My Sugar Free Sweet Life

Last Saturday was as busy as I expected it to be. My boys both had classes, Rap with his MTAP and my husband with his IT training class at MFI. I had planned to do my Christmas shopping errands while Rap's in school. During lunch, I checked my Twitter and Facebook accounts where I found out about the tragedy that happened in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City at the height of Typhoon Washi (Sendong).

Immediately, flashbacks of our town during Ondoy came back. I vividly remember how difficult it was to find sources of food and water. The floods brought by Sendong brought worse damage than Ondoy because it came at almost midnight. Most of the people who died were sleeping when the water rose. The pictures were heartbreaking and I haven't even seen everything yet.

Because of this,I decided to cut my Christmas shopping budget to give me more funds to offer help for the victims of the typhoon. The only gifts I bought according to my pre-assigned budget were the ones for our little nephews and nieces and our godchildren. I know the adults will understand that we cannot splurge on their presents this time. I hope I still can find inexpensive jewelry beads, though, for some of our female relatives.

I've already starting donating via SMS [Text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4143 (Smart)] to the Red Cross. I'll also be sharing some of our blessings to my fellow bloggers in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City who will surely have a challenging time this Christmas. I still have to pick out some old clothes from our closets to donate via the LBC Foundation. This is only what we can afford to share but, as long as more people care to share, we can make a huge difference.


Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.

There have been numerous requests for me to share the Tagalog wedding misalette that we used in my sister's wedding back in 2008. I know how difficult it is to find a Tagalog misalette (moreso a Tagalog wedding misalette) in the Internet.

Just today, another reader emailed me asking for a copy but I can't find my file in my laptop! I dunno if I transferred the file to my external hard drive or what. Fortunately, I found an attachment of the Tagalog wedding misalette which I sent another reader back in May. I decided to upload the .pdf file in Scribd before I totally lose a copy. I'm also embedding it here so those who need it can easily download and print from Scribd.

Rap has been having private piano lessons at home since June. I'm so happy to see a huge improvement in his piano playing and I feel that the money we spent in buying him a new electric keyboard and paying his teacher is all worth it. He can now play Bach's "Minuet" perfectly.

Just the other day, my husband asked me what I want to receive from Christmas. I blurted out, "new eyeglasses and a bluetooth headset." Honestly, these are not wants but needs. I'm scheduled to have my eyes checked and I'm certain that my eye grade has become worse. I also need a bluetooth headset for my Galaxy Tab so I won't have a hard time answering calls.

After a while, I realized that I can go through Christmas this year without these. My original plan was to wait for my writing check so I can buy these things for myself though it would really be a blessing if my husband gives these to me on Christmas eve, hehehe.

But seriously, what I really want to receive this Christmas is happiness and peace within our family. I'm not really into writing about very personal stuff so I won't elaborate further. Let's just say that, I won't be spending this Christmas with someone I truly love and respect. I pray that everything between us goes back to normal soon.

What do you want for Christmas? Is it a new gadget like an xbox headset, perhaps? Or do we share the same wish?

Did you like my post? CLICK THIS to have my posts delivered straight to your email inbox.