Married Couples' Christmas Commandments

oh yes, i never thought i'd be experiencing a big problem every Christmas once i get married.

it's like keeping an affair, you don't want your partner to find out about it. it brings out the worst liars in us. it forces us to stay away from our partners (read: leave them on the long line on the checkout counter), but, on the positive side of it, it cultivates trust between the couple.

it's buying a gift for your significant other. =P

we found out this problem last weekend. je and i went shopping. nagpapakiramdaman kami kung saan kami madalas tumingin sa stores. hehehe! when he went to another section nung nasa Circuit City kami, i teased him when he came back, "bibili mo kong dvd? or cd?". at Target, he went wandering too. ako naman, i avoid the sections where i plan to get my gift from, kasi baka biglang damputin at bumili! =P so to avoid any unwanted outcome of our Christmas gift-giving, we made a few commandments:

1. Thou shall not buy anything for yourself until Christmas is over.
2. Thou shall not follow when one leaves the other to go to another section of the store. (if we want to meet up na, tawagan na lang kami sa cellphone)
3. Thou shall not peek into thy partner's sales receipts.
4. Thou shall not peek into thy partner's shopping bags. (if i bought a gift for him, i'd put it on the floor behind his seat. if it's my gift he bought, on the floor behind my seat)

i made a mental note on another thing:
I shall not do a general cleaning around the house until after Christmas.
that way, hindi ko makikita kung saan man nakatago yung gift nya sa akin. hehehe!

je is fond of spoiling surprises kasi eh. this one time, i ordered a book for him online. i've been checking the mailbox everyday for one straight week. that fateful day, he went to the mailbox first, and voila! nakita nya yung package na nakapangalan sa kin. he insisted that i open it, saying "naka-priority mail pa, baka importante". well, i was able to hold it for a few minutes, making lame excuses. pero since i don't want him to get suspicious over that little thing, i opened the package and gave my "supposed-to-be-surprise-anyday-gift" to him. =P tawa kami ng tawa, i was such a lousy liar. =P

so to all you singles out there, enjoy your shopping freedom while you can! i suddenly admired my parents for keeping the element of surprise alive. ang hirap pala! this is a true test of trust and honesty! hehehe!