December 31, 2016

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sacramento, CA, USA!  Merry Christmas and more Blessed New Year to my family and friends!!! I am happy to share that as part of my tradition, I completed the 9-days Novena Masses for Christmas, much Thanks GOD! 

                                                                    

The Christmas season brings beautiful memories of family traditions which I closely follow to be consistent, and continue receiving the blessings and graces that God has faithfully showered upon us. Thus, activities during the Advent days leading toward Christmas included: Novena Masses, gift-giving and sharing with the children, less-fortunate brothers / sisters, family, and friends; donations to charitable institutions, and many, many more!

One tradition is our group party, this year themed White Christmas (all attendees wore white), hosted by Jojo I. held at the residence of Marlin in Natomas, 12 – 10 PM, featuring the ‘white elephant gifts exchange’ lasting 3 hours, and parlor games. Everyone enjoys the party annually. Another tradition is our visit to the Charles Spinetta Winery and Wildlife Art Exhibit on December 26. Located in Plymouth, Amador County, it is 30-minutes’ drive from our place along scenic beautiful ranches and wineries. We spend time wine-tasting, and art viewing, bought a case for home supply (4 bottles each of Primitivo, Black Muscat, Rossette). Mr. Charles, the owner, showed us around the gallery. While I was partial to outdoor landscape frames, Sean opted to purchase the ‘Autumn Eyes’ titled painting – close-up of a friendly Wolf- now hung above his bed headboard, serving as his guard.

The new Palladio Luxe cinemas, where you need advance reservations, allow us to visit the new shops in the area, such as the Barnes and Noble, Nordstrom Racks, Victoria’s Secrets, if you miss to get early schedules. Oh well, nice place to roam around, even in the cold weather!   

Significant highlights for the month:

·      On our Opus Dei group (2^nd Saturday of the month), Fr. Mark returned and I was blessed to be 1^st on line in the long Confession queue so I was able to focus on the other activities for the day, culminated with the Benediction; thus, the ladies had a meaningful preparation for Christmas!

·      There were Raffle and get-together events in our church; Likewise, Fr. Aldrin celebrated his 20^th Ordination anniversary, so we had reception after his Thanksgiving Mass on Dec. 27;

·      Books read for the month: The Flame of Love, by Elizabeth Kindelmann; Resisting Happiness, by Mathew Kelly, distributed to parishioners, and 4 more books.            Movies watched for relaxation were:  Assassins Creed, Rogue One, pre-quel of the Star Wars series, The Passengers, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence;

·      Meaningful get-together with friends, and trying new places to dine also comes with additional calories, needing more discipline and Resolution to control weight gains for the New Year!

·      I am continuously communicating with my lawyer in Bohol, Pinas for the titling of my Valenzuela lot property for its economic development, and following up with Jen Alvaro of Megaworld for the 8I, El Jardin title.

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sacramento, CA, USA!  I am happy to share the results of the U.S. Presidential elections – the candidates I had been campaigning and prayed hard for, the TRUMP – PENCE ticket WON! Much Praise and Thanks GOD – YOU have shown your almighty Power again and God’s Your Divine Intervention Prevailed!!! The Good Triumphed over the dark forces. As what the EWTN preachers, particularly Father Stevens advised for one whole month prior to election, Prayers and Fasting were offered; I spent days in fasting and prayers. As Ms. Mercedes Schlap said on EWTN, Catholics and Evangelicals in the rustbelt states spent days in Prayers during the election, and GOD really responded positively!!! Much Thanks!

During election night, as results were coming in, Sarah, Sean and myself (our family were united on this), we were closely monitoring on television. Even before it was announced on TV, Sean called that Trump had won Pennsylvania through his advance source, and I said I am still praying continuously! A little later, FOX news announced that Trump is now the 45^th President of the USA. Then Sarah called - It was so exciting for our family how committed and involved we were that night – on this elections – and we won! The following day, my husband Gerry called to say that they in Pinas were sad because they were for the opposing party (just joking!). They knew that when we visited Pinas in August, how Sarah was so diehard Trump (calling him Daddy Trump), and defended all his issues. Sometimes, when Trump was down in the polls with all the negative issues about him, Sarah would call in the early morning to remind me if I had been praying for him. I was so glad about her Faith and the Power of my intercessions, and affirm that I always did pray for him, and remind that the Presidency is a destiny for a person. Thus, Trump was indeed destined to be President. I have interesting tales on this election, the family dynamics that developed among Sarah, Sean, and myself, especially about our reactions on the debates, I could write a book on our stories.

Significant highlights for the month:

·      On our Tuesday Bible Study group, we are continuing with  ‘The Prophets’, Messenger of God’s Mercy; It is sad that our leader Mr. Claude is moving to Illinois to join his family; By the way, all our Bible study group voted for Trump, because of the pro-life issue, LOL!

·      On our Opus Dei group (2^nd Saturday of the month), Fr. Turlock is back as he is cleared to drive again, resuming his wise counsels. More ladies were queueing up for Confession which is good news;

·      On our BCBP 3^rd Saturday breakfast meeting at Denny’s, we had our guest sharer – a gentleman from Makati who just joined his family here in CA – very compelling life story. I look forward to Adoration Chapel turns, and my Eucharistic Minister assignments, which inspires me to prepare spiritually well.

·      Books read for the month: The Flame of Love, by Elizabeth Kindelmann 4 more books.            Movies watched for relaxation were: Dr. Strange , starring Benedict Cumberbatch; Arrival, a thriller starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Reinner; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, sequel to the Harry Potter movies, produced by J.K. Rowling, and set in New York

·      On Thanksgiving, we had dinner at the Geresola home; I brought Honeybaked Ham to share with 4 other families; The following day, after Friday Shopping, Sean and I hosted steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse for the Montero family who were visiting from Pinas and the Schroeder family;

·      I am continuously communicating with my lawyer in Bohol, Pinas for the titling of my Valenzuela lot property for its economic development, and following up with Jen Alvaro of Megaworld for the 8I, El Jardin title.

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sacramento, CA, USA!  We are in last stretch of the campaign period for the Presidential elections, and as a Faith person with conscience, I am doing my share of spreading my stand on the most critical issue. I agree with EWTN preachers that the most important criteria, over and above all other issues combined, is the protection of life for the unborn (pro-life); thus, vote for TRUMP-PENCE! Much Thanks!!!

In the midst of the Fall season with rainy days, cold weather, and change of fashion/outfits, the exciting event we looked forward for almost a year (since we got our tickets in October last year) was the Adam Levin’s Marron 5 Concert, opening the new Golden 1 Center, located in downtown Sacramento. Sean, realizing that I was an avid Adam fan since he came out in 2002, (he is the only singer that I expressed admiration for, over the years), made sure that we got 2 VIP premium ticket for the concert. The ticket cost included VIP reception – entrance, amenities, appetizers, drinks, laminated tickets, special shopping time, and many more freebies, floor stage you can almost touch him. After the two opening acts of 2 hours, Adam’s Maroon 5 performed for two straight hours, with no interruption. His vocals were superb, very energetic / entertaining / excellent continuous performance by Adam. No time was lost for outfit change, as he came out with 4 layers of jackets/shirts and removed it at a time, until the last left was sleeveless shirt exposing his body tattoos – he is so slim and sexy! During the entire Adam show, the full-packed crowd was standing and dancing for two hours! The fans were a mixture of young millennials, old men and women -   dancing, and singing to all his original compositions. Truly enjoyable and worth every penny!

 

Significant highlights for the month:

·      On our Tuesday Bible Study group, we are continuing with  ‘The Prophets’, Messenger of God’s Mercy; I find myself actively participating as I am always discussing Question No. 1 in the assignments; well thanks for keeping me focused!

·      On our Opus Dei group (2^nd Saturday of the month), Fr. Turlock is back as he is cleared to drive again, resuming his wise counsels. More ladies were queueing up for Confession which is good news;

·      On our BCBP 3^rd Saturday breakfast meeting at Denny’s, we had our guest sharer – a politician/ businessman from Zamboanga, Pinas – very compelling life story. I also had more lunch bonding time with Odette P. as we have our common birthdays in September;

·      I look forward to Adoration Chapel turns, and my Eucharistic Minister assignments, which inspires me to prepare spiritually well.

·      Books read for the month: Six Lessons for Life, by John Kane, and 4 more books.            Movies watched for relaxation were: The Girl on the Train, a thriller starring Emily Blunt; The Accountant, a very interesting movie  starring Ben Affleck, about different special person’s talent developed; Keeping up with the Joneses, about nosey neighbors’ discoveries;

·      I am continuously communicating with my lawyer in Bohol, Pinas for the titling of my Valenzuela lot property for its economic development, and following up with Jen Alvaro of Megaworld for the 8I, El Jardin title.

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG

Dear Loved Ones,

            Pleasant Greetings from Sacramento, CA, USA!  Much Thanks GOD for being back to my 2^nd home, after Pinas – enjoying the nice fall weather – cool breeze – and the celebration of many birthdays! Sarah had hers on Sept. 7, Mama Mary on Sept. 8 with my father’s anniversary too, several relatives, then my own on Sept. 20 – praying for continuous good health to continue loving, serving you more Lord!

The month was spent adjusting to the slower pace of activities, after the hectic, happy vacation in Pinas – back to our respective regular activities and responsibilities at work, Church activities, Adoration Chapel commitments, doing Library duties, fulfilling assignments as Eucharistic Minister; eating out and watching movies, and workouts / exercising at the clubhouse gym.

On my birthday morning, Sean surprised me with a wrapped present – complete set of Estee Lauder cosmetics and perfumery – just what I needed; went to early Mass at St. Mel’s, attended my Bible class on ‘Prophets’, culminated with dinner at FAT’S, then movie – simple and memorable celebration! Much Thanks for greetings from friends and family, likewise for the news from Pinas that Fairview Shipping gave a bonus to all employees for my birthday and our 19 office anniversary – sharing of blessings!!!

Significant highlights for the month:

·      Re-joined my Tuesday Bible study group (after the 8:30 AM mass and Perpetual Help novena) with the subject on Prophets (24 sessions). Also served snacks of cake, fruits, tea, together with Rose Johnson;

·      On our Opus Dei group (2^nd Saturday of the month), we have a new younger priest Fr. Mark, replacing Fr. Turlock. More ladies were queueing up for Confession as I prepared the list with Odette P.  A new lady made the talk;

·      As part of home enhancement program, we ordered new set of bed for Sean’s room. He chose the new ‘state of the art’ gel memory foam complete set (9” double), from Empire Furniture and had them delivered on Sept. 17 (it’s like he was the one having his birthday, oh well!). He’s truly having a good night sleep!

·       Had an appointment with Ate and Nong Nonie at Oriental Store to give them the $ check share of Panglao lot inheritance. Instead, I delivered to their home in Roseville, more kindness to seniors will be more rewarded!

·      Back to the regular reading of books for memory enhancement, and watching movies for relaxation: Bridget Jones’ Baby – Renee Zellweger reprising her ‘Bridget’ franchise series, together with Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey; Magnificent Seven, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, with 5 bright stars; Deepwater Horizon, based on the true story of the BP oil disaster in New Orleans, featuring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Hudson, and many others;

·      I am continuously communicating with my lawyer in Bohol, Pinas for the titling of my Valenzuela lot property for its economic development, and following up with Jen Alvaro of Megaworld for the 8I, El Jardin title.

Much love and Best Regards!!!

SUSAN BG