january

my 2012 started real well. thank God.

i take it that this year will be my travel year.

on the 1st of january, me, the bf and his friends made the 12hours drive back to manila. it was sad leaving our families on such eventful day, but work required him to get back that soon and as for me, i had to do some job hunting and waiting.

i had t0 clean the entire unit, pack up the xmas decors and cook our food, do the laundry. i had to do these things everyday but i never got tired of it. you don't complain if what you do is appreciated. and i have a bf who appreciates the little things i do for him.

i also spend days out with my girl friends over pizza, coffee and just catching up. i also had to indulge in some fat draining runs and exercises. sadly though, on the second month of the year, i still haven't lost weight. i've been eating so much and exercising less. it maybe because of all the stress of waiting.

but im not complaining, "patience is a virtue. and at the end of it all, is the glory of waiting." so i just take one day at a time. i know, i have all these days to continue praying. and i am thankful to God that days are spent visiting churches and enjoying the time alone.

me and 2 of my fellow barrister friends saved one day for bisita iglesia. it was fun having a day talking about the anxiety of waiting but the beauty of praying.

quiapo church

binondo church

we could not let go of the chance of eating at . we stuffed ourselves with all the chinese food we could take in .

we also passed by the sto.cristo de longos and prayed .

it was a tiring walk from quiapo to binondo and back but the talking while walking made it fun.

it was my first time to see the shrine of the holy face of jesus at quiapo and i was amazed at the beauty of a hidden church.

our itinerary included our dear alma mater's san sebastian church, the first steel church in asia.

when i started lawschool, an hour of our thursdays are spent at the shrine of st.jude, the patron of hopeless cases. law school was not a hopeless enedeavor, but we prayed hard to st.jude to help us go through the tough hurdle of terror professors and suicide inducing recitations. i would not have survived lawschool if not of the constant novenas i made here.

next, were the twin churches, our lady of loreto parish and st.anthony de padua, the patron saint of reviewees church .

we headed to monasterio de sta.clara and finally for our 9th church for the day, the padre pio chapel in libis

.

the padre pio church in libis is my little heaven in the city. when im sad, happy or just needing the time alone, i know, there's a place i can run to. it is a sanctuary of peace and love. the quiet ambiance, will make you feel at peace with everything.

roadtrips, foodtrips and church visits=2012

the highlights of my month included my 26th birthday. it was the first time i spent it with my family. eversince i got into college and then lawschool, birthdays are spent with friends. it was a breath of fresh air to spend it with my mom, sister , nieces and the bf out of town. but we missed dad and chelsea who were back home. we drove to tagaytay city.

visited caleruega church, people's park in the sky, tierra del maria shrine, picnic grove.

im thankful for my family, friends but most especially of my love for driving me to the places i love.

me and my friends had dinner to celebrate mine and cha's birthday. its a small world after all, i celebrate the same birthdate with one of my closest friends cha, who will get married next year. an event, our barkada looks forward to.

and i capped my first month of 2012 with the 46th 30th with my love.

the best dates, indeed, are the simple ones. quezon city memorial circle zipline.

it was only the first month of the year but i have so much to be thankful for.

thank you lord, for the blessings of family, friends and my love.thankyou for the travels. and thank you lord, for a month well lived.