Five Happy Songs

I've always been in awe at how much music does to a person. It's like it has super powers that could turn your mood around in a snap of a finger. Just hearing a few notes of a song can flood your mind with memories you thought you've already buried deep in the ground. When I'm having a rough day, I turn to these songs for a pick-me-upper.

1. That Fresh Feeling - The Eels

Everything's just light and positive about this song! It's easy on the ears and has kilig-inducing lyrics that reminds me of the early stage of dating my husband <3 You don't have a clue | What it is like to be next to you

2. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

I had this really awesome idea of making this song my phone's alarm tone. It did lessen the sucky-ness of waking up so early on weekday mornings!

3. Better Together - Jack Johnson

This is one of my all-time favorite songs EVER. I love this song so much that we used it in one of the audio visual presentations in our wedding. This song will always make me think of my husband, especially the lines: Love is the answer | at least for most of the questions in my heart | Why we're here | where do we go | And how come it's so hard 

4. Built to Last - Melee

For some reason, the intro gives me a feeling of excitement. I discovered this song when I was single and in a soul-searching phase. It had such a positive effect on me. It made me feel hopeful that someday, I'll find myself being able to relate to the lyrics of the song :)

5. You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall and Oates

This one's a classic! I love how it's a happy, perky song all around. It's almost impossible to not be able to smile even for a little bit when you hear it. It will always remind me of the super adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer :)

There you go! I hope these songs somehow gave you a bit of sunshine today :) 

Love and Misadventure

Poetry is not for everyone. I myself wouldn’t have normally read a book of poems unless it’s recommended to me by someone who I look up to when it comes to reading choices. But this book, I think, is worth reading.

There’s been a lot of hype on this book, and it’s a good thing that it was able to live up to it. Like I said, I’m not much of a poem person), but every page turn got me “aww”-ing over words I wish I could have written myself. Lang Leav’s choice of words are mostly simple, yet it has a way to strike the right chords within you. It’s quite refreshing to read poems that doesn’t require much analyzing. Some of the poems speak of pain and longing, and it will break your hearts, but somehow it leaves you with so much hope. My take-away from this book is that in all things, more so in love, HOPE IS EVERYTHING.

The newly-engaged

Good morning Thursdayyyy! :) Woke up to such wonderful news that Bianca Gonzalez and JC Intal are engaged! Waah, yung level ng saya ko, akala mo close friend ko yung na-engage. Hahaha. I’m not sure why, probably because I’ve been reading Bianca’s blog since 2003 (hindi pa siya masyadong sikat non!), and it was crush-at-first-sight for JC when I saw him in that first and only time I watched an Ateneo game. May history talaga, hahaha. Also maybe because nasundan ko yung lovelife ni Bianca and in one of her ‘People Of My Year’ posts (I think it was in 2011) where she mentioned how in awe she is of JC’s good heartedness, I thought to myself I hope she ends up marrying this guy. And now she is one step closer to doing just THAT!!! Eeeeeeehhh!! <3

MY.HEART.IS.MELTINGGGG over this collage posted by JR Intal. Absolutely sweet and romantic! Although it would have been a million times better if JC went with Bianca to London. I could just imagine Bianca’s bottled up emotions, parang sasabog ang puso sa sobrang saya at kilig while she’s on the plane. What I loved about this proposal is how Bianca was in such a simple get-up, makeup-less even! I just think that there’s something about the simplicity (i.e. unglammed) that makes it more meaningful. Okay, yes, it also did remind me of when Erick proposed to me. At least si Bianca nakaligo, ako hindi! Hahaha :P

This year is truly proving to be the YEAR OF LOVE! In February alone, four of my friends got engaged. I know, right? How awesome is that? What makes me even happier is someone very close to my heart, my Ate Cha, also got engaged just a few days ago. FINALLY! I know she has been waiting for this, and I guess it came in a perfect time. I’m so happy!!!! God’s grand plans are slowly but surely being unfolded for her.

And my personal wedding preps worksheet is making its rounds to my newly-engaged friends, hahaha! Ang dami ko din namana na wedding worksheet files from my friends who got married earlier than I did, but I tried to personalize mine and made it as simple and user-friendly as possible. Hindi yung tipong malulula ka sa dami ng info when you open the file, so I hope they’d find it useful too! These days my Skype and Whatsapp conversations are mostly about wedding preps. So much fun sharing pegs and ideas! It’s like going back to my own wedding preps days, except that this time hindi ako gagastos. Hahaha!

I’m so excited for these people close to my heart who are about to enter a new chapter in their lives. It may be a huge transition for some of them, but it really is a privilege to be in this beautiful, life-changing phase. Wedding planning can get very stressful, exhausting, and time-consuming (I know this for a fact all too well! Haha), so my prayer for my newly-engaged loves is to have the time and resources to prepare for their married life ahead as well. After all, wedding is just a one-day event, while marriage goes on forever. It is what really counts.

Thoughts on ‘Starting Over Again’

Ever since the trailer came out last January, I’ve been excitedly waiting for the movie to come out. Having Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga as the lead actors, plus the tagline in the form of a very thought-provoking question “How do I unlove you?” are more than enough to pique my interest. Also, I’m such a sucker for Tagalog romance movies. Hehehe.

Before I get into the rest of this post, I would like to say, ANG GUAPO NI PIOLO. His close-up shots made me swoon like a lovestruck teenager.

Yes, Sir Marco? <3

Hahaha sorry, I just had to. :D

Okay, I don’t know how to write a proper movie review, so I’ll just write in bullets what I liked and what I didn’t like. Warning: Spoilers galore ahead!

• The opening scene where Ginny was shouting “I love you, Sir Marco!” was kind of tacky. I know it is a reference to Toni’s “I love you, Piolo!” Sprite commercial years ago. Still tacky.

• I am not exactly a fan of Toni G, but I will say that she is truly a great actress. She does both comedy and drama so well. Her facial expressions and the way she delivers her lines are always spot on. As for Piolo, well, Piolo is Piolo.

• “My love is bigger than your failures.” —  I really loved this line from Patty. This is what TRUE LOVE is all about. Love does make up for a lot of things. And this is why I was happy with the ending she got. Good things deserve to happen to people who love faithfully and unconditionally.

• Winner din yung lines ng friends ni Ginny! “Yang hope na yan. Lason yan. Parang drugs na nakaka-adik.” | “Adik ka na naman sa pag-asa eh. Try mo na kaya lumaklak ng realidad?” I loved Ginny and Wella’s drinking scene. It was filled with truth and tears. And I cried with them.

• The confrontation scene between Ginny and Patty was unexpected, and I actually liked it despite the cringe-worthiness of it all. I get that people sometimes tend to do desperate things just to win the heart of the one they love. But to deliberately attempt to ruin someone else’s relationship will never be acceptable in my book. I hated Ginny when she indirectly told Patty that she slept with Marco while she was away. That was wayyyy out of line. Obviously, I am #TeamPatty! #sorrynotsorry Haha! She is the present un-bitchy girlfriend who did nothing wrong. She was actually a little bit too nice to a fault! Na-balance out ng pagiging calm and collected ni Patty yung inis ko kay Ginny. Hahaha. I loved that she only broke down when she walked out of the kitchen. That was some understated acting at its finest. Galing ni Iza! Ang galing din ni Toni, she very effectively portrayed the role of a desperate woman who would to ANYTHING to get the love of her life back.

• I guess the reason why this movie captured the hearts of millions of viewers because the story is highly relatable. All of us may have fallen in love, went through the pain of a break up, regretted something we have done, faced rejection, and moved on from a heartbreak — all of which we saw in the movie. It showed us love in its rawest form, eliciting raw human emotions.

• I was happy with how the movie ended. Everyone got their happy ending. Yay, Marco and Patty! (Btw, kinilig ako sa term of endearment nila na ‘ga’, as in short for ‘palangga’). I’m glad that Ginny was able to start over again and met Martin in what she believes is a perfect timing. Direk Paul’s appearance was such a nice surprise! It was an effective pampalubag-loob for those who were rooting for Marco and Ginny to get back together. Haha.

photo credit: Star Cinema

It’s a film worth watching again, and would make for a good conversation/debate topic with your friends. I swear, this movie has been discussed in most of my Whatsapp groups. At nakakatuwa kasi ang daming opposing opinions. Talaga naman, basta tungkol sa love! Hahaha. So kids, remember: Don’t just walk away. You’ll never know what a good explanation and an acceptable reason can do in a relationship :)

Celebrity Wedding: Drew and Iya

Okay, everyone’s gushing over Drew and Iya’s engagement and wedding video by Jason Magbanua, and I myself can’t help but gush over it too! How can I not, when there are just so many things to love about this wedding! Both of them are famous celebrities, but on their wedding day, they’re simply a man and a woman so madly in love with each other. Haaaay, love is such a beautiful thing :)

Iya Villania and Drew Arellano's Wedding from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

I adore how absolutely heartwarming their vows are, especially when Drew said: “In this journey, I will hold your hand. I will always be there. So don’t be afraid to follow your dreams, and all the sacrifices I will bear.” I teared up at this point because WOW, WHAT SELFLESS LOVE. Also because it reminded me of what my husband told me when he proposed to me — he assured me that our marriage (and consequently building our own family) will never be a hindrance for me to pursue my dreams for myself, and promised that he will be my ultimate supporter and encourager. Now, how can anybody say no to a proposal like that? :D

Back to Drew and Iya. I find it very charming how they’re not afraid of looking funny and making silly faces, to the point that Iya comically hit Drew on the head. That was funny and super cute! Hahaha. I love that they’re as real as they can get. I don’t think a lot of brides would want to be captured makeup-less on their wedding video, but she did, and she still looked very radiant! I also loved how Iya ended her vows with “It’s ridiculous, honey. I love you so much.” Two simple, seemingly ordinary sentences that actually spoke so much more than it ought to.

It’s amazing how Drew and Iya made it through nine years, considering that it’s a rare feat in the world of showbiz. I read somewhere that they actually remained pure and chaste in those nine years — now that’s even more amazing (if it were true). Seriously, can they get any more perfect?

Jason Magbanua did such a magnificent job in weaving Drew and Iya’s stories of life, love, joy and triumph in the form of a 5-minute same day edit video. He was able to capture the precious, candid little moments so powerfully. The way he pieced everything together was perfect. What an exceptional talent this guy has.

More than the picturesque cliff and the perfect sunset as background, the stunning gown, the impeccable set up, and all the other pretty little details — it’s the genuine love radiating through the smiles and laughter of Drew and Iya that struck me the most. This couple made me appreciate the beauty of simplicity even more. Theirs is the kind of love that inspires me to love even more passionately.

P.S. Can I just say — I hope Nikki Gil would find her true love soon. Hahaha, lakas maka-showbizzz :p

What Makes Me Happy

“What makes you happy?”

From out of nowhere, this question was directed at me today. I was speechless, and it’s not because I couldn’t think of anything, it’s because there’s too many possible answers that I don’t know where to begin. I think I am blessed like that. My fiancé once told me that he’s a lucky guy because it doesn’t take much to make me happy. I’m very easy to please and I find joy in the smallest of things. Like right now, I am enjoying a quiet Friday night by myself — I just had sushi for dinner while watching Grey’s Anatomy season 10 episode 4, and now I’ve got time to blog while my clothes are spinning away in the washing machine. I shall make this number 1: Quiet, productive time by myself. I guess it’s a good thing that I do enjoy my own company. The next ones are in no particular order:

2) Morning prayer time. Favorite part of my day. Nothing beats the calmness in my heart every time I get to start my day with a long talk with God. Sadly though, when I wake up later than expected, my prayer time before I do anything else gets shortened, although the continuation follows when I’m in the train on my way to work. This includes reading verses of the day, gospel, and my favorite devotionals from Joyce Meyer and Rick Warren. These serve as my weapons as I face all sorts of battles everyday.

3) Avocado shake. And not just any avocado shake, it has to be bought from the fruit stall behind St. Joseph church near my office.

4) Introducing new music to friends. It brings me so much joy when a friend ends up liking a song or an artist that I recommended to them.

5) Our GK babies. Our growing family now has eight babies, three of which are recent additions born last September. You can just imagine our Whatsapp group filled with baby pictures and stories of the babies’ latest milestones — my daily source of good vibes :)

6) One-to-ones with Erick. I treasure our one-to-ones so much because it is a time for us to really open up our hearts to each other. This is not the time for us to be all lovey-dovey and gush about our love for each other. In our one-to-ones, we talk about our fears, worries, and insecurities in life. We also talk about our arguments–what went wrong and how we could have handled the situation better. These conversations make our relationship stronger. I would strongly encourage other couples to have these conversations too :)

7) Long weekends. I don’t think this needs further explanation. But this I will admit: I usually indulge in one full day of just lounging at home, reading and sleeping as much as I’d like whenever we have long weekends. I can’t afford to do this on regular weekends because there’s always something scheduled for both days (service, get-togethers, parties, etc).

8) Reading. My favorite pastime. It’s quite sad that I’m way behind my reading. Bought a couple of new books a month ago which I haven’t even opened yet.

9) The thought that I am one month away from officially becoming Mrs. Labiano. CHEESY!!! But in all seriousness, these past few days have been stressful for me in terms of wedding preps, but when I am reminded of that thought, I am assured that IT’S ALL GOING TO BE WORTH IT. This is God’s work. This is His plan. For me to marry the love of my life. I AM SO BLESSED.

10) Handwritten letters. In this day and age dominated by technology and social media, receiving a handwritten note or love letter could be priceless. A simple one-liner post-it note from my special someone makes me crazily happy :)