My Small Group: I LOVE!

After coming back from the desert, I felt like a lost sheep who didn't know where to go and in the same way, I felt like an "alien" in my own country. Life seemed empty. I was restless. I was unsure of everything. My prayers included questions. My heart was full of doubts and worries from all the pains that  I've gone through. I felt like a failure. But through God's grace, I found myself back in the race again..For the first time in my life, I surrendered everything to Him and I learned to trust Him.. To trust my life to Him.

Since I wanted to know Him more, I started going to the church again. This time, it feels like a "date with Him", unlike before when it felt like a duty. I would be excited to hear the Message and be thrilled for the Praise and Worship.

But although I was going to church regularly, I could not commit myself to serving a  Ministry or to having a Small Group. I was supposed to work in a hotel in Palawan then. I was just waiting for the Contract. But something happened. After all those irrelevant exams and very unorganized interviews (that would require me to fly from Manila to Palawan), the HR Manager hired someone for that post at the very last minute without giving me a decent explanation.

I had to find another job. Luckily, I found one. It's just a twenty-minute drive away from our house. And I saw how nice and friendly the employees were. So I thought maybe they're well-compensated aside from getting a  free meal everyday. I took the exam and I passed. Had to undergo four interviews and had favorable feedbacks from the bosses. 

So while waiting on when I would have my Medical, I approached our Senior Pastor about my desire to be part of a Small Group. I was then introduced to a beautiful woman named Charlene, who then became my Small Group Leader. And my prayer was answered.

Charlene is very accommodating. She smiles a lot. Her smile is very inviting. I don't think she knows it, but when she smiles, you'll be blessed. She's full of wisdom. She's kind-hearted, reserved and is very humble. She loves her family and her friends. She's being admired for her charm and simplicity. She's witty, deep and a fun-loving soul. But more than anything else, Charlene served as an instrument used by God so I would get to know Him more. She also helped me to know my worth as a woman and as a person. She guided me all through out my journey in knowing my Saviour Jesus Christ. She was ready to answer all my questions. She always had ears to listen to my stories, pains and struggles. She was constantly there to offer a prayer and she prayed for me a lot. She's a woman of God. A blessing to the people around her. Beyond any doubt, she inspired me to be just like her.

So going back to my application, I was asked by the company to wait a little longer since there was a change in Management and so on and so forth... I was assured I'll get the job. But I've been waiting for weeks and I didn't want to waste any time like what I've done from my previous application.  Out of the blue, I tried to apply in an agency. It was the last day of the screening when I came to the agency. After two days, I had my final interview and I passed. Having God's favor, the  processing of the documents was so fast and easy. And the last thing I knew, I was signing the Contract.

I didn't have any plans of leaving the country this year. [Back read here.] But I believe God has other plans for me. Bigger and brighter.  So who am I to say "no"? Especially now that I know He is walking with me. I stand secure. I am also happy that I was able to get my braces removed last August and I was able to finish the One2One..He is amazing.. He did prepare me for this job, physically and spiritually.:)

But then, I will surely miss my Small Group/Victory Group Family. Through this group I was able to meet beautiful and amazing women of God like ICAH, SHERYL, KATE, APRIL and IVEE... They are not just my friends but also my Sisters in Christ. They have touched my life in their own ways and helped me learn so many things about life, love and FAITH. They were generous in sharing their lives to me and have invited me to be part of their lives. Their stories, experiences, struggles inspired me and helped me to realize a lot of things..Even if we've been only together for a few months, they offered me a gift of friendship which I could treasure for the rest of my life... I am thankful...

So I am sharing you some of our photos last August 30 in Tagaytay. 

So happy we were complete here.

We decided to have this girl bonding 

since I am leaving for Middle East and Charlene is leaving for UK.   

    

It was undoubtedly a memorable "DATE" for all of us. Like as if we didn't want the day to come to an end. I learned so much about them and even  about myself. The experience was just simply touching. I was BLESSED! 

signatures:)

THANK YOU LADIES!

Friends from the Gulf

Yes, you may have many friends in the Philippines but you only get to see most of them once in a blue moon.. While in abroad, you may have a few but you get to see them almost everyday, every night, once a week...Oh well, busy lives..... Complicated schedules...

our last photo together from the office...

Anyways, I was so glad to see Grace and Mengvi again after seven long months of not seeing them. They were my former colleagues and friends at work back in Middle East. How time flies.. It was only like yesterday that we would see each other everyday, have lunch together, etc.

Mengvi was here for her Annual Leave. So Grace and I took time to visit her in her place and have a girl bonding. It was also Meng's son's birthday. 

Grace and I were late for the party because Grace had to go to Antipolo that morning.

After the party, we decided to go to Tagaytay and have some cup of coffee and spend more time together...

Meng and I gave lots of love advice to Grace and I ended up with this conclusion....

Ah-huh? Would someone be kind enough to translate this in English, please.. :)

Although it was getting late already, they still obviously wanted to stay. So we tried to find a place where we could jam. And we found a cozy comedy bar named Kontiki. I've been in this area many times but it was really my first time there. Not too crowded, just right!

Us, three enjoying the great company of each other while jamming to our favorite songs..

They looked so tipsy. I just had my iced tea and water... yeah! 

Grace and I decided to sleep at Meng's house. Guess, I only had an hour of sleep. 

I surely missed Grace. We talked about lots of things. Reminisced the good and the bad times. Laughed at our crazy adventures and secrets....

I never kept a secret from Grace. She knows everything... She was like my sister...

Meng, and Gracia,

Thank you for everything~~~ILOVEYOU BOTH~

Welcome Baby Cassie

Princess, one of my closest friends back in Qatar gave birth last night at 12:40am. Technically, the baby was born today, March 30... We could have shared the same birthday.. Yes, it was my birthday yesterday.. ;)

BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

I feel so happy seeing such a cute Fil-Am baby girl. Princess told me she wanted me to be her baby's godmother... Awwww, I can't wait to see her.... - Baby Cassie....

Cassandra (got this photo from her dad's FB)

with her beautiful and kind-hearted mother -Princess back in Al Ghariya Resort, Qatar...

 I MISS HER... SHE HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO ME. SHE HAS BEEN A REAL FRIEND.

She was my colleague. My shopping buddy. My roommate. 

We shared so many good memories together. 

I remember crying hard so much when she left Doha.  :)

It was like breaking up with your boyfriend....  That painful... :)

I am thankful for our friendship and I wish her all the best in life.

Farewell Dinner Party + Videoke

Van is leaving on the 26th for US.I have mixed emotions... I am sad, but in the same way happy for her...  She is actually one of the nicest among my classmates at LCI and yes I play favoritism.. She's one of my favorites. We share the same birthday. That's maybe the reason why we share a lot of things in common.. I remember telling her, "Kaya pala ang gaan-gaan ng loob ko sa'yo, dahil ka-birthday kita.."

We all decided to meet up and have a farewell dinner party for Van...

This photo was taken last Wednesday (March 17) at Old Spaghetti House in Robinson's Pioneer

We decided to meet there because all of them (except for Mel and I) work in the Ortigas area...

After the dinner, Elaine and Jhen had to go home while Van had to go back to her shift. I, Carlo, Mel, Monique and her hubby decided to spend more time and have a videoke. Haha.. I didn't know Monique and Mel sing well... It was so fun singing Britney's and Spice Girls' classic songs...   I hope the rest could join us next time... It would be so much fun...

Thanks everyone for the gift of FRIENDSHIP... 
I heart you all!

One Lucky Night!

As I have mentioned on my previous post, we attended the Velvet last March 4 to support RB Chanco, our beloved teacher. After the event, my classmates and I hurriedly went to Greenbelt to have our late dinner...
Another classmate was missing.. So we sent him a SMS and told him to just follow us since we were all about to die of hunger....

Conversation when he arrived:

US: Where have you been?

Him: Eh kasi. Nakita ko yung friend ko. I was introduced to Marc Nelson...

Me: Marc Nelson? Di nga?! He was there? Ows?

Him: Yes. Andun sya, mare...

I could not believe it. He was also there? It should have been my chance to see him in person. As you know, he has been my crush since I was in high school. And every time there's a chance to see him, an unfortunate event would happen..

I asked myself that night... What's the chance to bump into Marc Nelson one of these days? The population in Metro Manila is 20 million...

The following day, after our finals, we went to Greenbelt 5 to have our late dinner. Then hurried our way to Landmark to buy some colored pencils and head dress that we could possibly use for the Avant Garde theme for the finals. The mall was about to close when we arrived... We were running here and there..Sweating to death, if you could only imagine... Around 10:30 PM, deadly tired on our way back to Greenbelt 5 (where I parked my car), I bumped into--- guess who?. MARC NELSON.. No kidding! :)

I could not help but call his attention -- "Marc!"
He looked at me, trying to recall if he knew me.... Hahaha.. This is funny!
So I said, "Can I take a photo with you?"
He said, "Sure"... And he smiled.. Waaah.. I almost died...:P

Daintypinay  meets MARC!

It created a commotion. Haha.. I didn't care!!
I told him, "I waited for this moment.."
You guys just  have no idea how long..

It was probably one of the happiest and luckiest nights of my life..... Indeed!
Just sharing the joy! :D

My Bessie Avick

I just spoke with another bestfriend of mine --- my Bessie Avick... She's flying in a few more hours for Italy.
I am sad because I'll surely miss her. She has been my partner-in-crime. Almost all of my out of town trips were with her. You know, she's the type of a person who will always make a way to spend time with her friends. Madaling yayain sa lakaran.. Madaling kaladkarin sa lakwatsa... :)

Our friendship is very deep. She knows my deepest secrets.. She knows every pain and  joy I have gone through... She was always there for me to support and protect me....I would always feel safe whenever she's around... ... Everybody loves her. She's like a friend to everyone... I love everything about her most especially her personality.. I don't think words are enough to describe how great a person she is....

 Bessie,

For keeping my spirits up.
For never letting me down.
For being here for me.
For knowing I'm there for you.

For bringing so many smiles my way.
For being so sensitive to my needs.
For knowing just what to say.
For listening better than anyone else.

For bringing me laughter.
For bringing me light.
For understanding so much about me.
For trusting me with so much about you.

For being the BEST.
For being so beautiful..
For being my bestfriend..

Thank you for everything..
Thank you for all the wonderful years filled with happy and great memories.. 

You are an amazing bestfriend...

Love you loads!!

Updates

Just a quick update:

11 January 2010 

Anj and I had a relaxing one hour massage at Touchpoint Spa in Tagaytay. It was her first time there and I was so glad she enjoyed the treatment a lot. Anj and I have known each other for so long, but would you believe that it was our first time to go to a spa together.. Funny? Needless to say, we had the best iced tea while getting the best sauna bath ever. Felt so relaxed afterwards.. We promised each other to be back and avail of the 2 hour massage next time...

16 January 2010 (Saturday)
-My first day at a Fashion School. (Will blog about it in the near future)

-Met up with Anj, Carll, Mark (Carll's bestfriend) and with my beloved high school friend Joyce at Glorieta.

Bumped into Jewel. She is a friend of Anj and I..

Had our halo-halo at Razon's....

Later that night, Joyce and I waited for Mhel, another high school friend of ours. Three of us went to Bluewave, as requested by Mhel... It was a fun night...

I arrived home around 2AM..  Good thing, my friend from NZ Roland accompanied me. He noticed I was sleepy that time.. Thanks friend...

Still here,
Daintypinay

Tagaytay Overnight

December 29-30, 2009

Dropped by in McDo Tagaytay just to say hello to Jason and Len of DPSC (Doha Photographer Shooters Club). Jason is a friend back in Qatar. He knew how much I wanted to join the club but I just could not afford to buy a decent DLSR from the salary that I was earning.. Haha.. Poor little girl.. So instead, they would just ask me to pose for them... Now that he's here with some DPSC members, they invited me to pose for them again but sadly, I was not able to join them for a photoshoot in Fantasy World since Ruthie had to meet up with her His Sounds choirmates.

Went to Starbucks to have some cup of coffee and for a breath-taking view of Taal Lake, but it was too crowded. Decided to just have a little merienda at Pancake House which is just beside Starbucks while waiting for Ruthie's friends.

Snapshots while we were sightseeing the beautiful Taal Lake..

When her friends arrived, we went to Mahogany Market to have our dinner. There were many food stalls just in front of the market. My first time to be there actually. I was told that they are known for the famous "bulalo", that's why the place is always jampacked. Aside from the bulalo, we also ordered papaitan, tuyo and ... geez.. I don't remember the names.. lol..


Enjoying the dinner at Mahogany Market

Then decided to just wait for the rest of their choirmates at Bag of Beans.The place was more beautiful at night. I was not able to take photos since battery of the digi-cam was almost dead. Also, I was not in my best mood that night cause a loser stole my parking space. I was about to park when he suddenly snatched that one and only space.. Ha-ha. I ordered Black Forest Frappe with a cherry on top of it. When it was served, everyone was like... "wow".. All of them ordered hot coffees. It was so cold that night. Service though was super bagal. As in super slow... Good thing, the place was so cozy..

L-R: Love, Me, Ruthie, Michelle (everyone was saying I look like her.. Do I? Must be our tanned complexion)

Then we stayed over in the house of Ruthie's friend. That was the time I realized I forgot to bring some important things like towel, camera charger, shirt, (so I slept wearing a tube mini dress which I was supposed to use for the shoot..) But I was happy because I was able to bring my blanket. I swear I can never sleep without it. My Pooh Blanket will always be my security blanket... :) On the room, we found a portable massager.. Winks.. We liked it a lot. I want to buy one too.. I dozed off after my bestfriend gave me a massage at the back. (I still owe her a Wensha Spa massage as a Christmas gift..)

Rooch and I at the rooftop of the house. Was so cold. The wind was even blowing hard.

Goofing around the webcam, our fave hobby....

I slept around 3:40am and after just almost 3 hours of sleep, we drove all the way to somewhere (forgot the name of the instituiton/building, but it's just in front of Picnic Grove). His Sounds performed there for a conference. Wow, they were so good. I wish I could sing too.. While I was at the Powder Room, people kept on praising them. Some people were even greeting me, thinking maybe I was one of them. Ha-ha...

Posing after the concert with bestfriend Ruthie. Thanks Jenny for the shot.

His Sounds.. Photo taken by yours truly from Jenny's DLSR.

Her friends still wanted to go somewhere else after the performance. So I told Ruthie to stay and spend more time with them, since she's leaving on the 16th. But I wanted to sleep then, so I went home... I have an insomnia, because someone keeps on thinking of me every night, and that's one of the reasons why I am anemic. I was actually seeing double vision while driving... So I pulled over in a gas station and bought Gatorade and some chocolates.. Thank God, I got home safely.

It was so fun spending time with my bestfriend. She is the greatest. Is she really leaving for Europe? Another bestfriend is leaving for Italy also.. Oh Avick, do you really have to a leave? This is new, because I am the one who normally leaves the country to work... But I cannot stop them from achieving their dreams... Who knows I might follow them..



Much love,

Daintypinay

Sonya's - Antonio's

After reading many good reviews about Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay, I have always begged asked my girlfriends to set a day for us to go there and spend a lunch or merienda eating damo erk, veggies..The plan never pushed through because of the conflict in each one's schedule... You could blame their employers...:P

And so after more than year of curiosity on how Sonya's Garden look like, I finally got to be there last December 12, 2009 with Bessie Avick and younger brother John.

The truth is, it was unplanned. Don't we just love unplanned lakwatsas?. I went there to pick up Avick and dropped my mother somewhere. We were supposed to eat either at Sanctuario or Leslie's, but decided to drive all the way to Sonya's Garden to feed my curiosity.

The place was very peaceful. But I must say that I was kinda expecting for something more, I guess. We were not able to make a reservation prior to the visit, and felt so outcast because it looked like that there was a function going on that day. So we just had a little photoshoot..

These are the rest of the the photos taken @ Sonya's Garden:

Afterwards, drove all the way to Antonio's to have a sumptuous merienda. It was an expensive merienda yet a worthy dining experience. Foods are very delicious. True enough, Antonio's lives up to the hype of being one of the best fine dining destinations of Tagaytay.... This is such an intimate place perfect for all the lovebirds out there. Can't wait to go back and spend a candlelit dinner here. But who would be my date? Ha-ha.

Snapshots @ Antonio's

Antonio's is simply imcomparable. Service is even far better than the hotels... :) It is suggested to make a reservation before coming...

Loving Tagaytay,

Nori