My Journal

I thought I’d write something about this special day that is being celebrated by lovers who are conscious of this event.  Apart from the profits made by the commercial world, I believe this day signifies romance.  Many people after being in a long term relationship can become complacent and take those spicy moments for granted. If one is in a committed relationship, there should also be a commitment to revive the romance because this will ensure that there is always that sparkle in the eye, and you will always remind yourself that these are the things that made you fall for each other anyway. 

My husband has never been a showy person and I don’t blame him due to his upbringing.  But there are things he does that makes me all gooey and doughie eyed. Like this morning, he woke up before me (usually I get up before him because I have to make breakfast and lunch for our homestay students), ran outside the bedroom and excitingly returned to bed with a gigantic poster size Valentine’s day card that had these tiny, minimal words about love. We couldn’t stop laughing together.  Then he made sure I didn’t have to make breakfast this morning.  Instead, he cooked my favourite longganisa and rice.  Those little gestures really made me smile.  Being romantic doesn’t equate to candle lit dinners, a dozen red roses,  or expensive jewellery.  As the saying goes: The simple things in life are often the best.

Every morning on the way to work, as we listen to the radio (B105), there’s a contest, which culminated today being Valentine’s Day, on “Who is the most unromantic guy in Brisbane”. Ladies get to nominate their blokes and the winning couple gets to be whisked away on a paid for romantic getaway in NZ.  Every morning that this comes up, I tell my hubby that I should nominate him.  I wonder if he gets offended by this.  All this was erased in my mind when he did what he did this morning.  It’s those simple gestures that makes me feel elated about him.  However, to top it all off, he said that he doesn’t have to give me a card in the next 12 years because I can just cut up the gigantic card he gave me this morning.  That made me crack up even more and thus, now I know for me, he is not only the most romantic man but the most adorable funny man in the world.

To all the lovers who’s hearts are throbbing hard..HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

I had quite an educational experience last Friday being my first visit to a chiropractor. I must admit I have been feeling some pain in my right hip for the last couple of months. There are times that I scream in pain at a turn in a position in bed or when lunging to a standing position from my seat in the office or in the lounge. I always thought it was just my hip expanding and adjusting, giving way to the baby’s growth and eventually childbirth. Boy, was I wrong?!

On Friday, after feeling a lot of swelling and pain for half the day, I decided to ring around for an appointment with a chiropractor around my area.  After the 5^th phone number – bingo – I was given an appointment within one hour at First Choice Chiropractor.  Dr Kent, the chiropractor who saw me was very friendly, talkative and interactive. Normally, they would have their patients undergo the Xray to check the condition of the spine but because I’m pregnant this was not advisable.  I was instead put through some nerve impulse scan which determines the nervous stress surrounding my spine. I thought I wouldn’t have much problem except for the hip area where I’ve been feeling a lot of pain because I always thought I’ve always been conscious of my posture whether I’m standing, sitting or lying. My scan read that I had 4 severe stresses along my spine - just above my neck, shoulder blade, mid-back and hips/pelvic area. What this means as explained by Dr K is that each spinal disc has a nerve. When the disc misaligns from the spine, called subluxation, the nerve affiliated with that disc gets stressed which gives off very high nervous impulses. The stress gets delivered to the organ or part of the body which that particular nerve connects to, thus, causing some discomfort and/or pain in that area. Now I don’t wonder why sometimes I have migraines, shoulder stiffness, diarrhoea, gastro, heartburn and period pains (back during my non-pregnant days) – it was because these are the body parts affected by my stressed nerve due to the misalignment of the spine. Another big thing was that when I bent forward, Dr K noticed that my left hip joint moved correctly where as my right hip joint was locked in movement with my spine which causes the sometimes excruciating pain because it was pinching the nerve. After this diagnosis, Dr K gave my first spinal adjustment. I heard 5 wonderful loud, cracks which gave immediate relief from my head to my feet. Oh what a feeling?! After that he advised me to go for a 6 week chiropractic care, 2x a week to ensure that my adjustments will work and my spine will go into its proper place to express the natural healing power of my spine and the body itself.  He warned me that my first adjustment is not the permanent cure to my woes. Because my brain and body has been accustomed to the ‘subluxed’ spine, my brain will want to go back to it from the proper position that the adjustment has caused. That’s why constant chiropractic care of adjustments will be necessary for my body and brain to accept what’s correct. After a few days of having had the adjustments, I can sleep better, I don’t have anymore headaches, and I have no more heartburns or gastro problems. More work has to be done on my hips though. I guess I just have to be a good girl and follow through my adjustments so I can enjoy the full benefits of having a perfect spine – if there’s such a thing. I strongly recommend to others to have their spine checked with a chiropractor. It’s educational, drug-free and releases the innate healing power of your body through understanding and correcting your spine (which is one of the first crucial body parts that develops as a human being). You never know what you will discover and what relief you may experience. After all, your health is your wealth.

2005 has been a blast for me!  These are my life’s major events and reflections on the year that was:

Relationships galore!

After a long distance preparation of our Catholic wedding/renewal of vows, we finally made it down the very long aisle of Basilica Immaculada Concepcion (Manila Cathedral) on a sunny Tuesday, 25 January 2005, followed by a joyous banquet at Wack Wack Golf & Country Club.  That day marked another beginning in our relationship as I treasure the blessings we received from the Holy Church.  I felt that in 2005 our marriage was truly strengthened, deepened and enriched.  Four couples who are all my friends have also tied the knot this year.  I wish them all the best!

Career

After some discernment on where I wanted to take my career, I finally decided to take the plunge and go for my 2^nd attack of job application and interviews after 7 years. In no time at all, I was successful in gaining a position which is where I really wanted to be career-wise.  I now work with great and fun colleagues who are professional and fun at the same time. 

Baby boom!

Alas! God gave us a miracle.  This year my husband and I fell pregnant and currently expecting the birth of our first-born on May 2006.  Nothing compares to the feeling of carrying another life in your body.  What’s more is that our marriage as husband and wife and future parents have given us a bond so strong, so fortified and so loving.  It’s in this I can conclude that a truly loving relationship is elevated when it bears fruit.  We are so looking forward to parenthood – the joys and pains it will bring.  Many of my friends fell pregnant this year as well.

Friendships

As they say friends come and go. It was in this year that I realised who my true friends are.  Friendships are also like loving relationships in which you want what’s best for the one you love.  From turns of events in my life throughout 2005, I have been able to pick who are those people whom I truly love and without a requited demeanour, those who love me and my family as well.   

Faith

It is in this year that I have gained deeper understanding of my faith. It sounds ironic doesn’t it because faith is a belief of what’s unknown yet I was able to understand it?  It was in this year that I was able to do a lot of self-study and research about my faith as a Catholic Christian.  I was able to learn about other faiths as well especially other Christian denominations.  This I believe, has strengthened my faith in the Church, especially that of the Catholic church.

I believe that all things happen for a reason and we also have the gift of free will.  Whatever happens in our life, whether good or bad, it is because God wants for us to learn and to reflect on these based on the results of our actions.  I believe that God is good and all He wants for us is to experience this goodness.  Yet we ourselves sometimes turn away from this goodness because of our own human weakness.  This is a whole new topic which I will discuss in my other blogs.  Ever since I found out I was becoming a mother, my devotion to our Holy Mother Mary has also been more profound.  My grandmother once told me that I have to believe as if the baby inside me is the same Jesus that Mary carried in her womb.  Thus, she said to reflect on the mysteries of the rosary.  If there’s any correlation, she ended up having 8 obedient children (including my father) who are all doing very well for themselves, have great careers, close-knit families and well-ingrained values.  Now that I’m spending more time on His word and on the words of the rosary, I believe that there is so much more to be done in order to truly fathom the wonders of the mystery of our Christian faith – again another topic of discussion. 

Overall, 2005 has been a truly blessed year with heaps of eye-opening experiences which has made me a better person. I thank our Lord for allowing me to lead a borrowed life and that I am able to share His blessings with others.  I’m already thankful for the blessings that He has prepared for me in 2006.  May God be praised always!

I got married again to the same man in a Catholic ceremony (first one was a Baptist garden ceremony which was as equally significant). I would get married again anytime to the same man.It feels good to be a queen and feel special on that big day. I have found true love through God’s unconditional love. It’s through His undying mercy and bountiful grace that I love waking up each morning to see what I can do to offer all the things He’s bestowed me back to Him, our Creator. I have also found true love in my husband who’s taught me to be patient and humble. Because of Him I’ve become closer to God by becoming more prayerful. Can’t wait to have our little angels in the very near future, if God wills, so we can teach them how to sing & dance, and most importantly to immerse them in Christian values as they grow. On the lighter side, I love to dance. I’ve recently taken up belly dancing which is so much fun! I also like to sing especially those of Regine Velasquez, Sarah Geronimo, The Carpenters, Barbara Streisand and Sharon Cuneta’s tunes.I love holding little dinner parties for special friends and whipping up my delectable dishes and desserts. I love to be surrounded by positive people. I’ve recently been given the opportunity to help the poor through the Gawad Kalinga project being assigned the Program coordinator for the Charity Queen quest. My motto for each day is "Seize the day!"

I AM THANKFUL FOR…

-God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for empowering me, forever merciful, for being faithful in me, giving me hope and unconditionally loving me.
-Winniefredo Arevalo Morante and Loida Lapuz Morante (my parents) for being instrumental in giving me my breathing moments and for absolutely EVERYTHING you’ve done for me and Kevin.
-Kevin Aberion Moreno, my husband for accepting me for who I am and for promising to be with me and take care of me until the end of our days.
-Dennis Emmanuel, Derick John, Daryl Willem and Dean Vincent (younger brothers), for showing your obedience, always supporting me in whatever I do and for being handsome. I’m so proud of you.
-Orlando & Winniefred Ferrer and Jose and Emma Casado, for sharing with us your resources and wisdom as generous and loving couples.
-My cousins, Ghia Marie Morante and Antonina Padua, for always being there whenever I need you even we’re thousands of miles apart from each other.
-Singles For Christ community for being non-judgmental which paved the path for my spiritual enlightenment. I don’t know how I would have inculcated the strength within me without the guidance of this group.
-My friends. I don’t have any best friends but I’ve been blessed with so many girlfriends who have been there enduring with me the critical moments of my life and sharing the joys and milestones I have achieved.
-For my job, for allowing me to help others financially and allowing me to discover that there is a heart in being an accountant.
-Emails for providing me with an expanding network of friends, keeping in touch with those from afar and amusing me during those boring office hours.
-Friendster for touching base with my long lost friends, relatives and gaining new ones.

There’s so many more I am thankful for but I can guarantee with the list above, I wouldn’t be the person I am.
May God always bless those people and things I am thankful for..

In the last month, I have attended 2 weddings of a couple who were both from SFC. Faye & Derick got married last 24 June and Christine & JP last 9 July. Both couples met at SFC and their relationship from courtship to engagement were witnessed by the SFC community. It really is true that even though you’re 2 different people, you can grow together because that’s what true love does. It moulds you into one because inevitably you’ll be blessed as a union upon the proclamation of your marriage vows. Attending and participating in these weddings, I cannot help but compare it also to my wedding. Essentially, what I found is people are different and they value different things. Couples want their wedding to be as unique from everyone else’s to suit their identity and personality. I guess this is what makes you consider your wedding most special. I will share with you what remained in my heart and mind with the 2 weddings I attended.
Faye & Derick (24 June)
It was an intimate wedding. Most of the guests were close friends of the couple and in one way or another was a participant in the wedding. When the bride said her speech, what struck me was that the celebration of their wedding was a celebration of love. Love, not only by the couple but also love shown by the guests who shared their talent, time and effort to be a part of the memorable event. Being the reception MC and in the ceremony’s choir, it’s true that you remember the event more. Also the father of the bride said to always remember the Corinthians passage about love. If you want a strong loving relationship replace the love with your name (ie. Love is patient to Dixie is patient, Dixie is kind, Dixie does not boast, etc).
JP & Christine (9 July)
I don’t know how to describe this wedding in one word. I felt many emotions attending this affair. I felt anxious, excitement, joy and reflection.
Anxious because when I woke up that morning I did not have any outfit for the wedding. So Kevin & I went shopping. By the time we got home, we had to rehearse our songs (From this moment & The Prayer) for the reception but the back up CD for the former song that the groom gave us did not have anything on it. My hubby wanted to put his song "the prayer" 2 semi-tones down so he could deliver it well. So he aggressively called my brother and anyone he knew who could do it. Because of this we were running late. Thus, my anxiety. During reception,the bride said something like this: I will only be a good mother and a wife because my mother was a good mother and wife. This touched her parents and finally showed their emotion. Being an only daughter it must have been so hard for them to let go of a child they nurtured for more than 2 decades. I can relate to that!
On the last note, I just want to share with you that since I got married as well, I realised the value of my parents in my life. I was always one who was (and still is) headstrong, sometimes disobedient to my parents in my younger days. Little did I know that what I rebelled against was that they only wanted what’s best for me. I guess when you are anticipating to have your own child, it will be the same. Also, your relationship with your parents will always be unconditional. Sometimes in a romantic relationship, it’s so hard not to set conditions just because life will seem unfair if things don’t go YOUR way. But slowly, I’m learning to exercise unconditional love towards my husband. First learning to forgive is the key to a harmonious marriage. When you start living together, everything comes out so always be ready to accept the flaws and shortcomings of your better (sometimes bitter) half! It’s only in this that you will grow to maturity and become a better person each day. Because each day, you become more patient, more tolerant, more respectful, more accepting, etc.

Well, how do I start this blog thingimijig?

I’m quite a talkative person. Some people have called me transparent just because I speak my mind. I guess most of the female species is like that right? Whenever I get the chance to sit down with my girlfriends over coffee, my Mum and any woman close to me, I just can’t stop yacking. Sometimes I even get to have a good chat with a total stranger. However, after having been married, I’ve learned to tone down on it but it’s darn hard! With God’s grace and lots and lots of fervent prayers and reading on what the Bible says about this, I’m learning and I will probably still continue on learning. That is why this blogsite will be a good thing for me to start my own journal so I can throw, thrash, thread my feelings, opinions, thoughts, ideas, and happenings as days go by.

Whoever gets to read this, you’re more than willing to comment, share and advise me if need be.

TGIF and the WEEKEND YEY!

Today it’s Friday and our Papang’s bday celebration(Kevin’s foster father in Australia, Mr Orly Ferrer). We will be having a little dinner party at Stretton tonight and after that go home to watch our TFC and probably rehearse our duet for the wedding of our friends, JP & Christine tomorrow. It’s to the song “From this moment”. Its lyrics, I find, affirms the marriage vows of a couple on a romantic level.
Anyway, I’m excited to go to this wedding because after 5-6 years of courtship and going steady they’re finally tying the knot. When I first found out they were an item, I never really thought they were compatible because they were just 2 totally different people. However, as time went by and you get accustomed to their being with each other, you learn to know that they will be one. I guess that happens to many starting couples who end up marrying each other. This brings me to the point that God really does give you someone whom you can learn from. Otherwise, life won’t be that interesting nor challenging.

Got plenty more to write down but gotta get back to work!
Have a good weekend all.
God loves you.