Late Valentine’s surprise to myself… I guess?

I’ve always had no luck in raffles whatsoever. For some reason, my name or entry never gets called until I’ve given up any hope of winning. I only drop them in dropboxes with a carefree mind, thinking I will never win until this month.

There’s this raffle from Gifts Davao where all you’ve got to do is like their page on Facebook (Gifts Davao – Free Delivery), like and share the post about the raffle and comment on the post. You’ve got to comment on which one of the two necklaces you would prefer, yellow gold or white gold, and tag your lover. It was pretty easy and I commented yellow gold and tagged my partner. He’s not active on Facebook so that was just for the mechanics. He didn’t know I entered the raffle. I shared their post and tagged my friends who might be interested. I shared the post twice and I was very active about the raffle and interacted at the comments section of the post.

I was hoping without actually expecting that I’ll get the yellow gold heart necklace. One day, the admin of the page replied to my comment and announced that I won the yellow gold necklace! I couldn’t believe it at first! My glee sprung from a deep belief that I don’t have luck in such situations and here it happened! I won! It felt like a miracle! I felt like dancing for joy because aside from getting a really dainty prize, the essence and feeling of actually winning something after years of believing I am not meant for such things is heady! I couldn’t contain my joy and was excited to claim the prize as soon as I can! It’s actually stainless steel plated in gold with a delicate gold chain. Wow. After I claimed it, I asked my partner to clasp the necklace for me. I won myself a necklace! Happy late Valentine’s Day to me, indeed.

Devil's Food Cake!

Finished product!

Devil’s Food Cake... I’ve been eyeing this recipe way back when my sister still resides with us. As Nigella demonstrates how the cake is made on YouTube, I’ve been very curious to try it myself. I lacked confidence then and I was afraid of wasting ingredients so it took me this long to try it out. It actually took me years! Aaaand finally! I was able to bake Devil’s Food Cake using Nigella’s recipe!

I kept watching the video and observed how she does it and studied the recipe a few days before actually baking the cake. I checked if the ingredients were available here and scouted for them beforehand. As that fateful day drew close, I got more and more anxious to the point that I want the day to come faster so I can get over my anxiety!

Glossy AF! XD

I planned on baking this cake a day before my mum’s birthday with the help of my partner but unfortunately he turned up late and I had to start baking before lunch to avoid finishing before brownouts takeover. I was really annoyed that he wasn’t able to help in the main baking time but I brushed it off ‘cause I don’t want to ruin the mood in making the cake.

My brown babies! :3

Lo and behold! The cake was a success! It turned out better than I expected. I kept patting the cakes lovingly while waiting for the frosting to get ready for application. My partner kept teasing me at how I’m petting the brown babies. I kept saying, “What? Don’t you wanna pat them? Aren’t my babies beautiful?” Hahahaha he must think I’m weird but I don’t care. I was filled with pride at the success of the cake. It gave me confidence to explore more recipes in the future. Thank you, Nigella, for your easy recipe!

He ended up mixing the frosting till it’s ready and helped me apply them to the cake. He said the cake was yummy and I hope he’s right and not just biased. I have this psycho thing where I think what I do is not good enough despite people saying it’s delicious or it turned out great. Anyway, it turned out beautifully, inside and out! Hurray! I hope they appreciated my efforts in baking something different. I will definitely bake some more in the future!

Rest assured, my children will always have a birthday cake made by their mother every birthday. ;)

Simple pleasures in a box

I’ve seen this picture on the internet of a jar filled with little rolled papers labeled, “Grateful Jar.” It’s a jar filled with everyday little blessings, circumstances or anything to be thankful for everyday. I saw this last year and thought it a great idea! I vowed to make my own “grateful jar” come 2016.

Before the New Year came knocking on our door, I made grateful jars for my partner and a grateful box for me. I just recycled the containers for the little slips of everyday blessings. The two tiny jars I got from my sister before she left for Australia more than a year ago. Back then I didn’t know what to do with them. I want to put something special inside and I couldn’t find anything special enough until last year when I decided to convert the jars into containers of simple pleasures. I decided to make labels for the jars and gave them to my partner. I left instructions in the letter I gave him for our monthsary on what must he do with the jars. I hope he fills them up everyday.

As for me, I used an old pink “jewelry box” that I got from someone that I used to know. It was actually a “freebie” from a chocolate bar? I think it was Cadbury. The bar of chocolate came with a pink box with a mirror inside and two cute keys. I never once used it and just let it gather dust under my garments bag until now. I never wanted to use something that reeks of the past but I don’t like things going to waste so I decided to label it my “Simple Pleasures” box, the same label as I tied around the jars. Everyday I make it a habit to write a simple thing, circumstance, situation or person that I consider a blessing.

There were days that I forgot to write something for the box and I feel guilty the next day. Sometimes, if I remember something that I’m really grateful for the day before, I hastily write it down the next day. However, there are times when I really forget about it or I can’t think of anything happy or pleasurable for the day and I wonder if I should stop.

Later on I realized I should continue writing for the days ahead. It made me think that there may be days when I think there’s no good in it but there will always be better days ahead. I should continue to write because there will always be good in every day and you never know what good tidings the future will bring. At the end of the year I would have fun reading the simple pleasures that made up my year. I guess it’s not yet too late to start yours?

Photo post # 9

"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Valentine's Day craze

Today, many people are conscious of celebrating Valentine’s Day like everybody else. I have nothing against celebrating V-Day. In fact, I like the idea of allocating a certain day to do something extra special with your loved one especially if both of you have tight and conflicting schedules. A planned date is good but that’s not an excuse to only show love on that specific day. We must continually show our partners that we love them and make them feel loved. Anyway, back on the topic of V-Day, what I’m saying is don’t be pressured because you didn’t receive what most people got on the day of hearts. Believe me, I know it feels exhilarating to receive flowers and chocolates and all those cheesy stuff especially on valentine’s season. There came a time when I no longer received any and my mood plummeted to the depths of the abyss. Expectations and the feeling of being “in” turned my mood sour. I even went as far as making comparisons which is very nasty of me. I really feel sorry for being immature then.

However, I came to learn that extra effort and little celebrations don’t have to fall on a single day. You can always have those cheesy moments and little surprises any time of the year. If you really want it, you can discuss it with your partner (although that kinda kills the surprise factor but some people really need a hint).

If you didn’t get any chocolate or flowers on Valentine’s Day then don’t be bitter towards people who do. If you receive any, be thankful, if you didn’t, don’t let it make you unhappy. If you received something from someone unexpected then be very thankful because that person thought of giving you something no matter how small or insignificant it is to you. Don’t let one day dictate your relationship. Take control and if you want something then ask without getting needy or angry.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.

Let us show our love for the people we care about everyday of our lives.

Chocolate pop from a lady co-worker. Thank you, ma'am! :)

Evocative scents of the beach

As I picked up the fluffy towel and gently patted it to dry my face after a bath, it smelled of sun block and sunshine. It’s weird because it was quite a long time since our last beach together. The towel was already washed numerous times but it exudes the scent of memories evocative of sand under our feet, sun blazing behind our backs and salty water all over our bodies. It quickly took me back to the time you taught me how to swim and you laughed at how enthusiastic I was in the water and started to “practice” even before you said, “go,” and “again.”

Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of a beach trip sometime soon. :)
*wishful thinking*

Hearts and arrows kinda date

Ever since I’ve seen pictures of people wielding bow and arrows, I wanted to pay Gandiva a visit. As a child and until now, I’ve aspired to try archery. I guess this is from playing too much RPG games but hey, it’s fascinating. I always thought that trying archery is a far-fetched dream. Where can I do that in Davao? It’s not something you can find anywhere near here so I was thrilled to see that an archery place opened in Davao and in one of the malls to boot! I didn’t have to go far or go to out of town resorts that offer this recreational activity. Achievement unlocked for me! I planned a date with my partner in advance so we can properly have this archery date.

 

I thought I can actually choose to wield this. XD

I asked friends who played there about the crowds and how long they waited and the price/s for playing. One friend told me they had to wait 1 hour and 30 minutes for their turn! Waiting is not really my strength so my partner and I decided to go to the mall when it opens in the morning to avoid the crowds that would flock the game area. We set the date and met at the mall around 11:00 AM. So much for the planned 9:30 AM meeting.

Still we were pretty early with a few stragglers along the mall and only one customer besides us at the start of our game. The price starts at Php200.00 for 20 arrows per person. We opted for the Php360 for 40 arrows good for two persons. You can say it was a post monthsary date, early “Valentine’s” date (although we don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day). The lady-in-charge assisted us and briefed us about the possibility of the string to “recoil” after we release it. Some get bruised while others really get wounded so we have leather guards attached to our arms. I was so thrilled that my palms were gathering cold sweat. Ugh! The bow was heavy and quite difficult to wield at first thanks to my sweaty palms. Eventually we were able to fire a few shots.

Let's continue facing the same direction and goal. :">

I felt a twinge of dismay that my arrows didn’t fly true. I always end up hitting the sides of the target. I shouldn’t expect so much since it was my first time but I can’t help it. Eventually the euphoria of playing chased away my disappointment and I had a really grand time. I kept laughing most of the time that I didn’t realize that I used up all my 20 arrows. I thought 20 would be too much for me to handle for a first-timer but time AND arrows fly when you’re having fun. If another chance comes my way, I would like to play again. It was one of the best dates I ever had! Aside from the fact that we got to try something new together, everything went smoothly as opposed to most of our dates with hiccups along the way. Answered prayer!

I was hoping I get to choose which bow to use. XD

We were famished after playing so we head over to Pepper Lunch to enjoy a sumptuous sizzling lunch! The smell was divine as it was served on our table and it satisfied our tummies and taste buds! Burp! To more first-time-activity dates to come!

Garlic beef hits the spot! *burp!

Photo post # 8

“It’s fun to peek into other people’s worlds and see how they go about doing things.”
- Norah Jones

Photo post # 7

Snack time.