon I had with friends a few days back.  It was last Saturday, right after the lunch treat at Big Mao.  The exchange of experiences and views, and the frequent laughter at our self-deprecating statements were the perfect prescription to keep our "sanity" until the next time we meet up, hopefully. At a glance, we look like the women of SATC minus 1... senior version.  :P with Ann and Dahlia (photo taken by my 5yo son, Jake)

by Linnor It's been 13 days since Kyle turned 13.  That officially makes us parents to two teenagers.  Here are pictures of the birthday lunch treat we had with Kyle's friends at Big Mao at the Terraces (Ayala Center Cebu) last Saturday. Posing ala Addams Family Kyle and his masked and "bolted" friends All three pictures above were swiped from our teacher-friend, Mr. Suralta.  More "scary" pics can be found in this album:  Birthday Halloween Party And here's a pic of the other guests

by Linnor There was no plan. I know, now is certainly not the best of times for most of us to be splurging. But it couldn't be helped. :) Not when the universe and heavens conspire to make something happen. To make the long story short, our 2 year old car was appraised at a really good price which enabled us to pay off the existing financing on it. The deal left us with enough to spare, to get a replacement car with a very minimal increment on our monthly dues. It's literally like exchanging our old car for a new one without breaking the bank. The deal was sweetened even more with the 30% downpayment being stretched to 4 months interest free, without us asking for it. Jerry was just blown over. Haha! Men... Men and their toys.... :D So this morning, just before lunch, and after getting the boys from school, we drove it to Redemptorist Church, just like we did in 2007 with our Carens.  We had it blessed and we gave thanks to the greatest Provider for giving us the

by Linnor At the height of the boys' preparation for their school periodic exams last weekend, we quietly celebrated (2nd son) Kyle's 13th birthday with a mass, Chinese lunch at Big Mao in Ayala Terraces (Cebu) and dinner at Georg Cafe. His birthday treat to friends is scheduled next weekend, when he and his friends are done with the tests and just before they take their sem break. :) So... What are the changes to this new teen's life so far? He just asked my permission last night if he could join his Ahia (Matt) in the school dance tomorrow (Saturday). Hmm... That's a first and definitely not the last.

by Junnie These days provide some time for me to take stock and set my priorities straight. No, its not the dreary dark skies enveloping Ortigas Centre as I write this but really, it is maybe the current state of mind that I have. You see for some reason, God played a big joke when He sent us over the Philippines for a major assignment and in an apparent stroke of usual Divine blessing, He gave us more. I sometimes remember, more often forget that one can never outdo God with His provisions. I always wanted to make an impact in an organization and see it through excellence in operations, profitability and with the employees never working a single day, enjoying every minute at work. God just gave me that and more. I almost have a magic wand and can set the pace of the company in Manila we set up 8 years ago, a day before 9/11. So now I have twin assignments, twin blessings. So how can you say "no" to what He has given you. So I work and play in one day. I pray that I c

by Linnor We've been spending the last several nights (plus the weekend) reviewing the boys for their 2nd quarterly exams. With Jerry in Manila for a few days, I had to summon up extra-ordinary powers to juggle my time between work and tutoring (not to mention the driving). Nothing new except... I think I'm (a bit) old to stay awake long enough to make sure everything's been done and the boys are ready for bed. These days, at 9pm, my eyelids seem unable to defy the pull of gravity and I find myself doing a new workout regimen which consists of: blinking and yawning and keeping my head from nodding. And though I take coffee, I find myself asleep just before the caffeine kicks in. Ugh! Sleep is our friend... The boys take 5 in between review sessions... :D

by Linnor Inviting all to vote for CNN's Hero of the Year. :) Here's the story of one kababayan named Efren Penaflorida . His profile says "Efren Peñaflorida gives Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. His Dynamic Teen Company's 10,000 members have taught basic reading and writing to 1,500 kids living in the slums." Click the widget below to choose your hero and vote.

by Junnie Metro Manila is still wet. Some parts are still with knee-deep waters. One thing we have going for us is that we have strong faith that this too shall pass, and that the Filipino will rise above. It is October already and it seemed that no one noticed that we arrived Manila last Monday at the heels of the weekend Typhoon Ondoy visited the country. This week we celebrated the feast of the Archangels - Raphael, Michael and Gabriel, and last Thursday, we celebrated the feast of our Guardian Angels. What a whole week of heroic deeds from Pinoys helping their kababayans, and for all the angels in our lives. :)

by Linnor It's Friday, our counterparts in Ortigas knocked off early today to make the necessary preparations.  Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) is forecast to hit land this evening.  It threatens to pass the Isabela / Aurora areas. Meanwhile, I'm taking a short break since my interview schedules for today were rescheduled for next week.  So here's a no-brainer post..... :) Relationship  Tag What are your middle names? His is Uy and mine is Arreza.  And I always have to spell my middle name, maiden name and married name to people who ask for it. :) How long have you been together? We just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary last April.  And we're still counting... How long did you know each other before you started dating? ...about a few months :).  We worked in the same company. Who asked whom out? He did. How old are each of you? He is 3 years older than I am. Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. Which situation is the hardest on you as a coupl

by Linnor When the boys are home, their room doesn't stay as orderly as the pic above.  Mistulang binagyo kapag silang lahat ay nasa loob ng kanilang asul na kwarto. :) Merong nag-gigitara, merong nagko-kompyuter at merong naglalaro ng Lego.  Sa madaling sabi, pag nasa silid sila, talagang di maiiwasan ang pagiging makalat nito.  :P Anyway, at least nasa bahay lang sila at hindi nagbabarkada sa labas. Pero sa totoo lang, after a long day at work or from school, it's always nice to come home to a clean house.  Ang sarap magpahinga sa maayos na kabahayan pagkatapos ng mahabang araw  di ba?