[LATE POST]
The Lioness just came from a celebration and a goodbye to a friend who is about to get married, and will leave the country thereafter.

Despite the fact that (switch to first person) I, am leaving for a province known for beaches in a few hours, and have postponed the mission to pack; decided to blog for a while and release some thoughts. Admittedly, I have neglected to update and blog what has been the on-goings of my life recently. I just didn't want to feel as if I forced my blogs. I blog when there is inspiration present, I guess.

Inspiration, it is.

The friend has been someone the Lioness has known for over 10 years. She is about the same age as I, and I believe she has been the happiest since I've ever seen her to be. I remember our kiddie days and trust me, she has always been pretty. However, seeing her now, she has truly grown into a lady. Someone who walks into a room and effortlessly lights up a room. She truly fits the expression, "Vavavoom." I remember the days when she was still a bit of a tomboy, and unsure of what she wanted for her future, and sure of what kind of love that she needed.

Now, she is endlessly blooming and filled with so much happiness! It takes more than words to actually describe how so much happiness emanates from her. Yes, the journey is about to start. It will be filled with good and bad things, but how you get through it matters.:) I believe in marriage; I believe in love; and most of all, I believe in the fact that two people who meet at the center of everything and manages to overcome all have certainly more than today to wake up to.:)

I raise my glass of Merlot for the wonderful woman that I've shared tears and laughter with.:) To more shawarmas and more.:)

So, where am I getting at?

[continued now]

I was asking myself the same exact question.

Just a week ago, I couldn't help being excited for this trip. Look at today, it's already Friday. I wrote the first part of this blog last Sunday.

How many did I miss doing? What was I actually able to do? See, there's so many things that I could've, should've done.

But instead of just planning, making up a list and actually trying to be sure if everything was said and done according to plan, I threw it all in the wind.

You gotta live life to the exact moment.

You just don't know when you will be swept off your feet.

Phew. I daresay, that was a long title!

I just came from a really nice event. Sorry boys, I know you absolutely cannot relate! I think that somehow, some of your kind must abhor thinking about the pleasures and activities of women!

However, some actually celebrate the fact that the Lord blessed you men of our kind.:)

In Belle de Jour, we celebrate what it entirely means to be a woman of modern times. Today, was an eye opener of sorts. Those who have been religiously following the Belle de Jour Power Planner, have been updated with news and events that the company has done, were extremely rewarded tonight.:)

Don't we all love free stuff? The Lioness was astounded with the many gifts Belle de Jour has given to its loyal and devoted fans. See, this is THE RIGHT WAY on how you treat your customers. They must have brainstormed to the point that the juices of their brains have dried up. I have not seen customers so full with information and material stuff since.....well, ever!

Kudos to Darlyn Ty and her friend Trisha Andres for coming up with this beautiful planner!

Take note, this is not a paid blog nor am I a friend who wants to plug to help her friend. I am just one of the loyal customers that have not been disappointed nor forgotten -- not even for a minute! It shows how great this company has been and I daresay, this has been the best planner for the modern woman the Lioness is!:)

Yay for order (in a fun way) in my life and freebies!!

May Belle de Jour continue on! We will support you!:)

On a day where fights and confusion filled the air, I have forgotten to listen, learn and observe the many things that I usually pay attention to.

You know how sometimes you can just hear things and not really understand what they mean? When you get scolded or in a fight, people just let everything in one ear and go out in the other. We don't usually understand the what, why and how of those situations. We just let it flow like the wind, unseen, felt and taken for granted.

Do you see how the many languages used in the world, most of them are taken for granted? I remember watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and was struck by what Carmen had to say something about it. She was rehearsing her lines with a fellow actor, and she said something that goes, why don't we talk like this anymore? By this, she meant talking with the Renaissance language, filled with romance and mystery.

Love Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Remember that song by Diana Ross that she sang in Mahogany? "Do you know where you're going to?"

I used to listen to that everyday.

The Lioness has been quiet nowadays. Like how Hiro and Matt (from Heroes.. such a geek!) have gone through their spiritual walk, it somehow feels like I went through the same thing--albeit a little different.

I've said that The Lioness is my alter-ego so many times to online friends. It's a little bit like Beyonce with Sasha Fierce. I just feel that people get affected by The Lioness' thoughts, more so, if they find out that it was me all along. It's better to separate each one from the other.

Have you experienced walking and just literally stopping to smell the roses? Hear the sounds, see the sights, get immersed in the experience of it all. I see everyone passing through me in a fast pace, as they hurry to get their life the way they want. I envy them. They go through it all with little worries and no care at all. They hear it all, and yet they don't let it affect them.

I am the exact opposite. I hear everything, and I try to listen to it more. I let it take me and bring me to new things that I have never experienced before. *It's a one million dollar chance of a lifetime!* Although, I must say, there are times where I let it get to me too much.

It's a boring subject for some when people go and talk about their trip to the wonderful sights of their own lives. However, I'm the exact opposite. I choose to hear their stories, observe and learn from them.

I don't know exactly where my path leads me. All I know right now is that I need all the strength, courage and faith that I can get. I'm tired of being lost, confused and all that emotional crap. It's about time I guess.

It's funny how friends react to how my life could be patterned to a drama. I've experienced a ton of heartaches. I know how it is to be separated from family and be in a family yet still feel as if you're an outsider. I've experienced something a woman must never be a witness and victim to. I know how it is to live a life where everything is a mess and all you can do is but smile. I know how it is to love and fear a God who is ever so loving and understanding.

The path to the future is long and there are a lot of hurdles that can make or break you.

Are you ready for it? Where do you think it will lead you?