Out of It

I'm a little sad that I've been too drained to write much the past nights but that's life now, isn't it? I'm doing my best to live up to my promise to myself, though, that I will write every night to help improve my personal writing voice.

That said, allow me to leave you with Sunday's reflection prayer (yes, it is different from the Bible quotes that are posted there on the right; we use different readings for our nightly prayers): "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

Just a quick one for the night

It made me a bit sad to see no Saturday post after steadily being able to write something every day up to Saturday so I'm writing a quick one before bed.

It's the second time this week that I've gotten so upset I cried. I've just been so tired lately and what makes this so bad is the fact that I'm tired emotionally, not physically. It's one of the worst ways to hit me because whenever that happens, I just crack. Either that or I shut down. Worst is when I shut down and crack.

Defining what I aim to be

Ever heard of the housewife versus career woman arguments? Those women are scary.

Accusations and put-downs fly everywhere like feathers after a pillow bursts in the middle of a pillow fight. I hadn't even gotten a page down before I stopped reading.

A little something Extra

Third post for the night, wow.

My two earlier posts were written right at the moment of my lowest point for the day. If there's anything I'm most grateful for, above everything else in my life, it's that ever since I committed my life to the Lord there is not a single time when I've felt so weak and lost that I was not comforted.

The previous post served as a pick-me-up in that it gave me something to think about so as not to dwell on...fine, I'll call it that...my depression for the day. (Emphasis on "for the day.") This next one made me happy because it reminded me that yes, there was a lapse in my fortitude today and I am still very much a flawed follower, but I'll keep getting better at handling these low times for as long as I remain faithful and obedient.

That was my reminder tonight during our nightly prayers--being sure of what I believe in and striving to be pleasing to him. There are so many things in my life that were accomplished purely by faith and things that I survived purely by faith.

I still have a long way to go. Three years is not enough to catch up on the things I ought to have learned earlier. But in His wisdom the Lord allowed me those years prior to find my way back to Him after wandering in the wilderness. And I know I was still blessed during that time because there were people praying for my safe return.

I have declared that I am His and that is what keeps me going. I persevere because I know He has plans for me and that everything I go through is the means through which I am being prepared to receive what gifts and blessings may come.

"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."

Just one of those things #2.5: Things you want to see/hear/read

I saw this post via my Facebook account and I thought I'd share it here. This is the link to a blog called "Something Infinitely Interesting."

The author wrote this as something of a reflection on the attitude of graduates from Ateneo de Manila University but this applies to a wider scope of people.

Her entire post is here behind the cut, copied directly. Again, the link to the original is here. I'm not claiming that this is, by any means, my own genius writing.

Just one of those things #2: Bad Day

I'm just feeling very defeated right now.

I've never been good at choosing my battles, only choosing the side I ought to be on. I do feel the daily challenges forcing me to choose what's easy versus choosing to be Faithful--no-brainer there--and each time, a part of me starts thinking, "Oh it will be easier the next time around" but it never is.

Cynics would probably say "This is why you should just go the easy way around," except...why?

No matter how much I might complain about one thing or another, I haven't stopped believing that each moment, good or bad, is a blessing. It's the challenges that help, sometimes force, us to grow and those moments of triumph are the chances for a snatch of respite.

I don't believe we were built to be creatures of complacency even if we might often be given to periods of self-satisfaction. I know I'm prone to that--it is potentially my greatest weakness. I've had fewer episodes of that over the years but every now and then the Lord reminds me to keep an eye and ear out.

This would have been a woefully unproductive day if not for the clothes I managed to wash. The weather has not been fully cooperative but thank you for the breeze that's bringing in the scent of fresh laundry throughout the house.

Someday when my children are old enough they'll probably see me doing the same thing I did this morning: sit at my desk and cry. When they ask me why I'm crying I'll tell them "It's because I'm having a bad day." When I stop crying and they ask why I'll tell them "Because God told me it will all be okay."

And I know it will be.

The things that just pass you by

We picked up our wedding photos yesterday.

Soft copies. That's the new way they go about it now in the digital age. The soft copies serve as our "contact prints" and are already the entire lot of clearly-taken photos by our photographers.

Unexpectedly, we actually had three for the day. Our lead photographer was Noel Salazar and with him were Gracielle Hernandez and Cherry Romero, all from Imagine Nation Photography (shameless plug but then again, this is my blog). Cherry doesn't have a blog/portfolio yet it seems as she is still an apprentice if memory serves but with the shots she took, I believe she'll get there pretty darn quickly. ^_^

Conversations #1: The misplaced harddrive

Last night, when I was going over our wedding photos, I realised the reason Clio, my computer, has been so slow was that I no longer have enough space for all my programs and files to move around in. This was brought home when, during a file transfer of our wedding photos, I suddenly received a "Girl, you have way too much stuff in your harddrive!" pop-up. (Obviously I took creative license there.)

So I hunted for my external harddrive, Tristan, so I could move things from Hestia, my internal harddrive, out.

Cut in the interest of giving you the option to stop or keep going.

The trouble with dogs

I'll be moving my pets blog here eventually but meantime, I will write it down here.

The past few months have been massively hectic for my husband and I. The unfortunate side effect of this was less energy and/or will power to walk the dogs.

This is a picture of two of our boys--for now, the closest we have to children. I will introduce the rest of the brood later on.

These are the happy, satisfied smiles that make me smile because I know that we've been good pet parents to the two of them. I took this after we'd taken them for their morning walk which, back in 2010, we were able to do each morning from Monday to Friday. It helped my husband and I lose weight...well, lose fat I suppose would be the more appropriate term. It also kept our little boys healthy and less hyper.

The Wedding Weekend

I think this photo encapsulates my impressions of the weekend perfectly. That, and it's my favourite shot of entire lot that I took during the weekend.


Because my family is so small and each micro unit is divided by a state, ocean or continent from the rest, family affairs are inherently a big deal. We see each other so rarely and only under the best or the worst circumstances. The flaw there is that such circumstances are few and far between and, if it involves crossing continents, so little time is spent actually enjoying each other's company because we tend to busy ourselves with sight-seeing and shopping, whether for ourselves or others.

I think the main reason I enjoy spending time with my husband's side of the family so much is

Biding Time

Mind, we're in no hurry to add to our little family of two but there have been talks, mainly my parents and the whole idea of having a child born either in the Year of the Dragon or the Year of the Snake.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I suggest either doing your own research or asking around about feng shui and Chinese zodiacs. Hopefully from a reliable source.

So here we go. The Dragon Child and/or the Snake Child.

It has been said that children born in the Year of the Water Dragon (which began today) and those

Keeping things in order

Although I am not, by nature, a scatter-brained person, we all have our moments. That and I like remembering things that happened in each year or month that has passed and being sporadic at writing in my physical journal, I tend to note everything in my planner.

This is my fancy-schmancy Belle de Jour Power Planner. I call it that because it's got loads of extras that I don't even normally use but I've found that it is the only planner in the market right now that is flexible enough to fit my lifestyle, whatever state it might be in at the moment, and is still pretty enough for me to want to keep using it.

I've been using a BDJ planner since 2010 after seeing how cute it was when my best friend showed me hers in 2009. I unfortunately lost my 2010 planner--my documents bag was stolen late in the year--so I no longer have my 2010 records.

The Best Thing

I am suddenly hit with the temptation to change that title to "The Sweetest Thing" instead, having been reminded of the U2 song.

But enough of that.

I mentioned in another blog that, since our wedding, the next questions we've been bombarded with were either

a) "How does it feel to be married?" or
b) "When do you plan to have kids?"

Chinese Wedding Superstitions

I am actually a very small percentage Chinese but having grown up surrounded by family friends who are from traditional Chinese families, I grew up knowing a good deal of superstitions and practices that, sometimes, my own Chinese friends didn't know about since their families were no longer as traditional as the ones I grew up knowing.


The one described by the image below was something I did not know about until after my husband and I chose the date and time we wanted for the ceremony. Funnily, it turned out that we unknowingly followed a Chinese tradition because our wedding ceremony began on the upswing at around 6:45pm and I estimate we said our vows roughly around 7:30pm.

When it comes to Chinese wedding traditions, timing is everything. In order to ensure they start their marriage off with good fortune, couples consult with a monk, fortune teller, calendar, or almanac (and these days, the Internet) to find the luckiest wedding day. The selection has to do with a variety of factors, including the bride's and groom's birthdates. And instead of saying their vows at the top of the hour, many Chinese couples start the ceremony at half past the hour, so as to begin their lives together when the clock is on an upswing.

I thought it appropriate to share this because I am now en route to a wedding: my cousin's (via my husband). She is actually marrying into what seems to me a more traditional Chinese family which may explain why their ceremony also begins at half past the hour.


Just a thought.

Why should one take precedence over the other?

I've been cleaning up on various levels, from clothing, books, rooms, computer documents, you name it.

While going over my browser bookmarks--you know how those things pile up over time--I saw a list of suggested items for seasonal cosmetic transitions. I thought immediately about blogging it but then I said to myself, "This blog isn't the proper channel for that."

But then, again, why not?

One of the funniest marriage-related quotes I've heard comes from the movie "The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement," where Mia's mother Helen tells Mia, "Being married is about being yourself, only with someone else."

If you've watched the movie, you'll know why it's funny. If you haven't, I'll do my best to describe it.

It is my duty to warn you that there will be spoilers after the cut.

Basic Skin Care Regimen a la Agoo Bengzon

Originally posted on Agoo-RU here on the Cosmopolitan Philippines website. I'm not sure I can commit to all ten steps she listed but you know what, if I want to keep looking the way I do now, I guess I'd better put in the effort, eh?

Sharing here to remind myself.

1. Use an oil type cleanser to remove waterproof make-up.
2. Follow up with a foaming cleanser to remove other traces of impurities.
3. Exfoliate.
4. Apply a moisturising mask.
5. Apply toner or face lotion.
6. Apply anti-ageing serum.
7. Apply moisturiser. She noted that she uses two different types: oil-free for her T-zone and a heavier cream for other areas of her face. I may actually take a leaf from her book on that as I have combination-oily skin.
8. Apply eye cream.
9. Put on SPF.
10. Apply lip balm.

My personal regimen is pretty darn close to hers now that I think of it. I use a make-up removing cream to take care of my make-up, wash it all off with a foaming cream (after wiping off the make-up remover), apply toner, moisturise (with SPF during the day, regular or night-specific moisturiser at night), and lip balm.

Hmm. Maybe I'm not doing so badly by myself after all.

Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle #1: Peanut and napkin tray

I've been slowly sorting out our wedding presents and have actually repurposed one gift, a peanut and napkin tray, into a caddy for the cosmetics I keep in my office shelf.

Question: Why do you have cosmetics in your office shelf?


Answer: Because more often than not, I find myself putting on my makeup while seated in front of my computer. A touch of multi-tasking if you will; I check my email while putting my face on. So to speak. Plus, it looks pretty lined up on my shelf so it serves to be decorative as well.

It keeps all my bits and pieces together perfectly and allows me to keep the regular use items separate

Make-up Inspired: A nice, cheery office look

A video tutorial by Lauren Luke from her Office Make-up series. It makes me want to go out and buy glitter liquid liners, or at least coloured ones, haha! See the video here via YouTube.

Enjoy!

Just one of those things #1: Signs of Ageing

Having decided quite late what I really wanted out of life, I have only recently come to various realisations that I should have seen ages ago.

The main thing right now: age and ageing.

Having finished college late most of my clothes were generally still of the university student variety. Starting my own business with some college friends and my husband, I've since been converting my daily attire into more work-appropriate, young professional apparel.

I didn't realise, however, that I'd been neglecting one important element in my wardrobe: formal

Stumped.

Now that I have the blog, I have no idea what to write in it. The concept was awesome (to me anyway) but now that I'm here...

I've been staring at a blank text post page for the past fifteen minutes. Now, for someone who doesn't know how to shut up, that's quite a big deal. In my other blogs I can ramble endlessly. Focusing on writing about the domestic life I enjoy so much is far tougher than I imagined.

I've just finished washing a week's worth of clothes. Let's start there.

A week's worth of clothes hangs air drying on the clotheslines in the veranda.