Defining Happy

How does one start to describe the happy emotion he or she feels? I don't know, really, but let me try...

Before 2008 ended, I was a bit hesitant to welcome 2009 for the sole reason that I felt I was having the best year ever - I was scared it would become opposite with the coming of the new year. It was the year I finally married the man I love, went on my dream honeymoon, was recognized and transferred to a new role I enjoy at work, bought our first investment, etc. I thought nothing could top those. Well, until now.

When Jax and I moved in to our own place on that same year, we had to go through a lot of adjustments. Like any newly married couple, we had our share of arguments - some petty, others over something I would cry my eyeballs out, some were even to the point of us questioning ourselves if we did the right thing. It was hard, but we managed to sort it out each and every time. I'm not sure how exactly, but what I do know is that it involved a lot of talking, understanding, forgiving, accepting, loving, and most important of all, praying.

As days and months passed, I noticed our fights became less and less. We have slowly both discovered what makes the other happy, and tried to respect and give each other that, no matter how silly or "unreasonable" it may seem. We were "just getting the hang of it" when "it" happened. Junior happened. We weren't really planning on having a baby just yet (I wanted a second honeymoon on our first wedding anniversary), but the news of an addition to our family of course made us very excited. We learned be "one" in everything we do all the more.

2009 did go by in a breeze. My pregnancy turned out to be, well, "light". Jax and I still had those ups and downs (mostly in our careers and finances) but with prayers and lots of support from family and friends, we survived. It wasn't an easy ride but God made sure we were ok and that everything was taken cared of. Now looking back, it still amazes me how things just fell perfectly into place!

Now going back to my definition of happy. It's quite difficult to put into words. For now, I guess I'd have to say it's when you know in your heart you're exactly where you're supposed to be. It's not smooth sailing nor a bed of roses, it's just that inexplicable feeling that you know you wouldn't trade places with anyone else in this world. :)

Busy-ness!

Ten days before Christmas and I don't know where half of my December went. Let me figure that one out...

Dec 1 & 2 - Peoplesoft Training at the Makati office
Dec 4 - IT Teambuilding in Hotel Dominique, Tagaytay
Dec 10 - Contract signing for our 1st ever investment!
Dec 11 - Office christmas party ala Heroes and Villains
Dec 12 - HR planning w/ regional boss at the Pen
Dec 13 - Baby shower at my parents' house (surprise party c/o my HS friends - thanks, guys!)

Jax and I haven't even gone shopping yet! (I hear oh no's from my inaanaks. Hehe)

Oh well... and there's still Junior to think about. *sigh* can't wait til January!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

Last night, Jax and I were doing some cleaning at our back porch when we felt "it". The wind outside is starting to get chilly and dark falls earlier than usual. We both had to agree. Yup, the holiday season is just around the corner - 25 days to go, to be exact.

This is our second christmas together, and I'm sure we're going to celebrate it very differently from last year. (Well, I think it's really gonna be different every year anyways.) Last year, I remember still being at the mall on christmas eve, making our ONLY christmas shopping session (we're a cramming couple just like that! lol). We had noche buena at my parents' house and left the next morning for Pangasinan where the rest of his family were.

This year though, with me and my huge baby bump, I don't think we could do much. My OB says I could give birth anytime between December 27 to January 1. (Now saying that gives me a rush of emotions - excited, anxious, happy...) Honestly, more than the difficulty sleeping, bending, or doing just about anything, I think what's harder for me is to accept that I really need to slow down. I can't do the things I used to do before! Sigh.

Anyhoooo... enough of that. I'll just think of happy thoughts by making a list of things I would love to get for christmas. Hahahaha!

1. Long quality time with hubby. Our just us days are numbered! Once Junior is out, I'm sure we're gonna be crazy busy taking care of him that we won't have time for ourselves anymore. I'd love a holiday getaway where we could relax, focus on ourselves, and think about plans for our family (a.k.a. psyching ourselves that we're gonna be parents!)
2. Ultra comfy ballet flats. I probably won't be able to wear heels yet until the next three months or so so I need as many of these as possible.
   
3. A chic diaper bag like this or this - for the hot mama (wannabe) like me. Haha! Thanks, Ivy!
   
4. Small purse (preferably one with several slots) that could fit my 2 mobile phones, some cash, and cards. The one I've been using just resigned. :(
   
5. An SLR camera. Since my dad and my bro (I'm the only one in the family without one! Fine, my mom too.. but I'm not expecting much from her since she's still in that stage where she's just getting used to going online. lol) are both using a Nikon, might as well use the same brand so we could trade accessories.
6. Anything baby stuff - diaper cotton stuffers, blankets, towels, frog suits, etc. I don't think we will ever get enough of these!
7. 2010 Starbucks Planner. Fine, this is overrated, but I'm just doing it for tradition's sake since I've had one every year since 2006. I'm not allowed to have coffee though, so I'm just wishing someone else could complete the stickers for me. Any takers? *wink!*
   
8. A really nice baby book - one with a scrapbook-y feel to it where I could really document Junior's firsts. Thanks, Arlene!
   

Of course my ultimate wish is to just have a safe, normal delivery and a healthy baby boy. But then again, the items above wouldn't hurt either. Hehe...

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edit: things I got from my surprise baby shower! ;)

Junior

Has it already been 3 months? Everything seems to be happening in a blur! I'll try to make up for lost (blogging) time by sharing what's up with me lately.

Actually, I think I'm just going to focus on the most recent significant milestone in my our lives - a week before my birthday, Jax and I learned that we're 6 weeks on the way! Yup, it's confirmed. I'm gonna be a mommy sometime in December or January. Isn't that amazing?!? We're hoping it's a boy. In fact, we're temporarily naming him "Junior", as if it has any effect on the baby's gender...

The night we knew we were pregnant. Yep, that's Jax holding the pregnancy test kit - positive! :)

Our first ultrasound. Junior's first pic.

I'd still like to think I'm fortunate my first trimester wasn't as bad as the usual stories I hear from other moms. Well, it was difficult in the sense that I found it so hard to wake up in the morning (can't get up in bed even if I'm already awake!), I was always sleepy (to think I'm not a sleep person), and I couldn't do any chores at home. But apart from those, I was ok - no morning sickness whatsoever, weird cravings, or any of those almost-standard pregnancy traumas. My mom said she didn't experience any of those either when she was pregnant so I'm hoping I'd have the same fate, including having normal delivery.

Now I'm at my 16th week. Except for the dreaded vitamins I have to take daily, (my friends know how much I abhor taking any form of meds), I'm much better. I can do a little bit more now, though still basic, not-much-effort-required stuff. There are still days when I just want to crawl under the sheets and sleep all day but I think that's really more because of the weather (which, by the way, drives me crazy!). My baby bump is more evident now and I'm finding it harder to choose what to wear to the office more and more each day. My very excited mother already gave me a few sets of preggy clothes, including two pairs of maternity pants (both of which probably wouldn't fit me until I'm on my 6th month!) but I still want to shop for more. Baby Center says I should be feeling my baby move anytime soon so that's something I'm very much looking forward to. :)

And how about the father? Ooooh Jax is even more excited than I am! I know he's trying his best to pamper me the best way he knows how. ;)

Me Busy.

For the first time since Jax and I moved to our place, I was so busy at work that I couldn't play the superwifey role. :( This week has been very hectic for me, and so will the next week, the week after next, and the week after that. I doubt I could even file my birthday leave! Oh well.

I'm just thankful that Jax is being supportive. Even if he went on his tampo mode after I got home late several times and too tired to cook for him, he didn't give me the "ice attitude". I guess he knows that I have so much passion for what I do now that he really tries his best to understand. For that, I don't think I could ask for anything more.

One thing I realized though, is that even if we get to see each other at the end of the day and have dinner together, it's still different when we don't get to talk, when I don't get to pamper him, when we don't discuss about what happened to us that day. Like there's no connection. That's why I'm looking forward to our bonding time tomorrow. Ooooh date weekends are the best!

What Made My Day Today

During lunch yesterday, I was telling my good friend Lei about how I realized how tiring being a wifey could be, to which she replied with, "Ang galing mo nga e!"

My usual workday starts at 6am and ends well, about 9pm-ish. When I wake up, I fix breakfast and/or lunch for Jax because he doesn't eat ALL DAY unless there's something to just re-heat in the microwave. At around 7:30am, off I go to work where I have to finish everything in 8 hrs (no overtime pleeeease!). When I get home, I prepare our dinner and cap the day with tidying up the house.

Tiring. Super.

What then, you ask, made my day? I came home with all the dishes I left this morning neatly washed and piled exactly the way I want it - by Jax! Definitely a first.

I couldn't take the smile off my face and rushed to hubby's side to give him a hug. Not only because he made my life easier today but more importantly, I can really feel how much my baby's changed for me... for us. I know he's trying to be the best husband he could possibly be.

Thank you, hubbybabi. Thanks for making me happy more and more each day. :)

Random Lists

Stuff I've always wanted to do recently but never got to (because I'm either too lazy or busy):

1. Re-organize photos and mp3's in Reese, my Zen Vision: M
2. Sort our 3000+ wedding photos to pick only 200 (imagine how hard that is!) so our photographer could start making our coffee table book and video
3. Transfer important files from Yoyo (my old laptop) to my new one (ooh I still have to think of a name for this one! *wink!*)
4. Update all my ID's with my new last name
5. Clean-up my yahoo and gmail inbox
6. Label and organize the condiments area in our kitchen - where I keep all my secret spices (feeling expert! hehe)
7. Try at least one of the home service massages being offered in the weekly brochures we find hanging in our gate
   

Things I think we need for the house (or we could never get enough of) but always forget to buy when we're out shopping (or too cheap to get for ourselves - hehe):

1. Additional electric fan for our "walk-in closet"
2. Glass for our dining table
3. Curtains!!!
4. More pillowcases
5. Home scents - potpourri, sheet sprays, etc.
6. Hangers
   
7. Full-length mirror
8. Adaptor for Reese's speakers
9. More picture frames

Dishes I'd like to try to cook in the coming weeks:

1. Beef steak
2. Carbonara
3. Kare-kare (yep, wish me luck!)
4. Chicken ala Kiev
5. Buffalo wings
   

Sigh. It's going to be an even busier month ahead. I think I'm just gonna be happy to make it through alive. Have a great week, everyone! :)

Cold Summer Nights

It's been raining all week (and I mean ALL WEEK!) and it's starting to make me sad. I like it when it rains, but only when you have the license to crawl under the sheets and sleep all day. Oh well. I guess summer is over (either that or the weather is really getting super weird). I hope plans for La Union next month with the girls is still a go though.

Now let me figure out how we're supposed to dry the clothes from the washing machine..

More Discoveries

Six months into married life and I don't know where to start describing the things I have learned so far (there's so many of them!). From the top of my head:

1. I can now cook. Well, not like a pro, but definitely waaaay past the thank-God-for-microwave-and-food-delivery stage back when I was still single. I am now able to prepare pork sinigang, nilagang baka, pochero, pininyahang baboy, beef guisado, tinolang manok, adobo, and pork steak AND have Jax eat it! (Meaning, it's at least edible! - hahahaha) But seriously, hubby says I'm getting better each time. Yeyyy! ;)
   
2. Keeping your own house is really different - you get more OC. My room at our house used to be messy most of the time but now? Oh no no no kalat please!!! I suddenly developed a neat freak in me! I never thought cleaning the house could take up so much of my weekend time. Everything just has to be in order and spotless - throw pillows, carpets, sink, tables, cabinets, and the list goes on...
   
3. Marriage equals compromise, especially when you have very little common ground. Getting used to always making decisions together when you've always been accustomed to doing things your way may take a while, and that's where meeting half way comes in handy. That goes even with the seemingly unimportant "issues" - like in choosing what to watch on TV, where to spend holidays, how to arrange furniture, etc. You always have to come up with a win-somehow-win situation.
   
4. Nothing beats praying and reading the Bible together. Hearing what is in the hearts of each other creates a wonderful connection between two souls. It's an amazing feeling that God makes us experience - a more "tangible" manifestation of genuine love.
   

I could write more but it would probably take me 20 years or so so this should do for now. I have read this somewhere but I might have rolled my eyes on this but right now this just sums up how I'm feeling:

You know how sometimes you'd rather stay awake than sleep because reality is better than your dreams? That's how I am when I'm with you. Like now.

Aaaaw. I hope superhubby and I stay this way for a really, really, really long time. ;)

The Beginning of Our Ever After

Confession #1: I'm still not over our wedding. How do I know? I still browse through our pictures at least twice a week! Here's a glimpse to our wonderful union last October 16, 2008, held in Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club: (All photos c/o our official photographer, Smart Shot Studio.)

Captured moments during the preps, ceremony, and reception.
Flashback AVP - served as our opening billboard.
Same-day edit, shown during the reception.
Our e-session taken in Subic last June 2008.

We were also featured as one of Lito Genilo's personal favorites in 2008!

Coming up next (hopefully): Our trash the dress session! ;)

My New Baby

It's been exactly 3 months and 22 days since I became Almay Viado-Lacambra. Honestly, it feels longer than that. There are so many changes happening in my life right now, both expected and unexpected, that sometimes it gets so overwhelming. Like I said, each day is an opportunity to discover something new about me and my husband - new quirks, new habits, new expectations... While there's so much to work on, more than anything, I would say we're making the most out of this period in our married life, the "just us" stage.

Why superwifey? One of my very good friends called me this while we were chatting a few days ago. I was complaining telling her how there's so much to do at home and I realized that yeah, I'm a trying hard super-wifey! Hahaha! I'm never the domesticated type so just imagine the major transition I had (am) to go through. The list of things to clean/cook/wash never seems to get short but I'm quite surprised at myself that I'm starting to actually enjoy it. Just last week, AJ and I had this conversation:

Almay: We never got to send out our (wedding) thank you cards, noh?
AJ: Cuz you're too lazy to do those na.
Almay: There's always so much household chores to do kasi.
AJ: I told you. We should get a maid.
Almay: Nah, it's ok. Happy naman akong pagsilbihan ka e.
AJ: Really? (and then he held my hand)

Just like that, and I understood he meant that he appreciates all that I do for him. What better motivation to be the best superwifey there is than to see your hubby happy?

There's just so much more to share about my life as a new spouse, so until I have a real, live, tiny human being crying out to squeeze milk out of my body, this blog is my new baby. ;)