Christmas

shoebox project

Look at that! Christmas time went by in the blink of an eye. It’s been years since we had our shoebox project through our wedding 2.0 in 2015.

In lieu of the usual congratulatory gift, we encouraged our guests to make a kid smile by bringing a decorated, unwrapped, regular-sized shoebox full of children items.

Much to our surprise, our humble request was met with an overwhelming response. Shoeboxes filled with numerous children’s items were pouring in during the wedding 2.0 event. Some people even gave cash which we used to purchase additional items like toys, school supplies, and personal hygiene products. Our guests were amazingly generous. Once again, our heartfelt gratitude to all of you!

The shoeboxes were intended for the kids in my Barangay (a.k.a. community) back home in the Philippines where we had enlisted my parents, siblings, nephews and sister-in-law to help coordinate and hand the gifts out. Logistics took longer than we estimated, and it became a Valentine’s gift instead of a Christmas gift. 😀

Since then, it has become an annual tradition for my husband and I to participate in the Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan’s Purse) shoebox project. We figured, instead of buying Christmas gifts for friends and extended families, we will focus on the Operation Christmas Child.

Ten (or more) countries are working together to give gifts to children in more than 100 countries… isn’t that amazing? The shoe box not only brings a smile to a kid’s face but also gives hope. Click this link for more details. (Disclaimer: This is a personal advocacy without profit involved.)

Ciao for now! 😉

Charles-isms

I first met Charles five years ago when he was almost two years old. He’s such an adorable kid… and I so so so love him dearly! 😀

—————————————————————————
Click the links below to read the related posts:
Mr. Anderson Where’s Charles?
—————————————————————————

Up to this day, Fritchie (Charles’ Mom) and I still shares a good laugh whenever we recall Charles’ funny antics. 🙂 Here are some new ones that are truly remarkable. Read on!

—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————
SENSATIONAL SPELLER
Charles got an award in school. Sensational Speller

Charles: Mommy, I can spell anything now! My level is grade 3 level… that’s what Ms. Whiteside said
Mommy: I know Charles, you did a really good job in school and we are so proud of you.

(as Charles enters the house…)

Charles: Daddy… Daddy! I got a trophy! I’m the best speller in our class, grade 3 level. I can spell anything now.
Daddy: Ohhhh really? Spell “anything”
Charles: E N I T H I N G

Mommy and Daddy looked at each other stifling a laugh and they both tried to sound out the word “anything”.

Charles: I know! I know! A N Y T H I N G I told you I know!

—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————
BEDTIME
In bed… Daddy was snoring, Charles couldn’t sleep, and Mommy was pretending to be fast asleep.

Charles: Daddy, Daddy… I’m bored… I can’t sleep… Can I have the remote please?
Daddy: Go to sleep
Charles: I can’t. I’m too bored. I wanna watch TV.
Daddy: Count the holes on the wall
Charles: What? There’s holes on the wall?
Daddy: Pretend there are holes on the wall and count it.

(Mommy was trying hard not to laugh because she’s supposed to be fast asleep.
After two minutes)

Charles: But Daddy I can’t see the holes. Can you please turn on the light?
Daddy: Charles go to sleep

(After few minutes….)

Charles: I can’t really sleep. I need the remote.

(Daddy ignored Charles)

Charles: Can I watch TV now Daddy? I will sleep if you give me the remote.

(Then, Daddy eventually gave him the remote)

After ten minutes of watching TV, Charles’ finally fell asleep.

—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————

CHRISTMAS CARD

Mommy: Can you write a card for Mlle. Dorman? We will go out tomorrow to buy her a present.
Charles: Ok Mommy. (then he proceeded to get his markers and paper)

(After 10 minutes, Charles went to the kitchen to show his work of art.)

Charles: Mommy I did it. I even did it in French and I made the letters in patterns like red and green. (He also drew a Christmas tree)
Mommy: (wondering) Charles, how did you know the French words for Merry Christmas?
Charles: Mommy I searched it in Google. Everything is in Google you know, Mommy.

—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————

See??? Isn’t he adorable? 😀 See you again soon!

what happened?

Happy 2016! 🙂

It’s been almost a year and a half since my “hiatus” post. It appears that the hibernation took longer than I had planned. -_- Obviously, thecuriousme.com needs a lot of love and some updating…. 😦

Anyway… here’s the synopsis on what happened:

Golden Gate Bridge	Fisherman’s Wharf
Boston Cruise	chillaxin’ in Boston
my folks trip to Canada	my folks… gallivanting
Popsters, guess who? 🙂	catching up on the AlDub fever!
my cross stitch project	Facebook’s needy eh? 😀
wedding 1.0	wedding 2.0

Details on my next posts… Watch out and chillax! 🙂 mmmmmwa!

Oh Virginia!

Did you know that one of Virginia’s nicknames is “Mother of Presidents”? It’s after the eight United States of America (U.S.A.) presidents who were born there, namely: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. 😉 Thanks Wikipedia! Click this link for more interesting facts about Virginia.

In my opinion, that’s what makes Virginia one of the most special among the 50 states. It’s absolutely impressive! I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my relatives in Virginia and visit some magnificent tourist spots. You bet! Thanks to air miles for the free airfare. Woot!

Check out our sweet photos below:

Vilmor’s (my other cousin) New House
*** He was in the process of closing his house purchase when I was there for a visit.

Buffet Time!
*** Raiding Uptown Buffet and Hibachi Grill… I may be tiny but I eat like a monster… >=D

Christmas 2012
*** I lost interest in celebrating Christmas ever since my Mom passed away when I was 13 years old. After migrating to this side of the world and spending my first Christmas here alone, I started to long for a Filipino Christmas… my holiday in Virginia filled that void and rekindled my excitement for Christmas!

Ate Pat’s lovely house

Ate Pat & TheCuriousMe

Oh Virginia… Stay put, I will surely be back sometime. 🙂 More captivating pictures coming up!

P.S.
Meeting Ate Pat was one of the highlights of my U.S.A. trip, she’s the only cousin on my father’s side that I have never met… or maybe I was just too young to remember. I’m glad that I was able to spend some quality time with her and strengthen our relationship as cousins. It’s both heartwarming and overwhelming. 😀

big sister’s house

—————————————————————————————————-
Note: See related articles:

—————————————————————————————————-

Being a stranger in a foreign land is one thing, not knowing anyone is another thing. That’s what happened when I went to Singapore few years back. At that point in time, I was getting drowned from too much struggles.

I seek refuge in Joan’s dig. I was a total stranger to her but she gave me a warm welcome like a long-lost sister and helped me out in getting settled in her place. I call it, “The Big Sister’s House” . Sounds familiar eh?

We were five housemates (indicated below), strangers at first, and eventually became one big happy family. 😀

Big Sister (Joan) : She’s in charge of the overall management of the flat.
She also makes sure that we are all good despite her hectic schedule. Thanks Big Sis!

Manager (Jessie): Mostly, he takes the tab whenever the whole troupe goes out.
Aside from being the big wig, he’s also our tour guide and comedian. Ha!

James Lee (Jamo): He usually gets his way. No, he’s not a spoiled brat.
Shhh… I taught him how to mop the floor because he doesn’t know how to do it. According to him, he already mastered it to perfection. He thinks the house is cleaner now whenever he’s on duty. 😀

Tito Glennie (Glenn): He’s a casanova in the making… Err… That’s what he wants to portray. LOL
He likes experimenting and cooking tons of food. However, after spending so much time cooking, he usually ends up eating a take out. (Read between the lines.)

BonBon (TheCuriousMe): Cooks “paksiw” (sour fish) all the time.
I was on a tight budget at that time so I frequently cook fish, either “paksiw” or “sinigang”. Both are sour Filipino dish.

We all love to take it easy and live life to the fullest!

I consider my housemates in Big Sister’s House as my life-long friends. A true gem that’s difficult to find! Hopefully, we will have an awesome get together one of these days. Miss you guys! XO

“Auld Lang Syne”

Goodbye 2011… Welcome 2012!!!

I hibernated for too long that I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts. It’s either I have so many things in mind or my mind seem to float in outer space and goes blank whenever I start writing an article. Yeah, excuses! :p

I spent a very “solemn” Christmas and New Year… I refused to say that it was a boring one because I was able to reflect and think things over. Hey, Steve Jobs accompanied me all throughout that “thinking” journey. :p

“Auld Lang Syne” is suppose to symbolize endings and new beginnings (as indicated in Wikipedia). Whatever happened in 2011, let it serve as:

a wake up call (forgive, forget, learn and move forward!)
an inspiration (strive harder to be a better creature!)

Stay positive all the time and never entertain negative thoughts. Love love love for everyone!!!!! Let’s start 2012 with a big bang and a bright smile!!!! Wheeeeey!

P.S. I won’t promise, but I will do my best to write more articles (a little bit crazy but hopefully sensible) this year and work on that new cyber home.