Chasing Dreams

Rainy days and Saturdays

September 14, 2013May 13, 2019 Rhiza3 Comments

I thought the sound of rain I was hearing a while ago was from RainyMood. Turned out it was really raining outside.

There was this particular rainy Saturday a few weeks ago when Lolo Tatay (from my husband’s side of the family) took us up for the twins’ first Tagaytay trip. I didn’t take a lot of photos, but here are some moments captured with our phone camera.

We didn’t know we were going to Tagaytay that day, which explains why the twins were not dressed right for it. Thank God for their jackets, which we always bring with us wherever we go. For the first time, the effort of carrying those hoodies around finally paid off. The rain poured while we were on our way, and it continued to pour while we were having our lunch buffet and afternoon coffee at Taal Vista Hotel.

I don’t like the traffic, the inconvenience, and the floods that often come with rainy days. Not to mention the horrible news about people evacuating because of the floods. But I can’t deny it—I love days like this. I love the sound of rain (it inspires me to write, or do something creative), the cool breeze, the smell of rain, the sight of rain water on wet pavement.

And I love rainy days especially when they’re spent with family, a cup of coffee, and maybe a good book.

“Rain” is an illustration of blessing and abundance in the Bible. Back when we didn’t know we were going to have twin girls, in fact on that particular day we found out we were pregnant, we already knew that we were going to name our firstborn “Rain”.

I can continue listing down reasons why I love rainy days so much, but to make this post actionable, here are some unusual suggestions on how to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon:

Go on a roadtrip.

For real? For real! I suggest you don’t go too far, but go somewhere. If you’re in the south area, go ahead, go for Tagaytay. The point is, get out of the house. Note that this is applicable on rainy Saturdays only, and more specifically, not when there’s typhoon ha. Go on a roadtrip when most people would rather tuck themselves in and curl up in bed. Rainy Saturdays often mean empty establishments and less traffic.

Eat some ice cream.

I know the usual thing to do is to grab a cup of choco or a bowl of soup on a rainy day. But magnifying the cold by eating something cold works too. Back in New York, my husband loves eating ice cream on a winter day. Just for the thrill (and the chill) of it.

Get married!

Two of my friends had their garden weddings rained out. But the rain didn’t ruin their weddings, in fact, the unexpected rain made the experience even more romantic! So instead of planning your wedding to fall on a summer day, why not totally plan to have it during the rainy days. Take it from this girl who’s wedding got rained out. Rain could be the best thing that can happen on your special day. ;)

However you’re spending these rainy days, I hope you’re doing it with people you love. Have a great weekend! :)

What September Reminds Me Of

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 RhizaLeave a comment

This post was inspired by a couple of things. (1) Timehop, (2) This day being Friday the 13th, (3) Septembers, (4) #throwbackthursday and #flashbackfriday and (5) This guy I shall call “J”, who my husband and I have been exchanging letters with since the start of the year. More about him later.

Based on my Timehop, the past Septembers have been full. Timehop is a mobile app that pulls out photos from your social networks, from the exact same day the past years, putting them together in a nice little message alert that you receive every morning.

Since the start of September, my Timehop has been on a roll.

September 1, 2006: We went to a music festival.

D was about to end his one-month vacation, flying back to New York the next day. As a final date, he took me to Penshoppe’s Denimlab Rockfest. We were “just friends.”

Photo: Couple selfie taken inside Araneta Coliseum that night. (Uso na selfie nung 2006.)

It’s been 7 years since that September night, and most of what happened then has become a blurry memory. But I do remember Imago singing “Akap”, my song for the night. I remember riding a cab after the concert and hearing the first Christmas carol of the year. I remember us having coffee at Starbucks Pearl Drive, catching up on years worth of stories until the early hours of the next day. I remember blogging about the concert. I remember D walking me back to my apartment—a moment he lowkey tucked into the words of a song.

I remember the awkward goodbye, a casual hug that lingered a little longer than “casual”, one last glance and a wave. I remember watching him disappear around the curb, totally clueless that that was the boy I was going to marry someday.

September 9, 2010: We got engaged.

He’s back in Manila, and for a reason.

And you probably already know what happened.

September 13, 2010: We spent the night at Hong Kong International Airport.

Ending his one-week vacation here, he was flying back to New York with a 12-hour layover in Hong Kong. Who in the world would buy round-trip tickets to Hong Kong just so she could hang out in the airport while someone’s in a layover? Well, me. Ahh, young (stupid) love!

And hey, that was the exact same day as today!

Photo: Taken while having breakfast at HK International Airport, an hour before his flight.

Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through all of this unnecessary torture, lol. It was the saddest day ever, sending him off, alone in a foreign place. And yet I made the choice (and spent a ridiculous amount of cash) if only to spend a few more hours with him. As soon as his plane took off, I ran to the other side of the airport and boarded my plane back to Manila.

It’s been 3 years since that bittersweet (and expensive) day in HK!

The rest, as they say, is history.

September 2011 – We were married.
September 2012 – I was pregnant, half-way through my 3rd trimester.
September 2013 – Two ten-month-old little girls are crawling around the house.

September 13, 2013: Friday the 13th.

And here we are today.

Three long-stemmed roses from the husband are on top of my desk as I type this, and the twins are playing, screaming, and making a ruckus around the house. Looking back at the past Septembers, I can only laugh at all the crazies, thankful for the long-winding road that brought us to this day.

Dear J,

The point of this backtracking exercise is to acknowledge and appreciate how far the Lord has brought us. You said you read this blog from cover-to-cover (or page-to-page), and based on these pages it might look like we had it easy. But there were long days, months, and years in between the dates I mentioned above.

In between these stories were long periods of uncertainty. Nights when we felt like giving up (and nights when we actually gave up.) Prayers that weren’t answered the way we expected. Days when it felt like God wasn’t listening. Months where we were so sure we would never get back together ever.

We messed up, many times. We were impatient. We struggled to do things our own way. We had too many missteps and God had to pull us, break us, tear us, maybe all for the purpose of bringing us back to the path we’re supposed to be.

I pray that you find the courage to make better choices than we did. God knows the desires of your heart, He knows what He’s doing, and someday, you’ll see why you have to shed a few tears right now too.

Sincerely,
David & Rhiza

23/52: This is our social life now

September 3, 2013July 21, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

These two are becoming my most favorite friends! And before you throw me a Billy Ray Cyrus speech (“You should be a parent, not a friend“), let me just say, I’m not talking about parenting. I only mean, we’re finally connecting with these two and sometimes, it almost feels as if they know that we’re their parents! Lol. Getting there.

The funny thing is, it may seem like we’re the ones making fun of them.. but what if they’re really the ones making fun of us? Lol.

Haha Dawn’s face.

For the past 10 months, they’re the closest thing we have to a social life. You know how it’s like when you’re excited to hang out with a friend? That’s how we feel about these two. We hurry home to “hang out” with them. We take them with us wherever we go, as much as we can. We watch TV with them, laugh with them, play with them. Spending time with them relieves our stress, attending to their needs makes us grow.

No one wants to see us anymore unless we tag along the twins. They’re like, our ticket to the party. We enter a room and everyone happily shouts, “Yay Dawn & Rain are here!” They take the twins from us and forget that we entered the room too, LOL.

No hard feelings! In fact it makes us really happy that their presence (and photos and videos) makes, not just us, but other people happy too. As their parents, how can we not take pride and joy in that? :)

23/52: A Year of Dawn & Rain | Week of July 28-August 3
Portraits of my children, once a week, every week in 2013

P.S. I’m waaayy behind my 52 Project. Busy bee! Can’t find time to blog here as much, but I’m not forgetting to take photos of the twins each week.

P.P.S. September!!!!!!

22/52: Marshmallow Test

August 25, 2013July 21, 2020 Rhiza3 Comments

This has always, always been the case. At the end of each photo shoot, we end up with exactly ONE picture-perfect portrait of the twins (like the one above), and hundreds of these:

These girls. They drive us crazy.

They’re 10 months old today, but these photos were from last month, July 24, when they turned 9 months. We didn’t buy them a cake. Instead, we handed them two bags of heart-shaped marshmallows as gifts, which were left-overs from a candy buffet we set up around that time.

If these two were made to take the marshmallow test (watch it! watch it!), they probably would have failed. Lol. I can’t wait to see if they pass the marshmallow test when they’re older.

Haha, their faces. My husband and I can’t help but chuckle every time we view this set of photos.

The last photo with their Daddy was taken after we’ve washed them up and changed their clothes. And yes, that’s the best one I got of the three of them. Sorry, Daddy.

The whole nine months

At this point I feel the need to celebrate being a Mommy too. At nine months these girls have been out in this world almost the same time they were inside my womb. And it still amazes me when I think about how tiny they used to be, and how on earth those big cheeks and chubby legs managed to fit inside my body.

They grow so fast and we have no choice but to grow with them. I’m pretty sure we’ve grown in the past 10 months more than we ever grew in the past 30 years. And these two clueless tiny humans are the greatest teachers we’ve ever had! They teach us to be alert, to be wise in how we use our time, to pray more fervently, to slow down, to enjoy the little things and see the world with new eyes.

Happy ten months, bebegirls. Thank you for gracing our lives with your presence. We love you.

22/52: A Year of Dawn & Rain | Week of July 21-July 27
Portraits of my children, once a week, every week in 2013

Still So In Love With This Guy

August 21, 2013January 19, 2020 Rhiza2 Comments

Two years married and I have some things to report. First, married life is still as awesome as I thought it was a year ago. And second, I’ve never been happier, and you know I don’t use the word happy lightly.

I thought I should apologize for the next paragraphs, but nah, I’m not sorry. So I’ll warn you instead: Cheesemaxx ahead. :D

Photos from our anniversary date at La Creperie Boheme

Five years of on-and-off LDR and 2 years of marriage later, I’m still so in love with this guy.

Two years ago I married my best friend, my most avid and loyal suitor, the guy who wrote me love songs and spent too much dollars on overseas calls.

Last year I found him to be the kindest and sweetest person in the universe, a loving husband, a ministry partner and leader I’ve grown to look up to and respect, my personal nurse who held my hand through pregnancy, childbirth, and all the big and small milestones in between.

We’ve seen each other through ups and downs, and I have to say, even in his bad days I sometimes find him adorable still, knowing that his crankiness can easily be solved by one thing—food.

And then he became the cutest Daddy ever, a hands-on caregiver to our twin girls, their favorite playmate and Veggie Tales buddy. I didn’t know it was possible to love him more until I saw how he’s like as a father. It feels like getting to know a new side of him, and I realize that it really is possible to fall in love with the same person over and over again.

He’s the one person in the world I can tell my dreams and thoughts to without the fear of being judged. He’s my voice of reason, my prayer warrior.

He’s the person I dream with, laugh with, pray with. Nothing has felt more right than him.

On the day of our anniversary

..he came home with these:

And although I’ve told him many times to not buy me flowers anymore (the simplest bouquet costs almost as much as a pack of diapers or a box of formula), I realized that it still made my heart flutter the same way it did 3 years ago, when he was sending me flowers from half-way across the world.

The flowers have already dried, but this small card that came with it remains tucked in a place where I could always see:

Dear Riz, Thank you for loving me for the past two years, and the time before that, and the time after today. I love you then, I will love you always. Bud.

I didn’t write him a card. Unlike him, I couldn’t put it all eloquently in one sentence, how thankful I am that he chose me, love me.

After our anniversary dinner the night before, we spent the rest of our anniversary at home, no time and budget for an out-of-town getaway like last year, but mostly unable to celebrate too far from the girls. Still a beautiful day, nonetheless.

The fondness never ends

Last Sunday we went out to buy diapers. He left me in the supermarket to pay for the diapers while he crossed the street to buy us some take-out food. I waited for him to return, and as I watched him cross the street, under the rain, holding an umbrella with one hand and a brown paper bag with the other, I held my breath for a moment and my heart leaped in its cage.

This is the guy I married? Di nga, I’m married to this guy? Wait, I’m married? To him? I smiled, mighty proud of my good taste (ha!), but mostly relieved, and thankful to God that I ended up with this guy and not with anyone else. The fascination, and the occasional disbelief, never ends.

Happy anniversary, ex-boyfriend. You’re awesome. I love you.

2nd Wedding Anniversary, Part 2.

Our 2nd Anniversary Dinner at La Creperie Boheme

August 20, 2013June 27, 2019 Rhiza3 Comments

Last year we went to Tagaytay to celebrate our first anniversary. I was so bloated at 7 months at that time, and I remember smiling at the thought that a few years from now, we’ll be tagging along two little girls on anniversaries, dinners, and random dates.

We may have another year, or a few months, before that happens. In the meantime, we’re enjoying stolen date nights and making room in our schedule to spend time with each other, without the twins. And often it still feels like I’m a giddy high school girl every time we go out on dates or hold hands while walking.

Hee. More keso later, but for now, let’s talk about La Creperie.

Lovin’ the new La Creperie in New Manila

We had our second anniversary dinner the night before the 13th. We asked my Mom to watch over the twins while we sneak out to have a date, and off to the new La Creperie we go. My husband and I love it. As Martine puts it, their New Manila branch is their most romantic branch yet, and I agree. (Or am I just too in love with my date that everywhere we go feels romantic?)

Definitely a place to go back to.

La Creperie has always been known as the place to go if you want to have a feel of Paris in the Philippines. And while Paris is never really in my dream destinations list, I love the Parisian/bohemian ambiance that La Creperie exudes, it feels like stepping inside a totally different world.

And we enjoyed the food! We had Chicken Salad which I really enjoyed, and French Onion Soup and Baked Fish with Dijon Mustard that my husband really loved. For dessert we had Banana Foster crepe and a caramel flavored TWG red tea that I’m crazy about. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there now, if only for the crepe and the tea.

The salad is good for sharing, we split the soup as well, but you might want to order the main dishes separately if you want to stuff yourself. It was past 9:00 when we had this post-dinner date, and we already had a light dinner beforehand, so it makes sense to share orders. Also, my husband and I like sharing because it’s romantic that way he and I both know that I’m pretty much the one who’s going to devour the dessert anyway, while he finishes everything else. (I’m a dessert person.)

Check out the new La Creperie in New Manila. It’s along Broadway street just in front of McDonalds (E. Rodriguez). For more info, check out their Facebook Page HERE. Thanks, Martine, for introducing me to La Creperie. :)

2nd Anniversary Celebration, Part 1.