Jumpin' juniper it's a jolly January!

So far this year has been a good one for me. Considering that it's just the first month optimists would say that it bodes well for a good year while pessimists would say something like "wait till you see what the rest of the year of holds for you (with accompanying smirk of course)". Today the optimist in me has won and I am looking forward to more blessings, surprises, and little triumphs this year.

Short list (with long detailed explanations/descriptions) of things to be thankful for this January.

Sam's reaction to fireworks. Although we spent New Year's eve in Bay where there weren't that much fireworks Sam enjoyed himself extremely. His reaction to the pops are much faster and he can now spot the fireworks faster when we point them out to him. Yun nga lagn super nabitin cya kasi medyo konti lang fireworks. He ended up turning and twisting everytime he heard a bang eh paputok lang naman or it was too far away to see!

Long Wendy's chikkahan with Angel complete with laughs, a few tears, and lots of fast talking. Got to see Frank Miller's Spirit that night too. Angel and I decided to go for it after Mark read that the director was 300's director. Real reason: the ABS! The first few minutes didn't disappoint us in this regard and since we went in with absolutely no idea what it was about (I thought it was a horror flick...hehe) we were pleasantly surprised with the whole movie. It was a real laugh, though I'm not sure if it was really supposed to be a comedy either.

Cris Tanseco's wedding and reunion with the girls. I absolutely loved everything about Cris' wedding. So far it's the best one I've attended (that includes mine ha...hehe). There really is something to say for intimate weddings. The number of guests were very limited - close friends and family only. The chapel was nice (Jas loved it but am not to huge a fan of white and gold), the priest was a hunk, his message was short, refreshing and insightful, the wedding vows so heartfelt, the food delicious from the soup to the dessert to the martini, and the couple so in love and perfect for each other it will literally make you go awww. The wedding was all about the vows, sharing the happy moment with loved ones, and simply enjoying the moment. It really was the most relaxing wedding I've ever been to. Am going to post pics next time. Ay thank you Gel for letting Jas and I raid your closet. Hehe.

A "new" nephew. A cousin has met his son for the first time and we absolutely love the little boy. He looks so much like Silas and acts like him too! Am glad for my cousin that he's finally met his little boy. Always better late than never. ^_^

Productivity with Sunlife. I am still far from being the most productive Sunlife agent but at least this year started with a couple of settled apps. Here's to being more productive this year and to becoming a better agent ( disipline + courage + persistence = better ). I have the product knowledge and genuinely care about my clients' interest so all I really need to work on is becoming a sales person. Hehe. Big challenge. Doable. Help!

Lost pounds. Am extremely happy that despite not sticking to my diet due to the Christmas vacation I still managed not to go back to heaviest weight and kept the five pounds I lost prior to Christmas. Hurraz!!!!

Relationship with Mark. We're being nicer to each other. That may seem like a funny statement to be thankful for but it is really significant because to me it means that we...

• want to please each other more
• are more concerned about each other's feelings
• have grown a bit more matured
• are learning how to express our love (and frustrations) in a way the other person will understand
• are journeying towards a better marriage each day.

It truly is living more for the other person than yourself. In the end no one loses out because you both end up giving and loving more and more. Sheesh. Seems elementary but those of you who aren't married should just wait to see why it takes more work than batting your eyes at each other and saying sweet nothings (though that is extremely important too!)

Attention LB Peeps

Am blogging at 10493 (Connections) right now. Am feeling REALLY nostalgic and felt the urge to go online here (besides the fact that only very few of the net shops here in LB open this early. The last time I went online here was when I was a freshman or sophomore in college. That was looong ago. The connections much faster and their PCs are also faster but things are a bit eeky with everything discolored and a bit sticky. Nevertheless just being here makes me feel a bit weepy and happy and sad all at the same time. Much has changed and also remained the same. I miss being young and just a bit less complicated... But then again things aren't really that complicated now it's just a matter of how we take things. I miss the college LB days. I miss all of you that made LB even more special (or at least tolerable during the extended years...hehe) for me.

LB GIMMICK!!!

Amado = Find of the Century

I now qualify for the award of "Find of the Century". Guess who I've spotted? Obvious naman sa title....Amado. Yes Amado Villavicencio. Nope I didn't see him in person but he viewed my profile on Friendster and am now just waiting for him to approve my invite. Need proof? Here's the link to Amado's profile and his pic.

Hey Mads you trying to win Motormouth? ;-)

Valentines Day

This day is going pretty well. Mark and I have no plans at all since he is in the office rushing some project. It started out pretty well though with Mark greeting me before we went to bed last night (madaling araw pala) and this morning before he left for work. Considering how we often forget to celebrate occasions I actually feel good about this one. Even with Mark busy I feel like this time he just really needs to work but would rather spend some time with me and Sam. That feels good. Besides we get to save money. Hehe. In this case it really is the thought that counts. I love you Mark!

I am also getting a little bit better about waking up and haven't been spending the entire day in bed. My energy levels are slowly increasing and I don't feel really hopeless. I really do hope this lasts. I hate going back to the deep dark pit of depression. It's inexplicably horrible.

On another note I have decided to start sending a forwarded text messages now and then. My ninang/tita El sent me a very encouraging message the other night and it made me feel good. It made me remember one of my conversations with another mommy friend. After not seeing each other for months she thanked me for sending her inspirational messages about once or twice a month. She said that they usually arrived at a time when she felt really low and discouraged but she never replied because during those times she just didn't know how to tell her troubles. It's kind of funny since I almost never reply to Ava or Armi (two of the most frequent people to forward text messages to me). I always say na kuripot lang ako sa text but the truth is I too don't know what to say. My point is I realize that as long as I don't end up spamming people I should pass those forwarded messages or come up with my own inspirational quotes since you never know who needs it that day. It's also a good way to let people know that you think about them now and then.

I'm just rambling.

Happy valentines everyone!

Hospital Pics

Ever since high school Jas has always been the one you can trust to have a camera with her. When she visited Sam in the hospital on the 27th of course she had one with her pero camera phone na nga lang. Really cool for us who still doesn't have any. So she and Rohel snapped some pictures of Sam. Here's the link to Jas' photo album at Flickr. Looking at her photos though you'd think it was my photo album. Hehe.

Sam playing with Tito Rohel's face.

Oh and today Sam turns two! No birthday parties though some ninangs and ninongs invited themselves over, which is great. Kwentuhan lang and some merienda. Sam just got out of the hospital last night and is still required to rest for one more week. I guess my baby is happy since he still won't be having physical therapy this week.

Old Friends

One of the things I really do love about growing older is that friendships grow older too. Like good wine friendships become more potent and a lot better as it grows old. You drink from it rarely but just a few drops is enough for you to gain a better appreciation of life.

Been meeting up with my old friends lately, namely Jae, Luz, Jas, and Thea. It was all so nice and all the visits perked me up so much. But I am most happy because of my chat with Thea a few minutes ago. it was very substantial and deep. This was how it ended:

Thea: I love you girl! [smile]
me: love u too [smile]
Thea: ngiti lang lagi. hehehehehe
me: byeee
ikaw din and wag ka na tlga mag aasawa ha... unless hunky Jew who loves you
babush!
Thea: hunky rich jew
me: yup
dont ever forget the rich part!

Where else will you find deeper conversation. BTW we have always been partial to the semitic race even way back in high school. They just so oohlalable...