Iba ang Pasko sa Pinas

I have been remiss in posting about our Manila trip this past holidays. Needless to say, we had a blast!! It was great to be with family and friends. Medyo magastos and nakakapagod nga lang but it was all worth it. We're contemplating of spending the holidays in the US this year so this trip was absolutely necessary.

Since this is the first time Lex and I spent the holidays with family as a married couple, there had to be some arrangements and adjustments made. We agreed to spend Christmas Eve with his family and then Christmas Day with my family. And then New Year's Eve with mine and New Year's Day with his. It worked out perfectly. Here was our Christmas in pictures:

Christmas Lunch at Leslie's Alabang

Traditional formal family picture

The wackier version

Papa, Mamy and Karlo on the sea of wrappers and boxes

Us while opening one of our gifts

*More pics to follow

I got a great haul this year. It took us hours opening our gifts! Lots of clothes, some jewelry, perfume and cosmetics, cookbooks (?!?!), a pair of Uggs, LV Neo Cabby and T&B Cles from Lex =).

Happy Birthday, Mela!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful sister, Mela! We terribly miss you! I had so much fun hanging out with you last December and I hope you'll be able to swing by NY again this year. I see that you fully enjoyed your 3-day birthday celebration. My wish for you is sana magkaroon ka na ng boylet! Hehe... Love you!

On Romance

I was watching Entertainment Tonight and something that James Marsden (of X-Men, Hairspray and Enchanted fame) said about romance made me think. He said that his wife of 7 years now thinks that filling up the gas on their car after he uses it is romantic.

I thought... it's so true! Way back when Lex and I were still dating, my definition of being romantic were 3-page love letters, flowers, expensive gifts, etc. Now, I distinctly remember being touched when Lex placed a soft tissue box on my bed side when I had a bad case of colds. Simple things are what makes my heart glow nowadays. Grand gestures can sweep you off your feet but they can sometimes also be shallow and pretentious. But simple, thoughtful actions that were made naturally and instinctively are sincere and heart-felt.

Happy 2nd Year (Civil) Wedding Anniversary, Honey! I Love You!