A Flower that Blooms

A few months after Paul and I lived in our tiny house, we knew we needed something to brighten up the mood around us. So we bought a few plants. Some have died some have flourished and hope others will continue to nourish.

I was so delighted when one day I saw a rose bud in our backyard. I never thought I could make a rose plant flower. Hurray Hurray! I think I like this new hobby of planting and propagating.

This also opens a new home project for me and I’m excited about it! Unfortunately I don’t usually own my Saturdays so I have to cramp all my planting activities on Sundays.

I’m still happy of my achievements and I know I’m going to look forward to planting and arranging our front yard and back yard. So cool to have a little garden of our own.

Till next time.^_^

Cooler Weather is Coming Our Way

Summer is out, definitely! I’m just too busy to notice.^_^

It’s July and barely two months to go before “ber-months” officially kick in. For us Filipinos, “ber-months” is synonymous to Christmas. Local radio stations will play Christmas Songs. People will decorate their houses with Christmas ornaments. And food will be abundant.

As for me, it’s the time of the year when the weather is cooler and more tolerable than summer. It is also the time when my plants are most happy because of the rain. We live in a tropical country, you know! :)

It is also the time of the year when I am expecting our electric consumption to go down because of the cooler weather. Goodbye electric fan for the mean time.

Another thing is, I promised myself that we will have a Christmas tree in the house this coming holiday season. And I guess we might just do that. I hope I can learn how to bake soon so that food will be grand on Christmas and New Year.

Till next time.^_^

Shake it out!

It’s been quite a while since my office project is driving my time nuts. It’s been very stressful and the stress builds up day by day. At some points I needed to go to the office at 5:30AM to catch my 7:30AM meeting with our counterparts onshore. I didn’t have time to even prepare breakfast/lunch.

I’d go to the Jollibee near our office to order my usual and attend the meeting (via call) while eating my breakfast. It’s not a healthy habit and I know it. But if I don’t do that I will be very hungry by the time my meeting is done and it will be lunch time by then.

I need to shake out and do some changes in my routine.

God is Amazing!

I woke up this morning feeling *ugh* so tired refusing to rush for office. Lying before my husband in the early Friday morning is a luxury I seldom can afford because of my busy schedule. If it was not for the vegetable seller, who is actually my alarm clock, I would not stand and prepare for work.

I had the luxury of time to cook my lunch since I already told my boss that I would be late for work. I stayed almost 14 hours in the office yesterday so I guess my being late is reasonable.

When I was still a kid I envisioned myself having a house of my own, a car of my own, a good-paying job, a cute and happy family and a life worth living for. I guess everything is still a work in progress and I am very positive that all of my dreams will happen sooner or later. Keeping a positive outlook and a cool mentality can bring me to my dreams sooner than expected. And I guess God is working in His most amazing ways for each of our dreams. Let’s keep on praying. :)

Arranging our Finances as Husband and Wife

Before we got married we managed our money separately. But few days after being married I scheduled a talk to my husband about our finances.

We are not afraid to talk about our finances ever since. It was not a matter of who earns better or who splurges more. It was more of trusting on each other.

We talked about our expenses and our savings. We have identified things that we constantly buy or pay and have established a reasonable budget for those. We have also set a constant amount for our personal expenses wherein my husband does not have the right to question me on how I spend it and vice versa.

Of course we talked about our savings and where to invest for maximum growth potential. We have allotted specific amount for each of our savings plan and agreed to talk about this for review and possible shift.

We also talked about our future plans and how they will affect our decisions few months/years from now.

I guess I’m lucky I have a very “masinop sa pera” husband. Hello bright future!^_^

All is Well

Finally I am able to write again after a few months of hiatus from the blog sphere. I was busy with work and busy preparing for our wedding that’s why I was not able to write for quite some time.

Our wedding went well and my project became less demanding so I have a few time to hit the keys yet again.

Hair and Make up by sir Joey Sadsad

Most of my friends are still surprised by our wedding and I know others are a little upset because they didn't get any invitation for the event. As for me, I can’t see any reason why I should explain. But for the benefit of those who are still upset here are a few facts. We wanted the event to be very small, solemn and personal. We don’t want to feed our wall with cheesy things from the time we were engaged to the time we walk down the aisle because we know pressure will build when a lot of people know about it.

Today I’d like to express my gratitude to the people who made our wedding special. I might not know everything you did but at least I know you did something.

To our families: Thank you for gracing our small wedding. It was such a delight having you all. Thanks for the love, support and prayers offered to us during the wedding day and the days to come.

To our high school and college friends: Thank you for the undying support. I know few were invited but rest assured that we wanted all of you to be there. It’s just that we really wanted it to be small and manageable. Nonetheless I know you prayed for both of us and our future ahead and I thank you all for that.

To our (old and new) office/camping friends: Truly our warmest “Thanks” to all of you! I know you spent so much time, effort and money just to be there and we cannot ask for more. No amount of money can ever repay your hardships and we will forever be indebted. Thank you so much!

To our suppliers: Thank you for making our event beautiful and meaningful. It was always a bliss working with all of you. You made our preparations easy and manageable and I really enjoyed transacting with you all. Super uber thanks!

All is well, blessed and offered.^_^

Suppliers:

• Hill Station – Reception venue (Includes food, cake, table arrangements etc.)
• Joseph Tagle Photography – Photo coverage (We were lucky Joseph gifted us with a free AVP. Thanks!^^)
• Immaculate Concepcion Church – Ceremony venue solemnized by Father Jose Alipio
• May Allen Cachero – Bride’s dress/Entourage dresses
• Flowers by Lhai (including team injury) – thru the efforts of Team Injury headed by Lhai
• Coordination – Katrina de Asis and Jay Mangilaya with the help of everyone from Team Injury
• Pre-nup video – M&J Productions (Mark Louie Dasalla, Jayson Barrientos and Jay Mangilaya
• Bloopers video – M&J Productions with the help of everyone in Team Injury
• Jay Mangilaya – Online Invitation sent to guests 1 month before the wedding.
• Joey Sadsad – Hair and Make-up (Two weeks’ notice)
• Hanbi Mansions – Accommodation (Thanks ate Margie for the warm welcome.)
• Jason – Bridal car supplier in Baguio City
• Jenny Oliva – Thanks for making sure everything is well taken care of.^_^
• Parokya ni Edgar – Thanks for the FUNsign and for the video thru the efforts of Jenny, Belle and Billie (super thanks!)
• Team Injury including Kathlyn DQ and Katrina DA – for everything (You know what I mean.)

The World as I see It

“Naglalakad sila. Wala silang pamasahe.” These were the side comments of a cigarette vendor as we passed by the gas station near our subdivision. Paul and I just smiled and shrug it off. We know that was for us.

We always see other people’s mistakes and shortcomings. We notice every move that other people make. But why can’t we look at ourselves first before commenting about the people around us? Why do we need to belittle other people to make us look better?

I too am guilty of this. But after that stage of my life, I moved on. I should always move on. I guess we all should.

There will be a point in our lives where we look back at ourselves 5-10 years later and laughed about our mistakes. What matters then doesn’t matter anymore. Time will always pass and no one is waiting for us. We always need to move with time.

Well I guess that’s the irony of life.

The good thing about life is we can always change every day. We can always choose the path we take.

To the cigarette seller who side commented about us, well thank you for noticing us. I don’t know the reason behind your comment but I have some assumptions. Maybe you wanted your friend – the tricycle driver – to make good money so you want people from the subdivision to ride from their home to the gas station. Or maybe you want your friend – the jeepney driver – to make good money so you want everybody to take the jeepney.

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At the end of the day, it’s not about what they say about me. It is always how I feel about myself.

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Developing a positive self-talk lifts up my spirit. It gives me the feeling that everything will be okay. Things may not turn out as planned but I know God answers prayers in three different ways. I don’t mind side comments since it will be a waste of time arguing with people who do not listen. Remember the saying, “Fools argue to prove they are correct while wise men discuss ideas.”