My sweet sweet girls

My favorite time of the day is always after dinner when we get to spend real quality time with the girls before they go to bed. Sabine was extra "lambing" to Ate Anissa tonight because the latter had a headache. She stayed beside Ate in bed and from time to time, would cup Ate's face in her hands and caress it, as if to say
It's okay, Ate, I'm here
I just LOVE seeing them bond!

Thankful for friendships

I received some very disturbing news last night about one of my BFFs and the things she's had to go through in the past few weeks. I didn't quite know how to react at first because although I'm in constant touch with her, I knew nothing about the story I heard. I began to wonder if there was any truth to it but never asked myself why she didn't tell me. That's how we all are in this group. We've learned, throughout the 20 plus years that we've been friends, to respect each other's private space. We no longer demand to know everything but instead trust one another enough to know that if anyone needs a shoulder to cry on, all it would ever take is a text or a phonecall. So that's exactly what I did while I got stuck in a few minutes of traffic on my way to work this morning. I sent her a text to ask her what I've come to know and let her know that if she needed to talk I'm just here like I've always been, but that I will definitely respect her if she doesn't wish to go into details.

To cut a long story short, I made a promise to see her after work today. We had a short phone conversation after I got to the office and in between her painful sobs, I managed to assure her that everything will be okay and that this is just one of those obstacles God has decided to throw her way. Possibly to test her faith and perhaps to remind her of all the other blessings she needs to be thankful for. I was really touched when she said that one of the biggest awakenings she's had lately is about friendship. Even if we belong to one core group, she has other sets of friends too, just like me. But this recent personal crisis she experienced has taught her to be mindful of whom she can and can't trust. She's hurting a lot largely due to the fact that she now knows who her real friends are and I was telling her, that's life. Sometimes it throws you the biggest curveballs because otherwise we wouldn't be able to see things clearly. Now that the storm has passed, she should learn to look beyond the pain of losing the people whom she thought were her friends and be thankful for those who decided to stick around. I know it's easier said than done at this point, when everything seems to be reminding her of the pain. But she should trust someone who's "been there, done that". The difficulties don't last very long. Everything gets better in time. It just has to!

And after our conversation she sent me a heart-warming text saying that I don't have to remind her that I'm here because she knew a long time ago that I'm no fair-weathered friend and whether she likes it or not, I'm in her life forever and ever. Hahaha...I'm so glad I was able to make her "smile" even in her SMS. I'm hoping that when I go and see her later (yes, I'm going to brave the Monday traffic along SLEX at rush hour just to spend time with her), I'll be able to hold up well when she starts crying, because I'm 101% sure tears will flow freely as they always have over the years whenever we all sit down to talk about problems.

It's been a really long time since we've had to deal with a major issue so I'm hoping I haven't lost my touch and be able to pass on some sound advice to her. It's the least I can do for someone who is really like a sister to me.

Wishlist for 2008

My co-Kulasa, Isah just posted her list and I'm almost sure she's going to tag me so here I go with mine. I'm going to try and be as realistic as possible hehehe!

> Spend more quality time with loved ones : most especially Anissa who is growing up too fast before my very own eyes. I want to have more one-on-one time with her before she begins to prefer being with friends over Mommy.

> Organize all the photos in my hard drive and print them all out instead of just saving them in CDs. Guilty guilty guilty of procrastinating on this one.> Go back to making my Daily Gratitude List.

> Go on monthly dates with hubby.> Take lots of beach trips because we missed out on the whole summer last year with me being pregnant with Sabine.

> Take care of my skin more --- MOISTURIZE and make it a habit to wear sunblock!

> Visit my OB Gyne regularly (she's beginning to wonder if I've packed my bags and left the country).

> Drink my vitamins regularly and start taking Calcium supplements.

> Make a list of all the birthdays I need to remember and keep it updated.

> Eat more healthy food.

> Drink less Coke and more water (I'm so not looking forward to this).

> Lessen my coffee intake (I'm not exactly sure I can do this).

> Be more watchful of my sugar intake because diabetes runs on my Dad's side of the family.

> Buy really nice picture frames to replace the ones that Sabine has murdered hahaha!> Smoke less! - okay I seriously, seriously need to start doing this =(

> THINK THINK THINK before I buy. Thanks to my almost 2-year "stint" as stay-at-home Mom, I've genuinely developed the knack for being "kuripot". Maybe the people who know me very well will find this hard to believe but it's true. Get used to it =)

> Clean out my closet more often.> Be less lazy to go out and have fun with friends.

> Organize all important family documents into a NEAT and DECENT file : passports, birth and baptismal certificates, Anissa's school docs, utility receipts that are less than a year old, etc.

> Get rid of 2 of our 3 credit cards.

> Religiously transfer a portion of my humble income into our pooled savings account (and bug DH no end to do the same) then hold on to that ATM card and hide it!