Japan's version of Old Europe...Stunning!

This is Nukumori no Mori (ぬくもりの森) or "The Forest of Warmth."It's a shopping centre for tourists found in Shizouka Prefecture.
 
After Paris, I want to visit this place. :)

Know more about this lovely place here

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My 28th Year and some Reflections

Today is my 28th-year of existence on earth. And I am thanking the Lord for giving me another year to make precious memories with my loved ones. Before my birthday, I have been receiving great gifts, they are not material things, but they are the ones that will last forever. And I am so thrilled. This year, I have so many plans and goals. Hopefully, I can achieve them all. Primarily for my family, especially my child. Yesterday, I saw her trying on my shoes, and that's the time I noticed she's growing up so fast.

Every day I feel like a student at Motherhood University, learning many things that will help me bring up a happy child and decoding her little toddler attitudes. There are many times I felt I failed because whenever she's doing something terrible, I can't help but broke down and lost my patience. Fortunately, my husband is always there to help me. We're both working side by side on this journey. It is challenging but the most rewarding thing we've ever done. I think that our child is a reflection of who we are back then to our parents. My daughter helped me realize many things like how I treat my parents, how I behave, who I was etc. So this year, I want to focus more on being a mom and a wife. And one of my birthday wishes is to become an excellent parent to baby G.

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My Year-ender Post

Few more hours and 2014 is here. The year 2013 has been so crazy but fun. I turned 27, and I realized many things about life, especially the importance of family. Now that I have my own, I realized that they are the ones who always got my back no matter what. 2013 also allowed me to see who my real friends are and who I should cut out. I admit this year was tough, but it did help me grow and be strong.

 This year, I want to thank the Lord for always looking after and taking good care of my loved ones. I always pray that they will have a happy, healthy, safe, and contented life. I am also thankful for the many blessing we received - my baby G. turned one this year, and she's growing up so fast. Now, I am happy with my decision to take a break from office work and stay at home with my family. I will continuously pray that she'll grow up intelligent, kind, healthy, and beautiful. I am also thankful that my marriage is going strong. Despite the misunderstandings and fights, my husband and I will do our best to keep our bond and love stronger.

 Hopefully, 2014 will be good for us. I have so many plans and want-to-dos for the coming year. So 2014, bring it on!

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DIY: GIFT WRAP USING MAGAZINE PAGES

Merry Christmas! I know I know this is a very late post, but it's better late than never. How was your Christmas? Mine was so great, but weeks before the holidays I was so busy already. Well, I have to wrap more gifts and buy some more. It's tough to have so many godchildren, but it's fun. Anyway, I came across a fantastic gift wrapping idea on Pinterest - recycling magazine pages as gift wrappers. What a great way to save for gift wrappers! So without further ado, here are my masterpieces:

Since my magazine collection was not enough and I used his instead because my hubby's mags are better than mine. They are precious to him, but he gave them to me anyway, it's Christmas! I like the texture of Pulp Magazine; some of its pages have cool designs, which is excellent for gift wrapping. My problem was, most of my godchildren were girls, and the magazine is designed for "boys"; however, we still used it.

Here are just some of the gifts for them. I love to give something useful. When it comes to the little ones, I usually provide educational stuff.

And here was the result of my experiment. Well, I am proud of it. How about you? Share your Christmas DIY ideas. It's not yet too late.

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The Man in the Pink Tutu

 (photo credit: Buzzfeed.com)

This story made my day - A man wears a pink tutu in every place he visits. Find out why. Read his story here.

If you want to see more pictures of Bob Carey and his pretty pink tutu, read his The Tutu Project blog..

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3 Life Stressors and How to Deal with Them

With so many distractions that catch our attention, we never ran out of things to do, making us so busy with a lot of stuff. And because of this, we are becoming prone to stress. Different factors cause such, and it depends on our habits, lifestyle, environment, and the food we eat. I have been battling anxiety for so many years, and it became a more significant issue when I became a parent. Recently I suffered from extreme fatigue and stress - the time I've had enough. So what I did is list down the things that make me feel stressed. That way, I can evaluate and find solutions to this problem. After listing down my stressors and find ways to get rid of them, I can say that my day-to-day life is getting well. So here are some of the stressors that I think might also help you to determine your stressors;

Technology

Since I work as a freelancer, I usually spend 12 hours in front of the computer daily, and when I am relaxing, I always urge to use my phone to recheck the web. I realized that after using them, my eyes and back hurts a lot. It's an unfortunate habit. So to prevent stress early, focus on work and finish it on time. Limit internet browsing, especially if there's nothing essential to do. And I did this. After my shift, I spend my time with my baby and hubby.

Negative People

Sometimes other people can cause us to be stressed out. I have a few friends who constantly complain about their lives and relationships, which somehow impact me just because I sympathized with them. However, I realized that I am becoming their shock absorber, and in the end, I'm the one who feels like carrying a huge burden. I know there's nothing wrong with listening, especially if it is for a friend. However, make sure you are strong enough to absorb the negativity from other people's problems. If not, you can still listen. If asked for a bit of advice, give a suggestion, then shut. What I did is I took a break. I want to remove all the negative things thrown and absorbed by me. So, I took a break talking about problems; when I'm with them, I open up an exciting topic and happy stories unrelated to their lives and relationship issues.

Environment

I usually spend the whole day or week at home, in my little office without seeing other people and visiting places, talk about the downside of a home-based job. It stresses me out sometimes since I always see a messy room. So what I did is organize everything and see if I could make time for cleaning and family bonding. A cluttered place is a huge stressor, too, so better get rid of it. A clean environment eases the mind.

So far, these are my stressors and how I deal with them. It might be minor issues for some, but who knows, when these little things piled up, they are the worst. So, how do you deal with stress? Please share it! :)

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4 Creative DIY Christmas Decorations to Make

Hey ya! Christmas is fast approaching, have you started decorating your home with Xmas decos?

I gathered some creative holiday diy decorations that you can add to your collection, so here they are:

1. SNOWFLAKE CHANDELIER by Homestoriesatoz
2.  CUTE CHRISTMAS DECOS by Audrey Jeanne 
3.  CHRISTMAS BALL DECOS by Star Inspirations
4.  DIY FIREPLACE w/ WASHI TAPES by Brit Co.

HOPE YOU LIKE IT! :)

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SOME THANKSGIVING READINGS

photo: BirchandBird

Some readings about Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hope you enjoy this list. :)  (Just click the title)

• 5 Scientific Facts that Prove Gratitude is Good for You
• What Peanuts got Right About Thanksgiving
• 8 Kids Who Totally Get This Thanksgiving Thing (Kind of) - This one's really funny but the kids are adorable! A must-see!
• Places Nobody Wants to be on Thanksgiving
• 51 Things You Can Be Thankful For On Any Day
• Read This Before You Come Out On Thanksgiving
• 5 Reasons Why Gratitude Is Good For Your Health
• Scientific Proof That Being Thankful Improves Your Health
• Silly, Happy, Heartwarming Reasons To Be Thankful For Our Kids
• 60 Things To Be Thankful For In Life

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7 DIY Baby Pants Projects You Should Make

Today I want to share a compilation of DIY baby pants which I gathered from different mommy bloggers, hope you  like it! (Just click on the labels for the links)

1. Dear Lizzy's DIY: Baby Chevron Tights and Triangle Leggings

2, By Wilma's DIY Jersey Baby Pants

3. Junkaholique's DIY Baby

4. Cirque du Bebe's Baby Sarouels

5. Take Time to Smell the Rose 's Toddler Longies or Pants

6. Make It Love It 's 2 Legging Styles

 

7. The Crafty Doulah's  Baby Pants Tutorial

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Worth reading Indeed

I found this well written article worth reading for first time parents. For me, the best part of this article is

3. Your baby is not like the other babies.

"Your baby is the only one of herself who has ever been, and you and your partner are the only experts on her. Your baby will not behave like the books say, won't like what she's supposed to like, won't do what she's supposed to do when she's supposed to do it, and that's normal and great and perfectly OK. The best thing you can do is put down your literature and get to know your baby. What does she like? What makes her laugh? How does she best fall asleep? What does hungry sound like? The discovery of these things will serve you so much more than any stranger's care instructions ever will. You don't have to make your life or your family look like any particular model -- you don't have to follow the rules. You just have to create a life that works for you and fosters love and security and a whole lot of laughter. If that looks like 2 a.m. pancake parties, I'm not going to tell on you. I might actually admire you and be just a little bit jealous. "

So without further ado, here is the link to the article 10 True Things About the First Year of Parenthood

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Cutie Baby Shoes!

I was looking for some gift ideas for the holidays. Then I found these cutie baby booties. I want them for my baby fiefie. Pinterest is really a good place to find awesome stuff.

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