Money Tree for 2014

Few hours left and it's already 2014.  

I wanted to put something on our table to welcome the new year and thus...

I made our personalized Money Tree! 

This is our Mini Christmas Tree from Avon.  It has its own lights and it looks so nice.  Since Christmas is over and we are welcoming 2014, I made something to our tree. 

From the following materials.. 

 

and 

It became this! 

It's not perfect but in my heart it is.  They say that it's lucky to have a money tree at home but this one is different because I made it. 

We often associate Money Tree to luck and prosperity but for me this Money Tree will not bring the wealth that we need BUT it will give us the determination and inspiration to make sure we have enough for the year! 

Happy 2014 to everyone!

Xoxo

Hernandez' Christmas Party 2013

Every year we always gather together to make sure that the message and spirit of Christmas come across! 

It's again time for our yearly get together! We spent the day at Maria Paz Resort here at San Pablo City so that kiddos can swim while the adults are munching! 

Food were provided by everyone and I believe no one starved! Thanks to everyone who gave their share of food, from the appetizer, to the main course up to the sweets!  

We (Hernandez Clan) are growing so fast! There are a lot of kiddos and these kiddos need to have a lot of fun and so I prepared some games to perk them up!

Here are the teams! 

First game was, Scavenger Hunt.

A list of things were provided to them (10 items) and they need to get all of them in the shortest possible time.  The team who gets the shortest time with the correct lined up items wins! 

What's on the list? 

- 1000 peso bill

- ID Card

- Slippers

- Cellphone

- family picture

- Keychain

- belt

- ponytail

- sss ID

Then the second game is Longest Line. 

The third game is Calamansi Relay.

Then stack 'em up! 

Then finale was "Memory Game".  There were several items (20 items) that were laid on the grass.  Teams can look at them for 20 seconds, then they have one minute to write down all the things that they saw! The team who were able to remember more from the items wins!

After the games, the jumping and shouting we then prepared for the Gift Giving!! 

I hope that everyone had fun! I had a lot of fun (with a lot of shouting!). 

If you want to see the entire photoshoot of this wonderful event, please visit Kristine Louise' fb account! :D

Xoxo

My forever BFFs!

My Christmas homecoming aint Christmas homecoming if I will not meet with my all time BFFs! 

Miss my girls so much and I am always thankful to have them around! Even if we are all over the place, we always find time to meet up.  Most of the time we meet here in my home! 

They are part of Diaz Family eversince college and they will always be family forever! 

Love my sisters from another mother!!

Xoxo

Doing my own nails!

I am a fan of fancy nails and sometimes I do it on my own.  Normally I would have plain colors on it. 

Since it's Christmas, I thought of putting a bit of twist! 

From this~

Then to this ~ 

Finished one is tadah!!

Simple kikays!! 

Xoxo

What is Christmas?

2 days before Christmas, I was still working in the office and I really don't feel like Christmas! 

I finally figured out the reason ~ yes, I am getting older.  It seemed that the Christmas energy and spirit didn't stay with me and all I think of about Christmas is to have the much deserved rest for me. 

Well, I realized I was totally wrong! 

Christmas is: 

1. Family - we just had our simple breakfast! Egg, bacon, rice and coffee! Nothing beats eating breakfast together! 

Mama and I were both carrying our mini Christmas tree from Avon! Hehe! 

2. Gift giving - it's really the essence of Christmas - not to literally give gifts but to bring out the smiles on their faces! 

When I received some gifts, i was also excited about them! 

(Napa smile din ako)!

The holiday season is also the time to be merry and to get together with family and friends!  Hernandez' reuinon is on the 29th and I am so excited to prepare all the fun and games to the event! 

This is our simple Christmas Tree! It is really full of gifts and it makes me smile more because I know that it will give a lot of smile to the people who will receive them! 

This is our simple Belen in the house! 

My realization now is: 

Christmas is the season for Happy Feelings and love! 'Tis the season to be merry not by giving things to ourselves (well it may count at some point) but to give love, laughter and care to the people who really matters to us! 

Again! From my Family to you! 

A very Merry Christmas!! 

Xoxo

Claire's 7th Birthday

My neice celebrated her 7th birthday last month and this post is way too late! I still hope to share the cute little DIY things from the party.  As well as some of the details of the event. 

This event was also like a family reunion for us and it's great to see cousins, aunties ad uncles working together to achieve a successful birthday. 

Here are some of the DIY from the party. 

This is how the pool looked like, it made me feel so debut! 

Here are the give aways! Yes with the theme! 

This is how we decorated the banner and cake.

Now on to the princess of the day! 

Very beautiful in red! 

Then the dances! 

It was supposed to the 7 dances but nevertheless it was still sweet dances! 

Now on to the foodies:

We were supposed to have games for the kids but it seemed that they liked swimming more! 

Again! Happy Birthday to Claire from her loving and supportive parents! Ate Kay and Kuya Lester! 

Ps: the private resort was at Calamba City Laguna.  Villanueva Resort. 

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Let's admit ~ we are Beautiful!

If we were noticed by someone and says "you are beautiful" most of the time we feel shy about it and say "Hindi naman..".  Well most people will not admit how beautiful they are because they feel they are not.

Have you heard a girl says "I'm thin".. Most of the time, we (yes including I) always say that we "are fat" and that we are not happy with how we look.  We are always conscious on what other people will see us.  We are our self critic.

I saw this advertisement and it says a lot about beauty.



This gave me a realization that we are all beautiful.  
That other people see the beauty in us and we are just blind denying it.

Xoxo

We met our old selves!

ThrowbackThursdays are so in, that almost everybody are posting pictures from the past.  Like 20 years ago and the like. 

For me and Sweets, here is a throwback!

Where we met with our old selves. They say that we were all reincarnated and that some of us might have lived before.  Well me and Sweets, I think we were royalties back then!

Here is an evidence of how we looked before (1800s) and now.  ^_^

They look similar and yet so different! Hahahahah! 

Looking at the "old us" and "new us", a lot has changed!  

As we continue changing, let's make it a point to change for the better!  Let's give ourselves a time to reflect about the things that we want to achieve and how we can all improve from our old selves! 

Xoxo

The Tutu Project: By Bob Carey

Last week as I was reading my daily subscription from Elite Daily I saw this post about the "Tutu Project".  The video won't upload and thus I was not able to watch it. 

This morning, I saw the same "Tutu Project" from my other subscription.
Hmmm, seems like they are telling me something ~ I NEED TO KNOW THIS!

Finally I was able to watch what the "Tutu Project" was all about.
Let me share with you a beautiful photo from this project.

This is just one photo from many & this picture itself is very inspiring to me.
I see a calm lake, disturbed by a stone and watched by Bob (w/ pink tutu).
Despite the disturbance, with the pain that it carries, we need to be up on our toes and smile! Life is ahead of us!

I am sharing with you this video and hopefully like what I had, you will also find inspiration from it.  On how love can really move mountains and how faith will always give people a reason to smile and believe that nothing is impossible.



I was teary eyed after watching the video.  I am really emotional when it comes to loving your family.  Enough about me, I hope you can have your own realization about this one and share the happiness with the people you love.

Look at the Tutu Project to find out more about it.
You can also visit Bob's Official Site to see his other work.

Action item: What can you do to help someone smile today? :)

Xoxo

Wow feeling artista ako!

I have always been an advocate of engagement here at Accenture.  My friends and loved ones would atest to that! I have written a number of my Accenture experience and I am always proud to be part of this organization. 

Last week I was asked by one of our Marketing Team that they will be featuring something that I said about Accenture.  I (ofcourse) gladly agreed to that! 

This afternoon, Sweets told me that my feature was already there!  He was informed by a friend's friend who was also working at Accenture. 

Here it is:

To learn more about the Accenture way, visit

 http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BmM_ysnUK_o&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBmM_ysnUK_o

Minsan lang ma feature! Hehe! 

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Every Girl has a Plan!

Life is complicated! Sometimes they say that in order to enjoy it, we have to go with the flow and walk where the wind takes us.  Though it may sound right (we do not want to be OC), we also need to make sure that we have a goal in mind. 

Me, being me, I always wanted to make sure that everything is planned.  I wish I could have planned better but I am not an expert on that. 

Say for instance: I usually say that my Christmas gift list is ready by October. 

Evidence below, I posted this on Instagram 6weeks ago, so right about October timeframe.

But up until now, I am adding some people to my list.  Meaning - yes I have an end in mind but I do not claim that I am perfect in planning!

My point is, we may have planned everything in our lives but perfectly planning every detail of every occassion of everyday may mean a lot of stressful nights and OCness in our lives.  

Therefore, sometimes we have to give leeway to ourselves that we have to be flexible.  Personally, I find thrills if there are last minute things that I need to accomplish.  It may sound a waste of time for some but its an energy boost. 

So end in mind: always have a plan!

Your Plan: To enjoy life as it is and not to over complicate things! 

Happy Friday to y'all! 

Xoxo

Who is your hero?

If you are going to ask a child this question, the answer would probably 

"my mom or my dad". 

The answer will really depend on who you are asking because their responses would be based from their experiences. 

If you would ask me, I have a lot of heroes! Both from my family and friends!

I cannot explain each of my life heroes but let me share with you the main heroes of my life!

Here is my list: 

1. My parents - I will not be able to share my being in this world without them.  They are my first teacher & first critic.  They are the soldiers who will fight for me and the army who will protect me.  They appreciate my every action and is always proud of what I have achieved. They gave me the strength that I need to continuously love myself and the people who makes me happy! They are the ultimate heroes of my life! 

2. My Husband - Sweets is everything that I am not! He sees when I cannot see, he understands when I am losing my patience.  He showed me how it is to love and to be loved.  He showed me how to forgive, how to control anger and how to be happy!  He showed me everything that I need to know in Life. (And more to come!)

3. My Parents-in-Law - without them, I will not be the happy wife that I am now. They have treated me as their own daughter and I could not be thankful enough to have two sets of awesome parents!  Their wisdom is overwhelming that I tend to share them with my own family.  They are my hero when it comes to family values & family ties.

4. My 2 brothers and 1 sister - they are a big part of who I am now.  How I became an "ate", someone strong who can take are of them in the absence of my parents.  They made me realize that I can do things that can make them happy and that brothers and sisters are not just family but also friends! 

5. My close friends (you know who you are, I am a friendly person but I have a very few close / best friends) - they are my hero because they let me be the person that I am.  They tell me what's wrong with me and is not afraid to tell it to my face.  They are my sounding board when I have need to release any emotions and heartaches.  They are patient with me when I can't stop talking.  They are my sisters from anothet mother!

How about you? Who is your hero? 

Xoxo 

What gift do you want?

Yesterday, Leah asked me "Ano ba ang gusto mong gift?".  Well my initial response was "wala" and then I laughed. 

I remembered two Christmases ago, we had an exchange gift and people would ask me what I wanted to receive.  I wasn't sure of what I want but I was certain about the things I do not want to receive.  I explicitly mentioned that I do not want a "photo frame".  Please do not ask me to explain, I just don't like it much.  (But I do give photo frames with the Picture of the recipient).

After the gift giving, when I saw my gift, it was rectangular in shape and quite hard, I had a hint that it's a photo frame, but then again I thought maybe it's not and I should smile instead.  When I was touching it and trying to figure out its shape and features, uh oh! "I think it's a picture frame" then after opening it, it was indeed a picture frame.  Not your ordinary picture frame but I received 5 small Christmas Themed Picture Frames.  How sweet! That's what I thought!!

Up until I went back home I was still disappointed with what I got! 

It was NOT the right attitude when you receive a gift but at that time, I can't help but frown!

With that scenario, I had a realization:

"if we receive something, we need to be appreciative"  &

"If we are at the gift giving season, there is no use if we expect something to receive"

These are just my two cents based from my experience.  It was indeed an experience that I will never forget. 

There are a lot of gifts to choose from, here are some examples:

But will it really make people happy? 

My answer is "initially Yes"!  

Of course, including myself, we would be happy to receive these things.  But sometimes or even most of the time it will not. 

I remember last year when my husband asked what I wanted for our Anniversary.  I said "nothin" and then he said "I am planning to give you an LV Never Fuller". 

Wow! I really loved that bag! Sweets thought it would be a nice gift because I always talk about it.  Good thing that he asked me about it because even though I love it, it will not make me "that" happy in the long run because its just a bag. 

(Again, this is me! Other people might have a different thought in it).

What I asked instead was a ring!

This is what he got for me :D

A "Hugs and Kisses" ring! 

I was so inLove with it! 

It's not as expensive as the LV bag but I was so inLove with it! ❤

Therefore, for me, it's (really) not about the price tag!! I find it more meaningful if it's something that will represent the person giving the gift! It will always be the thought that counts (cliche! But it really is).

Now that it's the gift giving season once again, have you thought of the best gift to give? Wink wink!

Xoxo