We all stay home but BIRTHDAY’s not cancelled.

Just like most of us at this time of crisis, I’m home all the time. With Benjo and the boys. We are still here in Singapore. How are you all doing?

It’s May 2020 and we are in the midst of a bad pandemic. I am praying everyday for so many people.. especially those who never stop working to help us all get through the bad times... to those who are in great suffering.... to those who lost a loved one. May God give you the grace and courage. This too shall pass.
                                   

This is me and this is Miguel now. He just turned 12 recently. Before Covid-19, we planned to go camping. Everything was ready and we have been watching camping hacks in youtube and we bought some camping gears as his birthday present  so the anticipation kept getting higher.

Until, just a few days before his birthday, the Singapore government announced that as part of the nationwide circuit breaker, CAMPINGS ARE NOT ALLOWED. To Miguel’s disappointment. He locked himself in the room for sometime to process the news. Sorry ‘nak :(

17 April... morning... SURPRISE!

We set up a camp in our living room. I was preparing myself for some awkward moments considering this might be too “childish” for him already... and I was right.. the first few moments were awkward! But he’s too respectful to show it so we continued with the day... lolll

‘Sit on your birthday camping chair’ I said. 

‘Eh’ he said. 

He’s been eating homecooked meals for a while now it has become too boring so we surprised him with his fave Long John Silvers. It may not show in his still awkward smile but he loved it ok. 

Mindsetting time. Convince gid da ang anak mo nga mag enjoy sa camping nya. Hahaha! 

Daw ang iban ya mas nasadyahan ho.. 

Never too old for a favourite — cookies and cream cheesecake... 

It was a lot more fun in the evening when it became dark and we had to use the lights.. things became camp-like... we played charades and “Pinoy Henyo” ... Daddy’s “water aerobics” acts 

will never be forgotten! 

Thank you Lord for a wonderful day... So simple... so humble... it was just the four of us, 

but it was great ❤️

Birthday boy the next day. Proof that the birthday camping was NOT CANCELLED.

Happy birthday Anak! We love you so much! 

The Tale of Two Wedding Receptions

I'm not talking about the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. This wedding I'm going to talk about happened the day before the Royal Wedding. Read on... 

Since the day Benjo and I got back from our pilgrimage, I haven't completely adjusted to my normal schedule, haven't caught up with the laundry, barely even touched any of my business  and crafting backlogs and... I haven't lost any of the fats I gained after 13 days of eating pasta and drinking wine everyday. I was so frustrated and overwhelmed that I mindlessly just survived each minute taking care of the boys, the home, the life ... never ending chores, parent-teacher meeting, case conferences, and eating some more! Haiyooo!

I was at that emotional and mental state when Cathy my friend, asked me to make some wedding giveaways for our friend Evev and Tito who were to be married in two days! Are you kidding me? Two days ah? I said NO. Partly because I was really not in a good shape and partly because I really didn't have time.  But we all know that even in an hour, if I really wanted to do it, I could just drop surfing my instagram and do it right. hahaha.  That's the advantage if you are that gut-level with a friend. You can say no trusting that they'll understand. And she did. But then I felt guilty afterwards. hihi. 

The next day. Cathy was still very busy with the wedding details. Cakes. Giveaways. She was very active in our group chat following up with the bride about everything. And managed to settle things smoothly with very little help from the self-absorbed, fat, hormonic me. lol.  And then we found out that the cakes and the giveaways were not really needed because THERE IS A CAKE. and THERE ARE GIVEAWAYS..... ALREADY! Hmmmn... what to do with double everything?

I felt for Cathy... I admired her enthusiasm,  touched by the love she has for our friend  and somehow found myself feeling the normal feelings of a true friend ... So I rolled up my sleeves, forgot about the less than 24 hrs timetable,  and proposed a DOUBLE CELEBRATION! The original reception hosted by the organizers and another one which would be a SURPRISE for the bride!










We witnessed a simple, lovely wedding and fantastic  reception  with three other couples and their families and friends which we enjoyed so much ... and then we had an after party at my place. Cathy and I had to prepare all these before we go to the wedding venue. We couldn't have done any of these without our dear husbands' support.


I only had 2 dessert plates so I had to run to the nearest mall to buy four more and buy whatever fresh flowers were available. Happy with what I found!


By the time I was setting this up, I had no idea what food we were gonna serve. I just wanted everything to be pretty and wedding-ish :)


I had to rely on what's in my stash and nothing could make me dance for joy at that moment than finding this gold crepe paper!  And of course, that was a perfect time to bring out those coordinating throw pillows --- one of which I just saw while buying the plates, can you believe I even had time for that?


...simple calligraphy using gold Pentel brush pen




... remember I said no to make the giveaways? I think God made me say no (justify pa more hahaha!) because Cathy found these online and they are adorable! She packed some sweet treats inside and assembled each and every box by hand.




The cake.  Cathy ordered a plain white cake in fondant and I decorated it with fresh flowers. First time to do this, I had to search "how to..." from pinterest :D





... to finish the whole set up, I added our personal gifts for the couple. I hope they like it.



 This is us. Having a mini fine dining over moscato and --- since we didn't have time to cook --- FOOD PANDA! hahaha! It was such a cute party I must say. We started by playing the video montage Cathy made, a prayer and then we didn't plan what to do next but it sure was fun! If you don't zoom in to what we were eating, you wouldn't really know those were onion rings, chicken wings and potato wedges. hahhaha.






You know what they say, "What you do in love is done well"? It's true. I feel that we did well. Look at those smiles! Cheers Tito and Evev! We are very very happy you said "I DO" again. This time in front of God and the church. Love you guys! Bless the Lord for this day! Bless the Lord always!

To Cathy, success Mare! I'm glad I got the chance to turn things around after I said no to you at first. Mwah! Fist bump! Haha! 

Happy 39th!

Nothing beats this sight... for you to be happy and laughing out loud. Because you so deserved it! 

I had to work long hours almost everyday last week which means coming home at almost or after midnight. So I was kind of hesistant for a party but I know he loves to be with friends around on his birthday so we planned for a simple gathering with few friends he wanted to invite. So I made a list. And I asked him what I should write in my list. 

Was thinking to have just a simple, relaxing afternoon (after Mae and I did some fast forward moves in the kitchen that is haha!) and I am so glad it happened. 

Thanks dear friends for coming and celebrating with us! 

Just saw these chalkboard labels, chalkboard tapes and B&W straws from American Crafts DIY Shop at the MWL while we were displaying the new arrivals. I picked it up immediately, with this picture in mind... 

It did happen just as I imagined! Thanks to Mae, Mona, Leila and Bing for helping me :) The birthday boy was so happy and satisfied he even said this in facebook: "Thanks, my Misis Rulona for all the delicious food and the beautiful preparation without sweat! You did it very nicely with beauty and grace. I love you more and more!  "

Well :):):)

Don't hold back. Live what you love!

Believe me.
Just go for it.
Papers. Photos.
Memory Keeping.
Making things with your hands and heart and feel very happy about it, making others happy too!
Meeting friends sharing the same passion.
Pretty things.
Just go for it.

If one day you might feel you are not getting anywhere with your passion.  If you feel discouraged. Rejected. Alone. Don't stop.

Just go for it. KEEP GOING. Keep creating for the love of it. Do it  not for others but for yourself. Enjoy the process. Break the rules. Be free. Be happy!
Believe me because I've been there.

I used to just dream about this....
and it is slowly coming true :)

It came true on my last year of being thirty-something! Thank you my dear scrappy friends for being there... you will never know how much you made me happy :)  this won't be the last Xoxo! :) 

HUGS

I just turned 39 yesterday and although it's a new day now,  I still feel the birthday vibe and these cards I made for Robin's Nest speak volumes of how I want to do right this moment..  I want to give everyone  some BIG BIG HUGS! *A special warm hug for my youngest sis who needs it very much right now*

Check out my DT post today at Robin's Nest blog where I shared how I came up with these minimalist greeting cards. 

And here's sharing with you a peek at my unplanned but super duper happy birthday yesterday ... 

Balloons were my boys' surprise for me... puddings in cups were brought by a friend, Mona who came over to greet me (true friends come even if you don't invite them! haha! Luv u Mon! I'm really touched and I'm very grateful for our friendship!), cake was not part of the plan but Miguel never stopped asking me to make one, so. 

I wished for nothing. Well not really nothing. I just wanted a carefree day with my boys in clean and good smelling house,  Skype with family, a peaceful heart and deeper faith. I got it all and more! Wait. Our house wasn't that clean lol! A house will never be that squeaky clean when you have two growing rascals I guess. 

Highlights of my day (and the days before too!) for memory keeping... 

• delicious homemade chorizo breakfast 
• Skype with in-laws
• Skype with parents
• chats with siblings 
• nephew Abe's drawing for me
• my boys' surprise balloons and birthday poster complete with "lights off" effects haha! Thanks Mae!
• hubby dear's prank (in fairness! i like it BB hehehe)
• Sister's honoring (sniff. gotta read it when I feel so useless and down)
• Father's testimony (surprised... a lot of revelations on how he felt when I was a growing young adult hehehe)
• JJ's surprise gift :)
• keeping in touch with friends I have missed a lot
• a time spent with a great friend Mona (and Leila too!) thanks for bringing the yummy cuppies and the candles! 
• bike trip with kids, planned by Miguel, that was cut short due to thunder and lightning LOL! 
• rosary with BB 

Thank you my Father in Heaven for my life.  Thank you Papang and Mamang. My family, friends and community. It was one of my best birthdays ever. And because I believe that everyday should be treated as birthday, with His grace, I intend to make each of my days  just like that. Stress-free, less complicated, but with meaning. Is it possible? It depends if I keep myself guarded with the temptations and chaos of this world. It's a daily battle that I can only win with Him by my side :) 

Jimmy Badilla

He is fun-loving. Playful. Childlike. He loves sweets. Very thoughtful especially during our birthdays. We didn't have all the luxury in the world growing up. We may even have lacked on many things but I always thought we were just fine. There were bad days, like when he would scold and spank (this one's really scary!) but in good days, especially special days, he would think of ways to surprise us from making a funny card or inventing a fun game to make our birthdays memorable. I always couldn't sleep the night before my birthday because I'd be extremely excited. And it's always different each year! I remember waking up to a treasure hunt with lots of pink notes and directions leading to a "treasure" I still have those pink notes until now. 

How else could I best portray that side of him than by creating this playful, sweet collage card! The photo of him eating sweets right outside Candylicious is just perfect! 

  

Thank you for being just the way you are. You have molded the five of us in ways you may never have known.. Know that I will never choose any other father if given  a choice. My prayer is for you to always be happy and at peace and contented living your simple and humble life with Mamang. And here's from your apos... 

Happy Birthday Jimmy Badilla! Love and prayers and hugs and kisses from all of us :) 

Alphabet Cookies + Robin's Nest DT + true love exists

I'm trying to make it a habit to cook or bake something special on weekends (and by weekend, I mean Friday, Saturday, Sunday!) So for this weekend it's alphabet cookies, using this recipe. 

I was surprised it was that easy but then I was also shocked to realize how sinful could 1 piece of letter M get. The amount of sugar and butter we need to make it! Aaaaak! But then again, when I took it out of the oven, and smelled its deliciousness, my knees weakened. Add to that the joy felt when I saw the boys excitement! 

I ate two. Okay three. 

Now these are what I call just-had-cookies kinda smiles! BURP! :)

So that's how my weekend started and it's not even halfway yet, but I've got another great news: I am STILL a designer chick for Robin's Nest! Yehey! Thank you for the trust! I am excited to be designing with new team and some of the returning DTs as well. Full reveal of the New Design Team line up is HERE. 

Here are some of my favourite creations for Robin's Nest.... 

I'm not done yet! Because exactly a year ago, my youngest sister got married and that made me cry. I cried because I was too happy! Their wedding proved that true love exists! Happy anniversary Che2 and Victor. I love you both to bits! 

Okay. That's all and thanks for reading my long post with lots of exclamation points!!!!