Season to be jolly!

This year, we spent the Christmas at home in Manila, and it was awesome, even if we spent it alone, with no other relatives around.

I so loved our Christmas menu, and I served myself well with these Christmas treats! :)

Some photos of how our little family spent the first half of the holidays:

Preppin' the feast

Ref cake ingredients

Frying the chicken

Beef um teriyaki (?) w/ broccoli 

Mom's finishing touches

Yuuuum

Ginataang hipon yum

Ref cake with grapes & pinya chunks as toppings! (waha I made it! It was awesome)

Carbonara. I was also the one who cooked the sauce for this. (Haha proud)

Merry Christmas oh yeah!

Hehe <3

My YOUNGER sister who's more dalaga than I am. I wonder why I always get behind when it comes to this phase.

Merry me! 

My mom who has a more pandalaga body than mine

Kuya and his... well, I don't know what that jump was for.

Gale's feeling celeb poses and smiles

Family pictures!

  

    

Hoping everyone spent their Christmases well, too! Falala. See you again in 364 days, Christmas.

Celebrating Love

It's almost Christmas and, probably, we all are preparing for it the usual way: foods, gifts, parties, etc. And, as usual, someone's gonna tell us that the real essence of this all is the birth of Jesus. Yes, it is.

Anyway, I just wanna share something I've learned a few days ago from the book of Isaiah, chapter 7.

Background:
1. Israel, God's people, is again in her sinful ways. People disobey God. They go on with their own rebellious businesses. Tribes against tribes. Etc.
2. God was angry.
3. God promised redemption.
4. The promise is Jesus.

Why? I always wanna ask God why? Why does He love us so much that He has to be the one to send us the answer for us to be forgiven? The logic in our world, is when someone hurt us, it is so hard to forgive, we neglect them or something along the lines. But God! God proves His true nature: LOVE. And this Love, I know this Love is more than anything could measure. Many will bother to explain, but this great Love, I know, that we'll never really get to the depths of it.

When we make mistakes against another, we try to make ways for our relationship with that someone be repaired. In our case with God, He made the way-- He provided the way. And it is Jesus! (John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me.)

We are inspired to live a life full of love because we have been redeemed by love. We are compelled to live a life of challenges because someone who loves us so much died for us, so that we can be saved. He came not just for some, but for everyone: the whole world (John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life). And we ought to make this love known.

Every year, just when Christmas is about to come, I hear people say that their Christmases will be cold because they're without "someone", but, Someone has always been there. And He is the reason for this all. We don't have to bring our dates to His birthday party because He will be our date! :) And Jesus has better hands and arms to hold us.

And this is the main idea of this whole season. This sweet idea!

Happy holidays! And remember to celebrate Love moment by moment!

The Kite Runner GR Review

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What's the best way to atone for one's "sin"?

I found the book really heartbreaking in every way. I don't know if the book justifies reality, but then, I realize that reality is absurd in its own nature, and what just happened in this novel may be what is really happening in the lives of the Afghans.

The book opened my eyes on the state of what's happening in war-torn countries. It just broke my heart. I dunno if Hosseini's narration was intended to make the book a tearjerker or if he just wanted to deliver a story that is naturally heartbreaking. The book teaches us a thing or two about bravery, resolutions and the Afghan language.

So far, currently, this is the book for which I've shed most tears in my entire existence.

View all my reviews

Old and tattered

A blabber about classics. 

I've always had a knack for the things of the past ever since I started reading classic novels. Yes, Pride and Prejudice is my favorite, but it isn't the first classic novel I've read. I have already explored the Before way back when I was in my freshie year in high school. But it wasn't my first encounter with classics; I think that the very first novel I've read was Little Women by L. M. Alcott, and it was when I was in first grade. Of course, the fairy tales and storybooks that filled my (and your) childhood (eg. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Three Little Pigs, etc) also count as classics.

(via)

 Many people have already encountered classic stuff in their journeys, and I cannot say that I'm very unique because I like these old pieces. No. Of course not. But I have a big love for this thing. If people consider the classic stuff as just some movie/song/novel genre or just some stuff from the aged chest, the classics for me are items subjected for love! Hahahaha cheeeze.

Why?

(via)

I love the mystery in it. That the writers and creators of these pieces of art are already long buried. How can we prove that Charlotte Bronte really did kill her sisters? Is Mona Lisa the female version of Da Vinci? Ugh and other juicy items to be curious about for forever! I mean you can't wake them up and snatch the truth directly out from their mouths.


I also love the way that it has once been and now it is just a memory to those who witnessed them, and a tale to those who really didn't get firsthand experience from the past's era. I'm curious about the vanity fair, the time of really huge estates, time of the horses, of gentlemen and ladies, etc.

(via)

(via)

(via)

(via)

I love the frills and the petticoats! It really is impractical to dress up with laces and thick clothing these days, but it is really beautiful to imagine that time. I think it is really a beautiful thing that these things are just for imaginations now, so at least, we have these lovely pictures in our heads.

(via)

(via)

(via)

I love the letter-writing! The way the people expressed their emotions. Ha! The way you're gonna wait before you hear something or before you can say something to someone. Eeeee, romantic! These awesome pieces of papers are really huge chunks of the wonderful history of this old world.

(via)

And I love the classics for all other reasons I am also clueless about.

Lately, I've been watching Downton Abbey, a British period-drama, whenever I grab some time from my busy schedule. I am really really in love with it. I laugh, cry, hate, love with the people in it. Currently, it's this time of my life when I've been observing most of the people around me are getting hooked up with different series, too. There are these fans of How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl, Breaking Bad, Dr. Who, Once Upon A Time, The Vampire Diaries, etc. I can classify these people based on the series they're watching already (though not always, because some people really just like different genres), and somehow, they have found their unofficial communities of people to talk with about these already... and where are my co-Downton Abbey admirers? Ok, there's the US-first lady Michelle Obama, Sandra Bullock, Ginnifer Goodwin, Prince William & Princess Kate, and the people in Flavorwire, etc. hahaha my point? It is really rare to find some others who share my taste for this kind of theme. Unfortunately, I haven't found one in our campus who's already watched DA yet, though I'm sure there must be a couple of people who already did, we just don't get across each other's roads. Admittedly, this kind of concept may be boring for others, that kind which sends some to sleep, but I seldom find myself dozing off when I am spending time for this beautiful pieces.

(via)

A confession: I'm not a classics/vintage expert! No, I'm not an expert. I know some. I've read some. I listen to some classical music, I watch really old films, but I don't count as an expert. I'm a mere lover of those aging items that pass along my way. I love it, but I don't consider myself a fanatic. I love looking at the dresses, but I don't find myself walking to school wearing my favorite characters or doing these things on a regular basis or things like that. I just love it.

Why am I even posting about this? Uh, forget about the reason, 'tis my blog anyway, I just wanna say these random things in my head (as I always do in this page). Just a post about an interest of mine. Yeah.

Just Jest

Our I/O Psychology class went out for a trip last Dec 9, 2013, and our professor chose Jest Camp (Jungle Environmental Survival Training Camp), Subic to be our venue. The place is good for class/employees/family/etc team-building activities. 'Twas a short trip, but it was fun.

The place was a 1-2 hour ride from Clark, Pampanga, and the view on the way there is really good. The mountains, the trees, oh well, you'll just hate to get back to your studies and to the city.

First, Kuya Nomer, a tour guide/survival trainer in Jest taught us how to survive in the wild (he said that what he taught us was just 10% of what we'll need to survive, other survival techniques will be taught if we spend the whole day and a night to three in the camp). He showed us how to make tableware out of some kind of trees. He also taught us how to make fire and how to cook using these tools from the environment.

Then the adventure began:

Aerial Adventure Walk

just set for the aerial adventure

scaredy cat forevs

Me having fun yeah

               

Soleily enjoying the "wrecking ball"-ish swing

sweet ladies

Jessica getting through one of the obstacles-- aerial barrels

Go Gela! Haha. That plank walk made my knees shake so badly it was embarrassing

During my aerial walk, I was screaming for help, I was even saying that I don't wanna continue anymore. It was just so thrilling for me, I was screaming my heart out. To console myself, I even did self-talks, asking myself to continue and stuff! Haha. After I finished the whole thing, my classmates applauded me (nakakahiya!), and said "Ate Shai, may natapos ka nang course!". Oh, these kids! If I just don't love them.

class shot after everyone's got their aerial walk turns

Then, off we went to Goliath's city for the Goliath's Swing 

This tall thing will swing you 30 feet above the ground. I wasn't able to experience this, because our entrance fee covers only one adventure. If we wanna do another, there'll be an additional fee

Yipeeeeeeee!!!!!

The skies so blue, the trees so green. I think when you're up there, you'll think that it's a good day to die

                   

not scripted! mouths are really hanging and the girls are screaming as soon as a person will start swinging, it was as if we were watching a horror/suspense picture

beautiful landscape!

the class seemed like they were watching a film ongoing while a person is being swung haha cute

class shot after the last person was swung

LOOFANG!

So, we ate dishes that were cooked in the native way or "Niluto sa Kawayan" as they call it.

Stroll before the trip back home

The place has its own wildlife park:

                     

And then, there's this awesome Maze of Misfortune, where we spent hours looking for colors to dip our fingers into. After each of the fingers in a hand of ours already got colored, we can go and consult the fortune chart on what's up with our fortunes:

 

The verdict: "It's witching night", I don't know what that means though. Others have more  exact fortunes like they'll fall in love on this certain day or something

It was really fun and there are a lot of other packages and adventures in the camp. Check it out here: http://www.jestcamp.com/. Another thing I loved there is the homey atmosphere among the workers, like: our tour guides were also the ones who were serving food, and cooking the dishes. :)

Photo Credits: Soleil Acu, MJ Fajardo, & Jessica Bonus
(huhu, forgot to bring my camera to the field trip)