OFWs Are People, Not ATM Machines

After being an OFW for x amount of years, I think I already have the authority to say that life abroad is bittersweet. While, everyone back home thinks you just grow money on trees, that is not true. 

Every centavo or peso sent has a story. A day when you had to skip lunch because your boss is panicking that he needs the report yesterday but told you about it, 15 minutes ago. Another scenario, staying in the office late because your officemate got sick and you are trying your best to understand what needs to be done because there's a meeting tomorrow. 

There are probably a few more stories about that hard-earned money that your relatives have but decided not to tell you. I repeat, money do not grow on trees. I wish they do but no they don't. 

Why am I writing about this? Because I saw a post from a Canadian nurse who got lambasted by her brother for not sending them money to buy a car. Why is it the OFW's problem? 

I can't believe this family!

To be quite honest, special favors or requests to purchase this or that is the norm in our country. I am not sure if it's the same in other parts of the world. It won't matter if the giver "willingly gives" the items or financial assistance. However, it should not be abused. 

I remember when we were still living in the desert, I would get requests from my family. I give in because I know I can. At times, I do put my foot down and tell them, it's not possible. My family understands and I am happy they do. 

However, I think the mindset of being "well-off" will always be there when you work abroad. Probably, there is some truth to that. I remember having the ability to buy what I want but it's because of my plastic (i.e. credit card). Meanwhile, some are really industrious and would get more than one job to buy what they want and at the same time, provide for their families. 

Before we decided to go home for good, I brought my mom and sister to Dubai. They were happy about it but they also learned about the different stories behind every dirham earned by my friends, of sales assistants and more. 

They discovered Dubai

My mom appreciated all the remittances I made after that visit (LOL). 

So, please before you ask some money to be sent, please do take the time to ask your OFW parent or relative about their day or anything that can make them feel that you are not only after their remittance (yes, some do feel that is the only reason their relatives contact them. yes, a once a month call). 

I hope the nurse's post will be a wake-up call to my fellow OFWs. Learn to say no. It's okay to do so. 

It's The Weekend Woohoo... Hopefully More Baking!

I thought I'd never say those words again (LOL)! When we came home from the desert, my days were always like the weekends. Waking up late because there's nothing that I need to rush about. Browse and browse my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. I think I had that kind of routine for the past 18 months. 

I got bored so I decided, I should start a new hobby. Well, I always had a hobby and that was baking. When we were in Dubai, I would always bake something for the hubby or just for me. The satisfaction of having something accomplished over the weekend jolts my body and sustains my energy until the next weekend.

Not all baking stories were a success. Back then, it was really mostly fails (except for my brownies!). I think it was because I could not comprehend the oven I was using then (yep, when you share a flat with other people, you need to adjust with the stuff available :D). 

Here in the Philippines, I studied my equipment well i.e. my oven. I made sure I understand how it works. Luckily or should I say, thankfully, I got it and was able to produce yummy dishes. 

But that's just half of what I want to say... I just want to say, I love saying "Woohoo, it's the weekend!" because I guess I still want to keep myself busy. I am still looking for ways or means that will make me busy and at the same love what I'm doing. 

My writing stint is now finally achieved (thanks to people over the internet)! I do want to give focus on my baking stint. I wonder how can I do that. By the way, here are some of my dishes and incase, I did make you drool, my Instagram handle is sugarnherb and I do have a Facebook page too! 

Ready to take orders online :) 

Source: Facebook/SugarnHerb

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Not me but it shows what I feel right now

 
Our semi-retirement life (yep, that's what we've been described as here) had been jolted for the past year. You see, I thought we had it all figured out. Investments there, careful spending here and so on. 

Unfortunately, the high-risk investment(s) where we have put our savings into is... well, on hold. A few friends who will read / reading this blog will be surprised. I am not the kind of person who puts all our monies in one pot. I guess the promise of good returns kind of blinded me. 

I have banked our five-year plan around those investments. With all those on hold, we are too. Unfortunately, the expenses even though we try to discuss and negotiate will never stop. Unless of course, we decide to live in an area where basic commodities are not needed. 

There is still no word on when the investment will be back up again. So right now, thankfully when the world threw us lemons, I was able to get something going online. I am beyond relieved that we can pay our bills and whatnot. Careful spending is still in the equation but we can, from time to time, put a few wants in the basket. 

A friend gave me a eureka moment. She told me to not let a wrong decision eat me up. She's right. It felt like a nudge from the Supreme Being that I should not worry. Rather, I need to use my time and my abilities in a way that can help us and start making some lemonade. 

I am truly grateful for friends whom you don't need to tell the whole situation and they get it. They don't want you to wallow on your problems but rather fight it head on. I hope that as I write this and my confidence is slowly building up, I pray that it gets sustained until the time our financial woes are sorted.  

Source: Twitter / Levi Hastings

Where Did Time Go?

I cannot believe it that time literally flies so fast! We have reached a few milestones this month of October. For one, this is our second year anniversary of being former OFWs in Dubai. Can you believe that? It feels like it was just yesterday but we have already survived the smog, the "extrajudicial" killings and more here in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, I also have a personal milestone for me as I have officially completed three months in my online work as a web writer. I have to be honest that I am still at that point where I am relearning the ropes of writing. I know what they say, "once a writer, always a writer" - right? However, I don't think that is the case for me.

It is a good thing that my editors are patient with me with every revision that they need to do with my article.

Right after my shift, my editor and I had a chat and she mentioned that my writing has improved! Finally, all the hard work has paid off. However, not all of it was good news because she also mentioned that based on her edits, my common mistakes are still the same.

I am mindful about it but as I have told her, when you keep on reading your work, you think that everything is right even when some of it is wrong (makes sense?). I am challenging myself to be careful but also be mindful of the deadline. Yes, she has highlighted "time" to be me as well because I have been submitting my work late!

Reading this blog post right now, I think there is a shift on my tone and with how this blog is written. Hopefully, this new "writing" will bring in more viewers for me.

See you soon, okay?
 

I skipped a month!

So a lot of things have happened (imagine I skipped a month without blogging).

Some of them were good (like my aunt coming home for a short vacation), some were bad (my puppies died of Parvo) and some were exciting (got a job).

If I have to describe how April and a bit of May went? Wild.

Yes, that is my word.

Hope you can wait up on me while I try to figure out how to blog all about it (mental note to self: I think I still have a few more stories that I wanted to share... Need to get a notebook to list them down).

Also, I am thinking of revamping the look of my blog. A lot of things on my list (that's good) but I hope the weather cooperates because it is way too hot :/

I just have to blog about this....

I am soooo p*ssed and soooo want to bang my head right now.

Yes, bang it. Because I have been so relaxed thinking that after my good friend repaired and resuscitated my laptop to life that I have tucked my files safely in one of my hard drives. How poor of me to not even check on of them or at least do a back up for safety purposes.

I was too proud to even do it.

Now, I am knocked out of my head because I can finally confirmed that I have lost them. The important files that I have been keeping on my laptop. I was able to save my pictures (I would really cry if these too were lost), my music, movies and books but not those files.

What the heck happened to me?!

*chill* *chill* *chill*

Aaaaarrgggghhhh!!!!

Badtrip talaga :,(

I'm back online... I think

So! The laptop was visited by my Apple doctor / friend and now, it's fixed! No pinwheel seen for the past few hours :) :D :)  ====> can you see the smileys? Yes, that is me smiling incessantly because of this very, very good news!

I hope this remains because I am waaaaaayyyy delayed for the things that I want to accomplish with the laptop. Yep, that would be:-

• reading / catching up on friend's / people's blogs
• do our expense tracker 
• update my blog 
• start working on an ebook 

... to name a few ;) 

This is a great Thursday!!!! :P 

Missed Out

Sadly with all issues relating to the Laptop (see previous post here), I have missed out on a lot of online giveaways / contests starting out with Nuffnang's various online promotions. I feel sad that I was not able to join the Merry SM Christmas this year and also their Fern-C contest :(

I have not been using the Laptop unless there is something that I really, really need to do which cannot be done on my phone or the tablet.

However, not all the 'dead' time with the Laptop was put to waste. In fact, the times that we are not together, I got a breather from recording our expenses (whew! Yes, I have chilled a bit about this) and also got the chance to spend time with R.

Had the time to put up the Christmas tree 

We also bought our first ever selfie stick!

We went for a night out!

At the middle of the long weekend, we had a spur of the moment idea to visit the house that we have been building down south. We know we have to start thinking on how we should design the house that will suit our lifestyle.

Also, I had more time with the babies (aka my doggies) and gave them the attention they need so… I guess you can say I might have missed out on my online life but was definitely very active on the physical aspect of life (if I may say).

Unfortunately, we do not have any decent photos to document this (probably next time, we should).

It felt good and different especially if you got used to being 'more present' online than the real world (weird isn't it, I know).

So, here's to the balance in my life ;)

Back to Blogging (I Hope)

Remember when I wrote about this a few weeks ago?

Well, aside from the fact that we were out of connection for four days (good thing SkyBroadband assured me that I will get an adjustment kundi major rant ito :p) due to some maintenance issues, I was only able to download and update my Operating System.

After all the tinkering and playing around, I can safely say that it seems to be working its magic on this laptop but I also had to remove some files in my computer because it might be "feeling heavy" (like a Facebook feeling noh?!) from all those photos that I have stored over the years.

So, we are still on that 'honeymoon' stage but we seem to be getting along well. I am just so happy that I get to read what I type rather than wait for it to appear. It feels good :)

Though I got a quick question, where do you usually store your photos? Is it on a hard drive or do you do half-half like store the recent ones in your laptop's hard drive and then the 'younger' days are left to rot in your external drive LOL!

Hope I can see some comments about this to guide me or at least give me suggestions on what needs to be done because I am still contemplating on investing / buying a new external drive (I currently have the following: 2 1TB drives that houses my TV series and movies and 1 500GB that has my books, magazines and other stuff that I have yet to delete / read, etc).

See you in the next few weeks because I will definitely be bugging the online world again.

:D

Slow Machine

means no blog post from me.

I have tried to make do with the slowness of my laptop but it has taken its toll on my writing. I find it difficult to write about my thoughts or blog about something when it actually takes about three to four minutes before the actually words will appear on the screen.

I have mastered the art of "typing ahead" (meaning I type even if I don't see if my spelling is right or not. I end up doing my proofreading later on when I have all the thoughts typed up). Doing this also means, I wait for the words to appear and then if I want to change or alter a phrase, I have to wait for a few minutes for it to be done.

Not only that attaching photos or posting links are becoming a pain too that at times I end up not posting photos because it takes a helluva time before it gets uploaded.

I am not sure if this is the laptop or the internet or a ghost playing around my device that is causing havoc to me, wanting to write about what's in my head.

So, now you know why I am not writing that often these days (and you thought it was the weather!! Wrong! :p)... Hopefully with the release of the new software next week, my problems will be solved but for now, I am negotiating for this laptop to stay well so that I can post this!

If this gets posted, it means we have made a deal (for now).

One Liners

This is just what I can type right now.

The weather is really getting into me.

I need air.

It's so hot even with the rain.

I need to get out of the fan now.

See yah later.

A family of two

I have been observing the blogging / online world for a few months now and I realized that most of the launch that I have seen are for moms - be it first-time moms, moms of twins, super mom, second mom, work-at-home moms and more.

I admire the launches that I have seen because now, I feel that mothers are being properly celebrated for raising their children, making sure that their needs are met. There is even an online group of mommies who support one another, by giving out suggestions from what they read or based on their experience - if what they are doing is good for their child or not.

However, I notice, there isn't any blog or group that celebrates women who are just wives for now - no children as of yet. I do not know if this group falls under being a career woman?

I mean have you read an article or a blog about a wife being praised for a good meal? Or any advise being given to a newly married woman about what are the do's and don'ts when you do the laundry or when you go to the wet market?

Probably there is that unspoken rule wherein married couples need to jump to the next step almost immediately - to have a baby.

This can be a rant for some people who knows me but to be honest, I thought of writing this blog as my way of just "thinking out loud" and I guess wanting to know if there is someone or anyone from the other side of the world who agrees with me about this.

I know a family of two is only a stage of beginnings (when you are just starting out a family) and on the near endings (when the kids have all moved out and have their own lives to live) but while the transition takes place, I wonder if women in this stage (like me) needs or wants to have a group to be there for them - to hold their hand when the first steak they have cooked was as hard as a rock or when they thought they were pregnant but it was a false alarm and so many life stages that will be experienced while in the family of two.

The answer can be that the other hand that holds you is your husband but is an outside support / perspective also valid in this instance?

I wonder.

I just needed to

BLOG about these past few days!

It has been the best because it was raining and there was a cold breeze circulating the house (finally)!!!

Yes, I have to put in that much of exclamation points to give you an idea of how hot it is in our house. I am not sure if it is just ours or all of us here in Manila experienced the humidity and the hot air floating around.

Okay, excitement aside, I know this is not something to be joyous about most especially since this weather has again claimed lives of people who were traveling or they were just at home but were very near to the coastal area.

You can find news clips here.

I am just torn because with this cool weather, I am able to start organizing our files that needs attention. Also, I had the chance to cook again (background: I haven't been cooking for the past few days because of my cough and cold. I sweat a lot when I move around so R decided to man the kitchen and take charge whilst I nurse myself back to health. Though I have to say, R and I take turns in cooking).

I was able to whip up pretty decent dishes I have to say though I think I failed in cooking a T-Bone Steak the right way for lunch but I will get my revenge back because I will be doing it again soon until I get the right texture for it.

Unfortunately no pictures on this post because I just really want to document that yes, the rainy season has started and I am so luvin' the cold breeze! :)

How to motivate yourself

This is what I always ask myself.

When I was still working, I would always tell myself that I will read later or write later which would mean nothing will be accomplished.

Now that I have a lot of this free time in my hands, I still ask the same question - how do I motivate myself?

to go back reading?

I see a lot of articles, news features or books that I really want to start reading but for some reason, I always get held up by other things -- the best word to sum this all up --- distraction.

Yes, I get distracted or get lured easily to either browse on new website finds or I get stuck with sorting out my emails (yes, six months of being idle and I still have tons of emails to read and delete).

It was only last week when I started reading an ebook. It was good. The words seem to surround me with happiness that I cannot explain. However, after my initial read, I have not gone back :-(

to start writing my book?

It was just recently when I had a chance to reconnect with my friend, Rob . After our usual Hi and Hellos, he asked me what's keeping me busy (to be quite honest, this is the reason I do not want to meet up because I do not have anything else to tell them except for the fact that I have been busy being a dog mother to my puppies).

Dead air... and lots of dead air... Rob asked me if I was still there so I took a deep breath and told him what I was doing. I can sense his disappointment and I kind of felt it too.

Back when we were still working on the same company, we have talked about what I really wanted to do and I told him that I want to write a book. I have always set myself as a novelist even when I was still a kid. He asked me what's stopping me from realizing this dream and I pointed out the pile of paperwork at my desk.

Now that I have all the time in my hands, he again urged me to write. Rob said the time is now or else I will never be able to do it anymore.

I know that he is right but I am not sure what is keeping me from doing it.

Is it the weather?
Is it the distractions?
Is it the slowness of my laptop?
Is it me just being lazy?

I, too, cannot figure it out or I just won't admit it.

Being Married

I know it is already pretty obvious that I am married :) to the most patient, understanding and supportive husband in the world.

We got married and stayed out of the Philippines as we decided to settle in Dubai whilst we have commitments and debts to pay.

While I was cooking dinner, I realized that I already have.... 

That was the start of this draft when I wrote it September 2013. Two years have passed and I guess when you reach a certain age, you forget what the next line will be (Yeap! That's what happened to me right now).

I did try adding something to the sentence but I just cannot remember so maybe the best way is to start fresh but still use the same blog title - Being Married.

R and I have been married for seven years now going to our eighth this year. Like what all married couples would say, being married and staying married is difficult if you do not have the respect and love for one another. I am not going to delve into the details but our road to marriage was not your normal "love story".

Yes, boy and girl felt an attraction, decided to act on that feeling, realized that they love one another and then get married. The general concept is the same but ours had a lot of twists and turns. The road was bumpy but I think where we are now in our relationship is because of those bumps. Those hiccups made us stronger and stand for one another.

I like the fact that we now consider each other a friend. I know they say that you should be friends first before you become lovers? For us, we went from being lovers and then have that friendship. We may not be the best of friends but I know that I can count on him and vice versa.

Of course, there would still be days when you are frenemies (hahaha) but that is because of your individuality and I like that (Yes, I am weird). Why? Because it shows that we are still two different people with different tastes and ideals. I think you need that in your relationship to avoid being monotonous.

This is all just me and my opinion (to each his own, ika nga).

I love being married and I am so glad that it is R that I married. Even with the hurdles, I know we are a perfect fit.

Being the man that he is, he might contest what I have just written. Fortunately, he does not like reading my mushy blog because he prefers I say it or 'show' it :) 

1 Peter 4:8 
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 

Our Taco Bell experience

I have mentioned in my previous blog post that my mom and I's Taco Bell experience is worth having a seperate blog post so here it goes.

One fine day, my mom asked me to accompany her to check out prices for her ticket to Canada. I have already searched online for her but she is still convinced that a travel agency can work its magic and make the price of her plane ticket cheaper. Since I have got nothing to do (background: my mom just retired from her work as an Account Executive for a food distribution company and as for me, well, I am still waiting for the next big thing), I said yes to her plea and off we went to Gateway Mall.

After checking her flights and making a temporary booking, my mom wanted to have merienda (or what some would call afternoon snack or afternoon tea for some). I said okay but since I did not have that much cash with me, I told her that we need to pick where to eat because we will either pay by credit card or the cash that I have which is less than Php 500 (I know right?!).

My mom and I searched (well, we really wanted Army Navy but Booky Manila has failed to give us information that there is an Army Navy branch within the area) where we can eat however our eyes got glued to this Taco Bell promo (2 wraps for I think Php 80). We both looked at one another and said, that seems to be a good deal! We immediately lined up to the counter and was giddy with our discovery.

We were so excited to have a bite and when my name was called... we got this...

 

This is one of the two wraps that we got 

 
I have to admit, I was dismayed but my mom and I could not contain ourselves that we just have to laugh out this moment!

In the end, my mom made a side comment to me saying, Yan ang nagagawa ng sobrang tipid (that's what you get for being stingy!).

Lesson learned indeed!

What's in the BLOG?

A month back, I was invited to a press launch (which I will blog about in the coming days) and met a new friend (Hi Ara!). As usual, initial talks were about personal information which we both gladly divulged. With all that behind us, Ara asked me what my blog is about. She gave different styles like lifestyle, fashion, food and more. I immediately said lifestyle because I think that is what I want my blog to focus on.

Though it's actually more of my personal thoughts/ opinions about everything that is happening to me, to us (R &I) in general.

Over the past years, what I have noticed is that the personal blog has turned into a mini-info pamphlet. The writer or writers will be blogging about various events or products either as a review or as a product launch. Yes, people still associate it with their personal stories like what do they perceive of the product or the event that took place however it seems like it's a news feature.

I guess blogging has really evolved now because online readers also get their product knowledge or information from the blog sites that they read. Example, I now know more about different hacks and ways to take over my kitchen through Fat Kid Inside's blog. For fashion and home inspiration, I check on Daphne's blog site. I read Frugal Honey or Pinas for Good's posts to give me an idea on how I can invest our money or the lessons they have learned by doing so.

If I want to read about a personal view on gadgets, food and beauty reviews, I go to Animetric's World and sift through the restaurants that she has given her seal of approval. For high style fashion and endless travel to Hongkong and Japan, I lounge at CVS' blog site for days until my travel desires waned a bit.

Oh! My recent find is Ruthilicious for her witty posts about the product she reviews or the events that she has attended. 

As for my blog, if I were to put a category to it, it's still what you call a personal blog. Yes, I do rave or rant about restaurants or services but I still incorporate a lot of my day to day activities in the blog - like how I documented our plan to go home for good up until to date - while we search for that business venture.

I will be a hypocrite if I don't admit that I do want this blog to be noticed.... soon I hope! Why? Because I also want to start earning through my blog and be an online sensation (not that one-hit wonder kind huh!).

I guess I want to also have a voice in this type of medium. I know in time, someone will notice but for now, I shall continue with what I am doing :)

Oh! Of course when my blog starts earning, that means I will have new online friends to talk to (cool!).

After 5 months

I have finally burst my Dubai bubble and can now really say goodbye to the newsletters and deals that have been occupying my mailbox for the past months.

It begins to irritate / annoy / feel weird seeing these emails that are not related to my current location. I mean, yes there is still that desire to go back but only to meet friends, maybe try out the restos that we have missed out and be in awe of how we had Dubai in our mind.

However these newsletters and deals will just have to go because there is no sense for me to keep them. From my previous blog post, I have mentioned unsubscribing only to a few but now, I am making a brave move of unsubscribing to them all! Hooray!

I have been relieved of that bondage (what?!). I think my Yahoo Mail will be on a diet for a few months while I search for other email alerts that I now need to fill in the gap and all of that will be all about the Philippines!! :) or maybe other places too, I am not that sure.

Goals and Planners

Apologies for my doodle, this is the best that I can do

Have you set your goals for the year? You still have time because technically, January is still not over. We have only reach the middle of the month so you still have plenty of time to lay them out.

For the past 2 to 3 years now, I have been writing up my goals for the coming year and at the same time, look over the goals that I have set for the past year. I have stopped writing resolutions since I started my goal-writing because I prefer to have a more positive outlook on what the year will be rather than sulking that I was not able to be true to my resolutions because I immediately failed (yes, at times, I fail on the second day! Yeah that bad!).

Looking back at my faith goals (yes, I have associated it with how our congregation calls it) for 2014, I have to say that most of my goals were achieved. Of course, there were still some that are not so I have carefully placed them in my faith goals for this 2015.

I feel like this year is centered to nurturing relationships between families and friends. In fact, I have made a goal to rekindle my relationship with friends and family members that I have lost touched over the years (being away from home does that to you though I have to say, it has also made me connect with some people who I never thought I will be connecting at all). I hope to be succesful in this goal.

***

Apart from that, I thought of getting myself a planner. Yes, an actual planner to make me write stuff - ideas and other things. I was already in National Bookstore the other day and was in a lookout for an affordable planner armed with the plan that I have in my head. However, R stopped me and challenged me when he asked if I am going to use it.

I had to stop and answer that question - am I really going to use it? My sister has been gifting me with the sought after planners only for it to gather dust in our pile of stuff. Now that we need to be more mindful about our money, I know R has a point.

To be honest, I am glued to my phone most of the time. I list out our groceries there, set reminders for stuff that I have been monitoring, chat with my family, check my emails and more. At times, I also write my thoughts in my Evernote app.

I guess R is right so I've put down the planner that I have been eyeing. I am thinking if I can create my own or like what R suggested, maybe I can use last year's planner and just update it with the right year and day (hahahah! Talk about being stingy!!)

***

What about you? Have you set any goals for this year?

I appreciate you and other thoughts about our journey

Often times, when things don't go your way (*gulp* guilty), you tend to concentrate your irritation or frustration with the people around you.

You would look at them as if they have disappointed you when in reality, they didn't but since we have a lot of pride in our heart and mind, we tend to always point the finger at them and shriek that it's their fault, not ours.

I think this has been me for the past few days. I guess, not having anything to bury your head into (like work or stuff) kind of ticked me off. Yes, there are household duties that I need to fulfill but since I have the time in my hands... I kind of do it s-l-o-w-l----y.

Last night while we were in the Victory church service, it was like God nudged me and send the word "appreciation". To be honest, this was not the series we were tackling but it hit a spot (you know like cupid hit me straight to my heart!).

I look at my right side and there he was, looking very mysterious (but I guess he is troubled of what's happening with me for the past few days). Lost with his own thoughts, I uttered the word "thank you".

He looked at me and gave me a tight side-hug.

It felt good but I know it was not enough so after the service, I told him that we would have a light snack. He has mentioned a few days back that he has been craving for palabok (Filipino dish that is consists of rice noodles with a special thick orange sauce that has crushed pork skins as toppings, you can get it from Jollibee). Good thing, even at my stubborness, I know how to listen and remember.

He ate his palabok whilst I had my burger sandwich. I can feel that the mood had already lightened and his mysterious look was slightly being altered of his usual "smirk-smile" trademark.

I again uttered the word "thank you" and it felt good because he smiled back.

The service made me realise that we do not always get the things we want in a snap. It has been said many times by various inspirational speakers and entrepreneurs that going for your own business takes time.

Not because nothing is available for you but because this is hard-earned money that you want to make sure it will click. Yes, taking risk is required but you need to have the right head element to go with it and gut-feel too.

I guess, we are not there yet... We are still on the market research phase (this is what I tell myself, hopefully I am right). However, I hope and pray that our perfect timing will come because I truly believe that our 'jump' will not be wasted. The Might Provider has something in store for us... greater than what we imagine.

To you, thank you and please know that I appreciate you. Always.

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” ~ Voltaire

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ~ Cicero

1 Thessalonians 5:11 
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (NIV)

The verse and quotes were taken from http://www.jollynotes.com/inspirational-verses/appreciating-others/