This is my Puppy! His name is Milo and we just celebrated 6 years of life with him this past weekend. Yes, yet another glorious birthday to celebrate. No, we can never tire of eating cake!

Milo, however, is no ordinary dog. In fact, here's a list of why he really is just a little colorblind boy covered in fur, an integral part of our home, and the love of our lives. It is also a list of why my family may need therapy :)

 

1. The dog gets a cheesecake for his birthday. A really good one too. Not only that, but there was a candle and a moment of chaos where we attempted to seat him at the table to take a picture and have him make a wish.

 

2. He cannot be left alone in the house...not because he is a trouble maker but because he is spooooiled rotten. We as a family time our schedules of departure and arrival so that he never, ever has to be by himself in the big, scary house. Or we take him with us.

 

3. We have now narrowed down our options for dining out to dog-friendly locations only (see #2).

 

4. At said restaurants, the puppy gets a meal of his own. For instance, at our favorite Cuban place, he gets carne asada tacos (meat only of course); at a breakfast joint, he'll receive a toasted bagel with cream cheese (one of his favorites); and at a steak house, Milo will get the finest cut of meat. All of these things are usually fed to him on a fork.

 

5. He gets ALL of our left overs. If the dog can eat it, he can have it. I tried to protest this once because I wanted to save my meal for lunch the next day. I was obviously denied.

 

6. We buy like 50 lbs. of chicken a month for his daily meals. There are times I come home and I smell deliciousness wafting through the kitchen and I make my way over only to discover that in fact, it is all going to the dog.

 

7. When the dog is eating, no one is allowed to leave or make any sudden movements. It such a pivotal moment in the day that any little thing can ruin it. So shhhhhh!

 

8. After every walk, upon entering the house, Milo must have his paws, body, nose, ears, and....other body parts wiped down thoroughly with a few baby wipes. Every. Single. Time.

 

9. When in the car, he gets first choice to where he sits. Whether it is in the front, the back, on some one's lap, or on my chest as he tries to lean out the window, it's his. In fact, we have nicknamed the Volvo as "Milo's car".

 

10. At the ripe age of 42, Milo is having  his mid-life crisis. So my uncle built him a new bed. It has a roof and posts, but no walls. We don't want to stifle his growth. It is beautifully painted and has the softest of cushions on the bottom. Only the best for the best, eh?

 

Anyone who knows my family knows that we have a 6 members: My aunt and uncle, my mom and grandma, me and Milo. Yep. That's how it is and that's how it always will be.

Happy Birthday, Puppy!  



Birthdays are a wondrous thing. They are a celebration of the completion of yet another year in a person's life. For some, it is the end of a chapter, a saga, a cycle; for others, it is the beginning. Last night I celebrated the birth of one of my very best friends, and I realized an important thing: there is something magical in ringing in a new phase of a friend's journey and being able to witness the moment before your eyes. Sometimes, it comes as an obvious realization. Maybe a conversation happens where the two of you talk for hours and hours about what is yet to come down the road. You look back and remember how far you both have traveled and how much there still is to do together. Other times, it is a subtle nudging, a gentle breeze that tickles your nose and makes you stop for just a moment. That was my experience.

At just about midnight as I was nodding off, I took one final look around the room to see my two friends fast asleep and a sigh of contentment escaped my lips. I couldn't help but feel that all was right in the world as long as we had each other. Some may call that cheesy... I call that friendship. The three of us have changed and grown in so many different ways and in kind of opposite directions, but every time we get together there is ALWAYS a feeling of coming home. Sure, we do all of the things typical girlfriends love to do- we giggle...a  lot..., we have tickle fights, we talk about boys, we eat junk food, we bake, we have sleepovers, get togethers, swim parties, barbecues, you name it, we have done it or plan to do it. But we are so much more than that. We love each other unconditionally, we fight, we grow, we move on, we learn from one another, we speak wisdom into each other's lives, and we encourage one another. We are family.

So today, I not only celebrate the birth of a friend 19 years ago, but I am celebrating the gift that she is to me. The gift that both my best friends are to me. Now let's go eat some cake :).


Always,
A Hungry Heart

Alright everyone, I would just like to clarify that my life isn't always a depressing bowl of sadness and seriousness. I promise! In fact, this weekend was so, so much fun. On Saturday, my crazy family decides to wake up at 6 in the morning to go to the flower market in Downtown. Now, normally on the weekends I like to sleep in till about noon, so that kind of wake up call was not exactly my cup of tea; however, there is no stopping my aunt when she is on a mission. Thus, we were up and looking at ferns, trees, flowers, and decorations by the time most of you were having your morning coffee. 2 main things resulted from this trip for me:
#1: I discovered that my favorite flower of all time - the peony- is basically rarely in season. That also means that when they are, they are quite expensive. Thus, my dream of having an entire chapel full of these babies lining every nook and cranny for my extravagant future wedding flew right out the window. Disappointing? I think yes...unless I marry a millionaire...hmmmm ;)
#2: I left the market looking for any excuse to buy hundreds and hundreds of flowers. Anyone having a party soon? A baby shower? Anything? Please....?

After that adventure, my family then decides to head home to rest in the beautifully air conditioned house while we veg on some television....NOT. We actually returned from walking for hours to then proceed to move the entire back yard around in the 100000 degree heat AND barbecue on the grill while we're at it. You will see as time goes on that my family who I love so, so much is really not so normal. In fact, we may be the farthest thing from it. But there is never a dull moment with us...never.

To continue, that night made it all worth it. At around 6 (pm this time), we went out to the Levitt's Pavilion in Pasadena for some free reggae! I have lived in Southern California my whole life and I have never known about the 50 free concerts that go on there every summer. Seriously....what the heck? It is such a cool place where you can bring your whole family to picnic, enjoy all kinds of music, and dance if you wish. We brought the yummiest sangria and casserole :) life really couldn't get any better than that. The best part, however, came when we were about to leave. We were all picking up our stuff and suddenly my aunt goes, "Guys, I think someone took my sandals". I busted out laughing. Ok, I am not heartless. I have to take you back a few years for you to understand why this is so funny to me. When I was around 8 years old, my aunt took me to Raging Waters. I had the coolest red flip flops that we bought specially in the Philippines on our last vacation.  Well, as anyone who has been to a water park would know, you have to do something with your shoes when you go on the slides. My whole family put ours in the same place, hidden in the bushes and everything, creating a false illusion of security. When we came back from the Lazy River, mine were missing! Really? Who steals sandals?! Especially like a size 3 in kids....From that day on, my aunt has never let me live it down. All I can say is- Karma, you are my new best friend :P

Well, seeing as I am at work typing this and my fax is all done, I should probably get down to business again, eh? See you all next time.

Always,
A Hungry Heart

PS. These are peonies are their finest
 

Sometimes life sucks. Period. Full stop. Sometimes life is like this train that has been derailed and no one can do anything to stop it - no kind words, no acts of pity, no motions of sympathy...and it is tough. You wrestle. Every moment is like a struggle to get your bearings and to realize that the world is not in fact crumbling before you. That was my life for a few months.

At the top of summer, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It is still so weird for me to say that even now, and yet I know acceptance is part of the healing process. She went in for a routine mammogram and came out with an appointment for a biopsy because they had a found a small lump that needed examination. My family and I did our best to remain calm and not jump to conclusions, but our minds raced to the worst. Little did we know that we were all about to embark into a deep valley that would change us forever.

I remember the very moment when my sweet mama called me to let me know that the biopsy results came back positive for cancer. It was my first day of life group and I was sitting in my car waiting for a friend. My phone rang and I almost didn't answer, but something inside compelled me to....the moment I heard her voice choked with tears, it was all confirmed. I couldn't stop shaking, but my mind went into auto pilot and I continued on with the rest of my day. However, that was just the tip of the ice berg. From there my mom underwent appointment after appointment which eventually led to an MRI that showed yet another lump. That meant another biopsy. This one was so, so much worse and she was even rushed to the emergency room because of the amount of pain and swelling she was experiencing. It was there, in the middle of all that chaos, that I grew up. I know it sounds silly; I am 19 years old....I spent 5 months in Africa...I should be able to man up and handle all of this with grace and poise. Well, I didn't. You know what I did? I talked to doctors, kept track of medical records, did research, went to pretty much every building that Kaiser has on Sunset with my mom, prayed with my grandma, reasoned through the logic with my aunt, sent out updates to the community of people that surrounded us, and then....I cried. Every night. Even as I write this, the sense of loneliness and confusion swirl up around me and I can't do anything else but cry. People who promised to be there through thick and thin walked out, and I had no choice but to grow.

But the good new is...there is light at the end of every tunnel. It may sound cliche but it is Truth. My mom is now cancer free! She underwent a mastectomy and now has to take hormone-blocking pills every day, but she is CANCER FREE :). No chemo therapy or radiation needed. She is free. We are free. I am free. See, yes, there are times when nothing hurts more than getting up in the morning and having to face the rest of your day. But those times will end. A lot of people chose to walk away from my life, but so many others chose to walk in, and for that, I can't help but be thankful.

I'm not saying that now everything is all sunshine and roses. Not even close! There are days when I miss those that are gone. There are days when my mom looks in the mirror and cries. There are days when all of the faith that my family had during those rough weeks go flying out the window and we struggle to see the hand of God in our current struggle. But then there are the good days. There are days when I sit with my best friends and  laugh for hours. There are days when my mom talks excitedly about going back to school. There are days when my family sits together and does nothing but enjoy the fact that we have each other. Those are priceless.

Whatever you're going though, recognize that yes, it sucks. Yes, you might cry...a lot. Yes, there might not be anything you or anyone can really do about it right now but pray...and sometimes, to be honest, that doesn't even help. But also recognize that you are growing! Know that one day, when all of this is behind you, you will look back and see just how far you've come. I do it all the time, and it makes me excited to keep going. There is hope for you and me yet ;)

Always,
A Hungry Heart