After days of anxious anticipation and nights of reading horror stories of rejection and denial, Jan and I reached the highest level of excitement when we received our passports with approved visas yesterday that we did not feel the strong earthquake that shook our city.

You see, the biggest fear for a would-be and even a seasoned traveler with a weak passport is not getting lost in a foreign country. It is getting denied of visa or worse, getting offloaded in the immigration.

And for someone who does not have a normal and stable office job, having an approved visa, especially in one of the G7 countries, is such a share worthy success story for me. And I think I have to prepare myself for more "the anticipation is killing me" moments because that is just one of the many visa applications that we'll have to go through.

I took a day off from work last Monday so I could dedicate my day for the visa and wedding preparations. What I planned was to get my PSA birth certificate (BC) in the morning and meet with our coordinator and photographer in the afternoon.

Three of my friends told me it only took them two to three hours to get their certificates at PSA. So I took the shot of getting the BC myself since it's also the cheapest way. I only had three things on my to-do list, I figured I can still do some shopping for crafting materials since I have the entire day for myself.

I would have loved to write about the 2018 that has been awesome or whatever topic that's fitting for the new year but I am more excited to share this with you.

You see, I never really thought a bridal bouquet can cost so much. Php 5,000-7,000 seriously?! No, thanks.

Today, I decided to create my own bridal bouquet because aside from the fact that we'd rather spend our money on more important things like a fridge full of frozen yogurt, I was bored as hell as well.

Plus, crafting things makes me feel giddy all the time.

So here's what boredom got me:

I have got to admit, when I was ten, I already knew the exact dress I want to wear for my wedding day. I want one that screams royalty. A sparkling ball gown, adorned with diamonds, having a 6-hoop petticoat underskirt, and all that jazz.

More than twenty years later, I do not want myself anywhere near that kind of dress. It simply does not suit my style. Not a single, tiny bit. And for once, Jan and I agreed to fork over our dream wedding from our own pockets—which opened my eyes to the sad reality that, weddings, even the simplest ones, can rack up a huge bill in a blink of an eye. With our budget, honestly, the gown is the least of my priorities. I mean, I'm not that willing to spend a ball gown that could cost half our budget that will only be worn once, for six hours at most.

I suppose the wedding preps should have gotten me busy. But truthfully, I have no excuse for not posting regularly.

Honestly, Jan and I haven't gotten far with the wedding preparations. We'd love to think we're busy but all we’ve been doing is play Big Fish. Yes, that terrible messenger game that does nothing but spam and steal time. And we can't stop.

We still have six months to go—which caused a bit of panic to my friends who have gone great lengths to prepare for their big day. Don't fret! We have made progress, of course! We have already scoured the jewelers for our rings (okay, we only went to one). And drove around the city to do ocular inspections of the possible venues (okay, again, we only went to one). What can I say? We were sold. Immediately.