Buhay Bahay-Bahayan

(Photo Source)

There was this New Year episode in the TV series Ally McBeal that I wouldn’t forget.

If you think back and replay your year, if it doesn’t bring you tears, either of joy or sadness, consider it a year wasted.

-John Cage

Looking back, I think my wife and I had our fair share joy and sadness. As I’ve said countless of times, it’s one great roller coaster ride. And I wouldn’t trade any minute of our life for anything. It was good. It was bad. But at the same time, it was awesome. And I’m thankful for so many things.

I’m thankful for supportive and faithful family and friends. They never tire of listening and shoving giving advises, whether it’s about love, relationship, marriage, life in general, or sex life (unsolicited but nonetheless appreciated). Thank you.

I’m thankful for a loving and nurturing wife, who held me and took care of me especially during the last two nights that I can’t sleep and coughing my lungs out. I’m feeling so much better now. Thank you.

I’m thankful for a faithful God. He has been very good. I feel blessed beyond my wildest dreams when I go to sleep each night. And though we’ve had our share of hard times, I wouldn’t change them if I could, because through it all, God has been good.

Avalon.ph is holding a What are you thankful for this 2009 contest. Visit the Avalon.ph blog for contest mechanics and for a chance to win a 2010 Moleskine Colour-A-Month Daily Planner.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.

-Joseph Campbell

One small thing that snowballed into a million other items totally rocked our perfect little world. I thought we had it all planned out. The holiday spirit have always been there. And to pump it up a notch, we went all out on the decors and the gifts. We did have a Christmas fund set aside since the beginning of this year, so money wasn’t that much of a big deal. But one swift moment and we found ourselves scampering around the neighborhood looking for another place to call home.

And we did.

It’s not as accessible. And it’s a little bit shabby. But throw in my OC and crafty wife, and we’ve got ourselves a perfect little home. It’s in a very safe and peaceful neighborhood, and the owners are very kind, sort of like one’s grandparents. It’s also very much cheaper compared to the last one, with free water. Plus, I get my own garage. Finally!

I guess this is His way of preparing us next year. We’ve got a lot of plans, one even involves tightening our belts, but this move will make it so much easier on the budget. One less thing to worry about.

We’re currently in the process of moving, and everything is packed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I’m wearing the very same shirt I wore last weekend.

Christmas has sort of taken a backseat for the moment. But we’ll have it up and glowing as fast as we can. We were able to get awesome new decors last Sunday from a small bazaar at the main campus of our church, and we can’t wait to put it up. I’ll post pics as soon as I can.

I’ll be picking up my wife and her brother and cousins after office, and we’ll do a bit of shopping at the Converse sale in Megamall. I hope to get two pairs of Chucks. One in red, and maybe one in khaki.

It’s going to be one busy but great weekend. I hope you all have a good one too!

Last year, we downplayed Christmas.

I think the only Christmasy thing/decor we had were these Christmas lights that we never even bothered to put up.

But this year, we plan to go all out. Sort of.

We plan to buy our own tree. That’s something, right?

If only we have our own place, then we would have reserved a real live Douglas fir tree from S&R. How awesome would that be? A real live Christmas tree.

But since we’re currently renting a tiny second-floor unit, and I can only imagine how hard it would be to hoist that tree up, we plan to buy one of those fancy trees in malls. And we plan to decorate our apartment too. Wifey’s been reading a lot of craft blogs, and she might make some Christmas decors too.

Months before Christmas, we’ve set up a Christmas fund so we don’t have to break our budget for Christmas, like we did last year. So now, shopping for anything and everything Christmas doesn’t strain us.

We also know what gifts to give our parents. And we’re almost finish shopping for presents! Just a few more, and it’s wrapping time.

I’m excited!