Day 12: 20 Months and Counting...

12/30:  DIY Love Story Timeline. Since it's our 20th monthsary today, I'm featuring our love story timeline, created by two stressed couples who were rushing their DIY guestbook (ahem, kami yun!). That's the thing you learn from working as auditors, you learn to deal with stressful moments because at the end of the day, something needs to get done. So with the help of a blackboard and chalks, here's what we came up with two days before the big day:

Ooops, there was a glitch for lack of quality control! Hahaha! :) Can you find it? We discovered the error when we were collecting the responses from the guests. How could we forget about 2010!? That was the year when I prayed so hard for God's best, we had our very first date, he courted me and I said yes! Thank goodness we had this to make up for the missing part. 2010 you deserved this next photo. :)

Now that's just one of the things we would happily remember about our wedding. We have moved on now to our "just married phase" and by God's awesome grace, we are celebrating our 20th month together as a couple and 2nd month together as husband and wife. Our celebration consisted of sharing one order of paella for lunch at a park nearby, nothing fancy. If someone asked me today how it feels like being together for 20 months, I can only answer this: adjusting but happy. ♥  

Happy 20th month dearest Rolando, I've said this perhaps a bajillion times, I love you and I thank God for you! Counting more months and more photos together with you... :)

Day 11: The Magic of Make Up

11/30: Make Up. I never believed so much in the power of make up till my time to walk down the aisle came. During the wedding preps, I knocked the heaven's door so hard with this prayer: "Lord, please make me beautiful on my wedding day, pleeeeaaaase, just that day, I'll never ask for any other day again!!!" Three days before the big day, my prayer was answered.

I came across with Imelyn Sanchez's name from Riz's blog (the blogger I've been stalking because I've been blessed with her life). :) I thanked God for taking care of this make up thing and for clearing her sched so I could have a trial with her. Just minutes after the trial, I knew I just had to book her! And what a joy having her around on our big day and watching her transformed my stressed face to a wedding-day face! :) Now I know, there's a magic in make up. Look, I gladly present the evidence to you:

Wedding Day look  (photo credit to Imelyn Sanchez's fb page, more photos here.)

Trial Session

Magic diba? I strongly recommend her to all you soon-to-be brides out there! She's very kind and sweet to work with, not to mention very talented! She understood my eye problem (my right eye is smaller than my left) and my face structure very well... and in the stroke of her brushes, she did create something magical out of me. We were blessed to have found a Christian make-up artist in the super saturated list of make up suppliers. :)

Dearest Imelyn,
Thanks so much for making me pretty on my wedding day. My groom kept telling me how beautiful I was on our special day! :) It was truly a blessing knowing you. You have a gift in creating something beautiful using make up. God bless your work abundantly!
Your Bride,
Laidel

Day 11: The Magic of Make Up

11/30: Make Up. I never believed so much in the power of make up till my time to walk down the aisle came. During the wedding preps, I knocked the heaven's door so hard with this prayer: "Lord, please make me beautiful on my wedding day, pleeeeaaaase, just that day, I'll never ask for any other day again!!!" Three days before the big day, my prayer was answered.

I came across with Imelyn Sanchez's name from Riz's blog (the blogger I've been stalking because I've been blessed with her life). :) I thanked God for taking care of this make up thing and for clearing her sched so I could have a trial with her. Just minutes after the trial, I knew I just had to book her! And what a joy having her around on our big day and watching her transformed my stressed face to a wedding-day face! :) Now I know, there's a magic in make up. Look, I gladly present the evidence to you:

Wedding Day look  (photo credit to Imelyn Sanchez's fb page, more photos here.)

Trial Session

Magic diba? I strongly recommend her to all you soon-to-be brides out there! She's very kind and sweet to work with, not to mention very talented! She understood my eye problem (my right eye is smaller than my left) and my face structure very well... and in the stroke of her brushes, she did create something magical out of me. We were blessed to have found a Christian make-up artist in the super saturated list of make up suppliers. :)

Dearest Imelyn,
Thanks so much for making me pretty on my wedding day. My groom kept telling me how beautiful I was on our special day! :) It was truly a blessing knowing you. You have a gift in creating something beautiful using make up. God bless your work abundantly!
Your Bride,
Laidel

Day 10: Instagram Lovin'

10/30: Instagram. So the Instagram bug has finally hit me! A bit too late i knoooow, but hey, I just earned the right to hubby's rustic iPhone3 when I arrived in Dublin. Talking about conjugal properties, I immediately claimed co-ownership of all things that could snap photos! :)

I dare say Instagram has its own magic although truth be told, nothing beats the sharp/focused photos produced by DSLRs. Dublin is both photogenic and Instagram-genic! And for someone who is a shutterbug and who loves capturing the simple, mundane things in everyday life, Instagram is one awesome tool! Just snap, choose a filter, then hit the publish button and you're photos are good to go! Only a week using it and look what I've got:

Each photo I take here reminds me of God's goodness. My heart soars with gladness now that hubby and I are reunited in a place where our past time is a walk in the park or a stroll to the river nearby, or just a photowalk within the streets of Dublin.

OAN (on another note), homesickness strikes me every now and then, although not too strong to make me pack my bags and go home. I don't know with other Pinoys abroad, but it would be a big fat lie to say that I'm not missing my country Philippines just because I am somewhere in Europe now, an upgrade from the third world country where I spent 30 years of my so-called life. I love being here, but I reckon it's true what an expat I used to work with said. "When you leave your country, you don't totally leave it, because you're carrying a big chunk of it wherever you go!" To ease this feeling, I think it's about time for me to find a work. Just to share the conversation that hubby and I had last Sunday:

L: Babe, is this normal?

R: What?

L: This feeling of homesickness. (Sigh). I miss Philippines, I miss CCF (church), I miss my family, I miss my friends, I even miss my job there!

R: Do you want to go back?

L: No.
R: Why?
L: Because you're here. Diba dapat para akong si Ruth (from the bible and then sing) "Wherever you go, I will go... Wherever you live, there shall I be... Your people will be my people too, and your God, my God."
R: (Smile). Thanks Lai for being here. You'll get through that. It's just a phase. When you found a job here, you won't have time to feel homesick anymore. 

L: Shucks!!!! Pwedeng wag muna ko mag-work?
R: Of course. No hurry.

I had my own share of sacrifices going here. For one, I already loved my job in PH and given some time and steady commitment, I knew I'd be given the opportunity to travel, work and move up. I even had to turn down a job invitation from this dream company in Ortigas because I knew I'd move to Ireland soon after the wedding. Hubby is not hurrying me or anything, after all I've been here just 12 days.

Sooner, I have to be a responsible adult and find a spot in the marketplace here because I strongly believe, God wants me to work and interact with the people of Ireland. I know it would be a start from scratch again but it was one of the sacrifices I gladly signed up for in this marriage. In the meantime, please bear with my photos (Instagram and DSLR-taken) and ramblings till the calling of a JOB consume me! :)

Day 9: My New Home

9/30: New Home. Dublin, Ireland is my new home, a place where hubby lives and works. Being here was another answered prayer just recently added in our ever growing list of blessings. Long distance no more, skype dates no more, time difference no more. Finally, our first year of marriage can actually start rolling.

Living apart after our wedding was definitely not an option. We knew it was God's will for husbands and wives to be together physically. So no matter how hard, long and expensive getting here was, we knew we were under God's grace. God provided everything, we only needed to pray for the right timing.

On another note, I've been sick since the day I got here. I've suffered from headache, muscle pain, colds and fever. When hubby realized it was more than just a travel fatigue (poor hubby, he's seen the worst of me), he brought me to a medical clinic and we found out I had a respiratory tract infection. Nothing too serious the doctor said and I should be better in 3 to 4 days time. Thank God I'm actually feeling a little better now enabling me to write. I know the 30-day blogging challenge has taken a halt, but after receiving my visa, two weeks were spent on doctors' appointments (dentists, ob, optical), buying stuff, meeting people, not to mention 5 idle days of house arrest because of the habagat. But I shall continue on. I promise I'll keep writing on. :)

For now, here are some photos taken the day I arrived here (August 11, 2012) when the infection hasn't taken its toll on me yet. Our first home is a tiny house built in a quiet neighborhood within Dublin. We know this is enough for us now. We have a place where we can fellowship together, where we can dream together, where we can cook or possibly burn food together, where we can start piling our books, our photographs, our travel souvenirs, and other mishmash of stuff. Feels awesomely good to start life with that one person you love to spend your day with in a home full of love (and flowers!). Home, yes I'm home! :)