Ibyang
Ibyang

2014, Of Hellos and Wishes

Our wish for 2014 is for all of us to have an abundant home filled with love and laughter. We wish numerous days of fun adventure, learning experiences, dreams coming true and smiles in our heart. We hope 2014 will be a year where we can shine brighter and be more hopeful. May it be a year of possibilities and accomplishments. 🙂
It’s always in the New Year that I make an extra effort in coming up with food on the table. This year we had Baked Ham topped with caramelised apple, Pancit Bihon, Panettone Cake and Fruit Salad. It was surrounded by 13 different fruits. 

To make it more festive, we brought out a bottle of Scarlett Bubbles, a marriage of rose and raspberry juice made by Tamburlaine Organic Wines. 

At 11:30pm, we lighted the Prosperity Candles that my mom sent us. Each candle symbolises various aspects of life:
Red for Life
Blue for Peace
Yellow for Good Spirit
Green for Money
Pink for Health
White for Brightness
Violet for Material Wealth

The candle that melts the quickets symbolises the good fortune that the New Year will bring followed by the rest. In our case, the smallest candle was Pink, then came Yellow, Blue, Violet, Red, White and Green.

At midnight, we watched the Sydney fireworks show on TV and then said a prayer before blowing out the Prosperity Candles. 

It was a low-key NY celebration but the start of every year is always meaningful to us. 

Enjoy and be merry in 2014! 

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Sydney Welcomes 2014!

1 January 2014 0 Comments Category: Aussie Life

Happy 2014!

This year’s Sydney New Year Fireworks was the best yet. I love this year’s show because they had fireworks at the Sydney Opera House. They have also improved the way they do the waterfall fireworks on the Harbour Bridge (it’s not as smoky as before). Another attraction were jet skis on the water that added “Wow!” to the ensemble. The 6.8 Million fireworks show drove 2 million people to different vantage points in the city and it was a party that didn’t disappoint. Below are photos and the full video for you to enjoy (photos from http://www.sydneynewyearseve.com/ and Reuters, while the video is from the Telstra website).

Message from Reg Mombassa (Creative Ambassador) on why he chose SHINE as his theme and the human eye as a symbol in this year’s fireworks show:

The eye struck me as a suitable logo for the Shine theme as the individual soul and personality of the human shines through the eye like some organic laser beam.  It also relates to the harbour setting as the eye is a watery harbour nestled in the superstructure of the face, a blue or brown eye pond surrounded by ridgelines, gullies and promontories of flesh and bone. The eye image is continued through the banners and backdrops for the various parties along with a forest of gum trunks, native animals and depictions of iconic Sydney buildings.

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Thank You, 2013!

2013 was a great year for me. While I never ran out of challenges from time to time, I believe this year has been a wonderful journey of achieving milestones. I experienced a lot of breakthroughs as an individual and a wife and partner to my Husband. I appreciate my moments of awakening as a person. I seem to know myself more, of my needs and wants, of people and moments that matter to me. Some of my biggest learnings include: 

  • go back to my core when I feel uncertain 
  • that I take a different path from others…my journey is mine and I shouldn’t be pressured to do anything I don’t want
  • that most of the time, I don’t owe anyone an explanation 
  • to think, feel and speak kindly towards everyone 
  • that it’s okay to ask for things to be easy instead of asking for strength or patience (God listened to me a thousand times and more often, he’s made things lighter for me when I’m getting weak)
  • to walk away from anything or anyone that disturbs my peace and happiness
  • to find joy in the ordinary
  • to spend on experiences instead of things (because when accumulation of things are mismanaged, they just create clutter)
  • time is the greatest gift that one can give to a loved one
  • to love more and live more


My “Thank Yous”

Thank you for the abundance of blessings that 2013 has brought me:

…the gift of courage to stay away from unproductive things and negative people

…the gift of discipline to give up habits that doesn’t do me good

…the desire to always learn, whether it involves my job or personal interests

…the opportunity to have a job that I love and one that loves me back

…the passion to do things as best as I could; be more proactive and think of results instead of excuses

…the gift of forgiveness and healing, to acknowledge my faults, forgive myself and forgive others

…the gift of peace and acceptance

…the chance to travel and experience another country’s food and culture

…the gift of coming home to our motherland, the Philippines. 

…the gift of time spent with loved ones, of friendships that re-connect and hearts that reunite.

…an abundance of indulgences in the form of material things, good food and great company

…the gift of friends; their friendship is food to my soul

…the gift of good health and a safe home
…the gift of faith that never waver, for a God that always listened and gave
…my family, their love is the most valuable thing in my world

We have done well, 2013. Thank you, dear God. Thank you, Universe.

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Most Liked Photos In Instagram for 2013

30 December 2013 0 Comments Category: Ibyangram, Photography

I think this statigram is cool as it gives you the five most liked photos from your instagram account. 

Here’s mine:


I love the turnout of this video as it showcased all the things I love: travel in Seoul with family, the icons of my beloved Sydney: Opera House and Harbour Bridge, making good food and being underneath the Cherry Blossoms with the love of my life. 

To all my IGmates, thank you for taking time to look at my instagram photos and for giving generous likes. 
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December on Ibyangram

Ibyang + Instagram = Ibyangram

While my instagram photos are shared on my twitter page and sometimes on my tumblr and fb page, I would like to have a monthly dump of ibyangrams on AWCL too. It is thru instagram that I share everyday moments and random finds. I use instagram as my real time mini-blog. Every end of the month, I’ll be choosing a couple of photos from my instagram and share it here because I have something more to say about a certain ibyangram.

We had a sad start to December as we said goodbye to family living in America and the Philippines. There is that sudden silence when family reunions end. And the only way for things to go back to normal is to go back to the usual daily grind. The Husband and I went straight back to work and eased in slowly to our normal. December is always a festive time and it helped a lot in easing sadness we felt at the start of the month. Work has winded down but it is temporary. The last week of December, we focused on relaxing and getting ready for the new year. 

There’s more to my December than just Christmas celebrations and I’ve got my Ibyangrams to speak for it…

Goodbyes, even if temporary, are always painful especially when family is involved.

 New frozen yogurt place at Townhall Station. Their Taro Yogurt was delicious.

 Dried GREEN Mangoes. My newfound love.

 Happy find: HOP’s chocolate-covered Polvoron.

Hubby tried out the Sony lens for smartphones. No plans of buying it…yet.

New grand cru of Nespresso called “Cioccorosso”. A marriage of dark chocolate and fruit notes, sweet and refreshing. Pefect for Summer weather.

Jackie Ohh by Ray-Ban, a 1950s-inspired pair of sunnies. I find its cat-like tips very retro. I wrote about it here. 

Off to work in a pair of shorts. This was when we expected heatwave temps of 39-41 degrees.

Gifted myself with a little Bodum French Press so I can savour good coffee when at work. Thanks to my dear friend Xingkit for sending me a bag of UCC Blue Mountain Coffee. I love it!

My work area has a Christmas corner! Grateful for mates who visit me, have a bit of chitchat and a chance to say our Christmas greetings. 

My Lomo Fisheye Photos arrived two weeks after I sent it for developing. The romance of film photography is love.

 Snacking on Banana-Q, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, iced coffee and Caramel Sundae.

 My Lumix GF1 has a new baby sister…the Lumix GM1. 

Already loving what I’ve discovered about the Lumix GM1 with 12-32mm lens (in the first hour that I’ve played with it): it weighs 274 grams, height is shorter than an iPhone 5s (it’s sooo small & light), functions can be activated via touchscreen, has built-in Wi-Fi so photos can be sent to your phone, ISO goes up to 25,600 if in manual setting and the sensor has an auto shutter to protect from dust. 

Coco Cubano now open in Blacktown! Located at the 4th Level of Wespoint. Come here for great coffee and meals.

Oh what a gift it is to have good coffee with a great view of blue skies and sunshine.

Tiny chocolates on the side of our coffee makes our drinking experience a little more special.

My pretty goddaughter Madison. We bought her a cup of Babyccino so she can enjoy “having coffee” with us. She was very happy as she drank her pretend coffee drink.

Hello Kitty finds: ID Lanyard, pillbox and insole cushions.

They reminded me of Geishas in Japan so I bought these cards at a nearby shop. Such a cute find.

Gift from my Tita Cyn who knows that I love LeSportsac bags and floral patterns. She said this bag is “So you!” because the floral pattern looked like Cherry Blossoms.

Something fun for dinner: Chicken Sisig. Made a not-so fatty version by mincing chicken breast instead of pork.

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