Looking back, the first 5 months of 2012 have been more exciting and fun filled for me & my blogging. To others, these things may be ordinary but of course to me, the following events that transpired mean the moon and the stars already! 
Let’s have a trip down recent memory lane, once more!
February 2012 was about docgelo x Mickey Mouse! The family and I were invited to a 3D2N sponsored adventure in Hong Kong Disneyland. We’re thankful for the opportunity to revisit the wonderful island and theme park for free. It was glorious!
Two months after, I was almost blown away with the hits this blog generated in one day. Considering I am not a celebrity, neither I blog sensational stories, nor national-level events or global issues, an almost 7,000 hits in a single day was beyond surprising!
On the same month of April, I stumbled upon an info on twitter that THE Ministry of Tourism Malaysia is holding its very first Malaysia International Tourism Blog Conference and Awards. I took a chance to nominate my blog and eventually it won under the Best Expat Blog 2012 category. And meeting the gracious and honorable Minister of Tourism Malaysia on stage was really one for the books! Accepting an award because your blog was voted by the people and was approved and confirmed by professional judges was indeed surreal! And FYI, the trophy was literally solid-heavy!
The event was featured in some newspaper within Malaysia and God knows if it also got to foreign shores. Obviously, it felt like weird and unusual to be on paper and to make matters more amusing, I can’t read a character because I don’t know Mandarin! I had to source out to instant friendly translators from my facebook list – a friend in Hong Kong and a Penangite blogger translated that it’s all good so I need not worry. It still felt weird, nonetheless I take pride as the only one wearing Barong Tagalog on that stage. My nose that night became an inch taller! hehehe! 
The award was too perfect to celebrate my FIVE YEARS OF BLOGGING; the date of the awards night, May 8, 2012 coincided with the exact anniversary of my blog. Sweet victory, is it not?
Then came last week when I got my blog a dotcom, finally!
A week after I got my own domain, my new blog header banner was delivered.
How could you not be happier? 
Presenting, my newest blog header banner….taaaaadaaaah!
Do you like my new blog header?
Does it shout out what I blog about- family, food and fun?
Thank you to my sponsor for this blog header banner, no other than my lovely wife, Tina! *applause!*
Tina and I like it a lot. I love it to bits actually! I even appreciate how my receding hairline was immortalized in this digital masterpiece, hehehe! It’s unbelievable that I have collaborated with an amazing Malaysian artist who generously agreed to do it for my site! Her name is Ms. Emila Yusof, a mother, a wife, a seasoned traveler, an Illustrator, a Children’s Book Writer and an Award-Winning-Blogger! Her blog was named as 2012 Best Tourism Lifestyle Blog at the 2012 Malaysia International Tourism Blog Award. It was literally on stage where we casually and briefly met! And the rest as they say, is history or in our case, an online collaboration. I emailed Ms. Emila heavily about my design in mind and it looks like she effortlessly illustrated everything I want. All my request and suggestions, even my last-minute-revisions were granted and delivered professionally!
Terima Kasih, Ms. Emila! Thank you for being so kind and patient on all my request. It’s my pleasure to own a piece of your awesome talent!
Know more about Ms. Emila Yusof, her art works, books, worldwide exhibits and her portfolio via her award winning blog : http://emilayusof.com/
There are certainly a lot of things to celebrate and to be grateful for!
Thank You, Lord!
.. it pictures a happy family doc and yes, it does shout out what you blog about (at may cute na pusa, lol!).
.. have i congratulated you on your dotcom blog status? congrats! see, di naman nawala ang mag-half million mo na hits.
you are to blame for this dotcom, rob! hehehe. biro lang! maraming salamat sa lahat, alam mo iyan!
hindi nga nawala ang iilang hits ko, pero back to zero ang google page rank! PR 3 na ako dati, waaaaa
do you like the header? i think it’s wonderful! syempre design ko (love your own! hehe!) at sobrang galing si ms. emila!
i owe it a lot to her execution!
and the cat? i think since she has a pet cat, she wrote it on her profile on her blog so i believe she added a cat in the header as her “trademark” i like it too, btw!
–she didn’t even sign it digitally. i think the cat and how beautiful it is say it all!
There there, finally a dotcom! I’m thinking of getting a dotcom for Anything Goes as well. Happy blogging.
thank you! your Best Personal Blog-Mindanao from Philippine Blog Awards no less should deserve nothing but the best.
so give it a green light now, sheng!
dotcom, dotcom, dotcom!!!
I’m getting one very very soon. Like, Monday? Hahahhaa… will keep you posted.
wow, agad agad!!! tama ‘yan; you really deserve one.
i just visited jeanny’s blog and she has dotcom na din pala, i don’t know when she got it but glad she has too and i so like the new template on her site. have you seen it, sheng?
sa template, medyo sentimental at biased ako sa itim. if i would replace this wp template i’ve been using for 5 years, the new one should be black too, or at least darkly colored…. trip lang.
Yay, a dot com!! Thanks Gelo for the opportunity to draw for your blog. And of course thanks to Tina for sponsoring you hehe
aren’t all husbands thankful to their lovely wives? i’m sure your hubby is so proud to have you forever ms. emila. thank you for generously sharing your talent and professionalism!
i wish more people would patronize your art works and here’s hoping for more and bigger business deals on your children’s books!
i will try my best to save to order a commissioned painting on canvas or i can woo my benefactor again for that!
thanks again, ms. emila! i hope my blog buddies and friends out there would consider your work too!
I looooove the new header!!!It’s soooo fresh and reflective of the fun that you have in blogging.Kasi naman talaga,one way or another, our blogs are a reflection of our lives,and if you are having fun in life, it radiates in your blog.I love it here doc.and congrats again for winning that expat blog award title.Here’s to more fun blogging!
thanks anton! to be honest, it’s been an everyday-effort for me and my family to be happy. alam mo na ang mga usual problema ng ofw tulad namin. but happiness is always a choice as they say, so one way to be happy and while away time and energy is to do things we love to do–eat, travel whenever possible, near & far and for me, blog of course. malamang sa hindi ganoon din pananaw mo about life and blogging or at least we share a fraction of it for we share the same passion.
anyway, thank you for swinging back here.
maraming salamat din po sa pagbati!
wow…so many blessings!!!!congrats Doc Gelo and to your whole family:)
it may sound so preachy but it’s true; we owe what little or big we have from the Lord! we remain faithful and grateful to Him!
thanks, ms. carmen!
iba ka na Doc. You’re the man hehehe. COngrats for the blessing
pinatawa mo ako sa comment mo, marian!
ibang iba and comment mo ngayon, hahaha!
dala ata ng vampire diaries-fever sa manila; nakupo, magsama kayo ni tina sa pagdakila kay ian!
anyway, do you like the header? artist ka, i want to know your honest opinion.
Doc gelo congratulations…For me, your blogging formula is very simple. Your photos speaks a a thousand words. Tapos the way you write is simple yet enticing to read more of your blog…
Keep up and More power
Will keep on reading
thank you, rich!
yeeeey! congrats doc!
thanks! and here’s hoping the fun and the following of readers continue!
These are lots of blessings, Doc Gelo. Blessings are pouring in kasi obvious na obvious dito sa blog mo that you have a good heart
Congrats!
thank you, ms. N
but “good heart” may elicit violent reactions, LOL!
I do like the header, especially the jeepney plying Quiapo-Cubao route. That’s my jeepney ride every day from elementary to highschool, where I board off in Sta. Mesa to our home. Congratulations to this momentous achievement of your blog.
wow, doc! glad my new blog header made you reminisce some memorable days of your past. iyan din po ang byahe namin kasi sa pinas nga asawa kong si tina; pumapasok kami sa work sa may welcome rotonda (udmc), tapos uwi sa quezon city o minsan sa pasig.
the artist first wrote in the jeepney, the name of our country but since she already drew our flag on it too, i thought it’s redundant so i requested her to change, the philippines to cubao–quiapo and she did it exactly.
maraming salamat po! your posts are inspiring!
naks naman sikat na si doc gelo.. nasa newspaper pa ng malaysia… Congratz.. and more awesomeness in blogging…
http://jenifferantonio.com
welcome to my site, jennifer! thanks for the visit here.
hindi po ako sikat; masaya lang sa blogging!
thanks for those sweet words.
HIndi kita ang new header sa Mozilla na gamit ko now hehe
Ayown naman o! Naka dotcom na, ngka award pa, oks ang family, san ka pa? Ikaw na!
problema ng mozilla firefox yan, hehehe!
as mentioned in fb, ok naman sa mozilla, may aparisyon naman ang blog header ko when i tried loading the site with mozilla,hehehe… may delay nga lang. my family and i commonly use internet explorer pa din. si gabby lang minsan mozilla at wala sa amin naka chrome. mas mabilis ba yun? la ako alam gaano sa technology, hehehe!
Happy blogging sa iyo, happy reading sa amin…keep blogging and more power to you!
i can feel the happiness all the way here!
right on, PM!
thanks!
wow a dotcom…congrats Doc at congrats din sa iyong bloganniversary. Wow 5 years na. dami ng milestone nyan. Keep it up Doc. I am one reader na na iinspire mo about life.
Cheers to that!!!
ikaw din, di ba jeanny, may dotcom na site mo!
and i like your template much!
yes doc…cguro mga 3 years na yata akong naka dotcom.
oops, sorry, i din’t notice that.
ako na ang late-bloomer sa pagkakaroon ng domain! hehehe…
i really like your template. what is it called? premium purchase mo sa wordpress?
It’s adventure journal Doc. It’s for free in wordpress.com. Check mo po.
All the best, Docgelo. You inspire me (us).
wow, thank you, lito!