Celebrate joy!

Two thumbs up to films that still celebrate people's authenticity. My sister and I had girly bonding yesterday by watching Begin Again and it was a really good movie! :) With the can't-miss-it gorgeousness of these two human beings on the planet -- Keira and Adam -- the movie is definitely more than just a love story. Actually come to think of it, was it a love story? I encourage you guys to watch it, then let me know what you think? :)

They say that you truly get to know people when you travel with them, and I have learned that statement to be especially true for this trip :) Good thing we're a bunch of honest-to-goodness   crazies that we ended up laughing over things that totally pissed us off minutes ago. That's when you know you've found true friends... right, Kim, Val and Mhe? When you can make a joke out of something that seemed pretty serious awhile ago, you know you've crossed the threshold to being "friends-for-keeps." Ha! :P Pinatibay na tayo ng panahon, mga 'te! Apir!

The moment I landed in Changi Airport, the first thing I looked for was food. The travel time from Manila to SG was about 3.5 hours and I regretted not shoving in my bag the peach-mango pie that my dad bought me for baon that day :( So upon arriving, my eyes quickly settled on the nearest signage that would cater to my rumbling tummy.

Gone are the days when our energetic selves would be awake til dawn. Hitting our mid-20s means this: late night episodes would have us yawning by 11pm and Saturdays will be bumped off by Sunday brunches and early dinner catch ups on weekdays. :) For all the mid-20s in the house, can you relate? Lol! Is it just us? Whether this is a sign of aging or just a phase that we will soon get over with, there's beauty in the quiet stillness of Sundays and the ho-hum of Makati that doesn't look like it at all on a weekday. So it was set: drop by Rosa Clara for our friend's wedding gown fitting, then have late lunch at Simply Thai in Greenbelt 5. :)

Hope everyone's safe and dry! Power is out because of typhoon Glenda so this is the best time to crack open those books and relax :) Facebook, TV and everything plugged just have to wait. Here's a song that I've been addicted to for days, time for some feel-good music! I'm starting to love Jess Glynne! Sing along with her, I've copied the lyrics and pasted it after the video:

After a few breather posts, here's the last post for my Northern Mindanao series! :) Yep, there's more to Mindanao than just CDO's city proper and Camiguin (although those two are already packed with so many beautiful nooks as shared here , here and here ), because there's still Dahilayan Forest Park in Bukidnon and our river rafting experience in CDO :) Dahilayan Forest Park Thanks to the folks of La Montana Tours & Vans, we went straight from Camiguin to Bukidnon and arrived at Dahilayan after lunch.

Just got back from Singapore today and while my feet are aching and my arms are now decorated with slight bruises from all the luggage (aka shopping bags) in tow, I just thank God for the opportunity to kick back and relax in a foreign land. :) I've always been a fan of traveling, because for me, people grow in so many ways when they travel. It's voluntarily pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to find and grow into a better version of yourself. Yes, it's scary but it's also exciting!

Just sneaking in a post to share how God has been good to me all my life :) Somehow, no matter how much I try or anyone tries, I haven't felt loved and I couldn't love the way God loves me. When I talk to people and I try to describe God's love, every analogy falls short... simply because His love is just so much more intense and it's unconditional. For this post, I want to share the role that love plays in allowing God to be the Lord of my life. :) When we talk about Lordship, it usually entails a sharp intake of breath and begrudgingly opening our hands to release something that we have held on for too long... but Lordship can also be a natural response to what is already made complete in us. Lordship, at its best, is an expression of love. :)

Hello White Island! :) For this post, I am posting large-sized photos because the island is so beautiful, it deserves nothing less than full-bleed (or as big as these can get!) images :) We stayed at Paguia's Cottages in Camiguin, which is just 15 minutes away from the island. Yes, this island is famous for its sandbar, and is also called as the Alphabet Island because depending on the tide, the sandbar shifts from time to time. So it may be look like an "L" this morning, then gradually shifts to an "E" in the afternoon :)

Our day 2 is off to an early start, because we had to leave at 2am so we can catch the barge/boat ride at 4am headed to Camiguin! Camiguin is about 2-hour land travel and 1 1/2 hour boat ride from the city :) We initially thought of going backpacking for this trip, but later on realized that getting La Montana Tours and Vans was probably the best decision we made because the places are so far from each other. Plus, just riding a van without fear of getting lost allowed us to recharge and catch up on sleep so that when we get to our destination, we're pumped up with happy energy to appreciate the place more :)

There are photos to satisfy the appetite of FB and IG users, THEN there are stories behind the photos made especially for this platform. If you're thinking of taking your backpack somewhere local and lovely, may it be the beautiful Northern Mindanao :) Got back from our 4-day trip in this province last month and I still have a travel-phile hangover from the scenic views and crazy activities we did. It wasn't exactly the best time of the year to go to the beach or anything nature-y but God has blessed us with good-enough weather that allowed us to do everything in our itinerary! Woot woot! Thank you, Lord! :)