THINGS THAT INSPIRED ME THIS WEEK

This week has been awesome. One of the most talked about news of this week was Miss Universe 2015. Filipinos all over the world are cheering on for our Miss Philippines representative for Miss Universe 2015. We were all in a fever-pitch excitement when it boils down to Miss Philippines and Miss Colombia vying for the Miss Universe 2015 crown. My sweet hubby kept me updated while I was at work on the results of Miss Universe. I was slightly disappointed when he messaged me that Miss Philippines was announced as 1st runner-up and Miss Colombia is the new Miss Universe 2015. Then he messaged me again, no, wait, Steve Harvey, the host of the event made a mistake, Miss Philippines IS the Miss Universe 2015! Oh my gosh, the world, no the universe rather, went wild! It was an almost-cool but admittedly-awkward movie-like twist. People can’t stop talking about it!

Photo Credit: Pia Wurtzbach Official

Filipinos are all about Filipino pride that we are often criticised by our sense of national pride. It was a perfect Christmas gift for Pinoys. We love when our kababayan has a recognised international achievement. We are proud that our countrymen have excelled in the world of Broadway like Miss Lea Salonga, boxing like Manny Pacquiao and beauty pageant like Miss Gloria Diaz, Miss Margie Moran & now Miss Pia Wurtzbach.

I discovered a little bit more of our very own Queen, Pia Wurtzbach after her big win. I couldn’t help but admire and be inspired by her. The people and judges know that she is truly the epitome of a true Miss Universe. She is beautiful, poised and intelligent. She gave a great answer to the question, ” Why should you be the next Miss Universe“:

“To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country which is the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart. Thank you. ” (www.philstar.com)

Then after accepting her fate as 1st runner-up with so much dignity, it was even more admirable how she handled the whole fiasco of announcing the wrong winner with pure class and grace. She was composed and humble throughout the awkward ending of the night. I learned that she entered the Binibining Pilipinas three times, losing twice and finally on the 3rd try, she gets to represent the Philippines in Miss Universe 2015 in Las Vegas. Talk about determination and perseverance. She knows what she wants and she works really hard to reach her goal & dream. And her patience and hardwork, indeed paid off. She believes in the power of law of attraction. She tweeted last May 2015 (probably just to lightened up the mood of the heartbroken Filipinos) that she will make up for the loss of Manny Pacquiao to Mayweather in the May 2015 boxing match by winning the Miss Universe 2015 crown. That tweet was rather prophetic, don’t you think? Yes, it’s the secret of her success. Believe and it will manifest in your life. She was proactive in her journey towards the goal of being Miss Universe by getting all the help, training and support that she can get. Pia Wurtzbach, our queen, our Miss Universe, we salute you! You are truly an inspiring lady!

Also this week, I got to spend a lovely evening with my pretty female colleagues and ex-colleagues in a cute cafe in Tyrwhitt Road called The Tiramisu Hero. I think girly chats and sweet pastries goes perfectly together. We get to enjoy different types of tiramisu and some of The Tiramisu Hero’s dishes. It was great to just relax and exchange stories with my ladies. We all need to unwind with sweet pastries from time to time. I will be blogging about the place soon.

Christmas Day falls this week. We spent our Christmas eve in my husband’s friend’s place. Filipino Christmas always involves lots of classic Pinoy food like lechon, lumpia, maja blanca, spaghetti, kare-kare & pork bbq. And of course, there is always karaoke. We went home a little after midnight. We got Naj to open his Christmas gifts from our friends and he gets to pour out the contents of his Christmas stockings from Santa Claus in our bed. My husband and I have this no-gift-giving pact except only on our birthdays. We gift-wrapped boxes that didn’t contain anything inside for display purposes only to make our Christmas tree look pretty & complete, hehe. It’s our way to save up and bring more importance to things that money can’t buy. We have lots of things to be thankful for and we are abundant enough in blessings as it is that no material things need to validate that.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. I wish though next year, my family and I will get to spend Christmas in Philippines. I would like Naj and Fynn to experience Christmas back home. Read on my childhood Christmas memories in the Philippines here.

This Sunday, I get to just relax and pamper myself to prepare myself for the last work week of the month. I, now, do a biweekly skin-pampering session usually on a Sunday and Wednesday to better take care of my skin inspired by the Korean skincare workshop I attended.