Celebrate joy!

On our 3rd day, we went to Kyoto! We bought a one-day Keihan railway pass since Kyoto is about an hour away from Osaka. There are different ways to get to Kyoto but the cheapest and fastest is by train. Taxis are very expensive in Japan! Buses and trains are just about the same price so you can plot your way to this famous spot either way. Fushimi Inari Shrine

I was super excited for this trip, albeit a little bit apprehensive because I was already 7 months' pregnant at the time we were to land on Japanese soil. I booked our trip a month before I found out I was pregnant so buti nalang naclear ako ng OB ko! Whooohoooo! Salamat, doc! It's been awhile since I wrote a travel post -- and my fingers are just itching to type away and tell you about what happened on our trip! We really loved Japan! And I want to write so that I can remember :) I will be dividing this Japan series into 4 parts: Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Nagoya.  Hopefully you will pick up a few tips as well if you're planning a trip to this lovely country soon! Osaka Castle during Autumn

Hello! My ballooning tummy says hi at 21 weeks!  Whoa! Time really does fly!!! *gasp* I feel like I should be updating you guys more often, because this is such a becoming time, isn't it? Being a mother-in-the-making... but a lot of things are happening and I haven't told you guys that I actually was on bedrest on my first trimester for almost 3 weeks and I just got back to work from yet-another bedrest last week (during my 2nd trimester) because I had spotting.

Sometimes I forget that I'm already pregnant, 7 weeks to be exact. Just a few months ago, my mind is circling with worry and bouts of fear of infertility, and now, I have a miracle inside my tummy! During the praise and worship time awhile ago, I cannot help but be amazed on how good God is! He really is amazing, a good good Father who gives His children the desires of their hearts. So grateful to be a mommy-in-the-making! Although I must admit, my body surprises me a lot these days. Some days are worse and some days are better. These days are better. Last week, I would stare listlessly at the bread in front of me, contemplating whether my stomach would agree with it or not. I also say no every time my husband offers to cook me breakfast, because even the thought makes me heady and nauseous. And if you know me and my appetite, you would know that this is a major change! Lol! Because people know me as the girl who is constantly hungry and is always on the hunt for snacks. That...

Hello there... I haven't heard from you awhile. I hope everything is okay... I feel like your days are beset with deadlines and to-dos... your mind is wired to do the next thing immediately after you are done with something. If you are not hustling, then you are not doing enough. If you are not exasperated, then you have to work harder. Pauses and rest have taken a bad rep for you over the years. You cringe at the idea of having to slow down. You run to the next big thing if someone suggests that you take a rest. But could it be that you keep running away from me because you have grown scared of the pauses and the stops your soul needs? Could it be that you are in fact more scared to slow down and take a long and hard look at your heart, at the depths of your soul, that to run for hours on end is a more appealing thought? Could it be that you are escaping having to answer the hard questions because you don’t really know the answers and you ...

I wrote this hours before I found out I was pregnant. Yes, I am pregnant! Even I cannot believe it myself!  At least may excuse na ang chubby cheeks ko! :P More on that later, nakakatawa pano ko nalaman... :P but let me first share to you what was going on in my mind before I found out... The worrier-me before finding out This is the part that they don't prepare you for after getting married. The getting-pregnant part. This is also the part that we don't usually talk about. We can talk about chores, about serving together, about our in-laws but somehow when it comes to reproductive issues, it's a topic that we would rather avoid or dismiss with a smile. I am one of those. I have been putting off having to sit inside an OB clinic since I got married. When friends would ask about us having kids and whether I have had myself checked yet, I just tell them "baka next week" , then smile then change the topic. I wasn't lying. I really meant to get mys...

I have always been a passion pusher. If you sit with me and talk to me about your childhood dream or something that you have always wanted to do but never got around to it, you can expect me to tell you to go for it 99% of the time. Of course, given that your passion is not to rob a bank or to push someone off a cliff,  medyo scurry na yun sir  :P We have always had that something that spark or that brought joy to us when we were kids. Sadly when we grow up, we also outgrow that spark or that passion. I mean, what is the one thing that you like to do just because? What is that thing that makes your heart giddy with excitement? It may be an art like singing, dancing, sketching or a sport, or it can be a cause like saving the environment or helping the street kids have a bright future... whatever it may be, it is not worth losing just because you have gotten too busy or too rigid or you feel like you're too old for it. Because you're not... When the Actventure journal go...