Why I was gone...

Hi, everyone! I'm back! So, I thought of telling you guys why I was gone for weeks...

Were you able to read my blog post about Tarlac and why I love it? I told you the many reasons why I love the place and why I keep coming back. If you remember, I told you the main reason why I keep coming back was because of my grandfather. He was bed-ridden so I wanted to spend more time with him. I was able to spend time with him since December 2014. 

Unfortunately, though, he was rushed to the hospital last July 26, 2015. He was having hard time breathing so he was admitted. We (I) thought he was going to make it back home after 3 days. I even asked him when we'll go back to our home and he said Wednesday. I asked him what time, he said "Earliest time on Wednesday." I was positive he was going to make it healthy by Wednesday since he was fine on Tuesday. But at 3 AM on Wednesday, July 29, 2015, I got texts from his caregiver saying my Lolo was already gone. He was not able to make it.  I made it to the hospital at 3:30 AM... I did not cry when I saw him. He was still soft and had little warmth to him so I shook him and told him to wake up. But he didn't. A few moments later, he showed signs of... not being alive anymore... My lolo was a man of honor. He always kept his words and promises. Until the last day, he kept his word. He left "earliest time" on Wednesday.

Everything happened here in Tarlac. I am still here as I'm writing this blog post. I will try not to make this sad since I just wanted to update you guys. And I am sure, my Lolo is happy where he is now. Where there is no more pain and suffering...

Anyway, we got busy on that day since all his children were in the USA. I am the only grandchild here in the Philippines so I had to help with everything. Good thing, we have kind relatives here in Tarlac that helped us as well. We waited for my uncle that came home from the USA on Friday. At first, they wanted to hold the wake at a funeral house. There were lots of talks... but in the end, our family decided to just have it at our home. That was Lolo's wish, anyway. Another son came on Saturday then two more of his children came home on Sunday, that includes my Dad and my half sister. The last son that came home arrived Monday night. Then, 3 more grandchildren from the USA came on Tuesday. 

It was a 10-day long wake. I have never seen a wake as long as that. Everyone was busy; preparing all the documents, going to the grocery, cooking food, entertaining Lolo's visitors... But would you believe that those 10 days were so fun? I know the reason behind the fun was sad, but since the wake was held in the province, a lot of people came. A lot of people stayed up late with us, drinking coffee and munching on biscuits. A lot of people were outside, playing cards, mahjong and bingo! It surely was fun. It didn't seem like a wake but rather like a family gathering. A lot were sad but I am sure my Lolo was happy to see us get together like that again. He was bed-ridden for 3 years so he was not able to join and enjoy family gatherings anymore. 

I don't really want to make you all sad by telling you this story. But who knows, maybe when I go back to Manila, I might miss him like crazy and might decide to edit this blog post.

But right now, I am just thankful I became my Lolo's granddaughter. He taught me a lot of things and was one of the people that really made me feel welcome and loved in the Roces family. Lolo, I will miss you! I love you!

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So, that was why I was gone for weeks. I remember my Lolo was in the hospital when I was editing the SNSD SeoHyun Hair Tutorial. I was there with him, editing the video. When he passed away, I was not able to edit any of my raw videos, do the blog posts I was about to do and was not even able to check my e-mail. I am sorry that I was gone but I hope you guys understand. I am still here in Tarlac because my father is here for a month so I want to be able to try and spend some time with him... I will try my best to update our YouTube channel and this blog often now. 

Thanks for patiently waiting and thank you for reading this blog post. It only means you came back even though you saw that I was gone for weeks.

♥

Kristine

Personal : Facebook ad Instagram Question & Answer +Shout-outs!

Hello! I finally uploaded the Question and Answer video on our YouTube channel! If you are following me on Facebook and on Instagram and left a question or liked the photo that I posted, then I am sure you will like this new upload!

I posted the photo and asked you guys to leave me questions that you want me to answer in the video. The questions that were posted were all fun and interesting so I decided to just answer them all. That's why the video took forever! 

I hope you still enjoy it! I also said hi to 10 Facebook followers and to 10 Instagram followers!

Let me know if you guys would like to see a video like this more often. Personally, I think it's fun and it's almost like we're having a group chat, though it's not live. hehe I enjoyed filming the video and answering the questions so I hope you also enjoy watching it.

Please don't forget to Like me on Facebook here and to Follow me on Instagram here.(@RealAsianBeauty)

Thanks for reading! I'll talk to you again soon!

♥

Kristine

The Wedding - Province Vlog 2

One of the greatest things in being a woman is getting married to the man that she loves. When I was young, I used to think that finding the right guy was so easy... These days, however, I have come to realize that it was the other way around so walking down the aisle to meet your man is like winning the lottery already. There are some women, though, that are lucky enough to meet the right guy at the right time at the right age. (I can't believe I'm actually talking about age now. lol)

One of those lucky women is my cousin in Tarlac that recently got married. 

I can't believe she's actually married now. She's one of the cousins that I used to climb trees with and run around under the sun in the province. We also made a promise to attend each other's wedding come the right time. 

Here's how her gown looks!

Watch the video here so see more things that happened at the wedding.

The theme of the wedding was "vintage". Her wedding looked like those wedding photos and ideas that I see on Pinterest and other lifestyle blogs. So beautiful!

Her groom waiting for her down the aisle.

The place was very beautiful! It was funny because it was located in the suburb area of our province so one wouldn't really expect to see a place as beautiful as that there. The sound of the birds, tree branches and cool breeze made the wedding even more perfect!

I like the outfit of these cute kids, Gabriel and David! (With my cousin, Marita, too!)

My cousin, the beautiful bride, walking down the aisle as slowly as possible. Each time I attend a wedding, I don't know why I tear up when the bride walks down the aisle.

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Castillo!

The reception was intimate and was so fun! Also, instead of releasing 2 doves, they handed us papers with butterflies inside. The bad thing was that we didn't know that a butterfly was inside it, so we shook it/pressed it...

So when it was time to release the butterfly, mine didn't fly and went straight down to the floor. I felt so bad for the butterfly. :(

Other than the butterfly not flying, everything else was perfect! I have attended a lot of weddings and have participated a lot of times in the games. But never have I gotten/caught the bride's bouquet, until that day!

It was so fun because the game was not conventional but my partner was somehow gentleman and didn't take advantage of the game. (That or maybe he just didn't find me pretty at all. lol) 

The bouquet was sooo beautiful, but not as beautiful as the bride. hehe I would have brought the bouquet back home to Manila but I had to travel 3-4 hours so I just left it at my grandfather's home. 

It was really a fun wedding and I was so happy for my cousin that she finally tied the knot with a very good man. 

I just wish it's me SOON. :)

♥

Kristine

Kristine's 2014 Roundup ❤

I consider 2014 as one of my not-so-lucky years. I had a lot of ups but I also had a lot of downs. I encountered a lot of trials, difficulties and changes.. However, I believe that we should all be thankful for all the things that happen to us, good or bad. So here is a quick summary of the things that happened to me this year and the things/moments that made 2014 better!

JANUARY

First meet-and-greet with a reader! I am really awkward and could be shy and reserved in person so meeting you guys was one of the things I was scared of before. But Krishna broke that ice and my bubble when she met me. I realized that meeting you guys in person is actually so much fun compared to when we just talk on the comments section and on e-mail. (Read more here)

FEBRUARY

For me, a year without attending any K-pop events or concerts would mean a dull and lifeless year. Not that I would die without it but it just adds more fun and spice to the year. Any K-pop event automatically becomes one of the year-end highlights! hehe I was lucky enough to be invited to the DKFC2's press conference! (Read more here)

One night in February, I got so brave and inspired that I decided to write a more detailed blog post about my acne story and accompanied it with more photos of me with severe acne breakout. I felt that I wanted to share a more intimate version of my "acne story" to somehow inspire you guys. (Read more here)

MARCH

I had my first ever group meet-and-greet at SM Aura with some of the loyal followers. It was also a fun day! The girls I met were so kind and sweet! (Read more here)

In March, I turned 28 years old. It felt surreal when I looked back that exactly 10 years ago that day, I was only 18. In my opinion, age is really just a number. I'm getting older now but my heart and my mind feel and think otherwise. I still feel so young that I don't get worried or pressured that my friends are married and have families while I'm still single. hehe Or should I really be worried? (Read more here)

MAY

I rarely go on out-of-town trips with my mom and my relatives so I was so happy when we went on a short trip to Matabungkay. (Read more here)

JULY

Contract signing over lunch. So excited to tell you the news SOON! ♡

A photo posted by Kristine (@realasianbeauty) on Jul 7, 2014 at 10:08pm PDT

I signed a contract with Spin Manila where they would show my YouTube videos aboard their RRCG buses. For me, it was a great deal because it was a chance to show my videos to people that are outside YouTube.

There's always something to be thankful for everyday! Here's one! You may now catch our YouTube videos when you take RRCG bus! I'm so happy people not on YouTube could watch our videos now! ♡♡ God, you work in amazing ways! (Oh,if you catch the video on the bus,would you please snap a photo for me?Thank you!) #bustv #spinmanila #youtuber

A photo posted by Kristine (@realasianbeauty) on Aug 8, 2014 at 7:28pm PDT

AUGUST

For 5 years, I worked as an online teacher to Korean students in Korea. Last August, I decided to give blogging more time so I decided to leave my current job and try being a full-time blogger and YouTuber. (Read more here)

Prayer is more powerful when there's more people calling Him. I'm asking you guys to kindly pray for my uncle, Francisco. He had a stroke, half of his body is paralyzed and he needs brain surgery. We need a miracle and more prayers. Please help us call Him. Thank you!

A photo posted by Kristine (@realasianbeauty) on Jul 7, 2014 at 10:08pm PDT

My uncle had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. His condition was so severe that they doctors told us he only had a few days and will eventually die. But a miracle happened, after a few days, his body recovered and is doing well now!

I went on my first travel abroad to Hong and Macau! Yay! (Read more here)

I also got to meet the Disney characters at Disneyland in Hong Kong! (Read more here)

SEPTEMBER

I was invited to attend B1A4's press conference! (Read more here)

I was also fortunate to be one of the people invited to attend CNBLUE's press conference. All Access Productions was on a roll that month as they had 2 K-pop events! I was also on a roll as I was able to attend both! hehe (Read more here)

OCTOBER

I went to vloggers united and met these awesome ladies! (Read more here)

NOVEMBER

In November, we finally hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube! Yay! Thank you, everyone! (Read more here)

DECEMBER

My December became more fun and meaningful when I participated in BDJ's outreach program to some some children in Paranaque! It was a touching experience and made my December even more worthwhile! (Read more here)

I was finally able to go to Tarlac to visit my grandparents. I missed them, especially my lolo. Time flies and we get so busy that we forget about some people that really matter. I actually forgot that it was back in 2012 when I last visited them. In 2 years, my grandfather got weak and is now bed-ridden. I can still talk to him and he still responds but it would have been nice if I was able to visit him and spent time with him when he was still able to walk, talk straight and look at me in the eyes. Ahh, sad. But I'm glad I still saw him and was able to talk to him.
My cousin, who I practically grew up with, also got married in Tarlac. I felt so happy for her as it's one our wishes: to get married to the man we love and deserves us. :) Oh, I caught her flower bouquet!! hehe #whosnext?

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Those are some things that happened to me this year. Not much, but every moment is worth being grateful for. I am looking forward to a more blessed and prosperous 2015!!

My New Year's Resolution? To work even harder, thrice is possible. Have less arguments with my mom and just let her be and let her talk when she's mad. Spend more time with people that matter. Smile often, be sincerely happy for people around me and only give attention to things,situations and people that matter. 

How about you? How was your 2014 and what are your resolutions for the new year?


HAPPY NEW YEAR!

♥

Kristine