My 2013 Recap

I thought that I was not able to make a 2012 recap but upon checking my archives, I found one which I made late December. To remind myself of my 2013 highlights, I had to resort to checking my Facebook timeline. However, instead of going month on month, we'll just go with the events:

BALIKBAYAN VISITS
I mentioned in my previous blogpost about the visits of my balikbayan family. My twin sister came over early this year and we had a blast. We went around Metro Manila with her two kiddies and bonded. It was great seeing her again and I really hope I can get the chance to see her again this year.

The sisters of my dad also came over for a visit this Christmas. It was the most fun that we've had since my paternal grandparents passed away six years ago. At least I know my dad really enjoyed himself.

WEDDINGS AND CELEBRATIONS
I think I attended two weddings this year: that of Agnes, my friend from SFC and John and Hid, my colleagues from my former employer. The former wedding, I hosted the wedding reception. Fortunately, guests are not that young so I don't have to try to be too energetic. As for the latter, good thing I was just a guest so I was able to enjoy the celebration.

I also had the chance to test my make-up skills again when I did my own face for our Leader's Night. I was very happy that it was held just a few minutes away from the office. At least I didn't had to rush.

FAMILY
We switched Basti to a different school. Because of the new K12 system, the nursery/kinder grades got renamed. Actually, Basti has been going to school for the past 2 years. It's just this year, he's now in Pre-Kinder--which is still not yet part of K12. We tried putting him in this famous school but for some unacceptable reason, they didn't want to accept him. We decided to put him in another school near our house which accepted him with open arms. Nevertheless, my husband still wants to give it another try for this coming school year.

TRAVELS
Not much travelling in 2013 as much as I would like.  I did go to Cebu last June for a food trip with my bestfriend Kay but other than that, nothing. Oh, I did go to Liliw on the 30th of December on a roadtrip with my dad and a couple of my aunts. It was still fun though seeing the provincial roads and I did most of the driving. I wish more travels for the new year.

ARTS AND CRAFTS
I made headway in my arts and crafts. I finished one cross-stitch piece that I started before Basti was born. After stitching the last stitch, I shipped it over to my mom as she asked for it. She's asking me to make another piece but I asked her to wait as I have more pieces that I need to finish--especially one for my mother-in-law.

I also gave away some of my personalized stuff for Christmas. I made coasters and some clips. It was a hit but it drained me so much. I was not able to give presents to most of my list as I lacked the time to shop anymore and even the funds. Nevertheless, I hope to do more crafting in the future. My Ninang gave me a longstitch kit for Christmas so I hope to do something with that.

HEALTH
I had a small in-patient procedure done in the middle of this year. I tried not to make a big deal out of it as it will raise a lot of questions. Hopefully though, it will help me in our quest for another baby. Actually, everything is half-hearted now. I've somehow lost hope that we will have another baby as the odds seem to be against us. I guess if we are meant to give Basti a younger brother or sister, nothing will stop God's will.

TEACHING
I am the perennial substitute teacher. When I started teaching, it was because one of the teachers had to go on leave in the middle of the term. I gladly stepped in and found my teaching legs. I decided to return next term and was given another subject--Public Finance--which I learned from scratch. However, I didn't return the next term as my maternal grandmother passed away and there were so many things to be done. I went back this school year and I was given the same subject. However, I again became a substitute for another subject in the middle of the term. The additional income was not bad though. This term, I was only given one subject but I'm going to take in another subject next week. Good thing we only have less than 8 weeks left so good luck to me. I guess I must be good at what I'm doing which is validated by the faculty feedback that I've been getting. I wonder if I can sustain this?

DEATHS
I've lost count on how many funerals I visited last year. Probably the poignant ones are that of my paternal uncle who passed away due to cancer last October and the mom of my VSM friends in Mandaluyong.

NATURAL CALAMITIES AND OTHER EVENTS
Probably the biggest one was the big storm, Yolanda (International Name: Haiyan) that hit Central Philippines this November. Death toll was around 5K and obliterated most of Tacloban. We made the world news because of this sad event.
Other than that, there's the Janet Napoles scandal where she managed to siphon much of our taxpayers money to her pockets and gave numerous government officials millions of kickback. Until now, it's still unsolved although she's already in custody.

Overall, it's been a great year. I still have to feel something akin to overwhelming joy but I am still thankful for all the blessings. Here's to a better 2014.