The Saturday Agenda: Indian Brunch, Kensington Palace and The Regent's Park

Hey there! How's your weekend going so far? Are you dreading Monday and wishing for the extra 24 hours to prolong the weekend bliss? Hahaha, I feel you my friend. So relatable!


My weekend buddy, travel organiser, and good friend Liza is leaving for a place with almost-year-round warm weather very soon and we are maximising the weekends left for her to have a proper 'last hurrah' with London (after staying here for more than seven years).

It was a sunny Saturday contrary to our expectations of cloudy skies. Obviously, that made us very happy. Let's keep the text brief and sweet. Here's the Saturday agenda in five bullets:

1. We had Indian brunch at Dishoom (Carnaby branch). The place gets packed quite fast and one needs to reserve ahead. Good thing we got a 9:30 AM spot.
2. We walked around the Regent Street. It was the day of the London Pride March and the streets were decked out in rainbow colours.
3. Kensington Park. It was a lovely day under the sunshine and the gardens seemed as green as they can be.
4. Kensington Palace. Our Art Fund pass allowed us free entry to visit the state apartments where royals like Queen Victoria and Princess Diana once lived.
5. Regent's Park. Incidentally, I got to cross out one from my bucket list: To visit an English Garden. Do you think I will be able to cross out the other two in my list this year?

Click 'Read more'to see my short, sort-of bucket list and the rest of the Saturday agenda pictures.

The Saturday Agenda: Liverpool

Happy Easter my dear! I hope that you're making the best of this long weekend break.

 

 

• While most of London travelled further to warmer cities or countries, I opted for a short day trip and as such, had to contend with below fifteen-degree weather.

Click to "Read more".

The Saturday Agenda: Okonomi-yaki and Fresh Picks

Hey there! How did this week go for you? Pleasantly blah at work? Or another challenging rollercoaster ride? Either way, I hope this weekend is treating you well :) Sharing with you again my Saturday agenda. Here goes...




1:00 p.m.
Okonomi-yaki lunch

• @ Abeno with Liza
• Abeno claims to be the only one offering the authentic Okonomi-yaki experience in Europe.
• We dined in the Bloomsbury restaurant at 47 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LY. There's also another Abeno in Covent Garden, a.k.a. Abeno Too. Check out its website and book a table in advance.
• We ordered a deluxe Tokyo mix (pork, squid and prawn) to share, and requested for a gluten-free dough.
• For our side dish, we chose one from the Spring Menu - Kakiage Tempura, with scallops, asparagus, carrots and onions.

Click to "Read more".

The Saturday Agenda: Making Handmade Soaps + Persian Lunch

Why do I share my Saturday agenda with you? Good question. My two cents on this:

1. Currently, it is my only "free time" when non-work events of interest actually happen. Other than these, I'd most likely bore you with a lecture on audit, risk and controls, hahaha. And on a Saturday, no thanks.
2. I want to encourage you to go out, get out of your comfort zone (which will most likely be your very comfortable, warm and cosy bed) and LIVE OUT LIFE!! Don't get me wrong. I am an introvert myself and staying indoors with a cup of hot cocoa and immersing myself in the world of books are my closest to heaven. However, I've made a pact with this introvert self of mine that I will go out more and see the "outside world" every now and then. Why? Life is short. We are here for the journey - THE experience. :)

So here goes my agenda for this Saturday...


Click to "Read more".

Hashtags 2017 ed. vol. 7

#Edinburgh #outtakes

Outtakes: A short part of a film or television programme or music recording that was removed and not included usually because it contains mistakes --- according to the Cambridge dictionary.

Do they refer to bloopers as well? Hmm, not really sure. However, I'm going to use this term to headline the photos from my Edinburgh trip that just won't fit in my Day 1 and Day 2 posts and which I felt deserve their own post :) Allow me some 'blogger license' here please :)

#stairways
I know I like a backdrop when I see one. There is something about a stairway which fascinates me. First, I grew up in  a house without one and thus, I've always stared in awe at houses with second floors. Secondly, climbing one makes me feel like a princess (thank you Disney and fairy tales).



This stairway leads to the Edinburgh Castle.

Click to "Read more".

The Weekend Agenda: Edinburgh - Day 2

Continuing on from my earlier post, here's the rest of our Edinburgh weekend agenda.


Sunday 19 February

• Breakfast:  At Starbucks.

I had the super-scrambled eggs + flat white.

Click to "Read more".

The Weekend Agenda: Edinburgh - Day 1

Hello there Miss / Mister Spontaneity! 

Have you had those tough days when you thought you've had enough of these and you made lightning-quick decisions? Those spontaneous ones which surprised your normally plan-well-in-advance nature?

One stressful Tuesday, my teammate Mani declared that we are now going to Edinburgh this weekend. No, not 'considered' but 'declared', mind you, since she sounded so certain about this. Before this, we were thinking (yes, only considering; we were not sure yet) about going to Bath. But Edinburgh!!!


I was game for a spontaneously thought-out escapade. I thought I needed it as much as she did. A well-deserved break after the really long work hours for the past three weeks or so. Also, since she is going back to India next week, I thought that she should really go since she had been spending her weekends working!! ***shakes head*** We booked the tickets and accommodation on Thursday and Mani came up with a rough Edinburgh itinerary albeit a really concise one given the brief time that we have.


Click to "Read more".

The Saturday Agenda: Pie & Mash + Greenwich Park

Someone craved for pie and mash...
Who else? The weekend getaway warrior, the advance planner, my almost-regular partner-in-crime for The Saturday Agenda here in London? Hahaha! Liza :)


Goodards at Greenwich

Click to "Read more".

The Saturday Agenda: Snooze No More

The early bird (yours truly) woke up with no problem today. I was feeling much better after a good night sleep, possibly an eight-hour one (or more) as I was too exhausted yesterday. I only remember dosing off immediately as soon as my head hit the pillow. 


For the early bird's breakfast, I stir-fried some vegetables (baby carrots, beans, broccoli and baby corn), mixed in the marrow from the marrow shafts (two-and-a-half leftover from the four halves) and put a bit of effort in the presentation. ;)

  

I was debating whether I should attend or ditch the financial planning seminar (a free one), but eventually decided to attend anyway. I firmly told myself that I have to have an excuse every weekend to leave my comfortable nest (a.k.a. BED).

Click to "Read more".

The Friday/Saturday Agenda: My Favorite Shots

Hello my friends!!! It's a Saturday again. What's your agenda? :)

It is usually a "Saturday Agenda". (The only exception was when we celebrated Lovella's birthday which fell on a Friday.) I am a Saturday kind of girl. Without intending to, my best friend Lovella and I seemed to have scheduled at least one Saturday Agenda every month since November 2015. 

A long long time ago when we were both living in the same city (Makati), putting together our schedules to find a common time was close to impossible. But as the adage say: You don't find time; you make time. Nowadays, we find that Saturday is just perfect for catch-up and some celebration. Lovella will usually end her Friday shift and take a nap in her office until the morning of Saturday. Kudos to her for staying alert and enthusiastic throughout our Saturday agenda! In my case, I make it a point to really wake up earlier than usual.

In the past months, I have shared The Saturday Agenda posts to my Facebook friends instead of here in my blog. To avoid being redundant, I will no longer repeat them here. If that makes you curious and you do want to see how we spend our Saturdays and try putting together our stories through the pictures and captions, add/follow me in Facebook and check out these posts :)

• The Saturday Agenda (12-December-2015): Last Hurrah for 2015 - Last Saturday catchup with bestie, Lovella. Bye 2015 and hello 2016 soon...

• The Saturday Agenda (23-January-2016) - Chase the sunrise. Pick a random place for brunch. Catch-up and brainstorm.

• The Saturday Agenda (27-February-2016) - Transitio 1945: It's February; Mahal Ko Ang Pilipinas [It's been quite a while since my last TSA post, and since it's almost the end of February, the besties decided to cap it with another culture trip to celebrate our love for Pilipinas.]

• The Friday Agenda: (11-March-2016) - Birthday celebration, another culture trip: Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

For this post, I want to pick out and share with you my top four favorite shots from the above Friday/Saturday Agenda Facebook albums. The foodie shots were taken by me while the "emo" shots of yours truly were taken by Lovella.


Click to "Read more".

Happy 7th Birthday Shakespeare!

Dearest Shakespeare,

Happy 7th birthday 🎂!!!

Look at your evolution :) You were so small when you were a puppy that you actually fit though the gate's lower railings. Remember that time when your curiosity got the better of you that your jaw got stuck in a little handle bar and the rest of the doggie squad came to your rescue?

You no longer play with bougainvillea petals and the love birds are now out of your reach. But you are still the same clingy, attention-seeking and cuddle-crazy doggie that I adore to bits. You like to follow me around in the mornings and do not care if I'm fully made up and dressed up for work as long as you get one last hug. Whenever I get home, it's an unwritten rule that you should get the first hug as well.

I know I shouldn't play favorites but you have the most hilariously sweet memories that make you so irresistible. :)

I miss you and I wish I could send you over a big bone. But for now, virtual hugs and kisses to you, Shakie, my BAE!

XOXO,
Gen

August Happy Long Weekend

Brimming with excitement, I sacrificed sleep (as I always do) in order not to miss my early flight last August 19, 2015.

Five years ago, as you will read in my previous post back then, I surprised my Mama by going home to Iloilo for the first time to celebrate her birthday (at that time, her 65th). That was one of the most priceless things ever, worth all the toll and sweat to get to that special moment.

Moving forward, it has become a "pinned holiday" for me to come home for Mama's birthday since I got back here in Manila. 

How did this one turn out? Please click 'Read more'.

Hello Old Friend

Look who I found after 18 years! Yes, 18 years, my dears. We haven't seen each other since high school graduation (now, tic-tic-tap, calculate age, hahaha). 

Clockwise from left: Maris, Sharon, Rodith and me
Photo credits to Maris

It was a nice surprise to finally catch up with Rodith during the time that I attended the company's advisory event last August 3-5, 2015. The company held it last year in Penang, Malaysia (Hotel Equatorial) and this year in Bangkok (a good venue in Shangri-la)

With us in the catch-up dinner photo were Maris (my fellow manager) and Sharon (Rodith's co-teacher). Dinner was in a Thai restaurant in Central World. Instructions were specific to manage the spicy expectations (especially mine): one chili only ;) I was so entertained by Rodith's take on the local language as she explained our orders. She sounded authentically Thai! She said she was winging it but I highly doubt it.

After indulging us in our high-school reminiscing, Sharon had to call it an early night. The rest of us headed to the Red Sky rooftop bar for some mock-tails.  There were very few people when we got there (people started pouring in by 9:00 pm yet the place didn't seem crowded even then). Most of the servers were Filipinos (yeah, that familiar warm smile). Filipinos usually look much like Thais, that I think we blend in seamlessly.

It was relaxing up there in the rooftop bar. The 360-degree open-air view of the Bangkok skyline calmed me, and at the same time kept me in awe. Lucky us, we were blessed with good weather as it had been raining in the past days. It literally felt like being on top of the world, in a good carefree way (enter 'happy dance' music). We tried to identify the highways and buildings from our vantage point but failed miserably, lol. I hope I was able to take pictures (we do not belong to the capture-every-moment generation, lol) but we were too busy catching up and opining on each other's single-hood  (Maris, exempted since she's happily married):)

Afterwards, we opted to continue the night cap over Bailey's and mangosteen, at Rodith's place. Even with apologies that she had not tidied up, every pin seemed to be in its place. Nothing much had changed, huh; she's still as OC as ever. Peace! I am OC, too. 

It was already 1:00 am when we decided to hug "goodbye, see you soon" and reached our hotel about 30 minutes later. We had such a lovely time. Thank you for the hospitality! I'll see you soon, Rodith:)

How about you, dears? Have you caught up with an old friend whom you haven't seen in double-digit years?

The Saturday Agenda: Music and Tonteki

Hello Saturday! How fast time flies, my dears. Now, we are on the second half of 2015. How are you getting on with your annual game plan? I hope that 2015 is working in your favor.

My regular Saturdays usually consist of chilling out at my room and doing my weekly laundry. Vel, one of my closest besties in the BFF circle, usually spends her Saturdays sleeping. Yes, sleeping. No! This has got to stop! Hahaha. That's when we decided to spend this Saturday for a sort-of quarterly-ish catchup.

Bought the tickets a day in advance to avoid the queue and the risk of not getting tickets on the day itself. It also forced us to push through with The Saturday Agenda (no more excuses to sleep in or cancel, hahaha) ;)

What I thought of the movie? Please click 'Read more'.

Cagbalete Break with the Office Folks

June 13-14, 2015...right after the Philippine Independence day...

These dates were blocked off for my office cluster's outing, ironically without the boss (The reason? A long story that I will not share here but will mostly probably make us chuckle  when we look back on this someday.)

Disclaimer: I do not usually join outings. I only joined this cluster outing because the organizing committee promised that there will be "no activity" to stress out oldies like us (my co-managers and I)...LOL

Day 1 (Saturday): We left Makati at about 5:30 AM and traveled to Quezon in a rented van for 3-4 hours until we reached the Mauban Port. Then, it was marketing time at the 'palengke' before 21 of us took the boat ride to the Cagbalete Island.

Surprise, surprise (and I didn't see this in any Cagbalate-related posts found through Google), we had to walk for what seemed like a kilometer from where the banca can 'dock' to our cottage, because it was 'low tide' when we arrived (about 11:00 AM). 

They never told you this, I bet:
Still all smiles...Almost there, guys...
(That's me in the background, in a mustard yellow blouse, together with Ilene and Ms. May.)
Photo credits: Marc Magaling

Just in case this happens to you, you know now what to expect and prepare. The coral bed will be slippery although the water will be shallow to walk. Travel light and wear skid-proof footwear. Thank God, I was wearing my Sperry topsiders at that time. It was a good "baptism" of seawater for my only pair. I was told that soaking these in sea water is the perfect way to break them in.

Please click 'Read more' for the rest of my Cagbalete story.

A Short Side Trip to Home

However short, time spent at home and with loved ones will always be cherished.

I grab every opportunity to go home to Iloilo --- that's a given. When I had a client assignment in Victorias City, Negros last June, I took advantage of the proximity and the weekend break to have a short sidetrip and spend some time with Mama and the dogs!

I left Victorias at 6:00 am Saturday and boarded a bus for a one-hour trip to Bacolod City. Then, I took a cab to reach the port where the ferries going to Iloilo are. I didn't make it in time for the 7:30 schedule so I made use of the downtime to buy some pasalubong (Merci tarts and napoleones, Bongbong piaya, and two coconut shells of kalamay- hati). I also had a relaxed breakfast of sandwich and soda (my soda intake has increased during this recent client assignment, in my effort to gain weight).

I arrived in Iloilo via the new Lapuz port at around 10:30 am, and reached home before lunch. My doggies were ecstatic over my arrival, fighting for my attention even as they were still wet from their bath. Obviously, I was wet as a fish after the whole crazy group hug, smelling good of dog shampoo.

Hope, one of my doggies, relaxed and contented on his favorite spot, right after his bath and grooming

Please click 'Read more' for the rest of my home-sweet-home post.

Make or Break @ 33

What's so special about 33?

I don't think that anyone ever reaches an age when you will feel ready and complete. At least, that's how I see every milestone or birthday. 

I'm always a work in progress... 

• I try to be better, kinder, productive and more patient every year. I try every time to be the person that my Mama can be proud of. 
• I try to be more friendly, more optimistic and more fun. 
• I try to take care of my health, love myself more, and spend quality time with the people who matter. 
• I try to be thrifty and not use stress as an excuse to go spend-crazy. 
• I try to achieve that ultimate state of simplicity and selflessness made for saints. 
• I try to always look for silver linings beneath the many sad layers of life's daily journeys. 
• I try to be more independent and self-sufficient, but still stay in touch and grounded. 
• I try to smile more, wake up much earlier than I'm used to, and work smarter to make the most of an ideal eight-hour work day. 
• I try to drink less coffee and eat more fruits and vegetables. 
• I try to read more and watch less TV. 
• I try to go on more adventures, with friends or alone. 

I don't even wait for my birthday or the new year to do all these things. I wrote them down --- a long list of random things --- pinned them to my imagined cork-board, and try to live them out every chance I get.. .

And yet not everything goes as planned, right? Other than life being short and bumpy, accidents and detours pair up for the best surprises. To make us stronger or to lead us to the right path.

Yes, I don't always achieve all my resolutions or life goals. Not always on target, or I completely failed. There were momentary successes, and then I realized that that was not the end of it. I kept going. Made mistakes. Started all over again.

There are lessons that I never seemed to perfectly learn. It felt like at some points, I was at a similar bend of the road and still made the same wrong turn. Just too many arts made for life, I think. I keep them in three compartments --- falling (Gene falls), failing (Gene fell) and fulfilling (Gene's fallen). 

I'm okay with rules but I'm also okay with excuses. I just have to know the right venue to give them the reins.

• I may have improved some of my technical skills but I think that I have become ruthless and impatient. My Mama sees the better side of me, nonetheless. Talk about winning the "Mama lottery"? Someday, hopefully I can be patient and kind as Mama.
• I don't think I will ever be a natural in making friends and being fun to be with. I'm alright in my own definition of FUN which may be good as "boredom" for most. This definition showed me treasured friendships so I have no regrets. 
• Loving myself more and being health-conscious are both easy and hard. Easy, because they make me better physically and emotionally. Hard, because the "metrics" are not always easy to measure. On another note, spending quality time with people who matter is NON-NEGOTIABLE for me.
• I am supposed to be thrifty given my roots (half-Ilocana). I may have drops of Chinese blood, too. But I SPLURGE. Most of the time, I do not regret them. Sometimes I do. But then, my mantras are there: "Life is short", "I worked hard and deserve much better", or "Spend that now to feel better or with a shrink much later". (The third one, I just made that up).
• Yes, I am simple. I want less and I'm content with my blessings. But I am unabashedly high-maintenance. It takes me at least 30 minutes to get ready and I'm obsessed with skin care. I have sensitive skin, literally, that I take extra measures to research and look for stuffs free of parabens and sulfates. I hate the smell of cigarettes and other extremely fragrant or unpleasant smells. And I will not be too shy to call you out, cover my nose and mouth, or show the world that your puffs of smoke are causing my allergic rhinitis at that exact moment. Though I think less about ME...More about my family, my dear friends and my eight dogs...
• Bad traffic, lack of discipline, trash and dirt in gutters and sidewalks, impolite strangers and unreasonable demands. I have at least three of these on a daily basis. I think I handle them much better now. I leave the WORK compartment behind, as much as I can, as soon as I step out of the office. I see my long walk to get to the BGC bus as exercise, and I'm usually rewarded with organized queues and better seating. I tidy my room as "OC-ified" as I can so I can forget about the filth of the world outside. Yup, these gets me through the mundane challenges of every day. When the heavy load comes to chop me to pieces, I have enough strength most of the time. If I needed to, I take a few minutes (or hours, when put together) to shed tears and grit my teeth in anger. In frustration. In having maybe too high expectations. And then I MOVE ON. Tomorrow's another day.
• After about nine years of living on my own, I still have MORE room to learn the ropes of being independent. Much more, being self-sufficient. Not achieving the latter in its perfect state is okay. I'm perfectly fine with depending on my dependable circle of family and close friends. The wisdom of older folks keep me sane and grounded. "It's not the end of the world". "I am not invincible".
• I smile at strangers, especially at service personnel who might just need some cheering up in the middle of a tiring day. I say "Thank you" whenever I have reason to. I try to find reasons to wake up early. Like a warm cup of coffee at 7-11, breakfast with my dear early-bird friends at the office, reading a blog post at my first hours of spare time before 8:00 am, or riding a very spacious BGC bus to work. I start work early so I can finish early. If I came in late though, I still try to cut myself some slack. If I needed to stay in the office for much longer, I make time for in-between breaks to unwind and take in some fresh air. A fresh perspective from window-shopping or browsing through books did miracles on most days.
• I love coffee. But I have more strength now to say NO when I already had one cup for the day. The once-a-month challenge may have been hard for me. But at least, it still landed me on the moon. Unless I have a solid excuse (e.g., late nighters, should not be asleep at certain times), I never go for more than one cup of coffee a day. Chamomile and English breakfast tea are my second bests now. I love juices and fruits. I feast on fresh strawberries and bananas as much as I can. Vegetables are plenty when I'm back home in Iloilo. However, in Manila, I limit myself to lettuce, sayote or bean sprouts (my preference).
• Definitely watching less TV now, and reading more books. I prefer no specific genre. Reading any book make up my blissful weekends. I'm also glad to know that I have a two-year 10% discount on imported books c/o my Powercard.
• I love discovering new things. It's not enough that I went to a new place and played tourist like most. I have to EXPERIENCE the place. If someone is coming with me, that's good. If I have to do it alone, why not? I still take calculated risks, though. But I'm game for discovering something new, sometimes getting lost in the process.

What's so special about 33?

It's another magical year, if I may call it that. I'm grateful for all that have come my way, and I don't know what's going to happen. For me, I'm already blessed that I get to live this moment now. With or without resolutions. Make or break. The moon or the stars.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the 32 years and for giving me another chance to start this 33rd.

:)

Keys, Books and Michelin

Yay! What a lovely weekend! Here are bits and pieces of that, my dearest friends...

Friday. I found and bought two accessories with key themes. Key, as in the key with the lock, the house key, or the key to your heart ;) I LOOOOOVE keys!!! But contrary to popular belief, I don't have a lot of them in my accessories collection. In fact, I only had one necklace with a key pendant inscribed with 1983 at the back (hmmm, 1983? Not even my birth year), and a key and lock ring I got from Koket which is now too loose for any of my skinny fingers (necklaces are always the safe bet). Until this Friday. I was browsing through Papelmeroti, the novelty and paper items store, when I spotted these two key-themed necklaces and instantly fell in love. The first one has a family of keys --- father, mother, brother, sister and baby --- and has its closure on the same loop as the family of keys. The second one has one key with 'DREAM' spelled out on top along with a globe and a miniature Eiffel tower.

Please click 'Read more'.

Happy New 2015 !!!

How are you my dears? Are you excited for 2015?

It's quite obvious from the gap since my last post that I've stepped out again for an involuntary hiatus from the blogosphere. It's been two months, and I've been delinquent in even my most regular month-end "empties" post? My, was I so busy? With no regrets, dears; it was a very productive, challenging and memorable 2014 indeed :)

 

 

Today was another laid-back day at my real home sweet home. I know, I know. Most of you have gone back to work already. I didn't mean to make you very envious :)

 

 

My version of a homecoming feast actually came in after the holidays. When we all got tired of the usual media noche fare, we called in the fresh stuff and feasted on the things that are truly Iloilo.

 

 

Today, I had bits of cheese and "laswa" (the Ilonggo famous all-veggie dish) for our late semi-brunch. Four o'clock after-siesta food consisted of "sab-a" bananas (I think I had at least two), three pieces of fried lumpia, rice (yeah, that's right) and deep-fried tilapia (yum yum). Dinner was a breakfast-in-reverse and consisted of the crave of the moment, "tabagak" (Tagalog's tuyo, a sort of sun-dried fish delicacy) and boiled egg. Well, we might be having that same "tabagak" and some egg-on-eggplants tomorrow. Yay !!! ;)

 

 

While I'm still on vacay mode (sorry again hard-working dears), I tried to reflect on my "feelings" for 2015. Honestly, I am optimistic. I see and claim a more blessed year that I will add to my gratitude Life Journal. I really do not foresee any major milestones for me personally. But you'll never know, right? Life is a brown bag of chocolates. You never know what to expect.

 

 

Balanced spiritually, physically, financially and emotionally. Stylish on and off work. Balanced and stylish. That's how I see my 2015.

 

 

I found this "accidental" OOTD while browsing through my 2014 Facebook photos. This was taken in our mandatory (hahaha) historic Cebu tour. Drenched in the summer midday heat and baked in the car's poor air conditioning, how did we manage to still look like we enjoyed (which we did, actually) all the hassles and crazy academic adventure? Lol.

 

 

How about this for the "Balanced and Stylish" peg for 2015? Cheers to these adventures and more!!!

 

 

Shades from Sunnies by Charlie / Sunnies Studio
Necklace from Koket
Pink top from Uniqlo
Loalde harem-front pants
Leopard-print flats from Cole Haan
Bag by Via Venetto
Steel watch by Skagen

Happy Father's Day Papa

Credits: wavegirl22.hubpages.com

Happy Father's Day Papa!
"It broke my heart to lose you but you did not go alone. A part of me went with you the day that God had to take you home. If tears could build a stairway and heartaches make a lane I'd walk my way to heaven and bring you back again." (Source: My Dad sailing Long Island Sound on his boat "White Wind").

I'm posting this in a much better, happier state of mind than I did abut 365 days ago. I still dread the month of July, the month when Papa passed away and coincidentally the month when most of Life's pains and heartaches passed my way. Yet I choose to soldier on, and continue to pray that someday, my 'Julys' and all the pains and heartaches will be nothing but walkways to God's ultimate plan for me.

Happy Father's day to all the fathers out there!