On Thanksgiving Day, I went to the annual Christmas celebration with the Dino Lara and Jason Magbanua teams. We’ve been celebrating together for years now, and in the spirit of good food and extreme funny moments, it is our way of appreciating all the good stuff we’ve been blessed with.

I got transparent playing cards and that’s me in my cutesy Korean pose care of Ate Pang’s super cool polaroid camera.

I guess you’re wondering why we had our Christmas party already when it’s only November. December and January are the busiest months in the Philippine wedding industry. Wedding suppliers are booked almost every single day of those months. Surprising, huh?

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here in the Philippines but I would like to give thanks anyway for all the wonderful things that happened. I’m thankful that I was blessed with the coolest clients that collaborated with me to come up with amazing website designs that we are both happy with. I am a few blinks away from launching a couple of websites I’m working on and I am swelling with pride because nothing beats the feeling of making a client happy with a design you believe in. The only form of validation we should seek is the smile on the faces of people we serve.

There’s so much to be thankful for. In gratitude we harvest positive energy, and that kind of energy benefits everybody, even small pets. Stay tuned for a tribute to Booni, the beloved bunny a.k.a. the best pet ever.

Drawing is a valuable exercise for graphic designers. It is a sacred time to unwind and step out of the face-frying rays of the computer monitor. There is something about holding a pencil and experiencing the effect of each stroke on the paper. We are also advised to treat paper with reckless abandon, to not be afraid of making lousy drawings, to capture something as it is, to watch the world and draw it blissfully and imperfectly. This way we not only learn to draw, we also learn to see.

Booni is an excellent subject even if he’s all white and fluffy like a cloud.

I turned twenty seven a couple of days ago and I spent half a week quite lost about the things I want. I buried my face in books trying to look for answers, I tried to write my dreams down and ended up falling asleep. Then, it suddenly occurred to me to try drawing for a change. I spent one whole rainy afternoon drawing my biggest desires and the activity left me feeling good and hopeful. I found myself on a very exciting journey.

That’s me in all my girly glory.

One of my greatest desires is to go to Egypt and be in the presence of the pyramids and all the fantastic Egyptian art and architecture. I want to see a falling star, to go to the United States and attend the HOW Design Conference 2010, to see New York and Texas, for Passionistta to take me places, to grow my garden of love, friendship, knowledge, gratitude and um.. savings! I carry a big bag filled with love, with beloved Booni the rabbit always with me on my life journey. But for now, I just want to start and embrace with my art since it’s what I truly love. And to be a proud and responsible Filipino or Noypi, of course.

Drawing what I want keeps my visions clear with strong determination to get them. And in the words of Deepak Chopra: Release the list of desires to creation, remain willing to accept something better. In putting my desires on paper, it’s like I am drawing the fulfillment of each closer to me. It is like setting the wheels in motion. In every line, in every exerted effort, I am starting to receive the things I seek. And most importantly, I start by genuinely doing and giving.

Little wants are fun to draw too.

So what’s not to love about drawing, right? To top it off, I get to improve my drawing skills (even just a little). Do you have a visual journal? Share some drawings if you do, or if not, it’s time to make one, my friend!

My visual journal is a Moleskine Volant Extra Small Notebook. Read about my other adventures with pretty Moleskine notebooks here.

Our Sundays are usually spent lamenting the heat of the afternoon. Sometimes, when we’re lucky, we have ice cream. And sometimes, when we’re really lucky, it rains.

Oh the joy of playing in the rain! I did get jealous of my niece and nephew and spent time under the weeping sky. Just that I didn’t look as cute as them. Lol. Anyway, the key is to have fun. And we surely did.

I hope you guys enjoyed the pictures and it’s never too late to get a good soak in the rain if you haven’t tried it yet.

Yan Yan has always been a favorite snack since I was a little girl. I always put some in our shopping cart when my mom would take me grocery shopping with her. It’s the first thing I enthusiastically reach for as soon as we get home. I think I will never outgrow my love for this snack.

I’m happy that Meiji improved their product by putting pictures and quotes on the sticks. Imagine yourself in the midst of your busy work day and you have a Yan Yan to give you a pleasant sugar break. I love reaching for each stick and reading what it says before I chomp on it. I believe it is important to take some time off every day to appreciate the silly and cute.

It is satisfying as it leaves you with a feeling of lightness- a snack for the soul. How amazing it is to pause and breathe and smile while filling your tummy with something delicious.

I can honestly say that I was distraught when I heard he was gone. It’s not because I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson (although his music is incomparable to say the least). His passing made me think about what it really means to live.

You know he’s bad, he’s bad, he’s badass.

Sometimes, as any human being, I feel as if work is a pause button and my life can only resume once I’m done with my tasks and responsibilities. When really, life is the NOW. I believe we can prolong life and ensure its quality by breathing and focusing on any specific moment that is within what is now. If we did things half-assed, then we are just bound to the consequence of regret and making mistakes, or we do something worse by unconsciously repeating old mistakes. I’ve always thought that peace of mind is kind of like a destination. That once I get there, then that’s when I can say that I am living the life. But I was wrong.

Life is in the awareness of presence. It is in finding the peace and freedom that’s always been in our very core. When we are genuinely peaceful, we are free claim our right to all things extraordinary. When we are fully present, the feeling of aliveness resonates through our veins and flows into what we do. We see and appreciate the little details and the memories we create are more meaningful. This is when we feel thrilled and enthralled and ~hee hee~ happy to be given the gift of life.