Ibyang
Ibyang

Deep Thoughts

Some Wednesdays Spent With Coffee

Some Wednesdays I give myself a treat.  I get out of work “earlier than early” and I go to a cafe and order a cuppa.  Sometimes I call a friend of mine to join me.  Sometimes one of my friends will find me sipping my cuppa inside the cafe and he or she will join me.   Sometimes I am alone reading an e-book or watching people pass by as I savour my coffee.
Coffee Culture (6 Nov 2010)

I stay there for an hour…an hour and a half tops.  Then my Husband will drop by to pick me up and we will go home together.

An hour of good coffee in the middle of the week.  A rejuvenating moment to give me some respite on a busy week. 

I sometimes have my affair with coffee on Wednesdays because I don’t want to wait for my “me” time on Friday.  I don’t NEED to wait.

What about you?  What reward do you give yourself on a hump day?

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My Blessing From Blogging

There are so many things to be grateful for since I moved here in Sydney.  Last month, I celebrated my 5th Sydney-versary and although I nearly forgot about it, in my heart, I’m celebrating the blessing of being here.

Living here has given me the opportunity to explore interests I never thought I would have time for like blogging and photography.  Never in my wildest dreams that I thought I’d be able to develop a website, share my stories and photographs and find friends in the blogosphere.  From the time I started “A Wife’s Charmed Life” it has grown immensely and I’m so grateful to everyone who has supported me and my site.

In September, I received an invitation to write for a community-based newspaper for Filipinos living in New South Wales called “Ang Kalatas“.  The publisher found me thru “A Wife’s Charmed Life” and had taken interest on the things I share online.  After a few exchanges of emails, I was IN!

While I only started blogging just to update my parents and friends back in the Philippines, as the years go by, the passion to share information became my motivation in maintaining my site.  I figured that being part of “Ang Kalatas” is an opportunity and a blessing to be of service to Filipinos here. 

For the second issue of “Ang Kalatas”, my column “Life Down Under” ran its debut article entitled “Making This Home Too“.  Seeing my first ever published article in print was like “Wow!”.  Until now I still cannot describe how elated I am with the birth of my “new baby”.

Ang Kalatas (Vol.1 No.2)

Ang Kalatas (Vol.1 No.2) Life Down Under

“Ang Kalatas” has a website http://www.kalatas.com.au and you can subscribe to us by entering your email address on the right side portion of the webpage. 

If you want to read my article, the online equivalent is HERE.

I have shared this news in my FB, twitter & plurk and I’m truly grateful to everyone who congratulated me, took time to read the article and leave sweet messages on my wall.  It was also nice to hear from friends who migrated to other countries that they can relate to my article. 

Maraming maraming salamat po!

Know more about “Ang Kalatas” by clicking this.

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You Know You’re Busy When _______ .

My life’s been crazy hectic these past few weeks, I miss being online and being able to blog regularly.  Work is the major culprit, however, I was assured by the boss that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.  I’m going with the flow and letting things fall into place.  I love what I do at work and take pride that I make a difference in people’s lives everyday.  But I do miss my normal life where my time is more managed and I’m able to easily balance my family life, personal interests and career (take note: 3rd priority na lang ang career ngayon!).    “This too shall pass” is what I always believe that’s why I cherish every moment, whether happy or challenging.  In the meantime, I came up with a list called “You know you’re busy when…”,  here goes.
Carlton Gardens (Melbourne)You know you’re busy when….
you call your friends as early as 7am just to catch up.
you print out blog entries so you can catch up on you blog reading (I don’t have a hi-tech phone or a 
netbook/laptop so I print blog entries and read them while I’m inside the train or bus–yes, that’s what I do nowadays in order to catch up with blog friends, I just can’t comment on their blog entries though).
you bring work home—even on a weekend! (this is big no-no for me BUT special times cause special actions)
you sometimes have late night dinners between 9:00pm to 10:00pm.
usual weekly coffee dates with the husband happens at midnight.
you cook brunch so the next big meal that you prepare for later is dinner (less meals to cook, less time to prepare, less time for cleaning up in the kitchen).
that even in your personal life, you have “pendings”! (LOL—funny but very true).
the only reason why you check twitter and Facebook is because you need to reply to messages (I can’t even do it everyday now which results to being late in replying).
you can’t even turn on the computer when you arrive home. 
you return phone calls when inside the train or bus.
you meet up with friends for coffee and they find you waiting at the cafe working on a report for work.
you only get to update your blog on weekends (like right now!).

While all of the thing listed here are true, these are all in good humor.  Most of the time, I just laugh it off because I used to be a very busy careerwoman when I was single.  I don’t mind having a hectic workload once in a while but now that I’m married, I appreciate having a more steady work pace.

Anything you’d like to add to my list?  Share them please???

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We Have Enough

It’s so easy to get lost in the the business of our everyday…
work
laundry
the dishes
photography
groceries
deadlines
the internet
catching trains
breakfast
dilemmas
bills
de-cluttering
meetings
sleeping…and so many trivial and not-so trivial things.
photo by Jon Dael

But YOU… you always find time to make me laugh. 

They say God will always give you what you need and I agree.  We may not have achieved some of our dreams yet.  We know there are a lot of things we want to do.  We have our whole lives ahead of us.  But for now, we have our home, loved ones, career, values and most of all, each other.   We have each other.  We have enough. 
To my dearest Husband and bestfriend, happy 43rd monthsary.

Photography by Jon Dael
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Stop For A While

This Tuesday indulgence is brought to you by…
Magnum Minis

Magnum Minis
Magnum Minis on a winter’s night! 
I don’t know why but even if it’s so freaking cold, all the more that I crave for ice cream or paddle pops.  And always I would crave for it in the afternoon or evening, when the weather’s colder.  I guess I’m just weird like that.
When the weather is so icy cold, my mouth craves for cold delights.  I try to avoid it most of the time because eating ice cream at night usually results to tonsilitis or cough.  
But tonight, I just had to indulge on this blissful treat.  The moment I opened our freezer (I was supposed to take out some food for thawing but now I seriously forgot! gasp!) and saw the box waving hello at me, I gave in.  My defenses are low tonight as I had a long day at work.  This Magnum Minis (at least mini, hindi yung regular size hehe) are perfect as I sit back, relax,  and have my mini “me” time before I end my today and move on to things I have to do.
As I’m enjoying my dessert, let me share with you this quote and practice I learned from one of my favorite authors:
Make a practice of stopping every so often to simply be present to the present; what you see, what you smell, who is with you, how this moment feels physically and emotionally. – Victoria Moran
Everyday, I stop for a few minutes, indulge in a little silence, sometimes with food I love, and just enjoy the present. 

I stop for a while before I move on. 

I do this after spending quality time with a loved one whom I had coffee and good conversation with.  As I walk out of the scene that took place, I stop for a few seconds, utter a few words of gratitude and acknowledge the moment. 

I do this as I come out of the office, as I walk along the pavement, I’d literally stop and close my eyes for a few seconds and breathe.  With eyes closed, I mutter “Thank you for a productive day at work, I’m grateful for this moment that I’m now going home to be a wifey.”  This is my way of leaving behind my work where it should be–in the office.  

When I arrive home, I have a few moments of silence before I turn on any electronic gadgets inside the house.  I savor the quiet as I sit down on our dining table and have a fruit or biscuit.  I stop for a few minutes before I’m caught up in my wifely duties.  After this breather, I’d feel revived and more inspired to cook.  And when the Husband comes home, he finds me a happy wife with an eager smile and warm embrace to welcome him home.


Tonight, I’m stopping for a little longer than usual because the next few days will be hectic.  My mom and I will be hanging out ’til she leaves for Manila on Saturday.  In preparation for her leaving, we will do a few more shopping and I will be doing a lot of packing for her.  I’m also preparing for her Despedida dinner on Friday night.  On top of that, I am also organizing a get-together/baby shower/prenatal shoot on Saturday.  It’s busy, it’s fun.  And even if I’ll be busy, I’ll surely find time to stop a while and cherish the moment I’m in.

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!  Smile!

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