Look back, and smile on perils past.

Walter Scott                                                    

Nicholas has a new toy to add to his ever-growing collection of studio lighting equipment. He is such a strobist (aka one who likes to use strobes to light his subjects). And because he is still an amateur and don't know a lot of subjects, there I am again, happily posing in the cold.

Well, I was until an hour into it and we still couldn't get the shot that he wanted. I'm a terrible model, but maybe only to him cause I can whine and complain, the basic dynamics of our relationship. I'm kidding. I vow to support Nick in whatever he sets his mind to so I will stand in the cold, despite my complaining, so he could practice his skills. This shot makes it all worth it, though! I really want him to find his style and I think he's slowly starting to see a vision of it.

Happy Couples Do This, This, and This and That

I've seen so many lists all over the internet of advices on how to keep a relationship going strong and happy - what to do and what not to do. And everyone's digging them and inhaling them - in hopes to remember to apply these in their own relationships or for future ones. I admit to being a fan of these lists when I was single, and even more when I got into a relationship. But however much I read them, I can't seem to retain what's been advised. When I was single, I did it so I know what to do when he finally comes along and when he finally did, I read to check if we're doing the right thing in our relationship, according to what the lists said.

Appreciating You

Memories of school wouldn't be complete without the constant teasing of friends and classmates alike about one thing or another, so of course I had my fair share of it. And it's always been about my massive hair - which is as curly as Goldilocks' hair can be, except with the added humidity, became such a messy bush. I so can relate to Hermione Granger! But don't get me wrong, I didn't cry over the teasing (not that HG did) but it didn't help with me appreciating and loving my natural curls. But I'd laugh with my classmates over their comments of my hair being the result of my dad's grounding me of my pleasures every time my grades drop. It was pretty funny seeing how I was constantly grounded and my hair being the way it is. I'd like to think not being too insecure about it was what saved me from experiencing the lowest of self-esteem. Though that's the case, I still wouldn't let my hair down and as such, ponytail was the only hairstyle I knew back then.

It's The Little Things Really

 

    Tea w/ pastry
    Worship music
    Classical music
    Warm coffee in the morning
    Bonding w/ family
    Talking it out with God
    Jane Austen classics
    Reading books
    Reading books by the park
    Swimming in the lake
    Movies with friends
    Laughing w/ friends
    Giving a helping hand
    Smiling
    Productive day at work
    Gratitude
    Meaningful conversations w/ trustworthy friends
    Great workout
    Watching animes
    Watching movies
    Writing/blogging/journaling thoughts
    Preparing food
    Baking
    Lomography photos
    Eating out w/ friends
    Keeping house clean
    Prettifying my place
    Travelling
    Berry pickings
    Hugs
    Word of God
    Devotionals
    Being praised for good work
    Learning
    Fashion
    Babies
    Weddings
    Chocolates
    Healthy living
    Zumba
    Pilates
    Vacations
    Beach
    Korean food
    Japanese food
    Colored contact lenses
    Bubzbeauty's and Michelle Phan's videos
    Campus gels
    Reminiscing old times through photos
    Comfortable silence
    Inspiring quotes
    Walks in the park
    Watching children play
    Productivity
    Sleep
    * Hearing God's voice

This is what's in my "What Makes Me Happy" list that I wrote a few months back. They are in no particular order as I just listed off stuff that comes to mind. I'm sure there'll be lots more and this list will continue to grow as I go through life. For now, it's a great reminder that it really doesn't take much to turn a bad day around and that I don't have to look far for inspiration.  

Keep livin' happy! ☺

Hullo world!

Wow, it's been almost a year, eh? But here I am, I'm alive! Going back to basic, to what I love doing the most - pouring my thoughts out. I won't say that I'm back for good to the blogging world 'cause I know that's not gonna happen and always, I'll come and go. I blame the social network sites which have served as my micro-blog for updates and events in my life, but thank them just the same for making it easier to write thoughts and post them in a jiffy!

On Vacations and Getting Back On Track

Summers are always good, no, great, and this year has been my busiest summer in BC so far! It was awesome, no doubt, but I can't deny that by the end of it all, I was so looking forward to getting back to my regular daily life! I even cannot wait for all the busy-ness to die down! I was just spent! Okay, I think you get the picture.

It's funny because it was actually just August. Just a month - but it's all my summer with all the events that took place.

So... Photos time! 

 

Started summer off with blueberry picking! 

I Connected The Dots And Saw God's Plan

Inspired by the speech given by the genius Steve Jobs during the 2005 Stanford University Commencement Exercise, I looked at my life to see if I can somehow connect the dots - from as early as I can remember to today. There wasn't really any significant event jumping on to me which gave me God-did-this-He-is-so-amazing-goosebumps moment (does this make sense?). It's probably because I've lived my life already knowing that God's hand is actively at work, whether I am aware of it or not, He has never stopped in giving aide. Like some sort of taken-for-granted knowledge, I need not acknowledge it, but it will remain a fact. I already know everything is God-given. So I stopped looking for that Godly-moment in my life.

Later that evening, I talked with a friend who's having a hard time right  now, getting stressed out about a circumstance in her life that she so wants to be fixed. As I was giving my advice (helpful, I hope) about how she needs to face this, being her voice of reason, I was hit with an epiphany which of course I shared with her.

Aha! Moment

In my heart I know this to be true:

"Everything ends well for anyone who believes... in God."

When I wrote that after my three-month ordeal was over.

But this morning, my heart skipped a beat after reading this:

"Everything is possible for one who believes." - Jesus (Mark 9:23)

Upon reading that verse, I quickly thought about that line I wrote more than a year ago which had the same context. And I just thought, "Those were not my words, but God's!"  To have seen a reference, a biblical truth, to what I've believed all along has left my heart smiling in awe. See, I wasn't wrong! 

It is written: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Gen 18:14) And He made Sarah, Abraham's wife, give birth to a son, Isaac, at ninety-years old when she laughed and believed she was already past the age of child-bearing.

Never doubt God.

Oh hey, 2011!

I've been MIA again but surely December and January are valid enough reasons as to my absence in the blogosphere. The end and first of the year always puts everyone scurrying about different places trying to get things done and going, and always, always coupled with a full-blown reflection of what life's been in the passing year, and evaluation as to how to make the coming one better. Gone is that seasonal emotional hulabaloo and as I've done my fair share of evaluation on life, I think I've come to terms with what I want to do for the rest of it.

It was the renewed passion, now burning more than ever, which has awakened much inspiration in my life to have a goal, see the bigger picture, and pursue it. I must have thanked God a thousand times already for giving me this goal and also for pleading for help to be with me as I work on it. And He has heard it and given me an assurance in this: "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6). Ah, how sweet it is to be loved by Him! It is simply amazing, I tell you. It blows my mind to see my goal sort of go in the right direction, to see a vision of what could be, if God wills it to. I just recently experienced a moment like that and I was like, "Oh my gosh, He really is at work here!" I immediately told my Mom about it and she said that I only have to want it so much and everything will work out. It is a true story folks that wanting it so much in your heart and praying for it fervently will produce results that'll surprise you. Now, this dream isn't a fast and the furious journey. It'll take time, perhaps a year or two, before I can harvest anything but the journey to my pursuit of it excites me too. When all is well and done, it will be one of my greatest testimonies for sure.

Reflecting on what my life's been like last year resulted in me removing some depression-triggering stuff. We all have that, right? Stuff we do that seem to put us on a high at the moment but then zaps us into somewhat Dr. Phil sessions where we wonder again what life is about and what our purpose is in this world. Tiring, no, exhausting, is what it is to be always going back to that state. With me it's not so much a depression, but more like because of the things that I continuously do, I forget to live in the here and the now (I've pondered about this lots of times!). At the end, I find myself in a slump as I've neglected a lot of responsibilities and my room is such a bloody mess, it feels like I'm starting my life over again. Jeez. It is so unhealthy. Why I keep on doing that beats me. I must be really just an idiot. But oh well, I'm organizing everything now up to the schedule of my daily crunches on my Pilates ball (haha, yes, I get reminders to do it). I'm extreme, I can be really OC with my schedule or I'd have that "the-hell-I-care-attitude" at times. It's driving me insane, too, not being consistent with this. I'll just always pray for Him to be with me everyday, whatever I'm doing, wherever I am.

You can tell I'm having a good day, eh? I'm rather talkative today, it must be because I'm having a good hair day. Let's all admit it, we women feel great when our "crowns" are just the way they should be. (Lol) No doubt I'd still go through "the dreaded moments" (y'all know what I'm talking about) but I know it'll pass, it always does. I'll just talk it out with Him, He'll comfort me in His arms and I'm back on my feet again. Plus, I'd just look forward to little stuff that excite me, that always does the trick! 

Change Is In Order

Soooo, I finally did it. After three years, I say goodbye to the old layout and the old header. I'd loved them before, and they served me well in making my blog a bit presentable. But it's time they go.

Plus, the header I had doesn't get to me now. I'll be forever thankful to my friend who did that though. ☺ It is just funny to look at it now, I feel like it represents me as a geisha. Woman for hire, anyone? Haha! I honestly don't know why I chose that picture, must be those spur-of-the-moment decisions. Or maybe because it appeared to be the perfect representation of someone oriental. But really, it looks like it could pass off as Victoria Court's logo. Lol! But though I wanted to change it entirely, I couldn't stay away from purple! Plus, I fell in love with the background. It's perfect since I'm blogging from a country where maple leaves are so abundant, it has become part of their flag. Canadian Oriental Sanctuary - not bad, eh? ☺

Seriously speaking, err, writing, I need this change. You know when you're heartbroken you tend to change something in your life? For girls, it's mostly hairstyle, right? Yes, this is that kind of change. I'm not heartbroken, though. This one's a happy change.

I was just really happy today that I was inspired to blog and I thought I could use a change in design. That way I'd be motivated to write more. The urge to pour my thoughts out in writing was too exciting, I could've skipped while walking to the bus stop while I was thinking about it. And while on my way home, on the bus, all I did was jot down ideas swirling in my head I'm afraid I won't be able to organize if I didn't do it right then and there. I actually wished I had with me my trusty Blues' Clues-like notepad. There is just such joy in holding a pen and writing down your ideas, right? It was one of my most enjoyable journey home. I actually didn't mind the cold winds Fall has brought with it, and I can even daresay I enjoyed it.

The craving to get down to doing what I'm learning to be passionate about just filled me so much I went straight to my room and worked on this blog as soon as I got home. I thank God for giving me inspiring thoughts like that, that has made my now passion-filled heart excited. I do hope this isn't just a one-time thing, though. But I'm doing alright, I think. See, I'm already in my second post for the day. Who would've thought, right? ☺

Hey God, you have exciting things planned out for me, right? I can feel it and I thank you so much in advance for all the blessings that have yet to come. I am forever yours. ♥

How I Fight Sadness

First of all - No, I am not sad right now. I just thought of sharing what I do when the dreaded sad-bug bites me so hard I'm left to the point of depression for a while.

I don't have a solid formula on how I lift myself up from the misery of the situation. All I know is that I sulk for a bit to get it over and done with, then I stop and decide that my sadness has got to stop. It's not as easy as a snap, of course. It takes a lot of convincing myself that it has to stop.

Of course, that doesn't always solve the problem. So the next thing is distraction, a big one. I watch rom-com movies, anime, read books, talk to someone, look at funny stuff (LOLcats, anyone?) - anything to get my mind of it. It is not running away from the problem at hand. I just know that if my mind and heart are calm, if not think of a solution, I could at least cheer myself up.


I believe in the power of positive thinking. So it is so important that I always have something positive to turn to, to hold onto at any given time. This is one the positive thoughts I make sure I remember. Trusting your hopes materializes them into reality - that's what you need to know. Or it could be the simplest thing like ice cream or a cup of coffee (both are like a big hug for me) or the biggest part of my life, God. I turn to Him and pray, read His Word or my fave bible verses. I pray and pray and read and read until I feel I'm overdosed with hope and trust in Him. That's when things really start to look up.

Actually, that should also say,

Trust in God, not your fears!

READ: Rest, Enjoy And Dream :)

As I was happily reading a book while sprawled on the lake shore on a windy day in Cultus Lake (such a long description haha), I kind of gotten that READ idea. Okay, not really, I just wanted to have a dramatic effect on how I ponder things, lol! But kidding aside, if you're on twitter and following RevRunWisdom, you'd know that he likes to put deeper meaning to some words. I liked that idea and after squeezing my brains out, finally came up with READ: Rest, Enjoy And Dream. Simply because I feel exactly that way everytime I grab a book to read. :D


Enjoying the sun that day while starting on this book, I can't help but wish that life were this uncomplicated, this peaceful.

But realization immediately hit me,

If life were this simple, we would all have been unappreciative idiots.

I leave you with that thought and happy READ-ing. ♥

What 500 Days of Summer Made Me (or all of us) Realize

"This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie 'The Graduate'. The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parent's marriage she'd only love two things. The first was her long dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing. Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story."

Just because we are deeply in love with someone doesn't make that someone the one for us.

Now, I don't know how to explain the part where Summer said, "It just happened," or something along that line anyway. We won't know until that happens - that moment when we'll just wake up and know, what we were never sure of with the others we loved. And that's just the way it really is - a magical experience, if I may say so.

"You were right about destiny. You weren't just right about me."

Yeah, we always tend to put the label "He's the one," or "He's the right one" to whoever we're with at the moment as long as we feel that "love." Of course, this is a natural reaction. I mean we wouldn't be seriously dating someone if we don't think it will lead to something better in the future right? But sadly, that's not the way it works. If it's not meant to be, it won't be - this will always be difficult to understand and accept by someone whose heart has been broken. Then we go through that heartbroken cycle, one of the most painful things to go through. And then we just snap back to reality and then understand the bigger picture and finally accept that some things are not meant to be - and it's not always a bad thing. :) I can go on about this, but many of us who've experienced love and breakups already know the drill.

"Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life. May 23rd was a Wednesday."

What day will be mine? I don't know. But that day will come. And then I'll just know. ;)

The Three-Month Ordeal

. . . is over, finally. I can breathe.

As with every beginning, I believe the first three months are the most trying months people have to go through. It's just a relief right now that our first three months here in Richmond are over, now I can only expect great things and opportunities to come our way.

The three months we've been here had been spent discovering this fine city in the midst of Vancouver - exploring city's common places, tourist spots, beaches, parks, great amenities, learning the transportation ways, and getting acquainted with its lifestyle. It was fun while it lasted.

Being in a new place is exciting and refreshing for sure and I love that I came here. But of course, since this meant being away from friends and family I've been with my whole life, it took quite a toll on my emotional health. I was in an emotional imbalance as the days passed by and the homesickness seems to be unbearable at some point. I began to question what I am doing here, is this move worth everything I've given up for? Just regular depressing issues of someone who has moved a thousand miles away from her home to pursue a better life - or in better and shorter term, homesickness gone worst. Well, I regretted thinking that way, after all, I've prayed hard for this to happen. I just thought I was mentally prepared for what I was about to go through. And well, as you can see, I learned I wasn't, the hard way.

But enough, li'l ol' me (emphasis on little, haha!) is back to being the positive me, now that I think the storm's over. Whew! We made it through! :D So, from now on, I can only expect great things to happen and to look forward to. But I'm still thankful for this ordeal, for it opened up an opportunity for me to be closer to God. He really did help me a lot and my relationship with Him improved. I've learned to really trust and have faith in Him and to draw strength from Him. And wow, it worked wonders in my life! It was hard to trust that everything's going to be okay especially when you feel the exact opposite but don't lose that trust and faith in God, and you really won't lose your way. His promises won't ever be broken.

Going through this phase has made me become really appreciative of what I have and everything's that happened in my life. I remember reading this story in a book called Our Daily Bread back in my highschool days, and it goes something like this - A boy and his sister were walking up a mountain and the girl complained that there were so many rocks and stones around that it's getting harder to climb up, she complained that she was getting bruises because of those. Her brother's answer was simple,

"But the rocks and stones are what we step on to climb our way to the top. How are we going to get there if not for these rocks and stones?"

The very answer we're all looking for everytime we're experiencing a rough time in our life. Reading that, I guess that's when I've learned to become optimistic in everything that I experience. :)

"Everything ends well for anyone who believes... in God."