25 September 2011   

Our 3 weeks vacation to the Philippines and DH Tony's special 4-day birthday treat for me in Singapore which begun last Aug 31, 2011 just ended today, Sept 25, 2011... felt so thankful to GOD to be home safe and sound :)

Really, I am so grateful to God that our trip went without a hitch because our international and domestic flights were booked separately with few connecting flights on the same day with only 2-3 hours lay over let alone the land tours and the 21 days hotel reservations which I booked thru Expedia and Agoda were non-refundable. I mean had we got stranded somewhere even just for an hour or so, our itineraries would have been really screwed up which means re-booking everything from the get-go. So I thank you all my good friends for your prayers as well XOXOXO

Anyway, the highlight of this trip was our renewal of our vows on our 12th wedding anniversary last Sept 8, 2011 in front of my family and selected very few good friends in Davao City, Philippines.  Oh yeah DH Tony second wedding proposal to me for my family and friends to witness in the Philippines was even sweeter than the first ;-) it made me feel even more loved and valued as a wife despite my infertility, menopause and getting old and fat LOL   However, since we got married in the Catholic Church here in the States 12 years ago, the Catholic Church in the Philippines didn't allow us to do the same exact wedding ceremony rites there because accordingly, in the Catholic Church Canon law, a couple can only receive the sacrament of matrimony in Catholic Church ONCE. In lieu of the complete wedding ceremony, the Church allows us to do just the Renewal of Vows.... basically it's just a short ceremony in a  Para-Liturgical rites to re-affirm our love and marriage vows for each other.
 
I can’t ask for a more solemn and beautiful ceremony such as this...  it was indeed a dream come true!  As the song “IKAW ang Bigay ng May Kapal” by Sharon Cuneta played, DH and I walked down in the aisle which was much more relax and happier than our first wedding day and this time neither one of us was nervous... we're just so happy and and everybody was giggling as  we were surrounded by my loved ones and real good friends for over 23 years… what more could I ask for?   A million thanks to my  "punong abala", Leah Castaneda-Apsay :)  She magically made my wedding dream come true in such a short period of time. I owe you big time, Ley!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

My love notes to my Beloved Tony during the ceremony:

My Beloved Tony, it was 12 years ago today when I first pledged my love and commitment to you in marriage yet it feels like it was just yesterday when I was standing right here in front of you, beaming and gazing at your blue-eyes and giddy facial expression filled with so much love and joy. Indeed, you are my ideal Mr. Right!

More than anything I just want to be loved, trusted, respected and treated equally by my husband without a doubt or jealousy and you have so far, for 12 years, exceeded those expectations with flying colors.

Thank You So So Much for freely letting me see and explore the world and also for treating me like a Queen--a far cry from being just a wife---one of the things some woman can only dream of.

Through all these years I especially want to appreciate and commend you from the bottom of my heart for not angrily raising your voice on me, not yelling at me... not even once in 12 years of marriage despite our occasional disagreements and "moments" of my craziness by ignoring you for a day because I was pissed off over something silly or trivial. I think you have earned the master’s degree in taming the tiger in so many ways... and for this I highly praised God for giving me the type of man who knows exactly how to win me over by his gentle and loving demeanor.

I am also endlessly grateful to you for completely entrusting with me our finances without any question of where the money went and for honoring and keeping your sacred promises to be always faithful to me and to never ever hit me physically or hurt me emotionally no matter what the case maybe.

That being said, I do believe in our marriage more so strongly now than ever before. So on this day, Sept 8, 2011, I hereby reaffirmed my love and devotion to you in marriage in the presence of God Almighty, my family and friends here with us.

I promise to love and honor you and be here for you in sickness and health, in middle and old age, in good and bad times, whether you feel fat or thin, I will always see you and think highly of you as the most handsome, ideal and loving man in the world. I am truly so blessed and so grateful to God that I get to spend my life with no one but you. You've been an integral part of me, the best and the greatest part of me. With you by my side, I have grown so much and transformed into a more forgiving individual and not hold anymore grudges to those people who caused me pain and humiliation before. You've definitely helped me heal many of my issues in life growing up and that have changed some of my perspectives in life for good too.

Darling, thank you so much also for making this day so out of the ordinary for me. You've always made me feel so special, so loved and so beautiful all these years.... You see? I never had these precious feelings especially the "feeling so beautiful" thing until you came into my life. No man has ever made me happy and loved me unconditionally the way you do so devotedly. You are simply the best and the most domesticated husband in the whole world! You have no idea how much I appreciate you for helping me around the house by going grocery shopping, cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning up and beautifying our yard by planting flowers as well as growing vegetables in our backyard.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, my Beloved Tony YOU and ONLY YOU with all my heart and soul Next to God and I swear to God to never ever trade you in even with someone who has Bill Gate's richness and Brad Pitt's handsomeness combined.

I fervently pray to God that this beautiful love, trust and respect that we have for each other will last forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

17 March 2011

DH Tony and I flew from Jacksonville, Florida to Acapulco, Mexico to catch the Coral Princess cruise ship for the fantastic two weeks Grand Panama Canal Cruise hitting 5 countries: Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica. 

For years, I have been wanting to see up close this marvel of engineering in the Panama Canal. The canal has been more than 400 years in the making and nearly a century after it first opened and still remains one of man’s greatest engineering feats; considered to be the number 7 wonder of the industrial world.

Panoramic View of the Panama Canal

I’ve first seen the Panama Canal Transit on TODAYShow with “Where in the world is Matt Laurer” and since then this place becomes one of my travel dreams... it’s not surprising why people from across the globe so dream to see one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever built in the history… it's unbelievably amazing!!! Our tour guide said Spain and France first attempted to build these canals centuries ago but never succeeded until USA took the job. Hats off to the American builders/engineers!!! Why I am not surprised? Well, we all know USA was also the first one to send men to the moon.

Thee Panama Canal cruise is truly a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience… I’d say no trip comes close to the dramatic scope of a grand journey through the Panama Canal. The massive locks control the level of water in the Panama Canal enabling ships to pass through this 51-mile "water bridge". This entire trip takes about nine hours. Ships are lifted and lowered a total of 170 feet as they pass from the Caribbean to the Pacific, crossing over the Isthmus of Panama and straight through the Continental divide… and it costs Coral Princess ship $312,000 to pass through the canal.. YES, that’s the toll fee per ship. Isn’t that grandiose?

"The concept of a canal near Panama dates to the early 16th century. The first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership, but was abandoned after 21,900 workers died, largely from disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. The United States launched a second effort, incurring a further 5,600 deaths but succeeding in opening the canal in 1914.

The U.S. controlled the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it until the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties provided for the transition of control to Panama. From 1979 to 1999 the canal was under joint U.S.–Panamanian administration, and from 31 December 1999 command of the waterway was assumed by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

 

 

This photo was taken March 12, 2011 during the 2nd Formal Night
aboard Coral Princess on Grand Panama Canal Cruise

 

4 October 2010

DH Tony & I are back sound and safe from an amazing one month vacation in Europe... I celebrated my double four birthday and 11 years of wedded bliss with the one and only “martyr” man I fell head over heels in love 14 years ago and counting... and I still love and adore him to death now more than ever. The man never fails to sweep me off my feet all these years, never raised his voice on me even when I rub him off the wrong way occasionally; never fails to kiss me at least 3 times a day and always tells me how much he genuinely loves me unconditionally and devotedly and that I am and will only be the one and only woman for him for the rest of his life despite my infertility and other flaws (cheesy noh? but honest to God this man completely medicates the hopeless romantic thing in me all these years and I can only pray every night that he stays this way forever. Look what an ideal, so loving, devoted, genius and good looking husband I am so blessed with? I have no idea what I did to deserve him and his unconditional love. I guess I am just one darn lucky woman ;-)

This photo was taken Sept 16, 2010 during the 2nd Formal Night
aboard Star Princess on Grand European Cruise

Anyway, we did a combination of cruise & land tours in 11 countries; 23 cities in the western part of Europe and it was indeed an unforgettable trip of a lifetime.

Europe is splendid and all with such an incredible, out of the world gothic arts, paintings, sculptures, architectures, gigantic & over the top churches and Royal Palaces from way back the ancient times-- some were from over two thousand years ago not to mention the breathtaking views in several cities we've trekked by foot (Monaco is by far the most magnificent and has an unbeatable panoramic views; Monte Carlo is the place for filthy rich aristocrat gamblers) however there is no place in this world I'd rather simply live but America. Indeed, there is no place like US of A.

Felt sooooo goooood to be home safe and sound : ) Oh Thank God!!

This photo was taken Sept 20, 2010 during the 3rd Formal Night
aboard Star Princess on Grand European Cruise

Thanks a million Darling for making me feel so, so loved, happy and beautiful all these years. I never had those precious feelings especially the "feeling so beautiful" thing until I met you ;-) You are The BEST in the whole world for me! I Love You Next to my Saviour Almighty God XOXOXO