Mommy Hanny's 1st Blog Anniversary

I couldn't believe that I have been blogging for one year now. I came up with the idea of starting this blog in November 2011. Since then, I have been thinking of what to name this blog. It took me four months to create a full Blogger account (with the layout) as I can only spend a few hours blogging even now.

How did I start, and what made me create my blog?

One of the primary reasons I started this blog is the opportunity to share my experiences.  This allowed me to express myself and voice my views and opinions.    I felt hurt and depressed when I began searching for a new hobby that would help combat the negative thoughts and feelings I was experiencing.  I was grateful to have discovered the blogging community, particularly the blogs from Christian Mommy Bloggers, which provided me with encouragement and inspiration to move forward.  I have chosen today, June 16, to be my blog's anniversary, as my first post was published on this date last year.

Cake Art Collections (3)

Here are the four latest cake designs I was able to make.  I am still on my journey of honing my skill and at the same time improving the taste of my cake.  I am comfortable using butter cream frosting for the cakes I design compared with fondant.  Fondant can make the cake look artistically beautiful  but butter cream tastes a lot better compared with fondant or should I say I needed to look for more fondant recipes to improve its taste.

Monster Cake

Some of my friends said that at the first glance, the monster's hair looks like spaghetti.  Making this design is easy.  I've made an improvised icing tip so I can make the fuzzy hair.  Wilton calls it the grass tip.  I couldn't find this tip in any cake shops that I have visited and that forced me to make an improvised one.

How to Join Giveaway Through Rafflecopter - Step by Step Tutorial

I used to wonder how to "correctly" join blog giveaways before.  I wanted to join but I didn't know how to figure it out.  Don't get discourage joining a giveaway, it just takes a little time joining and who knows you might get a chance to win right?  To some of my friends who doesn't know how use the Rafflecopter, this tutorial is for you so you can easily join my current giveaway and the future giveaways you may want to enter that use Rafflecopter because most of blog giveaways use them.  

Here's how a Rafflecopter looks like:

Persun Mall's International Giveaway

I have been away for few days and it's nice to be back. The family decided to have three days and two nights stay in San Juan - pakner4lyf's hometown. We wanted to conduct a three day Bible School for children but for some reasons we were unable to do the event.  We entrusted all the school materials at Grounds of Hope Bible Baptist Church - they will be the one to utilize the materials and teach the children.   

I missed this blog being away for few days. This blog is going to celebrate its one year this 16th of June. I have been thinking of conducting a giveaway but I couldn't push through because of limited funds. Last night, I checked my email and was surprised receiving a message from PersunMall about their giveaway. By the way, Persunmall.com is an international supplier of the latest fashion-forward items including clothing (tops&bottoms), jewelries, accessories and shoes, bags, wedding dresses, party dresses and so on. Most of the fashionable products you want to possess can be found in their shop; so feel free to browse their website and pick your choice.  PersunMall would like to give free jewelry follow the steps below to win.  This blog is hosting this kind of giveaway for the first time and hopeful to have full support from you guys for this to be successful.

One of these jewelry can be yours for free. 
Non winners will receive 20% off on orders over $60 see the details below on how to avail the discount.

It's easy to join the giveaway.  Here's what you need to do:

1. Register at http://www.persunmall.com/ *(required)   

It's free a registration.  You will be asked to provide your email address and additional login information.
2. Like Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/PersunMall *(required) 
3. Leave a comment below stating the registered email, name, the item link you like 

(the one you registered on Persunmall) *(required) 

4.  Share the giveaway (optional)

5. Follow this blog. (optional)

What We Have for Lunch: Tatak Batangueno

Steamed eggplant and kangkong with sauteed fish sauce (Bagoong Balayan)

Sinaing na Tambakol with fresh tomatoes

(Tuna simmered in tamarind with garlic)

Steamed rice to complete the meal.

When I Come to God in Prayer

It is in prayer that I can pour out my heart to God and express the things I couldn't share with anyone, not even with my partner for life.  During prayer, I am truly myself - I come to Him just as I am; there's nothing to hide, knowing that the God I converse with knows every detail about me.  God moves and changes things as we pray.  We find our strength when we're down on our knees in prayer.

Whenever I come to God in prayer, it reminds me to continually give grace to those who err against me.  As I draw near in prayer to God, I see my impurities in the light of His holiness.  Having a God who chose to love someone like me- someone who hurts Him most of the time because of my frailty - I fail to keep His words, to be grateful for each and every day, and to constantly commune with Him. I might even ask Him for things outside of His will, but those shortcomings do not change the fact that He will still love me no matter what.  This amazes me; what a kind of love!  It is one definite reason to grant forgiveness because God forgives. Now, it is easier for me to forgive those who have caused me pain.  I will choose to remember that I am not perfect, that I make mistakes and continue to err with God and the people around me, so I can graciously extend grace to others.  

Friendship

The gift of friendship is one of the greatest treasures we can have. True friends are hard to find—those you can truly rely on—and it's wonderful when you have found them; they are like precious gems, worthy of cherishing and safeguarding.

Can we truly find someone who's completely reliable?  Well, there is no one.  We, as flawed human beings, cause ourselves not to be.  We can say that a friend is worthy of our trust simply because we learn to love and accept them as they are.  Friendships face rough times; after these situations, you can discover who your true friends are.  For me, it is essential to maintain love, forgiveness, and understanding in friendships.  These qualities allow relationships to endure, even when imperfections and challenges arise.

 Found this cute photo from www.lucyannmoll.com just added the verse using Picasa.