4th Wedding Anniversary

It has been four years since we said, "I do." It was a roller coaster ride, but it sure hell was fun.

It was a really, really good day.

It started out with us going swimming with the rest of the Yago clan. Later on, Erbe and I went to Church and had a quiet dinner. I wanted to go to the SJF Annual Reunion. In fact, he dropped me off and I took a peek and said hi to one, but my husband is a jealous, jealous guy - he didn't want me to stay or even say hello. *wink *wink :)

Anyway, here's a video I made for Erbe. I hope he likes this one. :)

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Baby Alive

This doll is a Baby Alive doll. This is what I would have wanted for Christmas if I were 8 years old. Truth be told, I still want this doll for myself. It's expensive. The doll alone costs about 3,000php. What makes this even more expensive is that it has diapers and baby food. The diapers cost about 200php. I wanted to get it for Paige, but it was NOT practical. I couldn't walk away, but I was finally convinced by Erbe's argument, "Ata tapos na kitang magpa-diaper, mapa-diaper na naman lugod kita!" :)

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Finally Did It

After two years, we have finally gotten around to painting our room. Yes, it took us two years. We kept finding reasons to hold off painting the walls. I am very good at procrastinating and Erbe is too. So, what can you do. Anyway, I thought it would only take us a day to paint our room.

I wanted to do stripes, so it took us a couple of days. There were lots of cursing and "mind the floors, goddamnit!" from me.

Still, I wanted to make sure that we'll celebrate 2010 with newly-painted walls. I am not too happy with the pink - seriously, pink does not suit my personality. It's definitely not me.

I am not too happy with the outcome, but at least, I wouldn't have to stare at ugly walls in 2010.

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Home Remedies for Bruxism

My sister suffers from bruxism. We used to share a bed back then and I'd wake up with her grinding her teeth noisily. It can be very irritating. It was so noisy that it awakened me night after night after night.

I wanted to cure her off her affliction. I was told by someone that there are two cures for this condition:

First, I have to slap her on her sleep when I hear the grinding.
Second, I have to hide her slippers. And mind you, not just hide them, I was told to bury them.

Yes, I actually believed that these are the best remedies. Never mind the fact that there are no scientific explanations for these miracle cures.

So, I decided to grab the bull by the horn. The next time, I was awakened by her teeth grinding, I immediately sat up and slapped her. Just like that. She didn't bloody murder me though right there and then - I would have had if somebody slapped me the way I slapped her. I don't know if she remembers this.

Anyway, I was happy with what I did though thinking that I did my part as the big sister, so I was excited to see if she was cured of her problem. I was so disappointed when she started grinding her teeth again. I resolved to bury her sleepers. I can still remember where I buried them - yes, I buried the slippers. And since I was told to never tell her I bury her footwear, I pretended ignorance when she started looking for them.

I was happy that I did my part as her big sister. Once again, I was excited to see if I cured her off her affliction. Really stupid. Anyway, my remedies failed miserably. Nothing worked. Surprise. Surprise.

I tried the slapping a couple of times after that, making sure that I would not awaken her, but no amount of slapping can cure her off her annoying problem.

I gave up altogether. She still grinds her teeth. I wonder if I should inform Brendan of my remedies, perhaps, they will work now. :)

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Blogging on the Balcony

I am blogging using my phone. It's difficult - nah, not fun at all. Again,for like the third day in a row, there is no electricity. We're all hanging out on our balcony, trying to beat off the heat. Thank god for december air.

I want to go swimming. God. The heat is stifling.

I'm a bit worried about something. Oh,well.

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Happy 29th Birthday Ma. Cristina Francisco! :)

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Giggles with Paige

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What My Epitaph Would Probably Say

Reading through some of the world’s famous epitaphs, I wondered how mine would say if I write it and how it would say if others wrote it for me. So, let’s see:

Me: Well, that was fun!

Erbe: Here lies my wife. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Silence at last!

Mommy:

This child of mine
Just turned deaf
When I told her
To please lay her hands off the ref!
She just went ahead
And did what I prohibited
Now at look at her
Just laying there dead!

Kris: Now, you’ve really done it. I won’t be covering up for your ass this time!

Daddy:

Here lies my child who said she was on a diet.
Should have whopped her ass good for lying!

Tinay:

There lies my matchmaker.
She went ahead and died on me.
How dare she?!

My Friends:

There lies our friend.
Finally, we can now trust her to shut her mouth
And keep our secrets.

My Enemies:

Here lies my enemy.
Oh, goody, goody.
May her soul rest in eternal suffering.

My Blog Readers:

Here lies a blogger.
Her blog was asinine
But it was good enough to kill time.

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The First Time I Had My Heart Broken and Got Dumped

I came across this blog post and I decided to write one myself. After all, this topic makes for a very interesting blog post.

The person who first dumped me and the person who first broke my heart are two different persons. The former is still my friend. The latter falls under the what-the-fuck-was-I-thinking category.

I first had my heart broken when I was 18 years old. He was this guy that I was dating for about 6 months. He was cute and he was in a band. He was a couple of inches shorter than me. He had scraggly long hair which I disliked but which my infatuation-stricken mind excused. I always knew he had a huge crush on my best friend, but I didn’t know that he was going to be an ass about it.

I was in Brunei for a summer vacation when I called my best friend and she told that my douche of a boyfriend actually told her that he was in-love with her. He even gave her the same song that he gave me. What was it? Oh yeah, that kill-me-now Titanic song, My Heart Will Go On. The fact that this song once gave me a thrill embarrasses the hell out of me. When I later asked him (yes, we became friends; although we’re no longer friends now) why he gave her the same song, he told me that it was the only ballad song he knew at that time. Him, being the long-haired 90’s rocker that he was – this makes sense in a really twisted way.

I was in Brunei, so I steeled myself against the heartache. This does not mean I did not have my heart broken. I was just shocked, but I did not cry. I am very good at this. Everything just shuts down every time I have my heart broken. I never cry. I have perfected this craft. It goes with the territory of being the daughter of an OFW. You get use to saying goodbye.

Anyway, he did not dump me. He didn’t want to break up. The sheer nerve! I dumped his sorry ass though. Only an idiot would still want him.

Now, when it comes to being dumped, I have been dumped twice. The first time I got dumped, I was 20 years old. I was completely blindsided by that one. I didn’t even saw it coming. One minute, we were coddling, the next minute he was dumping me. Come to think of it, that too was a douche move on his part. I don’t know how I got through it. He was not just any fling. He was a very good friend before we started dating. If there was something that was truly heartbreaking about the whole thing – it was the fact that I lost my friend that fateful day.

I was not prepared for that one. I cried my eyes out and basically became miserable for one whole fucking year. I was gutted to say the least. I made a fairly miserable picture. The idiot didn’t even know it. He just went on his merry way and found himself another girlfriend.

Anyway, that was the first and last time I cried over a guy after a break up. I also learned some valuable lessons that I held on to during those tough dating years.

1. When it’s over, it’s over. Deal with it. When a guy says it’s over, trust me, he means it. You wouldn’t even have to wonder if he wants you back. Guys are fairly honest when it comes to this. If they want you, they want you. If they don’t, they don’t.
2. Don’t get hurt, get mad. Okay, I don’t mean psychotic hell-bent-on-murder kind of mad. And don’t go stalking his current girlfriend. Don’t harass his girlfriend either. I know some pretty messed-up women who do this. It’s not the girlfriend’s fault if he’s with her. It’s not your fault either. Still, jump right on to the mad part. Skip the denial stage. It's easier to forget a guy when you're mad at him - and you can't for the life of you remember why you thought his kisses were great.
   
3. Surround yourself with good friends – preferably those who won’t date your ex and who would hate your ex along with you.
4. Get yourself a makeover. A really good haircut can make you feel damn good, I swear. I often have one after every breakup. It’s nice.
5. Have fun. There’s nothing more insulting to a “dumper” than seeing the “dumpee” getting on with her life happily despite being dumped. Having you pining over him is good for his ego. Do not give him the satisfaction of seeing you miserable. Make this your mantra, “Good riddance, you ass.”
6. Make sure to date someone better next time. Oh, no, you don’t give up on love no matter how many frogs fate throws your way. Trust me, you too will find your prince.
   

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Thinking of 7 Years Ago

I slept early yesterday evening, so I woke up with a growling stomach. I decided to take a walk and buy something to eat. Erbe was still asleep, so I decided to go on my own. Needless to say, it was a lonely walk. I hate walking alone because I think when I walk. I hate being alone with my thoughts. They can be very depressing. Have you noticed that when you stop doing something that’s when your thoughts come flooding in?

As I stepped outside, I noticed that the fog hasn’t settled yet. I swear I could taste the acrid tang on my lips. Ignoring the biting chill, I continued to walk. I noticed that there were already joggers going up and down the bridge. At 5 o’clock? I thought, “a bit early”. I looked at a couple of them limping and continued on my way. Those kinds of scenes are fairly common in the morning. The bridge has become a favored jogging spot by many people.

Walking alone gave me time to notice things. I noticed the little and big changes that weren’t there when we first moved here. I used to walk the same route practically every day with Hazel. That was 7 years ago – and I began to miss 7 years ago. At that time, I had my first taste of failure – seemingly, the first of many to come. At that time, I was young and I was standing on the same ground with everybody else. At that time, I still had the world to conquer.

But I took an unplanned route and fate bit my ass.

I missed the sheer simplicity of those moments when I would take a walk with Haze or Kris. The smell of ilang-ilang enveloping the darkness never fails to elicit a sigh from us.

It was the summer of 2002. We just transferred here from Arana and we were the new faces. It was also the summer of flings and love affairs. Haze and I had fun sneaking out just to watch basketball games. Remembering, I missed her so much.

There are several new houses now, I’ve noticed as I continued on my walk this morning. I passed by the ilang-ilang tree and I stood there, searching for flowers. It was barren – as barren as the morning was. And just like that I felt old. I felt the tears brimming. I turned away from the tree and started to walk faster and faster and faster so that my thoughts won’t catch up with me.

It was a damn lonely walk. I hate walking alone.

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Listening to: The Ghost of You by MLTR

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Ramblings: I Have Nothing to Say

I haven't been blogging huh? It's surprising I haven't received an email yet asking me why I haven't been updating my blog. So, why haven't you? Busy as well, I presume?

Yes, I've been busy. I've also lost my blogging mojo and I have been addicted to that embarrassing show in Channel 2. My addiction has taken on new dynamics. It's actually beyond embarrassing, so I would rather not go into what I have been doing in pursuance of that blasted addiction.

Anyway, let me ramble. It has been a while.

I have been very sleepy as well. I snore my way to Kingdom Come and Happily Ever After. The other day, I slept for 18 hours straight! I couldn't get up for the life of me. Needless to say, the ennui still consumes me.

I really have nothing to say except - oh, yeah, Kris, one of our trikes have been "carnapped" and pushed over one of the bridges in Pili. Apparently, it was used to steal some goats in Palestina. Damn those robbers soul to eternal hell.

Well, that's about it.

Oh, oh, Tinay, He texted, but he said you didn't respond. Hmp!!! :)

______________________________

Listening to: Jordin Sparks

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Burnt!

He did give me hell for the post and the pictures. :)
So, I compromised with one picture. I wonder if I can get away with this one. He wasn't too pleased with me posting the other picture. Oh, well. :)

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Who Does She Favor?

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Playing Make Up

This is a side of Erbe that few people know about. He can be very silly and he's fun to be with because he doesn't mind doing silly and corny stuffs. He doesn't even mind watching Tagalog movies with me. He can drive me to laughing fits. He's still awful with his timing and punchlines, but he can make me laugh with the silly things he does.

He doesn't even mind being his daughter's makeup playmate. Because I have prohibited Paige to put on make-up until she's a "big girl", she nags her papa to be her model. Oh, he complained at first but he gave in after I reminded him that there will come a time when Paige wouldn't even bothered to talk to him - you know, when she goes through the angst years.

Needless to say, he's a really good father. I can't imagine Daddy doing the same for me. I can't even remember my own father playing with us. He has always been this imposing, strict figure who would discipline us with his belt if we do wrong. Nah, Daddy wouldn't play makeup with us. Anyway, Paige and Erbe always have a lot of fun.

P.S. He'd kill me when he sees these pictures posted here. :)

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Lourd Yuan Olavides

I claim credit for their love story and I am so happy that they have been given a miracle - because trust me, a baby is truly a miracle.

She's Lourd Yuan Olavides.

She'a a gorgeous, gorgeous baby and I fell in-love with her the minute I saw her.

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What Have I Learned in 29 Years?

I’ve learned…

that there is a huge difference between being the daughter and being the mother.

that parents are not perfect – and the minute you recognize and accept their weaknesses, you start seeing them as humans and not people with superpowers who can kill a monster with just a mere glare.

that parents should learn to apologize to their children.

that saying “sorry”, “I love you” and “thank you” is not at all difficult.

that there is power in honesty.

that time flies fast and you have to grab every minute of it.

that there is a thin line between kindness and cowardice.

that life truly happens when the least you expect – and plan it.

that you should always appreciate whatever gift a child gives you.

that prayer may not work but it can really give you a lot of strength.

that relationships are strengthened by laughter but true bond results from tears

that butterfly kisses and limitless hugs make a good person

that there is always something good that results from bad things

that money does not create class

that life need not be grand to be spectacular

that everyone appreciates kindness

that we all truly need to learn to let go especially when all that’s left to do.

that your anger only empowers the person whom you are angry at

that love, not time, heals the wounds

that the most powerful thing in the world is a mother’s love

that true love accepts imperfections

that I am strong and it is love and faith that empower me.

that you only truly learn to enjoy life once you have learned to love yourself.

that there are some things that you have to give up – and that there is nothing wrong with that.

that I should have learned to keep my mouth shut.

that there’s no one bitchier than a woman with PMS.

that there are people whom you can never truly forget.

that some people are just plain assholes.

that the passion fades, but you can certainly do something about it

that jealousy, envy and greed create a dangerous combination

that giving can truly make you happy

that real beauty comes from within - and this is not a cliche.

that you can do something in a single minute and regret it for the rest of your life

that being angry does not give me the right to be cruel.

that friendships can grow even over the longest distance.

that there are no impossible dreams

that words, books and art keep me sane.

that relationships are never far beyond repair

that I still have so much to learn.

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Morning Rant

Time: 6:52 AM

Wet and irritated. It's definitely not a very good morning for me. Oh, it started out right. I woke up at 1 in the morning, watched YouTube vids of PBBDU (I snore my way through the nomination night) and worked. By 5:30, my stomach started grumbling - and so I started nagging Erbe to wake up. I wanted to go to Jollibee, but he wouldn't budge.

Hmp, I thought. Huffing, I get dressed and went on my not-so-merry-way, all the while, cursing Erbe for not getting up and for having the temerity to brave my wrath in exchange for his sleep (I know, I'm an awful-awful wife).

Walking alone is not that fun. My Bridge didn't even cheer me up. It wasn't a leisurely walk. It was a horrible walk especially when it started raining! Oh, I eventually reached Jollibee and I was pleased that the security guard didn't even bat an eyelash when I entered the restaurant, dripping wet. People glanced and stared surreptitiously at me though. I looked like a bedraggled cat. I took my sweet time eating breakfast; albeit, I was practically chilled to my bones. The hot coffee helped a little.

Anyway, I bought pancakes for Paige, nothing for Erbe. I blame this horrible morning on him. He's all to blame, I don't care how unreasonable that sounds. Yes, I blame him for the rain too!

Lucky for Jollibee, he wasn't there. Else, I'd kicked his butt once again. :)

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Glee Sweet Caroline

I just can't stop singing this song!
It's a feel-good music. I love Puck's cover. It'll have you swaying and singing along in no time.
Oh, sweet Caroline!
pap-pap-pap.

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Taking a Walk with Erbe in the Morning

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Addicted to PBB Double Up

I am effing addicted to Big Brother Double Up. It's embarrassing! Here's how I know I'm effing hooked to the friggin' show.

1. I set my alarm clock to wake me up every night in time for PBB.

2. I steal from Erbe's load just so I'd be able to vote for House A nominees.

3. "Ba? Pirang beses ka nagboto? Grabe baga bawas sa load ko?"

4. I immediately call up Cheryl after every primetime episode to discuss with her the night's episode, curse at Mariel and Yuri, utter a few blasphemes and declare my devotion to Melissa and Jason. (Yes, it's effing sad.)

5. I spend hours reading people's comments on Facebook and Twitter. I watch videos after videos of PBB 24/7 clips in Youtube.

6. I watch PBB Uplate, leave comments on Facebook and cross my fingers hoping Bianca would read my comments. (Insert insults about this here)

7. I spend precious seconds (a minute or so tops) crying over Melissa and Jason's separation.

8. I genuinely think that PBB is the highlight of my everyday life.

9. I blog about my addiction.

10. I don't care about what you think about my addiction.

Care to shoot me now? *sigh*

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Is There Really Something about Mary?

My best friend is heartless.
She breaks hearts and she doesn’t look back.

Kidding!

In truth, my bestfriend is far from being cruel or heartless. She actually has a very good heart. I can honestly say that I haven’t met someone as kindhearted as she is. That is, of course, until I’ve met my husband. Anyway, Tin has a pure soul – and that’s the problem.

This is why she has left broken hearts in her wake and many of these people have never recovered. Just ask a couple of exes who still keeps a picture of her in their wallet – or their mobile phone.

I chatted with one of her ex last night. They are drawn to me. I think that by being friends with me, they somehow feel closer to her. The narcissistic side of me thinks that they just find me extremely adorable. OK, I gagged a little after saying that.

Anyway, I got the long drawn-out speech about how he has not gotten over her – the same speech that I have heard before. This is a speech from her exes. Don’t even get me started on her stalkers’ speech. Those kinds of speeches are just way too weird for words. You promptly would want to shoot yourself in the head just so you’d be able to spare yourself the horrifying trauma. Yes, her stalkers are also drawn to me. It’s creepy I know.

Anyway, all the long drawn-out speeches led me to this one question, “Why haven’t they gotten over her?” To stretch the truth a little bit, one would say that she has practically ruin their lives!

Seriously, they have difficulty finding good partners. They keep comparing all their present and future partners to her and everyone fails to measure up.

I’m friends with a couple of them who are almost in their 30’s, still hanged-up on her, still finding the ONE. Meanwhile, Tin is getting married this August.

The ironic thing about this is that they all broke her heart. She was never the one at fault.

So, why haven’t they gotten over her? Ding! Ding! Ding!

The answer is really simple – because they had the best, but they screwed up and let her go. When you had the best, what - or who - else is there left?

Oh, I’m not exaggerating. Yes, she’s not perfect. I’d know after all I’ve been friends with her for more than a decade. But I’ve often said that if I possess the XY chromosomes, I’d probably be stalking her as well. Heck! She can turn gays to guys! I

But it’s not just because she’s pretty; although she is. It’s not just because she’s smart. because she is It’s not even because she has a pure heart. It’s ACTUALLY because she has all these things. On top of that, she wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you ask her to eat at a dingy turo-turo with you. She’d just flopped down and she’d heartily gobble down kinalas and baduya right along with you.

And that’s how she got them and that's why they can't forget.

So, what else is there left to say? Except that I’ll be damned –there really is something about Mary.


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On a different note: If you're single and still looking for Mr. Right or Wrong - depends on what you prefer - here's a really interesting post. CLICK!

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Meddling with Tinay's Love Life

To be honest, I didn’t notice her at first; although it was already obvious that she has the brains of Einstein right from the start. Right off the bat, that’s the first thing one would notice about her. Anyway, it was only after she began arguing with our trainer that I finally noticed her. She is opinionated and intelligent – and she knows her English grammar. In fact, she aced the damn thing.

How did we become friends?

I took pity on her.

Seriously! I thought she was this weirdo who absolutely had no friends – zero, nada, zinch! And I, with my generous – though misguided – heart decided to take her under my wings – or rather, my several inches long arms. I was genuinely surprised when I found out later that she had a bunch of friends! Yes, you read that right, GENUINELY surprised. I really, really thought she had NO friends. :)

Anyway, ever since I can remember, I have been meddling with her love life. I remember waking up at ungodly hour just so I can buy her suitor flowers. I even arranged the bouquet myself. He couldn’t come to the market and my house is nearer. I was as devastated as her suitor was when she barely gave the bouquet a glance. She literally threw the damn thing when she got it. Yeah, she’s sorry now, but she broke MY HEART! It was a pretty bouquet, damn it!

One time, she was mooning over this guy. My solution was to coerce her to buy a P10,000 SE phone! Just like that! I can’t remember now why I made her buy that much expensive phone without any regard to her savings. It just happened. One minute, we were talking about her love life, the next minute, I was dragging her to Tancel’s.

Anyway, here I am again, meddling. I am actually just posting these pictures because I am showing this to someone. Well, you can sue me now, but you’ll thank me later if he turns out to be THE ONE. If he’s not, well, we can get another phone, right? How's your savings?

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To Whom It May Concern

Cruelty is a lovely, lovely thing –
Because it frees you from the lies and wishes that will never come to pass.
I don’t know how I can make it any easier.
Perhaps, it’d be easier to understand if I would explain.
You see, I believe that when he was five, God created me - for him.
I have always been meant for him.
I have told him so many, many times.
I have shared my heart to many, but my soul to only one.
In my quiet solitude, I know this.
He knows it too.
You see, it does not matter what I say
Or do.
It does not matter how the world will interpret my words or actions.
It does not matter how you perceive them.
At the end of the day, I am his.
And he is mine.
True love they say remains after the fireworks.
It’s what is left after a Home Run.
It’s what is left after the Orchestra retires every piece of instrument.
True love is forged by fire.
It is what is left after weeks of storms and days of darkness.
Those who know our story…who knows us understand this.
We have been through hell and we survived it.
Because after everything, we have each other -
and the love, oh the love that was always meant to be.

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