Our angel, my sister

“In my 18 years of existence”, I have always been the youngest and cutest (yeah, not the cutest – hehe) in our family. I always got the attention, and most of the time, the favor was always on me. I always dreamt of having an older sister whom I can share secrets when it comes to love, and someone whom I can borrow clothes and shoes from. Little did I know that everything would completely change the moment our little angel came to our lives. A true blessing that made our lives even more colorful and happier. She’s truly a blessing, and that made my parents strive to live more each day. She changed the way how my mom learned how to move on and accept that one family member fell short. They say that when someone goes away, a new blessing comes along the way. That’s how I see my little sister – a blessing. A complete blessing even if some people think that she’s nothing but a plain responsibility and added expense to our family.  But what people do not know is our family; love her from the bottom of our hearts. She’s totally a complete package.

There were times that I would tease and annoy her to death. (Nah, I guess that’s pretty normal with siblings right?) but no matter how much I annoy her and make her cry, my little sister never hold grudges and would still make lambing to me and she knows how to make my heart melt by saying sweet nothings and hugging me. I love her, and no matter what happens, I will always be there for her. To love her, to nurture her, cherish every moment with her and make sure that she gets the best so she wouldn’t feel less. So to my little sister Angelica (yeah, I named her after Angelica Panganiban – haha!) I love you to the moon and back. I hope you get to read this post the moment you learn how to surf the Internet, so you’d know how much Ate loves you. 

Crystals and Beads and Arm Candies

Here ye, Here ye! Just wanted to promote my good oh friend’s newly opened business! Well, not actually new, because last year, she just ventured in creating customized wedding accessories. To give you a brief background, she’s the one who customized my wedding accessories. If you have followed Certified Bridechilla, then you’d be familiar with my Hello Kitty bouquet, and boutonnieres that were tailored accordingly to our motif.

Little did we know that her not so mini business will boom on online forums and blogs. At first, she was kind of hesitant to try to create these crystallized and beaded accessories since she said that she only knew the basics, and that is to create beaded wallets. Without hesitations, I asked her if she could create our customized wedding cord, and since she is very talented and creative, she was able to make such wonderful masterpieces. Right now, she’s getting a lot of inquiries from bride to be’s across the world. How cool is that! Actually, I envy her for being so creative because ever since, I’ve wanted to try to create beaded accessories but I guess I’m not that crafty and have less patience with needles, strings and beads.

And since arm candies are so in nowadays, I asked her if she could try creating such bracelets so I don’t have to order online from IG stores. Since she’s very artistic and way too fast in crafting, she created a lot of bracelets that would surely make you drool since they are too gorgeous and pleasing to the eyes! Well, unfortunately, my friend is not the type of seller who often goes online just to update her blog from time to time. So I’d like to take this opportunity to promote her online shop.  She recently created her Instagram account so when you get a chance, please follow her too.

IG account: crystalsandbeadsbyhazel  (ang haba!)

Blog: www.crystalsandbeads.blogspot.com

Here are some of her latest creations: 

Metro Deal - Brothers Burger deal

I’m a huge fan of Groupon sites, and I make sure to sign up to their newsletter so I receive deals from time to time. Though I love looking at massive discounts and great deals that sometimes tend to be over-promising, I always keep my fingers tight not to enter all my credit card details so I don’t have to purchase each good deal I see online. I have learned my lessons from last year, because I wasted a couple of vouchers, because I never had the chance to use them due to my work schedule and location of the establishments. I have also read numerous complaints from consumers who got scammed by these online vendors.

Lucky me, I never encountered any problems redeeming the vouchers I bought online. Perhaps one of the main reasons is that I don’t expect too much from these establishments. I am already taking into consideration that I paid less than their “Normal paying customer.” Though that shouldn’t be the case, because they should treat all their customers fairly, but I’ve already instill in my mind that it’s okay, I got a discount anyway.

One of the factors that I take into consideration when I buy vouchers is the price and location. BUT before I purchase the deal, I call the establishment and investigate to make sure they are really offering the good o discount from the groupon site. I also do not purchase travel deals and hotel reservations from groupon sites. One of my friends had experienced this nightmare from Kuponan site and paid almost 40K, only to find out that the person in charge of the reservation scammed the customer’s money! Good thing eBay was able to fix and patch things.

Just recently, I was able to find a great deal from Metrodeal that promotes Brothers Burger. I felt so happy when I saw this deal, most especially that the location is really accessible. Good thing Brothers closes at 11PM so we were able to go there just before our shift.

The vouchers cost 150 each; worth of 245 pesos. I bought 4 coupons (2 for my friends, and 2 for my husband and I) The deal offered the Cheese steak sandwich and Iced tea which I find so-so, because it looked really good in the picture: D. It said Cheese steak, but I didn’t feel any hint of cheese, but nevertheless, I was satisfied and the serving was just enough for me. But in terms of taste and sumptuousness, I’d rate it 2 out of 5 stars. The iced tea they gave us tastes like water too. Hehe. I think they might have forgotten to add the sugar ;)

Looks sloppy  :D

If I were to spend another 150 for a Cheese steak sandwich, I’d rather go to Mcdonalds and eat their big and tasty or better yet their double cheese burger. May fries pang kasama J  

Nail art - my talent in the making

We all know that each and every one of us has their own talents and skills. Though there are times that you would feel that there’s nothing special about you, sooner or later, you would realize that there’s something really special within you that you just have to nurture.

In my case, it took a while before I could realize what my hidden talent is. I know for a fact that I can type real fast with an accuracy of 95 to 98% without looking at the keyboard (that’s a skill right?:D). Aside from that, I used to play the piano (as in read real notes) and the flute. I say “used” because right this moment, I can no longer read the notes because I stopped practicing and developing those skills the moment I stepped college. My mom was a piano teacher before so she made sure to give me lessons and had me memorize some of the classic piano pieces. She used to make me play the piano in public places, that’s why when I was a little girl, I really get scared and nervous whenever there’s a piano displayed somewhere on the mall, because deep down I knew that she’ll ask me to play, and she’d get annoyed at me if I don’t play on public.   I will never forget the pressure and nervousness’ I have encountered during those days. It was remarkable and basically one of the stages of my life that caught me off guard.   

So last year, I was able to discover my talent – I am ambidextrous and can easily hand paint my left fingernails without trembling “that much”.  Practice was basically the key that made me improve and do better in this newly discovered hidden talent. I am not saying that I am a professional nail artist, but looking at the beginners pictures of some aspiring nail art enthusiast, my own version doesn’t have much smudges as compared to them. The designs too, that looks too complex on each tutorials and pictures look also good when already painted on my nails.

Looking at the first few nail designs and experiments I have done, I can pretty say that I have improved big time. I am now practicing the art of dotting tools (believe me, dotting tools can do so much on your nails, and even if you don’t design that much, as long as you know how to play with colors, your nails will still look uber prettified!) Stripers are a big help too. Since the quality of nail polish being sold here (the cheap ones) tend to get pasty in time, using nail art brushes is not advisable because the moment you apply it and paint your nails, the polish is already sticky. One way to have beautiful strokes and lines is to buy a striper. Or better yet, a more expensive nail lacquer.

Acrylic paint is also a good alternative. If you’re a hardcore on designing your nails, acrylic is a good choice. Now, that’s where you can use the nail art brushes you have. It’s also cheaper and you won’t be wasting too much paint, because a small pinch of acrylic can paint more than 5 finger nails already. (small designs).

I’d like to share the designs I have applied on my nails ever since I started with nail painting. I do not use stickers and konad. 

Look at how pudpod my nails are! And the designs are cute and simple. E-v-o-l-v-i-n-g! 

Thank you to those nailart enthusiasts who continuously share their ideas and inspirations. You make my nail art hobby more exciting and easier! 

My Birthday Resolutions

I stopped getting older when I turned 23.  Since then, the party and great booze, pigging out with friends and treating my officemates for lunch had ceased.  It’s as if I am still on the denial stage that my age is almost nowhere to be seen on the calendar and wanted to believe that I just graduated from college and stay that way forever.  But that is way too impossible. – Well, I know for a fact that my age doesn’t comprehend well with the way I act. Since my perspective in life is I wanted to stay younger than my real age, the way I act as observed by my husband is not close enough with the way how I am supposed to act.

So this year – as a part of my birthday resolution, I’ve realized a couple of things told myself that I should be more mature. Here are some points that I wanted to make:

·         Spend more time with my family, rather than spending too much time on Social Networking sites.

·         Save more than 10% of our actual income.

·         Stay away (yes, stay away!) from online shopping spree. Yesterday, I have deleted a couple of online shopping stores I have followed since last year to stay away from temptation. For the past year since I used Instagram, shopping online has been my activity every payday. If I come to think of it, even if a certain merchandise is so affordable, if I add up all the items I’ve purchased from day 1 up to present ate a big chunk of our savings.

·         Never snoop someone else’s life. As in stay away from the gossips that surround me.

·         Don’t trust too easily. Because we’ll never know who our true friends are. Some may be nice in front of you, but I should take into consideration that we or I couldn’t please everyone most especially in the workplace.

·         Act professional and detach emotions from work.  

·         Be more thankful with the job I have right now. To be honest, lately, I’ve been ranting so many things about my work, but I should keep in mind that it is God who made a way and directed me to this kind of job. This is His will so I should nurture it and be happy with it. There is no easy job out there - besides this job helps me to support my family, pay my bills and save for the future. To my friend Mitchie, I just want to let you know that our conversation the other day really made a great impact in my life. I love you and bear that in mind! ☻

·         Turn off the “bitch switch” for like FOREVER! :D Hehe

·         And most especially, to renew my relationship and faith with the Man up there.

So if you’re curious how I celebrated my birthday for this year – I can tell that this is the most special and wondrous birthday I have for the past 26 years. It’s because this year, I have realized so many things, which I know for sure that will make me a better and wiser person. 

Reading is my passion

Reading books have been my safe haven lately.  I jump into the world of fictional characters to drift away from the wearing day to day, or should I say, “night to night” activities at work. At least by reading books, I feel like I am one of the main characters, and my life feels perfect as everything falls in its right place.

I've been a bibliophile ever since I was 8 years old, but unfortunately, my relationship with fictional characters had ended "temporarily" as soon as I entered college. I was overwhelmed with programming books and HTML's and I decided that I need to focus a different language. After I graduated, I worked right away and due to my demanding schedule, I never had the chance to read novels again. Now that I almost have enough time and technology is so great – (Thanks to iPad, my eBook reader and iPhone), I can already bring ALL MY BOOKS wherever I go, and reader whenever I want to. Early this year, I fully decided to make up the years I have missed by reading books. I’ve set a goal that I should read 50 books in 12 months’ time, but oh boy – it’s pretty obvious that I have missed reading so much, and as early as know, I’m already 116% beyond the goal.

The typical books I read are heart wrenching romances (I love the way how I cringe every time there’s a sad part on the book. I also enjoy reading Angel books/paranormal romances and dystopian novels.

I usually buy my eBooks from a seller I found on Instagram, and when I say buy, I really hoard books. I buy them as if there’s no tomorrow, and as if I could read all my books in one seating. (but if I were given the chance and super powers, I think I’d do that).   

Here are some of the books I have purchased from day 1 of my reading journey this year. 

And if I ever get rich, or win the lottery, I won't just buy eBooks, but I'll buy REAL books! ♥

Baby Dust Please after D/C or raspa

It’s been a while since the last time I have updated this blog – I've been preoccupied lately with work and busy reading books for the past few months. Here are some of my book reviews: www.thekatreads.blogspot.com

I promise to update this post every now and then, make it a habit to post at least 3 times a month. I've always wanted to improve the way I write, and of course, express my thoughts freely.   This start of the year has been a blast for me, I’ll be turning 27 years already next week, plus my ever loving husband and I are going to celebrate our 1^st wedding anniversary. It’s such a great feeling to reach that milestone, and still, it feels like we’re still on courting stage.

As early as now, my husband and I are already on our TTC stage – well we've tried it as soon as we got married. However, we both didn't know that not all couples are blessed to conceive that easily. And unfortunately, we are part of the chunk that is not blessed right away with little angels.

Wanting a baby so bad can cause stress which could greatly affect the TTC stage. In as much as I would like to tell my mind that I should relax and drift away from baby planning,  my subconscious still tells me that we want a baby so bad. 

So last month, my husband and I went to my OB-gyne to have my “down there” checked. I had a couple of ultrasounds and follow up checkup to see if there’s a problem with me. I know from the start that I was “normal” – I've had regular periods, seldom menstrual cramps and other usual symptoms. Little did I know that there’s a problem with my uterus and it had to be scraped because of the blood that got jammed ever since I had my monthly period.  

So I went through the process of D/C or also known as raspa. Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure in which your doctor removes tissue from the inside of your uterus. Dilation and curettage is used to diagnose or treat various uterine conditions.  My husband and I was very afraid because from what I've heard, the procedure is more painful that giving birth. Good thing, my ob was very good, and I never felt any pain during the procedure, except when the nurse sedated me. (oh boy, that was really painful. It makes me cringe every time I remember it).  They had me choose what type of anesthesia they are going to give me so I wouldn't feel any pain at all. As far as I know, patients can choose between anesthesia that is injected on the spine (that was painful so I didn't choose it) or the anesthesia that is injected on the dextrose. The dextrose was my option, because I've had enough with the sedation. *cringe*.

After they injected me with the anesthesia, I can hardly remember everything that had happened. The last thing I could remember was when they brought me to the operation room, and woke up 4 hours after the procedure. I was too groggy to remember every details but all I know is that I never felt anything.  If you’re scouting for the price, we were charged 29,000 by Las Pinas Doctors Hospital. If memory is correct, the PF of my OB for D/C was 9,000.

As per my recovery period, it took me almost 2 weeks to go back to work. I have a strong pain tolerance, 2 days after the procedure; my husband and I went straight away to the mall without thinking that the reason why I couldn't feel the pain is because the anesthesia hasn't worn off 100%. After few minutes of walking in the mall, I already felt a scorching pain in the middle of my abdomen, which made me realize that straight bed rest is fully needed in order to recover from the procedure. Thank you to coffee and my e-book reader. They became my companion while I was on sick leave for more than a week.

This was me when I strolled 2 days after D/C. I even I had the time to try some hats and took a couple of shots. This was my fave. Hehe. 

Right now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully the journey to TTC will be much easier. BABY DUST PLEASE.