New Year, New Me! My Resolution for 2015 and Beyond!

Happy New Year, everyone! Even after the Three Kings and the celebration of the Black Nazarene have gone by, it still feels like the first day of the new year for me. Hehehe.

So, how did the first 12 days of the new year treat you so far? I hope this year of the sheep is turning out the way you wanted it to be, or if not, I hope you're all coping very well and getting yourself ready for all the blessings and challenges that lie ahead.

As for me, it really didn't happen the way I planned it to be. Well, come to think of it, my entire life, though a blessing with everything I have achieved and accomplished, didn't really happen as planned. But I won't bore you with all the details. (If you're an old reader / follower of mine, you'd know what I'm talking about). Let's just focus on the past two weeks. Teehee. ;)

Hello 2012, Goodbye 2011!

Less than three more hours to go and my vow to start a new life is now here to be realized! But before I say hello to 2012, let me say THANK YOU 2011 for all the amazing blessings you have given me:

JANUARY

• Getting featured at ABS-CBN's Bandila for their episode on virtual assistants 
• Getting re-acquainted again with my creative self when I attended another soap making seminar
• Re-acquainting myself with a childhood hobby - drawing

FEBRUARY

• Having the best Valentine's Day and longest birthday celebration so far
• Joining the Garnier video shoot
• Being part of Train Station at Radisson Blu

MARCH

• Being part of Eurotel Bloggers Tour
• Another Train Station moment at The Manor, Baguio

APRIL

• Fulfilling my long time dream of living in Boracay for a month!

New Year's Eve Video Blog

You must forgive me. My new video recording toy, GE DV1 HD Recorder, is still new and I am recording just about anything and everything I can think of, given my free time at the moment. So here are a couple more mundane videos I took minutes before 2011 struck. Never mind that I can't enunciate my "e" and "i" properly; or the fact that I speak very slow like I dunno what to say next (this is what happens when I rarely talk these days); that I caught myself with a big tummy (burp!) while my legs were wrapped around Peter; or the fact that I was falling asleep on New Year's Eve. Anyway, just enjoy it, if you have nothing better to do on this beautiful Sunday morning, that is. ^_^

So how's your new year so far? ^_^

No More Resolutions for 2011

Another year has just passed. In fact, another decade has just flown by so quickly that it amazes me I'm no longer that 21 year old gal I know, who's fresh out of college, full of hopes and dreams for her future. In reality though, I still feel like that 21 year old girl. I am still filled with hopes and dreams waiting to be conquered and fulfilled, only this time, I am living in my first dream house, I am about to learn to drive my first dream car, I have money in the bank, I have traveled to so many places and I'd like to think that I have already accomplished a lot. Heck, I have even retired from corporate world at the age of 30!

I won't go into much detail about these things now. And like I said before, no more New Year's resolutions for me. So many resolutions have passed me in my lifetime and not one of them darn lists has ever entirely been resolved. So I just simply stopped making them. My new mantra for this year would be to JUST DO IT! Whatever it is that I want, I will just do it. No more intricate planning, procrastination, over analysis and rationalization. I am given 24 hours a day, hence I must make them count.


To help remind me of some of the things I want to get into this year, I made a simple colored reminder which I posted on that part of the bookshelf in my office that I always look at.


It's the same wall where I posted my 12 year old mantra. This way, when I get too focused and concentrated at work, I'll be reminded that there are other fun stuff to do for me, just waiting around the corner. ^_^


And no, they're not resolutions... just stuff which I am looking forward to doing. They may sound mundane to most people, but for someone like me who tends to work 15 hours a day, to be able to accomplish them would feel like a feat.

Happy 2011! May the new year bring you closer to your dreams!

No More Resolutions for 2011

Another year has just passed. In fact, another decade has just flown by so quickly. It amazes me how I'm no longer that 21 year old gal I used to know, fresh out of college, full of hopes and dreams for her future. In reality though, I do still feel like that 21 year old girl. I am still filled with hopes and dreams waiting to be conquered and fulfilled, only this time, I am living in my first dream house, I am about to learn to drive my first dream car, I have money in the bank, I have traveled to so many places and I'd like to think that I have already accomplished a lot. Heck, I have even retired from the corporate world at the age of 30!


I won't go into much detail about these things now. And like I said before, no more New Year's resolutions for me. So many resolutions have passed me in my lifetime and not one of them darn lists has ever entirely been resolved. So I just simply stopped making them. My new mantra for this year would be to JUST DO IT! Whatever it is that I want, I will just do it. No more intricate planning, procrastination, over analysis and rationalization. I am given 24 hours a day, hence I must make them count.

A Different Kind of New Year's Eve

For the past seven years of being married to Peter, we tried to follow the traditional route of celebrating New Year's Eve, you know, the one with family, parties, lots food, completing the thirteen kinds of fruits, etc. Well, suffice it to say that Peter and I came out of our shell last year and just decided to do the New Year's Eve OUR WAY... Hence, my Asian tour last Jan.1-8, 2010 and none of the above for this year. We just wanted to be quiet, fuss-free and still happy. This may not sit well with many traditional folks we know but as what Demi Lovato's song lyrics say: "This is me, this is real, it's exactly where I'm supposed to be now, gotta let the light shine on me..." It's our New Year's Eve, and we're spending it the way we want to.

Below are videos and photos to give you glimpses of our weirdness and how we celebrated our New Year's Eve.

That same day, another realization came to mind... As people around us were busy preparing for the New Year's Eve, Peter and I were busy preparing for the New Year. Here's how:

The Sameness of New Year for Me

Each time a new year comes, I am always filled with hopes and dreams of having a better one, of being able to do the things I still haven't done, and hopefully come out better than my old self. I started my 2010 by traveling in Asia (Vietnam-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore) and I am ending it with my 2 weeks vacation in Negros Oriental and Cebu. In between, I've accomplished a lot in terms of work, paid my debts, earned something extra, traveled some more and overcame my repressed neuroses in a matter of a few days (thanks to the Kicking Pinay in me!).

I've come to a point when I stopped over analyzing the things that have happened and just feel grateful for all the blessings that have come and are still coming my way.

I also always find myself hooked to a song that always proves to be the anthem of my life for each particular year.

For instance, in 2008-09, Gyskard's PINK LIFE was what my whole life was about. Then the latter part of 2009 til the rest of 2010, I was motivated by Natasha Bedingfield's UNWRITTEN. For the coming new year, 2011, I am making Katy Perry's FIREWORK my life's anthem. And with this new song, I am welcoming my 2011. I am igniting my light and letting it shine. Here's to a more colorful, productive, better and meaningful New Year!

Happy 2011 everyone! Cheers!

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon