The Princess has met her Prince

It has been more than half a year since I last posted an entry here. I got so busy with...life. :-) A lot has happened in the past months and it has been one spectacular roller coaster ride ;-)

Today is father's day and I wanted to surprise my husband with this post (sorry, sungit, wala ako gift!). Yes, I've been a wife for amost 5 months now and life has been sweet.  :-) It's mainly because I married a good person. I am very much blessed to have married my best friend and the best partner for me.

Joe and I have known in each other for more than 3 years now. We met in November of 2006. It was just a normal Saturday for me as I only had Sagip to attend to that day. Who knew that I would meet my future husband under the most ordinary circumstances? :-) We've been friends ever since and the foundation of our friendship really is serving together in GK.

We've been through a lot especially in the first few months of our relationship as an official couple. But we managed to survive and overcome all those difficult situations. It really helped to strengthen our bond more. That is why even if we often had disagreements, we still believed that we were meant to be together forever.

Joe proposed after 6 months of being boyfriend-girlfriend. Of course, I said yes immediately. I didn’t have to think about it because I wouldn’t have said yes to be his girlfriend in the first place if I didn’t think that he was the man for me. We originally wanted a year to plan the wedding. However, some developments at his work led us to move the wedding to January instead of October. We didn’t want to be apart and we really don't believe in building a family from 2 different places.

The 3 months leading to the wedding was a blur. We were both very busy with work plus it was the holidays. It was really such a blessing that my mother in law was so helpful & supportive. Well, we were able to pull it off. :-D We had so much fun at our wedding. We were so happy that most of our family members and dearest friends celebrated the special day with us.

Days (even weeks!) after the wedding, Joe and I still couldn’t get over the fact that we were acutally married. ;-) We also couldn’t help but smile a lot. Finally, we were husband and wife.

Joe and I feel so blessed, more so now that we are married. The relationship feels more special knowing that we went into this with the Lord as our witness. When we think about it, almost everything came easy for our relationship. And we believe that it is because we are living God’s plan for us.

When I was younger, I would always say that I couldn’t wait for God to reveal His plans for me. I was always searching and waiting for something. Now, I can say that I am settled. :-)

My husband is a living testimony that God indeed has planned the best for us. He is the perfect partner for me. I am really so blessed as Joe loves me unconditionally and wholeheartedly. He wants nothing but the best for me and I am confident that he will take care of me and our future family through thick and thin. He is truly my prince.

A friend once told me that marrid life is fun if you are with the right partner. I couldn't agree more. Married life is not all roses. It is really hard work. But the love, support and respect you have for one another make it all worth it.

The first five months have been great and we know that the future will still be brighter as we are expecting additional blessings in 4 months. ;-) We will soon be parents to our first children! ;-) Yes, children and not child as we are expecting twins! :-D  I know that my husband will  also be a good father and the best dad my kids will ever have.

There have been a lot of adjustments in my life but I wouldn't trade my life now with anything. God gives you the best and He prepares you for it. Joe is really a blessing and I will be forever grateful.

[Surprise, Sungit! :-D Happy Father's Day! I love you very much :-) Happy Father's Day also from Maxx & Sugar (hehehe...since we're not sure yet)]

On Long Distance Relationships

I was writing something regarding long distance relationships. Just want to share a few lines....




I want to be able to laugh with you when I am happy.

I want to be able to cry on your shoulder when I am sad.


I want you to be able to hug me to comfort me when I am lonely or angry.
I want to be able to see you smile.
I want to be able to share a simple meal with you.
I want to be able to go to mass with you.
I want to be able to kiss you just because.

And I want someone who would also want and need the same things from me.

Ma

I miss my mom so much. :-(

My mom passed away last April and it has been tough ever since. I remember someone telling me that it's hard to not have a mother. Well, the words tough and hard are not enough to describe my situation right now. I don't really expect everyone to fully understand what I am going through because I don't think anyone can comprehend this situation completely until you actually go through it.

However, I'm not going to dwell on my feelings here. I remember something about my mom everyday that makes me miss her so much more and I just want to share some of those things (in random order).

1.) Ma cooked the best spaghetti. Her spaghetti completed our Christmas Eve dinners. I think, for all of us, the best spaghetti would be by our mothers.

2.) She was a great driver! ;-) Well, my mother drove fast and some of my friends can attest to this. ;-)

3.) She took care of our cars very well. Sobrang maingat kaya tumatagal mga sasakyan namin sa amin. She made sure that cars were cleaned everyday! Pati engines, malinis! She would also notice new dents or scratches kaya wala akong lusot. :-P

4.) Ma was willing to bring me (and sometimes with some of my friends, too) to and from the airport or bus station when I had a trip.

5.) Ma didn't follow the "1 solid, 1 liquid" rule for my SFC household dinners. Even if I told her that there would be just a few people attending, Ma would still prepare so much.

6.) Ma loved to label things. She loved to put names and dates on lotion bottles, facial wash tubes, etc. The most recent was on the remote control of my DVD player.

[caption id="attachment_306" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="the remote control with label"][/caption]

Ma was still ok when she wrote this. It hard to accept that she was gone a month after this.

7.) She loved to keep things. She would buy stuff then keep most of them. When we were organizing her stuff, we found many unopened perfumes, face powders, etc.

8.) Ma was the one who kept track of things. I was trying to find out the details of my baptism and confirmation because I was applying to become a lector. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any document with those info. :-(

9.) She would also sometimes prepare my toll fee. I would see the exact amount of a one way toll fee when I get in the car in the morning.

10.) She would open my door and wake me up if I overslept on weekdays.

11.) She would send me off to work.

12.) Ma would always text me "San ka na ba?" if I wasn't home by 11 or 12 on a weeknight or 2 am during weekends.

13.) Ma was more lenient with me when I had no boyfriend. ;-)

14.) She would take me to the doctor or hospital if she knew I wasn't feeling well.

15.) When we were still students, Ma loved to frame our awards and certificates. I have some of them hanging in my room. Yung iba, I can't recall why I have them. :-P Would you believe that I have a Theory and Musicality Award?!

16.) If I won't be able to sit down and have breakfast, she'd have it wrapped and ready to go.

17.) If I had a trip, Ma would prepare my vitamins and other medicines (biogesic, imodium, kremil S, claritin, buscopan ,etc.).

These are just some of the things I miss and will miss about my mom. She made life easy for all of us, for me.

Ma was GREAT, right? SHE IS GREAT.

Happy Birthday, Sungit!

Here's your Surprise # 2! :-D

Thank You

[caption id="attachment_287" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Thank You"][/caption]

Thank you to all those who remembered and showed their support. God bless you and all your loved ones.

Your Universe

:-)

Your Universe by Rico Blanco

Tell me something
When the rain falls on your face
How do you quickly replace
It with
A golden summer smile?

Tell me something
When I'm feelin' tired and afraid
How do you know just what to say
To make
Everything alright?

Chorus:
I don't think that you even realize
The joy you make me feel when I'm inside
Your universe
You hold me like I'm the one who's precious
I hate to break it to you but it's just
The other way around
You can thank your stars all you want but
I'll always be the lucky one

Tell me something
When I'm 'bout to lose control
How do you patiently hold
My hand
And gently calm me down?

Tell me something
When you sing and when you laugh
Why do I always photograph
My heart
Flyin way above the clouds?

In 2008

2008 was not a very good year for me. I don’t want to say it was bad because I know that I still have so much in spite of the challenges I encountered during the second half of the year. So, not very good na lang. :-)

The following list of lessons/ realizations is in no particular order. Some of the items, alam ko naman yan e. But last year gave me solid experiences to back up these more.

You’ll know who your real friends are when times are tough. As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, you’ll know what kind of friendship who have with all those people you call friends. There are some that are like family to you. Meron naman pang good times lang pala. Hindi lahat ng alam mong “close” sa iyo eh talagang close friend mo. It was sad to realize that with some people but well, they’re still friends so I am still thankful for them. On the other hand naman, there are some who surprised me with their genuine concern even if I have known them for a few months only. :-)

Prayer helps…big time! I don’t think I would have survived 2008 if prayer was not present in my life. It was not really my own prayers but the prayers of other people. I know that a lot of people prayed for me, my mom and our family and I believe with all my heart that those prayers were the ones that helped (still helping!) us through the hard times.

Miracles do happen. Because of our dear Lord and prayers. I remember the 2^nd day of my mom in the ICU. In the morning, the doctors said Ma was not doing good because of her kidney failure in addition to her respiratory failure. My Dad, an uncle and some of Ma’s friends were crying already because it didn’t really look good. I texted a few of my closest friends from SFC since I knew that they would help me pray. Guess what. When they visited in the afternoon of the same day, Ma was smiling and writing down (she had tubes) her thanks to the people who visited her. THE LORD is TRULY GREAT!

Our parents will not be around forever. I know we’re all going to die but I guess I just really didn’t think about my parents being gone. I’m not ready for that. :-( But having to deal with cancer and the reality of death, I realized that time is really precious and should be spent with the people we really love and who love us the most.

Moms are really special people. Moms are superwomen. They are great at multitasking! ;-) Even when my mom was in the ICU, she would write down all her reminders. A nurse had to take away her pen and paper so she would be forced to sleep!

Time is important and so is timing. I believe in taking my time in doing and feeling some things. If I get mad, you can’t force me to confront the issue. The more that I feel the pressure of settling things, the more that I get mad or pull away. When something bad happens to me, I can’t just immediately say that life goes on. I need time to feel sad or depressed or even angry. Time also heals. And a key to making up, saying sorry and asking for forgiveness is timing. Kumbaga, there's a right time for everything. ;-)

You can’t hurry love…or push for it to happen. Ummm...pwede no comment?! ;-) Hehehehe... Sometimes even when a person seems perfect for you, “things” can’t still happen. Mabait, masipag, matino, maayos na tao, gusto ng friends ko pero wala pa rin! Why? Because there’s something missing. I’m the kind of person pa naman who believes in sparks and magic. ;-) I don’t think I had that last year. What’s funny is sometimes naman puro sparks lang kaya tuloy napapaso ako :-P

Mahirap magkasakit! Even if you’ve prepared, minsan kulang pa yung nahanda mo. Aside from the financial concerns, it’s hard to always feel worried about a loved one. Parang roller coaster ride ang emotions. Sometimes you feel happy when things seem to be going ok then when you see your loved one na not feeling well, you feel down. :-(

It’s so important to save up for the future and rainy days. I believe in enjoying life but this, too, should be done in moderation. We should start thinking about and preparing for our future early in life. Kasi mahirap na when something happens and wala ka madukot. Even though the future is uncertain, we should still prepare as much as we can.

Our families and relatives are our real treasures. Thank God for my Dad, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins! ;-)

What’s best for many may not be what’s best for me. I ask and listen to people when I have important decisions to make but in the end, I still follow what I think and feel is what’s best for me. It’s sad to feel that you are being compared to others or to feel less of a person because you are on a different road that most people. However, I believe that we are still different from each other no matter how similar we may seem and that we have our own distinct and individual paths to follow.

There are some dreams that you have to let go. I decided last year that I wanted to try finding work overseas again. I know that I’ve said before that I don’t want go away again but times have changed and so are my priorities. I actively took care of my requirements for the 1^st part of my Australian visa application, which got approved by the way. Unfortunately, because of more important matters, I had to forgo (maybe for now only) the processing of the 2^nd part. I was also set to leave for Dubai last September. Hmmm...maybe the Lord doesn’t want me to leave. Well, everything happens for a reason.

People change. Things change. The only thing constant in life is change.

Life happens! Whatever happens or whatever it is that you want to do, life goes on. Sometimes you may feel like just wanting to stay in bed, stay asleep or become an anti-social person forever. But at some point, you would have to get up. You cannot just wish for the bad things to go away first before you more forward because life will not wait for you. Life is both good and bad and we just have to learn how to live through those two things.

I am looking forward to 2009. New year, new life, new things, new people.