For Pocholo

| mickijosue

During our wedding, we didn’t recite our wedding vows. This was my fault. I wasn’t too confident about speaking in front of a crowd about my feelings. Between the two  of us, Pocholo is the better speaker. He’s also the more vocal one. After much debate, he agreed to forego the vows. But for those who attended the wedding, you probably know about his surprise vows and song at the end of the reception. He really didn’t want to let the moment pass without a speaking engagement (haha). I was truly touched by his sweet,  sincere gesture of love. What he didn’t know was that I actually also had my vows. I wrote them and handed it to him the night of our wedding. 

And here it is…

More than anything, for me, today is a celebration of Thanksgiving. I give thanks for the gift of life – its twists and turns and ups and downs, have brought me to you. 

I give thanks for the gift of family – the person that stands before me is a product of the guidance, love, and nurturing of a wonderful family.

I give thanks for the gift of love – the love of God that has manifested itself in you.  

There is too much to be thankful for, really, and today I vow to work hard every day to be the best steward of all these gifts, most especially the gift of having you from now ’til forever. And what better way to show my gratitude to the Giver than by holding steadfast to the meaning of today’s promise. Know that from now on, you have a life partner, a friend, a companion, and a wife who will strive to give you and our future family the best. While my domestication skills need some work, rest assured my determination will win over this and we will survive! :)) I will stand by you when triumphs elate you, and when trials shatter you. I will make our home a loving haven for our future children to grow into the fullness of their true beings. And,  I will be at your aide when time steals you of your youth. So let me end by saying thank you. Thank you, Pocholo, for unveiling a future with you I thought I would never have. And thank you Lord for today, and everything that led up to this moment. You are truly the master ochestrator and we fully entrust to You this new life. 

Pocholo, thank you for teaching me to trust Life and to believe in what is yet to come. Every day is a learning experience with you, and I’m loving every moment of it. Looking forward to unraveling what’s in store for us in the years to come! 

Mom’s Birthday Celebration in Taiwan

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For Mom’s birthday this year, my Dad decided to take the whole family to Taipei, Taiwan. Of course, I was more than thrilled to be off exploring another country yet again, and one I had never been to.

Prior to our departure, I was told by friends that Taipei was street food heaven. Hence, I prepared to eat my way through our four-day trip. Apart from pinning down the locations for food tripping in Google maps, we also booked a van for a day of sightseeing outside the city. I was eagerly anticipating the food, and I was more than excited for the new places we were scheduled to visit.

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Taipei Travel Essentials

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By essentials, I mean THE only things I had. Literally. And guess what? I survived.

Of all things to forget, I forgot my makeup kit when I left for Taipei. What an elephant problem–and any girl can relate to this, I’m sure! I only had a few items but heck, these were the greatest lifesavers. Thank goodness that for some reason, these were in random places in my bag.

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Valentine’s Day

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I’m quite neutral about this famed day of love. Probably because I believe that you can celebrate love everyday; we need not wait for February 14! Still, it’s heartwarming to see all the gestures of love from friends, family, and even in social media.

This might seem like a cheesy post, but I’m still on a high from yesterday’s sweet surprise so I’ve decided to share it with you all.

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Tips for Your First Workout After an Illness 

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I recently got sick. Not the three-day kind that just temporarily knocks you off because you haven’t been getting enough sleep. It was the kind that really steers you off and getting back is not as simple. I had an infection that kept recurring for two weeks, I was brought to the ER twice, and I had to rest A LOT.

Those who know me are well aware that I love to exercise. Being sick meant zero exercise to allow my body to fully recuperate. While I knew this was absolutely necessary for my overall health, I also knew that this meant I’d have to start all over once I resume my many fitness activities.

 

The first day back is always very difficult. It’s frustrating and it’s very tempting to just wing it and just continue what you were doing. Stop right there! I would not recommend doing this. You don’t want to just pick up where you left off. You might just hurt yourself or get sick again. Instead, you want to be sure that the choices you make on day one are going to help you regain the fitness level you were in prior to the illness (not the other way around).  So, based on my experience, here are a few tips for your first workout after getting sick.

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5 Reasons Why I Love Short Hair

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This is dedicated to all the girls out there who are simply afraid to let go of their long locks. I used to be that girl. I used to have long hair all the time and I didn’t want to cut it short. EVER.

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I was a ballet dancer for most of my growing years and dancers need to have hair long enough to keep in a neat bun. So I was used to long hair. It was the norm among the girls I was with and in the environment I grew up in.

It was also during my teen years that hair re-bonding became a real big thing. Everyone was doing it and all the shampoo and conditioner commercials promoted long, straight hair. Today, we already have commercials that talk about hair having body and nice waves. But back then, waves weren’t cool. Everyone wanted straight, silky, and smooth long hair. I did too.

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So for the longest time I had long hair and never considered cutting it short. It was what I was used to and it was what was “beautiful”. Until one day, I wanted change. I had just started working and I felt I needed to look, well, different. As they say, “new life, new hair” (HAHA!). I also wanted to look more mature because according to a lot of people, I still looked like a student. Finally, after a lot of encouragement from my then officemates, I took the risk. And you know what, I loved it! So allow me to share 5 reasons why I love short hair. True, it’s not for everyone, but you’ll never really know unless you try. And hey, some of the benefits are real winners! So here goes.

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First Stop, GREECE!

| mickijosue

I’ve been gone for a while because well, as the wedding drew closer, I was just all over the place trying to make sure everything went well and according to plan. I’m now back adjusting to the daily grind and I’ve finally found this window in time to write. I’m so excited to tell you all about this trip!

Traveling is something Pocholo and I decided to do as much as we can. And Greece has been at the top of our bucket list since day one. Hence, it was easy to pick our honeymoon destination. So, we simultaneously planned the wedding and the honeymoon because we wanted to make sure we’d leave right away. And we did. By the evening of October 3 (just two days after the wedding), we were on a plane to Greece.

Our first stop was Athens. We booked a tour of the city that included a trip to the Acropolis and the museum right beside it. Our objective was to absorb as much of Greek history as we could. Boy, did we get what we asked for, and more! The museum was full of ancient Greek artifacts. I must have looked silly with my “ooohs” and “ahhhs” at each and every specimen and exhibit (not that I cared about what others would think). We weren’t allowed to take photos in a lot of areas inside the museum, so these are just a few photos from specific exhibits only.

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My Surprise Bridal Shower

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This event deserves an entry because it made me so happy! Let’s start from the beginning so I can share how this day unraveled into something I didn’t expect at all.

As far as I knew, I was going to go to my third fitting with my good friend, Ashley. I was supposed to go to my fitting with Pocholo but since he had work, Ashley had agreed to accompany me. We were running a bit late, so I texted my designer to inform him of our delay. As I hopped into the car and started to give instructions to the driver, Ashley interrupted me and apologized saying that we had to do a last minute errand prior to heading to the fitting. Since it was on the way, I didn’t see it as a problem. We went down at Molito and started walking towards 25 Mushrooms Kitchen to meet Ashley’s tita. As soon as we entered, …. SURPRISE!!!! The room was filled with some of my longest and closest girl friends, and I saw a sign that said “Micki’s Bridal Cookout”.  I was so overwhelmed by the revelation of what I had just walked into that I cried! So apparently, there was no fitting scheduled that day, and Pocholo didn’t have work. Congratulations to everyone in on the planning because I really had no idea.

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