Confessions Of A Late Bloomer: January 2018

, by Unknown

2017

MY 2017 RECAP – DIARY STYLE

We’re already more than halfway through January and I still haven’t posted this important entry. I say it’s important because this entry is kind of my way of looking back at God’s greatness in my life and my way of thanking Him for what a wonderful year 2017 has been. So I’m sharing with you all, my 2017 recap instead of my usual monthly rundown post.

JANUARY

If you’ve read my 2016 recap, you’d know that at the end of December 2016, my hubby’s youngest sister working in Japan visited us here in Singapore and we all flew back to the Philippines on New Year’s eve. So January 2017 was our first time to celebrate New Year in the Philippines since we moved to Singapore in 2010 for work.

It was also in this month that we (hubby, his sister, my sister and myself) spent 3D2N at Montigo Resorts and it’s so awesome! I have a review of the said resort here on my blog if you wanna know my thoughts about the place and how our experience went.

FEBRUARY

My mom turned 60 and it’s my sister’s first birthday celebration here in Singapore. Thank God for another year added to their lives! Although we’re unable to come home to the Philippines for our mom’s birthday, we got to see how her party went thru a video call. Thanks to the internet!

MARCH

It’s the month we finally moved into a 3-bedroom condo unit. What was once just a dream for me has finally become a reality.

APRIL

After about a week or two of unpacking and organizing around the house, we’re able to finally settle in. The feeling of finally being able to move around the house freely and no reservations because we have it all to ourselves was really fun.

We had our housewarming party exactly a month after our move and it’s also in this month that my sister brought her husband and daughter here in Singapore for the first time for a 1-month vacation. That was sooo fun!

MY LOVELY GODDAUGHTER-NIECE :)

I also posted the first two videos I filmed at the new place on my YouTube channel: a random haul and an everyday makeup routine.

MAY

Although I didn’t have a lot of things going on in May, it was in this month that I got a few emails from different brands for some video/blog collaboration. While working with these brands for videos that were likely to go up on my channel for the next two months, I also filmed and uploaded a few videos of my own. And in this same month, the monthly rundown post on my blog has been born.

JUNE

My hubby and I celebrated our 6^th wedding anniversary with some friends over dinner at our flat. It was both a fun and chill night.

Aside from June as our wedding month, it also became more memorable last year because another dream of mine came true in this month. My parents finally got to visit us in Singapore after years and years of convincing them.

God really has His own perfect time for everything and I cannot agree enough that last year was it! It’s a super fun, although tiring, 10 days of family bonding. It still makes me very happy every time I look back at it ‘coz it reminds me to never stop trusting God because His plans are flawless and His time is perfect. It didn’t occur to me that the dream I gave up on thinking of ever seeing the light of day would still come to life after so many years but it did. I should never stop trusting God even at times when I couldn’t even make sense of what’s going on. I just need to have faith in Him and trust that His love for me never fails.

JULY

Hubby brought me to The Canopi because it’s my birthday! It’s such a magical place and it brings me joy reminiscing the time we spent there even though it was so short haha.

We also celebrated my niece/goddaugther’s 2^nd birthday at LegoLand in Malaysia which reminds me I haven’t edited the videos I took on that day. What a shame, becca!

AUGUST

My hubby’s aunt with her hubby and daughter visited us here in Singapore from Spain for a short vacay and after touring a little bit in Singapore, we brought them to Nirwana Resort Hotel and Indra Maya Pool Villa in Nirwana Gardens for some fun and relaxation.

It’s also in this month that my hubby and I decided to go back to a Fertility doctor to really focus on what we’ve been praying for in a long time. It’s the month we pushed aside whatever fears or pride that we have and finally dived into knowing what’s the real deal about our situation.

SEPTEMBER

Our journey to fertility continued…

It’s in this month that I started taking the prescribed pills to me and I also learned that patience is the key ingredient for this whole fertility recipe because nothing is instant. I also started reading more about PCOS because at that point I was pretty sure it’s my case even without the doctor telling me yet. So the journey to my lifestyle change also started in this month.

My sister and I also got to join a lifegroup session for the first time at Every Nation and it was wonderful.

I also finally received the right light my sister bought for me as a birthday gift, which only came late due to international shipping.

And how can I forget that I’ve been granted a 10-year multiple entry US Visa? These were all God’s miracles and I can’t thank Him enough for all these amazing blessings!

OCTOBER

God is just so amazing that He gave us something we didn’t know we wanted so badly. We got to travel to the US!!! My hubby went there for work while I was just a very blessed companion haha.

just landed at San Francisco International Airport

I vlogged the whole trip, by the way. I’m sorry, though, that it’s in my mother language but feel free to watch it to feel how happy we were and still are up to this day whenever we remember this trip.

October is also my hubby’s birth month so I made him a little something.

NOVEMBER

Just two days after we arrived in Singapore, we boarded the plane again to come home to the Philippines for my hubby’s mom’s 60^th birthday and once-in-a-blue-moon reunion with all his siblings.

We got to experience a bunch of fun activities while we’re in the Philippines. We went trekking to witness the beauty of the real Taal Volcano and became like kids again at Club Balai’s floating playground, the Aqua Park.

We went back to Singapore after that 1-week vacay in the Philippines and a few weeks after, I was back at the hospital for my blood test (still related to our fertility journey). On our next doctor’s appointment, as expected, the doctor confirmed I had PCOS. Yes, had. :)

DECEMBER

I just want to mention that after our first visit to the fertility doctor in August, I made a conscious effort to lose weight for my health and of course for my desire to have a baby. By the start of December, I’ve already lost 4 kilos, which actually has been a challenging thing for me to achieve since my metabolism had tremendously slowed down as I aged, but I’m glad that though it was a slow progress for me, it seems to be a stable one so I’m okay with it.

For this month also, I made a decision to upload as many videos as I can to my Beauty & Lifestyle channel. It was a struggle, yes, but it was a passion project that made me really happy after finally completing it. I made a clear plan to upload a video every weekday of December and I succeeded! Here are all the videos I have successfully posted on my YouTube channel!

On Dec 23^rd, I made another visit to the hospital for another blood test and was scheduled to see the doctor on January 9^th…

-END OF 2017-

On January 8th-12th of this year, I participated at our church’s (Every Nation Church Singapore) prayer, fasting & consecration week and I’ve learned to love God more. The what-seemed-to-be a week of torture because of not consuming food to energize my body became a week of blessing and strength for my soul and spirit.

On January 9^th, the second day of fasting, hubby and I went to the hospital to see the doctor and one of my prayers has been answered. The result of my blood test was good and was advised to try on our own this month (January) without the help of the pills she usually gives me. Although there were also other things we discussed, that “good news” about the result of my blood test was enough for me to hold on to God’s promises.

One thing is absolute: God’s love. If I were only allowed to bring with me one thing I learned from 2017 to this year, it’s to give thanks to God in EVERY circumstance. Yep! What a very commonly used statement but this is not a cliché. This is the truth. Everything that happened in my life last year, good or bad is worth thanking God for because every circumstance I had or still have is an ingredient vital to cook the right recipe of the character God wants to develop in me.

In 2017, I learned the value of waiting and the power of the right attitude while waiting. The good news is waiting in God will never go in vain. It may take years for some prayers to be answered but sometimes, what we don’t realize is that the answers are actually not delayed. It’s just that our characters are not yet ready for the answers we prayed for, and that’s normally why the waiting game continues.

I’m still in the waiting game for some of the answers to my prayers but what I will make sure I’d do differently this year, is to appreciate every moment spent in waiting for there is definitely always something new that God is teaching me every step of the way. I just need to pay more attention to Him and His will than my needs and wants because He already knows them all before I can even think of them.

May we all receive clarity and direction from God and may 2018 be the year that our prayers get answered and we, too, become answers to others’ prayers.

6 comments

, by Unknown

Economy Class

US TRIP 2017: Flying Economy Class with Singapore Airlines to San Francisco!

Date: Oct 19, 2017 (Thursday)

Typed on my iPhone notes during my flight to San Francisco.

Today is "the" day my hubby and I have been praying and preparing for in the past weeks. I can still remember how we went crazy shopping for fall clothing the past weeks as we're both very weak when it comes to the cold weather. I've also been busy the past couple of days packing all our stuff. And today... this is it!

And today... this is it!

I woke up at 5:15ish because of my alarm. I didn't get up right away though. It took me a few more minutes before I finally got the strength to get up. 'Went straight to the bathroom. We finished prepping before 7am and when my 7am went off, we're already in the middle of our prayer.

My hubby booked Uber to bring us to Changi Airport Terminal 3. Before our uber arrived, I was able to eat half a bread, enough to fill my stomach before taking a mefenamic tablet for my cramps. Our uber came and the ride to the airport was quick and comfy despite the slight traffic, thank God. We're flying to San Francisco via Singapore Airlines and since my hubby is on business class (thanks to his company: Visa Worldwide), he thoughtfully decided to accompany me first while I check in at economy class counter. When he approached the staff at economy counter to confirm if he can see me through the check-in process first before he went thru with his, she informed us that my hubby can actually bring me with him at the business class counter. Wow! We're not expecting that at all. And so to business class counter we happily went. Check-in was a breeze. It's amazing actually.

Hubby waiting with me at the "normal" lounge ^_^

Hubby was invited to the business lounge but since I wasn't, he didn't go. He went with me to the "normal" lounge instead (LOL).

It was during boarding that it started to sink in: we're not gonna be seatmates on this flight. On my longest and first ever flight to the US, I won't be seated next to my favorite person in the world, my bestfriend, my lover, my forever partner. But once I was seated, I slowly felt comfortable. I just told myself that he's on the same plane and having a wonderful time in his business class seat. I suddenly felt happy and excited. I was already looking forward to his stories about his seat and his experience flying on business class.

I had no seatmates on this flight :)

As always, flying with Singapore Airlines was a lovely experience. Just a few minutes after being seated, the FAs were already handing out hot towels. My request for headphones was immediately addressed as well. A few minutes after the smooth takeoff, the FAs were already servicing us with drinks and nuts. Very nice! I wasn't expecting that because all I know was that lunch would be served but I didn't know of any in between servings of food/snacks. I really appreciate that.

Here's the first full meal with ice cream for dessert! :)

And because we're leaving Singapore at daytime, I wasn't sleepy at all. Despite my lack of proper sleep the night before, I found it hard to sleep. Well, I always have trouble sleeping so nothing's new. Good thing, their built-in TV was loaded with lots of awesome shows to watch. So I started watching movies the moment the plane was on steady mode (sorry for my terminologies hehe).

Yes there are Filipino movies! Not that many though but still awesome!

Midway to the 2nd movie I was watching, my hubby decided to drop me a surprise visit. Gosh! I miss him so much already. I was so excited to see him. It's nice that he can visit me at the economy class cabin but it would have been so much better if it were the other way around. Don't you think so? (grin)

After watching 2 movies, I felt my energy was starting to drop so I positioned and prepped myself for sleeping. It was 2:37pm SGT on my phone. At 3:32pm SGT, 7 hours and 35minutes away from our destination, my eyes were wide-awake again. Sleeping is really not one of my fortes. At this point, I really miss my hubby. If I could just hold his hand and gaze at his face, I know I'd feel 100 thousand times better, but the thought of him being able to lie down nicely and have a good sleep in his seat instantly gave me comfort. I just wish there's a way for us to chat (for free) while on the plane. That would be totally cool!

At 5:08pm SGT, another meal was served. Another thing I was not expecting because I thought I'd only get one meal in this trip.

I was on the 3rd day of my period and I started having mild cramps. Good thing they served a full meal so I was able to take another 500mg mefenamic capsule for my cramps before it worsened. It was also very easy to move inside their restrooms (unlike other planes I have boarded in the past) so having my period on this flight didn’t stress me out that much as going to the restroom was hassle-free with SQ.

At 10:10pm SGT, just one hour and 16min away from San Francisco, I was still awake. But! I was starting to get sleepy at this point. So I thought of the best possible position that would help me sleep but still no luck.

Around 10:20pm SGT, the FAs made their rounds again and this time they were giving out sandwiches. I straightened up and decided to just eat. I chose the ham and cheese croissant and Wow! It was delish! Man! I was well-fed in this flight.

We landed safely and smoothly at San Francisco International Airport at 8-ish in the morning (San Francisco time), earlier than what was written on our flight itinerary. Good job SQ pilots!

After going through the immigration, we happily went to the baggage claim area to collect all our luggage and we're very satisfied to see that our stuff were all okay except for the one TSA padlock that got ruined probably because of the conveyor but we're sure it was not tampered or anything like that.

Although this was not my first time flying economy class with SQ, this was my longest flight to-date with them and my overall experience was unquestionably delightful! The whole journey was very smooth and the customer service was topnotch. Just based on this flight alone, there's really nothing I can complain about. I'm already excited to see/hear what my husband has to say about his experience flying business class with SQ for the first time!

How's your experience flying with Singapore Airlines? I'd love to know your stories!

NOTE: All photos were taken using an iPhone.

39 comments

, by Unknown

Pages

LIFE UPDATE + MY JANUARY YOUTUBE RUNDOWN

MY 2017 RECAP – DIARY STYLE

May we all receive clarity and direction from God and may 2018 be the year that our prayers get answered and we, too, become answers to others’ prayers.

US TRIP 2017: Flying Economy Class with Singapore Airlines to San Francisco!

How's your experience flying with Singapore Airlines? I'd love to know your stories!

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LIFE UPDATE + MY JANUARY YOUTUBE RUNDOWN

MY 2017 RECAP – DIARY STYLE

May we all receive clarity and direction from God and may 2018 be the year that our prayers get answered and we, too, become answers to others’ prayers.

US TRIP 2017: Flying Economy Class with Singapore Airlines to San Francisco!

How's your experience flying with Singapore Airlines? I'd love to know your stories!

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About me

Follow Me!

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

recent posts

FOLLOW ME ON BLOGLOVIN!

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