Answered Prayer

God does answer some prayers.

For the past six months, I've been hoping and praying that I would one day get out of my boss' line of sight and be set free. Come on, don't you think it's plain cruelty to set an employee's cubicle right next to her boss'? Whether you wanna believe it or not, everybody has a love/hate relationship with their bosses. I'm no different. My boss is what I'd call, a strange fellow and a total geek. I mean, who uses the words 'my neurons are firing' when explaining that 'he's thinking'? Either he wants to impress people with his science vocabulary (sure, he has a PhD in Chemistry, but still...) or he's just plain nerdy (Says the woman who name her cat Atom ;-)). After a while, I did get used to him being that way, unfortunately, I couldn't get used to the fact that he likes to micromanage people. Including me! As some of you may have already guessed, I'm a bit of a control-freak, so Chloie and any bosses, naturally, don't go very well together.

So imagine my utter happiness when the plant manager announced that they're building my boss an office! You know... that enclosed space with a wooden door that will completely isolate him and block me from his prying eyes? Yes, that's the one!

Now, I can do my work better.

And finally get the chance to blog from time to time.

Happiness. Sheer happiness.

Happy Holidays!

In case you're wondering, I had a wonderful christmas.

Granted that I wasn't able to go to St Paul, Minnesota to visit my cousin because the darn city got plowed with snow, but still, I have learned a lesson, or at least, confirmed what I've always suspected... you can never trust the IRS, an a**hole ex-boyfriend, or those weathermen . They say one thing, and then turn around and say another. And granted also that my 3-year old supposedly reliable Toyota decided to inform me that there might be trouble with the engine right before I was to pick up my Mom and my sister from Indiana, but still, I ended up driving in style in my husband's precious Mustang.

The day before christmas, my excited husband gave me a gift that reaffirmed why I married him. (Boy, that guy certainly knows how to please me!) He gave me one of the most amazing piece of jewelry I've ever seen. It was a beautiful white gold necklace accented with perfect diamonds and with a gorgeous pearl as the centerpiece. Naturally, I squealed with delight and told him he's the best husband ever. I am such a woman.

I spent Christmas day sleeping in, eating, driving, eating again, opening gifts, eating yet again and then watching Avatar in 3D. In that order. May I say... that movie was out of this world, literally and figuratively! It was amazing! It certainly lived up to the hype. It's one of the best $10.25 I've ever spent. Watch the movie, if you haven't yet.

Okay, time to go back to my thorougly enjoyed break from work.

Happy holiday, my friends!

A Total Blog Make-over

I'm doing a complete make-over and changing the title and tone of this blog.

These past couple of months, intead of being the inspirational blogger that I used to be, I've succumbed to being the poor, pathetic whiner that I can be sometimes.

Enough already.

I can't promise to be jolly all the time, but from now on, I'll try my very best to be the happy, carefree, fabulous person that I know I am. Trust me, I am. It's just buried beneath a drama queen persona with a flare for histrionics and a tendency to have sporadic depression attacks.

So from now on, no more mushiness or sentimental stories. I would try my very best to entertain you only with fabulous tales of my extraordinary life.

Until of course, I experience another meltdown.

My Aha Moment

"A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don't allow the happy moment, because they're so busy trying to get a happy life." - Abraham Hicks

A few days ago, my boss told me a story about a guy he knew who worked so hard his entire life and saved so much money for retirement, only to die of heart attack a week after he retired. The story touched my heart and opened my mind in a way I can't fully explain.

Truth be told, I've spent most of life planning for the future and trying to figure out my life's purpose. I plan my life to a T and base most of my happiness on the fruituition of my dreams. There are times when I become so obsessed with them, that I forget to live life at the moment and enjoy its simple pleasures. These past couple of months, I've been so sad (sometimes bordering on depression) just because I feel like nothing in my life is turning out the way I planned it to be. I become consumed with thoughts of bills I have to pay, the dream wedding I had to postpone, the baby I wished I have, that I tend to forget that I have a brand new, beautiful house and three nice cars, that I have a great husband who completely adores me, that I have family and friends who supports me, and that we have all the food we want on the table.

Hearing this story was an Aha moment for me. It completely opened my mind to a new way of thinking.

I don't wanna live like this guy. I don't wanna live for the future. I wanna live in the moment while I can, and live life to the fullest.

As James Openheim said, ' The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.'

PS. Thanks to Liv from Bambola's Diary for that wonderful post card from Italy. You completely made my week! Enjoy your Europe trip!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. And so, I'll be spoiling him rotten. I'll get him the exercise bike he's always wanted, give him a full body massage and take him out to a fancy dinner. I'm also thinking of surprizing him tonight with a treasure hunt of small gifts, and with me as the grand prize. ;-) if he found all of them. He deserves it, for everything he has done for me.

So to my utterly beloved husband... Happy birthday, Honey! I thank God everyday for the day you were born, and for giving you to me.

This Thing Called Marriage

Joseph Barth once said, 'Marriage is the last, best chance to grow up'.

I couldn't agree more.

With 30 years of life experiences, I thought I've seen it all, and had grown into a wise and mature woman. I mean, 30 years? That's a lot! When I was a kid, I thought my 30 year-old cousins were ancient! I thought I have learned how to react to situations accordingly, how to handle problems maturely, and how to deal with life in general. I thought I had grown up. But then, I got married.

And boy, was I ever wrong!

Marriage forces people to grow up... really grow up. You learn how to be less selfish and to sometimes put another person's needs above yours. You learn to love unconditionally without expecting anything in return, and to be considerate of someone else's feelings. You learn that things don't always go according to your plans and you won't always get what you want, but still be okay with it. You learn to be more responsible about finances, about bill paying and about prioritization. Marriage has lots of challenges, but you learn to deal with each of them by trying to be strong, and not crying at the slightest disappointment. You learn to speak your mind without being too hurtful and not keep things bottled inside, because silent treatment doesn't do either of you good. You learn that you're not always right, probably just 90% of the time ;-). You learn how to apologize when you made a mistake, because it's not true that love means never having to say you're sorry. You learn how to forgive, and not to bear grudges. You learn how to argue in a nondestructive way, and pick the right battles.

But with it all, you learn to relax and let go of the past, because you have your present life with a man who makes you happy. You learn to appreciate all the love your husband has to offer, and to thank him for every single thing he does for you. You learn how it is to belong, and how to share your life completely and freely.

And best of all, you learn that 'to love and be loved' is the best thing life has to offer.

Q and A

Hope everybody had a great thanksgiving celebration! I know I did! My husband and I hosted our first thanksgiving/housewarming party at our new house. We all had a blast! Everything turned out according to plans. Well, almost everything, except ... can you believe this? I accidentally left the gizzard bag on the baked turkey ;-). Surprisingly, the turkey still turned out good! Silly me! Just goes to show how good of a cook I am! Good thing my Mom was around and was such a big help!

Anyway, last week, I posted the question... What are the things you used to believe in when you were a kid, but realized later weren't true?

And here are the reader's answers...

Bambola from Bambola's Diary:
That my dad knew & could fix everything. I'm in my 20's now and still think that sometimes. It's an "oh yeah" moment when he has to say he doesn't know. :)It's not a bad realisation though, it's a human, grounding one.

Jamie from His n Her Towels:
My husband believed that the World Series, was actually called the 'World Serious' - because it was a really serious baseball game.

This is bad, but as a child I believed that if a man and women were "making love" on tv or a movie, that they were actually, physically doing the deed. I think it is safe to say that I was confused about sex most of my childhood.

Just me:
i think the most powerful one is the fact that you cannot change anything and that in reality, no one can change you. you may make decisions that are not so good, that you can later joke, "oh, it was because of THEM that i did this." but in reality....it's ALL YOU!!!

C from Midwestern Mama with a New York Heart:
1. what i thought nursing was about sure as hell isnt reality.
2. that my marriage, if i ever got married, would last forever.
3. that catholiscism was the ONLY true religion.

anonymous reader:
1. i would married by age 24-25, and i'm very sure about it, but when i'm at end of 25, i realized i'm still not ready...
2. used to believe life is very simply...but it's not actually..