WE?RE SICK. I mean that literally. Nicole (being a 3-year-old) caught a cold and so generously passed it on to Mommy and Daddy.

We?re ever so slightly under the weather, which means I?m sort of lumbering about the house. I do have that luxury though; I don?t really have to get up and work for another couple of days.

I?m seeing this as an opportunity to think ? and thank God for the blessings of the past year. Since 2010 is the beginning of a new decade, I thought to list down 10 blessings (and whatever else) from the past 10 years that I?m truly thankful for. We don?t have a Thanksgiving Day in these parts, so let the arrival of the New Year be mine.

Dear God, thank you:

1) For being able to wake up every single day and say, ?I have the best job in the world.? I know that not a lot of people get to say that, so I am always grateful that I can.

2) That I have the mother and brother that I have. Yes, my mother does drive me crazy, and I don?t get to see my brother as much as I would like to now, but throughout my entire life they have been my lifeline. The life that I lead can be lonely, and these two have been my primary sources of companionship, grounding and sanity, as I flit and float about everywhere doing what I do. I don?t know where I?d be without them.

3) For my wonderful, loving husband and my absolutely fabulous daughter. I knew from that first date that he was ?The One? (cue the heavenly choir). Both my heart and mind instantly knew. We?ve been together for more than eight years and still haven?t gotten tired of each other.

As for my daughter, with every day comes a new gem of joy ? a word, a phrase or a line from a song. Her smile lights up my day and the smell of her hair calms me.

4) That I have the family that I do have ? it?s large and in charge. I?m especially thankful that my relatives are as spread out as they are. This has enabled me to call the world my home, for it seems that wherever I found myself on tour last year, I was home because there was a member of my family residing there. Check out this list: Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York and Austin, just to name a few.

New creative outlets

5) That new and interesting creative outlets have presented themselves to me. I especially thank Bobby Garcia for asking me to coach a couple of his leading ladies a few years ago, and to Kara Alikpala for being a most effective ?messenger? for the Inquirer. I never once thought of myself as either a coach or (surprise, surprise) a writer with a weekly deadline to meet. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I?m only too happy that the opportunities arrived.

6) For the friends that I have ? the most funny, artistic, creative and supportive friends I could ever ask for. We have had our share of ups and downs, hotel stays, road trips, benders, long walks, long talks, home-cooked meals, sleepovers and birthdays. They are more than just friends, they are my soul mates and virtual family. My heart searches for each and every one of them everyday, and I am thankful for their presence in my life.

?Miss Saigon? plus

7) That I was able to perform in quite a number of musicals (?Miss Saigon? in 2000, ?Flower Drum Song? in 2001 and 2002, ?Baby? in 2004, ?Les Misérables? in 2007, and ?Cinderella? in 2008-09); and one straight play (?Proof? in 2002). Box office receipts (and critics? reviews) notwithstanding, I learned from, and fell in love with, the people that I worked with. It was with such gleeful delight that I: got to sing beautiful love songs with beautiful leading men; learned to dance with a bamboo stick; became part of an all-Asian cast (in the United States!); ended a decade-long Broadway run; climbed up and down a barricade; and waltzed with a handsome (and tall) prince, singing with my heart on my sleeve.

With good fortune, I start this decade with another musical, ?Cats,? playing a very damaged and interesting character.

8) For the opportunity to do concerts. It was thanks to my touring schedule that I?ve been able to visit many places: Bacolod (amazing airport 1), Iloilo (amazing airport 2), Davao (amazing airport 3), Cebu (which I visited for the first time while pregnant with Nic), and a host of destinations in the US and Canada. It was also in the last decade that I got to perform in some of the leading concert venues in the world: Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, The Hong Kong Cultural Center in Hong Kong, and The Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. I?d like to thank my management team in the Philippines and the US for making all this possible.

9) For technology. As many of you know, I am a certified geek. I love technology in its many forms: desktop and laptop computers, cellular telephones, gaming consoles, noise-canceling headphones, CD players, portable gaming devices, flash drives, portable external hard drives, eReaders, and portable MP3 players.

Technology has allowed me to keep in touch with my loved ones and stay on top of work with the greatest of ease. So I say a prayer for everyone at Apple Computer and Microsoft that they keep doing what they?re doing. May God bless each and every one of you.

10) For just being alive.

Shameless stuff

Congratulations to my brother Gerard and his wife DJ, they?re having a girl! Yehey, we have another little princess to spoil!

And don?t forget, ?Your Songs? the concert is coming to Bacolod tomorrow, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m. at the University of La Salle Auditorium, and Cebu, Jan. 10, 8 p.m. at the Waterfront Hotel. See you all there!