HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone! The year 2011 has brought me so many good memories, so many blessings to be thankful for. To everyone who I have spent time with this past year, whether at work, in church, long-time friends, new friends, thank you so much for being a part of my life. I hope that in this coming year, we will build more memories together. 
For everyone, I pray that we all have a safe, productive and happy new year filled with love, blessings and lots of fun!

Status: Engaged!

Four more months and I'll be legally changing my marital status. So, I was thinking of making a series on the things I have been learning along the way. Last October, we formally started our preparations by attending our church's marriage preparation seminar. I believe most churches have this type of preparation for engaged couples and truly, it has been of immense help to our relationship. A lot can be learned, not just for marriage, but for relationships in general. For today, I'll start with one of the more complicated issues, the roles of the wife and the husband. This is a bit difficult to discuss, and I'm sure I'll miss some points, but here is my simple understanding of it. The first thing I must clarify is that:

Man and woman are equal in the sense that they bear God’s image equally.

 ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, 
   in the image of God he created them; 
   male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

Random post: Write 5 messages to 5 different people without using names

This was one of the topics in the blog challenge which I quit after three days. Let's make a positive-negative sandwich....

Person # 1:

I Miss You! You have been the most reliable and most fun friend that I have had, and I wish that you were here right now. But, I know that your being there will further you career in the best way and I pray that you will always be safe and in good health. God Bless you always! 

Person # 2:

You are one of the most toxic people I have ever met. I am tired of your flowery lies disguised as insincere expressions of concern. Contrary to what you may be thinking, we don't hate you. You're just so self-absorbed and insecure that you think we're trying to steal your glory (like you have any), when in reality, we are just being ourselves and fulfilling our responsibilities. 

Person # 3: 

I'm looking forward to our future together. I know that these are trying times, but I believe that God has the best plans for us, and soon, everything will be sorted out. For now, let's be grateful for all the blessings that continue to pour into our lives. I love you! 

Person # 4: 

I honestly pray that you would completely disappear from our lives. You have ruined a lot of things for me, and I have forgiven you for that. Go live your own happy life and stop trying to get your claws into mine. 

Person # 5: 

I hope that you always remember this: you are a unique, intelligent and talented person. You are also one of the most mature people that I have met. Don't let what others say get you down, because you are worth far more than they ever will be. I hope that our plans in the future work out, because I would love to be on the same team with you.

Chatime PC is looooove!

After having collected enough stickers for two planners that we won't use, we finally decided to lay off on drinking coffee at starbucks (Side note, I realized that the gingerbread cookie does not taste as good if you don't drink it with coffee, haha). Or maybe because it was just too late in the night for coffee. So anyway, last Saturday, we were on our way home from dinner at Megamall, discussing dessert and drinks, when we remembered that there's a Chatime store in Pioneer Center. We decided to check it out. Upon entering, we were greeted by a chorus of "Welcome to Chatime!" It's a bit unnerving to hear that from  around 7 people all at the same time in a small space, but you'll definitely feel welcome. We ordered our drinks, they gave their usual efficient service, we sat at the table near the counter, drank and left. We came back the next day and decided to get a seat in the second floor, and this is the space that greeted us:

 

I absolutely love it! The color scheme (girly), the comfy chairs that are all upholstered and soft they seem to be shouting, 'sit on me!', no noisy machines anywhere. Top selling point, for both me and Zig, would be the lighting and ceiling, the combination of bright fluorescent light and high ceiling makes the place very airy and comfortable. Plus, the seats are not too close together. I can't believe I never went here before, it's the Chatime closest to our house! Okay, I'm gushing here (new tambayan!). I just love it so much! Of course, it was practically empty when we went there, around 10 pm on a Sunday, so I plan to check it out on a weeknight for comparison.  But seeing this makes me curious about the other branches (I know Galleria, MOA and Glorietta have small stalls). Looks like I'm gonna be Chatime hopping soon! ^_^