2011 was a great year for me and I have a LOT to be thankful for.
Let's travel down memory lane and see how 2011 had blessed me.
January. Wedding, Tagaytay and Dream #1 Fulfilled. My friend Kat and my ex-boss Alfred got married. It was a nice wedding and I was able to spend some time with friends. Also, I had an escort cum driver in this sweet event :) After the wedding, we met with our Krabi friends in Makati to have a drink then we went straight to Tagaytay. We arrived there around 2 or 3am and boy, it's so cold! and to think Im still wearing the dress I had during the wedding. We slept in Tagaytay then had lunch at Leslie's, our main reason to go to Tagaytay and we were not disappointed. Also, the deal for Dream #1 was sealed. We decided and closed the deal for the condo unit in DMCI. Signed. Sealed. Ours.
February. The turn-over. This maybe the heart's month but then it was an emotionally challenging month for me and M. But then it was also the month that the condo unit was turned over to us ... cool! Excitingly cool! Such a wonderful feeling :)
March. Surprises. It was indeed a month of surprises, good and bad, although most of it were good, really good. Surprise #1, Papa's birthday bash. For this surprise, I booked tickets for the Pyrotechnic show (amazingly awesome!!!), booked my ticket just for the weekend and arranged a simple lunch cum reunion for papa with our relatives. It was a blast and he was really surprised! Success!!!
Surprise #2, Lola Dolores' 80th birthday grand celebration. We booked another weekend ticket to join in the celebration. The actual surprise was M because Lola didn't know that he will be coming home for her birthday. And of course, M introduced me to his relatives, which means almost his whole clan plus some family friends. We were awake for almost 48 hours because after the party, we still accompany his cousins and a balikbayan cuz-in-law to punchline, but then it's all worth it.
Surprise #3, not only we were able to see our condo unit with interiors but we were also able to spend the weekend there. We sooo love how it turned out! I love the colors, furnitures, arrangement ...everything!!! It feels relaxingly homey.
This was also an emotionally challenging month for me and M and I was surprise how things turned out. With prayers and a lot of faith, it turned out unexpectedly just fine ... better than fine actually.
April. Blessings galore. The much-awaited blessing for our condo. There were some glitches but then everything turned out fine, we were able to share it with close friends and family and food was great. And finally, was able to experience the water spa at Ace Water Spa and lunch again in Tagaytay. Such a nice bonding time with M's kids. Heavenly feeling!
May. Steady month. Nothing exciting happened but nothing bad either, just steady.Smooth flow.
June. Blessing #2: Happy 13th on 16 with a twist. Got my dream LV Bag as his 13th anniv gift (and he said since it was very expensive, it's also my advance birthday and christmas gift as well) BUT I was so overwhelmed that I had a really, really nasty flu that lasted for a week. Our celebration was moved on the 18th instead.
And then it was bonding with M's relatives in SG. His lola, brother, aunt and uncle came here and of course, we were the designated tour guide. It was tiring but fun.
July. Ultimate Blessing #3: Expect the unexpected. I got the most unexpected, bizarre, and life-changing blessing. And I learned this: GREAT Blessings come with much GREATER Responsibility. But then it was so GREAT that you'll accept the responsibility with a smile on your face and a really thankful heart.
August. My time to surprise M: his birthday month. I got him an iPad2 64GB, which was quite hard to find due to stock shortage. And his birthday celebration started the Steamboat mania that up to this date, I can still remember the taste.
September. My Birthday month. As a birthday gift for myself and as a small token of gratitude for having my ultimate blessing #3, I sent a post-dated cheque for 12months to Grace To Be Born,a small non-profit organization which takes care of unwed mothers and abandoned babies. Also, another dream came true: Scuba diving experience. We got the voucher for the intro class for scuba diving months ago for a really good price. How was it? Awesome!!!
October. The unexpected but much-needed trip: Holiday Inn Experience in Clark. Another blessing, God is really generous and He knows when we need to relax and rest. And so, he let M won a free 3D2N stay at Holiday Inn in Clark, Pampanga. It was also a good bonding time for me and M. Clark may not be a place for us but then it was still a good experience.
November. Miracle of Life. I was able to feel the first kick of the so-called greatest miracle of life. The feeling was beyond words. Happiness overflow. Tears of joy. Overwhelming joy. It is the greatest kick in the universe and Im such a lucky, lucky blessed person to experience that. Thank you Lord for this first kick.
December. Spreading the good news, spreading the love. Aside from christmas shopping to share our blessings to our loved ones, it was also the time when we shared the good news to our family and it's about our Ultimate Blessing #3. In these financially trying times, Im glad that I was able to still buy gifts for family and friends. We also spent a lot of quality time with our families and loved one.
2011 was really, really good to me and I am very, very thankful for all the blessings, the wisdom, the lessons I've learned and most of all, for all the love :)
