Elianto Shimmer Sticks

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

Just a (still sealed) close-up preview of my collection of Elianto Shimmer Sticks since my original photo set didn't show the colours too clearly.

As planned, I'm going to start opening these and experimenting with them. I'm taking into consideration kiwikira321's suggestion to use the Too Faced base, though I may have to look for an alternative since I've never seen Too Faced on sale locally. Etude House might have a good one and M.A.C. is another one to consider. Or perhaps a good layering of moisturiser and powder?

Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 3 February 2011

Work Look

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

I now make it a point to wear some make-up whenever I leave the house just because it's such a waste to collect the stuff and not use it. And I do enjoy collecting pretty make-up products.

I used:

• Myra Daily Sun Protect SPF 15
• Maybelline Clear Smooth Extra in Honey
• Nichido Eye Pencil in Metal Blue
• M.A.C. Lustre Eye Shadow in Aquadisiac
• Ever Bilena Blush in Starlight Shine
• The Face Shop Lipstick in PP403
• M.A.C. Amplified Creme Lipstick in Craving
• Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara in Black

It's my favourite thing to do to have a very basic look with just a pop of eye colour. The fiancé approves a lot though. He likes it when I use really bright pops of colour, particularly on my eyes.

I realised just now that I tend to favour the left side of my face in photos. I suppose it's a little automatic of me since I use my right hand to shoot. Or something. I'll do my best to practice other angles. ^.^


Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 27 January 2011

Daily Photo Post

"I lion, not kissy toy!" - Mihi

Daily Photo Post

Spot the Kuro-neko

Daily Photo Post

Yuki-chi the Laundry Cat

Hurdle to prepare for 1.1: Breastfeeding Equipment

I mentioned on Twitter some time ago how grateful I am for the number of friends and family I have who either a) already have children, or b) just had children. It's like having an instant support group.

This is not to say that nuggets received from my mother, aunts, and older family friends/acquaintances are not valuable because they are. But the availability of the experience of those who have gone through what I'm about to more recently has a slightly higher percentage of value since I can more or less expect my experience to be closer to theirs considering the development of technology and availability of resources and other similar advancements.

Daily Photo Post

Kazuhiko

Daily Photo Post

Butterscotch Blue

Fabulous

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

I think that will be my theme for this year.

"FABULOUS"

Just saying it makes me smile.

It's about feeling fabulous

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

There have been so many things I'd turned my nose up at in the past that I totally go for or approve of now.
Take, for example, anti-cellulite massages. I used to think it was a huge joke but apparently, it works because after I had one, firends commented that my legs looked much better! They're still huge in my opinion, but they've begun to smooth out and get less jiggly which I like.

To that end I also thank Skechers' Shape-ups because it delivered as promised: a gym workout with less effort, just keep walking. Our busy schedule has us walking the dogs two to three times a week now and even with that I feel the burn and see results.

As a bride-to-be, it's important to me to look fabulous on the day but I am a firm believer in the fact that feeling fabulous is a huge factor in looking fabulous. And actively doing something to improve my self-image is seriously upping the ante on that.

Eleven more months!


Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 24 January 2011

Daily Photo Post

Mihi the lion

Personal Care

Okay, this one is highly personal and quite intimate, and to be honest I wasn't even sure if I wanted to blog about this but well it's out there and there's really naught wrong with discussing hygiene.

But we'll still begin after the cut anyway. ^_~

Dear Bean #8: Prayers

24 August 2012

Dear Bean,

Today, one of your great-grandfathers would have turned 97. We lost him nine years ago but all is well--I know he is with the Lord.

Papa and I have been discussing on and off how we want to raise you and any other children the Lord will grant us with. We are doing our best to get into the kind of mindset we need to and system we have to learn so we can effectively teach you the things we know you won't learn in school.

Part of our prayers for you right now will be encapsulated by your name which is why we are taking our time in choosing.

We constantly pray that the Lord guide us in raising you because you are His gift to us. We don't know how you'll choose to live your life, but we want to do the best we can by you that you may be able to choose well for yourself.


Love,
Mama

Daily Photo Post

Queen Ming-chi and her squid, Squidtina

Don't you just love it when...?

What is it about the Filipino culture that...

1. ...if the person on the other end of a cellphone call can't seem to hear us, we resort to yelling into the phone?

2. ...there seems to be a need to hear the person on the other end of a call as loudly as their voice would be face to face, which also allows others to inadvertently eavesdrop on your supposed private conversation?

3. ...arguments conducted over the phone are conducted so unashamedly publicly that even the most polite witness cannot help but gape and listen, piecing together base on the one-sided conversation what must be going on?

Figures

I find that I am suddenly at my most confident now that my clothes are not exactly fitting well. This odd phenomenon brought about by my pregnancy has thrown my body image concept into a whole new level.

With the exception of my more Latina than Asian-sized and shaped rear--the bane of my existence beginning my teenage years--I am enjoying flaunting the curves I now have.

"I am not fat, world, I am pregnant."

Daily Photo Post

Princess Patches II

My blog is my therapist

If I'm to be completely honest with myself, that is actually true.

I'm not limiting the idea to lying down on a couch and talking forever, mind--though I know I do tend to ramble in my entries when I'm not talking about anything too specific.

That said, seeing my blog as anything therapeutic was hardly the thing on my mind when I first started.

Dear Bean #7: Not a surprise

21 August 2012

Dear Bean,

Well now, guess whose list of names has been narrowed down immensely?

Papa and Mama have accidentally found out you are a boy so now we're going to concentrate mainly on boy names. I've already made my list of Irish names--whether or not your life began in Ireland, we're determined to give you an Irish name anyway--and now Papa has to make his list of Japanese names (he insists) so we can match your Irish and Japanese names.

Just to be safe though, we will finish the list of boy names and then go back to our list of girl names. Just in case the reading was wrong.

I'd say you are very blessed, very blessed indeed to have the kind of extended family system that you do. And Daddy and I are very blessed to have them as well. These ties are even more important to me since I have no siblings by blood. Already your (honorary) aunts and uncles are doting on you by passing on to us many of the things that you'll need once you arrive. Now I have to start making lists of what we already have and what you still need so when we come closer to the date, we can begin the necessary purchases.

Finally I can feel and see your movements. Someday I will show you the videos. It was a great source of amusement for me because it was like watching an alien life form trying to break free from my stomach. I may be a little strange for thinking of it that way but that's what it reminds me of. For some reason though, you quiet down when it's Papa trying to feel for your movements--maybe you can tell the difference between his less certain hand and mine? I'm excited for him to be able to share in the experience though. Perhaps by next month when you've gotten bigger.


Love,
Mama

Daily Photo Post

Mihi

I prefer to think I'm unique, thanks

It has, I think, become the norm to assume that the fact you have/had shared or gone through the same life stage makes the old-timer an "expert" and the newbie can expect to go through everything in precisely the same way.

Pregnancy has introduced me to a variant to two old pet peeves. First, patronizing, and second, the "I know this because I've been there."

Daily Photo Post

Kazuhiko

Pregnancy Shopping

I am grateful that I have family--well, truthfully, family friends who are as good as family to me--who have loaned us a great deal of the big ticket items we'll need for Bean's arrival. (Thank you so much, Kuya Joma and Ate Kay, Kuya Dennis and Ate Pam!*) It has taken a lot of the stress out of the preparations, at least as far as those items are concerned, and I can turn my attention to more personal things.

In general, I have simply adapted my wardrobe to suit my current size by setting aside the clothes I can't wear for now and focusing more on caring for (to avoid too much wear and tear on the garments) and modifying how I use those that do still fit.

Daily Photo Post

Haneul...or more accurately, Haneul's foot

Can you spot his head?

Daily Photo Post

Mao Tien Lien

Based on the frequency of the appearance of their photos,you can actually deduce which of my pets are a) easily found somewhere around the house, and b) most willing to stay still for a photo.

From Charlene Fernandez Bobis: Have You Ever Been?

From her Wordpress blog:

I’ve noticed that a lot of people who try to impose their beliefs on others are ignorant of consequences. The belief is often more important than reality. So instead of lecturing at you about something I believe in, I’ll tell you a little story and you can draw your own conclusions. (Keep reading the post...)

This whole RH Bill fiasco (and I do consider it to be one heck of a fiasco) has rather successfully turned the entire country topsy-turvy.

Daily Photo Post

Lady Clarissa

Layering

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

Sometimes I learn something, sometimes, I learn to do some things better.

I'm actually a huge fan of layering though I've never really been all that good at it. If you're like me in that sense then you'll love the January 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan Philippines which as three samples of layering for tropical weather.

And er, no, I don't work for Cosmo or Summit. I'm merely a fan who's learning from the experts on how to look good and feel fabulous. I just happen to prefer Cosmo over most other local and localised magazines. ^_^


Originally posted as Boudoir Angel on Tumblr, 24 January 2011

Date Night

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

My fiancé and I were meant to attend a business meeting that night but it was cancelled at the last minute leaving us all dressed and literally nowhere to go. We'd been working on some fairly heavy stuff all day so we decided to make a night of it and went for a dinner date to give ourselves time to unwind and relax.

This look is a result of what I slowly put together as the afternoon progressed, believing we would be on our way to a meeting by evening.

Dear Bean #6: Dietary Concerns and Family Ties

27 July 2012

Dear Bean,

We had another bad food day. The good news is that we slept very well.

More than before, I've learned to listen when my body tells me to eat, sleep, even take bathroom breaks. I'm allowing myself to eat whatever I crave; I just tell myself that's probably what you need.

But I'll be honest--it's not easy, especially when it pushes me to be up at odd hours like right now, 3am, to grab a bite.

Meat and tofu have been out of the question for two months now. I thought then that it was just the heat but apparently, it was you. That takes out two major sources for protein. I don't like soy sauce in food but I like it as a dipping sauce, and I dislike too much vinegar as well.

I've been drinking a lot of milk for both of us. I put it in everything! I've not had much coffee since I found out about you but when I really, really crave coffee then I have some. And oatmeal.

Daddy reminds me to take my vitamins. I'm terrible at remembering.

I've also been avoiding all types of seafood because I'm allergic. I had a bit of a scare when you were eleven weeks old and I had some crab. Halfway through my meal I just started itching all over and felt really hot. I stayed calm on the outside but inside, I was so afraid for you. But we're both okay and now I know to avoid anything that I'm allergic to.

I can really feel you moving now but Daddy still can't. I have to keep telling him "Bean moved!" Maybe in the following weeks...

Everyone's hoping you'll turn out to be a girl. Your cousins on your father's side are mostly boys. If you're a girl, then you will be the second female of your generation and eighth grandchild. I told your dad we ought to "present" you to your ancestors at some point after your birth. It just feels right to do so.

You have three living grandparents and one great grandparent. The rest are your great aunts and uncles but because we are Filipino, you will grow up calling all of them some "Lolo" or "Lola" or some variant of it. There are proper Chinese terms for those relations but your father's family isn't very traditional so we'll have to see what you end up calling all of them!

You'll eventually notice that we see more of your father's side of the family than mine. This is because my side of the family is quite small and spread out. Luckily, since you'll be growing up regularly exposed to your father's side of the family, you won't find it as overwhelming as I did when I first met them. My side of the family...well, we'll deal with how that goes somehow since it requires going abroad or at least chatting online. Thank you, age of the Interweb.

I do feel very blessed to have married into such a large but tight-knit family. It's a very welcome change from being part of such a small family unit! Hopefully Papa and I can manage to maintain the same bonds for you (and your future siblings) the same way.


Love,
Mama

Daily Photo Post

Ming-chi

I know I ought to finish the Ireland 2012 series but...

Well, let's just put it this way: there are far too many pictures to wrap my head around at the moment.

So let's go travel elsewhere for a while.

I've had this entry bookmarked for a few months now (take a look at the blog entry date). It's an entry by Chantelle, a.k.a. Fat Mum Slim, on her blog and it talks about little language nuances which, in her case, are Australian.

I took this photo on the weekend, while visiting a Farmer’s Market. It’s controversial and I didn’t know it. I shared it on Instagram and people got a bit ‘funny’ about it, because ‘spunk’ means something else. Other than good looking that is. Let’s not go there. (Keep reading her entry here.)

I am no stranger to such strange words, phrases, and word use. In fact, I have been as much a user of strange words, phrases, and word use as I have been a victim of it.

From Scott Bourne: Improving Your Photography Without Buying Gear

I read this article thanks to a friend who's a professional photographer, Noel Salazar. You've heard me fangirl over his mad skillz before--otherwise we wouldn't have picked him to be our primary wedding photographer!

So because I aim to become a professional photographer at some point, some very important and enlightening things to take note of via photoresourcehub.com on Wordpress:

A while back my buddy, Scott Bourne wrote a post about ways to improve your photography without buying new gear.  New gear and the perceived correlation to improving your images is a monstrous myth, especially with relatively new photographers. I’ve heard so many times over the years, “If I only had better equipment…” as if it was the answer to every new photographer’s problems. (Keep reading here.)

I think I'm going to print out a copy of this post, or at least the points Scott Bourne made and I'm going to tack it on the office bulletin board just to keep myself on track.

Daily Photo Post

Baxter Sean Blake

Underneath it all

Okay, it's an issue when one is not pregnant, and an even bigger issue when one is.

I professed in my former vanities blog that I was like every other regular girl on the planet who'd always assumed my bra size would stop changing upon achieving full body development/maturity.

Right.

Dear Bean #5: Preparations

23 July 2012

Dear Bean,

I have been spending time online window shopping for your things and taking note of things I believe you will need. We have to prioritize things so we don't get multiples of things and end up not using them.

It is my opinion that things seem far more simple back in the day. There is a wide variety of choices now that it's though to gauge which things to get and I have to go back on forth between and among different brands and models. Your crib alone is something of a challenge to decide on!

Diapers are another matter. I want you in cloth diapers and I'm eyeing a new (to me) type of nappy that will not only prevent me from sticking pins in your bum but also reduce the number of knick-knacks in your diaper bag. It's admittedly more expensive than the run-of-the-mill cloth diaper but the reduction of knick-knacks and that it ought to fit you until you're a toddler should justify the cost.

I thought I felt your first kicks already. They're unremarkable honestly, but I am convinced it's you. It's not yet a consistent thing but I look forward to it and I think Papa will look forward to feeling you move too.

For now a lot of the things I'm looking at are for myself but soon, we'll likely get things for you already in preparation for your arrival. It is a strange and exciting new journey we'll be taking once you are here.

Love,

Mama

Daily Photo Post

Haneul

A month for a month

The ratio being a reference to a full month of cleaning to which my system responded with a full month of resting.

Very reasonable and not bad for a woman in her second trimester, right?

I have been accused of being on a perpetual quest to clean and organise my things and this is, sadly, not very far from the truth. I am a pack rat. Nothing to be proud of, but I'm not about to lie about or hide it either. You've seen me have my moments but believe me when I say that those moments come at the expense of at least two to three days worth of work that are easily undone in just as long a time.

Where did it go?

This is just another one of those things that make me laugh.

I've shared profile shots of myself in all my preggy belly goodness but I'd never shared frontal shots mainly because I didn't think there was much of a difference.

Daily Photo Post

Mao Tien Lien

Hurdle to prepare for 1.0: Breastfeeding

If I'm to be honest, and here on my blog I always am, what I truly find the most daunting is the idea of being a self-sufficient milk factory.

Okay, that doesn't sound quite as good, accurate, or beautiful as the act actually is.

Daily Photo Challenge

I just dead stopped myself in the middle of my daily photos when I realised it's already October and I hadn't changed topics! Kudos, massive, massive kudos to Fat Mum Slim for really being prepared with topics for her photo challenge, hahaha!

So starting tomorrow, I'm taking daily portraits of my pets. Yeah, I know it's kind of a cop out since I'd been posting some pet photos anyway but the challenge here is for me to not take photos of the same subject on consecutive days.

Now, if you have pets with different temperaments, you can see what a huge challenge this is!

Truth be told, some days I barely even see some of our cats. By "barely" I mean there are days when I see a cat just once the entire day, and this is considering all our cats are either spayed or neutered, and never stray too far from home. Most commonly I'd have portraits of the cats who own me--out of nine, two of them do--and perhaps those whose allegiance is mine--out of the remaining seven, that's five.

The dogs, obviously, I see all the time since they can't leave the property at all. ^_~

So there we go. I think I might try taking daily portraits by age but that simply adds too much of a headache to the challenge so we'll see.

For today, and I don't consider this part of the challenge, I want to share these two photos of our first shelter adoptee, Scotch.

How time flies and how he's changed! I didn't even really notice until I looked back through all the photos on my hard drive.

Left Behind #3: Eyes, Lips, and Cheeks

Note: This is an old entry reposted from my old blog called Boudoir Angel on Tumblr. I'm reposting all of these old entries because I plan to delete my old blog and consolidate everything to this one. Some posts may have its text updated and/or reformatted slightly according to the platform change.

When I was six I used to go through my mum's and aunt's drawers without their knowing it--so I believed though I still don't know if they ever figured it out--and I would play with their make-up. Naturally it was the eye shadows that I played with most and eventually it was my grandmother's stash that I was openly allowed to muck around with, exploring all sorts of combinations.

Dear Bean #4: Family Extensions

20 July 2012

Dear Bean,

I slept most of the day today but didn't quite eat as well as I should, I'm sorry.

The summer weather is finally over...I hope. It has been very uncomfortable for me since our return from Ireland and knowing now that you have been with us since explains to me why it was so easy for me to overheat despite the unusually cold spring weather, and even more when we returned to the heat of the local summer.

Tonight we were at your Tito Luigi's house having some down time with Papa's friends. Looking around, I kind of have the feeling you will grow up like I did, in a way. My extended family by blood is quite limited, but the extended family cultivated through friendships is comparatively vast. In your case, both types of extended family are equally vast as both your father and I keep several very small circles of friends here and, as in my case, abroad. It may be overwhelming to think of at first, but I think you might grow fond of having such a large group of people to call family.

It is driving me crazy not to be able to tell of you're okay. I can't feel your movements yet so I'm constantly wondering if you're fine. I think I'd rather lose sleep over your constant movement rather than worry as I do now.

I don't know how many ultrasounds I'm to have but I look forward to our next "meeting." I can't wait to see how you've grown!

Love,

Mama

Daily Photo Post

I get a lot of joy from watching my pets so here: two photo posts that are pet related.

The first one is Yuki from yesterday morning as I sat in bed reading Elle Decor.

Second is Kuro, owning the laundry.

Project WAHM Stage Two

It is now officially a life goal to be fully set up to be a Work-At-Home Mum or WAHM--thank you, Dainty Mom, for the term!--by the time my baby is a year old. That is my estimated time frame anyway since I've only just started working at picking out things I know I can do whilst (wiggle your toes if you also love using this rather archaic word!) managing the household and taking care of my family.

The first step I took was to apply for a freelance writing job. Wish me luck as I'm going through the final stages of application at the moment but I'm thinking positively and I believe I will pass. *crosses fingers*

Step two I took last Monday: I signed up to be a dealer for Human Nature.

Cosmetic Pride: Cruelty-free and Pinoy!

I have said that, knowing what I know now about animal welfare, at least for my cosmetic products, I want to switch to brands that would reflect the knowledge that I've gained since becoming a PAWS volunteer.

I'll be blogging about the work bit of it tonight--woot for setting schedules!--but for now, I shall fan girl about Human Nature products.

Dear Bean #3: Journalling

18 July 2012

Dear Bean, 

So I can write down my more private thoughts regarding your arrival, I officially turned one of my personal journals into a journal for me to fill with my thoughts and feelings regarding your presence in our lives.

We won't know for a while still if you will be a boy or a girl but we're making no effort to find out. What is important is that you arrive in our arms a safe and healthy baby. If we do find out your gender, that will be a bonus. Until then, we will make a list of both male and female names so when the time comes, we'll be ready.

I promise to try to write as often as I can but preparing for your arrival is of the greater import so I may not write regularly.

We don't know if you can hear already--there is so much emphasis on in utero stimulation, it's insane!--but I have been reading aloud to you. Your real first book was The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir. It's about the trial and death of Anne Boleyn, second queen of King Henry VIII of England. I stopped reading it soon after though and your second book became The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I don't know yet what I'll read to you next but I have plenty of books to choose from.

I am very grateful that you have been very easy on me so far. I have had a lot of nausea but no actual vomiting as they always seem to depict in movies and TV shows. My cravings are strange but my mood swings are barely worth mentioning. Your father is lucky that way, haha! Now it's a question of whether or not his luck holds for the rest of the months to come!

Love,
Mama

Daily Photo Post

I cannot stop heaping love and praise for this product--full review tomorrow!--just because it has worked so wonderfully for me.

Today's simple joy: the sunflower oil from Human Nature.

Daily Photo Post

For yesterday and today. Dang I seem to be doing this a lot...

First is the first issue of Elle Decoration Philippines. Because Elle Decoration is awesome and this is my best friend's new home mag, hehehe. Articles are precisely what I needed for home inspiration!

Second, water. Nice, cold water to soothe sick little me. This is my 4th 650ml bottle in ten or so hours.

From Charlene Fernandez Bobis: Rude, Crude, and Vile (with apologies to Weird Al Yankovic)

First of all, this story is one told by my former university professor turned friend, Charlene Fernandez Bobis (shameless plug on her behalf, she is the author of Misadventures of a Disorganized Young Woman--go read it if you haven't yet!). She wrote this about two months ago but I've only managed to get around to sharing it now. I'm re-blogging it as a copy-pasted article as I don't believe it can be linked to.