✿Violets Murmur ✿✿♫

For the past few weeks, I have been fortunate enough to stick to the routine of reading a verse from the Bible every morning and reflecting on its message. It has been wonderfully enlightening, to say the least.  Last Wednesday, this was the verse that greeted me when I opened my Bible app...  If the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.   ~ John 8:36  To say that I was stunned is an understatement... but then, I shouldn't have been. Ever since I can remember, whenever I'm struggling with some ethical or moral dilemma, I always get an epiphany of the answer. In my youthful pride, I thought "Wow, I'm brilliant." Not knowing it was not actually me but God who was guiding me to the answers. It took me a while to realize this and thankfully when I became an adult, I did. This time was one of them. You see, I was struggling. Four months and still counting, my father and I have been forced to endure each other's company for weeks on end. Outsid...

I guess it's been over half a decade that I've posted anything here. I haven't stopped writing actually. You see, I get paid to write... as well as fix what other people write. So it was only a matter of time that I get sick of it once in a while. And yes, the joy of writing for myself sort of faded over time until... it completely became a big hulking ominous void. Kidding! At one time in my youth, I'd probably interpret things that way. But I've shed that "emo" self a long time ago. The truth is that life happened... responsibilities and bills got in the way of hobbies and spare time. And it just lasted for quite a while, I guess. This year, however, presented to me an opportunity to go back to old loves, and hopefully, I'll really find the time and perseverance to keep at it. Bonne chance (to me)!

I'm not much for celebrating my birthdays but I do get excited when presented with such adorable holidays,  especially those that let the little kid in me be excited about dressing up and looking for all sorts of scares. So yes, I like Halloween... even though Filipinos don't originally celebrate it... and some of the people I know actually frown upon the practice. :P But hey, I love it because for one day, at least, acting like a kid is somehow excusable. Hahaha! Sadly though, I have no party to go to this year. Also, I don't feel like celebrating -- not that I'm much of a party person on ordinary days, mind you. I'm a determined wallflower. Fortunately, I did have an early Halloween treat. I got to go to Parkmall's Horror Park! Yay! It was so much fun! They really do have cool scares. And the "monsters" were so game, they come out and deliver their frights with such perfect timing that I actually screamed hysterically a couple of times. An...

Just created my first ever knitting design -- cable-stitched fingerless gloves! Yay! Here's the short of it... I just resigned from my latest regular office job and am currently catching up on all the hobbies I've sorely missed when I was still frantic with ridiculously impossible quotas and tear-inducing deadlines. So, here I am... going back to my knitting, crocheting, reading, and telly-watching -- not to mention my blogging. Finished 5 books, caught up on my TV shows, and found all my crafting tools from my poorly organized box... just last month. Have also been able to get my lappie fixed and got most of my personal errands done... except for a couple or so. Not bad eh? But the thing I'm most proud of accomplishing lately is that I finally got to create my own knitting pattern design... something that actually required more than plain straight lines. Hehe. Et voila! Got the idea from a friend who was suffering from an over-enthusiastic air conditioning applia...

I have taken this journal for granted so badly lately that I have actually been doubtful about posting anything new. It's almost the middle of the year and this is just my first post. So embarrassing. o.O But hey, this is a special occasion and I just wanted to post a shout out to some of the most amazing people in the world... moms. Moms at our church were serenaded by some of the kids I used to teach art to. They were so adorable. ^_^ Awesome WFC Moms My beautiful godmother, Mommy Helen. And of course, I can't leave out my wonderful mama... who I miss very very very much! Even Google got into the spirit of things with this cute doodle. Happy Mother's Day to all mom, mums, mamas, madres, mères, and mga ina! *bow* Since I don't have enough dough to send flowers to my mom and sisters... opted for a virtual one instead. (spied this at church, too. haha)

I'm a pretty reactive person, but I've been trying to minimize it on print for the past years because I've ruined past blogs because of them. Yes, I tended to rant...  a lot. When I made this one, I made a promise to myself that I would try to avoid it this time. Sometimes though, you just have to speak up because choosing not to might be more of a travesty. That's exactly how I felt when I wrote the one below. And yes, I really did send this to his FB account as a private message. I bet they disregarded this as some insignificant garbage from an equally insignificant pesky Cebuana. Well yes, I am a "nobody", if you really think about it. I am just a blogger (which are a dime a dozen, these days) who likes to write online, mostly about food... sometimes about things she's passionate about. I have no grand delusions about being a great "somebody"... or "anybody". But I AM a FILIPINO... and a tax payer... and no I didn't vote for him....

This surprised me when I pressed "home" on my net browser.  Strange, but cute. ^_^ Grazie, Google! I guess? And no, I still don't celebrate it. Haha!

as endearing as the fluffiest bunny rabbit munching on a carrot or a husky puppy tilting its head while giving you that "Am I cute or what?" look. Hahaha! And no, I'm not saying you're a bunny rabbit or a husky puppy, Maria Myka. That's just my long-winded version of saying you're super cute when you're excited about a cup of coffee--mind you, it was one humongous cup. I would've been equally happy myself if I had the moolah to spare for one. :P And yes, that's exactly how I feel about this delightfully yummy beverage myself. You and I are definitely kindred spirits, girly girl. Haha! Your eyes practically turned into hearts, Myka. Swearz! ^_^

Yes, these adorable people with their adorable tunes have been lately plaguing my head... some stuff on my everyday playlist... tunes I get to listen to every day. See what I just did there? And yes, the Grammar Nazi in me strikes again. It rears its ugly head, arm, and foot once in a while, I tell you. Yep, I'm an advocate of the Oxford comma. So sue me! :P One of my all-time faves... Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars A recently discovered treasure from an old love... Sara Bareilles' Brave An amazingly lovely cover of a song I wasn't able to appreciate before this... Sara Bareilles' cover of Beyonce's All The Single Ladies Some of my many faves from my long-time crushie... Jason Wade *sigh* Lifehouse's All In, Broken, and Blind Some tunes from a cute artist I just discovered a few months ago... Kina Grannis' In Your Arms and The One You Say Goodnight To An addictive earworm I'd gladly be addicted to every now and then... The ...

I have clearly been neglecting my sites and I'm not particularly proud of that. It's always been a struggle for me to efficiently manage my "free" time. Well, the truth is... when I enjoy my work, I tend to get carried away by a tsunami of frantic work-related utilization of my supposedly free time. That's what happens... and is still obviously happening with me. :D Anyhow, I finally decided to pinch some time for personal things and so here I am. I guess, it's sorta good news that I'm not online as much as I used to. It clearly means I have some semblance of a social life. Haha. But for those who are wondering what "loves" I'm referring to... here they are... some new "eye candies" for my inner shutterbug... and fellow photography aficionados out there, of course. If you're a friend, feel free to comment. If you're not, I don't care much what you think... I love these new shots I've gathered in my photo chest t...

Yes, yes! Yummy--because I wanted so very much to eat her up. :P Joke! Anyhoo, merci beaucoup to her beautiful parents for letting me take photos. They actually agreed when I asked if we could meet so I could have a mini photoshoot. So accommodating. I was so ecstatic! Hehehe. She so wanted that Berry Krusher. Mommy won't let her have any, poor baby. :( Such sparkly eyes! Hypnotizing, I tell you! When all else fails... smirk. Hehe. with pretty Mum playing with Pops hmmm... fascinated by Tita's iPhone... techie girl in the making? :P She was such a cutie, I wanted to squeeze her silly. But she had to go home 'coz she was sleepy... and apparently, when she's sleepy she gets as cranky as an old coot. :D So nice meeting you, baby Aze! ^_^

February, the month of cutesy hearts and lovey dovey stuff... except maybe for me. It's always been "the second month of the year" or "Sean's birth month" for me. So yes, I was never the normal one. But I guess any month is always a blessing--I still do have loved ones, after all. And I am more than happy to be alive... and well... and able to rant or "eloquently" blab about things. (yes, I can be conceited sometimes ^_^) Aaa-ny-way... this post certainly has no direction at all. All I just wanted to do is post some pretty pictures I took this gloomy nippy day. Oh yes, it was a chilly February day. I got to use my kitty-ridden umbrella... and got goosebumps all over my upper limbs from the cold when I got out of the office. It was a cute morning though, despite the overcast weather. I spied some cute colorful umbrellas outside our hall. It made me grin. And when I got home, I finally remembered to take pictures of the Valentine rose I bought...

Spent last Sunday with a friend I haven't seen in months. It was nice to see her and hear her crazy ideas again. Yes, I'm blessed with such interesting pals. We were supposed to watch a movie, but I wasn't really dressed for it. I was wearing a pair of shorts--and I get cold so very fast--so I urged the said friend to do some window shopping instead. Well, not really window shopping since we actually bought something. I remembered I had to buy a plastic box for the office, so I did. (I probably sound boring now. I guess I just dunno what to write anymore. My head has been squeezed dry of anything remotely creative or interesting.) So there we were, walking at the mall... Chin was trying to think of anything to do to postpone our going home. I was trying not to shiver from the cold with every step. :P Then we spied these cute sweet-smelling paper bags near the escalators. The paper bags looked so cute and the prints so quaint that I couldn't help checking them out. A...

Cute adorable shoes are among the many things I just can't resist. But it's so hard keeping them these days... what with all the alternating rainshowers and blistering heat my city is so prone to, I could hardly keep any pair for long--unless they're sneakers, of course. Sneakers are such hardy pairs. But I could hardly wear sneakers with cutesy dresses, can I? Cebu may be a tad fashion forward these days, but it can only stand so much non-conformity. In my opinion, anyway. And people at the new office might decide to give me a memo for committing such a fashion crime. Joke! So, I have always had pairs of girly girl shoes handy around the house, just in case... especially ballet flats. I just adore them. Unfortunately, their usual lifespan is about 4 to 8 months. Sometimes, they last for about a year, which would be stretching my luck already. If they're over a year old, I usually get nervous that they'd fall apart any minute I'm out of the house. One time, I ac...

Just received another present from a friend last weekend. He just came back from spending the holidays in his hometown in Japan and it was super nice of him to remember to buy me a "pasalubong". The beads look extra kawaii! And he treated me to some yummy lunch, too! Thanks, Hiro-kun! :D

Last Saturday was the first weekend I've had in weeks that really felt like a genuine weekend... and not like the same boring weekday in which nothing happened. I was so ridiculously happy I could have danced a jig. Hehehe. This is clearly what happens when you've been a bum for over a month. So to celebrate my joining the common throng of people with their typical work week again, I dragged my nieces to 7-Eleven and treated them to cheap yummy sundaes. ^_^ Now, if only I have enough money to buy a new pair of ballet flats... I'd be as happy as a bee for... the next three months, at least. :) All my good shoes have been destroyed by boiling hot pavement and/or unexpected floods. :( Ice cream will always be synonymous with happiness for me.

Just visited friends at their house... and tried to snap some pixies of their cute darlings. Chino, the cutie that met me with a purring demand for some serious belly rub the minute I stepped into the room. Snow, the scary mama who finally deemed me worthy to give her a nice petting before snubbing me yet again a minute later... still it was a big improvement. I'll visit more often so you get more used to me, your highness. hahahaha It's always nice to catch up. And since I've been cooped up at home for days, having an excuse to get out was like a balm to my "growing panicky and might be a bit borderline already" mind and an equally apprehensive soul. Yes, yes, that's a bit of melodrama to start the year with for you. :D Anyhoo, so I visited a couple of amazingly brilliant artists at their adorable home.. got the chance to pet some cuties... and of course, a present was had--which was very much welcome. I was ecstatic when I got home and finally ...