The mind is willing but the body is not.

Before I fully snooze to dreamland (yes call me killjoy for not waiting for the new year countdown!), let me greet everyone who’s joining the countdown via social media a Happy and Blessed New Year! May this one be better than the last!

And to those who are working at this very hour (like the taxi driver where I took my ride home from church in, security, medical teams on standby), those who await the break of the new year with their families and loved ones even those who wait together via webcam or phone miles apart, those who will be born this year, may you all have a blast!

And for those who have not lived to see the new year (like our dear Fr. James Reuter), our departed loved ones, those who are seeking hope despite trials and calamities, those who are away from their loved ones (separated families, those in prison), those who are in the bed of sickness or at the dusk of their lives, may they be blessed by the love of the Father and the care of our Holy Mother who celebrates her feast day this first day of the year.

Happiest of new years from my family to yours!

~ Touringkitty

FLASH GIVEAWAY!!!

Win TWO tickets for tomorrow’s Madz et al concert at Philamlife Theater, 5PM!

Answer this: What’s the name of my children’s choir who will perform tomorrow?

Email ur name and answer and cellphone number to touringkitty@gmail.com

First one to email wins. Deadline is tomorrow, 6am. i’ll text the winner by 7am tomorrow.

We’ll give tickets tomorrow at the front of house of philamlife auditorium under your name.

Email now!

Contest exemptions: my choir members and their families 🙂

For those who haven’t gotten tickets, you can buy from us in a special deal of Buy 3, Take 1 free! Tickets are P400 each.

Last Monday the 24th, I quietly celebrated my 29th. Woke up and doing a self-check on the mirror–I’m 29?! A year befor the big 3-0 and I told my husband to throw party for me. Yeah, I want a party to celebrate this milestone in my life.

How I celebrated the countdown to 30?

During the day, I heard Mass with sleeping Aria in the nearby mall. I let the helper go around the mall since we have different religions (not an issue to us, we’ve been very understanding especially with her schedule of church services). We had lunch and did some grocery before heading home to rest. I then went to my high school to teach the choir and drum and lyre groups for their Founding Anniversary.

We planned a family dinner at wherelse, Friday’s! We got coupons and doscount card during Aria’s birthday and we want to maximize the discounts. Plus, I want to eat their kid’s pizza again!

Then my husband bought the yummiest, richest chocolate cake, and has a dedication written. So sweet of him!

There you go. Uneventful, really, but happy to have spent it with the people I love.

~ Touringkitty

Dear Lord,

We acknowledge that You are our mighty God. The earth is indeed filled with Your goodness, and words aren’t enough to express our gratefulness unto You.

I come to You as a mother. And I am now aware that a mother’s love is boundless, timeless, and selfless.

I thank You for giving me Mama Mary, Your own mother. Her genuine love for You is inspiring. She followed Your ways, not hers. She gave her trust to You, completely and without question.

I thank You for giving my own Mommy Luz. She is the wind beneath my wings. Her support and care to me and my sister, even extending it to my own family, is admirable. We may argue about a lot of things but the love is there. I pray that You bless her and grant her with a long, happy life. May we make more time with her as her children and always remember how it is to be young, helpless, and dependent of our mother. And may we replicate exactly, or even more, how much of a mother she is to us.

I thank You for the blessing of making me a mother of my own. It is such a wonderful thing and I only realized it until I became one. Please turn my envy into admiration, procrastination into productivity, whining into winning, and mommy pride into more mommy pride! I am such a stage mother this early in the game. I am confident that my daughter will be the person she ought to be, even though she’s makulit, malikot, and maingay.

I thank You and Our Lady of La Leche for allowing me to breastfeed. It’s the most important gift I have given my daughter for the past two years. And I was able to share some milk with babies we don’t know, even if it’s only how many bags. That is in itself a testament that mothers CAN produce enough, and in some cases, MORE than ENOUGH breastmilk. This coupled with sacrifice, dedication, and support.

I pray for my husband. He’s my hero in every sense of the word. May he be more patient to me and our daughter. Grant him good health always.

Thank You for giving us a loving community of family and friends, near and far, who support our family in more ways than one. Thank You for the provisions of a stable job for us both (and jobs that we love doing), security in our small condo unit we call Schatzihaus, the new helper, healthyummy foods, extra gadgets, more than enough budget for expenses. Thank You for those little treats!

We shall continue to give honor and praise to You, dearest Lord. Amen.

Lola Mila loves you!

Lolo Frankie loves you!

Nonna loves you!

Tita playmate loves you!

Mommy and Daddy love you!

To the charming, smart, little girl who drives our everyday life crazy but fun, who’s addicted to Hello Kiity, Elmo, and iPad Photobooth, happy birthday!

We pray for your good health, safety, and happiness as you journey through life. Mommy and Daddy are here for you, always and in all ways.

Gott segne dich, mein Schatz!

Mommy and Daddy 🙂

I first knew Ate Rina in college. As a voice freshman, and a clueless one at that, I look up to the soprano voice majors at that time. She was a diligent one, that’s why we look up to her. Her being friendly also endeared her to many. She used to sing with the Ateneo College Glee Club before she focused on being a solo performer.

Fast forward to today, she has blossomed into one of the good young Filipino sopranos. She’s been active in performing ever since college, and was fortunate to study abroad to home to further hone her craft.

She has performed before at the CCP but not in a solo engagement. She returns to the CCP stage next Wednesday, August 29, 7:30PM at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino for her Recital Debut. Assisting her on the piano is one of the best accompanist, my piano teacher in college and a Principal Sponsor for our wedding, Augusto Espino.

Full Press Release is on this site: http://culturalcenter.gov.ph/page.php?page_id=596

She will also give a Voice Masterclass on Thursday August 30, Saturday September 1 and Tuesday September 4. There are still slots available for August 30 and the 31st will open if we fill up the 30th. So sign up now! Or come as an observer. It will be really interesting to watch how she will work with the budding singers of today.

Ya, I know. I remained a chorister but still an opera singer by heart.

~ Touringkitty

Well, technically, there won’t be a party unlike last year’s McDonald’s birthday bash, which she truly enjoyed. But I figured, I can still give her a simple party at home.

So this weekend (and hope this colds don’t progress), I will attempt to DIY party decorations at home, put up the same tarpaulin we used last year (good thing I didn’t put any number or date, so we can use it like forever!), and cook Aria’s favorite foods – pansit (which she calls spaghetti), dory fish (which she sooo loves), cookies, and have a special cake made for her. I’ll set the party on the next holiday before her birthday.

I’m set on doing Hello Kitty as theme. The kid adores the cat, haha. So time to order cupcakes from my cousin who prepared the cupcake decorating activity last year. She did Hello Kitty toppers before so this one’s easy peasy for her.

Now should I invite her playground friends? I think so. But this has to be discussed with the husband.

It will be a simple party for the little girl. Something to celebrate two years of her life in this crazy world. It has been fun so far. And we can’t wait for more adventures to come her way.

~ Touringkitty