Live Life to the Fullest – Epilogue of Meaningful Life Adventure

“Museums are great memories and treasures from the past transformed the living memory into reality.”

When grandmother died, my mother arranged all her clothes and lot of stuff that can be use and later on can be donated in a charity center.  Mother found out that granny still kept my first ever embroidered cloth way way back when I was eight years old.

This is my intro picture – an embroidered cloth project which is a collection of almost 40 different kind of stitches where granny taught me how to sew it artistically using different flowers.  Recalling it now, I cannot believe I have done this at an early age!

Maybe for granny, she cherished those bonding moments when I started to do sewing the first time.   I still vividly remembered there were lot of patience when she taught me how I did my first few stitches in and out in the basket weave cloth.

When mother handed it over to me as I saw it was kept with so much pristine and still like brand new (considering its more than 30 years old now), I almost cried.  There were mixed emotions but one thing for sure, this is more than a material possession as I will keep a living memory alive – a treasure to remember my grandmother.

This is the reason why am I supporting the decade of collaboration of Manila’s top five museum namely Lopez Memorial Museum, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, Bahay Tsinoy, and Museo Pambata joining forces for Zero In: Open Call .

Main objectives are:

• To expand people’s appreciation of  preserving the memory of the past
• To deepen the learning of our cultural heritage
• To break barriers by literally bringing art closer to the public

This art festival – Zero In: Open Call, opened last September 15, at the SM Mall of Asia (SM MOA) atrium that features a collection of art in its different forms – visual arts, culinary arts, film and fashion, sound, and dance.

These were the lively and festive art activities I personally experience:

#1. Ayala Museum

Ayala Museum theme exposed the fascinating world of manga with an exhibit called “Manga Realities:  Exploring the Art of Japanese Comics Today

#2.  Lopez Museum

Lopez Museum showcased the sound/media art installations in Reverb exhibition.

Based on the materials I got, E.X.I.S.T a.k.a. Experimentation in Sound Art Tradition is a sound art collective and movement. It is a division of Espasyo Siningdikato dedicated in propagating experimental sonic art. Founded by Lirio Salvador, E.X.I.S.T. uses found objects and environmental sounds, explore analog and digital audio technologies for the creative production and presentation of sound.

#3.  Ateneo Art Gallery

Have the opportunity to see the video game called Crafty Critters Munch-Up – a tablet game which can later on match the famous “Angry Bird” game.

The video game brings together the visual and culinary arts through a food project inspired by pieces from the museum’s permanent collection.

#4.  Museo Pambata

Themed “Sayaw” or dance, Museo Pambata represented by  Escola de Samba de Manila – the first and only such group in Manila that performs Afro-Brasilian drums and dance.

Here is the sneak peak live video performance of Escoda de Samba de Manila I captured:

# 5. Bahay Tsinoy

Among the top five museum was Bahay Tsinoy which will push for the visual arts.

Some of the attractions during the opening were cultured heritage costumes like this one:

There was also the unveiling of the freedom wall participated by guests and mall visitors.

Open Call is just one of many projects lined up by the Zero In consortium to make art more engaging and relevant.

It also spearheads art workshops and talks to bolster art education and will participate in the Department of Education’s National Teachers’ Month Campaign.

Hopefully, giving the time, will let also the family visit the five museums that will give them varied experiences showing arts in different forms.

We as parents have to spend time in education exploration and art appreciation to our children rather than giving them material purchases.

Later on, this can  be the start of cultivating more inspirations and ability to connect informal learning.   This can only become a reality initiating the action within us.

For more information:

Visit their website -  http://www.zeroinmuseums.org/

or call Fanny at (02) 631-2417

“Life’s own treasure are amazing simple moments yet precious pleasures to rekindle great relationships with the family”

Long ago, me and hubby love to watch new movies at the theater. There were times we have to limit going out because of the high ticket theater price and at the same time, eating in a fancy restaurant after watching the movie.  We have to think ways to save also and  what more, to be practical nowadays.

One way to do it was to watch movies at home at your own television, a DVD player and maybe hooked up in our  sound system  to make it more sound theatrical.  We also love to listen to music together and appreciate different genre.

But how can you rekindle relationships with these simple activities like watching or simply listening to the music together:

• Even you will be staring on the screen for two hours or just simply listening, you can have a topics to discuss and to open to
• Preparing all together your snacks like popcorn and pizza before watching is one way to keep in touch with the family members
• Strongest connection only happens if you alone with the family as you tight your bond with them, boosting also their confidence because kids know you will always be there for them

There were tons of titles to choose from.  One reliable retailer store with excellent quality our family can recommended and trusted where we buy original movie titles/audio CD is Astrovision.

Astrovision got this cool, latest, up-beat and hard-to-find collection titles varying from movies, music and to add it more, gadgets that would suit each lifestyle.

I just found this one at Astrovision – the Beatles collection all in one set and what more the ABBA music.

I am in 80′s generation.  Definitely I will go back to purchase Rick Astley/Toto and add this to our family collection of music. LOL! I still vividly remembered I have these in my cassette tapes.

For almost 20 years,  hubby made it a point to buy one movie title to add up to family collections. We got this library of original VHS and cassette tapes for almost a thousands.  We ended up selling all those titles in a lower price as the the hype of CD/VCD/DVD come along and when we decided to transferred our home.  It was a bit saddened but that is all about.

Until now, Astrovision live up to our expectations and has been our video store to run every time we love to purchase one.   Good thing, they have 54 branches nationwide and visible to every mall in the metro. Here is the facebook fan page link – http://www.facebook.com/Astroplus1.

I know originals are quite costly but these are some of our tips how to value your money more when getting movie titles and audio cd:

• Purchase movie titles that were blockbusters and timeless where you will not be tired to watch it over and over again.  Buy those in series like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Happy Potter, James Bond, etc.

• Be aware with the quarterly sale of the store where prices dropped off almost 70% on the original price

Again, take every moment of your time to schedule  quality time with the family.  Family bonding is essential in building trust, harmony and strong family ties.  You maybe surprise to know that every second keeping in touch and the moment you spent your precious moments  is a  life’s treasure. Living life to the fullest.

“What a joy to remember that she is our Mother! Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?” – Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church

Today, September 8, we honor and remember the nativity of our Blessed Virgin Mary, her birthday. For us Catholic, this is a celebration where we went to the church to hear mass or just pay a visit and have a simple prayer to greet Mama Mary. This is also a chance to express my deepest gratitude in my devotion to Mama Mary.

There were times I was praying a rosary in the bus while going to the metro as I share my early post with this link.

As a mother, there was always an apprehension to leave my children whenever they were in school or anywhere that I felt they were alone.  My only shield is saying a prayer and lifting everything to Mama Mary and be a substitute for me, be on their side and take care of them.

After I am done with my rosary,  now I feel I am more secured and more or less, my fears are gone.

I cannot defend religion to others who have their own views with Mama Mary.  Definitely, these are my simple beliefs:

• Mama Mary showed her great love to God by following His will to be the mother of Jesus and accepted it unceasingly.

• To honor her is also an intimately connection to the Son of God, Jesus Christ – the savior of all mankind.

Because of this, I would like to share with you my simple prayer which I also express during my visit to Mama Mary on her birthday:

Dear Mama Mary,

First of all, I would like to thank you for always be on my side as my model to be a mother and at the same time a wife to my husband.

You always become my shield to my children whenever I am not around ready to protect them from all harm and sickness.  Until now, you never failed to be with them, no matter what.

I am still hoping and pray that you will never be tired to be on my side always.  Keep me strong for all the adversities of life, face them with all the courage and strength no matter what.

Always guide my decisions.  Not always my will to be followed but the good of everyone.

Happy, happy birthday my dear Mother and again thank you very much.

“To read is to empower.

To empower is to write.

To write is to influence.

To change is to live”    -  by Jane Evershed

Photos courtesy of: http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net

Reading becomes one of my favorite hobbies eversince.  When we got married, I even tag along all the books with me.  I vividly remembered that I would rather leave some of my clothes in exchange of my books.  LOL!  Expect that one can see a small library full of books in our home and even scattered books around the different areas of our room.

I also influenced hubby and kids to love reading and our first stop whenever we were at the mall was the bookstore where we spent almost two hours goofing around and browsing latest books/magazines and the most if budget permitted, got the urge to purchase one.

This is maybe the reason hopping and reading different posts in a blog becomes also a habit – a passion.  For me, blogs are my best guides  - work-related,  inspirations,  food, resto, places, events, sale but most especially posts that gave me a push to read juicy contents with tons of information to learn yet simple and easy to understand.

This blog post titled ”Top 10 picks Emerging Influential Blogs for 2011″  was parked for more than a month already in my drafts that gave me the time to gather more my thoughts to finish this and ready for publish.

Maybe this is the time to share not only to support blogs that I have bookmarked/read for more than a year but to give enlightenment to those blogs who gave time to have a worthy content.   One way or the other, it can be some sort of awareness when someone endorses it as how it influences you.

I also know some of the persons behind these blogs and I can say they were passionate on what they were doing. Hopefully, I suppose! LOL!

These are my top 10 picks:

#1.  Our Fullest Life

There were times that we love to read simple quote and then from there, we were struck.  Straightforward, I may say. This is the objective of Our Fullest Life a.k.a. OFL.  People sometimes do not have the time to read long reflections but once they got the meaning, it’s done deal.

There were previous guest posts that I also share with this blog which gave me the birth to another blog, Live Life Fullest.  I am technical, geek person you can encounter here in this I.T. world, teaching and implementing business projects.  OFL is the stepping stone that gave me a discovery the soft side of me which made this blog personally influences me.

#2. Jen Juan

When I shared Jen the blog about OFL - Our Fullest Life, she like also  the concept which made her decide to create her own blog also -  www.jenjuan.com. At first, she loved to share her collections of thoughs about life but lately she posted a lot which made me visit her blog often.   Again, like OFL, I love those thoughts sharing the greatness of life that can be beneficial to others.

#3.   Live Life Fullest

Am I bragging myself here to include my blog as one of the influential?  LOL! Anyway, personally, yes!  The blog, Live Life Fullest is the other side of me.

Again, people who knew me especially in the I.T. community tagged me as a hard core type of person like doing lot of technical stuff.  They expected that if ever I will do a blog, I can share my technical know-how.

The blog, Live Life Fullest was a surprise to those who knew me and quite amazed that I have this reflections I can share myself  in the posts that I published  which was different when they were talking to me personally.  Definitely, they discovered the real me.

It was a quite a denial stage at the start to open myself a personal blog to everyone  because for me this is an  invasion of my privacy.  But no, I have to do it and start even I am not a life motivator for me to be qualified.  It was so influential that I decided to launched the blog last Januay 2011 where I can compile all my thoughts and share timeless learnings that I can read over and over again as a reminder in living my life to the fullest. Truly, it is an enlightenment reflection part of my life.

At the moment, I am bit struggling to have time to post every now and then because of work related activity that I am engaged.  Again, I have to push myself to write no matter what but at the end, have fun with it so that learning will be smoothly flowing.  This is my breather to the world and a discovery to myself which gave me a realization, I can do more to my usual daily routine.

#4. Everyday Sweet Notes

When I was following this blog, I was amazed to noticed that Smarla, the writer behind the blog really wrote everyday.  What kept me coming back was the sense of content where you feel what she wrote those posts were straight from the heart.  I also met her personally.  Very sweet lady, just like her blog….

#5.  Blogger Manila

Helping out unceasingly is quite a huge tasks and what more, doing it for free.   This blog, Blogger Manila is here to assist bloggers wannabe to shine and push to their passion especially if their mentor is on their side like Mr. Jonel Uy.

#6.  Certified Foodies

This foodie yet a family blog shared by siblings Mhel and Ken let me missed my youngest brother who were working abroad.  Why?  Because way back then, me and my brother  were partners in crime in the kitchen, cooking and eating a lot.

During events when I personally saw them together, I was caught staring, watching and  ease out more or less the feeling of missing my brother.   Gladness, fun and team work complimented Mhel and Ken tandem sharing this blog. Content wise, Cetified Foodies talked also with sense.

#7.  Sleek in the City

I got to bumped Sleek in the City in Pinoy Bloggers that curiosity aroused me to read most of his posts.  Informative yet lot of zest contents.

I do not know Mark personally but when we saw each other in the mall accidentally, he personally greeted me. First impression – he is warm and very friendly.

#8. Veggie Circle

It is not only focus on being a vegan but mostly living a healthy life. Carl, the person behind the blog engaged into yoga and running which I also love to do where I can get some tips and tricks.

#9.  Rizal Park

Sharing heritage and culture are the niche of this blog which is not very common nowadays.  This blog is also an eye-opener to the many great contribution of our national hero, Jose Rizal to our country and a dedication in lieu of Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary celebration this 2011.

#10. Life is a Celebration

I love how this personal blog chronicles her journey from travels, food, musing and ramblings that celebrate life itself.

There you have it!  Good luck to the top 10 most influential blog for 2011 and advance congratulations.  Keep the fire burning by continuing to be a blessings to others.  Who knows your post can be an influence to change others.

My deepest gratitude to Ms. Janet Toral who initiated this writing project together with all the generous sponsors:

Cyber Monday Deals, TRIbeca Private Residences, How To Videos, Palawan Beaches for Sale,Green and Natural Lubes Philippines, Philippine data center, Philippine online shopping, Singapore Jobs, Pinoy Party Food, Apartment for rent and Best deals tips.

 

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is bliss, taste it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

by: Mother Teresa

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” – Oprhah Winfrey

Got to bump an updates in Facebook wall regarding the Blogapalooza event happening this month of September.  According to this link,  Blogapalooza is a blogger event where big and small companies will have a chance to present their product and brands to bloggers. Bloggers will have the chance to get to try these products/services and later on can share their experiences with their readers.

At first, I am kinda hesitate to join the said Bloggers’ event for the simple reason I am just starting with this craft.  The thing is no harm on trying as I submitted my entry both from Live Life Fullest and Calamba-Online.  Who knows, I can be qualified.

I would also like to mingle to blogging community where I can also harness my my skills to those people where I can also talk and learn first hand experiences.

Surprisingly, I am “IN”.   I got an email invite that I am really qualified.  LOL!  To prove to you,  here is the official list I got from the website link of Blogapalooza where both my blogs (my adopted babies, LOL!) are qualified:

For more than a decade, I am doing set-ups of website and blogs from other companies and people.  I am your tech guy in the block – hard core nerdy geek.  I can never imagine that one day I can explore myself to the soft side of me where I can express the deep personal me.  Less than a year with the blog sphere, now I can say, I can do it as I discover my passion the beauty of life itself as I gathered thoughts and quotes where I can do actual application to what I am doing everyday.

Truly, one of greatest life’s risk is never dare to risk at all over and over again.

Blogapalooza event will be happening this September 17, 2011, Saturday, at Fully Booked,  Bonifacio High Street. Definitely, I will share a blog posts all my rendezvous experiences meeting best of the best. So stay tuned.

For more information, you can visit their website – Blogapalooza

“I love my pizza so much, in fact, that I have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me, in return. I am having a relationship with this pizza, almost an affair.” by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray and Love

This is maybe how I expressed my relationship for food as Julia Roberts who portrayed Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love – an almost love affair.

Definitely, I heart food – as in sooo much! Yes, I love to eat but most especially if I cannot resist the taste, then I splurge for it.

Ever since when I am still young, cooking is our passion which maybe I adhere to our grandparents who love to cook and also to my mother.  It is just that by the time I will get a course connected to food in college, my mother was the one who choose my course, that is in Information Technology. But it never stopped me there. I still cook for everyone and the most I eat and eat a lot.

Usually, when I am stress, I eat…When I deserve a reward, I also eat, LOL!, especially if it is my comfort to eat what I like…­

Got also this hobby to take pictures of the food whenever I go around. Maybe that is the reason that most of the posts I have here in Live Life Fullest is mostly food which become my passion already.

There were times I was thinking of opening a new blog about Food. But nahhh, I erase already those idea.  I would rather document everything here in Live Life Fullest and relate how it influences my life leading to living life to the fullest connecting it to food as my relationship to myself and others enhanced day by day.

Maybe some of my friends and colleagues noticed that I am a foodie afterall which think that I have the right to critique a food for one day. LOL! Surprisingly, I got an invite to Mr. Spanky Enriquez and it is really an honor to be one of the guests.

According to his email invite which made me laugh – he is inviting 25 of Manila’s Best hungriest : ) Foodies to the Sixth Edition of the Ultimate Taste Test. Take note, hungriest! LOL!

I remembered when friends and my mentor, Anton Diaz were personally inviting us to this event which I did not have a chance to participate at that time.

Anyway, this foodie event is spear headed by Anton Diaz, better known as the founder of Our Awesome Planet. Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 will start at 11am and will end at 9pm. This will be on September 3, 2011 at Rockwell Tent. It will be going to be a ten-hour food festivity for food lovers and connoisseurs – eat all you want and a food paradise for everyone.

This food trip event would be a gastronomic adventure to food lovers like me and can be a food critique for one day. Guests will be trying sample food preparations and concoctions from over 50+ home-based food businesses along with Power Plant Mall’s very own restaurants.

That is an experience which I do not like to miss at all!  I will definitely come and allotted my Saturday food gig for this event.

For more information, visit this website link:  Ultimate Taste Test 6.0

“Christmas … is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.” – Freya Stark

Now the countdown begins as the ber month comes in.

Christmas for me is the most enjoyable celebration to look for.  Now, I am kinda excited to plan and prepare our home with lots of colorful Christmas decorations around.

With the Yuletide season just around the corner, hopefully, I can share with you more Live Life Fullest thoughts because this would serve to me a countdown celebrating also my one year anniversary come January 2011.

Sharing this light Christmas video for you peeps..

I am very happy to say that despite all the responsibilities I have, make time to post once in a while with this blog that becomes my breather to all the issues that comes along.  This really made me strong and plan my life more than anything else.

It was just  regretful that because of so much work gig in the metro, have forgot to post with my first love – Calamba-Online. I make promises that I will post once in a while but definitely, I have to put actions with it or else I am doomed.

Anyway, so much of all the intros for the 1st day of ber month.

Let “Live Life Fullest” greet you first.  “Merry Christmas everyone…May the Good Lord shower you with all the blessings and graces in this world.”

Cheers to good life!  Muahhh and lot of hugs everyone!