Tender Musings

She's from New Zealand and I'm from the Philippines. We would have never met under normal circumstances, but life has its way of putting people together at the right place at the right time. It was Spring 2008, our first semester in Hawaii. As international students and recipients of the university's scholarship program, we were required to live in the dormitories. The living arrangement shouldn't have been a problem, but because we arrived a few days earlier than expected, we found ourselves living in the piano lounge at the start of the new semester. Maybe it was destiny or perhaps just a coincidence, but meeting Lena in that unfavorable situation 11 years ago was a blessing in disguise. She has become one of my valued friends and has taught me one of the greatest lessons about friendship and sacrifice. Lena and I became inseparable after our piano lounge confinement. We were basically each other's emotional support when school felt like it was too much to han

My two-year-old has an email account. Gian and I created it before she was born. We got the idea from another mom who has done the same thing for her two kids. We thought it was a great way to store memories of Rei's milestones and experiences growing up, and it's a lot more convenient than writing things down on paper. We include pictures and videos whenever possible, but most of the time, we write her stories. Writing to our daughter helps me cherish the moments I have with her. It also allows me to share my innermost thoughts and feelings. I've sent her a lot of emails in the past two years, but my favorite ones are those that her father had sent. One email he sent was when she was only four months old. It had a picture of me sitting on our bed with our daughter in my arms. We were both asleep. He had taken the picture after he found us in our room when he came home from work that day. His email was really simple, and it didn't have an elaborate explanation of wh

Even as a stay-at-home mom I find myself always needing more time. There's so many things to do and it seems like the day isn't long enough to get everything done. There's no end to cleaning up, cooking, washing the dishes, or doing the laundry. The list of chores goes on forever. Rei sometimes have to tug on my shirt or hug my legs just to get my attention as I busily prepare food or fold our clothes. I know when she's bored and needs my attention, so I try my best to get away from all the chores and spend time with her - and sometimes, walk to the nearby store to get some ice cream. Being with her is, after all, the reason why I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. So even though the floor desperately needs to be mopped, I put some clean clothes on and we go "out out." As we walk along our busy street, my daughter never fails to point out all the stray and domesticated animals we see. "Hi doggy!" She would loudly exclaim as she happily waves to

Gian and I had our first conversation through text. A friend he had met on his mission, who was attending my ward, gave him my number and that's how we got in contact. A week and a half after our first conversation, we had our first date at the Manila Temple. I know it's a bit cliché, but that's what happened. About a month after our first date, I agreed that we should date exclusively. Two months after we became BF/GF, he proposed and I said "yes." Five months after our engagement, we got married. I guess you could say that our story was a whirlwind romance, but I'd rather call it "purposeful dating." We took each chance we had to get to know each other and find out if marriage was a possibility. Each date and conversation was an opportunity to evaluate each other's personal values and character. And when we both felt that the decision to get married was right, we did not delay. It's just like what Harry said in the popular

I love Sundays. It's that one day of the week that I really look forward to. I especially love going to Church, and I do my best to get everything ready on Saturday night so that we're all set to go in the morning. Toys and books ✓ Paper and pens ✓ Wipes and extra diaper ✓ Water and snacks ✓ If you'd see the amount of stuff we bring to Church every week, you'd probably think we're going away for the weekend. That's just how our life is right now. We have an active two-year-old and we need to come prepared. There are weeks when we manage to keep Rei on our pew throughout sacrament meeting. She plays with her toys, looks through the pictures in her book, colors, and sometimes sneaks in a bite of her favorite snack. If we're lucky, we get to listen to the speakers as she busily builds a "house" using the extra hymnbooks lying around. Those are our moments of victory. And then there are other weeks when our daughter puts all of our efforts to

Gian and I bought our honeymoon tickets before we got engaged. It's true. It seems like a very presumptuous decision, but I guess you can say that we were that sure that we were getting married. Also, there was an ongoing seat sale and I just couldn't miss out on the opportunity. Okay, it was me. It was my idea to get the tickets early. It was a really good deal though. We got our Palawan round trip tickets for Php 1,630 for the two of us. Yes, it was that cheap, but that's not the point. The decision to buy the tickets was never about the seat sale. It was about my sheer confidence that I will marry Gian. Even if he hasn't popped the question yet. Why was I so confident to marry him? Because I've prayed about it, and I asked the right questions. My first impression of Gian was greatly influenced by our capacity to talk about everything. We discussed politics, anime, books, food, the Gospel, and even our deepest insecurities. We never hesitated to ask e

As a mom, you always prepare for the worst. Children, especially toddlers, have an uncanny ability to put themselves in danger and you need to be ready to respond at any given minute. Fortunately, mothers have been blessed with an instinct that prompts us to move and react before an accident happens. But sometimes, even with our sharp intuition and quick reflexes, they still get into trouble. Rei has kept us on our toes ever since she learned how to stand on her own. Getting into trouble seems to be her expertise. She's not a naughty kid, just a really active one. If there's a chair to climb or a steep edge to jump off of, expect her to do just that. Even though I've prevented a lot of mishaps from happening in the past, no one (not even myself) could have anticipated what had happened today. What happened? Rei had locked herself alone in a room at her Tita's house. Backstory My daughter adores her Tita Tin and she always goes over to their house to play. Sh

Changing my eating habits was probably the hardest aspect of my weight loss journey. I love to eat, and I especially love snacking. It would have been okay if I snacked on healthy foods, but I loved my carbs and sweets. My ultimate weakness was bread. I would have a piece of pandesal here and there, and by the end of the day I had eaten more than my needed daily calorie intake. I was not in control of my eating habits and I needed to change that if I wanted to lose the extra weight. Discover what works for you. I researched and even thought of trying some of the more famous diets online. There's the keto diet, paleo diet, vegan, raw food diet, etc. They have very promising effects, but there's only one problem: they are not sustainable for me. My lifestyle and my food preference just doesn't match any of these diets. I knew that if I ever decide to change my eating habits for the better, it should be something I can do for the rest of my life. Being vegan for a week or e

Before I share some of my deepest darkest secrets as a mom, let me just point out that I LOVE my daughter to pieces and I'll do everything for her. However, I am human and there are times (a lot actually) when my patience wears thin and I find myself borderline insane. I know it's expected as a mom, but it's quite amazing how in a matter of minutes my daughter can melt my heart with a simple hug and then conjure the Hulk inside of me when she does something irritating. It's a roller coaster ride EVERY SINGLE DAY, but it's a ride I've come to love... and endure. So, let's get on with my list... The diaper surprise As a mom, schedule/routine is everything. It helps keep everything in order, including my sanity. One such routine is changing diapers. I usually change her diaper about 3-4 times a day: in the morning, after her nap, after she p**ps, and then before she goes to bed. It's our routine and it's easy for me. I also usually only change Rei&

The story below is one of my favorite short stories about contentment and knowing what we really want in life. My husband and I have had a lot of conversations about the idea of living overseas and moving on to greener pastures, but we always end up realizing that we are happy where we're at right now. I learned that our individual level of contentment differs, and it's our responsibility to know what really makes us happy. There are different variations to this story, but this version was from Paulo Coelho Blog .  The Fisherman and the Businessman  There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.” “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessm

Just like any kind of endeavor, you have to start a little bit at a time. Big changes do not happen all at once. When I started my self-care journey, I had to remind myself that the weight will come off as I consistently do little changes every day. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Getting Started , I began my weight loss journey with dōTERRA Slim and Sassy. I took one gel capsule 30 mins before every meal and I noticed that it helped control my cravings and I was contented with eating less. I also felt more energized and was more motivated to keep moving throughout the day. When it came to exercise, I started at a really easy pace. For the first month I only did Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home videos through Youtube. They have 15 mins, 30 mins, and 45 mins videos to choose from. I started with 15 mins videos and gradually increased the time as gained more strength. You might wonder why I did not walk outside instead and it's because my neighborhood is not really ideal

Our ward choir sang my favorite song during Sacrament meeting today. It was Sally DeFord's Miracles. This song makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME. Its message and melody is just the perfect combination for a tearjerker song. Here's a link to a free SATB music sheet . Amid the countless blessings the Lord has given me, The light of truth and goodness, the Holy Spirit’s peace, I see the many sorrows that his children must endure, So much hurt I long to heal, How can I change the world? There are hands I cannot hold, hearts I cannot comfort, Tears that only miracles can stay. So let me love and serve and teach those who come within my reach, For miracles begin that way. The Savior walked in Galilee, unknown in many lands, Yet touching every nation by the labors of his hands, Giving light to all the world by teaching but the few, He is my example in the work that I must do. There are hands I cannot hold, hearts I cannot comfort, Tears that only miracles can stay, So le

My sister married her first boyfriend. My brother also married his first girlfriend. I... did not. I had a few relationships before I finally got married. I've experienced the long-distance relationship, the two-week relationship, the no label relationship, and even the "almost relationship." And even though each relationship ended with feelings of disappointment and a fair share of tears (or not), I must say that they have taught me some of the greatest lessons about love and life. I'm not saying that you need to get your heart broken before you can find your happily ever after. That is not true. Heartbreak is not a prerequisite to happiness and many relationships can prove that. What I'm saying is that MY experience with relationships and heartaches helped ME prepare and value my relationship with my husband. So, basically, this is just about MY experience. Our very first picture together. What did heartbreaks teach me? Even though breakups are not des