A New Day

Just in case I haven't told you yet, I am a sucker for the simple things. It's really easy to make me happy! Buy me a Strawberry Sundae and I'll never forget you for the rest of my life! Haha.

So last night, something strange happened and you know what it was??? I slept early! Haha. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! My mom must have been really happy! I know, I know! You're probably thinking why such a big deal? You see, I'm a night-kind of person to the point that I consider myself a Zombie. I do things during nighttime and I'm most likely just sleeping the whole day. That's why last night was "a-night-like-no-other" kind of night. Okay, enough of the word "night". 

It felt different when I woke up today, different but in a good way. It's such an awesome feeling to wake up and be so inspired! I even felt more inspired when I saw the pictures I posted at the top of this post.  (Got these pictures from We Heart It, credits go to their respective owners.) 
And even though I'm a night person, I still love mornings! I love seeing the sunshine and I must admit I miss the warmth of the sun touching my skin. (Drama! Haha!) 

By the way, I'm really excited for my hiking day trip this coming week! I can't wait to blog about it! Haha!

Now, I'd love to end this post by sharing with you a  little reflection I had earlier this morning. 

Here it is:

Today, I realized how lucky I am to be able to wake up and start a brand new day cause sad to say, someone out there didn't make it 'til this day. I am lucky enough to be given another day to live and maybe because of the reason that my purpose in life hasn't been served yet. And since tomorrow is never promised, I must live today as if it's my last. It's up to me to make the most out of today and not just let it pass by. I am so blessed. I am so loved.

How about you? 

What are the things you are grateful for? 

And what are your plans for today?

Have a happy & blessed Sunday! 

- LMB xx

Travel Tour Expo 2013

I got oh-so excited when I saw this somewhere over the net! This will be my first time ever  attending the Travel Tour Expo and what am I expecting? Travel tours & packages at very affordable and cheap prices! I'm hoping to get some good deals for my Bali & Korea Trip this year! Aaahhhhh! *fingers crossed* 

If you want to know more about this event, kindly visit their website  HERE

or like their Facebook page HERE.

Thank God It's Friday! :)

-LMB xx

Love at First Flight

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." 

-St. Augustine

Nah-ah! I'm not going to tell you about a love story of how I met a good looking blonde guy (with British accent) on a plane while going to a foreign country because I didn't meet any! (how I wish! haha!). This is not about a romantic love affair because (sad to say) I have none. (at the moment, haha!)

Seriously now, I just feel like sharing how my love for backpacking started.

Let's begin.

It was last year (2012), that I had my first ever backpacking trip. I joined a tour with one of my good friends, Ate Aileen. The tour was called "Backpacking in SouthEast Asia" organized by TravelPack. To be honest, I had no idea what backpacking meant that time. I actually thought we're supposed to use backpacks hence the name of the tour, but of course I travelled with my pink trolley instead! :p. All I had in mind was that "I'm going on a trip in 3 countries in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand). Yay!!!" -the highlight of my Summer break! (I'll talk about my SEA Adventures on another post.)

So having no idea what backpacking was all about, I had visualized myself staying in a fancy hotel, taking a photo of my sumptuous lunch then uploading it in my Instagram (cool eh! Haha!), reading a book while I sit comfortably inside my train cabin and the list goes on and on and on..  but guess what! All of these didn't happen. Contrary to what I had in mind, I didn't sleep in a fancy hotel, I ate fried rice almost all of the time, read a book while I sat and slept UNCOMFORTABLY inside the train cabin for 36 hours, YES! THIRTY-SIX LOOOOOOOONG HOURS with just a view of the mountains and rice fields. Define BOREDOM. 

It was indeed the longest 36 hours of my life. I wanted to go home so bad but obviously I had no choice but to just sit quietly (while I complain on my mind). 

*I would personally like to thank my headphones and mp3 player for keeping me company during my whole trip, and of course my favorite book, the Bible.* 

To summarize my experience... 

Well let's just say it wasn't really what I expected. Surely, I didn't have the comfort I had in my mind. But the overall experience.. it was REWARDING. The pain, the sweat and all the other discomfort I felt during my whole trip were all worth it. The 36 hours of doing nothing but staring blankly outside my window is like a blessing in disguise, a temporary escape to free my mind and to think about my life in general.

Just like my backpacking experience, I'd love to think that life is not all about the luxuries and comfort in the world but it's also about the pain and discomfort that we feel which help us become stronger and better. Experience is our best teacher and we are all students. Hence, we are all backpackers! After all, I'm happy to have experienced all of that and to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

So that's it! That's the story of how my love for backpacking all started. My idea of travel changed after THAT. 

This time it's not about the hotel you check in to or the food you eat, but it's more of the adventure itself. :)

I now end this post by leaving you with some of my inspirational travel photos I found in We Heart It. 

Have a blessed & happy weekend! 

- LMB xx

13 in Twenty Thirteen

As the year 2013 unfolds, I've come up with a list of the things I want to improve in my life. 

I have a long list but I'll only be sharing 13.
(Why 13? Because it's 2013! HAHA. Okay. I'm corny like that, you'll get used to it anyway!) 

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1. Strengthen Prayer Life. I believe that in order to have a happy and meaningful life, one must establish a strong relationship with God. It's a no brainer, really. This year I want to be even closer to Him, yong tipong Sya na ang boyfriend ko. I don't really see Him but He has His own ways of revealing Himself to me, in ways I don't expect. And it's proven that when we put Him first, He takes care of the rest. I am making our relationship as the foundation of my life. Naks! Ang lalim! But seriously, when you have Him in your life, everything just falls into place and you stay guided. Don't you think it's about time to give back? :)

2. Live Simply. Be happy. Sometimes I tend to overthink and complicate things which only make the problem even worse. This year, I want to change that. I want to live simply.And how will I do this?
First, avoid the things that make me sad.
Second, embrace and stick to the things that make me happy.
And third, don't stress too much on problems. After all, they make our lives more interesting.

3. Spend more time with the people I love. People I love, by this I mean my family, friends and community. I've been preoccupied with a lot of stuff last year so this year I'm planning to make up for the lost time and I will. This means staying home more than going out, getting back to my choir (SCA) and being more active in service (SFC).

My "Witty Will Save The World 2013 Planner"

4. Be more organized and responsible. I tend to forget things easily. I'm starting to think that it's because I'm getting old already though I'm just 22. Haha. I need to be reminded once in awhile about my duties so this year, I am keeping a planner with me. I had planners before but was too lazy to write on them. I just bought myself a very "witty" planner that I'll be using from now on. Here it is. You may check out their FB page here to find out why this is a must-have for 2013. ;)

5. Have a Healthy Lifestyle. It's really hard to say No to your favorite fastfood especially when you're used to having Fries and Strawberry Sundae everyday. Define Gluttony. Guilty girl here. This year I'll do my best to eat REAL food more meaning more veggies and fruits. Stay away from vices, except my addiction on FB and Twitter, and Blogger, ofcourse! :)

6. Get back to old hobbies and develop new ones. I've been really busy last year with school stuff and never really had the time to do the things I love. This year, I'm going back to my old hobbies like sketching, painting and Muay Thai! I'm also planning to start new hobbies like baking and cooking (healthy food haha) maybe? HAHA. :))

7. Be productive and active. Stop procrastinating. I've wasted a lot of time procrastinating last year and I regret it, well not really. I cannot really turn back time so all I can do is make up for them and I'm doing that this year. I'm planning to keep myself busy with productive things like doing some DIY stuff, arts and crafts, read a book? Anything productive really. 

8. Spend wisely, practice practicality. I used to be an impulsive buyer. I used to buy things which I never really need/use then regret it later. Since I'm already 22 (and feeling ko naman mature na ako), it's really time to save for my future. Money isn't something that comes easily. So let's just stick to the essentials, shall we? :) 

9. Save More, Travel More. Need I say more? It's simple - more money means more fund for travel. I have a list already of where I want to go backpacking this year. I'll share them in another post. :)

10. Go out and explore. This calls for more backpacking trips. You'll never really know what's out there when you don't go there. This year, I'm making time to go backpacking. Most of my destinations for 2013 include local trips. A day of hiking or trekking, walking by the beach ahhh and the list goes on. I claim that 2013 will be a great Travel Year for me and I hope same for you! :)

11. Get out of my comfort zone. I'm not really much of a risk-taker kind of person. I tend to stay on the safe side and I want to change that. I want to try out new things this time and conquer my fears as well. 

12. Inspire others. I've always asked God to use me as an instrument to inspire others. And I hope that by blogging this would be possible. I hope that by reading my posts you will get inspired. HAHA. *fingers crossed*

Obviously, this is not me. Thinspiration only. :)

13. Get back in shape. I'm tired of hearing my family and friends say how much I've gained weight this past year and the sad part is that I'm guilty about that. I promised myself that this year, I will be more disciplined and I'll make time to workout or exercise. I'm not saying that I'm fat but I know I'm not healthy. I don't aim to be sexy. I just need to be fit and healthy. Today, I weigh 49kgs, let's see how much I'll lose in 3 months. Wish me luck! :)


So these are 13 of my general life plans for 2013. 
How about you? What aspect/s of your life do you want to change/improve?

Have a Blessed New year!
- LMB xx

Kickin' off the New Year with a BUH-LOG!

First of all, I would like to greet you a Happy New Year! *with matching fireworks and confetti!*

 I now officially welcome you to my personal blog. I don't know how but I would love to think that our same passion has brought you here. ;)

Today, I am grateful that He has given me the time to start a new blog with all the inspirations I need.

To be honest, I've always wanted to have my own blog but never really had the TIME for it. And so! after 10000000000 years of contemplating what blog name to use, *drum roll please*  finally it's decided! :)

I really think my blog fits me well since I am "Little" in size (Haha!) and I love Backpacking so I just combined the two and came up with Little Miss Backpacker.

******

I remember when I was in the plane to Hanoi (Vietnam) last May 22,2012, I was so excited about my first backpacking! I grabbed my notebook and pen, doodled and then wrote a letter to God, (I've come to build a relationship with Him through constant letters, hihi!) saying how privileged I was to be able to travel, not only to one but three countries at that time. 

Right then, I asked myself why not put up a blog and share my wonderful experiences with others? Why not share how beautiful our world and how amazing our God is? 

For me, travel is not only going to places, meeting new people and getting to know their  culture. It's one's journey of discovering God's wonders. I don't know how others feel about travelling, but for me, it's more of soul-searching. It's like seeking for some peace & quiet, a perfect time to reflect and have quality time with Him. Life, itself, is Travel, and it's a never-ending one. You take detours then you get right back on track.. til you get to your destination. 

So from now on, expect write-ups about my love for God, travel, arts and my insights about anything under the sun. :)

God bless you!

-LMB xx