Category: X-Archives

I’ve been thinking about blues and greens

Rhiza5 Comments

..and yellows.

It’s the second trimester adrenalin kicking in, and I think I finally have the energy to start moving things around the house and getting it ready for the babies! We don’t have a lot of floor space around here (which is a problem), but it doesn’t seem like we’re moving to a different apartment anytime soon. So we’re thinking of adding more shelves (we do have a lot of walls!) and just making the most out of the space we have instead, at least for another year or so. And of course, we want to add more bright and happy colors! Now that is the part I’m most excited about. :)

I would have considered pinks and and corals really, but I keep reminding myself that there’s a man living in this house with me so I have to choose the right colors that would satisfy us both. Besides, we’ve already invested on lots of blues and earth colors when we moved in, so that’s a plus.

Quite obviously, my recent color obsession has found its way on this blog as well. (I’m on a roll, take that progesterone!)

Ahh, is this what they call “nesting”? It’s like we’re converting our whole house into a nursery!

Photo credit: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Year 29, bring it on!

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These photos have been up for a week now, just waiting for words to come with them. The truth is, I’ve ran out of ways to say what a riot this past year has been, so I’ve put this on hold for a while. Birthdays are the best times to count blessings and to look back at how far you’ve come. I’ve blogged about mine each and every year, and this year has so far been the biggest leap for me.

On the contrary.. after so many years of throwing parties/get-togethers on my birthday (and being surprised with one), my 29th birthday has got to be the simplest celebration I ever had—by choice. I didn’t think I needed a big celebration anyway; after all, this year has been full of BIG celebrations already, starting with our wedding. And then I’ve got myself the biggest gifts: Being married to the sweetest husband ever, these two babies growing inside of me, and having my two best friends both in one continent again.

And of course there’s my family, who’s always there to celebrate with me and support me in all of my joys and triumphs, including loving my husband and whole-heartedly accepting him as part of this new life that I have. I’m not sure how I’ll cope with all these changes without the support group that they are.

So that’s exactly what I did on my 29th birthday—spent the day with my greatest gifts.

Continue reading “Year 29, bring it on!” →

Adding up a total of a love that’s true

Rhiza2 Comments

On breaks, or when I’m done with work, I pin stuff. Lately, I’ve been pinning pegs for baby rooms. :)

We don’t have that much space in our apartment (yet), and quite honestly, I still don’t know where to put the babies when they arrive in November. Sometimes, David and I would joke about hanging their cribs in the ceiling. LOL.

Space issue aside, I’m excited to bring in more colors into our home and make sure the twins grow up in a happy place. I’m clueless as to where we’re moving in next, but I do know that God will lead us to a bigger place soon enough.

It’s Friday night, it’s raining, and I’m still in the office waiting for the husband to pick me up. I’m turning one year older soon-ish, and I still don’t know what I want to do or what to get for my birthday. Then again, I think I already got the best gifts ever. At this point, I could lock myself up in our room and just stay in bed the whole day and still be the happiest birthday girl in the world. :)

*Image credit: Please see my Pinterest for the actual sources of these photos.

New journal, new adventure

Rhiza4 Comments

I have a new journal, and it’s pink!

I say, it takes some serious brand obsession familiarity to spot a Peter Pauper Press journal in local book stores here in Manila. Especially since there are many other pretty journals of various brands and sizes these days, piled up together in one place. Peter Pauper Press doesn’t have an exclusively labeled section, but for some reason, one quick scan through a pile of notebooks and I already know if PPP’s available or not. So you can just imagine my delight whenever I find one when I need one!

I found this Pink Ascot Journal at National Bookstore in Greenbelt 1, just in time for my last journal to run out of pages. It’s a different shade from the other Peter Pauper Press journals I had (I obviously prefer blues and greens), but hey, change is good.

It’s that time of my life when I want to just.. write down everything! Every thought, every verse, every prayer, every name who’s touched our lives in a special way. I want to remember these days, preserve them in the pages of my journal so that someday, I can look back and remember how God made things happen.

Now if only I can get over the first trimester’s nausea, then maybe I can actually write (and blog) more! Ahhh, the dizziness is just too.. overwhelming! Like, no amount of sleep is enough.

I remember blogging one Saturday in March,

Do you feel it too, when something BIG is about to happen—a new adventure looming in the horizon? Time spent in solitude, they say, prepares us for changes and challenges that are about to come our way. My husband and I don’t know what our new adventure is going to be exactly, and when, and how, but something inside me is feeling giddy and restless these days. In a good, bring-it-on-Lord kind of way.

I didn’t know I was pregnant already when I typed that!

It makes me smile now; oh the humor of it all! Be careful what you ask for, is what they always say.

This God we live for, He’s so full of surprises. :)

Live a life of love

Rhiza5 Comments

The other day, I received an email from M, a girl who’s been reading this blog. Her email brought me back to this post I wrote about Alexis & Nika—their life and their death and the story that they left behind. Which, ultimately, reminded me once again why I blog, and why I hope and strive to live a life that inspires.

“The first impulse is always one of love.” said Alexis.

I cannot imagine a life without love. I make a mental checklist of all the things in my life that count for something, and all of them are because of, or inspired by, love. In the same way, I know how it’s like when something is driven by the opposite of love, or the lack of it—things that usually end with half-baked work, or unnecessary pain, or senseless anger, or hurtful and traumatizing words you can’t anymore take back, or worse, broken relationships.

I know we can’t exactly live in a perfect world and have unicorns and butterflies all over the place, but we do have a choice to fill our little worlds with positivity, and encouragement, and words of hope; and cut sources of negativity in the process.

It is in that note that this blog was brought to life. Once, I said, “There was just no way I could blog without giving away a huge serving of my heart.” That’s just the kind of blogger I am, and what Chasingdreams.net is all about. More than just digitally documenting my life, I’ve always prayed that this blog will reach people and make some form of positive change. To inspire. To encourage. To give hope.

And so, when someone writes me and tells me that something I wrote gave her hope, or helped her through sleepless nights, I take it as an affirmation that this site is serving some greater purpose than simply being an online pensieve of a happy, giddy dreamer.

M wrote:

Hi Rhiz!

You probably don’t remember me. The last communication we had was about my orders from the Dreamerie. I’ve been meaning to send you an e-mail pero I was just a little shy since we don’t really know each other personally. I guess, I wanted to share with you a few things.

The first time I came across your blog.. it was one of those sleepless nights induced by a broken heart. Lol. It sounds funny now but that time, I was really devastated. If my memory serves me well, it was your blog about Alexis and Nika that I read. I was drawn to your blog because of your stories of faith. I needed those that time. I felt emotionally and spiritually drained that year.

Though we don’t know each other personally, I feel happy that you’ve tied the knot and I also want to share with you that I’ve found someone also. Someone who has allowed me to renew my relationship with the Lord.

Congratulations to you and your husband! God bless both of you.

Thanks, M, your email made my day. :)

I love knowing that I’m part, albeit a tiny portion, of a bigger story. Bigger than myself, and my dreams.

Today I praise God for people like M, and Shadz, and Joanne, among others—girls who were once strangers, but I now consider kindred spirits who share my hopes of spreading love and inspiration to this world.

And for people like Alexis and Nika, and my Dad, who lived lives that are still inspiring people long after they’re gone.

Caramel sundae & some Mcdo lovin’

Rhiza7 Comments

Last Saturday we found happiness in a cup of caramel sundae. Yep, all for the price of 25 pesos! (Hey, that’s way cheaper than Magnum!)

We practically stayed in bed the whole Saturday morning, and since the husband had to prepare for a message he was going to preach in Youth Worship the following day, we had to stay at home the whole day too. Hey, I have no complaints. I loooove staying at home on a Saturday, and I find it so endearing when my husband ignores me because he’s too engrossed studying God’s Word. Even more endearing when he finally stands up there and shares what he learned. <3

That was an awesome Saturday as it is, but later in the afternoon, he decided to take a study break and grab some sundae. Ang saya ko lang! It’s like the icing on my cake, or, shall I say, the caramel fudge on my sundae. (Haha I’m so witty!) So yay I brought the camera with me and took photographs. After all, I’m starting to get bored with my Saturday-at-home shots!

I’ve been learning a lot about simplicity and contentment these days. Last Saturday was one of those days when you realize that happiness doesn’t have to cost too much. Sometimes, they even come free.

So hey, do yourself a favor, take a break from whatever you’re doing, satisfy that craving, and make sure to bring along someone who makes you smile!

(Friday na! Ang bilis!)