75th Birthday

My husband celebrated his birthday with LCT employees in grateful thanksgiving of their loyalty:

With the manianita group- the early morning serenade and birthday greeters.

Happy birthday and many more to come!!!

Giving red packets to the kids.

Let the dinner begin.....

Guests taking pictures while waiting for their turn.

With friends and relatives

Karaoke and company teasing....

Singing liven up......

Dancing.......Everybody had fun!

Celebrating July 2015

This year July is a month long celebration of birthdays and happy events:
1, My husband 75th birthday celebration with employees and close friends at Connies.
2. Sunday mass offering and blessings from our parish priest. Snacks with friends and church members afterwards.
3. Cheering and following up Roy's successful 2 day bike event from Seattle to Portland through social media. A big and wonderful achievement for a severe asthmatic! Thank you Lord and my blessed Mother for this possible physical feat.
4. My husband and I left for Manila to be with our children.
5. Extended birthday celebration for Lucas at Shangrila Edsa with my children in Manila.
6. Greeting Roy a happy birthday after the bike event on July 15.
7. Send off my daughter Marion on her trip for a conference to Uruguay and a side trip to Brazil.
8. Three day and two night excursion and family bonding on the occasion of Aileen and Summer homecoming from Bahrain (daughter-in-law and granddaughter of my sister Helen) at MH family resort in Tagaytay.
9. First birthday party of Luis, the son of niece Jackie in Manila.
10. Exciting Boracay trip with the Cotabato's Saturday night barkada group. Wonderful sun, sea, shore and beautiful friendship.
11. Trip home from Boracay to Manila. At the same day, Marion's arrival from Latin America too. An unprecedented traffic snarl starting from the airport parking building onward to home. Welcome back to Manila!
12. Despedida party for Aileen and Summer given by my sister Helen in Manila.
13. Dinner with family at Oyazumi Noodle House. Superb food!
14. Back home to Cotabato. Thank God for all the safe trips and all the nice and enjoyable celebrations.

It's no wonder why I wasn't able to blog much this July. I will however follow up with plenty of pictures. Hehehe.

Petty Wishes Do Come True

When I was a little girl, I saw this comedy movie played by Jerry Lewis. In the movie, the actor picked oranges from his kitchen window and ate his fruits inside the house. I was fascinated with the scene and wished how I could do the same one day. Oranges do not grow in the Philippines but two of my favorite fruits which I hope to eat bountifully for free are mangoes and coconuts. When I was studying for college in Manila, I would oftenly buy green mango or young coconut to go with my lunch from the Gallas district street-plying-vendor we called "Suki". A young coconut cost 25 cents then, same price as a small cup of Magnolia ice cream. If I had extra money, I would choose to buy young coconut for my dessert. After meal, I could still fully consume the entire tender flesh and at the same time be satisfied with the very refreshing coconut juice. The green mango which was cheaper, on the other hand served me well as a viand that goes well with rice or simply as a delightful snack any time of the day. Today my wish has come true, although not literally picking them from my kitchen window. Hahaha. At present, I own a lot nearby that is planted with varieties of mango and coconut. I can eat an abundance of them for free any time my heart desires. The mango when in season, are so plentiful, and so, I have just recently given them away for free to friends and relatives and to our store workers too.

Also, another wistful dream when I was young, was to be able to watch movie from my bedroom. I had often wished that my room would be inside a movie theater, so that I could just go to sleep after watching a show, or simply go to sleep in the middle of a boring scene. When my children were growing up, the betamax became a household thing. It was then that my husband had a television set installed in our bedroom. Today, although I seldom watch long and late movie anymore at home, yet I keep my television screen on until I feel like going to slumber. And off it goes with just a click of a finger. Hahaha. Technological advancements these days make wishful dreams come true.

These are just two of the petty pretty little things that do come true :)

Coughing

My husband is coughing. It seems like a dry allergy cough. I give him manuka honey but it is not working, rather he feels better with Vicks formula 44. He wakes up as usual in the morning and goes to work. He wears surgical mask at work though and he seems okay during the day. I prepare hot soup for him in the evening and have a manghihilot came to massage. But he continues to cough. I mention that he should see a doctor but he says he is much better. On the contrary I hear him cough more. I stay up late at night to listen to him cough. I must be some kind of a paranoid, for it seems that anything I suggest for him to do or take, he gets worse. Every night I pray for him to sleep well though, for a good sleep always revitalizes him. 

Humdrum?

I am 63 years old. I am comfortably retired. I live with my husband and househelps in a big house. My children are dispersed in Manila, Cebu and USA. At home, I surf the Internet, play simple piano pieces, do crosswords and scrabble with my iPad, cook a viand or two for my husband, read the papers, pray the rosary....... boring? Yes, maybe.......but honestly, that is the way I like it to be. 

I am done raising five children who were more sickly than normal kids. I had my share of rushing them to hospital at night, filling my cabinets with all sorts of medicine; tutoring them, following up their progress in school, motivating and supplementing other intellectual and/or physical activities, disciplining with the proverbial "stick",  and catching up while they grow up. With lots of prayers, thankfully the Lord God heard and helped me during all those years and my children turned out to be quite all right. May the good Lord continue to guide them in their endeavors and undertakings today.

So these days, I sleep late and stay up late. I wile my time doing things I like to do, reading comics, and writing blogs. Hahaha. Unlike many of my friends, I am not patient enough to follow TV series (soap opera), be they Tagalog, English, Taiwanese, or Koreans. Nor am I capable enough too, to think of amassing more riches or even pretty enough for vanities. I try to be more health conscious though by doing simple stretching exercises. I do tai chi on Sunday with my husband Lucas. And recently, I have revived and organized our weekly dance group. Currently my friends and I are doing some hip hop dances that seem more retro than modern. Hahaha. Also, I enjoy cooking snacks for my dancing group too. How I wish for our city to become more peaceful, so we can go out more often and enjoy other activities. As of now though, I pray to have more peace and quiet, and to keep strong and healthy everyday. For me, a humdrum life is not too bad after all. Thank you dear Lord.

Excursion to Davao

I went for an excursion to Davao City recently with the Mary Mediatrix Ladies Circle group and two priests, Father Antonio Pueyo and Father Charlie Celeste from Cotabato. We were a contingent of more than 40 persons, about 50 when we reached Paradise Island Resort. I had not been to Davao for about 4 years now. The last time when Junie and Honeylet got married at Davao Insular Hotel. These days, it seems that everybody owns a second home in Davao. The city has become an ideal place for better education, work opportunities, safer homes and holiday vacations........

I took few pictures from my phone camera. Unfortunately the battery went low during our Hawaiian night at the beach. Here are some pictures to share:

 Day tour at Eden Mountain Resort, Davao,

The ladies enjoying the mountain view

 With Father Tony Pueyo at the fishing village

To the vista cafe for a free snack

 Hawaiian Night on the beach

 With my roommates Jalen and Mildred

 At Paradise Island Resort

P. S. I came home dead tired. All exhausted from the trip: the excitement, the late nights and early sunrise, constant talking and eating, swimming, singing, dancing, etc. When I reached home, I went to bed at 8 o'clock in the evening and woke up at 10:00 A.M. the next day. Luckily I had no work and responsibility to catch up. Hahaha!

June of 2015

It's the month of June. We are now already in the middle of the year 2015. It is also the beginning of the calendar year for most schools here in the Philippines. The big universities like UP, UST, Ateneo etc are shifting their collegiate academic year to start in August instead of June. As a former teacher, I have only the best of wishes for the pursuit of changes in our educational system. May our young minds benefit fullest and achieve the standard of excellence, aim to be comparable to that of our other Asian countries and the world over. May the Lord bless all our teachers and implant the seed of devotion and dedication in their hearts, mind and souls. May our mentors be blessed in their lives and well being too, so as to carry out these noble tasks and endeavors. I have to make mention here that my daughter Marion is one of those young people who has chosen to walk the path of academe and hopefully thrives in it.

For family and personal events:
1. June 5 is the death anniversary of my father Francisco Ledesma. May his soul rest in peace.
2. I will be joining the MMLC for an excursion to Davao middle of June.
3. Remembering my late mother Mary Go Ledesma who was born on June 18.
4. Yuri, my grandson will be celebrating his 4th birthday this June 18. His birthday coincides with that of his great grandmother. May Yuri grow up to be good, intelligent and healthy. May the Lord bless my grandchildren always.
5. Not to forget Jose Rizal's birthday on June 19. Rizal is the National Hero of the Philippines.
6. June is also the start of the rainy season here in the Philippines.
7. Happy Father's Day
8. May the Lord continue to bless us and protect us this month of June and all through out the rest of the year.
9. Thank you my God.

Postscripts:
1. June 12 - Philippine Independence Day
2. June 20 - Araw ng Cotabato