A friend of mine once suggested that I would pick green as my wedding motif for it is the lucky color for the year.

It's not because my friend suggested the said color then I would also devotedly follow.  It's because green has something to do with my personality.

First, green symbolizes ecology which has connection of my being a nature-lover gal.

Green also represents peace and contentment. I am the type of person who has aversion to disagreements, quarrels, and conflicts. As much as possible, I want a stress-free life.

Those are a few things about me that have connection with green.

And speaking of wedding motif, green finally ended up as my top pick.

However, green has many relatives (hehe).

So I found myself searching online about wedding motif using green. So,  I saw mint green, lime green, dark green, emerald green and the like.

Here are my top picks.

1. Mint Green, with a Combination of Gold, and Peach



3.  Apple Green with a Combination of White


4.  Emerald Green with a combination of White, Ivory or Coral 


5.  Lime Green with a Combination of Fuchsia and Black


6.  Apple Green with a Combination of Purple and White



7. Green with a Combination of Yellow and White



Ahh. They are all pretty good but I am still undecided which color combo stands out the most.  I would love to play around with three color combinations, lime green as the main color since I have just rented dresses for my bridesmaids and flowers girls last Saturday.

Our venue will be at Eden Garden Toril, and obviously we are surrounded by nature. And I want colors that will complement with the earth tone.  I have only two weeks left to decide which color combo looks simple yet elegant and fab.

Help me choose.

Husband and I initially and mentally schedule our wedding sometime in May this year.  But we cancel the schedule off until we complete our requirements. But as soon as we iron out everything this month, we decided to make it earlier than the scheduled date. Hopefully April.

Even though we have been married in civil ceremony, a common practice by couples who are facing financial woes - we can't deny that - , but there's nothing more sacramental and more solemn like church. As Christians, we believe that Church is the right place to hold a meaningful and joyful celebration to be blessed by God and witnessed by families who shared the same faith with the groom and bride.

Since we desire to wed in the Church, of course, we have to obey the Catholic Church processes. Ours will be going to take place at St. Michael Chapel near Eden Garden, Toril.  During my inquiries, the stuff from Eden told me to coordinate with Virgin Delos Remedios church regarding the requirements since St. Michael Chapel is under the jurisdiction of the former.

Before I move on, let me share you St. Michael's chapel which was taken last Saturday .




Ok, let's go back to the wedding requirements:

1. Baptismal Certificate (groom and bride)

Request this certificate from the parish where you were baptized, and ask them to indicate that it is for marriage purposes.


2. Confirmation (groom and bride)

Sad to say, I haven't been confirmed. My mom confirmed that I haven't really been confirmed. Nah! Since Virgin Delos Remedios doesn't schedule confirmation regularly, they told me to have it in San Pedro Church since they do it every last Sunday of the month.

I  got the confirmation certificate two weeks after the confirmation.

3. Church Interview (groom and bride)

We first signed up the form provided by the Virgin Delos Remedios , followed by an interview from the catechist. We were asked individually the reasons of getting married.  How long have we been as sweethearts, etc.? Are we sure of our intentions? Her pry was based from our answers in the form. Our supposition was that it would take her longer examining but when she knew we were already married in civil, it was somewhat shortened.


4. BANNS (groom and bride)

I was clueless what Banns really means until I learn today - since I Google it - that it is a public announcement (written or oral ) in Church of proposed marriage. BANNS will be released by Virgin Delos Remedios parish one week after the church interview.  We submitted the BANNS along with 2x2 picture to San Lorenzo Church, the parish we are actively and directly involved in. BANNS is also required if you wish your marriage to take place in another parish like we do.


5.  Identification Data Sheet (IDS)

You obtain the IDS from the chapel where you belong.  In our chapel, we were obliged to pay monthly dues and membership fee before the IDS will be signed by the leaders of the chapel. For some, they may require you to join the "kasaulugon" for weeks.


6. Pre-Cana Seminar (groom and bride)

Virgin Delos Remedios allowed couples to attend Pre-Cana seminar from the other parish.  Since San Lorenzo parish is nearer from our house, we decided to attend the two-day seminar there. Pre-Cana is a course of consultation a couple must undergo before they get married in the church. It tackles different aspects of married life.

The certificate of attendance will be released one week after the seminar.


7. Marriage License  

Since we have been married in civil for years, we will only submit the marriage certificate. Just bring original and photocopy.


8. Wedding Fee

If all the requirements are ready-to-go, you have to pay 4, 200 pesos for Virgin Delos Remedios Parish and another 12, 900 for St. Michael Chapel if your wedding goes under the Eden Wedding Package. The Eden wedding organizer will take care of everything including the chapel rental, booking of wedding date, church decorations, and flowers arrangement.

As for us, we didn't avail the Eden package because the cost was outrageously high. So we personally went to St. Michael GKK and coordinated with the chapel in-charge named "Mimi" to have us booked for the chapel. Here are the fees:

Chapel Rent - 2, 000
Choir - 2000
Stipend for the Priest- (any amount or donation will be accepted; not required)

Last but not the least, we decided to decorate the church ourselves to save extra money.


Friendly advice: Secure first the requirements before you secure the wedding date and reception to avoid unnecessary problems in the future  After all, it is not the reception, nor the date that matters, it's the ceremony. 


That's all folks. I hope you find this post helpful.

I would be forever grateful if you help my blog grow by liking my facebook page here. Your single click means a lot to me. Thank you so much.

The days are gone where I could rely solely on breastfeeding in order to trim down my weight. When I got pregnant, I weighed roughly 53 kilograms, and it went down to 50 kilograms after giving birth which is still beyond my normal weight.

According to the dietician where I got a free consultation at the mall sponsored by NESTLE  7 years ago, my ideal weight should be 47 kilograms based on my age and height. Beyond that number, I am already overweight.

It is one of the woes (overweight) I endured for the past three years.  Even I had been breastfeeding Chesska for three years, I still got stuck in 50 kilograms. The culprit, I surmised, was I munched heavily on rice and carb-rich foods. It's also hard to diet especially if you are breastfeeding. I feel hungry from time to time.

I know I am not alone on this woe because there are a lot of moms I know whose worries are the same as mine: overweight, bulging bellies, etc. But in fairness to my belly, I don't appear yet as 4-month-old pregnant as others. That's what I am constantly watching for. (hehe)

However, early this morning, while Chesska and I were throwing and catching the ball to each other, I spotted a weighing scale under my mom's bed. I pulled it over and have Chesska weigh first. She weighed 13 kilograms, which was as exact as her weight during her recent check-up.

I was hesitant to believe because I used to think this scale was defective because every time I stepped on it, the hand was always pointing to 50 or 51 kilograms, sometimes 52 kilograms (somewhere in that number and the truth there's a sort of self-denial). To make sure, I called my husband to come over and weigh himself, and he assured the result was correct, and so did my mom.

Convinced, I  stepped on the scale over and over and got the same results, 45 kilograms. Out of gladness, I paused awhile, thought as deep as swimming pool, and exclaimed: "My Strategies Did Really Work, YES!".

If you want to know my natural ways, no-trick secrets to losing weight, here they are: 

1. While at the mall, I utilize stairs instead of elevator and escalator.
2. I only eat one cup of rice and prepare healthy foods every meal.
3. I don't munch junk foods of any kind  (I have practiced this for 7 years already). According to studies, if you constantly munch junk foods, you add 54, 750 calories to your diet per year.
4. I stop sipping soft drink anymore since Jan. 1, 2015 (one of my 2015 goals).
5. I only walk when errands cover only short distances. I make sure to bring an umbrella with me and don my sunblock.
6. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables.
7. I drink 7-8 glasses of water daily.
8. I keep my body moving. I do the household chores as I can before the clock hits 9:30. My online job starts at 9:30.
9. I make sure to sleep at least 8 hours daily.
10. I no longer eat pork since Jan. 1, 2015 (one of my 2015 goals).
11. I take a few minutes walk with my loved ones daily around our subdivision.
12. I only nibble healthy snacks (fruits, nuts, corn).
13. I drink 28-pc, fresh, squeezed kalamansi with empty stomach 2 times a week.

As you can see, most strategies I listed down are not actually strategies, those are part of my daily routines which are effortless and costless. Though this would entail self-discipline and it takes time to get used to them.  I take those healthy habits nonchalantly, after all, it's I who can profit from it. My last secret is I haven't been sick for the past 7 years. Thank GOD!

via: http://www.sparkpeople.com/

P.S. Next goal is how to flatten my belly. (both of my fingers crossed!)

I would be forever grateful if you help my blog grow by liking my facebook page here. Your single click means a lot to me. Thank you so much.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon some notes of mine in Facebook. I am no FB heavy user but then I found myself aimlessly browsing my profile. As I scrolled down, I discovered some notes found somewhere at the left bottom and written sometime four years ago. It is titled "AMAZING". Upon reading it, I was amazed literally.

Bemused, I was debating in my mind whether I was the author of this piece.  I paused awhile and scanned through the note. I could vouch that it is truly my piece based on the scenarios. One is, I used to attend masses in San Pedro Church way back single life.

Let me share with you this story: original, without minor nor major edits, however with grammar flaws (hehe).  Well, since I started blogging, I've never claimed that I am an outstanding writer.  I know, if you desire to be so, it takes an enormous amount of energy and time studying the grammar rules and polishing your writing style. Yes, I may have been miles away from other excellent writers, but I never cease learning to be one of them someday.  All I can say for now is that my progress bar is gradually increasing.

AMAZING!

At 1:35pm, Sunday afternoon, I attended mass at San Pedro Church. Most often, I had been attending mass on this schedule for the reason that the mass is in Visaya dialect. I usually came in the church very early so I could find a seat, otherwise I will be standing the whole period of the mass. I was sitting at the 5th row from the front. 

While waiting, I observed things around me and a gospel written in a big rectangular cloth captivated my attention. The gospel goes this way“ Ang Mahigugmaong Sakripisyo ni Hesus” I tried to translate this in English and it is “ The sacrificial love of Jesus Christ”.  

As I turned back, I saw the priest who was scheduled to preside the mass along with the other children who were tasked to read the gospels. But I was surprised, because the priest was not a Filipino, instead he is a Black American. At first glance, he could really catch everybody’s attention because of his skin complexion. He was so dark. And then, a question came to my mind, how could he conduct a mass in Visaya?  

Abruptly, I answered my own question, perhaps he will just speak in English. As the mass started, and when it was the priest’s time to speak, he amazingly spoke visaya articulately. And he uttered not just a simple visaya but a very deep visaya that even I, could hardly speak. 

Though the only silly thing there was, he spoke visaya better but his pronunciation was still associated by Americans pronunciation “something like slang” as we called here in the Philippines. The priest spoke straight Visaya all the way and I never heard him spoke English. Everybody was so astonished not only the way he spoke our dialect incredibly but the way he delivered the message to us. At the end of the mass, I came into two realizations; 

First, when God’s spirit works to each of us, nothing is impossible. Such as the priest who successfully learned our Visaya language because of his passion to preach the good news of God to people. 

Second; when you are tasked to work, do it for the Glory of God. Learning language is not an easy thing to do, it really takes a long time to learn it but if we put God first in everything to please and glorify Him, even the impossible thing can happen.

Can you spot the difference between my writings from the past and the present? Or you see no difference at all? I would love to hear what you think.

via: http://www.joeseeber.com/never-stop-learning-2/

I would be forever grateful if you help my blog grow by liking my facebook page here. Your single click means a lot to me. Thank you so much.