Personal: Life Lately...

Just so you could decide as early as now whether to read this entry or not, I am letting you know that this is going to be a long one.

I included this night in this entry because it means a lot to me that my partner's family want me to be there on their special occasions; even without him around. The fact that they want me around, whether he's here or not is very new to me. The first time I was introduced as the one na "nililigawan", I was very nervous because I've had a pretty bad experience with meet-the-parents situations. Since then up to now, warm welcomes and love are the only things I feel. I can and will never forget how his mom told me, "You're my daughter now." I now have two mommies. She even told me stories of how they knew he was in love with me ever since. ♡

Above photos were taken October 5, 2015 at Shakeys Katipunan in celebration of Papa Rudy's birthday.

Photos taken at Ilang-Ilang Cafe, Manila Hotel

Celebrating my grandmother's birthday will always be more than just good food. I love seeing her happy. I may not be able to give the greatest gift, but I will always be present for her. My grandma is very simple but at the same time, she deserves the best things in life. I admire how she can be honest all the time. I love how she handles her children. I love her.

Photo taken at Cafe Adriatico, Adriatico Arms Hotel

Yes, my mom's birthday is on November 1. I remember her telling me that she never got to experience being sung a happy birthday song in class. Regardless, she embraces the fact that her birthday was and will always be a holiday.

She chose to celebrate her birthday dinner here so we could eat their special Baked Chicken, which, unfortunately, does not have a photo. When we come back, I'll make sure I get to take a photo of their food because they are oh, so good.

Now, for the most exciting part (at least for me). To date, I haven't been smoking cigarettes for one month and eight days now. Yes, I cheated. I quit smoking not by cold turkey, but by vaping. I am not going to turn this entry into VAPE 101, so if you're against it, don't do it. If you think it's worse than smoking, please send me links to read. Make sure they're legit. If you think that I'm doing this to be cool, no.

Yes, I do have two of these. I bought the pink one for myself, and Rab got me the other one. It's unreasonable to keep both, but I'm sentimental like that. I didn't want to have another one - he wanted so badly to get me this one because it's better than the starter kit that I had. If you ask me, yes, I still use both.

So, has my life been better since?

Yes, because I've had way less headaches than I used to. I used to smoke a pack a day, sometimes even more than one. No wonder I get headaches a lot.
Yes, because my hyper acidity has not been bugging me since.
Yes, because I don't smell like cigarette smoke anymore. My hands smell good all the time. My hair, my clothes, everything.
Yes, because I don't pant that much anymore. Much much less panting. Honestly and sincerely.
Yes, because my skin doesn't feel sticky anymore.
Yes, because my bathroom does not have cigarette ashes on the floor and does not smell bad anymore.
Yes, because I don't go crazy when I don't have cigarettes on hand.

Investment wise, of course vaping could be more expensive. But once you have settled for the perfect mod and tank, your maintenance would just be juice, cotton and wires. There's a lot more to discuss but I might just put it in a different entry.