end of the year...

it's time to say goodbye to 2008. i am very grateful for the whole year of blessings my entire family & i received. we all have been blessed. i'm looking forward to a new beginning... god bless us all!

the day after christmas

merry christmas!

before christmas

we have one girl here who is very excited... worry.... impatient..... all becoz santa claus is arriving tonight. before christmas océane accidentally saw santa claus and had the chance to sit on his lap and told him her christmas wishes. it was a long list....

i have been good, santa....

hmmm let me see... i want pink laptop, the littlest petshop, pokemon dvd, my melody house....

december 14, 15, 16

hmmm what seems to be new..? it is still very cold, the sky is grey and i still prefer to stay under the warm cover... sipping starbucks coffee.

last night i got some thing new for my christmas decoration. this which came from starbucks hong kong. i've requested bernard to bring me back this since it is not available here. océane said told me that doudou is not for mama but for children only:-)

december 13

it's a freezing saturday here with only -2°C. océane & i went out and there was even a strong wind, terribly cold.

december 12

on the twelfth days of christmas,

my true love sent to me

twelve drummers drumming,

eleven pipers piping,

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a-milking,

seven swams a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

december 11

on the eleventh day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

eleven pipers piping,

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a-milking,

seven swams a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

it's zero degree here and océane was not cold when we were walking on her way to school early this morning. i guess, it is due to her excitement of eating lunch in her friend's house.

here's the finished trees that océane & i started doing yesterday. actually, océane finished hers last night. since we don't have enough pins and i've waited for the shop to open at 10am today, i finished mine just before 3pm today.

mother & daughter trees

december 10

on the tenth day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

ten lords a-leaping,

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a-milking,

seven swams a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

today is boyet & len's wedding anniversary.

december 9

on the ninth day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

nine ladies dancing,

eight maids a-milking,

seven swams a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

december 8

on the eight day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

eight maids a-milking,

seven swams a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

today is the 17th years of our mother's death anniversary. for unknown reason i had a difficult time sleeping last night until past 2am. almost the same time when nanay passed away 17th year ago. perhaps, she visited us...

it's a cold monday for us today. i stayed home most of the time.

this evening, océane lost another lower tooth. the toothfairy is very busy with océane this year.

lost another tooth

on the other side of the world, ate and alyssa was at bonifacio high. geez, next time they will pose for the camera, they will be at the same height. hahahaha

mother & daughter

december 7

on the seventh day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

seven swans a-swimming,

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

december 6

on the sixth day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

six geese a-laying,

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

december 5

on the fifth day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

five golden rings,

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

it's me, océane! this is my official photo taken in our school. my smile is like that because i don't want to show that my two front teeth are missing.

december 4

on the fourth day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

four calling birds,

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

it is very cold... non-stop rain all mornings, windy and humid. i was out and it felt my ears will fall off anytime. this weather sucks! i spend time bringing océane to her school... then picked her up... brought her back after lunch and picked her up again in the afternoon after the class. luckily it stopped raining by that time. the only good part of my day was having my dose of starbucks coffee.

then a long phone call from alyssa filled with good news regarding their songfest (their class won!); her graduation picture (a very long story)... and just a long talk:-)

december 3

on the third day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

three french hens,

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

wednesday afternoon, i brought océane at maison de l'alsace to attend her first christmas workshop "atelier gourmand pour les enfants." luckily, there were only 3 kids on the first day of workshop (the succeeding wednesdays are fully-booked already). océane had lots of fun and wishes to do it again. she's crazy with pain d'épice or gingerbread.

december 2

on the second day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

two turtle doves,

and a partridge in a pear tree.

it's a death anniversary of our father. we remember this day...

at 8 o'clock in the morning, this is how it is in our courtyard. yes, the sky is really this blue. the office building (our neighbor) in our courtyard is almost empty.

wishing you a merry christmas

december 1

on the first day of christmas,

my true love sent to me

a partridge in a pear tree.

today is ate yssa's 13th birthday. she is a teen-ager now! joyeux anniversaire, ate yssa!

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also, today is emma's birthday. she is my cousin on father side. she is 12 years old now. she lives in marseille. happy birthday, emma!

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my dose of starbucks coffee... océane's advent calendar and starting today she eats lunch here at home.