Of Quitting & Keeping Promises.

I quit Facebook and smoking at the same time. The two best things for me during bored Saturday afternoons when there really isn't much to do but watch TV, surf the net and drown yourself in hours and hours of random FB updates. I have nothing against Facebook but I really have to admit, I hate how it eats up your time, energy and "real" life. I think my social life can somewhat survive without it. What I really need now is quality people time. I miss doing more meaningful things with my time like reading a good book or magazine or watching a beautiful film at home while curled up in the arms of dear husband. I want to focus more on house chores and daily mundane errands. I've been living a little recklessly the past couple of months and the guilt has finally caught up on me. I feel like I haven't really grown much as a person and I feel that this is the right time to start anew. Stop all bad and immature habits and just learn to live in the present and be contented with what I already have. Skype, blogging, texting, snail mailing and long phone calls can replace Facebook and help me keep in touch with my "real" friends.  With that I can also then be able to deal with the foreseen smoking withdrawals. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Plus, this blog needs a major makeover. I haven't been updating it as much as I would like, so I have to focus on this baby of mine for now. 

No more comparing and no more being insecure of other people because of the lightest of reasons. I'm such a spoiled brat sometimes I really need a wake up call. I don't need to be perfect. I just need to be me. This whole world I've put myself into has become very toxic and I prefer not to be immune to this materialistic and accomplishment-driven scenario. I need to find my own place in this world where I can live happy and at peace. 

The "quitting cold turkey thing" is for dear husband who wants me to stop smoking permanently. I can't blame him, it really hasn't done anything good but damage our lungs. I'm having a hard time typing this right now as every smoker knows it is a damn big challenge. I have turned into a cigarette slave where all my actions and decisions have been dictated by a stick of tobacco. Not good. So I am quitting and I am putting it out there for the world to see. So shame on me if you see me in a coffee shop smoking away like this blog entry has never existed. 

So there, I am quitting two of my most favorite past times and trying to keep my word that I shall never smoke again. Promises are so easy to break when it involves only something as simple as lighting a cigarette stick but I have to do this now. Not for my family, friends or even my husband. I am doing this for me. 

I want to take out all toxins in life, find balance and be cleansed. It's a challenge but I am open to it. If not now, there will be no other time to do this. So help me God. 

Life Lately.

Trying to make a hair tutorial. Just kidding, I was bored and tying my hair.

There hasn't been anything to write in this blog and I feel like I haven't written here in 10 years. I am overly jealous of people who are able to maintain a blog and be able to update it with an entry or two every week. I wish I had that much free time. Well, I have to make more time if I want to keep doing this. The thing is, life gets so busy here that I end up exhausted at the end of the day to even do the simplest house chores, let alone write in this blog. Uploading pictures takes me a lifetime. But yes, no more excuses, I will have to make time for this. I miss doing this.  

So lately I've been thinking really hard about my plans for this year and it's funny how next week is already June and half of 2011. What happened? Everything just went by so fast. I remember going to Vegas last February (my last entry) and almost 4 months have passed.  Still I feel like I'm still where I started. Planning the same things, making the same resolutions, making the same mistakes and feeling the same things. I feel like I need to grow, need to so something new. What was I doing the past 4 months??? Nothing significant.

I promised myself to travel more and try new and challenging things but I feel like I haven't done anything. It's like running in circles and I hate it. I'm going nowhere.  

I know we have all days like this and for me it's is probably because Aunt Flo's arriving anytime soon and my hormones are just everywhere.  

I just really got into thinking. Will I ever change for the better? Will I ever learn from my mistakes? What should I be doing now and why is there never enough time in a day to do the things that matter to me? 

Today I had to drag myself to write something here because it's so hard when there's really nothing much to say. But if I don't blog now, then I don't think I will every blog again. I can't keep waiting for that perfect time, that perfect reason, that perfect scenario or that right amount of excitement and inspiration. I just need to do what I need to do. 

I hate slacking off and this is one of those days when I'm so tempted to stay in bed, watch tv and not learn anything important but just trash my brain with over-exposure to American pop culture. And then later wish I wrote something interesting in this blog for me to read years and years after.  

Ah...this entry is starting to get boring. I should stop. Will promise myself to write more. There are so many beautiful things to write about, I just have to make more time. 

A Quickie.

Trying to squeeze in a little blogging before we leave for dinner. I'm starving and feeling very guilty that I haven't been sticking to my New Year's resolution of blogging more (every other day at least). As usual, I've been very busy with work, the lesson plans and house chores. The Husband and I woke up very early today after learning about the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan. I'm still worried and I keep praying the people there are okay and that everything would be over, aftershocks and all. I hate things like this but I have to admit they serve as very good reminders for us not to take anything in our lives for granted. It's just so sad and scary. Thank you Lord for keeping my friends and family safe. 

I have tons and tons of things to talk about in this blog. Our Vegas trip and the pictures, our very fun photo session with our favorite photographers Alfred & Emma, my new desk and organizing dreams, my Lenten fasting, my new health habits, etc. The list goes on and on. I'm really excited to share all the things I've been doing for the past few weeks. I'll try to post them REAL soon.

The H says we have to leave in 5 mins. Ciao! Can't wait to have that Persian dinner for Geraldine's birthday! <3 

About The Vegas Trip.

The beautiful sunrise in Interstate 15 between LA and Las Vegas. 
On the road for 7 hours already.

Right now I am pigging out on $1 honey glazed donuts and Ruffles potato chips for dinner. I've been trying to eat a lot healthier these past few weeks adding lots of green vegetables and organic fresh fruits on my diet. And also drinking loads of water lest I suffer again from severe dehydration. I have this habit of drinking water only when I'm really really thirsty which is not very good since I only feel thirsty once a day. Mostly in the late afternoon and just like losing sleep, it's really bad for your body. So yes, I've been eating healthy except for tonight. The good part is I don't feel guilty :D

Anyway, God I miss blogging! It's just been crazy busy at work and at home, I haven't really gotten the time to sit down, relax and write. Vegas was one helluva trip. We weren't able to get a lot of photos but I did get to take a few pictures using my phone. Not so bad considering I rarely take pictures on trips, special occasions or even on random days. (Trying very hard to change that--New Year's resolution is to take more photos!)   

So unfortunately we weren't able to get married there. Had plans of going to the wedding chapel  and have Elvis sing for us Saturday night morning after some drinks but were all too wasted to get a cab at 3 am. We decided to go to my CIL's hotel room to binge on some pizza instead. But again, The Hubby and I were too drunk to get up and eat. Woke up later that morning having a little hangover. It was a fun night though. :) I don't really drink a lot of alcohol but that night was an exception.

Although we stayed there for only 2 nights, our Vegas trip was fun.  We were on the road for a total of almost 20 hours and it ate 2 days of our trip but it was all worth it. As soon as we arrived home I unpacked some of our stuff for a little while and then went straight to bed just to wake up very early the next morning for work. 

I don't think I want to drive to Vegas again. 10 hours is just too much. It's almost like flying to Manila. We're going back this May for my friend's bachelorette party and I have to book tickets ASAP. We might be staying a little longer than this previous trip so I hope we get to finally squeeze an appointment with Elvis this time. 

ps. Will post Vegas pics soon!

Night Life.

California Academy of Sciences located at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is one of the most popular museums in the world.  It houses a planetarium, natural history museum, aquarium and a 4-story rainforest. Last Thursday night, Paulo and I were finally able to go see it. I've been wanting to go for the longest time but never got the time to do so. Our weekends here are always crazy busy and checking out new places in the city has always been at the bottom of our To Do List. Luckily, my friends got us tickets so we were able to go to their Thursday night drinks, music and educational sightseeing event called Nightlife. It was fun and very interesting. You enter (21 and up), buy a drink and go around the museum appreciating world history and natural science. I found it a very fresh idea to mix cocktails and late night museum visits and how good a combination champagne and glow in the dark jellyfishes make.

An Instagram Pic of the Aquarium.

Paulo & I looking amazed.

The aquariums were breathtaking. They had a huge one dedicated to our Philippine Coral Reef. One of the most beautiful in the world. I felt so proud knowing it was one of the biggest and most beautiful ones there. I stared at it for the longest time and it made me want to buy myself a small aquarium for our home.  I love how sea creatures are so calming. The Jellyfishes were another story. They were glowing in different colors and were so mesmerizing. Exactly how they reproduced it in Finding Nemo. 

Bright Big Jellies.

Me with the little jellyfishes.

The natural history museum was also as interesting. But I don't know, I wasn't as excited with it as I was with the aquariums. The Living roof was also impressive. They had red lights all around and I'm sure the view would've been fantastic had it not been so dark and late at night. I owe it a visit one weekend. They said the view is spectacular. 

Natural History :)

We ended at 10 pm. Pretty early for a night out with drinks. It wasn't so bad though since we were able to go around the whole place and it wasn't as busy and crowded as I thought. There were no lines and everybody was just very relaxed. We weren't exhausted and nobody got a hangover. My friends and I agree that it would be the best place to bring someone on a first date. No pressure, fun, good music and the best part is, you'll never run out of interesting things to talk about. You'll learn tons of new things like how it's like to be killed by an anaconda, how a starfish actually feels, how to make felt orchids or how to dissect a bird. The list goes on and on. 

Too bad I missed it. I would have to wait another 30 minutes.

It was fun. I spilled my drink a couple of times while walking, tried taking pictures of my friend kissing a fish, wondered why these two certain fishies were always swimming together and missed that crucial moment the Foucault's Pendulum hit that thin metal cylinder. By a split second.  

But all in all, I had a great time. Even if, yeah, I only took very few sips of my mimosa. :)

Working Out.

I finally went to the gym yesterday night and although I worked out for only 15 minutes max it felt really good sweating a little. I didn't go overboard working out since I didn't want to exhaust my body too much. I know, excuses right? The husband was running and sweating like crazy in the treadmill while I, beside him, was walking in slow-motion looking all fresh and dry (imagine the wind on my hair like in some deodorant/perfume/soap commercial). I wanted to die. It was embarrassing. Was I the only unfit loser there? Ok, so I would jog for a minute or two and then I would stop to catch my breath and feel my body getting a little dizzy from all the effort i was exerting. I could feel my muscles contract and this uncomfortable sensation of wanting to pee. (Do you get that urge to pee too or am I just weird like that?)

So after my rosary, I stepped out of the treadmill and went to the side of the gym to read some gossip magazines while I waited for The Husband to finish. (Saw something in Star Magazine by the way, which excited me. The topic? Another entry, another time--if I can even blog about it!) Anyway, I waited there and got a chance to see everyone at the gym working their asses off for what may seem like hours and hours. I wondered if this was all worth it? Spending your weeknights exercising, not at home but in another place, with strangers working out, staring in front of a mute TV the entire time. I was working out and I couldn't even focus on the television for a long time. Aside from the fact that I hate reading subtitles, Toto's pizza place was right in front and all I could think about were those lucky people who ordered pizza and were on their way home to devour their prize in a happy carb feast. It didn't seem fair. Even the thought of finishing 5 miles and being all healthy didn't excite me one bit to motivate me to work harder. And to think with all the work I did, I wasn't even able to finish a mile! Wait, why am I saying this? I shouldn't even be surprised.

Although The husband claims my little exercise that night was really useless, I beg to disagree, it has actually made me realize how much exercise I need everyday and how I've fallen into the trap of thinking I don't need to be active, yet. But I guess now is the right time to start living healthy and not later when I'm old and too lazy. I know exercising regularly and staying active has a lot of benefits to the mind and body but sometimes it just requires too much of your effort and time and you tend to think it can wait. I don't know if going to the gym is really my thing. It's boring. But I know I need to do something about this whole "being active" thing.

I'm going to try to jog around the park later for just a few minutes. It may not be considered a significant workout but at least I'm doing baby steps. 15 mins can turn into 30 and later a whole hour. But this time I don't want to stay stuck in front of a TV or glass window, or a parking lot with people carrying boxes of take out. I think I want to go see more of the outdoors, expose myself more to nature and the sun.

Now I'm thinking of that gym membership. It won't be cheap if I don't use it. I'll give it a month and see.

Friday Loves.

      I'm so happy it's Friday already. The week went so by so fast I can't wait to have those two days to catch up on sleeping, reading, cleaning, organizing and doing the laundry. The weather outside is perfect and I'm keeping my fingers crossed hoping tonight won't be so cold. Thank God winter will be over soon. Anyway, I've come up with a list of things I love :) Hopefully when the time comes when I don't have to save money and am forced to spend a fortune on some useless stuff I will definitely keep these in mind. 

The Ghost Chair.

      1. The Lou Lou Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck. 

This morning I was thinking of finally getting that Lou lou Louis ghost chair I've been lusting over.     The only problem is I really don't know where to put it here at home since we  have so many things and I'm still wondering how I could fit a desk in our bedroom. I know The Husband will hate me for this but I need a desk and I don't want to put it in our guestroom  because no one ever stays there. But anyway.

Mirror Love.

     2. Venetian Mirror. 

Another thing I really really want is one of those Venetian mirrors. If only I have a decent living room or foyer, it would be perfect. I have so many ideas I'm going crazy. Lord, please make me win the lottery :)

Fresh Gladiolus

    3. Fresh flowers.

  They never fail to bring life and color to your bedroom. I usually buy pink Carnations for our  

   Virgin Mary in the bedroom. I also am in love with all white roses, peonies and gladioluses. 

An old Vogue article.

     4. Magazines. 

Fashion and interior design magazines are my life. I always make sure I get copies of US  Vogue, Elle, Elle Decor, Marie Claire, In Style, Real Simple and Bazaar, Body and Soul and sometimes Oprah. I used to collect Domino  Magazines but was heartbroken when they stopped publishing it. But ahh, the best for me are Preview and Mega. Local magazines, yeah!

Sugar Paper.

     5. Personalized cards and Letterpress Stationery.

I used to make ours on my own but I think I wan't to have a decent one made this year. I've seen sugar paper and some sites from Etsy. But still can't decide on the design. I like them  all!

My Little Secrets by Audrey Kawasaki

    6. An Audrey Kawasaki Masterpiece.

Haay, I always always check her blog and I always fall in love with every piece. She is  amazing. Been a fan for years and years. She never fails to capture my attention. Her works   are fantastic. 

Outfit Inspiration.

  

    7. Phillip Lim's Lace Dress.

Ok, this dress is to die for. I've been drooling and lusting for this since it came out.  Seasons ago. I said I would wear it for my wedding rehearsal dinner or to a wedding but never got my hands on them. Yikes. I wonder if anyone's selling hers? I've seen one at Zara last year but the fit was ehh.... 

    Anyway, the list can go on and on. I have got to run for now. The kids will be up and I need to finish some house chores. Back to reality but at least it's Friday already!!!

photo credits:

allmodern.com

luxist.com

i-seldom-do.livejournal.com

countrysidenp.com

beautifulhairstyles.com

sugarpaper.com