because counting blessings is a lot more fun than counting sheep...

On August 20, a high school friend of mine nominated me for the "5 Days of Gratefulness Challenge" on Facebook. Now, being one to never back down from a challenge, I gladly accepted.

The TASK: For 5 days, on each day, I had to post three specific things that I was thankful for. It could be big, small, something tangible or a specific circumstance - as long as I was grateful for their existence in my life. After each post, I had to nominate other people to do the same thing, eventually causing a huge chain reaction of gratefulness across the masses of social media.

Here's the gratefulness that poured out from my 5 days:

Day One:

#1 - I am thankful for my husband, Alain. Though it pains me that he's travelling more on business, I know that he sacrifices his time and unceasingly works himself to the core simply because he loves his family to no end, and wants to make sure that we live a good life. I have never met a man more hard-working and dedicated than him, and I am blessed to call him my husband and the loving father of our daughter.

#2 - I am thankful for our little Sophia. Even at 3, I am amazed at how she sees the world with such an immense sense of wonder, curiosity, imagination, and creativity that she continuously shows me every single moment that I'm with her. And to think, I have the privilege of loving her more and more each day as her mommy.

#3 - I am thankful for girlfriends - especially the kind that you could never live without, whose friendships have stood the test the time and/or distance and still remain as strong as ever. Thank you for being with me to laugh, cry, pray, and of course, to help me maintain some (in)sanity when opportunity presents itself.

Day Two:

#1 - It's a rare luxury, but I was able to sleep in past 8am today, and it made all the difference in my world. Especially knowing that I have one week before it's back in the classroom, it was nice to have a bit more rest and recharge this morning.

#2 - Gentle summer breezes - they always seem to come at the right place at the right time. And when you least expect it, it feels like God's giving you a subtle nudge saying, "Hi... It's Me."

#3 - My hubby JUST landed and we're about to go pick him up at the airport! WOOT! Even with a delayed flight and later pick-up time, I'm just thankful he's safe and sound on Canadian soil again, and hopefully staying put for at least another week or two

Day Three

#1 - Thankful for the days that I don't have it all together... because they help me appreciate the days when I do have it all together a whole lot more.

#2 - Having time to eat dinner together as a family. With work, school, play, and all "busy-ness" in between, it's lovely to have some time to turn all devices off, pause, reflect, and communicate with loved ones at the dinner table.

#3 - My parents and aunts who are always there for me and my family. Whether I'm in dire need for some good, home-made Filipino food, or in need of a last-minute babysitter, I am thankful and blessed that they're not too far away, and willing to lend a hand.

Day Four

#1 - I'm thankful for days with no schedules, no plans. Sometimes a day spent in PJs can be a beautiful thing.

#2 - Doing 4 loads of laundry today. This means that my family has clean clothes and sheets for the next week and onwards, and as an added bonus, they smell mountain fresh. Far too often do we overlook and take advantage of our everyday luxuries and the simple pleasures in life.

#3 - Spontaneous family movie nights with Alain's famous chips and dip. Tonight was a double feature of "Mulan" and "Back to the Future" - you just can't go wrong with that.

Day Five

#1 - I am thankful for my church family at HFBC, and with it, the freedom to worship, praise, fellowship, and pray without feeling judged or scorned for my faith in God.

#2 - For the gift of (good) music and the ability to read it. Doesn't matter if I'm playing the piano or belting a tune out to my heart's content (especially when no one is looking), so much joy can come out of a simple melody.

#3 - For times of solitude and inner reflection. Finding peace of mind is becoming more and more a rarity in this busy world we live in. When I'm able to sit in the quiet, whether it's to pray, reflect, read, or just be still and let everything just fade into the background, these moments are just golden.

#4 - (Go big or go home, right?) I am thankful for my job. With one week left of summer, I'm getting pumped to see how the new school year will unfold and anticipate the good and the "challenging" I'm going to encounter. Teaching is a profession that is certainly worthwhile, and yet one of the most humbling professions as well. I'm grateful that at the end of each day, regardless of whether it was brilliant or just full of trials and tribulations, I can still say that I love doing what I do.

#5 - This gratitude challenge has been quite the positive and thought-provoking experience. It has allowed me to be more mindful of the things (big and small) I should be thankful for and complain less (in general) - because really, every circumstance is a blessing whether we choose to see it that way or not. There is a season for everything, and even the most humbling of challenges can be a positive experience.

It was amazing to see how many people responded from the challenge, and even more how much positivity exuded from this whole experience. Initially when I accepted to do the challenge, I got a lot more than I bargained for - a more humbled perspective on seeing the world, and a new desire to appreciate more and complain less. And just think, if this could all come out of how only one person sees blessing and gratefulness in just 5 days, imagine what could unfold if everyone did the same?

So, if you're reading this, what are you waiting for? Go out there and get your THANKS on!

dare to wonder.

In celebration of Canada rocking Women's Moguls during the Olympics this past week, my friend shared the latest Oreo "Wonderfilled" commercial on facebook: "Oreo Canada Wonderfilled Skiier 2014". It didn't take too long for me to start singing the jingle afterwards (it's so darn catchy). And being a sucker for catchy and cute cookie commercials, I decided to look up other Oreo "Wonderfilled" commercials on YouTube, finding several which I thought were just brilliant. There was one titled "Bedtime", that captured the playfulness of a daddy-daughter relationship (most appropriate for Father's Day), of which I immediately sent to my husband after envisioning our own daughter embracing the jingle and singing it to him with full fanfare. And then, I came across this one, which had one simple message: Dare to Wonder.

Earlier this winter, when the snow was just starting to fall, I remember dropping my daughter off at daycare. She noticed the snow lightly falling from the sky, and then made valiant attempts to catch every single snowflake she could see on her tongue. Whenever she would miss one (which happened often), she would be overtaken with glee, completely unfazed by how many snowflakes detoured away from her tongue. Often she would pause to carefully taste them, each time expecting one to taste different from the last; which was followed by a giggle or two, and then she would resume back to her business of catching snowflakes. It took us a little bit longer to make the short trek from the car to the school that morning, but I was in so much awe at her whole perspective of the world at that very moment. She sees this world with so much innocent curiosity, and takes much delight and awe in everything, that even the smallest things become a phenomenal discovery. Sometimes, I wish that I could still see the world through her eyes; treating every bright moment - regardless of how big or small - with so much anticipation, awe, and joy.

I sincerely hope she never loses that part of her - that immaculate sense of wonder and curiosity. And if she ever does (which she inevitably well could), I hope her zest for wonder and discovery lasts long enough for her to really appreciate and miss it when she's older.

What if we showed a different side of ourselves and dared to be more "wonderfilled" than we know? What if for even just one brief moment, we chose to forget about the troubles and doubts, and all things busy, and just step out of our comfort zones and show off all our "crazy flavours" (good crazy, of course)? The possibilities are quite endless, if you think about it.

Who knew so much profound inspiration could come from a cookie commercial?

Mr. Christie, you make good commercials.

32, it's been swell knowin' ya.

the pre-celebration with the hubby @ latitude food & drink, georgetown, on.

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." - C.S. Lewis

A new year is about to dawn for me in a few hours.
At the end of 32, this is where life finds me:

humbled and blessed.
more in love with my husband than I have ever been before.
appreciating my role as a mother with more patience and love.
possessing a renewed willingness to learn.
newly employed (again).
accepting of the idea that it's okay to say "no" when the opportunity is right.
welcoming both the hardships and prosperity of being a new home-owner.
finding delight in both struggle and sentiment.
in need of spending less, and saving more.
still wanting to get a haircut.
surrounded by wonderful people.
paying less attention to the negative and more to the positive.
hungry for spiritual direction.
enjoying the big and small joys in life, especially random karaoke-esque sing-alongs, and just dance 2014.

last but not least, considering using katy perry's "roar" as my anthem for 33.

It's been quite the journey, 32. Thank you.

"It's a trap!"

Remember when Admiral Ackbar said that in Return of the Jedi?

Where was he when I needed to him a couple days ago?

In follow-up to my last post (apologies in advance for another potty-training episode), things had taken a somewhat "poopy" turn with my daughter's adventures in potty training. I think I might have jinxed the whole process because in the next two days, she expressed all things anti-potty, where she would be so anxious to the extent that she would just hold it to the point of no return and then wet her pants; doing everything in her power to stay away from the "evil potty".

It's been four days since my last post, and I've learned two valuable things not only as a mother, but as a person.

Lesson #1: PMS and potty-training your child is NOT a good combination.

Lesson #2: I need to have more patience. By more, I mean a LOT more.

In trying to figure out the best way to train my daughter, like a good student, I did my homework; seeking profound wisdom from anything or anyone I could find: books, YouTube, other expert mothers, even Dr. Phil; and I became so frustrated and overwhelmed with how everything was telling me how it's soooo easy to train your child to use the potty in less than a day, 3 days, or in one weekend. With one quick wave of the magical potty wand, you're set for life. And then, to add to my frustration, came all the Facebook posts and Tweets about how much progress other mothers were making with their children, while I couldn't figure out why mine seemed to take forever with the whole process. In four days since my last post, I came from celebrating the simple joys and being happy with first day bliss, to completely giving in to "mommy envy", creating trivial drama for myself, and being a complete suck about it. And the worst part? I was taking it out on my daughter.

Shame on me for doing that.

Thankfully my husband grounded me with a blunt reality check. As brilliant as my daughter is, the fact of the matter is that she's just over 2 years and a half. There is still more than enough time for her to learn, experience, and even enjoy. Really, it's only been four days since we started this whole thing, so why am I rushing it? It's not like we actually want her to grow up any faster. Eventually she'll get it on her own time. He couldn't be any more right about that - and that's the part I completely forgot about.

So, we decided to to think of a new strategy - something more positive, and even enjoyable for her and for us. Tonight, we actually managed to get her on the potty before bedtime (which has been excruciatingly hard to do in the past few days) - completely on her own merit. We sang songs (testing the acoustic levels in the bathroom was particularly fun), we played music (drummed on her bath toys), read stories, and told stories to each other; and before we knew it, she had been sitting on the potty for just over an hour; still smiling, laughing, conversing with my husband and I - it was enjoyable for all of us, and definitely a much more refreshing change of pace. We did keep checking the potty from time to time; and although there were no drops of anything to be seen, at least we all came out of it smiling, and actually happy. For all I know, this may go against a lot of what the experts say, but what I do know is that we were having a fantastic time as a family. In contrast to what we were doing before, there was a lot more love involved this time around.

Maybe sometimes (and just sometimes), the best advice is no advice.

Patience is a virtue, one that certainly goes a long way - if you let it. I refuse to allow myself to fall into that trap of unnecessary impatience and anxiety again. It did nothing for me, other than make me turn all shades of ugly.

Instead of experiencing this journey with the "experts", I should really just focus on appreciating and enjoying this journey with my husband and daughter. Less pressure, more love.

celebrating more simpler joys tonight...

If my daughter ever finds this entry by the time she is able to read, or by the time she's hit the "every day is drama, drama, drama" stage of puberty, there is a good chance she'll be incredibly embarrassed by it. The topic of potty training probably isn't one that too many people (parent or not) would appreciate; but well, without going too far into it, I have much to celebrate tonight, and feel compelled to blog about it:

It was our official start to potty training in our household today. And, after 5 misses (4 #1s and 1 #2), which included 4.5 changes of pants and undies, many tears shed (from both parents and child), and frustrations galore; our success finally took form in not just one, but TWO drops of pee in our daughter's potty. Amazing, right?

As her loving mother, I couldn't be any more proud of my daughter's accomplishment.

Hours were spent chasing her down while absolutely refusing to put her pants back on. My patience was tested multiple times with screams of "NO, I WILL NOT USE THE POTTY, MOMMY!" To top it off, my heart would break continuously with every spontaneous burst of tears from wetting her pants, as if each time was the end of the world for my daughter.

And yet, all of that just burst into confetti the moment she finally succeeded. The smile that formed on her face exuded so much joy and delight, that it was more than enough to erase all of the frustration and struggle that led up to that very moment. As far as she was concerned, she had conquered the world. Nothing else mattered except for those two wonderful drops in her potty.

Her father and I celebrate with much jubilation tonight - not just because we've made some progress, but because moments like these are what make parenthood worthwhile.

And really, simple joys like this are far too precious for us to take for granted. 

much appreciated, Axe.

If you've ever seen an Axe commercial, you are probably familiar with their staple plot line: young, beautiful women (usually dressed in scantily clad), who on instinct, immediately pounce on the young men who spritz themselves with Axe body spray, with raw, impulsive, irrational, animal-like intensity.

As a Media teacher, I am aware and understand that these commercials have all the necessary ingredients to effectively sell their product to their target audience. However, I've personally never really had much appreciation for these commercials, nor the Axe product line itself. Surprisingly though, their latest commercial, "Make Love. Not War" (aimed for the this year's Super Bowl slot), was refreshingly the least of what I expected. I'm not exactly sure what the connection is between the content of the commercial to the actual marketing/promotion of their new line, Axe Peace (the last shot of the commercial is the only point where someone is being sprayed with Axe), but I found it to be a breath of fresh air - definitely a nice change, to say the least.

Will this commercial be a new change of heart for Axe? Probably not. But even just a little break from the whole idea that "Sex Sells" goes a long way.

long live the butterflies...

This post made me smile today. Even after almost 7 years of being together (2 years dating, 5 years married this year) with my husband, I still get 'em butterflies.

Jarrid Wilson: Married and Dating

"Wake up each day and pursue your spouse as if you are still on your first few dates. You will see a drastic change for the better in your relationship." -- Jarrid Wilson

got grit?

The hubby's away on business, and the daughter is fast asleep. I should be in bed, but can't seem to keep my eyes closed for more than a few seconds. So, I thought I'd pass some time online and watch a few TEDTalks to stimulate my brain. I revisited one particular TEDTalk presented by Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth called "The Key to Success? Grit" - the first time I watched this was during one of our earlier staff meetings at the high school I teach at. Watching it through a second time, I came to appreciate it more; specifically this quote:

"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and years, working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint."

And then - just as the "AHA!" light bulb of brilliance switches on in my head, she immediately brings it back to earth and presents the following dilemma: How does one teach someone how to build grit?

This is definitely something that I've continually struggled with in my profession - especially when we currently live in a world where everything has become so "easy access", that we often forget or take our own ability to learn and achieve "the hard way" for granted; sometimes to the point where not necessarily just students, but even adults are so quick to give up and lose that sense of true grit and really work towards something.

As an educator, one of the most disheartening things I've encountered is a student with so much potential to succeed, become disengaged, complacent, stagnant, and develop a defeatist attitude when the "easy way" doesn't work out to their advantage. What ever happened to gumption? Allowing one's setbacks to hold him/her accountable, and take ownership for his/her own learning? Maybe we all need to experience more setbacks and experience failures, and less coddling and hand-holding to allow ourselves to better stand on their own two feet and fend for ourselves. Perhaps we need to help this generation develop more of a Barney Stinson attitude that shouts out "Challenge Accepted" (sans all the promiscuity, of course) at every obstacle presented and put in the blood, sweat, and tears to make our lives more "Legen ... wait for it ... dary!" than well... anything less than that.

When I was in high school, mainly the reason why I aimed to succeed was due to the desire of proving people were wrong when they said I couldn't do something or wasn't good enough. In university, I vividly remember taking a literature course where one of the professors literally held up one of my essays and ripped it up into shreds in front of my eyes, because he thought I was capable of more than just "fluff". Sure, my ego was bruised afterwards, but those experiences made me become a more proficient writer, student, and person overall.

Dr. Duckworth goes on to discuss the concept of "growth mindset" - the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. There just needs to be more genuine effort in all of us. I believe that there can be joy in failure, as long as we prevent it from consuming us and letting the negativity surrounding that word dwell in our own mindset. As Dr. Duckworth points out, "failure is not a permanent condition" - and this is what this current generation needs to hear more of and experience for themselves.

the drop box

We could all use a little more faith, hope, and love in this world...

"... the best is love."

The Drop Box

mamas, this one's for you.

On Facebook the other day, I was really humbled by a blog post my friend posted on her timeline. After reading it, I wanted every woman and mother I knew to read it for themselves.

Sometimes we mothers need an impacting change of perspective...

and so it begins...

According to my Blogger profile, the last time I blogged was in January of 2008. January 2014 finds me happily married for 4 going on 5 years, a mother of a rather delightfully rambunctious 2-going-on-3-year old girl, and fully employed as a slightly seasoned secondary school teacher.

I never really had intentions of rekindling the blogging flame. My passion for blogging in my 20s was mainly triggered by a desire to procrastinate when I was supposed to be channelling all my "all nighter" energy into writing a university term paper, and then eventually it became a mere outlet for releasing my angst about all things life-related from bad haircuts to the humdrum of the everyday.

My blogging gradually came to a stop when I had nothing left to complain or rant about. The more optimistic and appreciative I became, the less I blogged.

Of course, the life-issues which could lead to ranting and raving don't magically disappear when you're in your 30s. There are more bills to pay, house maintenance issues, more mouths to feed other than your own, many attempts in trying to overcome the obstacle of potty training (preferably for your child and not yourself), and the list goes on. But, thankfully somehow, the the focus shifts, and you learn to deal with it - sometimes gracefully, sometimes not, but you eventually move on. 

Wouldn't it be interesting (maybe even amazing) though if people blogged, tweeted, or "facebooked" (I'm still getting used to the idea that this is being used as verb now) more about the positive things they've been inspired or blessed by instead of bombarding cyberspace with so much negativity and "yuckiness" (for lack of a better word)? Perhaps a random act of kindness that someone has gracefully shown them, or the experience of witnessing a sunrise, full of reddish and pink hues splashed across the sky - experiences like these may not be life-changing, but it could be a blessing to someone else.

It's so easy to blurt out negative thoughts, simply because this whole world is full of it already - in the media, in our conversations, in our impressions of people, sometimes without even knowing it. It's almost like it's become second nature to a lot of us, which is a little disheartening if you think about it. 

So, I have decided that in this blog, I will not post excessively happy thoughts at every waking moment, but rather, I will attempt to share a few inspiring thoughts here and there that enforce the idea that even the simplest joys are much to be appreciated; with the hope that one or two people will be blessed along the way. 

We'll see how far I can take this. But for now, challenge accepted.