10 Things 2016 Taught Me

10 Things 2016 Taught Me

(10) Potato Corner is the ultimate bae.

I mean, I've always known this, but it was in 2016 where the love was reciprocated. See below.

(9) Budgeting is a MUST.

I have a problem when it comes to keeping my finances in check. I am guilty of spending on a whim, especially on food... (Don't look at me like that you know you do it too..) I promise to budget wisely this 2017!!! So I can buy more food JOKE pero..1/2 joke.

(8) There will always be people better than you.

Smarter, better looking, funnier, more popular, parang si Liza Soberano, ganun. You can't always be the best at everything (unless you're Liza), but you can be the best version of yourself. And how do you do that? Step one: Accept that there will always be people better than you. And that's okay. In the world of dance, someone will always have higher extensions, can outdo your doubles with quadruples, and the list goes on. Important thing is to keep working towards being the best you YOU can be. 

(7) Having a happy crush (or crushes if you're malandi hahaha JOKE) is healthy. 

Also filed under: being a fan girl

Whether it's a celebrity crush or an acquaintance crush or a bff crush, these happy crushes/fan girl moments are so fun to have! In a year when the world felt so heavy too many a times, happy crushes ease that weight a little when they (unknowingly) provide a few kilig moments here and there. Admit it, ni-like lang photo mo, buo na araw mo! Tapos may DM pa awow Liza level ang haba ng hair charaught pero totoo

"Yasss ni-like niya hihi"

(6) Different sets of friends, different sets of interests.

Let's be 100% real here. You have friends you grab coffee with, and you have friends you take shots with. And there's nothing wrong with that. I mean I have friends who share my love for classical music, and I have friends who applaud my super great rapping skillz. I have friends who understand my wanting to stay in and sleep early on a Friday night, but I also have friends who sing along to throwback 90's songs til 3am with me in BGC on a Saturday night. It's all good. 

The Choice to Compete

I started writing this post weeks ago, but of course I only found time to publish it tonight: 13 hours before my competition. AAAHHHHHH OKAY let's begin.

In all my years of dancing, I have never entered a solo dance competition. This comes ultimately from my fear of stepping into the whole nature of competition: the stress and exhaustion of training for it, the nerves and anxiety at the thought of someone judging your piece and evaluating it, and the fear of not doing well enough.

At the beginning of the year, I considered entering the Youth Asian Grand Prix: An international dance competition in Hong Kong open to all nationalities. Sure would be nice to say that I've competed on an international stage, right? The more I thought about it, the more I was starting to convince myself to give it a shot. HOWEVER-- there was a slight problem. The age cut-off was 23. I am 25. And that's how you know when God says no. Hahaha.

At first I didn't think too much of it, and was able to easily let it go. But all that initial convincing I had done to myself created a restless debate in me that just won't quit: should I try another competition? Or nah?

Homecoming

July 6th marks the one year anniversary of my Acts Manila "homecoming". It's been one whole year since I decided to take that leap of faith, from a career in the non-profit sector into the the performing arts field. One year since I had one of the most restless seasons of my life, because I was trying to silence something my heart has constantly been shouting: "Go back to dance."

I tweeted this on July 6, 2015, after my first day back in the studio!

One year after, and I can't help but just be so incredibly grateful at how God has faithfully seen me through this life journey. In my one year back in dance, I have:

- Been given the responsibility of handling two schools and taking over their ballet program: Acts Manila @International British Academy, and Acts Manila @Kerusso Christian Academy
- Gotten strength back to fully dance on pointes and execute steps accomplished only through muscle memory (this was an absolute struggle)
- Performed and participated in around 15 (give or take) different events: Mall shows, corporate engagements, church numbers, workshops, etc.
-Completed seminar 1 of the official training program of the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet conducted by ballerina Christine Walsh herself
- Taken part in the annual Acts Manila recital in the CCP Main Theater after 8 years
- Experienced wearing two (metaphorical) hats during the recital: The dancer hat and the teacher hat!
- Promoted to full Director, yay!
- Helped develop the Acts Manila Public Speaking and Creative Writing Program with me at the helm
- Conducted a full Personality Development Seminar for the teachers of Kerusso Christian Academy
- Braved my fear of competing by entering a local dance competition: The Philippine Dance Cup
- Taken one student under my wing to coach for the Asian Grand Prix ballet competition in Hong Kong
- Gotten my parents' full support, no questions asked <3

Getting back to the groove; it wasn't easy, but it was worth it. 

Dear Mr. Made Right,

First of all, I am not calling you Mr. Right. As much as I believe each person is destined to be with her Mr. Right or his Ms. Right, I doubt anyone is "born right" for you.

In between the moment I let out my first cry up until this point in my life where I am nearing the quarter of a century mark (gasp!), thousands of circumstances have already come and gone and have shaped me into who I am today. The 16-year-old me is so different from the present me. I could have been "wrong" for you back then, but who's to say what the stars have for us now?

Second of all, Mr. Made Right, I am a firm believer in God's perfect timing. While I feel that that is a phrase many release too casually, I hold on to it like a child clings to his mother's hand on the first day of kindergarten.  If we have not met yet, I am confident there is a reason why. I probably need more work, maybe we both do. Maybe we are at a point in our lives where our faith is not fully seasoned enough for us to step on to the next journey just yet. Maybe, maybe. But there is definitely a reason.

Third of all, when we do meet and you decide you want to pursue me (haba ng hair), please be patient with me. I probably won't make it easy, admittedly, because I am still a girl and I will tend to overthink. Are you "The One"? How will I know? What if there's someone else? How will our future look like if we end up together in the long run? Why aren't you texting with smiley faces?!

When you don't hear from me the whole day, I hope you don't sit on your man ego and not reach out to me "just because I didn't initiate the conversation first". Send me good morning texts to start my day, and good night messages that leave me smiling as I drift off to sleep. Excuse me, pakiligin mo naman ako! Charaught. When at times you feel I am being distant, I hope you will find strength and patience to deal with my distress. Pursuing me means pursuing God, too, maybe even pursuing Him more. You can only really get to my heart if you have God in yours.

Fourth of all, MMR, pursuing me also means that I won't be pursuing you. Wow, taray! Sometime last year, I came across a blog post by Ann Luna where she declares to a boy that she will never do the pursuing because that's simply not her part. I agree. So, dear MMR, when we finally meet, please do not expect me to chase after you. I will not force situations just so the two of us could be together. Even at the height of gender equality and feminine rights, I will still not do the pursuing. Call me old-fashioned, but the whole courtship process trumps modern dating (Tinder, anyone?) any day in my book. Swipe right? More like swipe wrong.

Fifth of all, I will care about you and what you do for a living. I sincerely hope you love what you are doing, and are not just going through the motions of the day with only that end-of-the-month pay check as your source of motivation. People say passion won't necessarily (and quickly) pay the bills in the beginning, and maybe they're right, maybe they're not, but I pray there is heart in your work.

I hope that you are in a place where there is favor upon you, where you feel fulfilled, and where your faith can grow. You might have already found your calling in your career, and that is fantastic! But if you feel as if you could still use a little push, you can rest in the thought that I will be right there with you with a push of encouragement and a tight embrace of support. I will care about you and what you do for a living because it will affect us today, and the tomorrows of our future family.

NGO Kingdom: A Tale of Five Realms

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom (aka The NGO Kingdom) located in a far, far away land (aka Quezon City). There lived a King (aka The Panda) with his Queen (aka The Chicken), and their royal household (aka The Office Cuties). Together, they formed one big happy royal family.

The King and Queen govern five noble realms: Excel Center for Educational Leadership (Excel), Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, The Jesse M. Robredo Foundation, Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON), and The Institute for Governance and Strategic Partnerships (IGSP). These realms represent three advocacies: good governance, public health, and public education.

The Royal Family of the NGO Kingdom operates with a unified vision in mind--a better Philippines, fueled by change and empowered by passion to build the nation. As one of the royal workers, living in the Kingdom the past ten months has helped me become a better person, and a better Filipino (naks). When what you do revolves around service to others, you learn to think less of yourself, and more about your fellow Filipinos (naks times two).

Konichiwa!

Here it is! My travel article on Japan :)

Click link below to read:

http://aquazorb.com/japan-urban-jungle-of-the-east/

Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate with you, Aquazorb! Three cheers to getting to know the world, one destination at a time!

Love,
Laura

#JaFun

Since my article on Japan isn't out yet, here is a short video of our #JaFun trip instead! Sit back, relax, and (hopefully) enjoy the video :) 

EDIT: My article just got published today on Aquazorb, hours after I posted this, haha! Will post it next time.

Happy Travel Thursday!

Love,
Laura

Drowning out doubt

I am with you and for you. When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you. You may encounter many obstacles as you move toward your goal, but don't be discouraged--never give up! With My help, you can overcome any obstacle. Do not expect an easy path as you journey hand in hand with Me, but do remember that I, your very-present Helper, am omnipotent.

-An excerpt from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young 

Dear Jesus,

I'm at a crossroads and it is taking every bit of my faith to make a decision on which path to take. My heart knows which one, but the rest of me still needs some bravery. The more I think about it though, the more I get encouraged to go after the passion You have purposefully put in me. The heart wants what it wants nga diba? (cue Selena Gomez hehe).

Thank You for slowly, but surely, building up the courage I need to start truly living my life and going after what I want. I acknowledge that every now and then, I still get bouts of anxiety coupled with doubt, and they tend to shake me. Help me renounce these fears in Your Name. Allow me to focus on seeking You more through this journey, that I may fix my eyes solely on You and not be swayed by words of mere men. Drown out the voice of doubt and discouragement, and silence the naysayers.

Davao Weekend Getaway

Late last year, I won two roundtrip tickets to any local destination in the Philippines, after entering an online contest sponsored by Aquazorb. I then partnered with the brand earlier this year for a travel blog collaboration! Click the link below to check out the travel article I wrote about my time at the Crown Jewel of the Philippines--Davao!

Wow, Davao! Link here: http://aquazorb.com/wow-davao/

Stay tuned for my next article on Aquazorb! It will be all about Japan :)

Love,

Laura

Commercial Break: Kris Aquino Dubsmash Compilation

NAKAKALOKA. 

You're welcome.

Love,
Laura

Where the heck have I been?!

I know, I know.

I've been gone for way too long! Don't hate me.
Can we still be friends?

Life has whizzed past me this first quarter of the year, and although I have not quite caught up with it yet, I am enjoying the journey. Over these past three months, I have already gone to seven different places outside Manila. Despite the stress of work, I am thankful it allows me to travel locally, extensively. That was one of my goals when I returned to the Philippines after graduating last year. I have seen the rest of the world, but not enough of my own country.

I'll be writing more about it soon (and I mean it this time lol), so stay tuned!

Love,
Laura

Where to next?
(Yes, that is a huge Minnie Mouse bow)

Cyber Gold

ONLINE TREASURES

Not gonna lie--I sometimes feel that retail therapy is better than chocolates. Yup, I said it. And I'm not just talking about venturing out to malls and conquering stores one discount rack at a time. My real weakness is online shopping.

I learned to explore this beautiful realm on the Internet when I was living in the states and didn't have my own car. I would want to shop, but I couldn't exactly hop on over to the nearest mall without transportation. I clearly remember one of my friends, Tutu, who was also an international student and had the same car-less problem, telling me: "Why don't you just shop online?"

Such simple, yet incredibly eye-opening advice! (lol)

That same night, I signed up for the student membership on Amazon.com, and proceeded to buy season one of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (yep, Shailene Woodley pre-Tris), a box of chocolate turtles (I still don't know why I thought of buying that from a website and not just from a grocery store haha), and I believe a book I needed for school that was much cheaper on Amazon. I remember being SO nervous as I was typing my debit card details, thinking I might get scammed! But I went with it anyway, haha.

My package arrived a couple days later, and boy, the sense of accomplishment I felt was massive when I picked it up from the campus post office! 

The rest is history.

---

Now that I'm back in Manila, I visit more local online shops. I mean, I could still buy from Amazon.com, or Forever21.com, or wetseal.com, but it would cost me more as I am now halfway across the world and would have to pay extra for international shipping fees.

Thankfully, I've come across awesome and reliable websites here in Manila that give incredible sales with their wide selection of "stuff"! Below are some of my recent finds aka my online treasures:

Lazada.com.ph offered me a Php200 voucher just for signing up for their newsletter! They've got an extensive collection of anything and everything: men and women's fashion, electronics and gadgets, toys for children, home appliances, and the list goes on. LAZADA pretty much like Amazon, which is pretty much amazing.

Lazada.com

And if you're like me and in the constant search for anything sassy and classy, don't skimp out on exploring ZALORA. I've often browsed through this site before and found great discounts especially now with Zalora's Chinese New Year Sale! I got so giddy when I saw they were slashing off up to 80% off! One of the dresses I've been eyeing for a while now has gone down from Php1,099 to Php659. Best believe i'll be taking it!

Zalora.com

Nice to be Nice

The first five people who comment on this status with "I'm in" will receive a surprise from me at some point during this year (2015) - anything from a book, a ticket, something home-grown, homemade, a postcard, absolutely any surprise! There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. These five people must make the same offer on their Facebook status. Once my first five have commented "I'm in" I will forward this message to you privately, so that you can copy and paste it, and put it on your status, (don't share it) so that we can form a web of connection of kindness. Then message me your address.

I have seen this status (or something similar to it) circulating around Facebook this past year and have always been tempted to put it up on my own Facebook profile wall. But then it kinda died down, and I've forgotten about it until today! One of my good and brilliant friends, Neha (who has just recently graduated but already authored a book!) posted this as her status today and I thought I'd finally give this gig a shot.

But instead of putting it up on Facebook, I decided to share it here, yay! Below, you will find the modified version of the original status stated above. I hope you consider jumping on board with me! :)

---

The FIRST FIVE people who e-mail me "Yo, Laura, count me in!" will receive a surprise from me at some point during this year (2015) - anything from a book, a ticket, something home-grown, homemade, a postcard, absolutely any surprise! 

There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. But if in case we don't know each other on a personal level (yet), feel free to mention in your email your likes and dislikes, just so I can get a more specific idea of what will make you smile!   

Optional: These five people are free to make the same offer on any form of social media. I won't require you to keep this gift-giving going, but it would be wonderful if you could! The idea is to simply spread kindness and love. It's nice to be nice. :)  

Send your e-mails to la.pastores@gmail.com, with the message subject title: "NICE TO BE NICE" (hehe wala ng maisip lelz) If you will be part of the first five, I will reply with a confirmation message (wow parang legit contest lang?! lelz2) and will be asking for your address.

---

For my Lolo

In loving memory of my Lolo Pastor
May 25, 1920 - January 14, 2015

Lolo, anong oras na po diyan sa heaven?
Ano pong ngalan ng anghel ninyo?
Babae o lalake po ba?
Gano po katagal paglakbay niyo papunta diyan?

December 25, 2014
Lolo's last Christmas

For as long as I can remember, my Lolo was always the doting kind of grandfather. Whenever we'd visit him in his house in Cubao, he would always make sure there was plenty of food to eat, complete with dessert (usually mocha ice cream bought from the nearby tindahan). Whenever we'd call him over the phone, he would always ask about every little detail of our lives:

Me: Hello po, Lolo!
Lolo: Oh ano, apo ko, kamusta naman ang iyong pag-aaral? (How are your studies?)
Me: Ok naman po, Lolo. A-Student pa rin naman po ako.
Lolo: Mahusay, apo ko. Eh apo ko, ano ngalan ng maestra mo sa iskuwela? (What is the name of your head teacher?)
Me: *gives a name*
Lolo: Ah, eh yun ba Miss or Misis na? (Is she a miss or a misis?)
Me: Misis na yata po, Lolo.
Lolo: Ah eh maiba nga tayo ng usapan apo ko. Anong oras na ba diyan? (What time is it there?)
Me: 6 o'clock po, Lolo.
Lolo: Anong airline sasakyan mo pabalik ng Estados Unidos, apo ko? (What airline are you flying with going back to the US?)
Me: Delta po.
Lolo: Anong rota mo, apo ko? (What's your route?)

You get the idea. :)

When I was younger, I couldn't get why my Lolo kept on asking about every little thing during phone conversations. My dad then explained that it was my Lolo's way of keeping the conversation going because he wanted to stay on the phone with his apos (grandchildren) for as long as he could.

2005 - Lolo with his girl apos :)
(Lolo was never the smile-y type when it
came to picture-taking. I guess he didn't want to show his teeth,
or lack thereof hehehe labyu Lolo)

Lolo makes our birthdays extra special by giving us coin purses every year, with the number of coins inside corresponding to how old we turned that year. 24 years old = 24 coins. 1 year old = 1 coin, lol. Such a simple, cute, and heartwarming gesture. Gotta love my Lolo :)

Lola was also our true war hero. He fought in World War II, survived, and brought with him endlessly fascinating stories from his war experience. Oh, his stories! I once wrote a whole reflection paper about WWII using only the details of the stories he shared with us. (And yes, of course I got an A on it, hehehe) Lolo was our greatest history teacher, our champion story teller (every detail ingrained in his mind as sharp as knives), and the best extemporaneous speaker in the family (he could recite a whole inspirational speech at a drop of a hat--in English, Tagalog, and even in Spanish!). Simply put, my Lolo was pretty amazing.

On August 13, 1997, my Lola (grandmother) passed away. Lola was the ultimate love of my Lolo. So when she went ahead and took a one-way trip to heaven that year, Lolo was devastated. A huge part of him was lost, and we could all tell that his joy and will to live greatly decreased. He wasn't depressed, but it was evident that he felt lonely and was missing Lola every single second of every single day.

But my Lolo was strong. He went on to live 17 more years after he had lost his best friend and partner-in-crime. He would have turned 95 years old this May (95 years old! Whoa and you thought you were old lol), but I guess it was time for him to take that same trip to heaven and finally be reunited with my Lola.

The limit does not exist

I just wanted to share something insanely wonderful real quick to help you truly start your new year right with full of positive energy. This excerpt is from a daily devotional book entitled "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, and I am in love with it. The passage below is from last night's reading.

 Devotional Reading for January 06, 2015

"I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine. Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. Ask My Spirit to control your mind so that you can think great thoughts of Me. 

Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark. The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation. 

Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life."

This 2015, let's not limit God. Fearlessly believe that this is your year of miracles and answered prayers.
Get excited.

Love,
Laura

New Year's Real-solutions

What's up, 2015?! How YOU doin'?

I was never one to make New Year's Resolutions because I was never one to fully follow through when I do. Guilty.  But this year, I've decided to set some realistic resolutions that could also be considered faith goals. Here they are--my New Year's Real-solutions:

*Not ranked in any order

(1) Less time on social media.
Specifically, less Facebook. Not everything needs to be shared online. I will keep Twitter and Instagram more active, but I just personally feel Facebook be goin' all up in ma bidniz. Too public, even if I set my posts to "just friends".

(2) Start a budget planner.
This is more of a necessity than a resolution, really. I need to get my finances in order, and get smart with my spendings versus savings.

(3) Fill up (and finish) a "Thankful Jar".
A "Thankful Jar" is where you write on a piece of paper what you were thankful for for the day. The goal is to have 365 little notes of thanks and good vibes at the end of the year. I started one last year, but I only managed to go until day 34? Like, come on! Barely a month and a half! Lol. This year, I'm determined to make it til December 31, 2015!

Photo from Christine Trevino's blog

(4) Read more books.
Seriously, I will make time for luxury reading this year. I miss having my nose buried in books!

Photo from YIJ Group, Inc.

(5) Write often.
Doesn't matter if it's a blog post, a journal entry, or a scribble of thoughts on a post-it. I need to just. keep. writing.

http://intentfulgentleman.com/stop-complicating-life-just-bloody-write/

(6) Drive farther distances.
I once got ticketed twice in a span of 20 minutes. True story. That was also the day I got lost, taking C5 to go to Antipolo, and then finding myself in the middle of EDSA... Lololol let's not have that happen again in 2015, shall we? This year, I'm daring myself to become more street smart, literal na "street" smart haha, even if it means putting up with reckless and inconsiderate drivers in Manila. I gotta learn more routes, more shortcuts, and of course, avoid getting ticketed hahaha

I mean, really.

Page 365

2014
"It's been a great year! Thanks for being a part of it."

LOL
If you've frequented your Facebook home page, you'd be familiar with that line. A year in review, brought to you by Facebook, highlighting all your "most liked" posts, assuming they were some of your best moments.

So before this year ends (can you believe we're down to the last day of 2014?!), I thought I'd give my own "Year in Review" and show you my favorite moments and memories for each month of 2014 :)

JANUARY

Getting back to the US and keeping the SAS spirit alive

The SAS Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal + Bracelet: My SAS best friends and I decided to keep in touch through a notebook and a charm bracelet that we would be mailing to each other. The idea was to have each of us add a charm that best represented us (i.e. I added a ballet shoe charm to represent myself) and then write about anything exciting, funny, or memorable that happened to us while we were wearing the bracelet. We would then mail it to the next friend in line (we have a whole rotation set up lol), and they would add their own charm and write on the journal, and then pass it on to the next friend, and so on. We can be very cheesy that way, and we're perfectly fine with that  The friends you make on Semester at Sea are truly some of the best you will ever have. These were the people you saw and experienced the world with. And that, well, that is one strong bond. 

FEBRUARY

Westminster Love

Fall semester of 2013, I was on my Semester at Sea adventure. As awesome as that was, that also meant a whole semester away from the place I've learned to call my home away from home--Westminster College! So upon my return for Spring semester of 2014, I was all sorts of excited to be reunited with my Westmo best friends! And yes, that meant enjoying every weekend out hahaha #seniorstatus

MARCH

Talent Show + Spring Break

March was good to me. It was when two of my dancer friends and I entered Westminster's annual Talent Show, and bagged second place! Wuhoo! Performing for the Westmo community in itself was already fulfilling enough, but to have placed doing what we love (dance) was such a bonus. Hooray!

March was also spring break month! This year, I got to fly out to the East Coast to visit one of my sisters, Kai. She was taking her Masters Degree at the University of Pennsylvania at the time (yes, I shall give you a moment to exalt her and her brilliance), and we thought spring break would be a good opportunity to have a mini reunion and travel the East Coast together. My favorite part was taking a day trip to New York City! Another hooray! 

APRIL

Kapal Mode: ON

In the month of April, I won Best Smile. HAHAHA 

Sorry na, April was kind of a lull, so this is my highlight hehehe 

During our Senior Night at Westmo, we had Senior Superlatives where we were given different categories (i.e. Most Likely to Become Westminster President, Best Laugh, Best Dressed, etc) and seniors nominate and vote who they think best fit the different superlatives. I guess it pays being happy and smile-y all the time. Haha thanks, classmates! 

MAY

Graduation

I did the whole graduating from college thing. Nbd. 

Jk, it is a huge deal! I managed to get out of college alive, with my name on the Dean's List to boot aww yeah! Yabang?? What made it even more special was the fact that my family traveled all the way from Manila to watch me cross the stage and get my diploma! Ate Kai even flew in from Penn to surprise me! <3

Mane Monday

Happy Monday and Happy November, everyone! I know I disappeared for a month, but I'm back with a new post-and it's even a video!! This was supposed to be under Sassy Saturday, but due to technical difficulties, I only got around to uploading it now so I'll be calling it Mane Monday instead--styles and whatnots for your glorious mane!

I found this quick hairstyle online and wanted to try it for myself. I'm not the most adventurous when it comes to my hair, often just leaving it down or up in a ponytail/bun. But then sometimes, you get to the point where you're just so bored with your locks and want to experiment with something quick, easy, and different!

I don't know what this hairdo is actually called, but I shall refer to it as the "Messy Hairband Tuck". I love this style because it can be worn for either casual events or formal ones! I guess you'd have to lessen the "messiness" factor if you want to go formal, though. Just watch the video to hopefully understand what I mean!

P.S. I forgot to include this in the video, but you can also choose to do the half-pony tuck with this style! Just tuck in small portions of your hair from both sides, but leave the rest of your hair at the back untouched :)

That's all for now! I will really try to put up more posts this November to make up for the complete lack of them last October. In the meantime, go ahead and try this hairstyle, tweet a pic or put it on Instagram and tag me!

Have a good week ahead, and a fabulous November!

Love,
Laura

People Problems

TOP TEN TUESDAY

Hello, everyone! It's time for another Top Ten Tuesday! Below are ten things people do that I either don't understand or that absolutely annoy the heck out of me. Hopefully your Internet connection is reasonably fast for the GIFs to load properly! Enjoy.

(10) People who walk sloooooooow.
Now, I know some people have legit reasons as to why they walk at a snail's pace (e.g. they're old and have rayuma) while others prefer a more leisurely stride. I get that. But what I'm talking about are those who obviously can tell you are walking behind them and yet it is as if they are purposefully trying to walk zero kilometers per hour. The worst part is when you have no way to overtake the human turtles, and are left stuck behind them.

Could you go any slower?

(9) The want for a dislike button on Facebook.
There was a time when so many people were hoping for a dislike button on FB. Some probably still do. Baket? Eh kung i-dislike ko profile pic mo

Spread love, not hate! No need for a dislike button! It's absurd.

(8) When people say, "Can/may I ask you a question?"
You already did. Now you may not ask another.

You had your chance

(7) Sales people tracking your every move.
Yung tipong nakadikit lang sayo habang iniikot mo yung store. I understand that these salespeople are instructed to assist their customers and probably keep an eye out for possible shoplifters. But that doesn't mean tracking literally my ever step and following me within an arm's stretch. It's either you so eagerly want to be of assistance to me (if this is the case, please assist me by getting me some cookies whilst I browse your store), or I look super shady that you're pulling the human CCTV on me by watching MY. EVERY. MOVE. Either way, I am sure there are more subtle ways of keeping your customers in check.

LET ME SHOP IN PEACE HUHU

(6) When people stare.
One of my biggest pet peeves! Yung sobrang halatang nakatitig lang sayo. I know I'm cute, pero wag ka naman obvious masyado. Ay chos. Joke lang (ashu) pero yung totoo, LOOK AWAY

Bye.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Life 101

Today was a good day for my heart. Sundays always make my heart happy. I get to go to church, be with my family all day, play with my nephew and niece, and just take it easy. Easy like Sunday morning, ika nga ni Tito Lionel Richie.

Coffee and Stroopwaffles For One
instagram.com/laurapas

But during today's church service, I was reminded of Romans 8:28, and the promise of God's sovereign power that brought me such inexplainable peace and joy. I drew such comfort from this one verse, this one sentence:

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God, and are called according to his purpose for them." (New Living Translation)

He knew I needed to hear that again. He knew it would do my soul good. It was refreshing.

Right now, you may be feeling so confused that you don't even know how to begin to address your concerns to God in prayer, or maybe have given up altogether and no longer even bother to pray. Stay strong! Stay connected. Connected to God, to family, to friends. I hope this verse can also offer you assurance and peace in knowing that God's got your back, especially if you are at a point where you are trying to figure out life. That's where I am right now. I know the struggle--it's very real!

But let us not forget--
God causes everything to work together.  
Six words that can spell out miracles.

Happy Sunday!

Love,
Laura