Date Night

Time to try the newest restaurant in the city, Era Bistro.  We both love to eat but none of us is a great cook, so dining out is one of our hobbies. haha.

Era is a restaurant inside the Human Rights museum.  Reviews are good and because I was curious we made a reservation for dinner.

It's a great place, I love the contemporary look.  They have these communal tables that foodies in the city said, would be the next big thing in Winnipeg dining this year.  Well, I am  not into it yet, I still prefer a separate table.  If you'll make a reservation you will likely get a separate table for two or four.

The food:  It was really good or let's say it's "different".  It's just so good, I don't know how to give food review but just look at our plates, it will tell you how much we enjoyed our dinner.

Price is a bit upscale (it's worth it though), not for everyday dining but I will definitely come back.  There is still more on their menu that I want to try.  

For starter we had fried yam.  Okay I was thinking it's just kamote (sweet potato).  Our server explained what's in it, though I didn't understand a bit we had it anyway, good thing we did because it was perfect! I'm craving while writing this.

I had lamb loin and Dennis had steak (as usual).  Main courses were great too.  529 wellington's steak is also  good but there's something different here at Era.  

Dennis even had a dessert (he doesn't like sweets) but he really loved the Apple Galette. Very delicious.

It was a great night. Me and Dennis had a great chat about everything while waiting for our food.  It's just so funny that the moment we start eating we can't stop talking about our food.  Normally we just eat and talk about anything then leave.   I even mentioned that after CGA I will enrol to culinary arts, inspired by Era Bistro! :)

If you've been to this place I would love to hear your Era Bistro experience.

Thanks for stopping by.

6th Anniversary

It's 6 years already.  ❤️  I love every minute of it.  It's not perfect but truly amazing.

Me and Dennis love to discover  new restaurants in the city.  I love trying out new dishes, but not Dennis.  He just want to go to different places and try their steak lol

This time we went to the new SMITH, the place is really cozy and pretty. Food was okay but nothing spectacular.

It was a  great night!

God is good!

New Place

We moved to our new home a month ago.  It's a cute two-bedroom townhouse, we have a deck and a small backyard. Condo living still appeals to us, it's a simple, less maintenance way of living.  I know things will change in the future, time will come that we will need more space, but for now we are enjoying this hassle-free, cheaper way of living. 

I had fun decorating and furnishing the place for the past weeks, I am still thinking how to make over my living room. 

Here are some parts of the house, I am loving the minimalist look.

Thankful for this blessing!

5th Wedding Anniversary

Happy Anniversary babe, I love you!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for always making me laugh, thank you for being so understanding and sweet.  

God is so good to us!

 Dinner at Prairie 360, Winnipeg's revolving restaurant.  When we arrived we we're escorted to our table with a simple greeting card on it.  Sweet! It was a great place, with great food and service.  View is breathtaking, It was nice to see the snowy city from above.  It was a great dining experience.  We really enjoyed the night. 

Happy New Year! Welcome 2014!

My life is certainly not boring, so much is going on. 2013 just went by so fast and to sum it up it was indeed  a great year.  It wasn't perfect but God's grace is overflowing.  Just a little glimpse of what happened in 2013, I am pretty much busy with CGA, church and work.  Social life is dining out with Dennis, time with family, going out and partying with our close friends from church.

2013

January - We celebrated our 4th year Wedding Anniversary.
- I turned 32
-We had an accident, our car slipped and we went up on the snow bank.  Even though Dennis won't admit it (lol), he went too fast on a very icy road.  God was with us, no one was hurt.

February - We started a "Journey" that we never thought would be so challenging.

March - CGA exam.  Passed.

April - Dennis got his Manitoba teaching license.

May - We found out something that not everybody would want to hear. It was devastating at first but God was there and God gave us peace.

June - 10th year being a couple, we started dating when I was 22 and got married at 28.
- CGA exam.  Passed.
- Busy planning my family's vacation to Singapore and Malaysia.

July - Dennis turned 31. Yes he is one year younger than me. ;)

August - I received a letter from CGA informing me that they re-evaluated my degree from  the Philippines and they are giving me the credits. Five courses/exams were waived. Yay!

September - Received a bad news, related to what we found out in May.

October - Thanksgiving! Despite the not-so-good reports we had we are still grateful.

November - Busy with house hunting, mortgage approval and everything. So thrilled when we found a place that we like and got approved for mortgage. Excited for our new home!
- CGA exam.  No results yet.

December - I got a raise. :)
-Close to Christmas I received the news that my grandma on the father's side passed away. Of course I was sad but I know she is in a better place now. She's 85 yrs old and love her dearly. She had a great life and we thank God for the long years we spent with her.
- Noche Buena with family here in Winnipeg.
- Christmas party with friends. It was fun!!
- Communion service.

Looking forward for great things that will happen in 2014.
God is always good!

Slideshow.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151896686934072&l=4448410383814259789

Thrilled

When I started CGA (Certified General Accountants) Program of Professional Studies in 2011,  my credentials from the Philippines were assessed at Level 4- Advanced but it was spelled out in my admission letter that my bachelor's degree does not satisfy the degree component of the program.  As part of the opportunity  I don't have to go through college again I just need to take 5 courses, on top of the CGA courses.  

Aside from 5 degree courses, I need to pass 10 CGA exams (Six courses from Level 4 and four courses from PACE Level, two of that are big national exams) to get my CGA designation.  I know Level 1-3 exemption is pretty good but I think I deserve the degree credit, I have MBA aside from my Bachelor's degree from the Philippines.  I tried to appeal, but CGA was firm with their decision that I should take the additional courses for the degree.  They said I could have my credentials assessed with WES – World Education Services and IQAS – International Qualifications Assessment Service  and will accept the assessment outcome on either organization.  Assessment from these organization is not free and I heard that its almost impossible to qualify from other assessing organization when you initially failed at CGA.  I still wanna try.  I was busy with my CGA courses so I wasn't able to gather all requirements for assessment.  Just recently, after completing Level 4 I  started gathering the requirements, thanks to the help of my brothers and Bem back home.  

I was praying that I will get the credits because I am so tired studying already, it's not easy to prepare for exams while working.  It's just so draining, In my mind I decided to quit a millions times, specially that time when I failed two exams, same course, tagal kong naka get over.  Anyways, before I could submit my credentials, I received a letter from CGA telling me that they did a re-evaluation and I am among those who met the criteria so, I have now satisfied the degree component of the program!!!!!  Yeyyyy!!! I was so surprised, as always when I'm home and excited I jumped, danced, went crazy...  I wasn't expecting this!  After two years!!! God answers prayers, we just need to wait and believe! 5 courses is 15 months, that is a big chunk from my CGA timeline.  Four more courses to go and I'm done with the program. I do have some open sessions (no courses available for me) so God willing, I will have my CGA designation by Spring 2015.  That is so soon compared to let's say, winter of  2016! Well, I don't care when I will get my designation just the fact that I only have four more exams to write, I am so thrilled!  Less courses, less study time, less stress! Yay!!!!  I am just so happy!  God is good!

Blessed

My life is not perfect but I truly feel blessed.  Those  close to me know that the last two months were overwhelming.  I am thankful for my very supportive, amazing husband,  great family and awesome friends.  I am also grateful for the peace that God is putting in my heart, I believe that if we embrace God, joy and peace will follow.  I am not saying that I don't have emotional meltdowns, I do but if I will sum it up, I love my life and I am happy.  I am blessed!! :)