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My Trollbeads

That investment I took home with me from Robinson’s Magnolia? Well I got myself a Trollbeads bracelet Starter kit:

trollbeads starter_thumb[1]

I got it as a way to celebrate my first time to go out malling in 3 weeks. I have been off work for three weeks while I get my herniated disc treated. When I go out, it’s only to the hospital for therapy. I’ve been to pick up my mom at the office too, but that’s just about it. This first outing was bittersweet. I learned that I still can’t go malling. My back would hurt after very few minutes of walking. Maybe if I can bring a stool wherever I go I can make it work. Maybe not.

Unintentionally, I chose a Murano glass bead that was the same as the one featured in their above ad. The Purple Stripes. The starter kit normally comes with the chain, a basic lock, and one Sterling silver bead. For this promotional, they threw in a glass bead for free (additional bead costs 1595 PHP).

Here’s mine (but it looks so much nicer in person):

It costs more than I’ve ever spent on any piece of jewelry. That’s probably because all I have are costume jewelry and very few are of gold, silver, or with real precious stones. No heirloom material, until now.

I plan on adding more beads to mark special occasions or events in our lives. I’ll also probably upgrade the lock someday. I’m also hoping this won’t be the only bracelet I’ll have from Trollbeads. I could either move on to another one, or maybe even get a necklace too.

Anyway, I spent a lot of time on the Trollbeads Universe site last night. They have a catalogue of their past and present designs there. Videos from their recent World Tour promotion are also posted.

They also have a Jewellery Box feature for customers to put together the beads they own. One can also personalize the name and description of the beads once added to your jewellery box. What a way to truly say that every story has a bead.

I love my Trollbeads and Alfred and I will keep adding to it Smile

Just Another Friday

Friday. In other parts of the world, they are already pre-ordering iPhone 5. As for me, well, it was just another day.

Or maybe it wasn’t.

Used the services of City Delivery to order lunch from The Chocolate Kiss Café.

Chicken Kiev w/ Mashed Potatoes for me, Hickory Smoked Spareribs for him. Eggplant Parmigiano to share. We washed it down with some orange juice, and iced coffee (cold brew).

Photo Sep 15, 2 08 06 AM

I went to therapy at 5PM, Alfred went with me. There’s some progress there, but no breakthroughs. Yet. The plan was to go malling after, so I could practice walking more. Dinner and scouting for a new wallet for Alfred was on the agenda.

It was our first time at the new Robinson’s Magnolia and we’ll definitely be back. There was a long queue at the parking entrance considering it was already 7PM when we got there. It wasn’t hard to get a slot near the mall entrance though.

We walked around for a bit, but it didn’t take too long before I felt like needing to rest. Up on the main floor, we asked a security guard if they had a wheel chair we could borrow, but there was none.

Inside the mall, Alfred looked around while I sat at the Nike/Adidas area. Saw a nice sporty tote bag that I would have bought if it was in a dark color. Near the escalators I saw racks of cellphone cases. Ended up getting a protective case for my iPhone. It’s much like the Otter cases (in principle) but the brand is Swisstech and a lot less expensive. I’ve dropped my phone so many times and probably will be dropped again, so a better case was definitely justified. And it’s in violet. Smile

As it happens, because I wanted so badly to find another seating area when we got up another floor, we went in to the Shoe Salon. On our way out, we had a paper bag containing a pair of shoes. Guess whose?

222731140_22241992970eefbb49d620b17b73c3e2e39103181719e8dd3

(image source: Sulit listing)

It’s really quite comfortable, and the only one in my size out of maybe 4 pairs I inquired about. And it’s not too high, no danger of damaging my back worse than it’s already been.

If I wasn’t aching to get seated again, I probably would have resisted the temptation of buying those sandals. Or, if the mall had more sofas and chairs available on every floor, that would have saved me a lot of trouble. Of course there’s no room for rustic furniture in a modern mall, but they had those black leatherette sofas in one floor, why couldn’t they put them everywhere else?

We went up yet another floor but didn’t find anything interesting for Alfred. We did note that there are plenty more shops waiting to open up. Then I saw a store I had not seen in any other mall before. We went in, joked around a bit (with each other, and with the staff), and walked out with what I’d like to call an investment. To find out what it is, you’ve got to come back some other day. Smile

I will show you what we had for dinner though, from the Adobo Connection at the food court:

Photo Sep 15, 2 58 49 AM

Looks good? I wish they tasted as good too, but they didn’t. We tried Kuya’s Fried Mix Adobo and Chicken Adobo sa Gata. Neither tasted right for me. It did taste better when you add more vinegar, but it still lacked a distinctive adobo taste for me. Funny, the Adobo Connection website claims that they were voted as the pinakamasarap na Adobo in the Metro by a show in GMA News TV.

At the end of the meal we agreed that we won’t be eating there again. But maybe we should give them another chance. I’d like to taste the Adobo Rice, or maybe even the Adobo Spaghetti. Hmm. We’ll see.

So do you think it was just another day? Perhaps not.

the new Iphone 5

At 1AM Manila time, 9/13, Iphone 5 was revealed to the world. Right after the presentation, the Apple website was updated with this:

image

What’s new with the iPhone 5? A bigger display. Thinner and lighter. 8MP camera. Built-in panorama stitching. Photo stream with sharing, liking and commenting capabilities. Better low-light camera performance. A6 chip. iOS6. Turn by turn voice on the Map? Love! And Much more. http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Do I want it? I do.

So I’m probably going to get this in 8 months time. That’s when my 2-year contract with Globe is up. It will be a long 8 months.

Apple didn’t change it too much, but there are enough improvements to make me really want to upgrade from my current iPhone4. Apple really brought their guns, and took out their tool belts to craft us the most amazing iPhone yet.

Scalp Breakouts

Who has never had acne? I think everyone who’s gone through puberty and adolescence know how it feels to have pimples. Some of us never outgrow it. No matter how good we take care of our face, there are unlucky ones who will always grow a pimple or two near their monthly period.

Pimples were never really a big deal for me. I got them, but they went away too. Maybe I have a pockmark or two from a couple of nasty ones, but the biggest scar on my face wasn’t from a zit – it was from when I had chicken pox at 13.

Now, while I try to recover from a herniated disc, have cough and colds, and a super stye that has finally drained out, I have acne problems to boot. And these are no ordinary acne.

Do you know how annoyingly painful huge zits are? How they seem to have a life of their own? How you are constantly aware of their presence, and there’s a tad of nagging pain all the time? Imagine five of those. On your scalp.

Ugh. I have scalp breakout. For the first time ever. And there’s so many of them I can’t help but complain. One is even in a position that makes it hard to lie on my back. Sad smile

So naturally, I Googled scalp breakouts to find out if this could be a symptom of something worse. Good news is, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Though there is no conclusive data, it seems stress-related. It could also mean that I have oily scalp (which is funny because I actually thought I had dry scalp because it’s also been flaking).

How to treat it? Some say laying off dairy products would help; not trying that because I don’t feel like I’ve had more dairy lately. Others suggest tea tree oil. I trust that suggestion, but our Body Shop small bottle of tea tree oil has run out already. I apply sunflower oil instead, from the Human Nature line. It seems to have helped.

I don’t think it’s necessary to get any special shampoo. I just need to keep my head and hair clean. And endure the pain. Some of them are drying out already thankfully. Based on what I’ve read, some people get it on and off for years. Hopefully this is a one-time thing for me. Please oh please.

So I wonder, why are all these health issues coming out all at the same time? But rather than spend time pondering that, I guess I should just be glad they are all happening now that I am on LOA, rather than one at a time. I just wish they’d all go away already, so I can start being more productive during this much needed time off. Productive as opposed to eating, sleeping, and watching TV. The only time I am out of the house is for therapy.

But no room for self pity here, I say, scalp acne be gone!

Charity Collab for Baby Grace

It has been awhile since I featured charity collabs on the blog. I guess that reflects how much less I’ve been browsing digital scrapbookings sites and blogs. But today, I found out about this beautiful kit that is up for sale. Proceeds go to Baby Grace Levi who has been diagnosed with Vacterl/Vater Syndrome with Truncus Arteriosus, Hydrocephalus and a missing right leg.

Clicking on the preview gives you more information about the collab, and the beneficiary as well.

A freebie mini is also being given away.

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