About My Shoes

(Boys not allowed)

I have to say goodbye to my high heels for a while. I'm allowed to wear 1" heels maximum, but a heel that is an inch thiN is an affront to my senses. It defeats the purpose of wearing heels in the first place, which is to inflict as much pain as possible upon my calves, soles and back. An inch and nothing are practically the same. So let's push the envelope and just go for nothing.

Resigned to my fate, I've searched far and wide for comfortable flats that shall be my walking companion for the next nine months. I never thought I'd say this, but I was looking for comfort over style this time. Siyempre naman, I won't wear anything butt ugly. But a moderate level of attractiveness will do.

It's been a long time coming, but I found the ONE. These are my new Grendha Secret Ads in Gray and Silver. They're nerdy enough to wear to the office but viola, the soles are made of rubber, so barring my klutziness, I'm sure to be skid-free. They're also verrrryyyy comfortable. I feel like I'm walking on clouds when I wear them. (O.A. Haha)

Grendhas are manufactured by Grendene, a shoe company based in Brazil that also makes Melissas, Ipanemas and Riders.

Anywho, try the new Grendha Secret Ads if you're feeling sort of manang yourself. I got mine from the Shoe Salon at The Podium. Other colors available are black, gold, and blue. Loving the blue.

By Faith

Pregnancy is an obsessive compulsive's nightmare. Ordinarily, I could tick-box my way out of anything. Heartbeat ok? Check. Lungs developing? Check. But I couldn't do that HERE, considering that the baby is growing inside me. That's obviously a  place I cannot see all the time, except maybe if I buy myself my own sonogram machine. Boohoo.

My obsessing over the baby has thus been limited to keeping myself informed. We Google and read as much material as we can, through which I soon learn that so many things can go wrong.

There's Subchorionic Bleeding, Gestational Diabetes,Preeclampsia etc. It is especially distressing that we really have no control over some, if not most, of these things. Preeclampsia specifically can be genetic. So I can eat healthy, get the rest I need, but there will still be no guarantee that everything will turn out okay.

Enter FAITH - an act of trust and confidence.* And surely, the only thing worth holding on to when the tangible just won't do.

As you can tell by now, I am super excited about the new addition to our family, especially as a first time parent. I have fears, yes, but I won't let those overshadow the magnitude of my faith. I'm simply claiming, it will all be okay in the end.

(*See Hebrew 11 NIV "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see ...)

House Arrest

I've been out of the loop for sometime because I was placed under house arrest. I had early pregnancy complications, maybe because of all of the crazy things that we did when we were yet ignorant of the tiny person who's been growing in my belly. Doctor calls it a threatened abortion, which I understand is a medical term for spotting and bleeding during pregnancy, so I was compelled to take one week's worth of bed rest.

I haven't been to work since Monday. Where I was was on our BED, RESTing. My bed rest police by the name of Paolo, would not allow me to even use the computer. I was to rise from our bed only when I had to go to the bathroom or when I had to eat, both of which I also did in our room, by the way. Anywho, anything to keep the baby safe and healthy.

WiFi + iTouch allowed for browsing the Internet even when I was lying down. 

I also finished reading those books that I started reading during the Holy Week. Of course, Pipo kept me company.

I don't know why I caught a cold and a mild cough when I was literally just resting the entire week. I think it's my body's way of telling me that I need to work, or at least find something to do to be productive. It's just the way my entire system is wired.

We went to the doctor yesterday to check on the baby, and it turns out s/he's okay now. I can go back to work on Monday but would have to limit my travels. I read that only half of women with threatened abortions continue to have viable pregnancies, so we're still very lucky.

Everything's going to be fine from now on. Say that with us now...

What's the matter, Pipo?

Pipo's been clingy lately. He usually just ignores us and sleeps in Manang'sroom. But a few weeks ago, he started following me wherever I went. He stood guard outside the bathroom door when I took showers. He slept on our bed everyday. He basically just liked to place himself as near to me as he can, be it inside my blanket or just hanging around in our room.



Could Pipo have known that I was pregnant even before we knew? According to this and this, there is no scientific evidence that domestic animals can detect early signs of pregnancy, although there are testimonies from pregnant women to this effect.

Regardless, Pipo sure has been acting strange since we got pregnant. I wonder what's on his mind. Maybe he's worried about having to share his toys. Hmmm.

The Miracle of the Moment

We're going to be parents!

After a year of trying, we learned yesterday that I'm finally 5 weeks pregnant with our first child. The news came at a time when we least expected it. I honestly thought I've been feeling bloated and queasy lately because I've had too much to eat. Or because my period's delayed, as always.

Pao and I first decided it's about time we became parents one year into our marriage, with our jobs okay and  our finances sufficient.

We took matters into our own hands - doing everything scientifically possible to conceive a child. Unfortunately, I had complications and we ended up just spending a lot  of time and money seeing doctors here and there. It became so frustrating at some point that I began to not care anymore.

Apparently, as in all things, parenthood is given to you not according to your own timetable but in God's own time.

I actually already left my nth pregnancy test on our dining table yesterday because I thought it had gotten spoiled. The (always negative) results usually took only 3 minutes; this test took for-everrr. I thus had no expectations and was, in fact, planning on buying a new set later in the day. It was Pao who discovered these when it was his turn to take a shower for work...

Now we know what "happy" looks like. Heehee

In conclusion, I realize we really had no business helping God out. There is a time for everything. It just so happened that 5 weeks ago, God decided, "It's time you guys." There was no need to worry. All we had to do all this time was to trust in God's will and wait patiently for Him. (Psalm 37:7)