Gladiator Week

I survived a week at work! Thank you, Lord!

This is pretty much what I have in front of me everyday at work: my planner (it has a lot more writing on it now, hehe), two pens (I always have a green one handy for our audits), and my PC. Beyond my computer monitor my rowdy bunch (team) is spread out in front of me. Last night, they lined up to dance to Psy’s Gentleman. Hilarious!

It didn’t feel like a heavy week. Lots of catching up, and re-familiarizing myself with day to day processes. It was genuinely nice to be back. By the end of the week (Friday morning for me), I was excited to get to sleep in again. Haha! Also, it was the boyfriend’s birthday on Saturday (6/8) so I was really looking forward to that. The only downside is that the boyfriend and I have very different schedules now. Our rest days are mismatched. I am sleeping when he gets home. We didn’t see each other the entire day Thursday. But we more than made up for it this weekend, I think. Although it didn’t feel much of a weekend for me. I needed one more day (doesn’t everybody else?)!

The week ended at a high note. I got the chance to visit the UP Gym again. Sadly it’s not because I’d gone all fit and sporty (I wish!), but because I went to support our account’s basketball team for the company sportsfest. Our boys won all three games they were scheduled for!

Gladiators!

These boys were really amazing. Most of them had shifts on Friday night. Then they had to play three games, with one-hour intervals in between. And they went on to win each one.

3-1 win!

3-1 win!

Next week’s game will be a tough one. I hear we’ll be up against the team with no loss record yet. Hopefully, my friends and I get to show our support again, along with a lot more others. Speaking of friends, these girls kept me company:

Lovely

Hanging out with these two were among the things I missed while I was recovering. But when we weren’t teasing each other or bashing the other team like die-hard hooligans fans would, they were making an attempt at playing volleyball:

The initial plan was that Cha and I would walk around the Acad Oval before the games, to exercise. But I didn’t wake up until 12 noon that day, just as the first whistle was blown for the team’s first game. After the game wasn’t an option because it would have made me late for the boyfriend’s birthday gig. It would have been a nice day to fasten the bikes on a yakima rack and pedal around campus, perhaps another day.

So there, I had a good first week back at work and things seem to be just getting better. 🙂 Oh and people were either just being very nice to me, or I must have really lost weight. 🙂

From My Reader: IKEA Hackers

One of the older blogs on my reading list is IKEA Hackers.

From the site’s About page:

IkeaHackers.net is a site about modifications on and repurposing of Ikea products. Hacks, as we call it here, may be as simple as adding an embellishment, some others may require power tools and lots of ingenuity.

It’s community of follower submit their own hacks to be featured so contributors may be coming from all corners of the world, though I’ve not seen any from the Philippines just yet.

I’m not the DIY type (but I would be if I had the skills), and we don’t have a real local IKEA store, but the hacks are just so good that I kept following the blog. I am also amazed at the ideas that come up, and the savings that homeowners get from using various IKEA products and customizing them for their needs.

Who knows, someday when I live in my own home, I might need a hack and finally get to use one of theirs for inspiration.

I do find though that anything relating to kids on IKEA Hackers are not just adorable, but really fun to make! They’ve also featured a lot of play kitchens so I’m making sure to feature some of them here, they’re my favorites:

Now here’s one we actually can take inspiration from right now. We’ve got a mess of a kitchen counter, and an even messier porch where the actual cooking takes place. This kitchen storage and pull-out counter may just be the solution we need:

My dad also seems to be very close to deciding on getting us a flat screen LED TV. If so, we’re also going to a need a better setup for our media to incorporate the possible new wall TV mount. Good thing there’s the media storage category on IKEA Hackers for inspiration.

Do you have DIY projects at home too? Do share. Or if you’re looking for ideas and inspiration, go ahead and checkout IKEA Hackers too. 🙂

Wear it Your Way with Wacoal

I have a confession to make – I did some online shopping via 6pm.com last week. It was just so hard to resist the marked down prices AND the ADDITIONAL 20% off coupon from Alfred’s boss. They have a large plus size collection that just got me drooling. In fact, there were more tops and dresses that I really wanted but I didn’t have the confidence nor the lingerie to pair them with. Hehe.

Now, if I actually owned this wonderfully versatile Wacoal undergarment,

wear it your way bra blue

I may have gone ahead and picked out these three additional outfits:

This Anne Klein Plus Size Fitted Sheath Dress would need a strapless undergarment so there’d be no straps peeking through that wide slit across the front. I could definitely wear this to work and the bright pink would be the pop of color I need to last me through the day.

Anne Klein Plus Plus Size Fitted Sheath Dress

Linked to source

Next up would be this Rachel Pally Plus Plus Size Imara Dress. I love the color – bordeaux! I would need just one-strap to pull off this dress though.

Linked to Source

Linked to Source

And finally, my loot will be rounded off with this Kenneth Cole New York Plus Size Ocean Mist Halter top:

Link to Source

Link to Source

Don’t these three outfits just look super? It may be a little difficult imagining me in them, but I think I’d look amazing. haha. I’ll probably throw a cardigan over all three, but I’d still wear them, ha! And with the right undergarment support from Wacoal, who wouldn’t? 🙂

http://www.wacoal.ph

http://www.wacoal.ph

Happy 1st Monthsary to My Back!

A month goes by very quickly; whether you’re busy or just chill it doesn’t matter, time still flies. It’s been a month and a week after my back operation!

I posted this on Instagram after my doctor’s appointment on May 25th. It was at that appointment that I was proclaimed fit to work and ready for the world. Hehe. So I’m going back to work full-time beginning this Monday, June 3rd. Yep, all in time for back-to-school rush.

It was only while we were having brunch that I realized it’s my back’s one month anniversary. That day, I went up and down the stairs at Il Terrazzo in Tomas Morato, and then again to get to Shmily Arts & Crafts Store in Sta. Ana, Manila. The girls were excited enough to go along with me for a drive and to buy some craft materials. Oh we didn’t know exactly where the store was, the iOS map was pretty helpful and we didn’t get lost or anything. Hehe.

The girls are selfie addicts, so we had our customary shots while in the car, and right before food was served.

 

Just now though, I realize more how crazy fun these girls are, look at all these photos they left for me to find on my Photo Stream (taken on the iPad):

CrazyGirls

Pretty young ones, aren’t they? Hell’a crazy too. And I’m just really glad they spent time with me that day. I may have given them an awkward talking-to about the birds and the bees but I just really love these girls and I want them to make the right decisions in life, young as they are. They were still toddlers when I was their age now, and back then I spent a lot of time with them too. I love that they still like being around Tita Vera, even when there could have been a hundred and one things they could do on a Saturday. 🙂

Zach Sobiech: The Kid Who Went Down Fighting, and Didn’t Really Lose

Zach Sobiech. Have you met him?

He inspired millions of people even before he turned eighteen. He had osteosarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer that affects children), and he knew he wasn’t going to live long. Instead of languishing in the dark, he chose to live the remaining days of his life by sharing his feelings through music. Instead of waiting for people to cry for him when he dies, he chose instead to put smiles on people’s faces – because knowing he was responsible for that made him happy.

He died on May 20, and heaven just got brighter. Get to know him, and take inspiration from his life through this video. It’s 22 minutes, but definitely worth the time. I first watched it when I learned of his death and I was moved to tears. Good tears. And I felt that it’s now my responsibility to live my days endeavoring to make someone else smile. Please please watch it.

If you don’t have time though, here are two lines he uttered in the vid; I made these cards because these lines will always stick with me:

START LIVING

Make people happy

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