If You Have a Date Then This One Is For You

Welcome to Valentines week my friends! where will you be on the fourteenth? Around this time, everyone is planning to go out and it made me think about those places where lovers normally frequented. While some places are definitely worth the trouble, others, not so much. Let me give you idea where to go and why these places are good or bad.



On the good list: The Rizal Park. Our national hero’s not only been immortalized by a penny but his park now becomes more majestic especially at night when it's glowing in light, it's free, and you don't have to stand in line to be there.



On the bad list: The Quezon City Circle. Okay, what is this thing supposed to be? How does a really tall, skinny, 3-vertical structure honoring Manuel Quezon? Did anyone ask him about this design? Maybe he would have liked a nice statue with him on the horse instead. And am I the only one who looks at this structure and wants to play an areal game of ring toss? On the plus side, it makes a good place for flying characters to zoom around as they try to evade each other.



On the good list: The Manila Ocean Park. You get to learn interesting stuff, covet precious gems, see frightening looking fish that lurk in the dark parts of the ocean--something for everyone. Plus, again it's a good place to set a scene for underwater wedding proposal, with large stingray looming above you.



On the creepy list: Any museum that has mummies. I mean, there's something unsettling about seeing shriveled dead people from thousands of years ago laid out in front of you like they were treasures. Inside an open casket or an open jar, or standing with pieces of bones chained inside a see-through box like the one in National Museum. If I ever inherit an antiquity, the last thing I want is a mummy. Shriveled dead people don't go with most people's home decor and there are just so many things you can prop up in your living room. A nice vase, I would take.



On the good list: Break water at the back of The Mall of Asia. Open seas are beautiful, peaceful, and make for good background for Prenup video. Nothing is more relaxing than enjoying the waves especially if you taught of seeing them aboard a rented yacht.



On the bad list: The Mall of Asia. What do you have if you combined the SM Mega Mall concept with Greenbelt's upscale ambiance plus the crowd at Divisoria? This place. It housed at least 200,000 people at peak hours. This huge crowd and the main entrances and pedestrian/ cat walks are really far from the nearest van and bus terminals. That many people could have been there but the reports may have forgotten to account that about 100,000 of those people were lost in MOA’s overpopulated complex and just wound up there and barely get out there alive.



On the good and the bad list simultaneously: Makati Shopping District. The travel magazine says that 15 million people visit a year, and I believe them as there were at least that many people standing in line in front of me when I pay at the Cashier. I love the new Glorietta, their new boutiques, the interior decorations, and the outdoor landscape in Greenbelt--I mean, if they aren’t awesome, I don’t know what to call them.

But sorry Mr Ayala and Mr Sy,your malls are as jampacked as MOA when there is a holiday. You may end up at food court if you want a quick lunch or dinner. However, there are also a lot of buffet restaurants you can wait for if you have the time. I might ask Hubs to bring me to Yakimix if we have the chance, Valentine’s day or not.

Well, I could go on but I still have a lot of things on my plate right now. I hope you all have the loveliest V-day on Thursday!

Would You Ever Fall For....Disc Jockeys?

Would you ever fall for someone you have not seen but only heard? Did you ever try putting a face to the voice? Today, DJs play a more visible role in mass media thanks to live video streaming and commercial endorsements. But growing up, I can only imagine how they look in real life. I remember listening to AM radio where early news and dramas are main staple. And if ever you’re my age and are also fond of listening to FM band, you will know this Mellow Touch line…

You are the minstrel, I'm your guitar I'll play your music straight to your heart Each day (blah.. blah..) You are the minstrel, I'm your guitar The mellow sound of W double L...

Just merely singing it come waves of rushing memories. Songs touched me in a natural way. They speak my heart. Sometimes we think nobody can ever relate to us and so we find ourselves in a rut. We trick ourselves into believing that we are -- without a doubt -- the only people on the planet who have ever felt the way we feel or have experienced what we have. But songs are such powerful tool to describe how really does one feel.

And these days where radios are not only about songs but life seen as a whole. And listening no longer one way but interactive, a lot more fun and alive than it was during my time, I can’t help but be smitten by how these Disc Jockeys touch the lives of their distraught callers. They may sound trivial, and funny but if you dig ever so slightly beneath the surface, reality takes place.

Here’s what they said.

Joe D’ Mango, Love Notes, DZMM

True love only comes once in a lifetime, so take it as it comes along and enjoy every bit of it while it is still burning strong

Papa Jack, 90.7 Love Radio

We all wanted to be superman only to venture out in life looking for our very own kryptonite.

Bro Jun Banaag, Dr.Love , DZMM

To let go of someone doesn't mean that you have to stop loving. it only means that you allow that person to find his own happiness without expecting him to come back.

Chico and Delamar, The Morning Rush, RX 93.1 Smile! You don’t own all the problems in the world. Some of them are mine.

Papa Bear, Barangay LS FM, LS 97.1

Life is definitely a roller coaster, it's only when you begin to appreciate the ups and the downs that the ride becomes more fulfilling.

What do you think, friends?

Affectionate

Have you ever wanted to just tell someone everything you're feeling, but for some reason you know that you can't? May be because it’s weird? awkward? that your admission could potentially mess everything up? Well, how about boxing your thoughts in a sticker like these:



This post is brought to you by Weekword, and our word for today is AFFECTIONATE. For those of you who haven’t played before and like to know the basic rules, here goes: You have to share in any creative outlet you would like-painting, writing, poetry, lyrics, music, photos, collage, mixed media, drawing, verse, dialogue, videos, anything really-your interpretation of that week’s word on your blog.

Also, please visit my blog friend, Genskie of Genskie's Written Voices for the list of bloggers who joined Week word.

See, it's as simple as that. What do you think? Would anyone like to join?

Nine Years Later

Hubs is definitely nicer than I am. Here’s why…

Next Thursday will be our 9th anniversary. Nine Years!!! It feels longer, both in good and bad ways. He still snores like a rocket about to launch, you know. But through it all, so much have happened since my last anniversary post here.

Over these years, I’ve learned a few things about marriage (and of course, am still learning). Be the front and center to your children. Say thank you. You’re allowed to get mad. Kiss each other goodbye.

But Hubs, who is actually a year younger but a lot wiser, does something really great. Coming out of nowhere, he texts, tells other people, says in my face in front of children, that he is lucky to have found me. Cheez. He does that even seconds after a verbal fight.

I usually shrug it off, thinking “hmm..bola!”. But deeper, I know he means it. And he wants me to hear it.
Not exactly, but in similar matter, I read an article about a husband who also does something great. In height of an argument, he says, "I love you!" right in the middle. It's amazing.



Here's what the husband said: "The secret to a long and happy marriage is not the idea that nothing bad is ever going to happen. But it's that when something bad happens, you know how to get through it together. One of the most important things is that when you're having a fight, instead of ratcheting up the emotion, you diffuse it. In the middle of a fight, say, "I love you; you're the most important person in the world to me," even if at that moment, those words are the hardest ones to choke out because you're so mad. It reminds you both of the big picture. It doesn't make it instantly better, but it takes it down a notch. And in the cool-down period afterward, you're not left questioning. You know everything is going to be ok. Half an hour after the fight, it's over and you feel good."

Great idea, right? I cannot tell you what a difference it makes. I'm still too hotheaded to do it myself, but I'm glad Hubs is nicer, better, sweeter person than I am.

What little secrets and tips do you have for relationships? Do you fight fair? I'd love to hear...

{Photo via LeLove}

The New Math of Relationships

Ever wonder why we can't easily get to the bottom of life's happiness, success and all that abstract ideas until now? Only if there's a way to take all the complexities and confusions out of relationships and break everything from arguments to honeymoons and down into simple, mathematical equations-you know- a way to "quantify the world", we will all come up to something like these:



{Source via morenewmath}

Choosing Your Battles

Dear Hubs,

Your love completes me. When you are gone, I am not whole. You are the wind beneath my wings. Ok, so you know the other day when I took your money from your wallet, I know you understand it . And being the awesome husband you are, you told me what’s yours is mine too, right dear?

Well, I just wanted to say thank you and I love you.

Thank you and I love you.

Um, but there's something else.

I also took your one thousand pesos tucked so neatly inside the hidden pocket of your wallet (why the hiding, dear?). We’ll its not really stealing but you see, the kids are so choosy these days. They want lunch money aside from the cookies, biscuits, sandwhich we give them. And I also need a new pair of shoes.

Ok, so I took the money and then I bought new shoes with it.

But before you get mad that your own wife, your soul mate, the love of your life, stole what could very be the last money you had, please remember how willingly I shared my life with you. Or at least the two kids I delivered with C-cuts to make you happy. Ok, that's all.

I love you, and I'm sorry I stole from you. I'd like to say that I won't do it again, but...I'm trying to turn over a new "honesty is the best policy" leaf, so....

Yeah.

Love,

Your doting, awesome wife

Love Is A Decision

(If you have read a Francis Kong book, chances are you will never leave the book without finishing it. He is one of the brilliant writers we have today. He is funny and smart and writes like the kind that'll make you feel he is talking right in your face. This is one example. And I thought of sharing this one to all married women like me. Taken from his blog FrancisKong.com.)

Ever heard of the Seven Ages of the Married Cold?

Here’s how it operates:

During the 1st year of marriage, everything was still so hot and romantic–The husband says, “Oh, sweetie pie, I’m really worried about those nasty sniffles you have! There’s no telling what that could turn into with all the germs that’s been going around.

2nd year–”Listen, honey, I don’t like the sound of that cough. I called the doc and he’s going to stop by here and take a look at you. Why don’t you just go on to bed and get the rest you need?”

3rd year–”Maybe you better go lie down, darling. When you feel lousy you need the rest. I’ll bring you something–do we have any canned soup around here?”

4th year–”No sense wearing yourself out when you’re under the weather. When you finish those dishes and the kids’ baths and get them to bed, you ought to go to bed yourself!”

5th year–”Why don’t you take a couple aspirin?”

6th year–”You oughta go gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking like a dog!”

7th year–”For Pete’s sake, stop sneezing. Are you trying to give me pneumonia? You’d better pick up some tissues while you’re at the store.”

If your marriage relationship doesn’t have a destination, how will you know when you arrive? And why wait for love to materialize out of stardust, when you could choose excitement and romance – now?

The secret formula:

1. Making your spouse feel truly honored 2. Learning the art of touching – tenderly 3. Keeping courtship alive in your marriage 4. Re-opening a heart closed by anger 5. Building – or rebuilding – trust in a relationship 6. Becoming best friends with your family

Love is not an emotion, love is not a feeling, love is not happen-stance. Love is a Decision. Love is waking up every day committed to honoring your mate. If you want to have a great relationship, guess what, it’s up to you.

They say that marriages are made in heaven, but God leaves the maintenance to men.

(...oh how I wish I can live up to what I said here..)

{Repost from Francis Kong.Com}

My, What An Engagement!

We are now only few days away from June, people's most wanted month for weddings, and as they becoming popular now, these save-the-dates invites are in. Apparently, this California pair has thought that run along this line: the couple that slays together, stays together..

Really, the marauding zombie in these amazing engagement photos was utterly funny!

What Is In Your Relationship Agreement?

It got me thinking: would that really translate to real life? Could you really take something so intangible like love and put neat little parameters around it? Nothing sort of Prenup,you know, that legal agreement entered into before marriage but more like some relationship do’s and don’ts. Although this would somehow take some degree of spontaneity and naturalness away from the couple but writing down expectations can be cute in a way. For some people.

But not knowing better, Albert Einstein made one too. He wrote it when his marriage about to end and realizing there was no hope for their relationship on a romantic level, he proposed that they remain together based on the following conditions. To his wife he said:

A. You will make sure that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order; that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room; that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only. B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, You will forego my sitting at home with you; my going out or travelling with you. C.You will obey the following points in your relations with me you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way; you will stop talking to me if I request it; you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it. D. You will undertake not to belittle me in front of our children, either through words or behavior.

Apparently, they still divorced in 1919. Einstein isn’t genius at all when it comes to love situations.

So tell me, friends, do you think a Relationship Agreement is unrealistic in real life? Would it even work? What sorts of things would you include in your list? Do you think men and women would put different things at the top of their lists?

This Kind of Hug

Embrace. Cuddle. The kind of hug where you just want him to be all over you. Embracing everything a woman should feel with a man of her love. May be a kiss on the forehead, or fingers intertwined or his chest to your back, but the real magic lies in his clutching arms that say “you are mine”. The feeling so raw, all pure bliss and joy. You could almost feel and smell the love. Suddenly, you just want the time to stop.

'Darling after all, I will be the one to hold you in my arms'- Al Jarreau

Still On Making Leap Year Your Love Year

As we now know that there are more than meets the eye. You can be still be admirable sans expensive clothes, sexy even without coiling lock of your hair in front of him, or look drop-dead gorgeous without make up on. Of course, we can all do and have that but innately lies our most lethal weapon in sacking Mr. Right.

Here’s the list:

A Smile
You can't ever go wrong by smiling. I mean, if you are missing a lot of teeth or you drool when you smile, or your spit collects on each corners of your lips, (or some other random condition), then guys might back away from you. But a smile is always attractive, no matter what the circumstances. Your lips can be your most romantic asset. A flood of unbelievable emotion can come crashing down on you just from a simple curl of the lip.

Eyes
Eyes are related to smiles in the sense that when you smile (for real) your eyes can light up. Bright eyes (again, barring random disfiguration of the eyeballs) are quite attractive. Plus, I don't think anyone has ever had a problem with you checking out their eyeballs. It is said that when a man is looking at a woman he is interested in his pupils dilate. This is perhaps the hardest sign to catch. But you will never hear anyone saying, "quit undressing my eyes with your eyes!" It's silly. So? squint those eyes, honey.

Attitude
A confident attitude (not stuck-up, vain, or pompous, mind you) is always attractive. If eyes are window to the soul and smile is an action of love, attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. Melissa, a prolific US writer, born with Freeman-Shledon Syndrome, author of So About What You Said, tags, "smart is the new sexy, awkward is the new cool and flawed is the new beautiful. What an attitude!

Plays Nice With Others
I think women who are kind are hot. This secret quality goes a long way in my book, and not only does it add to your attractiveness level, but it immediately gives you "possible keeper" status. I mean, who wants to be with a jerk? If you don’t have schemes and is open and not delusional about relationships, you can never go wrong. And you don’t hurt yourself a lot either. Even the Backstreet Boys may not like the idea of you playing games with their hearts, you know.



Actually, there are really no magical solutions to lacking or losing a partner. I mean, you can’t win love by just winking eyes or pouting lips. There are no sure-fire tricks because there are really no perfect love stories in the first place. If you break your heart again and again that’s because you took the risk. I know it’s hard to always go back re-learning how not-in-control you are when it comes to love situations. But even without the promise of forever, it’s God’s way of telling that in love, you only hope, you only trust.

Do You Have Leap Year Superstitions?

You all have heard that expression right?

You know that extra day of the shortest month of the year where all false notions, myths and customs come out with it. But really, where does leap year come from? Science explains this so as not to complicate things. You see the earth revolves around the sun not exactly 365 days, because in reality it takes closer to 365-1/4 days to make its trip around the big ball of fire. So instead of adjusting it by that quarter of a day per year, they decided to take that extra quarter day and store it in a big vault somewhere in the Sahara dessert and let it out only once every four years. So literally, we leap one extra day every four years so we will not have winter in July in around 10,000 years or so. But people, wanting to add more strangeness of this day, think up


These superstitions and fun facts about Leap Year and February 29th:

Leap Year Babies
Don’t lose heart, leaplings, if you will not have your birthday party every year. Be positive. Aren’t you lucky you get to age only every four years than the rest of us “normal” do? While I’m nearing 4-0, my leap year counterpart is only 10 years old. But the downside to being born on a leap year is that I hear they all die at a much younger age than the rest of us. And of course, you don't want to be living in Scotland because you will be shunned as being bad luck! Strange!

Leap Year Romances
Well it’s the girls chance to ask her crush out on a date. Well, rumor has it that on February 29th it is perfectly acceptable and even expected that the lady can ask the gentleman for his hand in marriage instead. This is also the perfect time to elope. How romantic!

But what if he said no to your proposal? Take heart, ladies, legend says that it is bad for the guy to let down proposal on this date. If a man refuses your marriage proposal, he will suffer a terrible fate or have bad luck! So if you want to snag yourself a superstitious fellow, you can skip false pregnancies or buying him with gifts and promises of dowries, and simply ask him to marry you.

Leap Year Weddings
On the other hand, you may not have your wedding happen this year. That is if you’re a Greek. It is not okay to actually get married in the year a February 29th occurs. Even to this day, many Greek couples will not plan a wedding during a leap year, for fear of jinxing the marriage. This and other millions of reason why marriage fails, of course.

Leap Year Anniversaries
But for the non-Greeks who were successful in leashing their soulmates on a leap year, your lucky spouse don’t have to remember your anniversary every single year. They don’t have to buy you classy gift and treat you to expensive restaurant each year. And by any chance, you can almost bypass that seven year itch completely. How fortunate!

So things aren't really so bad, as much as there are also good things that happen on this strange day. Leap year or not, it is an extra days and not a day missing, and God gives us another 24 hours to enjoy life. Use this day to do something daring, extraordinary and unlike yourself.

So what do you think?

What I Almost Forgot

It was this last Valentine that my husband took me out to dinner. The first time after seven years. When we were still single, we were inseparable. We will hang out in some place else after work. No special occasions that we were not together. But things changed when we got married, especially when the children arrived.
End of the two of us. It is always been four of us since then.

I cannot account if it’s because of the budget, time or who’s- going-to-be-with them if we will have our “us” time. So seven years went by and I hardly remember how to feel smitten, infatuated, love-struck by my ex-boyfriend. Ex because he is already my husband.

But that night, we went for it. Alone. No kids. Just the two of us. But believe me; the feeling was kind of strange. Several times I asked him if we can fetch and take the kids with us. He thought for awhile and said okay. But later on we’ve decided that it was our night, our date.

So there we were, at Food Choice in Glorietta Mall in Makati, surrounded by heaps of pasta. From carbonara, to pesto, to something like sweetened flat spaghetti. They go with two pieces of chicken, one with corn sauce and another with what looked like a hickory sauce. It was no candle-lit dinner but the pleasure of being with your faithful and loving husband made it all the more fun and exciting. And oh, did I ever mention that he gave me 3 roses with 2 Cadbury bars? Although our conversation was not as romantic as before, we talked for three good hours.

Because of some faulty thinking, I thought parents don’t have any right to enjoy life and have fun. Now I know better. A day will come when our kids will grow up and leave us. And one day, we will be left alone in an empty, quiet house. Now that we haven’t lost the interest, the fun, the love of spending time together yet, I promised to take care of not losing it. For I don’t want to be left with a cold, distant, bitter husband later on.

So husbands and wives? Your relationship needs time.
Either you pay now or pay later.
When you pay later, it always costs more.
I suggest you pay now.

Heart Matters

Have you ever prepared for a birthday party before?
It’s always hard work.

But who said love isn’t hard work? As I am aware, love is about dirty hands, not just beating hearts.

Relationship is like a birthday party. You prepare, plan and pray that everything will go smoothly. But the thing is, there is no relationship that did not meet hardships and difficulties. Something will always come up to ruin it. Boredom, money, indifferences, lack of time, etc. Banished the idea that you two are exact pieces of a puzzle. A peg in a hole. Remember that you were different individuals until you decided to marry. So like a party, there is a constant threat of broken dishes, spoiled desserts, dull and boring moments.

Five husbands?! Remember the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman? When Jesus met her at the well, she was told to go home and get her husband. But the Samaritan replied, I have no husband. And the Lord said, yes you are right. You have no husband, because the man you’re living with right now is not your husband. And you have had five husbands already.

How sad to get through five heartaches, how depressing to be left alone not once or twice but five times! I remember my most hurtful break up with a man. I was literally shedding bucket full of tears. Every single night. It was so painful I thought I was going to die. Talk about hitting rock bottom. And like me, she must really have felt ugly, unattractive, fat and totally replaceable,five times over! But I knew that God has other plans for me. He let me hit rock bottom to find my way to true love.

For the long and short of it, nothing guarantees a perfect relationship. And no book can ever prepare you to achieve it. It’s a journey and test in itself. You have to put in all the hard work, without expecting any return. And like throwing parties, taking care of relationships can be hard and very frustrating.

If you’re reading this, wondering if it’s really worth starting, keeping, saving the kind of relationship you have right now, let tell you: you life, your feelings, your desire are God’s business too. He loves you more than you can imagine.

Receive His love today.
And learn to throw more parties in your life.
Your relationships need them badly.

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman. (NLT)