Merry Christmas from Zamboanga!

Originally posted in Friendster on Dec. 28, 2008.

Carl and I had a blast spending our Christmas in my beloved city of Zamboanga. I was so, so spoiled with my Papa, Grandma and Tita giving me all my food requests. Some of the best treats that they had prepared for the “butete” (their endearment for the preggy me) includes steamed samaral, latu salad, ginataang puso ng saging, sweet and sour lapu-lapu, locon (huge shrimps) and crabs, crabs, crabs! =) There was also an abundance of fruits - mangos, bananas, pineapples, watermelons.. Yum! Yum!When asked what we did in Zamboanga, the answer is simple. We ate and had a good time with family and friends. Thank you Lord for the abundance in food that You have blessed Zamboanga with and thank you for the great cooks in my family! =) Lucky me for not having morning sickness so I get to enjoy all the food this Christmas.

Yesterday before leaving Zamboanga, Papa, Carl and I woke up at 3am to buy crabs for pasalubong to the folks in Laoag. Papa’s suki owns the breeding farm and we get to pick the crabs we want to buy before it gets shipped to Manila. We bought 3 kilos male crabs, 2 kilos female crabs and a 1 kilo crab which is as large as a plate!

We arrived Laoag this morning. I didn’t get much sleep on the way here.. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but I had a good rest afterwards so no worries. =) I’m looking forward to my New Year here in Laoag. I can hear the cries of the goat who is counting his last days. Mwahahahaha! =)

Boy or Girl?

Originally posted at Friendster on Dec. 17, 2008.

Bruttie sent me a lunar calendar which they say is about 90+% accurate in determining the sex of your baby. To use the lunar calendar and predict the gender of the baby, find the mother’s age at conception (across the top of the table) and then the month at which conception occured. The intersecting point between row and column will predict whether the baby is a boy (blue) or a girl (pink).

This calendar is accurate with Carl’s side of the family however is not at all accurate for me and Miriam. I remember Carl in deep concentration counting back the days when we learned of our baby’s gestational age right after our ultrasound and he insists that its a boy. I think so too but just to be contrary, I’m betting that its a girl. =)

We’ll know by April who wins the bet. I already like the name Joshua for a boy and maybe Caitlin if its a girl. =)

Heartbeat Present!

Originally posted at Friendster on Dec. 15, 2008.

It was our second ultrasound yesterday to check for our baby’s heartbeat — and there it was at 176 beats per minute! =) Our baby is now 7 weeks and 5 days along, 1.44cm long and is due by July 29, 2009.

I can’t begin to describe the feeling when I saw that flickering spot in the ultrasound monitor that was our baby’s heart. Naiyak ako, promise. Even the grouchy ultrasonologist couldn’t dampen that feeling of excitement, gentleness and love I was experiencing. Sayang nga Dads were not allowed into the ultrasound room. Carl had to wait at the lobby where I just recounted to him my ultrasound experience. Next time we’ll have my ultrasound at a clinic were Carl can experience seeing the baby with me. =)

I did mention that this was our second ultrasound. The first one was taken too early (due to over-excitement!) that only the gestational sac was visible. I remember too well my conversation with the nurse during the ultrasound:

Nurse: Buntis po kayo Ma’am pero walang baby.

Me (Shocked): Ano!? Bakit walang baby? Pero buntis ako?

Nurse: Opo, buntis kayo. GS po meron. Doctor na lang po mag-eexplain.

I was really, really worried. Where was my baby? Why was this nurse telling me there was no baby? Hay naku, di lang pala kami nagkaintindihan. She should have said something like the baby is still too small to be seen.. Blah, blah, blah. But she had to say “Walang baby”. I’m pregnant and hormonal and no one can blame me if I take things out of context. Oh well, thank God for ultrasound picture charts in the Doc’s clinic where I get to know about GS (Gestational Sac) and the early stages of pregnancy. =)

Two lines = positive! =)

Our baby is being very good to me. Aside from the occasional drowsiness, lightheadedness and bitter taste in my mouth, I feel right as rain. No morning sickness for me so far. =) Sana tuloy tuloy na to.

I can’t wait for the upcoming holidays. I swear I’m gonna indulge with all the fresh seafood I can get in Zamboanga. Just thinking about Samaral and latu already makes my mouth water. Seven more days and counting! =)

The Proposal

"The Proposal" was originally posted in our wedding website.

Date: September 29, 2007

Place: Penang, Malaysia

It was the second day of my vacation in the beautiful island of Penang and Carl & I just arrived in the hotel from an exhausting city tour. Carl remained full of energy and couldn't seem to stop talking about "The Ship", a restaurant where we will be having dinner that night. He kept on repeating that it was a very romantic restaurant and a perfect treat for my Penang farewell dinner. I was listening with half an ear and was taking cat naps until it was time for us to leave Batu Ferringhi. I was amazed when I saw the restaurant since it was shaped literally as a ship. So that's where it got its name. =)

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Picture taken infront of "The Ship" the day after Carl proposed

While having our dinner, Carl looked a bit agitated. When I asked him why, he said that the atmosphere in the restaurant was not exactly the “romantic” setting that he hoped it would be. With the song “Anak” playing in the background, I was inclined o agree. =) Don’t ask me why a Freddie Aguilar song is playing in a Malaysian restaurant ‘coz I’m as bewildered as you are. =)

To save our “romantic” dinner date, Carl invited me for a walk along the beach before we head back to the hotel. After a bit of strolling, we chanced upon a bench on the beach and decided to take a seat and just spend time together. We will be apart again by tomorrow and not see each other for another month so we wanted to spend quality time just being with each other. After a bit of chit-chat, Carl suddenly became silent then he took hold of my hand and began his speech. The minute he took my hand and started stroking my ring finger I thought “Is he going to propose tonight!!???!!!”. I was in a state of shock! My hands felt clammy and my heart was pounding in my ears. Too much pounding that I heard only bits and pieces of the fairly long speech that my normally shy and quiet boyfriend was saying. I heard the “growing old together” part and the “I can see you as the mother of our children” part then finally “Gladys, will you marry me?”. The pounding suddenly stopped. I felt light-headed and if not for Carl still holding on to my hand, I think I might have floated right up to heaven. As he pulled the ring out of his pocket, I knew deep in my heart that he is the one person that God intended me to share the rest of my life with. So, the answer to the question was easy. I said “Yes” to my honey, my hoody and my love forever.

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Trivia: The reason why Carl was stroking my ring finger was because he was worried that the ring might not fit.... It was a perfect fit. =)

Our Story

"Our Story" was originally posted in our wedding website.

What follows is an account of how we met. =)

Carl
How I met my future wife? Our story started in our dormitory back in UP, Yakal Residence Hall. Although we were in the same dormitory, our paths never crossed until the latter part of her stay in the dorm. In fact, we were never introduced to each other.

Yakal Residence Hall

I was residing at the first floor west wing part of the dormitory living a low-profile life while Gladys was on the other side of the dormitory, known as Piper, one of the heartthrobs in Yakal. Who would have thought that I will be ending up marrying one of the heartthrobs in the dormitory? =)

Why Piper? Gladys was known as Piper in the dormitory because she looks like the actress who plays the character Piper in the TV series “Charmed.” I was very curious if she really looks like “Piper.” So I decided to watch “Charmed” one night and see for my self the one they call “Piper.”

“Di naman e…” was my first reaction. She does not look like Piper. “Siya pala si Gladys…” Honestly, it was not love at first sight (Sorry honey! =)). Maybe because, if I remember it right she wore eye glasses back then. Her beauty was hidden by those eye glasses. I wondered what she would look like without those eye glasses.

Days, weeks, months passed and I hardly notice her in the dormitory until she started wearing contact lenses. “Maganda pala siya!” At that time, I was only limited to appreciating her beauty from afar. I started watching Charmed regularly just to see her. Also, since my room is right beside the walkway and every time I hear voices of people speaking in Bisaya at lunch time, I knew it is her group passing by, so I would peek out the window and there I get a glimpse of Gladys, always radiant and her smiling eyes makes her glow even more.

Sometime, Q4 of 2000, Gladys was my classmate in Physics…

One day, when Ronnie and I went to the dormitory to get some stuff for our project, I saw Gladys, sitting at the lobby, alone, waiting for her friends I think. I don’t know what prompted me to ask her about some “fabricated” Physics assignment.

Gladys
I was sitting in the lobby of the Yakal Dormitory one evening waiting for my friends to come down for dinner when…

Carl: Uh… excuse me. May assignment ba tayo sa Physics?

Me (medyo nagulat kasi di kaagad napansin na may lumapit dahil medyo mahina ang boses): Wala naman tayong assignment.

Carl: Okay, thanks.

Me (thinking): Classmate ko ba yun?

So, in the next Physics 103 class I noticed him sitting in the third row. Buti napansin ko pa given the very large class size of Physics 103 in UP. I asked Kenen (my forever seatmate in that class) if he knew that guy in the third row. Kenen told me that he was Carl Saturnino a resident of West Wing 1 of Yakal. Naglalaro din daw ng basketball. I wasn’t really an avid fan of basketball since chess was the only game I played during dorm sportsfest. Anyway, after that I will always start noticing him around the dorm and in my other classes.

Carl
Our first meeting in the Yakal lobby was without the usual introductions, “Hi I’m Carl! And you are?” It was the first and last “significant” meeting until December 2001. I got up late for class that morning and while waiting for an IKOT jeep and still groggy, I saw her coming out from the dormitory in her usual glowing self and cute walk. =) I knew she was going to class at the Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) building.

“Si Gladys, papasok rin, sana sumakay siya ng jeep… Sana kami lang dalawa sa jeep, para makausap ko…”

It was my lucky day after all! Gladys also took the IKOT jeepney in going to class and we were the only people that were on that jeepney during the ride to EEE building. I will have the chance to talk to her and finally introduce myself.

In my mind, I was playing with different introductory phrases to start the conversation. How will start? What will I say to her? “How is your project in COE 115 going?” No. “What is your class this morning?” No. “Do we have an assignment?” Not again! The Physics pickup line was not effective. (Unknowingly, it was effective after all!) Will I talk to her? She is now smiling at me. Is there something on my face?

Sa tagal ko mag-isip, nakarating na kami sa EEE building, I haven’t uttered a single word, not even a “Hi!” or “Good Morning!”. I wasted 15-20 minutes alone with Gladys (minus the driver of course). I had the chance to finally talk to her and introduce my self but I didn’t. Torpe? Ako? Hindi, puyat lang!!! =)

I told to myself, “Next time I’ll talk to her.”

Gladys
After a few months of seeing Carl around the dorm and the EEE building, I told my friends. “Hey, guess what. May bago akong crush sa dorm. Itago na lang natin sya sa pangalang Coolking.” Coolking comes from the name of my fave halohalo stand in SM North at that time. =)

Carl
December arrived and I was planning to invite Gladys to go and watch the UP Diliman Annual Lantern Parade and probably ask her out to dinner. Unfortunately, it was the day of the Lantern Parade when her whole family went to Baguio for a vacation. Another missed opportunity… But because I was really eager to talk to her that day, I got her number from a friend. I sent her a TXT message but I didn’t get a reply from her.

Gladys
In December 2001, I was one of the first residents of Yakal to go on Christmas vacation. My whole family was going on vacation in Baguio then spend Christmas in Abra (hometown of Papa). While in the bus on the way to Baguio , biglang may nag-txt na unknown number. Hahaha! Si Coolking pala! And so began our txt exchanges during the holiday season.

We went out on our first date in January 2002 – dinner lang at Tokyo-Tokyo. Mura pa yung Sumo Pork Tonkatsu nun! It was a feast for us who were living on a student’s allowance. =) In February, and several dates later, he asked me out for a Valentines date. Unfortunately, I already had plans for that night with my friends so we decided to have the date on February 15 instead.

Carl
I was all dressed up in polo and slacks for my “Valentine’s” date with Gladys but when Gladys came down from the Girl’s wing, she was wearing jeans and shirt. I felt overdressed but it was too late to change! Anyway, we proceeded to Angelino’s for dinner and afterwards went to the UP Fair. There was a lot of people inside the fair area so we decided to listen to the band from the “banks” of the Sunken Garden near Vinzon’s Hall. It was past midnight by then. We listened to the band for a while, talked for a while, and then I held her hand. And the rest is history. =)

Gladys
Five years later and with our love for each other growing in leaps and bounds since that first night we held hands, we are now taking the next step in our relationship. That of husband and wife. =)