I'm Bringing ___ Back

Oh yes, I’m at it again; listening to the smut that is morning talk radio.

Yesterday’s topic revolved, once again, around compliments. Except instead of “back-handed” ones, this time around it was what a woman would love to hear her significant other say to her.

It started with the comment that apparently Sarah Silverman had made about her new boyfriend. She said ,”I think he’s the first guy in a decade who’s given me any kind of compliment, like saying I’m pretty or anything.”

Which, of course, had the men on the morning show saying, “Yeah, like pretty okay , that is.” And I admit, I chuckled a bit. But then I thought, “Well, yeah, she could be pretty …”  Which was exactly what the women on the radio voiced as well. Then men on the show countered that the women’s response was the male version of “pretty okay.”

Of course, the men were right in that statement. So from there, the discussion went on to what women would absolutely love to here from their significant other. Specifically, what ONE word would you love to hear at the end of this phrase: “You are so ___.”

Hubby tryin' to catch me all sexy 'n sh*t ...

So of course Hubby turned to me and said, “What would you want to hear me say?”

I sat next to him in the passenger seat quietly contemplating that same thought. And finally after being pestered for a few minutes, I finally answered with: “I need one word to cover both smart and sexy.”

And Hubby turned to me, grinning ear-to-ear, and said,”Smexy?”

Uh, no. Somehow, I had this peculiar impression of … I don’t know. Smelly and … well, you get the point.

Consequently, I spent all day yesterday and this morning trying to come up with the one word that could tie both smart and sexy together. And the only word that I could think of is Captivating.

And now, oh Bloggie Friends … what ONE word would you love to hear?

Tears Like Diamonds

One of my favorite characters is back for the season finale of Heroes tonight. As I sit here watching the show, I can’t help but think of how much Hiro reminds me of my Hubby.

On the drive to work during a warm September morning last year, Hubby & I heard that song “Her Diamonds”  on the radio. I had heard the song off of Rob Thomas’ latest album many times last summer and was looking forward to seeing him in concert later in October.

However there was something about hearing that song on that morning with the sun rising off Lake Michigan that had me truly listening to the lyrics.

“Her Diamonds” talks about a woman  who has reached her limits; who has gotten to the point where she doesn’t know what else to do but cry. And because the song is written from a man’s perspective, we get to hear how he deals with the emotions this woman is going through.

It’s amazing how certain songs can elicit the most visceral reactions. “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias is definitely one of those songs that will always be tied to the incredibly enduring love I have for my Hubby. And now, after finally understanding the lyrics behind his song, Rob Thomas’ “Her Diamonds” will, too.

That morning with Hubby sitting in the driver’s seat, I couldn’t help but squeeze the hand that held mine just a little tighter. Because those lyrics that Rob Thomas sings … well, they’re everything I’ve ever imagined my husband’s thoughts and emotions were during the most difficult parts of our Infertility journey.

And Honey? Just so you know, having you in my life holding my hand and heart … that’s all I can ever ask of you when my “diamonds” start falling down.

 

Milestones

Yay! Made it through the first week of posting daily … and now I need to get through 3 more weeks. I can do this … I can do this …

Well, especially since I really should be spending this “lazy” Sunday afternoon actually doing those every day tasks I should be doing at work. Like getting some weekly case reviews together, and calculating … oh, who cares ?!

Point is, work’s network decided that I spent enough time at my work desk yesterday that I’m not able to log in remotely today. At least one of us is looking out for my sanity …

So instead I get to spend the afternoon writing today’s post earlier than 7 pm at night.

And today’s post is one that I should have written on Wednesday, but honestly knew I wouldn’t have the time I really wanted to spend on writing it. So today’s the day.

Last Wednesday would have been my Grandma Rose’s 100th birthday. And while I know Grandma is in a better place, I can’t help but be just a little sad that she wasn’t here to celebrate this milestone birthday with us.

About a year and half ago, all of the Aunts and Uncles started plans to organize a “family reunion” in the Philippines, just in time for my Grandma’s 100th birthday. By this time, I had already been in contact with quite a few of my cousins on Facebook. We had all talked about surprising her by making the trip out to the Philippines just to be there for this special birthday. But by Christmas time 2008, Grandma was beginning her decline and plans had been put on hold. And then Good Friday rolled around, and then Grandma was no longer her with us on Earth.

Picture of my Grandma Rose from my cousin Reena ... Click on the picture to see her website!

I think about what this loss means to me and to my relationship with my Mom’s side of the family. She was the string that TIED all of us Aunts and Uncles and cousins together; the common bond that we all shared. It would have been incredible to go to this “family reunion” and spend time with all my cousins and Aunts and Uncles. As it is now, most of my Mom’s side of the family live on the East coast  or are still back in the Philippines, so we rarely see them anyway. I just happened to get lucky by keeping in touch with a few of them on Facebook. But sometimes … especially when you actually know the person IRL … well, sometimes it’s just much better to be able to spend “real” time with them.

Anyway, even though it will be a year this coming April, not a day goes by where I don’t think of my Grandma Rose.

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On completely separate note … I must say that today I’ve reached a milestone of my own.
Just shy of three years, I’ve officially written my
300th post. Go me!!

Common Threads

Not quite the "suprised" look I was looking for in my batch of pics ...

Wow. Oh, wow! I woke up to a great suprise this morning.

Well, okay … technically I was at work where I should have been updating all my staff’s databases for 2010* … but yeah. Instead I was tweaking some stuff on my blog.

Which, by the way. Like the new look? I figured it was time to shake it up a little, as it’s been about two years since I’ve changed my look. (Really, I’d love to do my own little design … but yeah, that would mean the cheapskate in me would have to shell out moolah.)

ANYHOO ... As I was saying, I was on my blog do some admin stuff when I noticed a particular person’s <clears throat> Mel <cough> website URL kept popping up on my “Referrers” section. So imagine my suprise when I found out some WONDERFUL person wrote a little ditty about how much my blog inspires them.

Wow. That just totally blew me away. I feel like I should be standing up behind the magic mike stand (you know, the one that disappears once the person is done speaking?) to thank the entire blogoverse for allowing me to write as freely as I do. And specifically to thank everyone for actually reading my words.

Oh, and did I mention this was all done anonymously ?! So … seriously, *THANK YOU* to whomever wrote such beautiful words about me. You honestly don’t know how much it means to me …

The "Stirrups Queen" herself (with the Tiara) along with me, Io and Aunt Becky (left to right) at BlogHer 2009

Anyway, for those of you that aren’t familiar with Mel from Stirrup Queens … she is one of the ALI (Adoption, Loss and Infertility) community’s biggest chieftans. She is *the* person who has managed to organize the lot of us ALI bloggers under one roof … and she’s typically the one who puts the “shout out” to all of us when one of us in need of good support. That’s why it’s perfect that she used to blog under the name “The Town Criers.”

Okay … so yeah, getting sidetracked here again. But I thought it’s very important for those that may stumble onto my site for a variety of reasons to know where to find a comprehensive list of resources for Adoption, Loss and Infertility.

HOWEVER … I *am* finally getting to the point of this post and how it ties (ba-dum-dum) into February’s NaBloPoMo theme. And it’s this …

One of the reasons I started blogging about my Infertility journey was because I felt extremely alone. I felt that there was no one in my immediate surroundings that would even begin to understand what I was going through. Throw in the fact that I’m Filipino-American, where being a mother is seen as a woman’s main purpose in life and where infertility or loss isn’t ever talked about amongst even the closest of close family members … well, yeah. Let’s just say that, other than my Hubby, I didn’t feel as if I had any support AT ALL.

Visiting Kara in La Jolla, Aug 2008

But as I began to peruse through other IF-er’s blogs, I began to feel less alone … less isolated. And stumbling onto Mel’s blogroll? Well yeah, I totally hit the jackpot.

From there I managed to find a bunch of other bloggers that have since become closer to me in the blogoverse than some of my IRL friends. I’m sure that part of the reason is the vast internet space that separates us; which, in turn, allows us to be more open and honest to each other than those who might even live under the same roof.

So how does this relate back to the whole “Ties” theme for NaBloPoMo? It’s simple.

Sometimes there is one common thread that ties one complete stranger to another one. In my world … specifically my Blog World … it’s my infertility. And now, as I travel down a new path … it’s my decision to live with my husband child-free after infertility.

Again … thank you Miss (or Mister?) Anonymous for such lovely words. Sometimes it’s those little suprises in life that keep propelling me forward … especially in my quest to find the next grand adventure in my life.

~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~

*What can I say? I’m a month behind? And isn’t that the story of my life?!

My Favorite "Tie"

Day two of NaBloPoMo; and the theme for the month is “Ties.”

So what will I talk about today? Hmmm … How about my favorite “Tie”? And yes, that would be Hubby.

For those of you that know me IRL, the fact that Hubby is my #1 “Tie” is a double-entendre. Not only is he my favorite thing to keep “tied” to, but well … y’all IRL-ers know *exactly* what I mean. Tee-hee!

I mean, seriously, Hubby is the Tie that I refer to when I think about wanting to be tied to something … er, rather some *one*.

It’s one thing to “Tie the knot” with the love of my life … it’s a completely different thing to want to spend most of my waking hours with him.

Simply put, Hubby is my best friend. And I wouldn’t want to be tied up … er, tied down by anyone else.

Wouldn't want Hubby to "Lego" of me ...