31 Reasons Why I am Thankful for October 2014

October is a steady month. I did not have a tight schedule but it was a memorable one nonetheless. When you have time for reflection, you get a clearer picture of what you want to accomplish. I am still in the process of knowing what I want to accomplish in life. There is one thing I am sure I want to do. I just want to enjoy life and embrace whatever joys and trials that come my way.

This year, I embarked on being grateful. I started a gratitude journal and I blogged every month on the things I am grateful for. This is is my 10th month in this process. I am happy and grateful for each blessing. Not everyday is a good day but I am also  grateful for the lessons that little misfortunes have given me.

Here are the reasons why I am grateful for October:

1.  New recipe.  My aunt was sick so I volunteered to cook dinner for the family. I wanted to cook something new. I remember that my aunt loves Chowking’s orange chicken so I googled and found Panlasang Pinoy’s recipe. It was a hit in the family. I posted this photo on Facebook and one friend asked for a recipe. She tried to cook it for her family. Her family loves it, too.

orange

2. Spanish Sardines.  This is a staple food in college. My roommate introduced me to Spanish sardines and I love it since then. Since I was the designated cook for the family during this time, I served Spanish sardines because I was not able to research on what to cook. Ha!  Every time  I eat Spanish sardines, it always brings me back to those happy memories with my college roommates.

spanish sardines
3. Opportunity to help. I was invited to join a medical mission to a remote barangay in my city. I was assigned to be the pharmacist together with some volunteers. We dispensed the free medicines according to the prescription of the doctor after the patient was checked up. It was my first time to join a medical mission and it touched my heart when I saw one woman cry upon receiving her wheelchair.

4. Meeting my adorable nephew. My cousin, Ghia, and I have agreed to meet regularly to catch up on our lives (and eat out).  This time around she brought her nephew, Dirk, and brother, Papat.  Dirk was so adorable. He easily warmed up to me and engaged in a conversation. I grabbed this photo from my cousin’s Facebook.  Follow her on instagram:  kristineghia.  She posts inspiring photos. She is my instagram idol.

pizzeria

5. Road trip with friends.  It is almost a year since we last visited our friend, Jen.  She lives two towns away and she is always unavailable when we invite her to our get-together. “If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain.” So off we went to Nasipit, she has a small farm with plants like dragonfruit and passionfruit. Too bad, the passion fruit is not ripe yet.  We also went swimming since her aunt has a beach property.

nasipit

6. Report completed. I had a pending report and even if it was declared a holiday, I was working. Glad there was somebody who also reported for work to help me accomplish the report.

7. Call from my cousin. My cousin called to inform me that she will spend some vacation time with us.

8. Motivation to workout. I started exercising this year. I was doing it regularly until May came where I got busy with alumni homecoming, fiesta and a trip. Exercising took a backseat. Once in a while, I exercise but I decided to get my butt to exercise regularly again since Christmas is near and I am sure I would not be able to resist all the food.

9. A lesson on being careful. We watched ‘Gone Girl’ and it was the first time that my uncle was able to watch a movie at the new mall. I was the one who suggested the movie and I was glad my uncle and aunt loved it. The last time I suggested a movie, they were not happy with it. hahaha The day went well until late in the afternoon. I accompanied my other aunt to the dentist and after the appointment, we dropped by a Taiwanese store. I was wearing a sling bag and we were busy choosing umbrella for my aunt. Little did I know that a pickpocket was beside me and was already stealing my wallet. I went from ‘Gone Girl’ to Gone Wallet. We asked to look at the CCTV footage and was surpised at how easy it was for an old woman to steal my wallet from my bag. When I found out I lost my wallet, she was just standing right next to me! Good thing I did not bring a lot of cash.  I do not have a lot to begin with. I lost Php400. Not a lot pero dami na mabibili niya.  I hope she put my money to good use. ‘Wag mo ibili ng drugs, Lola. I was worried about my IDs and ATM cards.  I immediately called the banks to cancel them.

10. Wallet found. A tricycle driver came to the house and returned my wallet. Thank you, God! I was worried about my SSS ID since it might take months before it gets replaced and being a freelancer and a non-driver, I do not have a company ID and driver’s license if a valid ID is asked from me.  I prayed that somebody will return my wallet. I prayed that the thief will not take interest on my wallet and just throw it somewhere and hope someone would return it to me. True enough, the tricycle driver found my wallet in a tricycle terminal. Good thing my cedula was in my wallet  so he knew where to return it.

11. Cousin visited. Since she promised to visit us this month, she called me that she is arriving. Ora mismo! I did not have time to prepare for her homecoming so when she went home, we went to the grocery and she did a lot of the cooking.  It was also a time to bond with my cousins and the rest of the family.

azenith

12. Photoshoot with friends. My friends had this makeup workshop. They hired makeup artist to teach them how to apply makeup.  They realized how expensive it is to hire makeup artists every time they attend weddings and other events. I was supposed to join them but my cousin was still in town so I only promised to be there later in the night when they are done so I can take their photos. Let me just say that my friends are gorgeous even without makeup. With makeup, they are as beautiful. Say hello to Eula Valdez, Maricar Reyes, Julia Montes and Bea Alonzo! 😉

makeup

13. Bonding with Tita. My cousin was still in town. My aunt got her to clean up the garden. Ha! We got her to work! It was our form of endearment. We missed her just being in the house. She gladly put her landscaping hat on.

landscape
14. Meeting deadlines. I have set aside some of the work I have been doing for family duties. This time around, I rolled up my sleeves and pounded my keyboard.  At one point I was  so sleepy, I dozed off. hahaha Good thing I was able to wake up and finish the job.

15.  Fitness talk. My friend, Grace, is into fitness and I have been taking tips from her on how to get fit. She is disciplined with her workout and the results are showing. I wish to do the same. Be motivated like her by following her on instagram: Gracegetfit.

16. Joyride. We spent the afternoon in my cousin’s car checking areas in the city inaccessible by public commute unless we hire a transportation for a fee. I took one of my B&W photos during this joyride.

joyride

17. Happy being me.   I am already in my late 30’s (I’ll be 40 in a few years!) and I realized that this is the decade I enjoyed most in my life.  I have a few insecurities here and there, yet this is the decade I am confident about myself. I still feel awkward from time to time but there is that little voice inside my head telling me that everything will be all right.  And I do not mind taking a selfie from time to time! LOL This is my humarap-sa-bentilador shot (face-the-electric-fan shot).

selfie

 18. Annual Pilgrimage. It was our annual trip to Magallanes. It was the feast of the Our Lady of the Rosary. We always try to go there every year to hear mass. It was in this church that my mother prayed that God would bless her with a child. God gave my mother her only child four years after she got married.

19. Sign to rest. I have a cough. I try to remedy it with warm water and Vitamin C.

20.  Gift. My friend delivered this to our house and it has my name on it. Thank you!

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21. Photography Challenge. I was tagged for a photography challenge and I gladly  accepted it. I started posting the photos.

22.  Convenience of a tablet. Whenever I have a recipe to try, I search it on the internet. I used to write the instructions down or go back and forth to the room or wherever I placed my laptop. Now that I have a tablet I only have to take a screenshot of the webpage and  carry the tablet to the kitchen to follow the instructions.

23.  Goofy time with Adriane. It was my aunt’s birthday and my nephew came to visit. We goofed around, of course.

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24. My first photography gig.  I got an ID to prove it.  Nah, it was just a simple request from my cousin who teaches at one of the schools here. They are celebrating United Nations Day and she wanted to have photos of the event. They did not hire an official photographer so she requested me to take photos. She asked for an ID for me so that I would be allowed to go near the  stage.

photos

25. Cousin’s endoscopy. I accompanied my cousin for endoscopy. An endoscope is a device inserted into the mouth to see what is inside the stomach. Thank God nothing major was discovered.

26.  Movie time with friends. I watched ‘The Best of Me’ with friends.

27. Pool time with cousins.  My cousins and I went out of town to go swimming. He wanted to try the waterproof casing for his phone. You can see we had fun.

buenavista

28. Health solutions. I have thinning hair. I am now trying shampoos and vitamins to make my hair healthier. I hope what I found works. I will talk about them once I get good results.

29. Free pizza. We took advantage of Greenwich buy one-take one promo.

30. Staying inspired. I thank God I still have the energy to do the things I want to do.
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31. Finding an alternative. I made Black Sambo for my aunt’s birthday but the gelatin did not set. So I froze it  and turned it into ice cream.

bananasplit

 How was October for you?

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