IVE YEARS AND WE'RE STILL HAVING FUN!"

That's how Lucy Torres-Gomez likes to describe the state of her marriage to actor and talk show host Richard Gomez. The beautiful lass from Ormoc, Leyte has certainly come a long way from the quiet, private and sheltered existence she had known all her life. "I think it helps that I'm a mutant, I can adjust to any situation," she smiles, "The moment I said 'yes' to Richard, the moment I agreed to marry him, I knew that I would also embrace the life he has, the things he does. I tried to step into my role as graciously as I could."

The couple, together with three year old Julianna, is perhaps the most photographed family in the Philippines today. Though it seems apparent that both Lucy and Julianna bask in the attention given to them by the adoring public, Lucy remains anchored on the things that truly matter - faith in God and the love of family.

Priorities
Having more children is Lucy's number one priority nowadays. "We're really trying," she says in all candor during our shoot at the Horizon Suite of Shangri-la EDSA Plaza Hotel. "I want a lot talaga, like six kids," she say. Talking about her first pregnancy, she recalls that just like any first-time mom she wanted to do everything the natural way. "Talagang I wanted the works and refused any anesthesia until I was about 8 cm dilated. My tolerance for pain is high but it gets to a point when ang sakit na talaga! So forget it. It doesn't make me less of a mother naman if I go through a painless labor."

Not many people know that Julianna's birth was preceded by a crisis in the Torres family. Lucy's father, Manuel, had just undergone major surgery a few days before Lucy was due to give birth. It was a trying time especially for Lucy's mother Julie. "Dad had to have one of his kidneys removed because there was a mass and there were stones. They tried to save it but it was really defective and so it had to go," she relates, "I remember when he was being wheeled into surgery, I was crying and crying, my tummy was so big then, sabi ng mommy ko, 'Baka manganak ka'. It was real seesaw of emotions especially for my mom."

It was during her father's recuperation that lUcy gave birth. "We had two rooms at St. Luke's Medical Center na magkatabi but I think God timed Julianna's birth perfectly. Thought I was already overdue, the arrival of Juliana really hastened my dad's recovery. After we chacked out of the hospital, and back home in Greenhills, my dad and Julianna would be out each morning getting their dose of morning sun together," she says.

Lucy says that the months after Julianna's birth were such a trying time for the family. "At about the same time my dad was in the hospital, my mom's brother was diagnosed with caner. Two weeks after I gave birth he passed away," she relates.

Like being on an emotional roller-coaster, Lucy's younger sister Karen got married a month after Julianan's birth. "Then, around three months later, my mom naman was diagnosed with breast cancer. Talagang patong patong. She had to be operated on and we're just blessed that we caught it [disease] in a very early stage."

According to Lucy, her ally during those times, and for most of her life, has always been prayer. "That's really what saw our family through, more than anything else." Manuel and Julie, now both in the pink of health, stay in the Gomez residence for the greater part of the year now. "It's more peaceful here than on the farm. I don't think my parents need any more stress [from the insurgency problem in Ormoc] and they dote on Julianna," she smiles.

Center of her world
Julianna and Richard are without a doubt, the center of Lucy's world. Her days revolve around caring for the needs of both husband and child. It is kind of life, she herself says, she never dreamed of. "Marrying Richard took a lot of courage on my part. Not because he's bad person, but because of the kind of life that he has, and the kind of industry that he belongs to, which is totally different from the kind of environment I grew up in," she explains, "It takes a lot to adjust It's so public. Everything the does is dissected and magnified because he's a celebrity."

Lucy has learned to shrug off the attendant intrigues and controversies that come with being married to someone in the limelight though she admits that initially it wasn't easy. "At first, I would get affected by every negative, untrue thing that they would write about him but in time, you just accept it as part and parcel of the job that he has. And you learn to just take things in stride and be gracious about it. As long as you know the truth."

It is a marriage, she stresses, that is based on open communication. "I will not expect him to second guess what I'm feeling. I think that's how problems set in." She also has nothing but praise for Richard's devotion to Julianna. "She prefers him over me," she laughs.

Keeping house
Richard and Lucy are putty in Julianna's hands and the lovable three year old now has the run of the Torres-Gomez home. "I like to have everything in order. I'm actually OC (obsessive-compulsive)! But since Julianna sleeps in our room she has all these inflatable toys all over the place but that's okay," she laughs.

Home is more often than not where you will find Lucy. Putting order to Richard's things "He has so many hobbies!"), playing with Julianna, making sure that everything runs smoothly and tending to her "store" are the activities that fill her usual day.

"Richard once asked me, 'Ganyan ba talaga kayo ng pamilya niyo, Hindi lumalabas ng bahay?' Hindi lumalabas ng Kuwarto halos," she smiles. Clearly, Lucy loves staying at home and fixing things around the house.

"I have a cabinet that's like a little store and that's where I keep the things I buy for friends and family. Right now I have 18 boxes where I keep similar items together. Each box is labeled and I have a notebook that details what is inside. For example, box one has journals, box two has napkin rings and other home accessories, box three, books, and so on," she explains her system. "At least that way, when we have to go to a dinner and need to bring a gift, I can just shop in my 'store'," she says.

The penchant for organizing doesn't stop there. Lucy has created a "manual" for the house-help so that they don't forget what they have to do (see sidebar). It's comprehensive and worth emulating if you want your home immaculately clean. I'm OC in that sense," Lucy admits, "I have to use uniformed hangers, it has to be all black. And the cooking pans I use are a specials kind, the bottom is covered with rubber so they have no way of slipping. I also color-code Richard's shirts. All white together, the blues from dark blue to light, all printed, all stripes. Ako naman I like keeping my shoes in boxes. So I photograph each shoe and then put them outside the box so it's easier for me to remember what's inside," she says.

A lot of people have been critical of how Richard and Lucy's home looks exactly the way it did when Richard was still a bachelor. To this Lucy says, "It's minimalist and industrial. If I put cutesy stuff hindi babagay. We're comfortable in the house and it's easy to maintain," she replies. "When I moved in here everything was there, all I really had to bring were my bags and I just had to unpack my things. If I add too many things it would defeat the purpose because it's meant to be minimalist."

However, she will be the first to attest that the rooms bear her personal imprint and that she definitely has a say on the color scheme. In fact, she paints the walls herself. "I like changing the curtains, changing the bed, the color of the rooms in bright colors. I paint them myself with the paint na walang amoy," she says with a hint of pride.

Writing and Crafts
In additional to tinkering around the house ('Except for handyman stuff like plumbing, that I can't do. And cooking. I just like to eat," she jests) Lucy likes reading inspiration books ("The Power of A Praying Parent" by Stormie O'Martin and a book on the life of Padre Pio are her current reads). She also writes a weekly column for The Philippine Star ("Richard takes the photos and emails them.") and a monthly advice column for the teen magazine meg.

'I enjoys writing. I never thought I would write. I finished business management at UP in Cebu. I don't know why. I guess because that's the course everyone was taking," she laughs, "But I remember even in high school and college, I had good grades in English and Writing. Math, talagang nakakapit lang."

By all indications, Lucy leads, what you could call a charmed existence with a storybook quality to it replete with moments of courage, a prince who continues to sweep her off her feet and a healthy and lovely child to love and care for. Is she living her fairytale? "I just really want more kids. After college I had no grandiose dreams of being a career woman, or having to be, really, was be a good wife, and a good mother. Yun lang." Perhaps, by far, in Lucy Torres Gomez' world, dream do come true.

LUCY'S HOUSEKEEPING MANUAL
Weekly Schedule
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
. Palitan ang bath towels sa lahat ng kwarto (Master's, Matt and Jules, Guestroom)
. Palitan ang towels sa CR sa sala

Tuesday
. General cleaning sa mga CR Master's Matt and Jules, CR sa sala, CR sa lobby, guestroom)

Thursday
. Palitan ang bed linens sa mga kwarto

Friday
. General cleaning kitchen (punasan ng sabon ang labas ng mga cabinet)

Saturday
. Vacuum (rug, lahat ng sofa at kurtina sa mga kwarto)
. Punasan and mga picture frames

Daily Schedule
Bedrooms
. Ayusin ang kama, punasan ang mga mesa, walisan ang sahig
. Itapon ang basura
. Palitan ang face towel
. Siguraduhin na may tubig na mainom

Bathrooms
. Siguraduhin na may full set of towels (bath, hand, face, foot)
. Siguraduhin na may 2 rolls of toilet paper
. Disinfect ang toilet bowl
. Disinfect and sink
. Siguraduhin na may liquid soap

Kitchen
. Disinfect ang stainless na counter
. Disenfect ang sink sa loob at labas
. Siguraduhin na kumpleto lahat ng kubyertos at palitan ang dish/hand towel
. Punasan din ang dining at buffet table and ang mga mesa sa labas
Monthly Schedule (every 15th)
. Defrost Refrigerator.
. Linisin ang mga screen
. Linisin ang mga glass doors at windows
. Palitan ang kitchen curtains
. Labhan ang kumot at pillowcase na nasa kotse

QUARTERLY schedule
(March, June, September, December)
. Palitan ang mga shower curtains
. Palitan ang cover sa sofa, throw pillows room curtains
. General all kitchen cabinet and drawers
. Ayusin / punasan ang bookshelf sa lobby

Laundry Instructions
.Basahin mabuti ang label ng damit kung sino ang may-ari para hindi magkahalo-halo. Pag sigurado na kayo saka nyo ipasok sa cabinet
. Ang bagong laba na damit at dapat ilagay sa ilalim ng pile.

Serving Instructions
.Siguraduhin na naka-ayos at nakasuklay ang mga buhok ninyo pag nag-serve
. Pag nagprepare o nagluluto ng pagkain, siguraduhin na naka-clip ang buhok para walang buhok na mapunta sa pagkain
. Magsuot ng uniform pag nasa loob ng bahay
. Pag nagluluto o nagprepare ng pagkain, magsuot ng apron para handi kaagad madumihan ang uniform
. Pag may binibigay o kinukuha na pagkain o gamit sa pagkain, siguraduhin na may dalang tray
. Ang mga pagkain kailangan palaging may serving spoon and fork
. Pag wala ng kumakain, takpan ng plastic wrap ang tira at ilagay sa fridge (pero huwag ilagay kung mainit pa ang ulam dahil masisira lang ito)

Additional Instructions
. Siguraduhin na naka-lock ang mga sliding doors gabi-gabi
. Siguraduhin na lock ang basement
. Pag may sira o basag na gamit, ipaalam kaagad
. Siguraduhin na nakaayos ang linen room at nakatupi ang mga bedsheets set by set
. Pag nagtoast ng tinapay o kumukuha ng ice galling sa ice tray, gumamit ng ipit huwag kamay. - -