Maple Manila

A big and sincere thank you for the outpouring of prayers, love and support in the wake of Marivic’s passing. We will be continuing to fundraise to help with outstanding medical bills, expenses related to settling her affairs and to address the needs of her husband and 6-year old daughter. We have raised 36% towards our goal. :) We are thankful that during this time that Romnick has been able to travel safely and COVID-free to the Philippines to be by his families’ side. Forever grateful to you all. 💗

gf.me/u/y23fhv

Paying Tribute to Marivic, organized by Michelle Eden-Vertudazo It is with a heavy heart that we created this GoFundMe Page for Marivic as her life … Michelle Eden-Vertudazo needs your support for Paying Tribute to Marivic

Over a week over, Romnick's family was delivered some challenging news - that his mother was diagnosed with liver cancer. We're a tight family and it's time to band together and surround Marivic and her family with as much love as we can as she starts cancer treatment shortly. There are many uncovered treatments that lie ahead and we humbly ask for your support as we help to relieve that financial burden so she can focus on treatment without added stress. We want to spread the fundraiser as far and wide as we can, so we appreciate you forwarding and sharing this to others. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any support you can provide.

Team Marivic - Liver Cancer Treatment Fund, organized by Michelle Eden It is with a heavy heart that we created this GoFundMe Page for Marivic as he… Michelle Eden needs your support for Team Marivic - Liver Cancer Treatment Fund

Maple Manila updated their business hours.

Dinner 🤍 Baked rainbow trout with lemon & dill, mango salsa and wild rice. 🍋 🐟

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.”

— John Sinor

“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.”

— Roy T. Bennett

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
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— Carl Sandburg

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all."
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— Stanley Horowitz

Reflecting on this past week. 🍂 The fall season is inching its way one red, yellow & orange leaf at a time and every year it reminds me of the beautiful cycles in our lives. How life can begin, a body bursting into this world in such dramatic fashion, followed by chapters of hopefully a life well lived… And then a quiet exit as the soul migrates somewhere else and the cycle begins all over again. 🍃 The theme of my life for the past little while has been to stay in the present moment and to be grateful for even the smallest thing. Over our dinner meal, my husband and I will say grace and it will centre us and remind us of what is truly important. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mundane and the not so important things. Having this little ritual to thank whoever created all of this has become an anchor for us. If we had a crappy day, it gives us a moment to reflect and to breathe. I can feel myself sinking deeper into my true self. The ego shifts away. Sometimes this feeling can last for the night, for a few days, or even just for an hour or two. What I do know is that the more time I stay in gratitude, the more I feel like myself. .

“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.” — Bob Marley “You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist.” — Indira Gandhi

Sunday brunch ☁️ Sweet potato hash with drippy over easy eggs. Sprouted bread toast and apricot jam was on the table too. 🍂 |||

“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour."
— Victoria Erickson

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
— Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad

“The decision to make the present moment a friend is the end of the ego.”
– Eckhart Tolle

Out and about in the park!

Out for a walk in Victoria Park at the Link Picnic festival! Check out booth for a chance to win 6 classes!

“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
— Benjamin Franklin

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields, has the power to move you, if the simple things of Nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

—Eleonora Duse

Our new nighttime fun activity - passing the ball in our yard. ⚽️ |||

First time at the drive-in for me. We don’t have these in the Philippines. Now I can see why Canadians enjoy it. 🍿 ~ Romnick |||

“Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon."
- C. Day Lewis

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” —Mary Pickford

“We approach our lives on different trajectories, each of us spinning in our own separate, shining orbits. What gives this life its resonance is when those trajectories cross and we become engaged with each other, for as long or as fleetingly as we do. There's a shared energy then, and it can feel as though the whole universe is in the process of coming together. I live for those times. No one is truly ever "just passing through." Every encounter has within it the power of enchantment, if we're willing to look for it.”

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— Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations

There’s a lot of reasons why I might not have won this competition - I was bumped up into the next weight class, I haven’t trained in 2 weeks due to work commitments and I’m new to the blue belt competition circuit. But I still decided to go ahead and take on the challenge amidst the obstacles because I have a passion for this sport & my personal growth. So I left with a loss, a disqualification that I did not agree with and a medal against a gi and no-gi champion. I’m glad that I discovered holes in my game to work on and the ability to go back and train again next week! |||

Competed at the Toronto Next Gen Championship today. Heading on to the mats for my 1st match of the day. |||

Fried chicken is the way to Romnick’s heart. 😂💕 |||

Quotes by Rumi for the week...
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“Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”
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“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”
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“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
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“Your heart is the size of an ocean. Go find yourself in its hidden depths.”
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“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. Cleverness is mere opinion. Bewilderment brings intuitive knowledge.”
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One of my favourite days of summer last year. If you live in Southern Ontario, this is a beautiful and enchanting place to visit. | |||

“We are constituted so that simple acts of kindness, such as giving to charity or expressing gratitude, have a positive effect on our long-term moods. The key to the happy life, it seems, is the good life: a life with sustained relationships, challenging work, and connections to community.”
— Paul Bloom