Was supposed to post this yesterday, but Internet was way too slow and we were quite busy here in the house, so let me start the year by recapping my 2011...


January

Highlight of the month: celebrating parents' wedding anniversary at the restaurant where they had their wedding reception in 1978 - Little Quiapo. Well, this wasn't the exact location of the restaurant (they relocated some years ago), but revisiting something from the past (even if daddy's no longer around) made us all feel nostalgic.


February

First time to watch the Panagbenga Festival (Baguio City) with my sister. After the festival, we traveled to La Union and stayed there 'til dad's death anniversary.


March

Early week of the month, my sister and I went to Pangasinan one day, then trekked to the Tangadan Falls in La Union the next day, then went back to Baguio the next day. Such a hectic, hectic week for us, but even if we are on the heavy side, we really do have the stamina and strength to roam around and see the world. Before we traveled back to Manila, sister and I went to Vigan City - my favorite place!


April

Not much of happenings, but one event to remember was the food trip my sister, my friend Andrew and I had at Felicity in Don Antonio, Quezon City. I received an invitation from the owners of the food place if I could try out their dishes (and they gave me the permission to tag along friends). So many dishes tried that day (all great), and the three of us were so full!


May

First time to travel to Quezon Province to take part of the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban and Mayohan Festival in Tayabas! Both were such fun events that sister and I now plan to make this part of our annual travel.


June

One of the best moments of my year was trekking to the crater of Mt. Pinatubo! It was such a difficult trek, but very very fulfilling; something that I want to go through again! I don't travel that much, but this moment will always be one of my best travels.


July

This was the month that turned my life around. Realizing how big and heavy I am, I booked a ticket to "Weight Loss Express."


August

I flew solo!
Mom and I - together with her close friends at work traveled to Cebu and Bohol, and I experienced Sky Walking in Cebu and Sea Walking in Bohol! The stay in Cebu was short, but I was able to enter the house of Birhen sa Simala (Lindogon) that made me cry bucket loads! In Bohol, I was also able to sea real dolphins - not as up close, but fact is, I got to see real ones!


September

Quite a depressing month for me - having to gain back the 6lbs I lost from last month, but this month I enjoyed the many blog events I was invited to be part in.


October

Decided to got back to losing weight and I was happy to have people around me support my endeavors.


November

Biggest blessing this month would be Mr. Pipoy. He didn't just help me stay on the road to fitness, he also loved the whole of me - bulges and excess weight included. He's not just my fitness buddy, he's also my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my wind beneath my wings.


December

With the help of people around me and my own inner strength, I lost 24lbs in the last three months. Getting to wear smaller clothes and look good in it has been a wonderful gift any person could give his/herself; I am happy I could give myself that gift for Christmas.

525,600 minutes
525,000 moments so dear
525,600 minutes
How do you measure... measure a year?

Summing up 2011 - I have met lots of awesome people, experienced so many wonderful moments, learned a whole lot of lessons. It may not be the best year, but I am so thankful for everything that has happened to me.

Cheers 2011!
Hello, 2012.

When I started to include my kikay side on this blog, I never really thought I'd include fashion as its sub-category. I am very well aware of how big I am, but as I start to lose weight, I think I am gaining confidence, and I know it will still take a lot of exercising and dieting before I can pose like most models do... but for now, allow me to savor this moment.



Whenever my mom and I shop for clothes, we often check the Surplus Shop (SM) because it carries clothes from the USA - allowing me to check something that would fit me. When I saw this red piece of clothing, I instantly liked it and bought it even if it would make look like a big, plump, juicy tomato.

I truly don't know if this one's a very big top or a small dress, but I never really dared wearing it outside the house - in the rare moments that I wore this, I only did because most of my house clothes were in the laundry basket and I simply had no choice but to wear it. I did love it, but I wasn't confident to wear it, because even if it was big, my tummy bulges would still show.

Between then and now, I lost 20+lbs already. I was cleaning my closet one time last week and saw it, so I thought of wearing it. I don't know what's up with losing the weight, but now it looked a little too big for me - especially on my shoulders.

I am not sure if I will include this on my "to toss" box, but I decided to step in front of the camera wearing it.

The shoes I was wearing are my sister's, something she bought at Figliarina during a sale. It was way too high for my liking, but I was glad the shoes were able to take my weight. I just had to walk real careful because I do get a little clumsy at times, I didn't want to injure myself and label it "killer shoes." I don't know how my sister can take such high-heeled shoes, but believe it or not she did attend a blog event at SM Megamall wearing these shoes - and she had to either stand up or walk around wearing these. I salute her.

The earrings were too small to see, but it was a pair of earrings sister and I bought sometime in 2008. It was a cheap pair of earrings at p35, but we really try to take care of it as it was made of threads and quite fragile. I will take a picture of it next time so you can see it up close. :)

It is our family's annual tradition to have a photo shoot every Christmas after eating our Noche Buena, so here's one of the many pictures we took just a while ago. For us, it's not about the material presents, but the gift of having each other - despite the trials coming our way, we are still thankful to have each other to hold on to. They say you can't choose your family, but even if God made the choice for me, I am so thankful He gifted me with a wonderful family.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

This year, I have been blessed with a lot. I have met people who made difference in my life, and while I could name 5 people whom I met this year that made impact in my life, the very best among them would be this person:


Mr. Pipoy, my fitness buddy.

I never really realized he and I would be great friends. We just chanced upon each other at a forum, and because he's also interested in photography, he said the initial "Hi, hello" thingy. We started exchanging PMs (still talking about photography) and when he gave me his number telling me, "Will wait for your call," I somehow raised an eyebrow, for I just "met" him and it's not really my thing to make calls - especially to guys. Add to that, I am always using the UnliTXT service, so I don't have credits to make calls.

He called me instead.

That first call, it already felt as if we've known each other for many, many years. From photography, he started talking to me about my blogs, and I was blown away to know he has read most of my blogs - even the old posts. When he told me he had a stroke about four/five years ago, he proposed if he could be my fitness buddy, because he wanted me help me be fit and be healthy. It was a proposal I didn't refuse.

Since then, we've talked to each other everyday, even sending text messages here and there. Aside from sharing inspirational stories of how he overcame the struggles of having a stroke and living a healthy life, he also gave me the motivation and the push I needed to help me carry on with this journey.

We will be friends for two months by the end of the year. We have met three times already, the last being last weekend - a day when we celebrated the great friendship he and I are sharing.

Like most friendships, ours wasn't rosy at all. I am a stubborn, hard-headed, insecure, sensitive woman, and I admit that it would take a lot of tape and glue to put my shattered pieces back together. He told me he accepted me who and what I am - every good and bad side - and he said he will be with me for as long as he lives. Despite the many times I doubted his purpose, despite the many times I elevated his blood pressure, despite the many times he would have a hard time catching his breath because I said something so bad to him, he still has never left me, even if I pushed his buttons a lot. It's very easy for one person to just hang up the phone and never call again, but even if none of us were talking, he never hanged up the phone on me. Should the unlicall end at 7 minutes, he would still call me again until we resolve the issue.

In nearly two months that I have known him, I could say that I still am learning. I have grown a lot, I could say... and I have to thank him for being with me all the time. I don't expect any gift this Christmas... I have him and I got what I needed.

I am not really a social butterfly, so even if this weekend (and this coming week) is the time when people use "busy," "hectic," and "chaos" into one sentence, I am not really that much affected. Sure, it's busy here in the house, but as of this writing, I am enjoying the house all for myself.

This weekend, questions are from Tom Baker of "Morning Erection." Quite a catchy blog title, if you ask me. Here are the questions ... and my answers:

1. As a blogger, what do you draw inspirations from for your posts?
> Life.

2. If you could swap blogs with another blogger for a post, who would you switch with and why?
> Don Dee of "The Mungo Conspiracy." I admire how he can be vocal about his opinions about certain matters, I would like to write my own through his blog... as I don't think I can air out some of my commentaries here on my own blog.

3. If your blog had a theme song, what would it be? Why?
> "I Am What I Am"

4. What is your writing process for a post?
> I usually tell the story behind the day / image(s). I am not gifted with a very wide perspective of how to present a blog post, so I just stick to the story telling part of things.

5. Your blog requires a cute, new, mascot - what would it be?
> I'll just put my picture there. Hahaha. Or, I can use pictures of my cat Oreo.

6. Do you feel you express your "true self" on your blog?
> To the most of my capabilities, yes. Of course, there are some matters I can't share on my blogs (like family matters - especially if the topic's quite sensitive like family quarrels and problems), but other than that, I am my true self on all my blogs.

7. What is your biggest online pet-peeve?
> People using their blogs to bash other people.

8. If you could live in a fictional universe, where would you live? Why?
> Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I am not into sweets... but the whole place seems magical - and yes, I wanna be friends with the Oompa Loompas.

9. You're having a bad day, you're upset, you're angry, or you're sad - what is your go-to comfort?
> Facebook Games. Currently, I am very much into Tetris Battle.

10. What is your favorite inspirational quote?
> "There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

11. If they were to make a movie based on your life, who would play you, your leading lady/man, your best friend, and your rival?
> This is a difficult question. I don't think I have the time to actually think about my answer.

12. Do you think the world is going to end in 2012?
> Well, the world will end when it ends... for some people their world will about to end today, to some tomorrow. I guess we will just have to celebrate life while we still have it, rather than worry about when it will actually end.

13. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?
> The way I look. This is something I am working on... I want to be out of my obese self.

14. What is your favorite season and why?
> Here in the Philippines, we only have two seasons (well three... if you will count Christmas), but my favorite is summer.

15. You've been bitten by a vampire. Would you fight it with all your undead being or would you embrace it for all it is worth?
> Embrace it for all it's worth.



16. Have you personally met any of your blogger friends?
> Yes! Well, most of the bloggers I met, I met through events - most of them I become friends with after I met them personally (as we love to exchange blog details to say hi after the event), but there were few bloggers who are already my blog friends before I even meet them - like the bloggers behind the Thursday photography meme - "Litratong Pinoy."

17. What does your favorite pair of underwear look like?
> My turquoise thong.

18. Have you ever drank something right from the container in the refrigerator knowing other people will have to drink out of the same container later?
> Hahaha. Yes.

19. What is your favorite word and explain why?
> Equilibrium. It is something I am striving for - kinda like Yin and Yang.

20. 2011 is soon coming to a close, is there anything you'd like to do different on your blog in the year 2012?
> I plan to delete one of my photography-themed blog and open a new one, or maybe delete this one and devote my personal time over my weight loss-themed blog....but all are still hazy; will know when 2012 starts.