under the tuscan sun..

 

 

it was my dream to visit Italy when I turned 40


that dream came true this summer..


very thankful for the opportunity and an adventure I can never forget..


here are some of my highlights..

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Cinque Terre

St. Peter's Basilica , Rome

Positano - Sigh!!

Tuscany Villa ( with 14 other friends and family )


as this summer draws to a close,


I look back on what happened to my life since the beginning of the year.

In summary:

Jan - Lost my Job after 20 years in the company

Feb - First visit to Hollywood with my close friend

March and April - Visit to the Philippines

May , June and July - sold my house in the suburbs,kids off to college

August - moved downtown and ITALY.

September - Back to school for me.

the blessings I received this year are overwhelming..

it inspires me to continue giving and sharing..


I'm back.. F.L.A.G updates to come...



Thank you for stopping by,



Hugs,

Monica







 

just the two of us..

today, we let them go.

spread your wings and off they go.

don't you worry we will be right here.

supplier of junk food, milk  and beer.

you will be fine.

as we know we taught you well.. although you sometimes feel living with us is like hell :)

mommy and daddy will enjoy their time

living the life downtown in their prime.

Greenwich Village, NY July 2012 , wanna be in Woody Allen movie

Thank you for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica



wow it's July already!

Where was I?

sorry folks, the last 3 weeks was chaos.

apartment hunting for the boys and condo hunting for us.

Finally done!

now it's packing, selling and more packing.

Downsizing , finally living !

My Living Room - you get the picture!

FLAG girls update soon.. school has been cancelled due to typhoons.

They are okay! ( thank God!)

Thank you for stopping by, ( and for your patience, support and continuing to follow us)

Hugs,

Monica

His purpose- driven life

You are always looking at the horizon

 i know what you are thinking

" what more can I do to help the girls"

You have done more than any man I know..

You don't have a lot of followers.. and believers..that's okay.

Our boys and I believe in you..and that's all that matters..

You are brave, strong and unstoppable when it comes to your mission..

No one thought you can do it and still don't believe..

You can't stop now.. you have only just begun.

Happy Birthday to my best friend!

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Monica

I was born today. 40 years ago

40 years ago, Monica Vera , oldest of 3 daughters born in Manila, Philippines.  Not sure why my dad named me "Monica".  I never had the chance to ask him before he died.  My mom can't remember either.

I want to reflect on the last 40 years of life ( i can't even  remember want happened yesterday.. sigh ) , It would be nice to start to document the next 40 years of my life.


Here's some of my highlights: ( i think)

1. I sang in a choir for Pope John Paul II.

2. I was part of the Sound of my Music play in school ( can't remember what grade )

3. I was 14 when I left my mom and dad with sister to go to Canada for a better life.

5. At 16, I was back home.

6. At 17, I was heart broken ( twice)

7. 19, met my husband, 20 we got married and had a baby.

8.  at 28, the big D ..  (yes..long story)

9. 30.. start over..

10.  40 now..kids are all grown up, devoted part of my life in service to others through F.L.A.G and again re-discovering what I will do next.  Maybe I should start writing the next 40 years of my life ? ( hmm..)

For those of you Club 40 members, how does it feel being 40??

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

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All I want for Christmas - Birthday is...

Yes, for the last 40 years, I probably been robbed of birthday presents since my birthday is so close to Christmas.. " what do you want for your Christmas - Birthday gift?"

For this milestone birthday, I don't really know what I want so I started making a list.  This list became pretty looooooooooooooong!  and expensive. Oh by the way.. hubby is planning a party... sshhh! I found out about it ( men are not good party planners!)

Not sure how old I was when  I got this doll, it was from my grandparents sent from Canada to the Philippines. I think I was about 4 years old in this picture. Back then, this is all I wanted nothing more nothing less.

Kidding aside, I had a wish this year to go to Europe with my husband for our 40th birthdays but did not happen. We had 3 trips this year ( Manila, Chicago, Dominican Republic), I think we are still pretty blessed to have done so many great things and visited so many different places.

So what do I really want for my birthday???. I really don't know. I have a few weeks to figure it out.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

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40 years on earth

age 4

For the past week, I have been trying to think what to blog about.  We have

some exciting news on our Super Moms but no specific details yet.

The packages for the girls have not arrive so can't blog about that.

Not to be conceited, I think I need to talk about the milestone birthday coming up.

Dec 19

Thanks Google, nothing really major happened on this day.

Famous person Jake Gylenhall - is he even that famous?

Why am I here? What is my purpose?

I am who I am. I am here and I matter.

40 years on earth. Thank God.

I read this today, certainly one of many favorite quotes to live by (trying!)

I choose to live by choice not by chance, to make changes not excuses,

to be motivated not manipulated, to be useful not be used,

 to excel not compete. I choose self-esteem not self-pity,

I choose to listen to my inner voice not the random opinion of others."

Here's to the next 40 years.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

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Financial Date

Doesn't sound romantic? does it? But had to be done.  I have committed to my husband to have this date at least once a month.  Let's just say, I forgot when the last time we had one.  It is long OVERDUE! that's for sure. 

When my husband and I decided to open the school in 2010, we knew what we were getting into.  It was our savings that we put into this project.  I don't have any regrets to this day as I have received triple the blessings since then.  Do I long for a new fall bag ? yes, new boots yes, yes. But the question is do I need them? The answer is always NO. 

I don't deprive myself of shopping for a few things here and there, just be smart about it.  No need to "keep up with the Kardashians" all the time. Retail Therapy is always good but it is band aid solution for me as it doesn't solve anything. We just came back from a budget vacation for a week and we had a blast!!

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but do we really need all the stuff we have today?? Do we really need to spend $6.8 Billion on Halloween?  Maybe I am in a different place in my life today, trust me I was the impulsive shopaholic few years back ( no confessions here, I don't think 5 Hail Marys , 5 Our fathers will cut it ).




2 sweet little girls celebrating their birthdays
Chrisdel and Faith

They are the reasons why the Financial Date needs to happen.  Chrisdel and Faith celebrating their birthdays , YAY! yes, this is better feeling  than getting brand new boots or bag.


Thank you for stopping by!


Hugs,

F.L.A.G Team

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The ABC's of Me

Voiceboks friends and followers, better late than nevah!  Here goes..


A- allergy is what I am suffering right now from  ragweed .. ( sneeze, snob, sniff repeat )

                      B - blank is what I have on my face right now thinking of what I'm going to put for B :)

C- Charisma, is the name of my sister ( middle one ) not sure why dad didn't give me that name instead.

                      D - double double is what I like when I order my coffee at Tim Horton's ( famous Canadian coffee place )

E - lizabeth, my mom's name. Love it,  her mom named her after the queen ( of course ) my grandma was obsessed with the royal family.

                     F - F.L.A.G, Fundamental Learning Academy for Girls, the name of school my husband and I built in 2010. A school for underprivileged girls in the Philippines.

G- gregarious is what I am ( according to the my horoscope see S )

                    H - Halo-halo is my favorite Filipino dessert, crushed iced mixed with different sweets yum!

I - Immaculate Concepcion Academy of Manila for girls, where I went to school from Nursery to Grade 9,

             J - ordan , is my youngest son

K - arma, I strongly believe in it , good and bad.

            L - ive. just do it.

M - Manila, the capital of the Philippines, where I was born.

                  N - nesting is what my husband and I most of the time.

O - Oprah, she is truly a role model and an inspiration to me


           P - premature, my oldest son was born at 35 weeks

Q - Quinoa, like rice but healthier , not sure I'm gonna like it.

                 R - ice , ( the real thing) love it for breakfast, lunch, dinner.. our staple food.

S - sagittarius is my zodiac sign.

                 T - TAGALOG , Filipino language,

U - um, hate when I say umm so many times during a presentation.


                 V - volume is what my hair needs, just straight and limp.

W - Who, what, when, where, why ? My form of interrogation with my 2 boys.


           X - files was one of my fave shows in the 90's.  My husband was obssesed with it.

Y - oga, only when it's a HOT one


           Z - ebra print ballet flats, where are you? need one bad.

Wow, that was fun.  Can't wait to read yours !

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Monica

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JON-ICA - Portmanteau

What is a Portmanteau - a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms (as smog from smoke and fog)

Celebrities starting 'morphing' names during the Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck relationship when Bennifer was born. Followed by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - Bra-ngelina..

Now, there's Jon-ICA. My cousin started calling us this about a year ago because we have been going through early nesting.  At 40, with two grown boys ( almost 17 and almost 19) we are spending more and more time together.  We are both discovering each other and what's going to be the next chapter in our lives.  This summer we have been going on road trips together, just impromptu day trips and enjoy this summer.  The next phase of our relationship begins and we are up for the challenge. There will be fights ( oh boy there will be !) . Despite the arguments, nagging, annoying - we have one GOAL , to continue our work with F.L.A.G.  and while we do that we can enjoy the world, too.

Grand Bend, Ontario - July 1

Six Mile Lake, Port Severn, Ontario - July 17

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

Jon-ICA