Oh we love our shoes, alright.

When we bought our apartment, the husband insisted that one of the must-have features in the home renovation would be a huge shoe cabinet.

We got 3 cabinets dedicated to our shoes instead..

Here are his:

And this is my cabinet:

Not exact like Carrie Bradshaw’s but it’s better than most people’s. What’s lacking are just the Blahniks, Louboutins & Choos.

Yeah, he has more shoes than I do since his shoes occupy 2 cabinets!

And this is not to mention the shoes that we have in the boxes which can’t be put on the shelves due to the lack of space!

On August 12, 2006, I took a huge risk and married my first boyfriend, Josh Ramsey, at the tender age of 19 (2 weeks 19). My parents were CRAZY to let us get married so young, but they saw something in Josh that they thought would make him the best fit for me and gave him their blessing to let him ask for my hand in marriage. I don’t believe in soul mates. I think that in certain points of your life there are people who are compatible for you and with whom you can have a workable marriage. However, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that Josh Ramsey is the perfect person for me to be married to and the person I will be married to for the rest of my life. These are five reasons why (also, stop judging my numbering. I love numbering and lists. It makes life organized and neat):

1. Josh puts up with me. Flaws and all (and there are a million of them) he loves me regardless of the crap I pull on a daily basis. For example, Josh and I have certain things we are polar opposites about. I am a night-owl and he is an early-bird. So, when 1230-0100am rolls around, Josh is sound asleep and I’m wide awake. Too often do I nudge him repeatedly and say, “Josh… Psssst. Josh.. JOSH! I can’t sleep… Talk to me about something. Anything. Just help me fall asleep.” Any normal human being would push me away and roll over, but Josh slowly wakes up and proceeds to rub my head and talk to me until I fall asleep. Aspiring for saint hood? I think so.

2. Josh can fix anything. My computer, the Four-Runner, the dishwasher, the TV, the shower, Frankenstein, my jeans, etc., You name it he can fix it. I came from a family where my dad attempted to fix everything and fixed maybe 75% of the things he attempted to fix (Charlie, you know I love you, haha). But I am constantly amazed at the volume of things he can fix. Josh could do anything he wanted to do because he’d figure out how to do it, figure out a way to do it better, and then invent a new way to do it.

3. Josh is the smartest person I know. When we first met, he was an associate youth pastor finishing up his Bachelor’s of Arts from Criswell with a 3.98 cumulative GPA. Slightly impressive (he gets points docked for it being Criswell, haha), right? Then we move to Austin, he gets a job at Capital One Bank and decides it’s time to pursue an MBA. Takes the GMAT and scores well enough to go to pretty much any school in the U.S. Uh… isn’t your background in Biblical Studies, Josh?? See the end of point #2. He can do anything, be anything, and create anything he thinks up. He chose SMU because he knew that Dallas was where I wanted to go to nursing school.

4. Josh is the most selfless person I know. I am the most selfish person I know. Marriage has taught me to die to self and serve my partner because Josh demonstrates this concept to me everyday. If you want to watch a person who knows more about Jesus’ character by watching how he lives his life, look at my husband. Going along the lines of NOT being a morning person, Josh (who is) will get up at 5am with me to help me wake up for work and will drive me to work so we can sleep an extra twenty minutes together in the morning. We lovingly call it the “princess drop-off/pick-up.” He daily draws me closer to Jesus because of the way he serves me and encourages me to serve others.

5. Josh is the strongest person I know. When my mom asked him how our first year of marriage was going, he replied, “Well… I’ve never cried so much in my life as I have this past year.” That pretty much sums up how rough our first year of marriage was. Statistics have shown that couples that get married under the age of 20 typically have an average marriage of two years. We are almost at four. In my four years of marriage, I’ve never seen someone grow, change, and develop into such a MAN as I have Josh. We got married as babies and I’ve watched him develop into such a strong, passionate, and tender man. He can conquer anything. He can fix anything. He can do anything. He’s my defender, my protector, my knight in shining armor, my lover, my play mate, my best friend, my hero. Oh, and physically, he can handle anything– for example– running the White Rock Marathon when he only trained for 13 miles? Insane.

So, Josh (my faithful follower and shameless promoter), I love you. In case I don’t tell you enough, I really wanted to publicly affirm you and make sure you know you are my number 1 person. I can’t wait to have babies with you with the hopes of them developing your strength of character and super good looks.

xoxo,
hannah

Currently at the KAL lounge for a hearty breakfast, borrowing Mr. C’s laptop yet again to steal moments for more updates. Flight from LAX to Seoul is way soo much better than my trip home last year! Last year, I took the plane out from JFK to Detroit then to Nagoya before reaching Manila. Boy was i beyond tired! That was the same route i took coming in the US — Nagoya and the US port of entry was Detroit and then JFK. Crazy. I was carrying two luggages then and a laptop.

Bottomline, this trip was more enjoyable. Factor in that I had a tall guy with me that I only need to hold on to.. Haha. No thinking required. No stress. This trip, we had a straight flight to JFK from Narita! (May i also say that the Narita Lounge serves better food what I recall last year at Nagoya..Anywaysss..

Babble babble .. I babble.

So how was my Disneyland experience? My ex officemate Ethel, who lives in LA asked me that when we met her. SHe asked me if i enjoyed it still.. going to Disneyland I mean. It was after all, a place for kids.

My answer was YES. From the unofficial guide book that my nerdy husband read and strictly followed, the best time to go to theme parks was the week AFTER thanksgiving. Our timing was perfect! Sure there were lot of people but I am quite sure the crowd does not compare to the week prior. We were falling in line around 915 am while we wait for the gates to open at 10am and by twelve noon we already had four rides! These rides showcase the stuff that Walt Disney is made of — pure imagination, incredible creativity and passion for detail.

We had the Finding Nemo adventure, the Peter Pan’s flight, Buzz Lightyear.. oh and the Hunted Mansion was amazing .. okay, kid stuff huh, just right for a ten year old. Mr C even bought me magazines as I wait for him because i was determined not to join him as he takes the Major Attraction rides — ergo, the scarier ones. But he took advantage of my poor sense of direction and complete dependence on him as we enter rides after the other.. so YES.. I was tricked and trapped and forced into taking the famous Space Mountain. My last roller coaster ride in Ocean Park HK was supposedly my LAST. BUt Mr C says that my Disneyland trip will not be complete without taking that dreaded ride.

Thanks to Mr. C, I had a scary 60 minute roller coaster ride inside Space Mountain. The ride took 2 minutes actually so… oookay.. the last 60 minutes was a thrill already.. almost. So let it be known world.. I TOOK THE SPACE MOUNTAIN.

After that, we took the Indiana Jones Adventure ride which was scary too but more fun to me than Space Mountain.

We stayed until 9pm– waited for the parade and of course the fireworks. An added bonus was the “snow” that fell from the err.. trees after the fireworks. SO imagine a park full of people, watching amazing fireworks that served as the backdrop of Sleeping Beauty’s castle — and then snow…. it was very romantic.

————-

My battery is running low and we are soon to board so I will try to post a few pics when we return .. ahh that would be tough because of the errands we need to do at home and the year end stuff we need to do at work.

As we wait to board the plane that will bring us to Incheon airpoirt in South Korea , we sit here in the lounge. Mr. C is Platinum member so he is able to spend time (and eat at the VIP lounge.. with a guest…that would be moi)

I am just about to have my second cup of coffee – my poor attempt at keeping myself awake. It is now, let me see…1030pm Saturday here in LAX.. 2:36pm Sunday Manila time. So, we need to stay awake for eight more hours. Ohhh boy!

Two weeks went by so fast. Who am I kidding? This year flew by so fast!! Just see how little time I had to blog. Time went so fast because a lot of wonderful, stressful, exciting, tiring, challenging events happened. But this is not my year end blog so let me save those thoughts in that other blog entry.
Let me have a quick rundown of how the past two weeks have been:

1) Arrived at JFK Monday afternoon, barely reeling for the happy events of the wedding 

2) Took at cab that brought us to this nice hotel just a few steps from the New York Times and Building!! And a few minutes from Times Square! And of course, took a pic in front of our office building in Times Square.

3) Went to Times Square of course. Walked around and be like pretty much everyone else in Times Square – tourists. We checked out the available plays in Broadway, bought tour bus tickets. Went downtime to Century 21 for some window shopping. This mall is just beside our other building where I spent my two week of training last week.

4) On Wednesday, we met with three of my colleague for lunch. My closest colleague, let us call him Rich, took us to PJ Clarks at the Hudson. That gave Mr C and I some time to move around downtown. I liked downtown Manhattan better than the more touristy Midtown. Why? It is Old Manhattan. I liked the older buildings. Some pavements are still made of cobblestones. Places like these brought out the nerd in me. That side of me that likes history and how things came to be. 
Mr C and I made a bad call by postponing buying tickets for Lion King. Which didn’t make sense because it was Thanksgiving week—of course, tourists will want to watch Lion King! So, in short, we didn’t get tickets. We were thinking of watching Shrek instead because it is sold at TKTS for a huge discount. But for a change, we thought.. hey let us go to Madison Square Garden instead and watch the famous Cirque de Soleil’s Wintuk. Amazing show! Unbelievable stunts!

But the cotton candy we bought cost a fortune! A whopping $12 … steep.

5) Thursday is Thanksgiving!!! We met up with Anjou before watching Macy’s thanksgiving parade.. took some poses at Times Square and then checked out of the hotel. We hauled our suitcases to the Long Island Railroad which led us to the PATH train that brought us to Jersey City where Anjou lived. (whew!)Without wasting time, off we went to Aunt Zeny and Uncle Bonnie’s place.

Then we took a half an hour drive (about 30 miles from Jersey City) to where Kuya Ronald (one of Tita Zeny/Tito Bonnie’s children) and his family lived for our first stop of Thanksgiving dinner. After about 90 minutes, off we went to Kuya Dennis’ (the eldest son of Tita Zeny/Tito Bonnie) for the second and final stop. It was smaller party, a lot more cozier and allowed us more time to chat, swap stories and in Mr. C’s case, get updated with his older cousins. We had fu n! So much fun that it was almost 11pm when we decided to rest. Besides, Kuya Dennis’ wife, Ate Rachel was getting ready for Black Friday! It was quite a long drive back to Jersey City.

6) The next day was Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center day. But not before going to Target and to Best Buy where my husband bought his toy. A Playstation3! Okay so he says it wasn’t his but for his brothers.. oohkay. Toys for the big boys are expensive but he tells me it is huge bargain. I cannot understand the amount they pay for electronics probably the same way they cant understand why we need to buy several pairs of black pumps and leather bags. Hehehehe!

7) Before we left New York/New Jersey, Mr C and I had time to take the night tour bus that brought us not just around Manhattan but around Brooklyn as well. Call me nerd again but I enjoyed the trivias of the tourist guide – a quick history lesson there.
And just like that, we were off to Anaheim – where Disneyland is. But that is another blog.

Because, it is just about boarding time…..!!! We are off to Seoul for 1.5 hour layover before heading off home. Home.

We went to two Thanksgiving dinner in New Jersey– thanks to my husband’s cousins. Lots of food.. Too much food actually…. Great conversations.. Mr. C’s Tita Zeny and Tito Bonnie invited us to two separate dinners of their two married children. I have met them a few months ago when they visited Manila for a long overdue trip. It was fun getting to know Mr. C’s cousins, whom he hasnt seen in maybe a decade!! But still, we instantly felt the warmth that only family can give.

A quick pose as Shrek floats by

We were told that we had one of the best Thanksgiving weather. It was the right chilll, the right amount of sunlight and just enough breeze for a perfect parade. Hearing that was a joy in itself.

After the parade, we managed to take some decent pictures using a tripod at Times Square, the thousands of tourists notwitstanding.

Its been so long since I last logged into WordPress that the new interface took me totally by surprise. (how long has it been like this for??) Since I last posted, the being married novelty has also kinda passed. No one inviting us over anymore for food. In fact, we had one of RC’s newly married friends and her husband over for dinner. Our dinner, was of course, nothing like any of the lunches we went to.

So, after all that “newly married” pampering, I suddenly found myself sitting at home, alone, for the most part, with nothing to do. I was in a new city where I knew almost no one. Well, almost no one who was jobless and who wanted to hang out with me. I read like I used to when I was back in college. Almost constantly through the day. But I was fast running out of new things to do everyday. So I started cooking. I diligently cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. I made something new, tried out something RC or I liked (its never and). I’m happy to report that I’ve thoroughly used every single cookbook I bought then. I’ve actually grown to quite like cooking. Yes, I still say that with a shudder. It completely amazes me.

I lived in Hyderabad for 3 years. We didn’t even have a stove for 2 and half years. We had an electric kettle to boil water, for cup noodles, of course. But that was it. Kitchen had a fridge, a few plates and cups, bottles (ahem) and a puja shelf. My mom tried very very hard to get me to make at least curd rice for dinner and failed miserably. After all that, I made Rajma chawal for her when she came to Bombay (what a fun weekend!), and she fell off the chair! Understandably so. Actually, my mother is still in shock.

RC, of course, has been the perfect husband and made all the oohs and aahs and has not complained at all. He deserves a pat on his back.

So does marriage make a culinary enthusiast out of a woman? Nah, unemployment does and very effectively so.

People keep asking me how married life is.  We lived together for a while before we got married, so I honestly figured nothing would change.  After the first day, I couldn’t believe how different I felt though.  And I’ll never forget rolling over in bed the first morning and seeing a ring on Ryan’s finger.  That was really what did it for me.  I kept looking at his hand for the first couple days.  Now, 6 weeks later, it feels really incredible.  We’re just stronger.  More “official”.  Our bond really has changed.  That whole chapter of our lives is over now.  This is it.  We have each other.  I don’t know how else to describe it.

This is the rest of our lives.

Our first weekend in The House was filled with little reminders from each of us to the other.

Me: Hey Matt.

Matt: Yeah?

Me: You’re brushing your teeth…in your house.

—–

Matt: Hey Kelsey

Me: What?

Matt: You’re doing dishes…in your house.

—–

There were also lots of ‘firsts’ announcements.

Matt: First pee in the master bedroom!!!!!

Me: First use of the stove!!!!!!

Matt: First beer in the fridge!!!!!

Matt: Drinking first cold beer from the fridge!!!!!

And then there were times that we just had to sit and marvel at how natural something seemed. It was so nice to finally have my own sink to brush my teeth at instead of having to spit between Matt’s ear and elbow while he hovers over the basin like a convict protecting his food.

Saturday was so crazy that I don’t even really want to talk about it, but here’s the Cliff’s Notes. Our appliances were delivered in the morning, by noon we were picking up our bed and made a trip to Target for bedding and stools, then back to the house to get the Jeep so we would have navigation to guide us to the brand new $35 bed frame I found on Craigslist (score!), then to base for groceries. It was suddenly 6pm and we were looking at each other wondering when the last time we ate was. So we stopped for take-out at Sala Thai, a great hole-in-the-wall Thai place that we’re hooked on and finally headed back to the house to unpack all the boxes and bags, assemble the bed frame and the Mountain Aire mattress…oh yeah, and eat.

On Sunday Matt was chomping at the bit to get started on the yard. So while he was digging where dirt had been pushed too close to the house and digging where the rock border is going to go, I was pulling weeds; HUGE, MONSTER WEEDS. My folks showed up around noon and we took a welcome break. I about peed in my pants when they pulled this double seated Jeep Stroller out of the back of their truck. This goes back to a text message conversation between me & Matt last week.

I was trying to talk Matt into going to a garage sale in Cheney on Saturday (which would have killed us if we had tried to fit it into what we actually did on Saturday) and this led him to start looking at garage sale listings on Craigslist.

Matt: it’s cool if so I can stay home and wait for the appliances to arrive while you go do that. Lol

Me: Lol. You HATE garage sales!

Matt: Yes I do.

Later…

Matt: ah, they have a double jeep stroller, like new, in athol (Athol is where my parents live)

Me: Is your girlfriend expecting twins?

Matt: maybe

I made the mistake of relaying this little tet-a-tet to my mom. It just so happened that on their way back from bike riding in Farragut Park they passed a sign for the EXACT garage sale we were talking about. Since finding a riding lawnmower for $50 they make a point to stop when they can, hell last weekend they brought me home a $100 Forum snowboard with bindings! Dad’s debt for giving my old one away is now cleared.

I digress…After picking myself up off the curb in front of our house, (I mean, Mom put Little Bit, their Schipperke puppy, in the back seat and he was just sitting there hanging out while Dad showed me this Caddillac of strollers) I had to ask the following question: “Do any of you realize that not only do we NOT have TWO children for this double stroller, but we have NO children what-so-ever!??!!”

Realtor Sue and her husband stopped by shortly later with a very sweet housewarming gift (a wooden sign reading ‘Home is where your story begins’ and a scented oil base and refills. We took the parentals to base so mom could look at the crappy remains of plants in the garden center, then rushed to Liberty Lake for the $8,000 drawing at Ashley Furniture. Matt’s luck seems to have run out because we didn’t win. I was really disappointed that there were no other prizes and there was no food. I thought it would be some big thing, but it was just a mass of people hanging out for something that took three minutes to do. Lame.

After not winning free furniture we headed to the Spokane Valley Lowe’s where Dad and Matt spent almost two hours examining all the equipment we will need for our landscaping. Mom and I tried to evade an overly helpful, extremely chatty sales associate eventually shaking her loose in the garden department. We eventually got way too bored and wound up next door at Kohl’s after playing with the puppies in the parking lot.

When we arrived back at The House in the evening I cooked some dinner and then we went back to work on the yard until the sun went down. A few of the neighbors saw us working and stopped to say hello. Everyone here seems really nice. I’m extremely happy with the neighborhood.

We wrapped up the whole weekend by sharing a Bud Light on our front steps.  Content doesn’t even begin to describe how good it felt.