remembering NINa (ninya)...

Nina (ninya) Daniela

May 1, 2006 - August 22, 2011

It was Monday August 22, 2011, while having the Junior Counselors' class at the Creative & Healing Room, while discussing a lesson from our booklet used during the discussion, i heard my cellphone's tone informing me that i received a text message. my cellphone was on the table while our group was on the floor comfortably seated with throw pillows everywhere. because our discussion was interesting i forgot that i had received a text message...during our break at around 11:30, i remembered to read who texted me, it was from Homar my husband...and the message goes: "si ninya sa san nicolas namatay daw from jayson"... i was shocked and motionless at the same time, trying to figure out what it means. i texted back, who? who told you about this? how did he tell you? my husband texted back telling me that they (jayson and homar) chatted briefly on facebook. jaysonn (my nephew) is ninya's uncle...

ninya is my grandniece, she is the daughter of jayson's sister ivory jane my niece. manang jane, ivory jane and jayson's mother is the daughter of my mother's brother.... so that makes manang jane and me first cousins. the news came from pangasinan, i learned weeks before that ninya was rushed to the hospital due to fever but i never (and nobody ) thought that she was in a serious condition. i learned that my other niece (my other cousin's daughter) had dengue and she was able to recover. Ninya i thought would be able to recover because she is a healthy child. i did not know that she was transfered from the nearby town hospital to the city for medical attention, we did not know that she underwent dialysis because her kidneys were not functioning well.

my mother whom ninya loves to play around with was very affected by her death... she cried when she saw the pictures i printed and brought to pangasinan for them to see...my mother is 76 years old and has been retired from teaching for ten years already...she busied herself from gardening, cooking, sitting under the mabolo tree, she makes herself busy by doing thing she likes, while ninya tries to be of help whenever she's around. while i was in pangasinan, nanay remembers the memories she had with ninya:

one day while my mother was tending her vegetable garden, ninya came by with a banana peel on her hand she said : nanay pacing can you accompany me to my pet pig? of which my mother replied? why? are you taking care of a pig? ninya replied: yes of course then my mother asked her: what will you do to your pet pig? ninya said: i want to feed it. nanay asked: with what? ninya showed her the banana peel and said with this....

whenever we go home to san nicolas to visit my mother... i always ask her my name...she always say : zion (my son's name).

I remember ninya as very intelligent, very talkative and playful...i remember her riding her scooter her small round legs glide and small round arms holding her scooter's handles. she looks vibrant and healthy that's why nobody

we may all be grieving, but memories of her will be kept as treasure of our hearts.... Ninya we love you!

Busy...

Busy, busy, busy...i had been so busy the past weeks that i did not have time to update this blog...thank God for break time.
what happened to me recently?

haircut...my hair has grown near waist long, so i made it a point to go to a salon last saturday, even if it meant leaving zion in one of the activities where homar was attending.

healthy...i have cut tremendous rice intake, although i maintained a one cup rice during lunch time, homar and i had also been drinking a lot of natural juices lately, we bought a juicer which extracts juice from the fruit or vegetable, the taste is so good, no sugar added. my favorite is the pineapple, apple, carrots and celery combination.

dumbells and twister... i also am exercising every weekend, ha ha ha, that is the only time i can afford a workout. i do dumbells and twister workout. i do a 15 min. workout every saturday and sunday mornings.

clomiphene citrate...praying very hard for the result.

noli me tangere and el filibusterismo...i took these books out from the school library and savored every chapter of the novels. i started reading the noli (english version) and can't stop reading until i craved to read its sequel el fili. i am so impressed by how rizal who at his early 30s could write such a well written novel. i remember studying these books in high school but it never gave me the opportunity to digest its meanings and details of these books. oh i love rizal! he is a genuis!

oprah... i am currently reading the unauthorized biography of oprah winfrey written by kitty kelly. the author seem to have this animosity towards oprah that it is portraying a bad and selfish oprah..not the one i knew on tv.

3 inch heels...i am now a certified user of shoes with 3 - inch heels...it makes me feel tall, confident and beautiful.

dressmaker and fashion designer...i am so engrossed watching project runway hosted by heide klum with critics nina garcia and michael kors. i love seeing those contestants with the dresses they made...i love how they ramp it...i want to become a designer, one can become only if she knows how to make one...

cheesecake...i researched on this recipe, but the engridients are so expensive, so i made my own version, i made it several times, that i am always left with few slices..i top it either with blueberries or strawberries..i will make a blog about this one of these days...

till next time!

rains

when it rains, it pours....

after ondoy, i have fully appreciated the beauty and benefits of sunshine. sunny days do not give me anxiety and fear. sunny days give me peace of mind, sunny days makes me thankful about our country having a lot of sunshine. until ondoy came... before ondoy, i was thankful that it rains when it was raining because of the cooler weather and the nice smell of the fresh rain. but because of that traumatic ondoy which flooded our home to the second floor, i have always wished that rains will longer pour.

just last week, when tropical storm Falcon passed by and the rains were not slowing down, the instinct in me jumped out and took action. at 3am Friday, i was awakened by the rain pouring so hard that i can no longer sleep. i prayed hard to God and asked Him to spare our subdivision from flooding. at 4 am, homar awakened while i was walking down from our room to the other, surveying the dark outside through our windows. at 430, homar and i decided to pack our things and prepare to go to cubao (homar's family home). on our way to cubao, we passed by the rivers the biggest of which was the batasan san mateo river which connects to marikina river, i can see as the sky was clearing to daylight that the river was swelling and a home near by its banks was slowly being taken by the waters. i was relieved as we were nearing cubao because i knew that we are safe just in case my worst fear happens.

we were updated by the situation in our subdivision through our helper's friends. according to our helper's friends, there was no water in our subdivision yet although water is slowly rising in the nearby subdivision and the water is also slowly creeping in the vacant field behind our home as well.

then a friend of patani (our helper) texted to inform her that they to had gone to project 6 with her employer's family because they learned that floodwaters is now in our subdivision...what?!!!i was surprised and felt a bit of sadness from what i heared, i prayed everyday that our subdivision and all subdivisions would be spared from flooding i always pray that the ondoy incident will never happen again. i felt that God may not have heared my prayers after all, i felt that God was not really that concerned to our situations when our homes are flooded because he did not listen to my prayers. just then, another text message was received and this time patani's other friend said that there is no flood taking place in our subdivision, two of the subdivisions in our area were being flooded already...in my heart, i claimed God's compassion and my mind became clear that "yes, absolutely, i prayed hard for God's protection and compassion that God will keep the floodwaters away from our place." Until the following day, news came that Celina our subdivision was spared, yes, indeed, our place was spared...i am so grateful to God for listening to my prayers, He listens to those who call on Him...He have never failed me...Indeed Jesus never fails!

davao

last june 6, 2011, homar, zion and myself flew to davao for our long awaited family vacation. we left manila at past 12:55(?) (not sure, exactly) because our supposed 11:55 flight was delayed. we arrived in davao at 2:00 noon. we were all excited that we forgot to eat heavy lunch, thinking that we could have it in davao. zion was so excited that upon take off he was so amazed at the thick white clouds outside the plane's window..."mama, yung mga alien, dun (pointing at the clouds) ba nakatira?" "e yung mga angels?"

at Jack's ridge...the place is breathtaking especially at night..



at paradise beach resort, samal island...we arrived at 6 am by boat, the place is very relaxing...most of the people in the resort were american and korean tourists.

while walking after going down from a tricycle, we spotted this restaurant/fastfood called Tap's...the place is fine but not cozy...it is clean and the food is very cheap....

still at Jack's ridge, behind us is the view of davao city...

we all enjoyed our davao trip...we stayed in haran - a uccp owned building where tourists can be accomodated at a reasonable price...the building also held the Bishop's office of the area.

after arriving in haran at 2 in the afternoon, we immediately left our room to find a restaurant where we could eat our lunch (late na) we are all hungry...i spotted this place while riding in a multicab (i forgot the name of the place) and had our late lunch. we ordered papaitan, sinigang sa sampaloc, and a lot more...then we proceeded to Gaisano mall of davao....it was raining and difficult to have a taxi ride back to haran...we slept early and had bread for our breakfast, i am not really used to eating bread for breakfast, mine must be a heavy one...we went around the city, we rode in a back to back tricycle then walk then multicab then walk then tricycle then multicab...we went to aldovinco, bangkerohan, osmena park, then back to haran...in the afternoon, homar was able to contact our friend and zion's godmother - si ate meca! whom we haven't seen for three years...homar's cousin ate irma also called and informed us that she will pick us up at 4 pm to go to crocodile farm, then we proceeded to jack's ridge where we had our dinner overlooking davao....it was breathtaking!

the following day, very early in the morning we were picked up by ate irma again to go to samal island, it was a short drive to the seashore where we will take our boat ride...we arrived at samal island's paradise beach resort at 6 in the morning, we had our breakfast there and dipped in the water afterwards...it was fun! fishes of different colors were swimming with us as well, homar and zion tried to catch one but could not...

we also went to people's park, in the city, the park was not as big as luneta but it was beautiful and romantic, romantic music is played ,no wonder a lot of lovers were everywhere.

we ate at a buffet restaurant, at 120 per head with tuna sashimi salad, and a lot of food...

we went back to manila on june 9,2011, our flight was on time and arrived on time in manila. we traveled light so we did not have a hard time communiting to where our car was parked at shalom center in malate, in fact we even rode the LRT to get there because we did not bring a lot of baggages. each of us had bags that we carry...

thank God for this vacation, we enjoyed it to the hilt...i experienced how God's hand moved as we walked and rode in the streets of davao...

happy...

Happiness is an attitude, it is a choice...that's what i learned from reading Ed Lapiz's book entitled Happiness Attitude. as i ponder on this i realized i had been so affected with things around me which made feel really sad and stressed out. i learned that there is no use sulking on something especially when it is beyond my control. Lapiz say that it's our reaction to events that makes us either happy or sad. according to charles swindoll life is 10% of what happens and 90% of how we react. Happiness is a decision, therefore i decided to be happy...as i look back i lost happiness and had given in to sadness because i did not look at those events in my life positively.

we were among the thousands affected by typhoon ondoy in 2009, our home was flooded to the second floor. we cleaned the house for two weeks...there is this big clay vase that i washed that made me realized that i had been displaying (putting on big dried leaves and flowers) in an inverted position for many years, it soon came to my realization that it is a vase shaped object which supposedly be placed on the floor witht he narrower portion on top, not the other way around. the typhoon also made me and homar feel and see how God's provision and compassion were with us throughout the time that we were so busy cleaning... a lot of people's help reached us particularly those from the church...before ondoy, we just had enough pillows for the four of us at home, after ondoy came, i have to give away clothes, sheets and pillows and even water jug because we had enough at home given by generous people.

i was not yet married then when a certain young person, robbed me of $100 (during that time, the exchange rate was $1 - Php50.). i was already inside the bank and about to have my money changed to peso (i was receiving foreign currency then because of the nature of my work)when i found out that the money was no longer there in my wallet, i felt my world crumbled upon me. and got so angry at him ( i was so sure it was him who got it), it took me awhile to get over with the incident...i did not choose to be positive about it, i could have chosen to be, how? by thinking that " the Lord will give it back to me a hundred fold", during that time, i was so full of emotions that i forgot to have that line of thinking. months after that and years following i saw how God gave it back to me a hundred fold.

i had tastes of not being treated well, it's the person's choice, and i respect that...i also choose not to be too bothered about it since i know that i can always bring these matters to God through prayers. it makes me more prayerful and fervent in my hearts desire to pray because i know that prayer is the best way to deal with it...everything else follow.

one early february in 2009, a friend of mine met a fatal accident, mam fe and i agreed to visit her wake in anda pangasinan, we left manila around 10 in the evening and reached anda around 3 am. we don't really know where her wake was, the only thing we knew was that she was taken in anda, to her husband's home before her funeral in anda town. that 3 am we were riding in a tricycle, i was inside the vehicle and was impatiently looking around houses thinking that i may see one that was holding a wake, while mam fe was behind the driver and was so happy naming those stars and galaxies in the night sky...when we finally found the house, i was tired and sleepy and cranky while mam fe was so ecstatic telling me how she enjoyed watching the skies...choices, mam fe chose happiness...

my mother had a small house constructed in our barrio after she retired from teaching, she lived in barrio for a while, whenever i come home and visit her, she always complain and tells me about not so good things. she has been growing a lot of colorful bougainvilla, vegetables and root crops in her vast garden, there are also a lot of fruit trees that bear fruits in its season...nanay forgot that everything around were good things.

I am thankful for every single good thing in my life, whether it be big or small...when adversities come, i know there are good things that will come out from it...Joseph of the old testament experienced that same thing, he was faithful and steadfast with the Lord, that he was sustained through his faithfulness to God...Joseph believed and i too believe that "you may mean it for evil, but God will turn it for good..."

etiquette...

I have observed that there has been a lot that we need to learn in terms of etiquette.

one day, i commuted to work, i rode in an fx, i boarded the vehicle at the middle portion (i don't feel comfortable riding in front beside the driver). upon boarding, i noticed that i'd be sitting beside a hunky handsome looking young guy, i sat beside him but i noticed that he was not trying to move to give me more space to sit. hmmm...did he pay double? i don't think so, so i looked at his face, and said "could you move? i too am going to pay..." my face looking so lovely in front of him...well he did, and i was so tempted to tell him it's not just him in the middle sitting so he has to move because everyone who rides there pay.

one of my hated behaviors of people particularly in public is smoking...i hate that habit...especially when that culprit is inside a jeepney or when walking and that smoker is directly in front of me. i wonder why smokers are so insensitive about this very annoying behavior. i think that they should be informed about this, they may be unaware but the fact that they are in a public place, means that they should observe proper behavior, and not smoking while walking in places or in a public utility vehicle is a must. just looking at a burning cigarette makes me puke.no matter how handsome nor attractive you are if you smoke then that's a total T.O. TURN OFF ewwww, major turn off is for me to face someone smoking or smelling so annoying (annoying is someone who smells so awful after smoking cigarettes).

i hate loud sounds particularly in jeepneys...i had long been boycotting jeepneys with blaring sounds. it seems that everybody who rides there have hearing problems that they have to put the jeepney's sound system's volume too high. our neighbor's caretaker usually plays very loud music during sundays...i have informed him about my displeasure of hearing too loud music during those days...he said : "pagbigyan mo naman ako, linggo lang" sundays are rare days for me when i can lie down in bed and just rest... how can i do that when i listen to such loud NOISE directly in front of my room?! then came typhoon ondoy that flooded our subdivision including his big sound systems...Sundays since then has never been so calming...

it's so disgusting for someone to pass through vehicles coming to your opposite direction with its halogen lights so brightly focused on you...i get so stressed out just passing through those vehicles with such lights...i am so concerned especially when my husband is driving and am seated beside him. it blinds me as the passenger, how much more with the one driving?

i also experienced riding in an fx with a passenger talking loudly on her cellphone from sta.lucia to our place nea quezon city (the travel takes an hour). it annoys me so much that i can hear both of their conversations...how unethical for someone to enjoy such act when everyone seem to be so quiet as if all of us in the fx were listening.

i didn't have the choice the other day, but to ride in a jeepney to work. the jeepney was full of passengers so everyone were seated hip to hip. a salesgirl passenger started talking to another woman across her (the salesgirl is seated on the other lane seat, while me and the other woman were seated across her). she was in her uniform shirt and pants and talking to the woman about her work, when she started to open her bag and brought out her make up kit and started to put on foundation on her face, i had my sunglasses on so i was watching her how she was putting her face foundation while talking to the person at the same time. i started to smile when i noticed that her face foundation she put on was not so even that you can see the thicker part. she put on her eye shadow, her lipstick seems to be so red and thick because she applied it several times while talking. i didn't exactly see what came out of her made up face because i went down before she did.

i encountered calling a high office of a particluar church one time, when the secretary answered: "hello...?" me: good afternoon po. secretary: sino ba to...?" i had to inquire again to make sure that i called the right number and office. because when the secretary answered me that way, i thought i called a residence with the number mistakenly given to me...i thought the secretary may just mistakenly answered the phone but i called the office again after several days, the same answer came from the secretary, i became concerned with the secretary's boss, what if a high ranking person would call and she just answers that way....huh! it surely reflects....yun na..

a student applicant came to my office with two companions, she was talking on her cellphone and afterwards said, "kakausapin daw po kayo" i talked to the person on the phone whom i perceived to be her mother or sponsor...then the person on the phone said: "pwede bang ganito gawin mo......" Ano uutusan mo ako? hello?

other unethical behaviors:

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  two persons whom you know are whispering or talking in a different language in front of you, it could've been okay if they are lovers, but most of the time they are not...


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  talking while mouth is full.


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  divulging confedential matters, and enjoying talking about the failures of other people.


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  using high falluting words to describe yourself, achievements, properties and one's hallucinations of greatness. for me that's not attractive at all, that's insanity.


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  making up stories, telling a lie, I HATE THAT!

let us be conscious with how we behave especially when we are in public, let us consider behaving in a way that we will not be so unfair with others... behave, behave, behave!

Answered prayers and miracles...

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give a snake instead? or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?if you then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him"?

i was organizing my thoughts about what to share with you in this blog.. then i thought about writing my encounters with miracles...why don't i share this wonderful experiences with you...

i suffered from eating disorder when i was in high school until college (my family do not know about this, of course if my sister reads this then she will know) the kind that makes me throw up and cannot eat for several days when under severe stress. i cannot eat even when i feel like i am starving and i want to eat, my stomach rejects any food that i take in. one day...when i was already in college, and living in the dormitory and was at the time going through severe stress, i prayed really hard to God, i fasted (no food intake ) for a day and concentrated on my prayer to God for healing...i felt relieved that after a day of fasting, i can already eat and was feeling better. a miracle indeed!

i was already working and was currently assigned, i was having a hard time with the work given to me especially that the position i had was controversial and was being questioned by people. i wanted to resign, but i cannot. I shared this predicament to a professor and we prayed about it. i also continued to pray for God's leading about the matter. then one day. they called for a meeting, and during that meeting i was informed that i was granted scholarship and that the money was already released for that semester. they inquired on my decision, at first i was hesitant but finally when i realized that it was an answered prayer that was taking place. i said "i'm resigning". it was a miracle indeed!

i have been to US - to california, iowa, missouri, wisconsin, nevada, oregon and idaho. you see it was a miracle that i had been there because i did NOT spend a peso in all of those trips, it was an all expense paid trip! i had been to US three times, i usually spend a month or two there. i had also been to Australia, for another all expense paid trip. it was a miracle indeed!

before homar and i got married, homar was suffering from an "osteonecrosis" not sure with the term, but during those times, he was wearing crutches to ease the pain he had on both of his knees, according tot he doctor,the ligaments attached to the bones on his knees are "naagnas" na (i think he was recommended for operation already) one day he visited a pastor friend who later became our ninong during our wedding. The pastor ninong prayed for healing on his knees. homar said he felt heat going through his knees as our pastor ninong was praying for him. after several days, homar no longer used his crutches, the pain was gone, no more knee surgery (as what the doctor was recommending) and no more medication. from the time the pastor ninong prayed for his knees until now, homar's knees were fine...he can even run! it was a miracle indeed!

when i was already married, i was having a hard time getting pregnant. my OBGYNE said there may be something wrong with me since it's unusual for a woman not to get pregnant for over a year of being married already. I had my transvaginal test which revealed that i have reproductive disorder called "Didelphy Uterus", it is a rare condition where my uterus is devided into two which results into two chambers of the supposed one chamber uterus. this may result to miscarriages and premature births. women with this condition usually undergo caesarian section when giving birth. finally after one year and half with my husband, i was pregnant. homar and i prayed every night that i'd be giving birth the normal way...although at the back of my mind, this may seem impossible, i was all set for caesarian section already. nevertheles...we still prayed everynight that i would give birth the normal way. even if i did not expect..the Lord heard our prayers and i did give birth to a baby boy weighing 6.4 lbs, 38 weeks and through a normal delivery! it was a miracle indeed!

i am almost through with my MA, and suddenly i realized where am i going to work? i was starting to worry...that i prayed... the following day, i went to the office of a not-so- famous figure...she saw me and said "O Lei! i had been waiting for you, there's a work that you need to do..." and the rest was history! it was a miracle indeed!

answered Prayers and Miracles will not take place in your life if you don't believe that it is really happening. i have experienced a lot of miracles in my life and i tell you...MIRACLES happen! Start praying ...