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kindness

No kind action ever stops with itself.

One kind action leads to another.

Good example is followed.

A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions,

and the roots spring up and make new trees.

The greatest work that kindness does to others

is that it makes them kind themselves.

~Amelia Earheart

Jo of wits and nuts celebrates her 30th birthday this July, and along with it, she is hosting a giveaway for everyone who would write about sharing happiness and kindness - for a stranger and for someone you know.

Happy Birthday Jo, this post is for you!

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last week, Mem, my mil, lost a file in her computer, some 50 pages of the book she was editing. the text was in Frisian, the language in Friesland in the north of the netherlands. she was very upset about the lost file, and how much time she has devoted typing it, remember, she's 73 and she has only recently learned how to use a computer. luckily, she had a printed copy of the manuscript, and so i asked her to send me the hard copy and i would type it for her. i don't know when i'm going to finish it though, as i had utterly underestimated her work - every sentence was dotted with every imaginable circumflex, that after typing five pages, i had to stop and still myself from getting dizzy. but to hear mem's happy tone and obvious relief was pure happiness for me. 

for a year now, i have been sending firefly express to anyone who would email me for a snailmail without the obligation of doing anything for me in return. i have lost track already how many i have sent out, thirty maybe forty i'm not sure. each letter was personally made, cut, glued, packed and mailed. most were acknowledged, some were not. most were sent to strangers, and some of them became real friends eventually. it's not easy to write letters to strangers, but what keeps me going on is the thought that maybe, just maybe, i can inspire some people to write more to their loved ones, to let them see the beauty of old-fashioned mails, to let them feel the thrill of receiving a hefty stamped letter, and for them to see that a simple thought is enough to light up one's day.

when I think of kindness, i think of my parents. they were a very young couple when they married, had 4 kids before they were 30, had no monetary support from their respective families whatsoever, and were only working day jobs as ordinary employees. it was very tough for them, with four hungry little mouths to feed, and braving life with all its harsh realities at the same time. but despite all that, my parents have always been ready to help others, and would even dole out the last centavo on their purse to someone in more dire need than them. that was the kind of home my siblings and i grew up with.

my big brother jake when he was in gradeschool, would often bring bread to the mentally ill man who hangs out in the downtown area close to where my mother used to work. he calls him Robin Padilla (after a famous moviestar in the philippines), to the delight of the dirty, homeless man. while the other passers-by look in disgust and flare their nostrils from the smell, jake on the other hand finds him very interesting and amusing he spends time to talk with him sometimes. i can still remember that man's toothless grin when jake waves at him. at one point when my brother still lived with my parents, he has also taken under his wing a half-wit neglected by his relatives  in our neighborhood and offered him our garage as a place to sleep. my mom was later shocked and surprised someone was sleeping in our rickety old jeep in the garage, and how jake was actually bringing him food there like some pet puppy.

my younger brother eric, used to work as an OR nurse in a hospital in our city. he would come home sometimes very sad and upset, because he saw our former neighbor, or my mother's friend, or some old acquaintance in the hospital and very sick, needing emergency care but without enough cash. most of the time he shared with what cash he had in his wallet, sometimes he would temporarily guarantee for the hospital bill while the family struggled to find means to pay. he would come as far as asking contributions from my mom and me, to help so and so. i could not count the many mornings when my mom and i were crying in front of our breakfast from his hospital stories, about helpless and sick poor people, and the fact that there's nothing we can do about it. 

to think we are not rich and we grew up not having much, and still, what makes me proud to call them my family are the many stories of kindness that we have woven together. in this individualistic world where everyone does his own thing, kindness creates a community of goodness and trust and unselfishness. this made me realize you don't need so much to be kind and to be able to give. it's all about having a heart that can empathize, eyes that can see pain and despair, hands that can care, and feet that are quick to help.

sometimes, it can even be just a smile to a random stranger. ^-^

announcing the winners!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

once again, thanks to everyone who joined in my anniversary giveaway. i loved all your dream entries, i giggled, smiled and even wiped some tears away while reading them all. thank you for letting me take a peek into your hearts, and for sharing with me your very honest thoughts. all along i felt like being let on to your secrets, and i am amazed how everbody's dream is almost the same as the rest. what touched me most are the mothers' dreams, it's fascinating to realize that motherhood speaks a universal language, regardless of the mother's age, culture and geographical location. i got sentimental to read what selfless and unconditional love flows from a mother's heart. *sniff*

back to the drawing of winners, the reason i only got to do it today was that i had to work last thursday to fill in another volunteer's shift. then i was a bit tired and cranky when i got home because the bus was delayed and i was toting a heavy bag carrying some terracotta pots i had thrifted from the charity shop. this morning was perfect though because kj was home and he helped me draw the winners. we had a total of 19 entries, amazing! i took two screenshots of the list of entries so you can see all the names included.

kj clicked the Randomize button, and now we have the winners! congratulations to Sheng, Toni and Jo!

Sheng wins the giveaway from Climbing Gear. please email me your new address and contact number sheng, plus your choice of sporty clothing!

i'm also sending sheng 10 servings of happiness from Butlers Hot Chocolate Drink. yummiliciousness! perfect for the rainy season ahead of you!

Toni and Jo each receives a 2010 bookmark calendar with spectacular views of Ireland, so they would remember me always. nyaha! ^-^

and i am throwing in two Dorothy Perkins fabric pins/clips to dress up your coat or jacket or even hair! please email me details of your mailing address so i can send these goodies to you.

big thanks to everyone for being so cool to join in. i can't almost wait again till our next giveaway!

and what is my dream you might ask?
i've already found my soulmate, so there's only one dream left for me to keep looking forward for the future. and that's to become a mother. i feel all these love within me, bursting, brimming, overflowing...maternal instincts that sometimes make me wish kj is only one-fourth his size so i can scoop him in my arms (the poor husband)! but i am not in a hurry. i know it'll come when we are ready. ^-^

if you have some time to waste, i've recorded the drawing of the winners on my mobile phone this morning and i've attached it here as well. i'm sorry if we don't sound coherent enough, we were just awake then.

happy friday, may all our dreams come true!!!

one year in the cold

like we all say, time flies when you're having fun.

i still could not believe that i've been here in dublin for 367 days already. sometimes i feel like it was only yesterday when i stepped off from the plane into the cold. some days it felt like i've always been here all my life. as if kj and i have been together for a long loooonnnggg time already. it just feels right, and good, and perfect in its own imperfect way.

i am happy that i have accomplished a lot of things in my first year here. these are teeny tiny milestones, but for which i am proud to have done (and overcome!):

• hiked the wicklow mountain with kj
  
• found a volunteering job in the city centre
  
• cycled to and around the phoenix park, and back home in the rain and strong biting wind.
• celebrated our first year wedding anniversary
  
• walked around our town one evening with kj while it was snowing hard, just so i could run around in it like they did in the movies, and feel what it's like to stick out my tongue and taste a snowflake
• welcomed dutch guests in our home
• celebrated kj's birthday, the first time we're together
  
• opened my etsy shop
• celebrated my birthday the first time in ireland
  
• took care of the husband when he had the accident
• got invited to an assessment for a job i applied for...didn't get the job but felt lucky enough to be short-listed among the 14K+ applicants, in the midst of 400K people currently unemployed
  
• moved to a bigger house with a tiny garden
  
• joined the 10-KM all-women mini marathon with my MIL
• cut the husband's hair for the first time

without my family and friends here, i do feel lonely every time i think of them. but it's not homesickness, the kind that bites to the soul. i may have broken down twice, once during the christmas holidays while we were watching this dutch family reunion show, and the last time when i heard my mom was ill in the hospital. while i look forward to meet them again to have my fill of big hugs and kisses, all in all, i am happy with our life here. it's just as simple as we want it to be, as comfortable and as cozy as we need it to be, and as beautiful and as good as we could ever ask for.

i would still love to work a day job though, good old honest toiling. but for now, this is my life. acceptance for what and how it is, and embracing the goodness in it, that is happiness. as i bask in the warmth and love in my marriage, i am truly home.


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special thanks to my former colleague, the hotness that is kessa thea, for joining in the giveaway contest and writing that wonderful post titled daydreaming!

also read toni's step into my dream, for a warm fuzzy feeling!

hop over javaqueen as she lets you in to a mother's dream.


you can still join, contest ends tomorrow midnight!

the final anniversary giveaway!

hello everyone!
sorry, it took me a while to post this, and i'm blaming it on farmtown for wreaking havoc on my strict (not) schedule. sigh.

~♥~

in connection to my anniversary celebration, the coffee shop that my friends and i have put up last year before i left the philippines, celebrates its first year anniversary on this day, 8 july 2009. we opened Miss Mocca the night before my flight to manila, and we're really thrilled that it has survived, considering our lack of capital and experience. on top of that, we have even opened our first branch at the ground floor of Amigotel, also in general santos city. nothing fancy because we only partnered with Amigotel there, and you may take a look at it here.

anyways, here's our final giveaway! the contest is open to everyone this time, wherever you may be in the globe. US residents who joined on my previous giveaway are still welcome to join again.

our giveaway is sponsored by climbing gear inc., the website for your climbing accesories and clothing needs. personally, i am somewhat acrophobic. somewhat, in the sense that i only feel really really scared when my footing is not sure and secure, or half of myself is dangling in the wind. i can hike and mountain trek, no problem, just don't let me hang for my dear life on ropes and tiny metals. but if you have adventure mixed with your blood, and camping or rock climbing is your thing, this website is for you. products are arranged in categories for easy navigation of the website, and whether it's camping gear you need, or climbing harnesses and carabiners, or rope pulleys or any other outdoor accessories, you'll easily find a match for your specifications.

so how to win the giveaway? simply write a post in your blog about your Dream. what would you like to have or to happen in your life, if you would have one chance to make it come true? don't let anything hold you back, dreams know no limits, no boundaries. whether it is world peace, or to become a lawyer or a doctor or a clown or that your name should have been paris hilton, or whether you should have lived in the stone age, or that you should have been a bird, is up to you. it's open to your own interpretation.

if you don't have a blog, post your entry on the comment box and i'll include you on the draw as well.

when your post is up, leave a comment on this post to submit your link. i'll have a special widget on my sidebar linking to your blog to confirm that i have read your post. i will close the contest next week wednesday, 15 july 2009 at midnight GMT Dublin.

winners will be drawn through random.org. yep, winners. i'll pick the top three from the randomized list, to win the following:

1st - wins the sponsored giveaway from climbing gear, and he/she gets to pick one (1) item of clothing of his choice from the picture i posted above

2nd & 3rd - wins a bookmark calendar for 2010, featuring beautiful scenery from ireland, plus surprise whatnots from me.

*note: my little duckie is not included in the prize

thank you for one year of following my blog, of reading my crap and most of all, for sending me and kj good thoughts and wishes, and for all the wonderful things you've sent in the mail. my blog has been my best companion as i went through the many transitions in my life last year.

so please join, i'm looking forward to hear about your dreams!

happy wednesday!

the winner takes it!

first of all, i would like to thank everyone who was game enough to join in the contest. i really appreciate your taking time to leave a comment. and second, my congratulations to the winner! you're a lucky girl today!

soon as i woke up this morning, all i could think of was who would win the giveaway. before i even had a cup of tea for myself, i was already excited so i asked kj if he can draw the winner for me. everyone who joined are my good friends and the tension was too much for me to handle. crazy i know, but that's just me.

and the winner is, Fortuitous Faery of New Jersey! yay, congratulations, i am so happy for you! email me your complete details with your contact numbers, and Bedroom Furniture will get in touch with you.

and don't forget to mention which prize you'd want to receive, whether the Lite Source - One Light Banker's Lamp in Dark Bronze with Frosted Glass, or the Windsor Vanguard - Jour Du Marche II Canvas.

thank you all for participating, for making this giveaway more exciting! there's more to come though, so stay tuned!

on the homefront news, we were able to mow the grass on our back garden yesterday. i mean my husband did it. i only watched and cheered him on. it was starting to look like a jungle already, and we were just in time because the rain was back again this morning with a vengeance. sigh. that's the reason why water is free here in ireland folks. ^-^

have a great weekend and happy 4th of July to my friends in America!

comfort cooking

what not to love in a simple dinner of fish and stir-fried vegetables? this is my favorite dinner to make because it's quick and easy, healthy and light on the stomach. i make this by stir-frying in olive oil my garlic (cut in slivers; i love the smell of frying garlic!), onions, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers. later, i would sprinkle a bit of sesame oil for an oriental hint, and i would season it with freshly ground black peppers and a pinch of paprika. no salt, but a few drops of kikkoman soy sauce should do the trick. about five minutes before they're ready, i'd dump in my warm, just-cooked rice (leftovers would be perfect too) and stir until they're all mixed together. while busy with my stir fry, my salmon would be frying slowly on olive oil over a low fire. they usually finish at the same time. serve with oyster sauce. i have always been in love with oyster sauce by the way.

last month, we discovered Pinotage, the red wine from South Africa. it has smoky, earthy flavour with notes of bananas and tropical fruits (as the label says) and we love it. half a glass after dinner makes us sleep tightly every night. i don't really know if there's a direct relationship between our wine and our sleeping pattern, however we're stocking two bottles at the moment.

this bread which doesn't look very impressive, tasted good actually. i did nothing special, because i made it straight out from the box! ^-^ baking bread in the oven smells lovely in the kitchen, so i'm definitely making more of it. it's perfect to eat while still warm with a spread of butter and a cup of tea, while watching the rain fall outside the window. it makes rain in the middle of summer don't sound so bad after all.


happy thursday!