Peace and Serenity

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Because of my slow Internet connection, I have been staying away from my favorite digital scrapbooking digs to avoid frustration over the extremely slow download times. Today seemed as good a time as any to go visiting again, so I clicked on over to my Digital Scrapbooking Blogroll and went on a ride.

The order of  the links on my digiscrap blogroll randomly change each time you visit the page. On this visit, I went through about four or five of the links until I stopped, because I was led to an interesting blog that I felt compelled to read through, or I found one I haven’t visited in a loooong time and had so much downloads to catch up on. 🙂

Apart from the great finds from Lindsay Jane’s and KimB’s blogs, there was one blog whose threshold I felt blessed to have gone over today. Megan’s Rackety Scrappety. Her blog was one of those blogs that I used to visit almost on a daily basis. I always looked forward to her templates, and her layouts showcasing her kids. Templates have always been effective in giving me inspiration for my own layouts, though I almost never stick to exactly how they’re designed. On hindsight, though I must have downloaded every template I found on her blog, I don’t think they were really the primary reason I went there to visit – I truly enjoyed viewing her layouts, and the smiles of her kids.

As it turns out, Megan is indefinitely signing off from Rackety Scrappety to spend more of her time and energy with her family, and her newborn Crew. You have got to head on over to Crew’s Journey, I suggest you start reading it from the first post. Her entry about meeting Dex, one half of the twins who flew up to heaven even before he came out from mum’s tummy, was so peaceful and serene. I’ve never read anything quite like it. I mean, I don’t remember reading about loss but not feeling the heaviness of it. 

Crew’s Journey is both a memorial to Dex, and a celebration of Crew’s baby steps to wellness. I think that most importantly, it is a chronicle of the mother’s road to healing.

Whenever I hear of mothers who lost their babies, I can’t imagine how it was for my mother, losing her baby many years ago after having spent only a few days with him. My dad once said that my mom wrote poems but I’ve never seen them. And we’ve never talked about it. I can only conclude that at the time, she had the support and love to keep her going.

Twilight, the movie version

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On Tuesday, we finally saw the movie that both Alfred and I have been waiting for. We had a nice, filling  lunch at House of Minis, also in Greenhills, right before the screening.

I felt that there are many aspects in which it could have been improved, but as it is, it wasn’t all that bad. In fact, I wouldn’t mind watching it again, and again. And again.

First, I didn’t really like the makeup. They’re all supposed to look gorgeous, perfect, god-like. Instead, they looked like hell. Except Emmet, and Victoria (didn’t she look prettier than Rosalie?). Jasper and Alice were a bit of a disappointment, not to mention Rosalie who was supposed to be the yardstick for beauty herself. But as the movie progressed, they did grow on me and I was able to get past the bad makeup.

Bellas’s voice. Okay, I had seen the trailer before so I was prepared to see the movie Bella and reconciled her to a smaller version I had seen in my mind while reading the books. But when I heard her speak, she felt more different to me. She looked and sounded stronger than the Bella in Twilight, the book. She was the inner Bella, you know what I mean? Meyer made her look fragile at first, one who needed protection – there was none of that in the movie version. It was like Edward’s need to protect her was unfounded. Hehe.

And where was Edward’s confidence and air? He looked the opposite of the confident young man I pictured him to be. He was always hunched over, even while walking.

They did an awesome job with the sunny sparkly scene. I think that was what I wanted to see the most. Hehe. 

The movie was too short, in my opinion. Too short to really show the rest of the world who didn’t read the book, why millions have been hooked to the saga.

Anyway… We caught an early screening on a weekday so there weren’t a lot of people in the cinema. There was a group of elderly ladies who sat beside us. There were about four of them. Alfred and I looked at each other as they entered. We were wondering whether they had read the books, or had daughters/granddaughters who did. They quietly watched; in fact, I think Alfred and I were the noisiest in there.

So have you seen it? What do you think of it?

So is 2009 the year we spend our anniversary out of town?

Two years ago I told Alfred I wanted to spend a weekend out of town – Tagaytay specifically. He didn’t want to go because – ahh I don’t know why.

Last year, we were supposed to spend our anniversary weekend at this quaint resort in Laguna. It didn’t push through. 

Last week we were talking about where we wanted to go. It has to be somewhere just near, and we wouldn’t need to spend too much money (because we don’t have much to spend). Tagaytay cropped up in the conversation again. Alfred mentioned that it would be so much easier if I could drive, then we’d have no problem with transportation. How true!

Me, drive? I don’t know much about cars, don’t know shit about suspension and steering rack. I watch Overhaulin, American Hot Rod, Top Gear, and all those other car shows on cable, but I cannot really drive. I know all about the theory, from tagging along and being at the backseat when my mom was taking her driving lessons from A1 more than a decade ago. But I cannot actually drive. I long for that freedom. The places we’d go see if only I could drive. Sigh. 

But back to what I was saying… I really hope we do get to spend a weekend in Tagaytay in January. I can already sense busy weeks ahead of me. If the last week I had at work were any indication, I’ll be back to my long hours at work on a regular basis. In times like these, it would help keep me going if I had a weekend getaway to look forward to. 🙂

Pacquiao fights Dela Hoya

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Philippine boxing here Manny “the Pacman” Pacquiao fights Mexico’s Oscar “Golden Boy” Dela Hoya today in Vegas. This fight has been much anticipated and people are finding it difficult to call which way it will go.

The fight is already underway as I write. The telecast is delayed though so we won’t see it here in an hour perhaps. My mom and dad are watching it live in the cinema, they’ll probably send a text message once it’s over.

When I first heard of the fight, I was actually surprised and wondered why with his stature, Dela Hoya sought to fight Manny. But Manny is definitely up to the challenge.

I’m sure that win or lose, his fans will welcome Pacman with their loving arms!

Christmas came a few weeks early :)

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Alfred and I have already exchanged Christmas gifts for each other. For several years now, there’s really no surprise anymore when it comes to our presents for each other. He doesn’t like surprises, you see. So he usually just gets me something he knows I really want, and I also get him one that he actually asks for.

But I was still surprised when he offered to get this for me when I finally found a copy at Fully Booked Greenhills:

 This baking book first caught my attention about two months ago, at which time I blogged about it here. I only saw an actual copy last Saturday, when I sought it out. At the same time that I saw it, I also found the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook.

When he saw that I was hesitant to purchase either books after checking out the price, Alfred immediately offered to get it for me – as my early Christmas present. The next crucial decision that took me around 15 or 20 minutes to make, was which one to get. Obviously this one won out, but it was really a tough choice. Both books gave tips for beginner bakers and offered plenty of recipes to choose from. I felt that Martha’s was friendlier for beginners and was actually more inclined to get that first, and then to just come back for ArtNSoul when I’m done with it. But there was something about this huge baking book that really just drew me in.

I have not yet taken it out from the FB bag since I brought it home. I want to be ready to tackle it when I do so. First I’ll be reading through it, and then picking out which recipes I’d like to try. Then I’ll prepare the environment for actual baking: starting with the oven. Maybe if I just clean it up, it’ll function better. At this point, I am shelving the idea of buying an oven because I need to prioritize payments for the condo. I need money to spruce it up a bit, and then finally rent it out. One’s that’s all set I can get a loan from mom or brother bear for a big new oven.

I have this other recipe book I’m itching to get, Anita Chu’s Field Guide to Cookies. It isn’t available here though and I haven’t mustered enough courage yet to ask a relative if I can have it delivered to his place and then he’ll bring it over when he comes home in a few weeks for his wedding. I mean, he’s going to be busy right, I wouldn’t want to add on to that.


Anyway, as for my present to the boyfriend, he got what he wanted too. A new watch!

It’s a Swatch Chronos with their new plastic/silicone (?) technology that makes this thing that looks ginormous so lightweight! It cost more than what I am ever willing to spend on one single watch so Alfred’s paying for the rest. We still consider it a present though. 

You should have seen how happy he was with it. 🙂

I tried on some of the watches too, and I really wanted to take some of them home with me (lookup the Curvaleous and Color the Sky – this one reminds me of my previous blog layout). I seriously had to restrain myself. It’s been a long time since I’ve worn a watch. I still have my old black beady Swatch that just needs a new battery. I can always just have that battery replaced if I really needed to wear a watch. I just wasn’t up to spending a fortune on the Curvaleous. 

We had to walk around the mall before Alfred finally finally decided to bring home that watch. I still had to keep my eyes away from the two watches I fancied so I wouldn’t be tempted to add them in to the purchase. Haha.

We had brunch at a Japanese restaurant before heading home. Salmon sashimi again, after so long!

Juice Fasting

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I can only vaguely remember my mom telling me about this last week. She had mentioned that my Auntie Nellie, had tried it, and it worked wonders for her. She also mentioned that there was a program at St. Theodore’s Hospital in Sagada that administered this to people who were interested.

It didn’t register at that time. Not until I got round to checking my mail, and I found the link she had sent me. 

Reading through the testimonies on the Juice Fasting had me thinking about Joan Joyce, a dear fellow blogger, who had gone on a juice diet as her means to lose weight. She had the discipline to stick to it, and she saw the results. I can’t wait til she reads about this. 🙂

Anyway, so St. Theodore’s seems to have a Wellness and Healing Program, and this Juice Fasting for 30 days is included in the treatments it offers. Apart from my aunt (mom’s cousin) who has followed it, the site features the hospital’s chaplain too. I personally know the Chaplain and his wife, because he used to be the Dean of the Cathedral right here, many years back. Their reasons for undergoing the fasting were not really weight loss, but general healing. Inevitably though, they lost weight too.

So I was thinking. rather than filling my head with thoughts of quick fixes for my weight and health dilemmas, and before I turn to unproven pills like Lesofat and NV diet pills; perhaps I should do this fasting. They say that if it’s done right, I will still have energy to do my day to day duties. It shouldn’t affect my performance at work. There should be no impact on my energy levels.

But I think it’s better done with medical supervision. And well, it’ll at least look scientific if they do tests on me before I go through the fasting, and then again at a specified period.

So I told my parents, we should go up to Sagada and have this. But Sagada is a 12-hour roadtrip away. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to find common time to go, specially with my new rest days. But it won’t hurt to try. Plus I’m pretty sure i’d lunge at any excuse to go up there.

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I had forgotten to mention in my previuos post that I saw this huge poster for the movie version of Confessions of a Shopaholic in the cinema this weekend. Isla Fisher is playing Becky Bloomwood. I’m not sure I totally see her in the role, but I am totally looking forward to the film. 

I am almost tempted to buy the rest of the Shopaholic books at full price because I never see them in my favorite second hand book shops. Only the first in the series ever gets on there. I haven’t read Shopaholic Ties the Not, then the one with the Sister, and then the Baby. Then I wouldn’t know if there are others.

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