"Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars, is a current hit song that plays often on the radio, and I cannot help but think about my sweet husband Julio every time I hear it. It just reminds me of how he makes me feel, because he loves me just the way I am. Makes me happy every time I hear it!

Just thought I'd share some cheesy love with you... because it's Monday... why not?  Enjoy the song (courtesy of ElektraRecords via youtube.com)! :)

Sounds like a {fabulous} plan! It's on! :)

{{ New found LOVE on BlogHer.com }}

Happy 8th Anniversary of Togetherness to my better half! (4th Wedding Anniversary coming later this year).  Julio, you are truly one of a kind. And you’re mine. Let’s not forget that. Of course, I’m yours too. You shall not forget that, how it happened, or how lucky you are. ;P

 

Sure. Relationships, and especially marriage require tending, just like a plant needs to be watered and cared for. But our garden is beautiful, beyond the scattered weeds (which btw have taken over part of our back yard because of my inability to exterminate them, or honestly to even go and actually do something about them). Everyone’s garden has weeds here or there, even if they don’t want to admit it. But I do. And it’s alright, the tending will come soon enough. Hopefully before our kids go off to college, hehe. ;)

 

Joke aside—you are my better half and you complete me. :) You had me at “Senorita”, and I thought all that sifting you did with the 12 yr Scotch at TOTS that night 8 yrs ago not only got me happy drunk but also was awesome and very cute, in a smart (ok, not geeky, but engineering) kind of way. Hehe. ;P

 

So cheers to us, the past 8 yrs of our wonderful life together, and to the many more to come!! I can’t wait to see what lies ahead on our journey through life, and couldn’t ask for anyone better to walk it with.

 

Thanks for making my dreams come true, for loving me tenderly and beyond my defects, and putting up with me even on my worst days. You are my rock! I love you SO much! XOXO 

Our first trip together almost 8 yrs ago to the day, Thanksgiving Nov. 2002

Photo taken at Central Park in New York

I met a neighbor who was there with 3 of her kids. She was very nice and upbeat. We’d waked past her house on our way to the park just minutes earlier, and even back then she’d said hello and commented about the gorgeous day. We started talking about the kids, the neighborhood and activities, where we were from, when we moved here, etc. I mentioned I was joining the local MOMS Club at the next meeting, and coincidently she said she was a member and loved it. We had a wonderful chat, and after a good hour at the park we came back home. I came back with renewed energy and a sense of ‘wholeness’. After Nico went down for his nap I enthusiastically got several things done on my To Do list, I even enjoyed them. Warm sunny days are just filled with endless possibilities and opportunities. Everyday should be warm and sunny!

So of course, after a consecutive 3 day happiness streak (ever since I started my blog) and feeling like nothing could bring me down… boom! A downer hits me like a tsunami wave, taking down all my happiness energy with it. In an instant. WTH? I really hate it, when life presents you with little gifts like this. Thanks life, but no thanks. The downer was merely a negative comment brought up by someone close about the whole idea of blogging. Ok, so I was probably very defensive about the one thing that’s made me so outrageously happy in the last few days, but whatever. Of course there’s an entire world out there that will be able to read anything I post. That doesn’t mean it’s too much information for the world to see. It’s just what I want and don’t mind them seeing. Encyclopedias, biographies, magazines, books, those are loaded with people’s super detailed lives. Heck, any public figure – from Hollywood, to people in politics, to writers, etc. has much more nitty gritty stuff out there about their lives. I’m just a housewife looking for a literary outlet for creativity, thoughts and ramblings. Please. Even if it’s not your main goal, it’s clearly in the back of your mind “someone out there will be reading this, and who knows maybe they’ll even comment… how exciting!” Uhgg… it took me a while to regain normalcy, and the catalyst which led to the road back was Nico accidentally head bumping me so hard on my nose it made me cry. (Thanks my little Prince, Mommy needed that.)

The whole incident got me thinking about how ‘negative influences’ (people, situations, etc.) can just put a big damper on a happy mood. It’s incredible the things that can make or break a day. I could only wish to be in happy mode all the time, but reality is things will pop up that will challenge your happiness. So, how can one avoid being sucked into to the dark side? That’s food for thought… and it got me back to thinking I should blog about this. Happy mode re-gained. Check.

Thinking more into it, I pinpointed another moment that jeopardized the continuance of my happy mood a couple days ago. A (different) close person called me on the phone while I was cleaning. When I saw the ID on the phone I thought it was strange that they’d be calling at that hour. So I picked up, and first thing that I’m greeted with is, “Hi. I was just calling to say hi. I’m really depressed.” Ok, I don’t think there are many worst opening lines than that. Starting a conversation on a super negative. Oh boy. I already knew it was going to be a painful-to-bear with conversation. So there I was thinking, “Oh but I’m so happy, I don’t want to hear depressive stuff (likely just the same usual stuff that makes this person so depressed).”

The conversation started off as expected, took turns for the worst, hiked at some point where this person took their ill feelings as a weapon to talk down about other people that had nothing to do with their source of depression, at which point I had to halt the one-man conversation. I just could not take the hiking anymore. It was draining and yes, depressive, and frankly not something I was interested in. I was in my happy zone. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of the battlefield about to be shot down because apparently if “it hurt me so much to hear the reality of things, then I just needed to learn how to deal with it.” As if this person turned the tables on me. What?? I ran in the opposite direction, saying calmly, “I think it’s a good idea for you to leave the house, and not so good for us to talk in your altered mood. Remember you called me. We’ll talk later, take care.” Sometimes, you just have to cut to the chase and disconnect. Somehow… I still kept my cool, and happy mood. How did I do it? Think happy thoughts… **If you let them bring you down, they will.**

I find myself indulging in the lives of friends and family through facebook, and thank technology for continuously advancing in the ‘staying connected’ department. God knows how lonely the world would be without facebook, and all other online communities and blogs. And here I am… I’ve finally bitten the bullet and started my own blog. Maybe someone out there will want to read it and keep up with the Martinez (never mind the Joneses, ha!). This is going to be an interesting experience, blogging and all. Like keeping a diary of, well, whatever. I have to admit, that ever since I started even thinking of the idea of creating my own blog, and then actually creating one, I’ve felt happier. I’ve even found myself giggling about it. So silly. Just another thing to look forward to… what can I write about next? For me, this is better than eating chocolate, or ice cream. What an indulgence!