Wedding Calendar

yahooo! iwas able to set up our online wedding calendar, at last. nahihirapan na kasi ako na i-text kay jojie lahat ng wedding-related events na sine-set ko eh. at least now, tignan na lang niya online. hehehe! tamad ko ba? :)

you may also check out our calendar.

:)

1000!

hindi kami makapaniwala, our blogsite (oo, ito!) has reached the 1000 visitor mark! kagulat-gulat!

thank you for all the people who drop by to read our blogs. salamat talaga. :)

The Writer

inspired by dang's results, i took an online test, you know one of those which is supposed to tell you who you really are. anyway, this is test is about how one is as a blogger and my result is as follows:

I am The Writer

Words captivate me. And, I like to capture words. Blogging enables me to write often. It also provides a place for me to share what I write with a reading public. I can be funny, inspiring, intelligent, cynical, or morbid. It doesn't matter what I write about in my blog. It only matters that I write.

hmmm.... is this true? i've started writing since i was a kid and i was a part of the schoolpaper till fourth year high school. i used to love writing! i can write and write and write about just anything and everything. i was also a moody writer which means my moods dictated what i wrote about. i was supposed to enrol in creative writing for college (as a course!) but psych was my first choice and when i got accepted, i opted to go to psych instead.

embarrassing!!!! hahaha!

bernard just called me up. i asked him how his day was, sabi niya tinatamad raw siya. then he asked me if i wanted to watch a movie tonight. i said yes tapos gawa kami ng plans. after several minutes, biglang he said, "natutuwa ako sa iyo." i thought i didn't hear him right so i replied, "huh?" then he asked me to go to google and type his name in the search box. so i did. you know what the first result was???

At last, it's for real!
... It is with joy that we Bernard and Clarice with thanksgiving to our parents Ben Avinante and Dan & Myrna Talavera invite you to witness the celebration of our ...
bernardandclarice.blogspot.com/ - 55k - Cached - Similar pages

i was surprised! for a minute, i couldn't even remember when i posted our invitation wordings. when i did, i just laughed. then he said, "hindi pala ako nagbabasa ng blogs ha?" referring to what i've written in my post last night (see 'grooms! hmph!'). i was pleasantly surprised but my surprise turned to embarrassment when i remembered that i also posted that i am still kilig everytime he calls me up! oh my gosh!!!! i just laughed so hard pero talagang nakakahiya kasi ngayon alam niya na!!! hahaha!

invites again

i'm so excited about our invitations! last friday, i went to wellcoat to ask about the "correct" margins for our invites. since they'll be the ones laminating and cutting the invites, i have to consult them first before printing everything kasi baka mali naman, masayang lang. so, i went there nga last friday and presented the possible layouts. namili na lang si davy, yung operations manager ng wellcoat. pinili niya yung pinakamadali na i-cut (since they'll also cut the invitations eh).

that done, i'm now double checking the names in the entourage inserts. we're asking everyone for their full names, including their middle initials. i'll start printing the invites on thursday after our last ninang dalaw.

the reception card naman, at last nagawa ko na and i am so happy with what we have na. it took me like a half a day to think how i want the reception card to look like. yung una kasi naming mga drafts sobrang plain and i didn't like it. i also thought of having the reception card embossed with a starfish and a couple of shells pero since our font is so casual, parang hindi maganda. buti na lang i was able to find a picture of a starfish na nasa beach in the net. i saved the picture, ni-fade ko yung edge, pina-opaque ko, at ginawang gray yung color. voila! meron na akong background for the
reception card. the finished product is so nice, if i may say so. i'll post a pic of it soon.

the envelopes naman, we were able to find an envelope na sobrang eksakto sa 5 x 7 na cards so we bought it na tapos yun na yung pattern namin (envelope yun ng blue mountain arts card actually. hehe!). i already pasted the envelope sa isang board at na-cut ko na rin yung board para trace na lang sa envelope papers na gagamitin namin.

the papers for the envelopes are from star paper. binili ko when i went with abie (hi abie!). buti na lang i was able to find the perfect paper envelope! ang saya ko talaga! and of course, i already have the paper for the envelope lining. ika-career ko na lang one of these days.

i was also able to convince my sister to do the calligraphy. ang galing niya kasi since kayang kaya niyang gayahin yung dauphin na font. i already bought a calligraphy pen sa national, P56.00. i love my sister! :)

at ito ang pinaka-excited ako, jojie and i went to recto yesterday and we had a dry seal of our initials, B C, made. it cost P450.00 and we can get it na after a day (pero we told the manang na next week na namin kukunin para mapaganda talaga nila). we'll use the dry seal to have the flap of the envelopes embossed.

yung map, i'll make it within the week then print it na lang on parchment paper.

our self-imposed deadline is sept 12, dapat tapos na printing of the invites para mabigay na sa wellcoat. basta by end september dapat tapos ayos na ayos na yung invitations. distribution na by october.

and, oh, did i tell you? i really love w@w. several weeks ago, nyree and i were exchanging emails about starpaper and DIY invites. then i asked her if she wanted to share na lang the expenses for the lamination and cutting since i knew na magpapa-laminate and cut rin siya sa wellcoat. she agreed!!! imagine, from P1700 magiging P800 na lang ang cost namin for the lamination and the cutting. and since 100 pieces lang naman ang invites namin, the cost per piece will be lessened by P9.00!!!! imagine! and it only gets better. abie also wanted to "join" us and so did vince. so yun! from the original P1700, naging P4.25 per invite ang cost ng lamination and cutting! i so love w@w!

hay naku! excited na ako!

I am Padfoot!

got this from lyra's site (hi lyra!).

Which Harry Potter Marauder Are You?

You are loyal and protective of those you care about, but have a quick temper when an injustice is made, especially when that injustice was done by a Slytherin. You have a wild streak to you, but life has taught you what is really important.

i love harry potter! can't wait for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to come out!

wedding preps na naman!

after a month's lull, we decided to resume our wedding preparations (since we only have like 110 days to go, we kinda don't have a choice anyway! hehe!). i've either finished or resigned from all my part-time jobs except one (i had six) so now i'm just concentrating on my thesis and the wedding preps. it was also bernard's final exam week last week and since he's taking a leave from school for next term, we actually have time again to prepare!!!! yahoooo!!!!

the first thing i did was to ask him for a wedding preps weekday (para alam ko kung kelan ako sched ng wedding preps meetings) and then i filled out na our preps calendar. as per our discussions after he fight we had, we realized that he has to spend time with his family so sobrang ayos na ayos yung calendar namin, hindi nakaka-overwhelm kasi we want to really make things balanced, hindi yung stressed kami just because of a certain thing in our life (after all, hindi naman namin buhay yung preparations... sana! hahaha!).

so yun! na-excite na ako uli! hindi na siya nakaka-pressure for me and as weird as it sounds, hindi pa ako nagpapanic although alam ko na ang dami pang kelangang gawin. i really want to savor preparing for our wedding and preparing for our "life" together.

grooms! hmph!

a weird thing just happened. i was chatting with my brother and sister when my cellphone rang. seeing it was jojie (a.k.a. bernard), i answered the phone excitedly (hahaha! buti na lang hindi siya nagbabasa nito or else he'll realize how kilig i still am when he calls me. :))

ring... ring...

C: hi hon!
J: hi baby!
C: ano gawa mo?
J: nakahiga na pero hindi ako makatulog eh. naisip ko lang, wala ba tayong [first] dance?
C: wala. bakit gusto mo ba?
J: hindi naman. naisip ko lang.
C: gusto mo bang may dance sana?
J: hindi naman. pero di ba may bouquet and garter toss tayo?
C: oo.
J: eh di ba pagkatapos nilang "manalo" magsasayaw sila?
C: ha? hindi. (hmmm... gusto niya kayang mag-first dance?)
J: eh ano gagawin nila? eh di ang iksi na nun?
C: eh kasi di ba game na talaga yung gagawin natin para dun sa mga bachelors and bachelorettes?
J: ah. hindi ba sila sasayaw? eh ano gagawin nila?
C: di ba magpapa-picture tapos tapos na. (san niya nakuha yung idea na sasayaw?)
J: uupo na lang sila? tapos uwian na?
C: oo, uupo na (should i tell him na may prize na pearl earrings yung mananalo? hmm... wag muna) pero hindi naman
talaga uwian na agad (paano niya naisip ito?!) kasi hindi naman last na part ng program yung bouquet and garter toss eh
(hmmm... gusto niya kaya talagang magka-first dance?)
J: ah... o sige. naisip ko lang.
C: {in a very gentle voice} gusto mo bang magsayaw [first dance]?
J: {in a mejo yell} hindi nga! {in normal voice} naisip ko lang.
C: oh okay
J: o sige, ayun lang. naisip ko lang. o good night na, baby.
C: good night, hon. luv u.

click.

what was that about? that was the only time he gave an indication that he actually thinks of our wedding reception program before going to sleep. should i be happy that he's into the wedding as much as i am?

basta weird!


p.s. hahaha! reading through what i've written above, i realized ang kulit ko pala!!!! hahaha!

changes & realizations

this was written a week ago. i wanted to post it then but for some reason, could not get around to it. siguro kasi hindi pa talaga right time last week. but now, now is the perfect time. i am more at peace, more confident of the things i've written, more sure that bernard and i can withstand anything and everything. :)

========

bernard and i had our longest fight last week. we're okay now. we're back to normal... better than normal even since we just had withstood the worst fight we've had. our belief in "us" is much stronger than ever and we appreciate each other more. although i've shed more tears in two days than i had in the past three years, what happened made me realize so many things that, looking back, i'm glad the whole thing happened.

last week was hell. it was the first in a very, very long time that i cried. it was also the first time in our relationship that i could not anymore handle our problems that i resorted to most women's tried-and-tested way to forget a problem, something which i have not done before... i dropped everything, went to see a movie, and then, i went shopping!!! :)

although it was a rule between the two of us not to resort to breaking up or even just cooling off when we have problems, i was so hurt and angry and i felt so abandoned (noticed my imood last week?), i asked bernard for space. it was when he gave me the space that i asked for when i realized how he, too, was hurting.

i asked my mom if it was okay with her if i cancelled the wedding. of course, my ever-supportive showbiz mother said yes, it was not a problem with her and my dad if i ever decide not to push through with the wedding. she said that what is important is my happiness and that i should know that i have options. i was so touched by all she said that i wanted to cry all over again. and then she ruined the moment by saying, "si kris aquino nga eh, sabi 'kami na po ni mark.... ay hindi na po kami ni mark... ay kami na po uli ni mark... ay ikakasal na po kami ni mark... ay hindi na po uli kami ni mark'" trust my mom to make me laugh in the middle of a crisis.

bernard's life and mine are so much intertwined, however, that the space i so proudly asked for amid tears, came to a halt after a mere 18 hours. the reason? i needed to have my cellphone fixed and since the line i am using is under his name, i needed to get the warranty certificate from him. so of course, i had to call him!

that call was probably the most embarrassing call i've ever made. not because i had to overcome my pride and call him but because hearing his voice made me cry right in the middle of nokia care.

the cellphone incident really made me think about how much our lives are so much intertwined that letting something as petty as the fight we had (it was petty, believe me!) get in the way of our love is simply stupid.

so i decided to swallow my pride and when he called me to ask me if we could see each other, i agreed. and when we saw each other, he just asked me kamusta na raw ako then he pulled me in his arms and hugged me so tight. we just stayed that way for a while, hugging each other, remembering how much we love each other. then we talked; we talked of what happened and the changes we should make to avoid committing the same mistakes.

the whole incident also made me ponder long and hard about what i really want in my life, where i am now, and where i am going. because of what happened, i was able to decide regarding some things that have been bothering me for a while and more importantly, to act on my decisions.

bernard and i have also realized the value of taking time out to rest and the value of always remembering why you are doing all the things you are doing in the first place -- you're doing it for each other.

and the fight that we had? it was really so petty na nakakahiya nang ikwento pa but it blew out of proportion because we were both so tired and so stressed form everything that we were doing.

queen (a fellow w@wie) was right, there is really a reason why two people are together. the important things is to always remember that reason.

when all has been said and done, bernard hugged me so tight and told me that he missed me. he held my face in his hands and told me, "you will be my wife". thinking that he was asking me again to marry him, i said yes. he replied, "i am not asking you, i am telling you. you will be my wife." life really is a bliss and god really is good.

love letter

This letter was given by my tito to my tita shortly before they got married. Reading it gives me goosebumps because I can feel how much he really loves her.

=======================
To my dearest Joyce,

You are my Perfection. I can sense my lolo smiling in his grave as I now use this immortal line he used in his very first love letter to my lola. I know exactly how he felt for her at that time, for the emotions conveyed by the words are as fresh and alive today as when he first wrote them -- love, pride, and joy -- the kind that can only come from the hand of God.

You are my Perfection. Before I met you, I never knew how so incomplete my life was, I never realized how imperfect was my world. Not that you are here, the roses are redder, the rainbows are brighter -- life has just begun to feel just how God has planned it to be.

Joyce, I don't just like you very, very, very, very, very much. I Love You. How awesome it is that three, simple, little words embody an entire universe of emotions.

I Love You. I'm humbled by how God so powerfully manifests His presence in me by gifting me with the capacity to love you. Only you.

I Love You. Feelings of immeasurable joy and bottomless bliss suffuse me as I come before the magnificent immensity of the fact that, yes, you are mine and I am yours for the Lord has especially created us for each other.

Joyce, I love you! I love you! I love you! As God is my witness, I love you! I'm overwhelmed by all this. There was a time in my long checkered life that those feelings were alien to me -- I even believed that they could never pass through my heart. But now that I've found you, they not only passed through my heart -- they built a home there. They are living there. They are growing there. They are happy there.

But, I admit, Joyce, I don't have much to offer you. I only have a shanty to give in terms of material goods. In the ways by which the world measures wealyt, I am poor -- very poor. But then, there's a mansion in my heart where the Lord now dwells, and I humbly proffer that to you. In that mansion throbs my faith in God -- the kind of faith that pulsates with the ardor and fervor that sustains and edifies my personal relationship with Him who is my Lord, my Savior and my King.

My dearest Joyce, I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Over and above all the very many other reasons for that, I know that this is what is pleasing to the same God you, too, seek to honor and glorify. My love for you is my hosanna to my Lord. It is my thanksgiving to my Savior. It is my salute to my King.

Today, as we luxuriate in the multitude of delights that comes from just holding each other's hands, gazing at each other's eyes, and claiming the dream of a shared life of forever, I fortify my commitment to the Lord; to love and take care of you and provide for you. And no tear shall ever stain your face except that which is borne out of joy.

May I always bring a smile to your lips and laughter to your heart, for I hereby dedicate every breath I take to making you happy.

With love and affection,
Anselle

on leaving home

i helped my brother (read: did everything myself) with his project the other day. the next day, when he came home from school, he said that the teacher complimented his project and said it was actually the best in the class. :)

being the eldest, i am actually used to doing stuff for dindon and maye. "stuff" includes homeworks, projects, making them hatid, cooking them food, making sure they're okay if my parents are not around, etc. and now that i'm leaving home in a few months, i realize that i'm going to miss helping
dindon with his homework, laughing with maye about the pictures we see in friendster, talking to dindon about high school crushes, making chismis with maye about our high school acquaintances, etc. although bernard and i will just live near here, things will be very different come december 18.

being the OC that i am, i also worry about lots of other things here at home, like, who will update the virus definition of the PC, who will lay-out and edit mama's reports, who will type papa's documents. mundane things that i am used to doing for my family.

i feel so blessed that i am getting married to a really wonderful guy but i also know that getting married means that i will be leaving my family behind. sabi nga ni maye a couple of weeks ago when she realized that our wedding is only five months away, "ang bilis na! paano na yan, pag may naalala akong joke, kanino ko na sasabihin?" my mom also expressed a similar sentiment just last night, she asked, "paano na pag hindi ka na dito?"

maybe part of me feels worried, because aside from being OC, i am also a non-compuslive tagasalo, which means that i have the tendency to make salo people around me. but the larger part of me just feels sad that i am leaving home.

i remember when i went to canada, there was one time i talked to papa over the phone and i told him i missed him. he replied, "anak, miss na miss ka na rin namin dito. nung isang araw nga pumunta ako ng kwarto mo at umupo lang sa kama mo... mag-ingat ka diyan ha." i was crying while he was saying that. buti na lang he ended the conversation. sabi niya, "tama na nga yan, baka mag-iyakan pa tayo, baka maiyak pa ako." and then he laughed.

papa was right, tama na nga ito. siguro lang talaga mahirap pag may mga pagbabago sa buhay. in four months, i will be getting married. bagong buhay yun. siguro nga mahirap but i love bernard and i want to spend the rest of my life with him. although leaving home will be hard, i know that i'll enjoy married life. i also know that i can do this. with everything that mama and papa has taught me, mostly by example, i know that although married life will not be easy, bernard and i will make it.

wag po kayong mag-aalala, papa. mag-iingat po ako. alam ko rin po na aalagaan ako ni jojie katulad ng pag-aalaga niyo sa akin. thank you for everthing you have given me. i love you and mama so much.

The Prayer

The other day while I was working on my thesis, I decided to browse through my new collection of mp3's (courtesy of my honey). So I put on the headphones and started Media Player. After looking through the playlist, I absent-mindedly clicked Josh Groban's The Prayer. Although I have heard the song a million times, I have not realized how beautiful it really is. Charlotte Church's voice was perfect and of course, so was Josh Groban's. For the first time, I saw myself walking down the aisle and, in my mind, I saw Jojie waiting for me at the altar. The image was very vivid. I could even see how his eyes were lit up by his smile. It was enough to make me teary-eyed.

For the first time, too, I realized that I am getting married... I am actually getting married! In four months, I am going to be with Jojie whom I love so much and who loves me, too, very much. I am very blessed.

The Prayer

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your Grace
To a place where we'll be safe
La luce che to dai

I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore restero
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarchi che
When stars go out each night
L'eterna stella sei
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'e
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace

Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Sognamo un mondo senza piu violenza

Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace e di fraternita

La forza che ci dai
We ask that life be kind
E'il desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amore
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a se
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
E la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salvera

vows

bernard and i went to the OLCP last saturday to see if our misalette was already checked. i was so happy to see that our vows were approved.

here are the vows we're planning to use for the giving of the rings:

Bernard: I, Bernard, take you, Clarice, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

Clarice, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Clarice: I, Clarice, take you, Bernard, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.

Bernard, I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.


don't you just love it? i got it from a christian misalette. i was so afraid that the priest would take it out. buti na lang talaga pinayagan niya. i so love the lines "loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us". for me, it speaks of how marriage should really be.

i'm so excited na! :)