Parnell Rose Garden 09

A time to remember...

35 years of my life and still...
I'm getting old, but still feel like a young girl....a lot has changed in my life and I am grateful for everything. I thank God for all the blessings He has given me, and the challenges that came my way....I look back at the past, on the different roads I took that led me thus far, and believe that my journey has indeed been great. I hope the future holds more adventures and grant me another gift that my heart yearns for earnestly.

Mid year

As usual the days have gone by and we wonder what we have done lately. We definitely have been neglecting our blog and have not posted anything for sometime. So what has happened? Nothing much really...I guess the only time we were riveted was when Zharina said she was pregnant...hahaha...That was something else!
The pics above were taken on Suzie's bday where we had dinner at Moksha, and the second picture was the Ten Pin Bowling of Mercury Retail Staff.

Rotorua Trip

Just a few pics from our Rotorua trip,At Wai-O-Tapu:

Our bus

Lady Knox Geyser

The view from our hotel room

Reflection

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

Estasi

The Steadfast group celebrated their mid winter Christmas and a belated birthday for Steve thus Suzie and I were invited. We had dinner at Estasi. The food was wonderful and the service superb. Our Ukrainian waiter was very accommodating, he even sang happy birthday to Steve in Ukrainian.

Ate Shelyn at Bago

Here is a picture of the family with Ate Shelyn.

Origin of Mascarenhas name

Origin Displayed: Portuguese
(From www.HouseOfNames.com Archives copyright © 2000 - 2009)

Where did the Portuguese Mascarenhas family come from? What is the history of the family name?

The Mascarenhas name is a habitational name taken on from any of several towns called Mascarenhas in Portugal. This name branched to Spain, and interestingly, is also found in India, where it was taken by Portuguese colonists.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mascarenaz, Mascarenhas, Mascarenas and others.

First found in the district of Mirandela in the northwest of Portugal. The progenitor of the Mascarenhas family is said to have been Estevao Rodrigues, who was Lord of Mascarenhas, who served King Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211).

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were Bartolome Mascarenas, who settled in Puerto Rico in 1812.

B'day & Anniversary 2009 pics

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and Steve's bday on the 19'th of April. Both occasions are a milestone...We are very grateful for the blessings.

Though we had a quiet celebration, we had a good time. We know that our friends and family wish us well and that makes a lot of difference. Check the link for our pics:

http://flickr.com/gp/kiwiboyz/HR5mQ7

Barbie Pics

Saturday

We are looking forward to Saturday's plan for a barbeque...However, the weather doesn't look promising. Hopefully it will turn out well. Pictures soon and updates....

10 Interesting Topics

1. Who is the most interesting person you ever met?
Honestly, not one person stand out. I guess, I have met many interesting people, and the ones whom impressed me the most are those who left positive impressions in my life.
2. Where in the world would you most like to visit?
I love history, so I would like to see Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Israel.
3. What has been the most life-changing experience you've ever had?
Going abroad
4. What is the most spontaneous thing you've you ever done?
Steve, I think
5. Who's had the biggest influence on your life?
My mother
6. What thing that you haven't yet done would you most like to do?
I have been wanting to learn Latin dances. I would like to have proper training.
7. What is the best quality you've inherited from either of your parents?
Good brains from my father and strength of character from my mother
8. From which person have you learned most in your life?
Life itself, not just one person but all whom I have met has in one way or the other has contributed to who I am today
9. What historical figure do you most identify with?
Hmmm, not sure
10.What kind of music do you like?
Melow, the kind that sothes

......life on the web

I have been logging in to my friendster account and checking everytime if I have messages from friends or family. I have also been looking for friends and adding them to my account. Its amazing how much life has change because of the net. It is the most convenient way of updating oneself with whats happening to the world in general.

I wonder what life will be like 20 years from now? What new innovations will dramatically change the world we live in? It would be amazing...

The Catiben, Sarillana and Mascarenhas family

Philippine Trip Dec 08

I had a wonderful trip back home...Zamel's wedding was great..and the Christmas celebration was as I expected it to be. Its a wonderful experience going back and sharing these lovely moments with the family.

A German's View on Islam

This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have read. His references to past history are accurate and clear.

Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is Paul E Mareck, a well known and well respected educational consultant in Canada.


History Lessons are Often Incredibly Simple


I used to know a man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, and owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many Germans were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'
We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectra of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.
The hard quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.
China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, anyone who doubts that the issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on, is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand.

So, extend yourself a bit and send this on and on and on!

Let us hope that thousands, world wide, read this and think about it, and send it on - before it's too late.

Awesome Grafitti

Philippine picture

Just a few pics of my trip home so far...

Counting the days...

5 more days to go and I am off to the Philippines...I'm so excited!!!

It has been very busy at work as well. Our Christmas party is on Friday, so I am also looking forward to that too. We will be dining at The Grange, Ponsonby. Steve will come for drinks later in the evening.

I'm coming home!!!

Yeay, I feel so excited, I'm going home for Christmas. I missed Christmas in the Philippines so much and finally after 3 years I will experience it again....And of course there is Zamel's wedding, I am also looking forward to that too....So just counting the days now, and then I'm flying home...Looking forward to shopping; to eating bangus, ginamus, manggang Cebu, and a lot more; most especially to spend time with my family.

Taupo Trip

We went to Taupo for our Labour weekend holiday. It was a wonderful place to relax and have fun. Here are some pictures of our trip.

Last Christmas....

Dinner At Sopranos celebrating our 52nd month wedding anniversary

Waiwera 2008

We had a great time at the Waiwera pools today. It was raining and cold, but was a very good day to soak in the hot pools. The Waiwera pool had about 10 pools and each pool's temperature vary. The best pools were the Sapphire pool which was a covered pool, with 40 degrees Celsius; and the outside pool with the water spout massaging you. We spent around 2 hours in the Waiwera pools and then explored the Waiwera beach.

Brunch at the Langham Hotel

It has been cold and rainy these couple of days. Yesterday a storm passed our way and we had to stay at home. Today, the weather was still bleak but Steve and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Langham Hotel. So much sumptuous food on display and Steve definitely did justice to the spread...

Thought for the day

Handle every stressful situation like a dog.

If you can't eat it or hump it,
Pee on it and walk away

Schmap New Zealand Second Edition: Photo Inclusion

We are delighted that our photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released second edition of the Schmap New Zealand Guide.
Click on the title to view the guide and pictures. Njoy !!

Happy Bday!

To Suzie:

Whatever with the past has gone, The best is always yet to come.

We love you and wish all ALL the best!!!

Love,
Steve, Zai, Mum, Dad and all the family

Life Message

Ate Shelyn sent me the following message:

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason..
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Mama had a trip of a lifetime along with Zharina, Uncle Willie and Shobe. They went to Negros to visit the Bermejo and Yap clans. It has been years since mama had been to Negros and the trip gave her the opportunity to meet her relatives, the ones she already knew and the others whom she had just met for the first time. The picture above was taken during the Bermejo impromptu reunion.

A quote

In life never ASSUME anything...
for if u do it makes an ASS of U and ME !!

70's Steve?

We were invited for a birthday party with a 70's theme and here is a picture of Steve with his afro.

Steve's bday

Steve celebrated his bday on the 19th of April. We went to a North African restaurant called Sahaa . The place was nice and the food was not bad. We had chicken tagine and touareg (which was like barbecue chicken). It was a quiet and simple celebration.

Funnies from Africa

Christchurch autumn lovin'

We had a wonderful holiday in Christchurch, courtesy of Larry. It was a couple of days of work and pleasure. Work because Steve had a work related meeting, then afterwards fun time for the both of us. Christchurch is both a dangerous and beautiful place. There was a mugging incident with tourists and locals where Steve and I saw the cordoned off incident area. Beautiful because everywhere we go, the beautiful Avon River is there, providing a picturesque scenery. Love it, love it, love it!!!

Kumusta?

Jake and Kiray


Ate Zaida and Kiray, pinning of ribbons



Homecoming, dinner at Mandarin

Easter in Matamata

Originally uploaded by kiwiboyz

Easter in Matamata

Wishing you all a Happy & Blessed Easter !!!

Hoping you all are having a great holiday. Zai & me are off to Matamata.As promised these are the sordid details (u wish!!)

On Sat we awoke late & headed to The Bog , Irish pub 4 brekkie. As we did not go out on 19th i shouted brekkie.We njoyed it heaps....$7.50 for 2 toast ,2 eggs & 2 slices of bacon....the girls had this while i had the dawnbreaker 2 eggs , 2 bacon , mushrooms , baked beans , 2 hash browns , sausage & 2 toast washed down with a guiness beer.Was good to have a beer after 40 days.At 3.50 pm Zai & me headed on our trip to Matamata. The bus was on time & we reached Matamata by 8 pm.The Motel was close to where the bus dropped us & it was a nice self contained room with fridge , microwave , cutlery , tv , iron etc.
We got a pork roast with veges & green thai cken curry from the takeaway and bourbon coke / ginger beer & ate in our room.Watched tv in our room & had a good sleep.

Easter Sunday we awoke at 7.30 am , had a shower then went & got brekkie from the local bakery.Mass was at 9 am @ Holy Angels Church. Nice small parish & the priest was lively.We were greeted by sum parishoners...very friendly.After mass we went to the i-site (tourist site) & as luck would have it there was a tour bus leaving for the Hobbiton tours in a few minutes.The Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring) was shot in Matamata....the first 10 minutes.It was a 2 hr tour & we were taken around the 10 acre farm & briefed about where the movie was shot.Was a good tour.After that we watched sheep shearing & we back in Matamata city by 1.15 pm.We got fried rice & chilly cken with veges & ate it in our room.Zai had a snooze while i watched cricket.At 4 pm we headed out again for a walk.We had heaps of leftover food so we got a white rice & cken tikka from the local indian takeaway & finished all of the leftovers.We got Suz some cken tikka as we could not finish it.Our holiday was over.

Congratulations Zoren Jake!

My nephew, Zoren Jake, had his Recognition Day last week and these are some pictures of him with his sister and my mama. He got a ribbon for "Most Cooperative".

Pilipinas 2008, Janina San Miguel

Ummmm....Ahhh...Ummm..La La!!

Pasifika Festival

The sun was shining above, and the air was slightly cool. It was a nice day to celebrate the Pasifika Festival at Western spring this year. We reached there at around 12 and spent almost an hour looking for Billy TK Junior, a rock player whose music Steve enjoys. He was supposed to be playing at the Push to Play stage. In the process of looking for the musician, I injured my foot. After scouring the park for more than an hour, we gave up and decided to just watch other shows instead. It was a good thing we did, as we were able to watch this fantastic show of the Tahiti dancer and musicians. These girls can really shake their bonbons. It was not to be missed. Afterwards, we went to the other side of the park. We had icecream sundae which was great value for money, and then headed out to look for the corned beef which we promised to get for Suzie. On our way out of Western Springs, we saw where the "Push to Play" stage was located, it was an area we never thought of going to in the first place.

Motivational messages

Every day should be a good day and you should live it like it's your last.

Some people live a life of anger, frustration, pain, jealousy, and/or dishonesty, but all of these things will come to pass when your time here is over. Just take a moment to think .

We will not be on this earth forever.

One day, we will not have to worry about going to work or how we will make payment to our loan.

We will not have to worry where our next meal will come from, or how we can buy a house or a car.

At anytime, God could take us off of this earth, so you should appreciate today and not worry about tomorrow, for nobody knows what tomorrow will bring.

When you wake up each morning, thank the Lord for waking you up.
When you lie down to sleep at night, thank the Lord for another day.

If you have a job, thank the Lord for your place of employment. Ask that he may bless you in everything that you do.. Ask him to give you the knowledge and the wisdom to do your job. If you don't have a job, thank him anyway.

Ask him to direct you to the job that is right for you. When you are eating breakfast, lunch or dinner, say a prayer. Thank the Lord for providing food and nourishment to your body.

If you are healthy, thank the Lord for the health and strength in your body. If you aren't, thank him anyway for life, and ask him to heal your body.

So the next time that you get mad, think twice.

The next time you complain about something at your job, think twice. The next time you say you wish you had steak instead of chicken, think twice.

Be thankful for what you have, and the life that God has given you.

Pray and ask the Lord for guidance. Be sincere, as God knows whether or not we mean it from the heart.

Help those in need as a gift from your heart, and not so you can get a pat on the back.

Put forth the extra effort in everything that you do. Go after what you want in life, and do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.

No matter how perfect you think you are, there is always room for improvement, and an opportunity for you to do better.

If you are depressed, don't cry, just hold your head up and the Lord will help you through. Pray and ask the Lord to deliver you from your state of depression. Whatever it is that you are depressed about, God will take that pain from you heart. It may not be at that moment, or that next hour, or maybe not even the next day, but he WILL do it if you just believe in him.

God may not show up when YOU want him to, but he's ALWAYS right on time. God will not give us more than we can bear.

Sometimes he will present us with issues that will test our faith, but you have to be strong enough to believe that God will do exactly what he says.

The message for today is to praise the Lord, have faith in the Lord, give thanks to the Lord, and live every day like it is your last.

Theoretically speaking, if the Lord never does anything else for us, other than wake us up each day, put food in our mouths and clothes on our backs, we should thank him anyway.

He died so that we could have life on this earth.

As the Bible says in Psalms
118:24 -- This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!
118:1 and 29 -- Oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good; For his love endures forever.

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations to Ate Zaida, graduating from her Teacher Training in Osaka, Japan.
We are very proud of you!

Crying for the the Philippines

The 22nd celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution was celebrated recently, and it is very sad that after 22 years of the second great revolution in the Philippines, the county seems to be going back to its pre Edsa years. The leaders of the country are caught up in their own agenda, and instead of focusing on the WELFARE of the country, they are either too busy putting money in their pockets and robbing the people, or others try to destabilize the government. As a result, instead of moving forward, we are returning to a past that still haunts us. I am one of those who are tired of the promises and just wants our country to really recover. We have so much to offer the world, but look at where we are now, left behind...still a developing country. It is such a shame.

You are what you eat

You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called 'The Doctrine of Signatures' was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? ... it takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them.

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges , and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

The Chairman and Sayuri

February2008 006
Originally uploaded by zsarillana

Courtesy of "Memoirs of a Geisha", here are our hero and heroine, The Chairman and Sayuri. Ang cute nyo talaga!!!

At work

We have just moved to a new office last Thursday, 14th Feb. '08. The new office is more spacious, and hopefully we will be staying here for good.

Here's a pic of me in my work area:

Happy Valentines Day!!

I would like to share a beautiful passage from a book that Zharina gave us for Christmas. This is for the married couples, lovers and sweethearts...

"MARRIAGE is patience and forgiveness. It's being open and honest, thoughtful and kind. Marriage means talking things out, making necessary changes, and forgiving each other. It's unconditional love at its most understanding and vulnerable- love that supports, comforts , and is determined to triumph over every challenge and adversity. Marriage is a partnership of two unique people who bring out the best in each other and who know that even though they are wonderful as individuals....they are even better together."
Barbara Page

Say HI to the rude cow!

He's cute isn't he? We'll he is rude too. He shat while we were saying Hi to him. Bad COW!

One Tree Hill

We had a nice walk at One Tree Hill last Sunday. Its one of those scenic walks near the city. It took us 30 minutes and we reached the restaurant where they serve the best iced coffee.It takes another 20 minutes from One Tree Hill to go the the mall. We went and searched for lunch and as usual it took us forever to decide what to eat. Eventually, we had Kebabs which Steve said was not cooked properly (but he ate it anyway).

Sumptuous Bbq

Have a look at the sumptuous food Suzie and I prepared last week. It has been a hot summer this year, with 2 weeks without rain. Everyone has been enjoying the warm and dry weather. I am hoping for some rain though as it has become so hot, and the grass is turning brown everywhere.

Waterfall @ Shakespear Regional Park , New Zealand

Christmas FUN!!!

Merry Christmas



Christmas '07 at the Mascarenhas' home.