Get To Know Me Tag | Part 1

Hi everyone! Just like any other blog / vlog. Let me share with you some infos about myself through this blog post. I hope you enjoy it. And do not forget to subscribe my leaving your email on the left side! 

1. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the city of Caloocan in the Philippines but when I was 12 years old we moved out in Barcelona Spain with my parents.

2. Where do you currently live?
I am currently living in Barcelona Spain but I always try to have my vacation in my own country, Philippines, at least once a year.

3. Who is your first best friend?
My first best friend was my neighbor, Jennielyn. We used to do everything together, even taking a bath because her big sister used to work for us.

4. How tall are you?
I am not that tall but I am 5´3. I think that is the average height for a girl.

5.Dogs or Cats?
I am not fan of any animals so maybe any of them!

6. Funniest moment throughout high school?
I had a lot! But of course, my funniest moment was every time I was with my classmates. They are all funny!

7. What year were you born?
I was born on 1995

8. Are you in/have you gone to college?
I went to college but I did not finish it due to personal reasons. I took Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management.

9. What is your favorite drink?
Caramel Frappuccino in Starbucks will always my go to drink. But whenever I am in Philippines, I always get Mango Shake from Frutas.

10. What is your spirit animal and why?
I think, my spirit animal is Butterfly. See how peaceful and go to they are? I am trully like that.

11. You’re wearing perfume, what scent is it?
I usually use any perfume. But before I used to like the Pure Seduction from Victoria Secrets.

12. Tea or Coffee?
I am in loved with coffee. But the last times I took a coffee, I had a feeling like I was palpitating. That is so unusual because before I used to take coffee every morning for years. I just stopped it and from then, I felt that.

13. What are your life goals?
I have a lot. Like before getting married: I would like to help my parents to renovate our house, be able to buy my own car. Then after marriage, I would like to travel a lot with my future husband; South Korea, Switzerland, Santorini, Maldives, around the Philippines, etc. Then 3 to 5 years from that, be able to have our own house in Barcelona and have our own business and many more. In God´s grace, it will be all achieved!

14. What sports do you play or have you played?
I am not a sport person. But I used to play badminton a lot when I was a kid. And growing up, I am claiming that my sport is swimming.

15. Have any books you read changed your life?
Of course, Bible! Every human being should read the entire bible. It will change your perspective in life and the way you handle things. It is the best book for any situation.

16. What is your favorite movie?
Hmm, I am not a fan of movies. But what I liked recenly was To All The Boys I Loved Before. It has a lot of message and learnings specially for us, teenagers.

17. Who are your favorite YouTubers?
My favorite youtubers are Anna Cay, Anne Cluts and Candy Inouie. What I like about them is they will always to teach you how to be a good person and inspire you to achieve your goals in life.

18. Do you speak any languages and how well?
I speak Tagalog, English and Spanish. How well? Hmm, good enough to be able to work and communicate with people.

19. Are you single or taken?
I am engaged! I am so happy and proud, we are getting there.

20. What is your idea of your dream date?
 My dream date is to eat dinner and watch some movies in a rooftop with the view of the city.

21. How long was your longest relationship?
My longerst relationship is 7 years and still counting!

22. How would you describe your fashion sense?
My fashion sense? Something comfortable and presentable. When you are at my age and busy with you job, that is going to be your fashion sense.

23. What is your go-to hairstyle?
 Just a straight long hair for a lazy girl like me. I am happy as far as I like presentable.

24. How many siblings do you have?
I have a total of 6 siblings and I am the 7th. 

25. What is your go-to fast food order?
Chicken burger, frice and nestea. ALWAYS!

26. Do you use PC or a Mac?
I am using a PC. No fund for Mac! But hopefully soon I can have my own MacBook.

27. Your most memorable vacation memory?
My most memorable vacation was in Cebu with some friends. I love the place as well the memories. That was when me and my finacé got back together after years. When we talked about what happened and finally be able to fix it.

28. What are your morning, evening routines?
My morning routine is waking up, washing my face, brushing my teeth, eating my breakfast and blog! My evening routine is reading the bible, praying, do a little bit of blogging.

29. Do you have any bad habits?
I have just like anyone else but I do not think this is a good place to talk about it.

30. Tell us one thing about you that we wouldn’t know?
I have a lot of things in my head, negative and positive, and I never had the chance to talk about them.

But the Lord said to Samuel, ¨Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For theLord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.¨

1 Samuel 16:7

Christmas Light Displays in Barcelona, Spain

It is already Christmas and we cannot deny it. Anywhere we go, we see different Christmas decorations; inside our houses, in the street, restaurants, buildings, etc.. We can truly feel the spirit of Christmas through these decorations.

So now, I will share with you some of the Christmas decorations that we have here in Barcelona, Spain. I was able to enjoy it and take some photos of amazing Christmas light displays that we have in these famous streets and highways of Barcelona. But take note that every street, big or small have different decorations. I just decided to talk about few of them.
  

1. Passeig de Gràcia 

Maybe you have seen a photo that looks like these. And yes, that is here is Passeig de Gracia. Passeig de Gracia is a famous street here in Barcelona. You can see different shopping shops and restaurants along this street. And even the famous Casa Mila and Casa Batllo is located here. 

It is indeed stunning. All these lights and butterfly will surely steal your attention. If you are a tourist or even a resident here. You should not miss these.

2. El Corte Inglés in Plaça Catalunya

For me, it is one of the most awaited part every year. El Corte Inglés is a famous and big shopping centre here. And each year, they have different design of Christmas lights outside of their building. It is a good point to attract tourists or even the residents to come inside their building and shop.

3. Ronda de Sant Pere

 From Plaça Catalunya going to Plaça d´Urquinaona you will have to pass in Ronda de Sant Pere. It will greet you with a ¨Bones Festes¨ o Happy Holiday. 

4. Plaça d´Urquinaona

My camera does not give justice on how stunning these lights are. It feels like you are inside the tunnel of lights. Thanks you Darlene who came with me to see these amazing lights. 

5. Via Laietana

Another long street with 1.105km length will greet you with these colourful rounded Christmas light displays. 

6. Portal de l'Àngel

Portal d l´Àngel is a street where you can see a lot of shopping centres as well. And they will also attract you with these stunning Christmas light displays. It truly give Christmas vibes to any people who will pass by in this street. 

7. La Rambla

If you are a tourist, you should not miss La Rambla. It is a famous street here in Barcelona, Spain. The decorations may seem simple but will give you a relaxing vibes of Christmas. After a long day, passing in this street will truly relax you. 

8. Carrer de Pelai

Another street with tons of shopping shops in Carrer de Pelai. As we all know, Christmas tree is a symbol of Christmas and that is their theme for this year. See how amazing their ¨Star¨ is? It is a street light.

All these Christmas light displays look really stunning. But just so you know, Christmas celebration here in Barcelona is indeed different compared to the Christmas celebration in the Philippines. We really miss the Christmas carol, the giving of gifts during Christmas eve, and all those kids that will knock on your door to ask for gifts, and a lot more celebration.

During Christmas in Spain, all the family members gather to have their get together lunch / dinner. Some celebrate it with a Caga Tio which you can see on my previous blog post. It is a way to give gifts to the children. But most of the gifts are given on our famous 3 kings. And I am so excited to share it with you on my next blog. So stay tuned and subscribe to my blog to get updated.

Camera: iPhone XS Max
Filter: VSCO

Do not forget to watch Darlene´s vlog with me featuring all these Christmas light displays.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6

Christmas Markets in Barcelona | Fira de Santa Llucia

Christmas Markets are famous every Christmas season. You will be able to see there a lot of stuff that are related to Christmas such as Christmas tree, Christmas decors, stuff that are related to Christmas beliefs of a certain place. Aside from that, there are a lot of countries that are doing this such as France, Amsterdam, Germany, Philippines, etc. This is an annual event that every places or countries are competing on.

   
Christmas is a season to gather with your loved ones; family, friends, workmates, etc. And Christmas Markets give its contribution to the season. But let us not forget the real reason for Christmas, the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ.

Location

 

Here in Barcelona, we also have Christmas Markets and they are located in front of the famous Cathedral of Barcelona in Barrio Gothic. It is an advantage if you are planning your vacation here because it is near to Las Ramblas. You can go there without travelling too long.



And for those who already live in Barcelona, you should take time to go there. It will give you a Christmas vibes, relieve your stress as well and have time for yourself or with you family and friends.

They have a lot to offer so without further ado, I will tell you the things that you can see and buy inside the Christmas Markets in Barcelona.

   

1. Nativity Scenes and figurines

 

The birth of Jesus Christ is the reason for Christmas and we all should celebrate it. In Christmas Markets, you will find a lot of manger that represents the place of His birth. There are also Nativity scene with figurines or just the figurines alone. We usually see Nativity Scene in churches, buildings. But now, you can have your own Nativity Scene with different sizes that is enough for your home.
  
 

2. Christmas Trees

  Inside the Christmas Markets, you will be able to see and buy your own Christmas Tree. And take note, they are real! They have a variety of heights to offer. 

As we all know, you cannot grow a real Christmas tree or evergreen fir tree just anywhere. There are specific cities or countries that has the best weather and land for these kind of trees. And if you want to have such Christmas vibe using a real Christmas tree, it is your chance. 

 

3. The Caga Tio

 

  The Caga Tio is a character in Catalan mythology relating to a Christmas tradition wide spread in Catalonia. It is being used during Christmas eve. It is a trunk from a tree to which children must spank in order to provide them with gifts that they will get from the back of the trunk. It is a good feeling of having different traditions from different countries.

 

4. Caganer

  Another thing that is inspired by Caga Tio are these small mannequins or Caganer that are pooping. You will see all the characters from President of US, heroes, cartoon characters, famous actors, football players, etc. If you are a fan, it is a good thing to collect this.

5. Santa Clause

Even we live in Spain, Santa Clause is still famous to people of all ages. So you will surely see different kinds and sizes of Santa Clause in Christmas Market in Barcelona.
  
 

6. Christmas Decorations

  If you are not fun of Christmas trees, Caga Tio, Nativity Scene. You can still have these Christmas house decoration. They are small that you can just hang on your doors, walls, or put above the table. By this, there will still Christmas vibes inside your house. 

  Christmas is the best season to spend time with your family, relatives and friends. But let us all be thankful for its reason, the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ. Let´s have time to pray, ask for forgiveness and change for the better. Let´s have spiritual encounter with God. 

I wish you a Merry Christmas and God bless you!

---

Special thanks to Mary Rose for spending time with me and for taking my photos
Check out Darlene´s vlog featuring Christmas Markets in Barcelona  

Camera used: iPhone XS Max
Filter: VSCO AL3

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 

How To Start Blogging

It has been two years when I started blogging. It even took me a year to finally established my blog. I remember when I just started blogging, I just wanted to save my photos and memories. I just wanted to write whatever is in my head. I started writing even years ago, and yes, I also had Tumblr just like anyone else.

And now, I feel so blessed that I am able to earn money from blogging. It was not that easy, I got a lot of rejection from AdSense and even from people around me. I heard a lot of critisisms. But all those hardships payed off when I started receiving my monthly revenue from AdSense. And guess what, it has been almost a year since I started earning from my blog. It already payed the 12€ that I paid for my domain, which was the only money I used in stablishing this blog.

Based on the people I met in the past, I can say that I am not the best writer. I just write based on my own perception and that is a good thing about blogging, there is no such thing as “wrong blog writing”. It is all up to you on how you are going to build your own world inside your blog. 

I know that you are reading until here because you want to know how to start blogging. After I published my first articles until now, I received a lot of messages asking on how to start blogging, how much I earn from it, how to get monetized, etc. So, without further ado, let´s get started.

How To Start Blogging

1. Think About The Topic You Want to Talk About

On choosing your topic, it should be something you know about. For example, your passion, your hobbies, something you studied about way back in college,  etc. It should be broad, by this, you can make branches out of it to talk about in your blog. 

As you can see on my blog, I talk about ¨Beauty and Travel¨. So I write about my experiences in traveling and the beauty products I use. It is better to have two or more connected topics so it will give you more ideas to write.

2. Build Your Own Blog

Nowadays, there are a lot of ways or channel to build your own blog. The two most famous are Blogger and Wordpress. You can make your research about their differences and benefits, by that, you can choose on which you can get along. 

I am using Blogger because it is much easier to build and use. It is categorized by easy to understand terminologies.

3. Write Your Pages

Pages are consisted of ¨About Me¨, ¨Contact Me¨, and ¨Privacy Policy¨. This pages are important, just like on building a house, you need windows and doors so that you can call it ¨house¨. Pages work like that in every website or blog. Pages are also important specially if you are planning to work with AdSense. AdSense needs to see how legit and worthy your blog is, so you need to show off a little bit to make it look professional.

4. Write Your Articles

On number 1, I told you that you need to think something that you want to write about and that it should be broad. Because in writing your articles, you will make branches from the topic you chose. You cannot make a blog about Mathematics and write articles about Science. Those two are not connected to any point. Just like in blogging, you cannot write two random articles because it will just show inconsistency on your blog.

5.  Buy Your Domain

A domain name is the address where Internet users can access your website. For example, www.dreamsonfleek.com, www.theconquerorsph.com, etc. 

Maybe you get a little bit confused about ¨domain¨. But remember when you just made your blog in blogger or any other site? You were using, ¨www.dreamsonfleek.blogspot.com¨. What does that mean? The easiest explanation is, that is like renting a house in blogger. You cannot call that yours, that is a property of blogger. And to make that blog yours, you need to buy your own house, and that is domain.

6. Sign Up For AdSense

AdSense is an advertisement company that put advertisement of other companies. From that, you can now start earning money from your blog. But before getting approved, AdSense has their own standard that you should achieve.

Domain is indeed important because before applying for AdSense, they require you to have your own domain. You need to sign up in AdSense using the same email address that you used on your blog. And if you want me to write an article about how to get approved by AdSense, just leave a comment!

¨All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded¨

-Exodus 35:10

Instagram Ask Me Anything Featuring Snapchat

Nowadays, Instagram and Snapchat are indeed a trend in Social Media. But what if we combine the two of them together? Last June 2019 I made the famous ¨Ask Me Anything¨ in Instagram featuring some of my Snapchat Photos and Videos. You can see the whole story thread on my Instagram account, check that out!

I already answered in those questions and messages, however, I will elaborate my answers in this blog. So here are some questions that I got: 

Disclaimer: Some of the questions or messages are in Tagalog, my native language, and I will try my best to translate them in English. 

Question by: @itsmejeizhel

¨When will be your wedding? Congrats in advance¨ 

Those important people in my life already know that Michael, my long time boyfriend, proposed to me last January 2019. And we are planning our wedding on October 2020, that is gonna be next year on my birth month. I cannot share more details because we havent fixed it yet but hopefully I will be able to share all the details here soon. 

Question by: @cjxaustria

Question by: @supercy_1

¨What are you skin care?¨

My answers are: 1. Seriously vev? ...stating all the products I am currently using.. and of course 10 hours of sleep! 2. Just don´t take a bath every day

This one is kinda joking around but those are facts. 10 hours of sleep is trully one of the reason I got rid of my pimples. Specially if you are able to sleep 10 hours straight at night (it can be 8 hours). And do not take bath everyday is not for your face but for your hair. Our hair need the natural oil the it releases and shampoos make our hair to look not so healthy.

Btw, I have a blog post sharing my skincare routine, check that out! 

Question by: @darlyyne03

¨Why I do not have any questions to you?¨

My answer is ¨Because you already know everything about me even then sound of my fart¨

You know when you always joke around with your friends about what happened before. It makes me laugh everytime I see this. And if you are around me, you know that I share a lot of my life with people who I trully care and love. And the person who asked this question if one of my best friends. I literally tell and ask her EVERYTHING. 

Question by: @sebastienpangilinan

¨Ahhh it is close¨

My response is ¨Kyah, can I buy something? What time are you gonna open?¨

It is from one of the most famous videos / memes in the Philippines. When a drunk guy kept on begging to buy a cigarette from a store that is already close. He was so drunk that he kept on reapiting everything: ¨kyah, can I buy something?¨, ¨ahhh, it is close¨, ¨what time are you going to open?¨. Because of this meme, friends can talk with those phrases without even explaining and that is so funny. 

By the way, can you still remember when this filter from Snapchat got trend? Every snapchat user have this photo haha. 

 Question by: @___j.u.s.t.i.n

¨When are you coming to see me?¨

I told him, ¨I dont know *crying emojis* But I will see you next year, right?¨

This is a question from my friend in United Kingdom. Two years ago I promised him that I was going to visit him but because of changes in plans, I couldnt to. How I wish to be able to come to UK and visit all my friends there. But my wedding is gonna be next year and I invited them. I really pray that they will be able to come in the Philippines for my wedding, I will trully appreciate that! 

Question by: @armeemariiehh

¨Dzai, am I pretty?¨

¨You are pretty Dzai, but know your place¨

LOOOOL, the last words are indeed a joke. But trully, you are pretty. All girls are pretty because God made you fearfully and wonderfully. 

Question by: @abby_gasu26

Question by: @jhimarie

¨Why so pretty?¨ and ¨How to be pretty just like you?¨

My response is ¨I hope that I feel the same for myself. Btw, imissyou¨ and jokingly, ¨Take a bath 2x/3x a week¨

I know who I am and my value as a child of God. But as a human being, I also wake up in the morning thinking I am not that pretty. But I am blessed to realize everynight that I should not value myself depending on worldly perspective of beauty. 

Of course, my second answer is another joke LOOOL.

Question by: @mzspink10.inc

¨Imissyou sis :* ¨

My answer, ¨Imissyoutoo Sis! Do I already have a niece?¨ 

When someone just got married, the next thing that you are going to ask is when are they planning to have a baby LOL. I really love babies and I am happy that an old friend of mine got married and now planning their own family. Such a blessing! 

Question by: @leyannahhearts

¨How to be you?¨

I told her, ¨Just keep on praying¨

It seems a joke but that is true. Just keep on praying for God to show your value as a woman and a child of God. It is indeed important for you to build your confidence in everything. And also, by knowing your value, you are going to set standards in your life and people will see you the best. 

Question by: @mayannecasta

¨What are we gonna talk tomorrow? I am nervous¨

And I just replied, ¨secret¨

It is just so funny, LOL. Because I just messaged her that I need to talk to her regarding work and just like that. I did not give her a clue hahaha. But that is not something serious tho. 

This photo is the end of ¨Ask Me Anything¨ with the caption ¨I did Ask Me Anything just to show off my Snapchat photos/videos. Goodnight¨. 

I am that kind of person that I take a lot of photos but I always forget to post it on social media. Actually, sometimes I just do not want to because I do not want to feel like I am asking for attention and value from other people. It is indeed important to know your value from God and not from anyone else. But that was me, sharing myself because I just feel happy and pretty. God bless you! 

¨Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.¨ 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22