ChinkyMel's Corner

Under The Weather

2012-01-24T21:31:00.011+08:00

I'm a 90's kid and getting sick in the 90's is a whole lot different from getting sick now a days. Getting sick in the 90's meant having to stay at home, sleep all day, listen to music from my walkman, or flipping through my magazines. No means of getting in touch with my friends since everyone else was in school.

Last Tuesday, I went to the doctor because I had a really bad sore throat. I couldn't swallow, my ears hurt, my eyes were swollen and well it was just all sorts of wrong. The doctor said I needed to be confined to the hospital for a few days and would need to have the nurse check up on me every hour or so. I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing but lemme tell you something, this little nurse absolutely hatessssss hospitals. So I promised the doc that I would just take it easy and stay at home. She agreed and had me file for a sick leave for 5-7 days.

Holy Cow! 5-7 days at home! What would I do at home for 5-7 days?

Luckily, staying at home is not as bad as the days in the 90's. I kept myself busy with:

1.) Blogging. Oh how I love having all the time to check out your blogs. Thanks guys for keeping me company, if it weren't for your posts I would have been a little bored on my sick leave.

2.) Pinterest: I am now a self confessed Pin-aholic. Behold some of my pins:

One of my local fashion icons. Laureen Uy is a celebrity, a blogger, and a fashionista. I would love to raid this girl's closet!
I'm loving this girl's pants and shoes! {Pinterest}
sheer on sheer {Pinterest}
messenger girl {Pinterest}. I super love her bag.

I super love her printed pants with the plane nude colored top. {Pinterest}

I then proceeded with trying to do some of these hairstyles:
I had to try this little tutorial from Lauren Conrad. {Pinterest}
This looks pretty and romantic. {Pinterest}

3.) Online streaming. I needed to do a little catching up on a few of my fave series: Vampire Diaries, Grimm, Once Upon A Time, and Revenge.

4.) Felt like doing some crafty girly stuff so I made some bracelets.
Now, what am I going to do with all these bracelets?

5.) Sometime last year I fell in love with milk tea. I don't remember having milk tea when I was a kid. Every single day I was on my sick leave I made myself some milk tea. We didn't have any tapioca pearls around the house but nonetheless milk tea is still so soothing.

My milk tea brings all the boys to the yard. lalalalala... hahahaha. just kidding. anyway, if you guys wanna try my milk tea recipe here it is:
Ingredients:
-1 tea bag ( I used black tea)
-1 cup of hot water
-4 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk
-3 teaspoons of honey
-6 ice cubes (optional)

Seep your teabag in 1 cup of hot water. Let it sit for around 5 minutes. I usually poke my tea bag with a spoon, I wanna get the most out of my tea bag. After 5 minutes, you can go ahead and discard the teabag.

Grab your 4 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk and 3 teaspoons of honey and mix it into the tea. I love my milk tea cold so after mixing the condensed milk and honey with the tea I go ahead and drop my ice cubes and keep it in the fridge for a few minutes. And then voila..

What do you guys do when you're home sick? Do you guys just curl up under the covers and sleep the whole day?

Goodbye

2012-01-15T09:11:00.005+08:00

No guys, I'm not saying goodbye to blogging. I could never do that. I love blogging way too much and I love reading your blogs just as much.

January 13, my brother flew back to California. Oh how I hate saying hello because I know goodbye will soon follow. The 3 weeks that my brother stayed with us went by way too fast. This time last week we were still together hanging out at the beach with mom, cousins, his fiance, and my boyfie. Funny, we've been doing this hello goodbye thing for 3 years now and I'm still not used to it. The pain of saying goodbye to my brother is always the same and just as painful every time.

My brother made a special treat for me and my mom. It was too cute to be eaten.
Lunch at my brother's favorite Chinese restaurant hours before his flight.

There is an emptiness in my heart. Video calls on Skype helps but it's not the same as having him here in person. I try to fill the emptiness with my excitement for July of this year. This July I will be back in California as well. I can't wait to see my brother, spend my birthday in California, and also witness my brother's wedding. Weeeee.... Till then....

Oh Happy Days!

2012-01-10T08:25:00.022+08:00

Hello everyone! How was your first week of January 2012? Mine was pretty interesting. The first week of January the girls from the office finally called security because there was this stalker who was always right outside our office. We had enough when he was finally standing right outside the window and hanging out at our glass door to get a peek of all the girls I worked with. Turns out he was under surveillance and security noticed that after he hangs outside our office he would go to the restroom and stay there for about 30-45minutes and well you guys know the rest... I'm glad creepy stalker guy is not there anymore. My brother is still with us for his 3 week vacay. Times with him means going here and there and lots and lots of food. Everyone in the fam gained weight since he arrived. I put on a whopping 5 pounds! Ugh! But oh well, good food plus good company makes for memorable moments. Will get back to diets and work out by next week.
my brother and his fiance.

me and my mom.

with the boyfie
We went for a late afternoon dip here.
The newly engaged couple enjoying some hugs after 3 years of long distance relationship.

Enjoyed some one on one time with my brother's future wifey. My future sister-in-law.
We threw my brother Pong and his fiance Wonna an engagement dinner spent with Wonna's family and my family. We all met each other for the very first time.
In this photo I'm with my brother's future sister-in-law. We had a chat about how her baby sister is marrying my baby brother.
A picture with my family and my brother's future-in-laws.

Oh happy days! Soon all this happiness and get togethers will come to an end. My brother will be leaving back for the U.S. this Friday. Which means I need to get back to work next week, go on a diet (I still can't believe I've packed on 5 pounds!), and I need to get back to a healthier me.

Happy 2nd week of January!

Hello, Goodbye

2012-01-02T21:38:00.017+08:00

I wasn't ready for you to go, in fact I was still busy worrying if I had gotten all my loved ones presents for Christmas. Oh sweet December. You flew by way to fast. I've still got the holiday hang over. I waited all year for December because it is the happiest time of the year and now in the blink of an eye we are into our first week of January.

I love you December for all these and more:
My brother flew in from California.
My crazy wacky brother
bonding time with the little cousins.
Yummy cold cuts from a Chinese Restaurant
Beef tenderloin in Chinese Sauce
Salt and Pepper squid stuffed with shrimps. Super yummmo! I swear this whole month of December has been all about food, love and family. I am feeling super fat now.
December ended with my brother proposing to his girlfriend of 3 years. The two were together in school for about 3 months then my brother moved back to California. My baby bro would come home to the Philippines every year to visit us and his lovey. I've seen these two grow and mature over the years and I have seen them fight and get back together, I've seen them make their long distance relationship work.
A picture with my new future sister in law and this dress made out of Ferrero Rocher chocolate wrappers.

Goodbye December and hello 2011! Happy New Year my lovies!

Becoming Santa

2011-12-26T15:08:00.028+08:00

Happy Holidays to all! Tis the season to be jolly and merry indeed. This year we decorated the house with shades of red and gold and lots of little Santas.

With all these little Santas around the house who wouldn't be inspired to become Santa this Christmas? Who says you need to have a belly and a beard to become Santa?

Christmas day I woke up at 5am, ready to bring out the Santa in me. I spent the day with the less fortunate kids in Samal Island. I took part in a feeding program to help feed 200 kids. We chose Jollibee to cater for our event. The kids had fun, there were games and prizes and giveaways. It was so humbling to take part in such a program. It makes me sad to think that not all kids will have a truly very Merry Christmas, that not all kids have something to eat even on such a special time of the year.
The kids live in this area. It doesn't look very safe. =(
children waiting in line to be fed. Some kids pushed and shoved, in fear that the food might run out and they might not get anything.

Loot bags for the kids.
We ran out of loot bags, this little kiddo was not a happy camper. =(

I've realized another thing, who says Santa only comes around on Christmas day? I think we can all be a Mr or a Mrs. Claus all throughout the year. Have a truly very Merry Christmas!

Papa Roach

2011-12-20T22:41:00.004+08:00

I transferred to a new office today. So far I am loving the new office. Work schedule is from 8:30am-6:30pm. I was at the office by 8:25am. Minutes after I got to work I felt that I needed to pee. I run off to the restroom but it was locked. I found out that we couldn't use the restroom til 10am and no one had keys to the restroom. Mind over matter is what I kept reminding myself. Minute after minute I was slowly thinking that this was definitely mind over matter. Hopity hop hop is what I did to keep myself from peeing. So anyhow, my prayers were answered because I found one restroom that was open. Despite it looking a bit dirty I went ahead and peeeeeed.

Ok, I know you guys don't wanna read about me wanting to pee so bad. Lol. Sorry about that. So anyhow, lunch time came and my aunt was in the area with her two other friends. She invited me to have lunch with them at one of our favorite buffet restaurants. The restaurant served smoked salmon belly and it was to die for. As I came to get seconds for the smoked salmon, I noticed one of the pieces on the buffet table had some strange burnt looking brown thing. I came closer and I was so surprised at what I had found. The burnt thing was actually a cockroach! Ewwwww!!!! I called the waiter's reaction and was so disappointed with his reaction. He told me I must have been mistaken, so I showed him the cockroach and he said, "ok, we will just remove this dish from the selection" , then he stomped away.No apologies, no anything, nothing special. I thought it was a given that if you disappoint a customer you should always try to make it up to them. I don't know which was sadder, the fact that there was a cockroach that clung to the salmon belly or this waiter's customer service.

Eat Your Heart Out

2011-12-14T22:30:00.013+08:00

As some of you may have read, last Monday was full of ewwwssss and ickiness, but know what? I'm so glad for all that ewwwness last Monday because somehow the stars have all lined up to give me a wonderful rest of the week.
It seems like December is always a time to get together with friends and family. And what happens in get togethers? Well it means gathering around to eat yummy food with your special loved ones. Thus people, I had a major pig fest for the rest of the week. I'm feeling so fat already.
yummy seafood paella!
shrimp roll! nom nom nom
banana crepes in topped off with Nutella and sundae.
sweetssssss!
churros dipped in Nutella. Yum! I'm in heaven!

Pearl Milk Tea! I super love love love milk tea but this is the first time I've ever tried it with red bubbles like the ones they use for the bubble tea. Ooooh this milk tea is sooooooooooo good that I actually had 2 of these in a day! Yum.

How's your week coming along? I hope all is well on your end.

Mind Your Own Beeswax!

2011-12-07T22:11:00.006+08:00

Imagine coming back to work from a really great, relaxing weekend, full of food, friends, laughter, and just all sorts of fun. Ya, Monday maybe a drag but if you're coming back from an amazing weekend you would feel re-energized to start the week. So anyhow, I was feeling like such a little Miss Sunshine and decided to come to work extra early just to get some stuff done. I work better when the office is quiet and with less people around. Imagine my surprise when I walked in to my office and found this:
Did Hansel and Gretel get lost in my office and leave behind tons of crumbs on the table? Was someone pigging out? I don't mind people eating in the office, heck, I'm guilty of eating in the office too. But really now? People need ot clean up after themselves.

And worse of all...Guess what else I found?
Someone's used swab! Look at the yellowish tips! Ewwwwww!!!!!! Disgusting! This definitely takes "mind your own beeswax" to a whole new level.

I had someone clean off all that mess and I was back to being happy little Miss Sunshine once again, but hours later my mood shifted once again. Insensitive people really get to me. Someone asked me where my dad was and I told them that he is based in California. Then this someone asks about my mom and I told him that I live with my mom. Then he continues on with his nosiness and asked me if my mom or my dad visit each other. I told him no. And then he asks me why? I answered him politely "My parents are separated but not legally. Paper works need to be processed". I figured after telling him this, that he would stop asking questions. I mean, the normal reaction would be to apologize and change the topic. But nooooo, not for this fella. He pushed the issue and asked me why my parents separated. So I had to just look him in the eyes and tell him "I don't think my parent's separation has anything to do with my job nor does it have anything to do with my job performance." How awkward! I just really wanted to tell him to mind his own beeswax.

Ugh, so yeah, that was two beeswax in one day! Poor me! I hope you guys are having a happy week.

She Bangs!

2011-12-01T21:35:00.017+08:00

Yesterday was a holiday. Where can you guys find me on a holiday? In the office. I am such a workaholic. One reason why I love working on a holiday is that I can work better alone. I love some quiet time where I can finish up everything without any interruptions.

Yesterday, was not the typical holiday scene for me. I was surprisingly not in the office. For the first time in a long time I got to sleep in. I woke up at 8am and had a good breakfast with my mom. Yes people, 8am for me is already considered sleeping in. Hahahaha. I was up and about and out of the house by 10am. I went over to my friend's house and we went to the mall to pick up my other friend.

It was a pretty simple get together with the girls. But despite the simplicity of this get together I was just so happy. So happy to not have to stress and bury myself with work. And just so happy to hang out with good friends. For the first time in a long time I actually felt like my age again, doing girly things, go shopping, getting my hair and nails done.

I went to a party about a month or two ago and I was given three free gift certificates for a hair spa. I went ahead and brought the gift certificates with me for me and the girls. I had no idea that the gift certificates expired October 28 of this year. The gift certificates were glued to this hard paper and the expiry date was written on the glued portion, so we had no way of knowing that the gift certificates expired unless we pulled the gift certificates away from the paper. The manager at the salon was kind enough to honor these expired gift certificates. My gift certificate also came with a free hair cut. I asked the hair stylist not to cut my hair since I have been wanting long hair for the longest time. Instead, I had the hair stylist trim my bangs. I wanted side bangs.
This is the picture I showed the hairstylist. I wanted Nicole Richie's bangs. I've been in love with her bangs for so long.

I was in near tears when I saw what the hairstylist did to my bangs. I look like an anime. I guess that is a lesson learned for me. Never use an expired gift certificate.
This hat was not working for me either.
Anything chocolate is a definite cheer me up treat.
Chocolate scones with nutella, whipped cream and strawberry jam.
Beef pizza infused with dark chocolate. And the cheese is mixed with grated white chocolate. The pizza tasted pretty interesting. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Thank goodness for hair clips and my mood lifters: Apple and Kelly

What do you guys do when you're having a bad hair day? What should I do with my bangs while they are still awkwardly, stiffly short?

Sharing the Gift of Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T19:12:00.011+08:00

Happy thanksgiving to everyone! While most people are gathered around the dinner table ready to feast on that turkey and yummy pumpkin pie, I am in my room thinking and thinking and thinking. On my side of the world, we do not have Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is not a National Holiday here, but that doesn't mean that we can't celebrate it. This Thanksgiving I close my eyes and thank God for giving me a wonderful gift, the gift of life. God has been a great Father, for He has provided me with a wonderful mom and brother and blessed me with a loving boyfriend and great friends.

This Thanksgiving I would like to give someone else a reason to be thankful, I would like to share with someone else the miracle of life that God has given me. I'm probably not making much sense am I? Please don't turn away from this post. I really need you, yes you, you reading my blog.

This post is especially dedicated to baby Andrei Laris B. Daniel. Baby Andrei was born on March 5, 2011. This month marks his 8th month of life. He is my elementary principal's grandson. Andrei is a biliary atresia baby. Biliary atresia is a congenital medical condition wherein there is a blockage in the ducts that carries a liquid called bile from the liver to the gallbladder. The blockage of bile flow from the liver to the gallbladder can lead to liver damage and cirrhosis of the liver. Andrei underwent Kasai Procedure (a medical procedure which involves removing the blocked bile ducts and gallbladder and replacing them with a segment of the child's own small intestine. This segment of intestine is sewn to the liver and functions as a new extrahepatic bile duct system) last May 28. Up to present baby Andrei is still not jaundiced free and has an enlarged abdomen due to enlarged liver & spleen. Just last Oct 15, his Pediatric Gastroenterologist advised his parents that he needs a liver transplant at the soonest possible time. There aren't any doctors here in the Philippines who specialize in this sort of case. Andrei needs to have his liver transplant in Taiwan. His family needs Php4million to make this transplant possible. They will need to stay in Taiwan for 3 months for follow up check ups with the doctors there. I'm sure if they stay in Taiwan for 3 months they will not have a job to come back to when they get back to the Philippines.
A picture of baby Andrei and his parents. Look at his abnormally yellow skin color.

Baby Andrei, 1 week after his first operation.

His parents and family have organized a Concert for a Cause for their little angel. The ticket sells P50 (fifty pesos) which is equivalent to $1.16 USD, P100 ($2.31), P150($3.47).
This photo was taken on October 19, 2011.

I am knocking on your hearts. Please help me share the gift of Thanksgiving, let's give baby Andrei something to be thankful for. Let's give him the gift of life, the miracle that God has given us. You can help by donating, no amount is ever too small. If you or someone you know participates in medical missions, it would be a great help if they could send medicines for this baby, I'm sure he will be taking a lot of medicines after he has his liver transplant (should the transplant actually push through). Or you can pray. Prayer is very powerful. I believe the power of prayers can definitely move mountains, let's pray together to help make this mountain a challenge that Andrei can overcome.

If you guys would like to know more about baby Andrei, you can visit his facebook page that his parents created visit here.

Burn Baby Burn

2011-11-22T21:32:00.013+08:00

Last week was an exciting week for me. Wednesday of last week I got a call from my dad's cousin that daughter was in town. It was her daughter's first visit in her childhood hometown. My dad asked me to show her around town and just hang out. I must admit, I was a bit worried about meeting my dad's cousin's daughter for the very first time. I worried about where to take her, what to talk about. Awkward much?

So anyhow, I met her for the very first time last Friday. So my dad's cousin's daughter's name is Berna. She a few months younger than me. We decided to meet up at the mall and have dinner together. She was in town with two of her friends. Berna, was just so nice and adorable. The "awkwardness" that I was so worried about was gone the second I met her. She reminded me a lot of myself, giddy and bubbly.

It's amazing how in such a big world, we could be related and have so much in common. How could I have not met this relative of mine. Makes me think of how many more relatives I have yet to meet.

So on her trip, we did a lot of eating, a lot of sight seeing, more eating, and a few cocktails.

Enjoy the pictures!
Meet my dad's cousin's daughter Berna, her friend Gerald, and her other friend Nino. I took them to this place that overlooks the city. The view of the city night lights was simply breathtaking.
After admiring the city view, we went inside the local coffee shop and plotted ourselves on this comfy velvety couch.
While the two guys settled for their chocolate lattes, Berna and I had Bailey's frap.

Anyone out there know how I should refer to my dad's cousin's daughter? Does that make us 2nd cousins?

Magical 3

2011-11-15T22:26:00.002+08:00

I was walking around the mall when these two kids caught my eye. The two kids where all over the place. They were running and hiding and well you know, typical stuff that kids do. The mother was doing some shopping. This mom had a baby in one arm, her purse in another and a basket for some goodies she was planning on purchasing. Kudos to this mom who kept her cool. I don't think I could ever carry a baby in one hand, hold my purse and shopping basket in one hand and keep an eye on two other very young kids. How did this mom do it. So anyhow, the two kids found their way to the "breakables" section. The mother looked at her two kids and said calmly " don't make me count to three!" Her boys kept at it... Then the mother starts to count "one"...."two"....and before she could count to three her two tazmanian devil boys were now little angels who helped carry her shopping basket.

Ages ago, I used to be like those little kids, I would run around and have fun. And when my mom would start to count I would quickly run to her side before she could call out the #3. I don't remember mom ever getting to #3. Which makes me wonder, what would have happened if mom got to the #3? Another thing that could get me in good behavior was whenever my mom would call me by my real name, Melissa, and not Mel which is my nickname. Whenever she called me Melissa it normally meant she was annoyed with me or I had done something wrong.

To this day, I still have a bad feeling whenever my mom calls me Melissa. Lol. Are you guys the same way?

Hey Junkie

2011-11-07T10:07:00.009+08:00

Hi I'm Melissa from ChinkyMel's Corner and I am a junkie. No no no, it's not what you think guys. What I mean is, I am a tv junkie. Whenever I have free time I am glued on my computer watching these:

Oh bite me! I never knew how much love sucks could ever be a good thing, but with the Vampire Diaries it just keeps getting better and better.

Then there's Teen Wolf. Rawr! I just finished watching season 1 and I can't wait for season 2!

Zombies? At first I wasn't too interested but boyfie's been watching this a lot so I somehow learned to like it too. You guys ever had that happen before? You know, when you just don't feel like watching something then after watching so many episodes you're finally hooked?

And there's the New Girl. Now, who doesn't love Zooey Deschanel? She is just so adorable.

What are your tv addictions?

Flashback: Scary Story

2011-10-28T12:59:00.001+08:00

Hi Everyone! Wow, I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last blog entry. I've been trying to catch up on your blogs for the past few days now, but my dashboard says I'm not following any blogs. That is so strange! I've tried to refresh, to sign out then sign in again, but no such luck. It still says I'm not following any blogs. Oh blogger, you are such a nightmare!
Around this time every year I always make it a point to share scary stories on my blog. This time around I'll be sharing a repost of a scary story a friend told me from a long time ago which I posted in my blog last year or maybe the year before last.
It goes something like this:

My friend was renting a room somewhere. Her landlady passed away. The landlady's family all came down to bid their mom the final farewell. There was a lot of people over at the house. My friend got to meet one of the landlady's daughters. The daughter asked my friend and the other girls renting a room who was renting what room. Each girl pointed to their respective rooms. The landlady's daughter told them a scary incident which she had experienced when she was a little girl. When she (the landlady's daughter) was just a little girl, she played hide and seek with her older sister. She ran into one of the rooms and hid there. It seemed like forever. She stood still behind the door of one of the rooms she was hiding in. She could hear her sister calling out her name. She all of a sudden felt scared, she looked behind her and there stood the devil. She screamed and cried but her sister could not hear her. The knob on the door would not budge. She screamed for help. Then the devil made a bargain with her, she asked him to let her out. He said he would but under one condition. He said she had to promise she wouldn't tell anyone that she saw him there. So that's what she did, she said she promises not to tell anyone. She was finally allowed out of the room and she ran as fast and as hard as she could. With tears streaming down her face she hugged her sister tight. Her sister asked her where she hid and she pointed to one of the rooms. Her sister said that she had already gone into that room and did not see her. Her sister asked her what happened and she told her sister that the devil locked her in the room and she couldn't get out. Then she looked at her sister who wore the strangest grin, then her sister said in a voice that was not hers " I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL!"

SCARRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Even as I type this I am getting goosebumps. And I am typing this while I am all alone. Scary!

Anyhow, sharing with you guys pictures from last Saturday's Octobeerfest event. =) Cheers!
Happy Halloween!

Face It

2011-10-12T22:10:00.005+08:00

A secret is a secret. Sometimes it is kept to ones self and other times we share it with someone we trust. Someone close to me recently changed her Facebook status to "In a Relationship". Since it was a secret, she blocked her family from viewing her facebook wall and status. Much to her surprise, her parents found out and confronted her about it. They told her she is not allowed to have a boyfriend yet because she is still too young. So, as any young blood her age, she starts talking to her friends and tries to find out who told her parents. Hmmm... geez... She has like 400 friends on facebook and maybe 60-100 people who she actually really knows and she is also friends with her cousins, aunt, and uncle. Hmmm... gee, I wonder how her parents found out.

The lesson:
photo credit
photo credit

Just last week someone sent me a friend request on facebook. I actually knew this person I couldn't help but ask myself, why would this person add me. I used to go to school with this person. Then she moved away. Then she moved back to my school after a year. Being the jolly person that I am, I smiled and welcomed her back and all I got in return was a cold stare and an elevated eyebrow. I found out much later that she was angry with me because the guy she currently likes happened to be my ex boyfriend. But I just don't get it, he was my ex so why hate me right? So anyhow, when we graduated I would run into her all over the place and she would just always give me such a killer glare. I just shrugged it off. Then now, all of the sudden she adds me on Facebook and even "like" a couple albums. Weird much? Well hmmm... Maybe she wants to patch things up? I have no idea.

And lastly, I uploaded my mom's birthday photos on her Facebook account. I also uploaded the same album to my own Facebook account. When I was at work my phone would not stop making noises from all the Facebook notifications I had gotten. So, I open my facebook account on my phone and guess what?! I had gotten 25 notifications some of which were "likes" and some comments. And guess who they were from? All 25 notifications were from my mom. Awwwww! She is too cute.

Anyhow, happy mid week people.

Eat, Love and Be Golden!

2011-10-04T22:48:00.024+08:00

Monday, October 3 was my mom's 50th birthday. My mom is a golden girl! For the past month I have been super busy planning a surprise intimate dinner party for my mom's birthday. I never realized how stressful it can be to plan a surprise party, but the stress was well worth it just to see my mom happy. My original theme for the party was Sex and the City, I wanted to play with the colors black, hot pink, and gold and I wanted feathers and pearls too. A day before the party, I realized, I wanted to throw a party that reflected my mom's personality. Goodbye fancy Sex and the City theme... My mom always tells me that there is beauty in simple things and each day I realize she is right, she also used to always tell me that less is more.

So, here's a couple pictures from my mom's surprise party:

Look at these candle holders. Pretty right? My brother's girlfriend made these.
My cousin prepared these golden headpieces that all spelled out HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Good thing Mom's friends were good sport about wearing these silly head pieces. The lights were turned off and everyone was holding out a piece of cake with a lighted candle and they sang the birthday song.

with my inspiration, my strength, and my angel, my dear mom.
Giveaways for the guests. Handmade table napkin holders. My bro's girlfriend made these giveaways too. She is so crafty!
With Wonna, my brother's girlfriend, the lady behind the handmade giveaways and with my dear sweet mom.
Gossip Girls... No, they are not really Gossiping. The name of the wine that they were drinking is called GOSSIP. Who knew gossip could taste so sweet. I, myself am addicted to Gossip Sweet Lips Moscato. By the way, would you believe these are all mom's friends from High School. Friendship and life really is like wine, it just gets better as it ages.

A few more bottles of Gossips and this is what happened:
Lots of laughing

exhausted but still smiling
the show must go on...doing a little song number for the birthday girl.

I am so sleepy, I swear I am about to pass out. I will catch up on your blogs later. Have a lovely day sweeties!

Disappearing Act

2011-09-26T22:28:00.010+08:00

Hello Monday! I normally hate Mondays, but today I am hating it more than usual. Why? Well, after a long day at work I was really looking forward to catching up on your blogs. I logged into my blogger account well, oh blogger you did it again. Blogger is now a magician? How so? Well blogger is now doing the "disappearing act".

I am following a lot of blogs but.... well as you can see on the above screen capture, I am currently not following any blogs. Ugh! Oh blogger! Poo poo!

Any of you guys have the same problem? How do I fix it?

On a different note; how were your weekends? Mine was pretty chill. The boyfie and I went on a morning road trip to my family's beach house. I hate waking up early, I mean really hate with a passion. Waking up super early for this trip however, was definitely worth it. We hate the city traffic but by the time we were out of the city we drove with the windows down and welcomed the fresh mountain and beach breeze.

* this photo was taken inside the car. sorry for the poor quality.

The 2 hour drive was soooooo worth it. When we got back to the city we had a movie marathon and spent lots of time on the couch. The boyfie was so tired from the long drive that he fell asleep on my lap. As I watched him sleep I realized, there is no place else on earth I'd rather be at than to be next to him. I realized the beauty of happiness in simple things.

Have a happy week everyone!

XoXo

Surprise

2011-09-14T23:02:00.003+08:00

{photo credits}
How many of you guys love surprises? I love surprises, I love giving them and I love being surprised. There is one surprise which I just never really really appreciated. Let's rewind the hands of time, back when I wore pigtails and retainers. Rewind to high school, home economics class. Our teacher was super super strict. She always had her hair pulled up in a bun and her eyebrow always seemed to look like a mountain. Let's call this teacher Ms. Surprise.

Anyhow, Ms. Surprise was teaching us how to bake cupcakes. She kept saying that we needed to beat the batter in one direction and one direction only. All eyes always had to be on her, if not she would have a fit and call whoever wasn't paying attention to go to the front of the class and demonstrate everything. This time around she not only had everyone's eyes on her, she also had everyone's attention. Everyone gulped as we watched her mix and beat the batter. Our eyes widened and our jaws dropped.

Guess what happened?

A booger dropped into her batter! Did she see it? Nope, she was talking and demonstrating to the class and looking at everyone trying to make sure all eyes were on her. She proceeded with baking the cupcakes and everyone had to eat her share. For the first time, no one was looking forward to eating their cupcake. The classroom was awkwardly silent as we ate our cupcakes and tried our best to gulp it down.

To this day, I still wonder who ended up eating the cupcake with a surprise inside. Could it have been me? My best friend or my teacher? I guess we will never know.

Sorry that was a bit TMI, but well I had a cupcake earlier today and I remembered all about the "surprise filling" we had in one of the cupcakes.

Have a yummy day my dears.

The Good, The Bad and the Scary

2011-09-01T20:06:00.007+08:00

The Good

Monday and Tuesday was a holiday on my side of the world. Wooohooo for the long weekend. Saturday night was spent at work. Worked from 8am til 12noon, then back to work again from 5pm til 12 midnight. It wasn't so bad. 5pm-12midnight work was spent doing this:
Foam Party event at work. As part of the sales and marketing team we had to make sure the event was a hit, that people came to our event.
2 of my Facebook friends actually went to the event. Woohooo. Thank goodness for Facebook, it really does help promote events and things.
At the registration table.
The clock hits 12:15am, I am feeling a bit tipsy after so much cocktails and I am feeling so pooped. Would love to go home already.

Sorry for the photos, they were taken from my cellphone.

Sundate with my Family. I had a special burger date with the fam bam on Sunday.

my cousin Mikey and my Mom
Cousin Mikey and his sis Chloe
me and my cousin Chloe

Mikey's Birthday:

The Bad:
Working on Monday and Tuesday, while everyone was enjoying their long long weekend, I was working all alone by myself. I don't mind working over long weekends, at least the office is not crowded, it is quiet and I can get a lot of stuff done. Can you imagine working in a small office where there are 6 girls, three computers, 2 calculators and only about 2 or 3 pens, and two phones? So yeah, the office gets pretty crazy when we are all in there, someone takes my pen and I end up taking someone else's pen, I calculate some stuff, someone get a phone call and grabs my calculator and I haven't even jotted down the numbers. So yeah, working on a holiday is so so, good thing is I get stuff done, bad thing is no long weekend for me.

The Scary:
Last week I heard some creepy stuff was happening in my office. The guy who was working graveyard was surprised to hear my office door barge open. A strong gust of wind blew from my office door. Then the guy was all like, "if there are any ghosts in here, please let me know, make some noise". Then 5 seconds later the machine that checks our attendance (bio clock machine, we press the finger scanner and it takes our attendance) suddenly says "Please try again!" The machine normally does this when an unregistered finger is pressed down the scanner. So anyhow, creepy right?
Like I said, I was working alone for the long weekend. I was calculating some stuff. After all the calculations and whatnot, I cleared the calculator and went about checking some files. Then all of a sudden, I hear a typing noise. I got goosebumps and for some reason I had a gut feeling that I needed to check my calculator. And well...voila...My calculator had tons of numbers! Woah! Scarrrry!

So yeah, that pretty much sums up my random post about the good, the bad , and the scary.

Cuh-ray-zeeee

2011-08-23T21:34:00.005+08:00

Hey guys what have you been up to? Lately I've been running into a lot of crazy people. Crazy does not even begin to describe the people that I have encountered. Yesterday, I went out for lunch with the boyfie. Traffic was a lot heavier than usual. I thought there might have been an accident or something or maybe construction. Finally we realized what caused the traffic. An old, wrinkly homeless guy was on the sidewalk talking and smiling to himself. This "weirdness" did not stop there, he had his pants halfway down his knees and he was jacking off in public. Ewwwwnesss! Then he would try to get passerby's to touch his dingaling! Ewwwww! Ewww! and Ewww!

Two Fridays ago there was a lot of commotion over at my cuh-ray-zee neighbor's house. First, some cops were asking my neighbor's house sitter if she had a permit for her business and if there were kids in the house my my crazy German neighbor. Next thing I know I came across this article titled, " German National, Cabbie nabbed for Teen's Kidnap". When I got back from work, my German neighbor was no longer at home, she was already in jail. For those of you who've been following my blog for a long time now, already know how crazy she is. For the newbies to my blog, there was a time when she threw a huge buddha statue over my front gate. Luckily none of us got hurt or got hit by the buddha statue. She also threw a knife over our gate and this knife had dried blood on it. There was one time when she tried to throw a huge rock at my boyfie's car. Read about her cuhrazeeness here, here, and read about the one time she called the cops on my house and she told them that I died a couple years ago which you can read about it here.

So anyhow, turns out my neighbor had kidnapped some teenager. Just a couple days ago they let her out of jail. Turns out they couldn't keep her inside because she is mentally unstable. We suggested to the cops to maybe have her deported but they said they couldn't do that because she didn't have documents and papers. What? I thought someone could get deported if they weren't legal in that country and if they could not provide all the necessary documents.

Anyhow....what was your weekend like? I hope it wasn't as crazy as mine.

yawn

2011-08-10T22:58:00.004+08:00

Above picture pretty much says it all. Gosh, I remember way back when I used to hate nap time. When I was little I remember having endless battles with my parents about nap time. Nap time was a big no no for me, it meant time away from playing with my toys and when I was a teenager it meant less time on the phone and less time for my social life.

By the time I hit college, I started yearning for nap time. There were times when I had to sit for 5 straight hours in one class. The lecture was so boring that I literally went cross eyed and dozed off for a good few seconds. There was another time when I was taking an exam which lasted for three full hours. That exam made me feel so sleepy that none of the questions I read had registered in my brain. I was so shocked when I got my test paper back. Why? Well in the mid portion of the test paper I got so bored I doodled on the answer portion, I wrote my name on the answer portion, and I had rewrote the test question on the answer portion. Sheesh! I do a lot of weird stuff when I am sleepy or in need of a 30 minute nap break.

And now, I am no longer living a student's life, I am now in a corporate world where I need to be awake physically and mentally. These past few months I have felt so drained. I am always feeling so sleepy by the time the clock hits 2pm. Coffee? Caffeine? Sugar? Tried em all but nothing works for me. Tsk tsk....

Do you guys feel the same way as well? Do you find yourself needing nap time too?

Anyways...I'm off to catch some zzzzzz's. Hopefully this will recharge me for a few hours and make me feel full of live again. Night night everyone!

Blast from the Past

2011-08-01T22:32:00.018+08:00

I've been MIA for almost two weeks from the blogosphere. I'm looking like a zombie but I am still alive. These past few days I've been having a horrible case of cough and runny nose plus phlegm. Ewww much. I will spare you the details.

Despite being sick I have been up and about. Just last weekend I had gotten together with a friend whom I haven't seen in 13 years! It has been ages. We lost touch long ago but I'm glad to know that we have the kind of friendship where we just pick up where we left off.

a huge huge pizza...we are small girls with big appetites!

The following night after my get together with my childhood friends, I had gone to a 1920's theme party with my friend and the boyfie. This event was a lot of fun. I loved all the feathers, lace, and pearls that most every girl in the room was rockin. 1920's is such a fun era.

pooeyyyy my cam's battery wouldn't work so I had to have the boyfie snap this shot with my cellphone.
A photo with my designer friend, Ronan.
I wish I could have taken a better photo of the ballerina.
would you believe that this dress is actually made up of ferrero rocher chocolate wrappers. I love Nutella.
Cheers to many more happy weekends!

Spell OLD= ME

2011-07-19T19:06:00.025+08:00

It seems like ages ago when I was so excited to grow up. Ages ago when rules were always meant to be broken.

And now, fast forward to the present, it feels like I am super old. The person who used to break rules just to learn her lessons, now starts making and setting rules. The person who used to look up to other people as role models now has to work on becoming a role model for others.

Last Friday, July 15 I turned another year older. I am now a bit more older and wiser (I hope). This year I plan to focus on savoring each moment of each day. I will live or at least try to live with the same excitement that I once had, after all we are always a day younger today than tomorrow right? So anyhow, enough with the mellow stuff.

Here's some pictures from my birthday. I still can't believe I'm already 27 years old! Like woah!
My two cousins, Chloe and Mikey.
smoked salmon in butter oyster sauce, california maki, roasted pork, and tempura
Shrimps in butter and garlic sauce

Mango daquiri, blue margarita, and mai tai
Two is always better than one. =)
Teaching the kids how to drink. hehehehe. I'd rather they learn from me, rather than finding out they experimented with other people and end up making a total mess of themselves.
Ugh, I wasn't ready for this one, but the boyfie has cute eyes in this picture.

The kiddos before drinking
ini mini miny mo..
gulp

Facebook Fail!

2011-07-11T22:00:00.003+08:00

What happens when mom gets on facebook? Facebook Fail!!!

My mom added me on facebook and she also added some of my friends who she's already met. A friend of mine was tagged in a picture. This was a picture of someone's ear with tons and tons of ear piercings. There was probably around 6-10 earrings on that one ear.

Anyhow, when my mom saw this she was so shocked. And well... Mom went over to the comments section and posted a comment for my friend which goes something like this "Hi Sasha, how are you? That is a lot of piercings! Did it hurt? I hope you don't influence Mel into getting this much piercings. Drop by some time, I would love to see piercings"

Ugh, mom! And oh wait, my friend Sasha texts me, "OMG MEL! Please check out your mom's comment on a photo that I WAS TAGGED IN. I have nothing to say except lol!"

Oh my gosh! I just died of laughter from embarrassment and just at how funny this all was. This wasn't even my friend's ear, it was her friend's ear piercings. Ugh.... Facebook fail much? Could I please delete my mom's facebook account?!

Wacko!

2011-07-05T22:47:00.005+08:00

On a sunny Sunday morning I was happily listening to the birds chirping outside. Then all of a sudden, I was surprised to hear a loud banging against our gate. It sounded like there was World War III right outside my house. What the heck is going on?

I went over to the garage and this is what I found:
I checked our gate and there were a couple huge dents, which I figured must have been failed attempts at trying to throw this buddha statue over the gate and into our garage. I all the sudden hear someone wailing like they are giving birth. It's my crazy neighbor with her blood shot eyes looking like a rabid dog. I ran back inside the gate made sure the gate was locked and ran inside the house.

Just as we were about to call the cops the crazy neighbor gets a cab and leaves her house for a good couple hours. After talking to a family friend who happens to be a lawyer I realized, we have come to a dead end. There wasn't any use calling the cops about this because she is mentally unstable and they would just have to release her. Crazy neighbor has been in and out of the psychiatric institution. I just wish she would stay in the psychiatric institution for good. She worries me, sometimes she seems alright, other times she seems so psycho. I feel bad for her butler. Poor guy has a black eye sometimes and has a couple bruises on his arms. Crazy neighbor probably beats up her poor butler, but he doesn't want to call for help because he was saying that he needs the money and doesn't want to lose his job.

Hours after this incident I found my neighbor skipping up and down the streets like a little kid. Imagine a huge, huge, huge lady in her sixties skipping up and down the streets. Anyhow as she was skipping she had a huge garbage bag with her she was skipping and humming "LA LA LA LA LA" and throwing pillows, clothes and anything that was inside that garbage bag. For a sec she looked like a flower girl throwing flower petals but instead of flower petals she was throwing away clothes, shoes, pillows, etc etc etc.

Weird much?! This isn't the first incident, read about my psycho neighbor here and here.

The Skies Cried and Roared (GRAPHIC AND HEARTBREAKING)

2011-06-29T21:08:00.021+08:00

The night sky was roaring with anger. Lightning struck here and there, providing the only light for some towns, and the sky wailed with endless tears. Right now as I am typing this post I can hear the roaring thunder. I close my eyes and pray with all my heart, praying and hoping that this rain would stop. Why so much drama just because of this crazy rain?

It rained really hard all over the city causing a flash flood in some towns. 3,000 families were hit by the flash floods, many people are still missing and some were found floating dead.

Honestly I am out of words. I don't know what to say. I'm going to have these photos speak to each of you, but please be warned, these photos are very graphic so if you don't have the heart to look at these please turn away now. I do not mean to offend anyone by showing these pictures.

A homeless man with one arm looks at a pile of stuff.
Lined up are bodies of dead people.
A grandmother weeps for her grandson.
This kid hurriedly tries to get to the other side.
A little boy was found dead.
One kid sits while the other lies cold and dead.
Kids will be kids, despite what just happened, he continues to play with his marbles.
This man lost 3 kids, his wife, his mom, and father in law.
P.S. these pictures were not taken from me. I got them from the facebook albums of a couple local photographers

And the Award Goes To.... Drum Roll Please....

2011-06-22T22:24:00.009+08:00

"Life is a fashion show and the world is my runway", I remember hearing that crazy line somewhere. Anyhow, I was awarded the:from my gorgeous, fun, sweet, blog buddy Nikolett from Better Than Coffee. I haven't received an award in ages, and wow, I must say, it is definitely nice to receive one again. Thank you my dear Nikolett for the Stylish Blogger Award. With this award comes a few rules, I am to mention 7 random things about myself and pass this on to 7 other bloggers. So here goes my list:

1.) Believe it or not, I can drink roughly around 30-40 glasses of water a day. Why? Well I'm just always soooo thirsty.

2.) I am rebuilding my relationship with God. A few years ago I lost faith in HIM because of family problems and just a lot of other stuff. Last year I felt so lost. I was angry with HIM and blamed Him for everything that happened in my life, but now I am thankful for such events, if it weren't for these events I don't think I would ever be as strong as I am today. I realized that life is beautiful and despite big problems, I need not be afraid because I have an even bigger God.

3.) For my new followers, I got bit by a dog a long time ago. I was on a date with the boyfie, then we went to his place for lunch with his parents and voila... I got bit by his huge dog. I have a battle scar on my leg as a reminder of that event. You can read about that post here.

4.) I'm sure you guys have lost your patience or almost lost your patience because someone was just so annoying. Right? Were you guys so annoyed that you were giving the other person "the tone", raised eyebrows, or were even sarcastic? I have found a way to overcome this. I think of this person as my mother. I picture mother asking someone something but she doesn't understand so she asks again followed by more annoying questions. Then I think of how I would like this person to treat my mother. So voila...instant change of heart. Patience is restored.

5.) During my childhood years I have always wanted to become a mermaid. I have always loved the beach and the sand, the sun, and the ocean breeze, but funny thing is I am already in my mid twenties and still don't know how to swim.

6.) I have a major fear of public speaking. It's weird coz I don't mind talking to a group of 30 people, but put me up on the stage with a mic and have me talk to that same 30 people and I have a panic attack, can't breath, break out into a sweat, and my heart beating faster and slower all at the same time. I really admire people who can go up there and just seem to be a natural at public speaking.

7.) Style tip: SMILE! A smile is something that everyone understands, young and old alike, despite race and gender, a smile is a smile. A smile is something that never goes out of style ( oh but make sure you are smiling at the appropriate time, wouldn't want you guys smiling when your friend is crying about her dead cat or dog. )

some random photos of me:

And now I'd like to pass this award to the following super stylish people:

Myra from Life is Bananas. Steph from Stefbunny of twitter, Carrie from This Free Bird, Life of Charmings, Lyn from Hearted Girl, Ashley from Bird on a Wire, Kristen from My Art and the Mom in Me, Brittany from Swirls of Happy.

A Different Kind of Dad

2011-06-19T09:48:00.007+08:00

I want to thank you for being part of my life. I want to say thank you for protecting me from harm and trying your best to raise me well. I look up to you in every way. You are the "the wind beneath my wings". You taught me that no mountain is ever too high, that if I try my hardest everything is just within my reach.

I'm not the perfect daughter but you loved me perfectly. I can't say that I've never hurt you, I know I have, in words and in actions. But you never stopped caring. Thank you.

This time of the year I have always envied the other kids, kids who have a wonderful dad that they can say Happy Father's Day to. I envied how they had that strong yet gentle figure in their life. But now I realize I am the luckiest of them all. I have a gentle yet strong mom who is all I could ever ask for and more. God is wonderful, He may not have blessed me with a father who could be there for me, a father who could be there for his family, but God did bless me with a mother who's been both that, a father and mother in my life.

For being my angel, for being my mom, for being my dad, Happy Father's Day Mommy.
Oh and I for a few good laughs you guys have got to read some of my old posts about my mom and her techie side.
Computers x Internet+ Mom= Hilarious Disaster
Embarrassing Mommy Moments
Techie (techie disaster) Mom

P.S. I also wanna say Happy Father's Day to my dear blogger friend Rick from RicAdeMus-Waiting for Wisdom. He's been my blogger friend for sometime now, a little over a year or two if I'm not mistaken.

Pet Peeve

2011-06-14T19:46:00.005+08:00

I'm sure most of you, if not all of you probably have an account on Facebook. Am I right? or am I right? Well I just discovered a new pet peeve that I could very well add to my already long list of pet peeves.

Each of us may have skeletons in our closets but is there really any need to air that out on Facebook every freaking day? I have this friend who I will call as Nega (soooo NEGAtive). This person constantly posts negative status's on her Facebook wall. And then for some strange reason, she starts asking me why people keep talking about her, why people won't mind their own business. Well gee, I wonder why? It doesn't take a scientist to figure that out. If you air out your dirty laundry then everyone sees it and everyone talks about it. To make matters even worse, she constantly posts trash about her hubby for the whole world to see. One minute she is married, the next the status is "it's complicated" and then "single" and then married again. Block all future posts from this person, check!

Then there's the innocent looking girl who is just sooooo angelic. Then all of a sudden she is posting pictures of herself looking like she is modeling for playboy. Art is far different from trash. This angelic girl turned seductress starts whining about how guys are such pervies and everyone at her work place has now respect for her. Hmmm...I wonder why?

Another pet peeve of mine is the person who literally "collects friends". Do you really honestly know a bajillion people? People I went to school with added me on facebook, but I've never actually talked to these people. Then when I run into them somewhere, I smile and they just keep walking like they've never seen me in their life. Hmmm...weird.

What are your pet peeves?

Surprise Surpise!

2011-06-06T22:50:00.006+08:00

The best surprises are those given for no reason at all, those given when you least expect it. Ever since I had gotten my Blackberry about 2 months ago I had been on a mission to save up a little so I could get one for the boyfie.

Last Friday, I finally put action to my plans. I finally bought the boyfie a Blackberry. So now, the next step was how do I give it to him? I wanted to make it extra special. A few days before I had bought the boyfie a Blackberry I had asked a friend of mine to run down to the store to buy a cellphone case for me, specifically for the phone model I planned on buying my special someone.

Saturday came and boy was the boyfie in for a big surprise. As he was busy on the computer I slyly took his old cellphone and removed the sim. I tried to put the sim card into the new Blackberry phone but is was really hard. I placed the sim card inside the box that the Blackberry came in. I then ran over to the boyfie and told him I had a surprise for him. He asked me what it was and I showed him this:

What is it? It's a cellphone holder. He tried to put it into his old cellphone but it just wouldn't fit. I told him he had better find a way to make it fit because I wanna see him using it every single day. Boyfie broke out in a sweat just at the sound of my pitchy voice. Lol. It was funny.

So anyhow, I asked boyfie if I could borrow his phone because I needed to make a quick phone call to my mom. So he handed it over to me and I played drama princess. I put on a confused look on my face and told him something was wrong with his cellphone. He fumbled with it and realized that the sim wasn't there. He was complaining about how strange it was that he couldn't find his sim when he has never removed it from his cellphone. I helped him search for his sim card for a good 5 minutes or so.

I then announced, "FOUND IT!" and handed him my little surprise. He looked at me wide eyed. I handed him my little surprise and he got all teary eyed.

Sometimes giving is better than receiving!

P.S. if anyone is wondering, that is my hand holding my surprise for the boyfie. Isn't that shade of red nailpolish just the cutest? Well I'm saying goodbye to that little red cuteness, I was just reminded at work that we aren't allowed to have colored nails. Pooey!

Hate That I Love You So

2011-05-31T22:42:00.002+08:00

Oh I hate hate hate you lots. I hate how every week you find something new to do that just really ticks me off and gets on my nerves. One week you shut me out and won't let me in. Another week you let me back into your life but won't let me say a thing. I hate how jealous you are and won't let me make new friends. Oh blogger I hate you!

Silly you, silly me for misleading you my lovely readers. But yeah, I am really hating blogger these past few weeks. It seems like once a week there's always something wrong. For two days or so last week I couldn't log into my account. Then when I finally could, blogger wouldn't let me comment on blogs. And finally when I could comment on blogs and found new people to follow blogger wouldn't let me follow new blogs.

What do I hate the most about blogger? I hate that no matter how much blogger annoys me at times, no matter how tempted I am to switch to Wordpress or some place else, my heart always finds its way back to blogger. Oh blogger I hate that I love you so.

The Cook Who Can't Eat

2011-05-29T10:01:00.006+08:00

Late last year I found a new love. I found a love for cooking and baking. Every Sunday or almost every Sunday I make it a point to cook for the fambam on our Sunday family day. Everyone says what I made is really good but for some reason, some crazy reason, I can't seem to eat whatever I make. I can chow down two or three spoons of whatever I make but that it's. After that I just can't anymore, but I can however, still eat whatever other people make.

Anyone else experiencing this? Or am I just strange like that?

a couple sundays ago I made a cheesy Mexican Casserole for the family lunch.
yummy yummy yummy Tiramisu from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

For all of you guys who are in the mood for some yummy Tiramisu here's a copy of the recipes taken straight out of my Betty Crocker Cookbook:

Prep:35min; Chill:5hrs

Ingredients:
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 pund mascarpone cheese or 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups whipping (heavy) cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 packages (3 ounces each) ladyfingers
1/4 cup cold prepared espresso or very strong coffee
2 tablespoons rum
1 tablespoon baking cocoa

1.) Beat egg yolks and sugar in 2-quart saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Beat in milk. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly, reduce heat to low. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat.
2.) place plastic wrap or waxed paper directly onto egg yolk mixture in saucepan. Refrigerate 1 hour.
3.) Mix egg yolk mixture and cheese with wire whisk until smooth. Beat whipping cream and vanilla in chilled medium bowl and electric mixer on high speed until stiff.
4.) Separate ladyfingers horizontally in half. Mix espresso and rum. Drizzle ladyfingers with espresso mixture.
5.) Arrange half of the ladyfingers in single layer in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 11 x 7 x 1 1/2 inches. Spread half of the cheese mixture then half of the whipped cream over ladyfingers. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with cocoa. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or until set. Refrigerate any remaining dessert.

Happy eating!

P.S. for all you sleepy heads out there, pls click this video and listen to this song with your EYES CLOSED for maybe 10-15 seconds. Then open your eyes, I bet you will be wide eyed with your mouth open too. =) Happy viewing.

Hanky Panky!

2011-05-23T22:37:00.005+08:00

Couples holding hands, couples hugging, and all that lovey dovey stuff, sweet right? Sometimes I even find myself saying awwwww... But well, there was one couple that definitely had me raising my eyebrows every now and then. This particular couple was getting hanky panky. The girl was almost sitting on the guy's lap. No, this did not take place in the movies. This took place in church. I mean come on.... Of all places, they did not need to be doing this in church. The guy was nibbling on the girl's neck every now and then. Oh and they definitely gave new meaning to the term "speaking tongues"! I found it really hard to concentrate on the mass, especially since I was sitting right behind this couple. The girl would giggle occasionally. It really got on my nerves. Am I just too old? Do I need to loosen up a bit? Ugh, jeez. They do not need to be going to mass if they plan on behaving like that, they could have saved that sort of behavior elsewhere, get a room Mr. and Ms. Hanky Panky!

6 on the 8th!

2011-05-17T22:26:00.013+08:00

6 on the 8th? I bet you're thinking "what the heck is she talking about?". May 8 the boyfie and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. OMG! 6 right?! Wow, I can't believe we've been together for so long but honestly, it really does seem like it was just yesterday when we officially became a couple.

6 years of growing together, emotionally, mentally, as individuals, as best friends and as lovers. No relationship is ever perfect, in fact ours is far from it, but it is these little imperfections that makes everything between us sooooo perfect. I love the way his big hands would keep my small hands warm, I love the way he has to bend a little just to kiss my cheek, I love the way he can still make my heart beat faster and slower all at the same time.

We never got around to celebrating our 6th anniversary on the 8th of May. The boyfie booked a table for us at a hotel and requested a really special set up but we never got around to going, we had to cancel last minute. I had gotten really sick, I had a horrible stomach flu and really high fever. It was nice of the boyfie to watch over me. I kept telling him how sorry I was that we couldn't celebrate our special day but he assured me that I shouldn't be sorry at all. We had a candlelit dinner on my couch and watched cheesy movies all night. It was fun just to have him next to me. The following weekend, May 14 he surprised me with a little post anniversary celebration. He booked a little room at this one Karaoke place and we sang some more cheesy love songs. We had candlelit dinner again, but this time it was different because the boyfie was singing for me. So anyhow, here are pictures from our post anniversary celebration and pictures from our younger days.

Anniversary Weekend:

Blast from the Past:
2005, this was about 3 months into our relationship. I'm so glad he knows who's the boss around here. Lol!Kisses blown are kisses wasted, kiss me baby I'm vaccinated!

I think this was in 2006
2008

2009

Summer Chill Island Party

2011-05-10T08:36:00.013+08:00

Hey guys, how was your weekend? Saturday night was spent with a couple good friends at an island party called the Summer Chill. The island party was fun, the food was superb, the dj from New York was awesome and just being in the company of friends made the night even more special. So enough with the chitchat, here are some of the pictures from the Summer Chill foam party.

I Wonder...Am I A Foolish Dreamer?

2011-05-04T00:02:00.008+08:00

I wonder how the world will be in 10, 20, 30 years from now. Ages ago when I was not even born yet, ages when even my grandparents were not even born yet, life seemed more simple. The world seemed greener and people seemed to be a lot happier and kinder.

It scares me to think about the future. In my twenty something years of living I can probably name ten horrible events that happened in history but yet, I don't think I can enumerate ten good deeds that ever found it's way on the news. I'm sure you are all updated with the current events. It's all over the news that the infamous terrorist responsible for the 9-11 attacks has finally been killed. Thousands of people died in the 9-11 attack, people lost a mother, a father, a brother, sister, a friend, a granny, a grampa, a loved one. And now that the terrorist has finally been killed, relatives of those who died in the 9-11 attack will finally feel that somehow justice has been served.

What happens after this? When someone's leader, someone's loved one is killed the natural human reaction would be to mourn, to hate and maybe even to get back at whoever was responsible. In a game where someone kills another man, is it ever possible to just call it truce? Maybe in tv, but in the real world? We are all born humans but what makes us different from four legged beasts? Hate and revenge eats away our humanity. When hate consumes us, it eats away our soul and leaves us into heartless animals prancing around the city(our jungle) attacking anyone without fear, without guilt. When will all this madness stop?{photo credit}
Then there's the environment. Year after year there are all sorts of natural calamities but it seems that these past few years these natural disasters have been stronger than ever before. The sun that touches my skin seems to be hotter.There are less trees and more buildings and pollution.
{photo credit}

I hope and pray that one day when am I asked how I see the future that I can smile and say that in the future I can have a family of my own and feel safe raising my own kids. I hope I can believe that one day the world will be a better place, that leaves would dance with the cool breeze, that the grass would be greener, that the sun would shine brighter. I pray that one day, one day we could live in a world where we treated everyone like family. I hope that one day could be today. Maybe I am but a foolish dreamer?
{photo credit}

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T22:54:00.008+08:00

Thursday of last week was the beginning of an awesome four day weekend. The Lenten Season was spent with the fam bam and the boyfie. Every year, it's become a tradition of ours to give up meat for the Lenten Season. Basically we feasted on seafood, seafood and more seafood. There was one day where all we had was fish. Ugh, I'm not a big fish fan and felt like if I went anywhere near a cat, the cat would attack me. So anyhow, boyfie and I decided to go out for some pizza. He didn't want to ruin our tradition of giving up meat for Lent so he ordered Sardines Pizza. Yup, that's right, Sardines Pizza. The sardines pizza was horrible and I swear I will never ever ever ever have that again. Boyfie did make up for the awful sardines pizza by taking me to one of our favorite coffee shops and ordering a strawberry latte for me. Strawberry latte was absolutely delish, in fact, I want one right now.

Anyhow, the rest of the four day weekend was spent on short road trips here and there. And bonding time with my fave cousin, Mikey. Mikey and I made tiramisu taken right out of my Betty Crocker cook book. And well, wow, it's the first time I have ever made tiramisu and it was a hit. This weekend I will be making tiramisu again because everyone's been nagging me to make more.

tiramisu
another picture with my fave cousin Mikey
my cousin can fly!

How did you guys spend your Easter weekend?

Little Big Wolf

2011-04-21T13:43:00.004+08:00

My little dog Sugar who is a Japanese Spitz has been going through an identity crisis her whole life. Small as she may be she has always had the spirit of a wolf. She barks like one of the boys and she runs after those who gets near her loved ones. That's my Sugar for you. This baby has been with the family for almost 14 years! That is a long time isn't it?

My little toughie is fighting for the greatest battle ever. She is fighting for her life. She's been having a hard time for the past month. She has trouble breathing, she collapses, has episodes of seizures, she doesn't eat anymore oh and the list goes on. The vet says Sugar has distemper disease. The odds of her surviving this is pretty small. Just last week the vet also said Sugar has heart problems and also has fluid retention problems. She is on diuretics to help her pee and help her with the fluid retention. Poor thing. She whimpers and seems to be in a lot of pain.

The doc says her condition could get worse. I am in a bit of a dilemma. Should we just put Sugar to sleep? Or should we just sit and pray and hope she survives this? I would hate to think that she would live the rest of her life in a lot of pain but I would also hate myself if I put her to sleep and she still had a chance to get through all this.

Sorry for the depressing post guys....

FML

2011-04-14T06:38:00.004+08:00

The other day a friend was asking me all about my one month vacay. She asked me if anything embarrassing happened to me on my trip and I smiled as I recalled a moment when I thought to myself "WOW, FML!"

I was at Vegas and went bananas over shopping. There was a Balenciaga shop that I went in to. On the shelf was a really really gorgeous bag. It was love at first sight. This bag was just to die and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. So this guy from the store comes over to me and tells me about the bag, what it is made of and he had me feel the bag too. I just about died, I knew I had to have it. I asked him how much it was and he said it was nineteen forty five. He reserved the bag for me. I ran over to my brother and my aunt who did their own little shopping and I asked my aunt if I understood correctly. I was about ready to whip out twenty dollars and tell the guy from Balenciaga to keep the change. Lol! For some strange reason I thought it was only $19.45 not $1945! Ugh! FML!

Loads of Fun!

2011-04-03T08:31:00.033+08:00

Wow, I can't believe it would be possible but I have neglected this blog for almost 3 weeks. I used to blog regularly then I started to blog at least once a week. For the month of March I have been a baaaaad blogger and for that I am going to make up for it. As you already know, I took a break from work and flew to California for a one month vacay. I'm so glad the company I work for allowed me to go on a one month leave. Yey!

So anyhow, I flew halfway across the world by myself. It was the first time I have ever traveled halfway around the world alone. I met all sorts of people while waiting for my trip both to San Francisco and back to the Philippines. Traveling alone really isn't so bad. It's always fun chatting with different people and connecting for that few minutes in time.

Anyone who is on a vacay is definitely going to do a lot of sight seeing and a lot of eating. I made sure to go on a crash diet before my trip and lost 10 pounds. Yey! The word "diet" did not exist in my vocabulary for my whole vacation. I am officially back in the Philippines now and I have just stepped on the weighing scale. I have gained back 7 pounds from my trip. Booohooo. So what got me weighing 7 pounds heavier: burritos, pizza, strawberries, chocolates, buffet, Starbucks, oh and all the other yummy treats you can think of. Believe it or not, there's no Starbucks on my part of the Philippines (well not yet anyway, I heard come by May Starbucks will be opening a branch here). I went crazy over Starbuck's Cinnamon Dolce Latte. I could have that 4 times a day and still wouldn't get tired of it.

So anyhow, enough of the yadda yadda's....Here's some pictures from my trip! Have a happy weekend.

A few drinks with my boyfie's best friend Gelan (in stripes) and my baby bro.
at Napa Valley. Wine County.Wine Castle somewhere in Napa.
Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco
Stanford University
Inside Stanford University chapel.
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose California
road trip to Truckee with my brother and dad to go play in the snow.

Doin a little dance with my brother. This was at Ripley's Believe it or Not.
My brother is being a bully. I have a major fear of heights and he made me sit all the way up here to get a view of the whole city.

ooops.... me being naughty. hahahaha
spending time with the family
cute lil kiddo!

Reunited and It Feels so Good...

2011-03-17T05:37:00.017+08:00

Me, getting the cupcakes out of the oven. Hot cupcakes aIt's been years, that's 8 years to be exact since I last heard from my best friend. My best friend Melodie and I were the best of friends since Junior high, then I moved away Junior year in high school. Despite the distance we were still best friends, we kept in touch through snail mail, emails, myspace, you name it. Then 4 years since I moved away we just all the sudden stopped keeping in touch, emails were not as much as before. I guess this was because we both had more important things to worry about, like college and after college it was about work and bills and other things.

I tried to get in touch with her November of last year to let her know I was gonna be in town for a month. The email was sent back to me because she was no longer using that email address. I was heartbroken. I looked through emails that dated back 2005 and found her mobile number. I had my brother send her a text message but no reply. As soon as I arrived in the bay area I gave her a call and sure enough she answered. She was so surprised to hear that it really was me, she thought someone played a prank on her.

So anyhow, we met up for the first time in 17 years! Yes, it's been 17 years since I last saw my best friend. I must admit, I was really worried and felt this might be a bit awkward, I mean what does one talk about with someone who they haven't hung out with in ages? So that day came around and man....It was anything but awkward, we had a really great time. We didn't run out of anything to talk about and we found out that we still have a lot of things in common.

We set another schedule for our next get together before I leave back for the Philippines. I stayed the night at her place. It was a lot of fun, she was teaching me how to cook, we watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, then we baked cupcakes and decorated cupcakes, she gave me a makeover and we took tons and tons of photos, and well we had so much fun that we stayed up until 6am! We got up at 9am to catch the St. Patty's Parade at San Francisco which took place last Saturday March 11. We had a blast.

Getting my hands dirty. Best friend taught me to make Sushi, Tempura, and Terriyaki Chicken
Snapping a picture of everything we made!
terriyaki chicken
sushi
Me, getting the cupcakes out of the oven. Anyone want some cupcakes?
Changed into comfy clothes and decorated the cuppycakes.
Don't eat the frosting Melodie!
Tada! Doesn't this look so cute?!
St. Patty's Parade
Behind us is the Golden Gate Bridge

Palace of Fine Arts

I'm so happy to have been reunited with my best friend. And even happier to know that ours is the kind of friendship that really stood through the test of time and distance. We have the kind of friendship that despite not seeing each other in years, when we are together it is as if time and distance has never kept us apart.

In this world, you don't need to have a lot of friends, one true friend is enough to make the world a better place. Cheers to good friends!

Sin City

2011-03-07T13:38:00.023+08:00

Last Sunday I was jet lagged from my 12 hour plane trip from the Philippines to the U.S. and after a few days I was on a road trip from California bay area all the way to Vegas which was about a 10-12 hour drive. My butt has lost circulation, I swear it has gone numb.

My cousins tried to get me to play in the casinos but I had to pass. I've never ever played in a casino before but I would much rather enjoy the city views and go shopping rather than spend money on a game of chance.

So anyhow, this is going to be a picture heavy post. I hope you enjoy looking at these photos.

It's Official!

2011-03-01T08:38:00.003+08:00

I just arrived in San Francisco last night. The plane ride from the Philippines to San Francisco was 12 hours long. I've never sat down for so long. My butt feels so numb right now, I swear it has lost blood circulation. It's good to be back. I am hoping to meet up with friends from Junior high. It's been so long and it would be great to catch up on old times.

It's the first time I've ever traveled halfway around the world alone. I was really nervous about traveling alone and even got teary eyed a couple times whenever I saw families traveling together. But then again, traveling alone is quite an experience. There was a stop over for my connecting flight where I had an 8 hour wait. For that 8 hours span of time I met a lot of solo travelers like myself. I packed a book with my for my 8 hour wait but I never got past the first page because of the people I chatted with.

Upon arrival at the San Francisco airport I worried about how I would get my huge huge huge boxes into the cart. I positioned myself near some guys but they were all so big and quick that I worried they might accidentally elbow me or something. I went off to the other side where there weren't too many people and a couple old gray haired ladies stood next to me. I helped them with their bags. When my box finally came around the fragile gray haired ladies helped me with my box too. They were just sooooo adorable.

So I guess this makes it official, my one month California vacay starts today. What am I doing now. I'm unpacking and packing. Does that make any sense? I've started unpacking my huge box and started packing some clothes into my traveling bag. Why? I'm off to L.A. tomorrow for a wedding and after that I'm headed to Vegas. I keep hearing the phrase, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" can someone please explain this to me? Well in a couple days I guess I'll find out for myself.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

One Month Vacayyyyyy

2011-02-24T21:25:00.004+08:00

Hey guys. Sorry I've been neglecting this little space of mine in the blogosphere. Ever since the Christmas season, things have been just so busy for me and the hours in a day have just been too short. This month I have been busy with work, endorsing a lot of paper works, files and clients. What's going on? Well I will be on leave for a month. Yes guys, one month!

I will be off to California this Sunday, Feb 27, 2011. I haven't been back to California in ages. I'm not done with my packing yet. I am excited for my upcoming trip but then again I am a bit scared too. This is the first time I am traveling half way around the world all by myself. I do have a stopover somewhere, where I have to wait from 2pm till 10pm for my San Francisco flight. Oh no! What a long wait. And no mommy to sit beside me. All I have is 3 books to keep me company. I also have a huge box that is probably much heavier than me. I have no idea how in the world I will be able to get that on to a cart as soon as I get to the San Francisco airport. I am feeling like a damsel in distress.

My brother will be picking me up from the airport and he has a lot of stuff planned out for my one month long vacay. We will be going to L.A. and Las Vegas and I'll be hanging out with a couple cousins from there too. I am also looking forward to hopefully reuniting with some old friend from middle school and high school.

Wish me luck on my vacay. Oh and any bloggers out there from Cali? Let's have coffee. =)

Tongue Twister

2011-02-15T22:36:00.002+08:00

In line with the love month I have decided to repost something which I posted in my first year of blogging. This one's all about the first kiss.

Do you still remember your first kiss? How many frogs do we have to kiss just to find Prince Charming? My parents were super strict, dating was not allowed, so kisses were most definitely out of the question. By the time I was 18, I was finally allowed to start dating.

There was a guy who was courting me. Let's call him Mr. Thoughtful. He was a cute guy with an amazing smile. He did his best to win my heart. When we were out of town for school exposure he would go out of his way to visit, help me out with a few projects, bring me goodies, and he even did my laundry. This guy was too much.

On my 19th birthday, I went to a friend's house to work on a school project. To my surprise He was there too along with half the people from my class and all my other friends. He threw me a surprise birthday party and he did all the cooking. Everyone there handed me a single red rose from him.

We went to my friend's backyard to talk. He asked if he could kiss me, I panicked. I've never kissed anyone before. I always dreamed my first kiss would just happen. It wasn't something that you should ask to happen. It wasn't something that you should ask to happen. Anyhow, how could I say not this guy, after all that he's done for me? The first kiss wasn't as romantic as I hoped it would be. It was a bit gross for me. His tongue was almost down my throat! It was sloppy and just gross. It wasn't at all what I had expected from Mr. Thoughtful. Weeks later, I found out Mr. Thoughtful really really was super thoughtful because he had done the same thing for another girl from a different university. He also threw her a surprise party and the works. Oh how thoughtful!

My second kiss was with my boyfriend now. It was during one stormy afternoon and we were stuck in his car finding shelter from the hard rain. We were just talking about a lot of stuff and laughing and talking some more. I was animatedly gabbing about a lot of things then suddenly felt conscious. I was looking at me with this really silly smile. I felt my cheeks turn red, so I blushed and turned out.

I don't know what happened. On that stormy afternoon it felt like the world stopped turning. The raindrops seemed to dance to the rhythm and beat of our hearts. He leaned closer and I closed my eyes. His soft lips met mine and we kissed. It was nothing torrid, it was sweet and innocent. When the kiss was over we giggled and hugged.

"Why do we close our eyes when we sleep, when we cry, when we imagine, when we kiss? Because the most beautiful thing in the world is unseen."

Kids Say the Darnest Things

2011-01-31T21:28:00.005+08:00

Growing up Asian, school always taught kids that they either had black or brown eyes. My 5 year old cousin who is half British is just so adorable. His big sis who had come home from overseas was in town. He hugged his big sis and drowned her with kisses. Then he pushed her away and screamed at the top of his lungs. She asked him what was wrong and he cried. He was in total shock to see that his big sis had green eyes! Funny thing is this kid also has big green eyes. She told her little bro to run over to the mirror and look at his own eyes. He screamed some more and shut his eyes until his mommy calmed him down. Awwwwww..... kids are just so adorable aren't they?

So In Love

2011-01-24T20:28:00.007+08:00

Hey guys, I found the cutest most adorable video ever. Seeing this video and listening to this song makes me feel all gooey inside. This video really had me smiling from ear to ear. I love the lyrics too. The song is really simple and super cute. I can't help but think of people I love, like my boyfriend, my mom, my brother, and you guys as I listen to this song. For all of you guys who sat with me in this little space on the blogosphere, for those of you who accepted me despite my rants and sad posts and for also laughing with me. This one's for you guys!

If you guys feel like singing along here's the lyrics:

The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson

If you were falling, then I would catch you
You need a light, I'd find a match
'Cause I love the way you say good morning
And you take me the way I am

If you are chilly, here take my sweater
Your head is aching, I'll make it better
'Cause I love the way you call me, baby
And you take me the way I am

I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair
Sew on patches to all you tear
'Cause I love you more than I could ever promise
And you take me the way I am
You take me the way I am, you take me the way I am

P.S. what do you guys think of the song, the video? Is there any particular song that makes me feel gooey inside? Do share. =)

Have a happy Monday everyone!

A New Chapter

2011-01-17T23:12:00.003+08:00

Hey guys, my previous post was really depressing wasn't it? To tell you honestly, I still haven't moved on from what happened, but I know it will definitely take some time. The memorial service was last Saturday. From the time I blogged about a friend's horrible death up to the present there have been development in the case. I'm happy to say that there was justice in this case, but I am sad at how the case turned out. Witnesses came forward a day or two after the news. A sketch of the killer was flashed on local news stations. The victim's cellphone was recovered and investigators found out who was with the victim hours before his death. The person who was with the victim was the victim's uncle. He went to the police station to let the cops know that he was innocent and that he wanted to be a witness to the crime. It so happened, the witnesses were also there at that same exact moment and they pointed out the uncle as the killer!

I went to my friend's wake last week. The room was filled with a lot of people and lots and lots of flowers. A lot of people loved this kid. His dad was there and was very surprised to see the room packed. He said, " I never knew I had such a good kid, I never got the chance to get to know him". What's even sadder is that, the uncle who killed my friend stood as a second dad for him, they were close, even closer than he was with his dad.

This was another wake up call for me. I learned to never ever take people I love for granted. I learned that each day is a new day to get to know the people we love and each moment is a gift to be shared with those you care about that is why it is called the present.

I wanted to blog about happier stuff but I'm really sorry to disappoint you guys with such a sad post. I hope to post about happier things soon.

Wishing you all the best.

Hugs and kisses to you guys!

Robbed of Life

2011-01-10T19:58:00.004+08:00

Today during lunch time, I had received an awful awful news. Mom told me that a family friend of ours is dead. No, not dead, murdered. He was found inside his car with a slit throat going all the way down almost to his heart. His face was also slashed up. He had stab wounds as well. Nothing was missing.

According to local news on tv, his car was found in the middle of the road and he was inside lifeless. Witnesses say that the road was blocked by two black vans and well...You know what happened next. It's sad because there were lots of witnesses but no one bothered to help. Well, maybe someone called the cops but they came too late. No one bothered to help him, but then again, in the world we live in no one would probably like to get involved, they would like to keep their own lives safe. Night passed when he never came home. Early this morning his parents received a phone call to identify their son. News about his death flashed on the tv screen.

Sadness is not even a word that could describe how I feel right now. He was a few years younger than me. He was a jolly guy, always walked around with a smile and lots of positivity. And know what else? Well, he was a little mentally slow, a bit of a social outcast. He tried his best to fit in. He had friends but never a real friend. His friends used him for what he could offer. He came from a very wealthy family, but kept a low profile. He was never flashy or the type to brag. I can recall how sometimes his shirt had holes in them. He always shared his blessings. People used him for free rides, gifts, and all sorts of things. There were times when he sat alone but still smiled, sometimes mumbling or maybe talking to himself.

He had dinner at my house a few times. He always enjoyed home cooked meals but was a very picky eater. He always removed the skin from his friend chicken. He liked his salads fresh and crisp. I can recall a moment when I asked him why he was such a picky eater. And he said he wanted to live a long long life, that's why he was taking care of himself. He wanted to grow old and see the beauty of life. He dreamed of one day having a girlfriend and giggled shyly. He said I should eat healthily too. I told him I never want to grow old, I do not want to be so old that I would have trouble taking care of myself. I do not want to grow old and forget all my precious memories. He always said if I lived a healthy lifestyle I could grow old gracefully and healthy. "What's your biggest fear", I asked him. He answered "Death". He was so scared to die.

As I close my eyes, I can recall his laughter, his smile and just him as a person. It pains me to think how his last few minutes was. It is painful to think that he died in such a way, that someone would do this to him, that no one bothered to help him. It pains me to think that he died alone, scared, and never got the chance to say goodbye to his family. I look at my finger and the small painful paper cut I had gotten early this morning and I think of how painful it must have been to have someone cut his throat down to his heart, as if he were being dissected. I think of the zit I have and I realize how painful it must have been when someone ran the knife across his face and slashed it up.

He had plans, plans to make real friends, plans to be somebody, plans to see life. But he was robbed of this in such a horrible manner. Who robbed him of this? No one knows, no one was caught.

For those of you reading this, please pray for him. Please pray that he may rest in peace. Please pray for justice and please pray for his family who are going through a terrible nightmare right now.

And lastly, for those of you reading this, let's take his advice, to live life and love it. Some of us whine and complain and this is normal. Sometimes some of us go through horrible stuff and wish we could just die, but then there are some of us who also wished they could live longer. For an outcast, for someone who was slow, he never once let this get him down and he never once gave up hope. Live for today my friends and cherish everyone you have in your life. Do not let a minute pass by without letting someone know you care because sometimes you may be a minute too late

Catchin up

2011-01-03T12:43:00.007+08:00

Well hello to everyone! Happy Happy 2011 to all of you guys! December was a busy month for all of us I bet. I still have holiday hangover. I had tons of reunions that I had gone too. It was a great time to catch up with old friends. Unfortunately I didn't get to snap as many pictures over the holidays as I had hoped for because mother dearest had a lot of parties to go to as well and she borrowed my camera most of the time. Grrrr.

My godmother from Canada was in town. It was great to see her after ages. Last time she saw me I was just a teeny bopper and now I'm a lady in my twenties. Time flies by so fast doesn't it?

So anyhow, It's already the third day of January. I woke up at a gloomy 11am. And decided to roll back into the sheets and catch a few more zzzzzzz'sss.... If there's anything I missed doing, it is definitely having the time to sleep in.

I was looking through the closet trying to put together an outfit when I just wanted to close my eyes in disbelief. My closet looks like it is about the throw up, had this been a deadly sin I would have had to categorize this under Gluttony. My closet ate so many clothes. I'm out of hangers and some of my stuff has already moved into my mom's closet too. I guess, while I'm on Holiday break it's about time I do a little closet clean up and get rid of old clothes. Boohooo.

I do not have any New Year's Resolution this year. But I do plan to come up with Monthly Resolutions which I hope will be much easier to achieve. For this month of January my resolution is to get my closet cleaned up. Wish me luck with this one guys.

February 27 I will be flying back to California. I will be there for about a month or two. Any of you blogger buddies out there from California???

Do you still have the holiday hangover too? What are your plans for 2011? Do tell. =)

Is It Cold in Here?

2010-12-20T23:30:00.006+08:00

I know some of you are uber busy with the holidays. Parties here and there. And last minute shopping. And yes, you are all just so tired and lack sleep, but please please please, make sure you don't leave your butt exposed for the world to see. Lol. What an epic picture. Luckily for me, I didn't get to witness this epic moment personally, a friend of mine witnessed this and sent me the picture.

Oh and please and please please don't forget to wear pants or skirt or whatever. It's been raining day in and day out and I would hate to see anyone of you dear bloggers running around feeling cold like I suppose is how this lady probably feels:

I think I need to learn a lesson or two from my friends. No, it's not about checking if I am exposing any part of myself, it's about making sure to bring my camera anywhere and everywhere I go. The picture perfect shot only pops in for a brief second.

I know this is totally off topic but I also wanted to share with you guys, a picture of the snickerdoodles my mom and I baked yesterday:

Bye for now guys!

P.S. don't forget to bring your cameras!

Shopping is Dangerous and Hazardous to the Health

2010-12-09T21:11:00.006+08:00

The holiday season is always so busy, especially for the shoppers. I absolutely hate going to the mall during this time of the year. All those 50, 70% off signs are soooooooooooo tempting but then again the person who stands too close to you behind the line and is practically breathing down the back of your neck is just as annoying as the person who was right next to you down one of the aisle who just smelled like they haven't showered in days. I really hate it when a complete stranger is too close to me. Ever heard of personal space?

Anyone else out there who can relate?

Oh and what's up with everyone being so aggressive and pushy? I was just looking at something and some old lady snatches it from my hand and has the nerve to glare at me with eeeevil looking eyes.

At the grocery it was the same scenario only much worse. Imagine all these people jam packed with grocery baskets rushing from one place to another. Imagine people swinging these baskets (as if swinging these baskets would make them move at a faster pace) and oh all the sudden one of these hits your butt and no one bothers to say sorry. And then another kid is playing around with the grocery cart and runs over your little toe.

I experienced all these in one day. This weekend my mom invited me to do a little holiday shopping but looks like I'll have to sit this one out. Shopping this time of the year is so dangerous!

Crazy Neighbor Strikes Again!

2010-11-30T22:24:00.002+08:00

For those of you who are new to my blog, a few months ago I had shared with the blogosphere about having a crazy crazy neighbor. Crazy is a mere understatement, it doesn't even come close to actually describing her. You guys might want to read about it here.
Last week she rang our doorbell nonstop at 2 am. Yes, two freakin a.m and yes, nonstop! She did it again on Sunday, which is the time I am always sleeping in and trying to catch up on some zzzzzsss. So we called the 911 and the cops got to my place 30 minutes after we called. Wow! And to think, we live about 2 blocks away from the 911 station. Had something happened, I think 30 minutes would have been wayyyy too late. The cops missed out on my neighbor not only ringing our doorbell furiously, but she was screaming and crying at the top of her lungs and she was kicking our garage door! Crazy!!!!
So the cops asked her what was wrong with her and she points her finger at me and asks me what am I doing still walking around? Stunned, I looked at her with a puzzled expression. She then continues on to say that I DIED 4 YEARS AGO! Yes, that's right, according to Ms. Crazy I am already dead. Weird much. Then she says, we have drugs at our house. I told crazy neighbor if she doesn't stop bothering us we will press charges. She cried and ran into her house.

Anyone else out there with a crazy neighbor?

Childhood Pictures

2010-11-23T23:07:00.008+08:00

Hello friends. How are you doing? Earlier today, I ran into one of my childhood bullies. She used to make fun of me, pinch me, and just make me cry. It's no big deal though, we kind of just laughed about it. I never thought I'd run into an old bully, but I'm glad to say that, that is all in the past.

Anyway, I found some childhood pictures of me with my brother that I thought I would share with you guys. Now you can see why I was teased and bullied as a kid. I hope I don't lose any followers because of these pictures. Hehehe

Have a lovely day everyone.

One Sided Wall

2010-11-17T20:54:00.003+08:00

There are some people you just want to stir away from. Have you had situations where you literally walk a few steps back and hide behind your desk or behind some door just so that someone doesn't see you? I'm sure you have.

There's this someone who I just hate talking to. No, this person isn't boring. He is one of the oldies in my family, an authoritative figure in fact. During my younger years I always did what he asked me to do just because I was scared of him. He always has a way of scolding the younger generation especially when they do not do what they are told to do.

As I had gotten older, I had grown to be vocal at times and he scolded me some more. He considered me the "rebel child" whenever I spoke my mind. There were times when he made me promise him to do something and then I never got around to doing it and he called me a liar. Well I guess it could be considered lying because I didn't do what I had said I would do, I only said yes just to get the oldie to shut up already. And then when I would speak my mind I was told I was wrong, I should do something a certain way. And when I stayed quiet I was being rude because I was ignoring him or snubbing him. This person never listens but only hears what he wants to hear. I swear he is so difficult.

One day, I finally had enough and I finally decided to speak up, not just for myself but for others as well. And well, I know I hurt his pride and feelings, but up to now, nothing has changed.

Have you guys met one sided people like the one I mentioned in this post? What do you guys do with people like this?

Kiss Me!

2010-11-09T23:48:00.012+08:00

My cousin Jake, who's a junior in high school is dating someone. He has been exclusively dating this girl for almost 3 months now. Anyhow...Jake has never kissed a girl (awwww). Of all people he could ask, he decided to come to me and asked me how to kiss? Ummm... Geez, Jake my dear, I remember I used to carry you when you were still a baby! And now you're asking me about kissing?! I told him to ask someone else. Kid is such a nagger, I swear. I told him the best kiss would have to be Hershey's kisses you can give as many as you like without having to worry about getting in trouble with the overprotective dad. Hahahaha. Kid kept nagging. The only advice I could give him on this is that he shouldn't rush things, the first kiss should always be special and memorable and never ever ever put your tongue in someone's mouth (not on the first kiss). Never ever become a Mr. Gag Reflex. I wrote about this guy who happened to have given me my very first kiss which you can read about here. That was the only piece of advice I could give Jake, the kid is still a baby to me and now he's talking about having his first kiss....and besides I know his mom would kill me if I go into any more details about kisses.

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Honestly, I love being kissed on the forehead. I know right?! Where's the fun in that? But yeah, I think it is just really sweet. As far as lips are concerned I like being kissed softly with eyes closed (a friend of mine mentioned that she kisses with her eyes open) and I love to nibble on the lower lip.
Now it's your turn...How do you like your kisses?

MWAH!

Octobusy

2010-11-03T11:37:00.018+08:00

Goodbye October and hello November. October was such a busy busy month for me as most of you could probably tell due to my absence from the blogosphere and lack of comments on your blogs. I do hope to have more time for the blogosphere this month.

Since I am still in a bit of a lazy funk this post will be full of pictures from my October events.

First Up: Sheila's wedding. I was the maid of honor errrr maid of horror. hahahaha. Sheila definitely had me running around in my heels for her wedding. Last minute she told me she didn't have an emcee for her reception, then she tells me the ring bearer is in the hospital and won't be able to make it. When the entourage was ready and walking down the aisle, Sheila calls me to help her out of the bridal car. I set my flower on the trunk of the bridal car as I helped her out and arranged her gown. Then all of a sudden, the bridal car took off. I was literally running in my heels after my rose!
Second: Octobeerfest. Did any of you guys go to any Octobeerfest parties? Or organize an Octobeerfest party? We have one every year for the company that I work for. We organized the event and sell tickets for people to attend our Octobeerfest beach party.
A picture with the team
A picture with one of the writers for our local newspaper

This game is like musical chairs. The guys form a circle and each guy places an empty bottle between his legs. The girls have a straw in their mouth and dance around the guys. When the music stops the girl places the straw into the bottle (note: the straw has to be between her lips).

Firedancers who just really wowed the audience. They had a lot of neat tricks but I just wasn't fast enough to capture the moment.

Fireworks to end the night!

Third: My boyfriend's brother got married, I didn't get to snap pictures at the wedding, I forgot to charge my camera's battery! Grrrr!
The couple's pre-wedding photos! What an adorable couple!
Officially hitched! Oh and look at the last little boy doing some kind of a dance. Isn't he so adorable?!
The beautiful bride at the grand reception.

And lastly, there's Halloween. I had dinner with the family and also baked Nutella cookies for the first time!

How was your month of October? Was it a busy one for you guys too?

Lost and Found

2010-10-21T22:22:00.004+08:00

Hey guys. I have nothing super important to share. But I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive, despite my absence from the blogosphere for about a week. I have been so busy lately. I am normally a neat freak. I have to have everything in order. And even when I have a huge pile of mess laying around in my room there is definitely a certain order to it so it's easy to find whatever I need despite the mess. But for some odd reason. I can't seem to find what it is that I am looking for. As I look over this pile of mess I did find a few things that I lost from a while back. Why is it that when we are looking for something we just can't seem to find it but when we aren't looking for it, it just suddenly pops up?

I'm not looking for anything super important. I was just looking for my favorite shade of cherry red nail polish. I did find some other shades of red but, these aren't the ones that I am looking for.

There are also times when mom can't stand my mess so she has the maid clean everything up for me and in the process eventually loses everything. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's having someone cleaning after my mess. I asked the maid where she put some of the stuff and she had put them here, there, everywhere. Oh grrr!

Does this ever happen to you guys?

So anyway, off to do some cleaning.

I Like It In Bed

2010-10-11T21:12:00.010+08:00

The wind is cooler and the leaves and grass seems to be swaying to the humming wind. I look out my window and all I see is this:
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I had plans for today, plans to go out and have some fun. But instead I am feeling uber lazy. All day long I have been feeling so sleepy despite the number of these that I've had today:
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Source
I had it at our family library as I sat near the window with a book in my hand. But I think the best place would be:

Source:

The best place to have it would be in bed. So that's what I did. I had it in bed while I watched gooey love stories that makes me wish I had someone to kiss and hug during this rainy day. I wanted my boyfriend to come ringing my doorbell and I wanted to greet him with a hug and kiss the raindrops off of his lips. But well... My boyfie is out of town again. So little old girlfriend is by herself. Well, not exactly. I do have you guys right? So go get your cup of coffee or whatever you feel like having on a rainy day and come join me. Anyhow.... I discovered a genre of music which I know some of you have probably already heard of. While surfing the net I discovered Bossa Nova. This type of music is perfect for those rainy days and paired off with a cup of coffee and a good book. Here are a few that have already warmed my heart:

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

playlist
HAPPY LISTENING!

For those of you who actually took the time to listen, how do you like Bossa Nova? Is there any particular song on there that you liked?

What do you guys like to have on rainy days? Coffee, hot choco, or tea?

Out on A Date

2010-10-05T21:51:00.019+08:00

Sunday was my mom's birthday. She turned 49. Can you believe it? I think she doesn't look a day over 30, but hey, that's just my opinion. Boyfriend reserved a room for us at a floating restaurant which was about a 30 minute drive away from the city. He invited my cousins and my aunt and uncle along too. The view on the way to the floating restaurant was amazing. It was a place that nature lovers would really appreciate. On the way to the restaurant we also passed by a "haunted" castle. I wanted to snap a picture of it but my cousins were scaring me saying that I might find a reflection of a ghost on the picture or something.

The weather was sunny and breezy. The floating restaurant didn't serve meat so we could only order seafood dishes. We had prawns and shells and crab and lots of other yummy seafood. And for dessert we had some of mom's birthday cake. My camera died on me so I didn't get a chance to take a picture of all the yummy food we had (lucky for you because if you could see what we had I bet you, you'd be really jealous! hehehehe...just kidding)Mother and daughter
my cousin Chloe and Mikey

cousin Mikey enjoying the view

Yours Truly
With the boyfriend
A wacky picture at home of mom and my cousins.

I took the day off from work today. Since Sunday was spent with mom, boyfriend, and relatives, today I took mom out on a special birthday date. There's a time to spend with everyone and I think it is always important to spend some one on one time with my mom. I know one day when I get married and move away we will have less time for these things and I want to make the most of it while I am still single. I took mom on a little shopping spree, we had gone down to a cute coffee shop, we had dinner out, and to end the day I took her to the spa, we got our nails done and we had gotten an amazing massage too.

Do you guys go out on dates with your parents?

Living and Loving

2010-10-02T21:57:00.005+08:00

I am once again reminded how truly precious life is. A former maid of ours asked for our help. Her husband was diagnosed with Cancer. I've had family members fight the battle with Cancer some have lost and some have won the battle.

I am a person who tends to plan for everything. What to do tomorrow, how to reach my goals. Everything is always planned out for me.

Nanny the maid, was telling us about how she is staying home taking care of her hubby. It's not an easy task, a person in unbearable pain can be full of anger and hatred and self pity. Her hubby just recently started accepting the fact that he is not in a winning situation. Her hubby had so many plans. His doctor told him last June that he had only a month to live. We are finally into the first week of October and he is still alive. What has he been busy doing? He has been busy living life. He has his pains every now and then but he is living. No more plans about tomorrow. He is living for today.

Each day you are alive is a day worth celebrating for. Life isn't about just enjoying the weekends, it's about finding pleasure and happiness in each day that you live and making the most of it.

Thank you everyone for giving me the wonderful opportunity to get to know each and everyone of you through your blogs, thank you for sharing your lives with me and thank you for being a part of mine. Have a lovely day.

Island Getaway (Pictures overload)

2010-10-01T23:52:00.023+08:00

The island trip was amazing. It was a 45 minute boat ride from the city to the island. The view on the way to the island was breathtaking. It was a raining the previous night so I was pretty scared that the boat ride to the island would turn into a disaster, but the ride was really peaceful. Below are just some of the pictures taken on the way to the beach resort.

It was a whole day activity. The whole morning was spent on team building activities. We had a cheering contest, yours truly was the head cheerleader for the team. It was great seeing all the employees working together and having a good time. There was a number of employees who were literally old and gray, but despite the age, their energy was that of a teenager. There was also a number of employees who have worked for the company for a little over 15 years. Wow. In the late afternoon everyone got to do his/her own thing, some went diving, snorkeling, and did a lot of aqua sports activities. While everyone played in the sun, I was happily taking pictures and working on my photography. 6pm we had our barbecue dinner as well as a special program for the evening.

Each time had to present/showcase something. My team did a little dancing. It was embarrassing but everyone had a good time making a fool of themselves on stage. Everyone was such a good sport about it. Awards and special certificates were given after dinner. After the awards and certificates we ended the night by drinking and dancing and just having a good time.

I didn't get any sleep at all. We went to our room by 2am. My roomies were snoring so loudly! By 4:30am I was in the shower and packing my things. Then by 6:45am I was on the boat again back to the city. And by 8am I was in the office, back to reality, back to work. I felt like a zombie, I was so brain dead at work. I was off work by 6pm. All in all I had a wonderful time. This experience is definitely one that I look forward to each year. Being part of this company is such an honor. I love the company I work for and the people I work with.

Now I need to catch up on my sleep.

Pictures from my trip, hope you guys like them. Have a happy weekend. MWAHHHH

Argh! Grrr!

2010-09-28T20:42:00.005+08:00

Mommy picked me up from work. We talked about how our day went during mom's drive home. Out of no where a cop motions for us to pull over. Without hesitation mommy pulls over and rolls down her window. The cop asks for my mom's license. And once again, mommy without hesitation gives it, she gives it just like that.

The cop goes to the front of the car and checks the license plate and was scribbling something. Then next thing I know, the cop hands mommy a ticket and tells her she has 72 hours to claim her license, pay the due fees, and go attend a seminar. What just happened?

The cop turns away and I yell back at him, why did he just give us a ticket. He comes back to the car and tells us mommy was not wearing her seatbelt. What?! I looked at mom to check if she had it one and she did. I yelled back at the cop and told him we were both wearing our seat belts. He just turned his back on us and said, "she just put it on as I was writing the ticket." I was not done with him yet, I tried to argue because mom had her seat belt on but he said if I had any complaints that I should just go down to the station and file a complaint there. He was so rude, we were talking to him and he just turned his back on us.

Oh grrrrr!!!!!! I am in such a pissy mood right now. GRRR GRRR GRRR!

On a lighter note, I will be going on a little island adventure tomorrow. It's employee's day for the company that I am working for so everyone just gets to hang out. We are staying overnight at a resort tomorrow, there will be a lot of fun in the sun, games, and at night time we will be having a barbecue dinner, music, dancing, and lots lots more. I soooooooooooooooo need to get away from the world right now and I am just looking forward for some relaxation on the beach.

To See Is To Believe

2010-09-21T22:31:00.006+08:00

A few nights ago my aunt was over at my house for dinner. She brought her friend Jim along. They practiced a little dance number for an upcoming party. They were actually at my house for three consecutive nights. On the last night of their practice Jim asked my mom if there was an old lady who used to live in the house. We both answered yes. I had gotten goosebumps. I'm in my mid twenties but still get scared easily. Anyhow I had a feeling I knew what he was getting to. He said that he saw an old lady with an updo, wearing a bright red lipstick, and a cream lace dress. The first night the lady was looking at them dance from our staircase, the next night she was standing near them and on the last night she was sitting on the couch watching their final practice.

I don't really believe in ghosts but I have heard stories. I have always been curious about their existence. But anyway.... Jim's description somehow reminded me and my mom of my grandma. She loved to go dancing, she loved ballroom dancing and it so happened that they were practicing for a little rhumba number which was one of my granny's favorite steps. There weren't any pictures of grandma anywhere around the house so it would be pretty impossible for Jim to have an idea of what she looked like. And her most favorite dress was a lace dress in a cream color with little gold accents.

Anyone out there believe in ghosts? People who see ghosts are often referred to as people having a "third eye". They can see what normal people cannot. And Jim claims to have a "third eye". I've always been skeptical about these things but I would love to hear about your opinions on this.{source}
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Weekend with Friends

2010-09-07T09:43:00.011+08:00

There are some people who are just pieces of our past. Some friends lost and forgotten. And then you have your golden friends. Friends you haven't seen or hung out with in so long but yet, when you get the chance to hang out again it is as if you guys never parted ways.

My boyfriend didn't get the chance to come home over the weekend. Boohoo. I was a bit disappointed.Friday night an old friend of mine sent me a message that she passed the medical board and she is officially a doctor. She invited me over for a lunch get together with a couple more friends who I haven't seen in 4 years!

I had a grand time hanging out and catching up with my old dear friends. It's as if we never parted ways. We had lunch together, then went to a coffee shop, then hung out some more. We are planning on our next get together which will consist of an island adventure, ziplining, cocktails, dancing and lots of fun. Woooow I can't wait!

the girl in pink and white polka dots next to me is my best friend Cheryl. I can't believe we wore similar outfits.

Any of you get the chance to hang out with friends you haven't seen in years? How was your weekend? What did you do over the weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Happy 101

2010-09-01T19:46:00.029+08:00

I got this award from one of my new sweet blog buddies, The Layered Pancake. She's got one of those blogs that you just have to visit on a day to day basis because well, she's always got something good. Her blog is definitely worth reading.

Rules for happy 101 award:

1. Post who gave you this award.
2. State ten things you like.
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment.

So... here goes my list of 10 things that I like:

1.) I LOVE LOVE LOVE spending time with my loved ones, specifically my mom, my brother, and my boyfriend) . Every moment I spend with these people are moments to be treasured for a lifetime. I'm just always so busy and I hardly ever have time to spend with these people. When I come home I'm always feeling so tired and it's really sad because the only time I get to have with my mom is when we have dinner. My brother is in the U.S. so we only have a few minutes in a day to video call each other through skype. And boyfriend and I spend the weekends together.

2.) I like that I have somehow renewed my faith in God. It's been almost 4 years since I lost my way. And little by little each and everyday I do find myself growing closer to Him. Although my life is not perfect, I do find happiness in just putting my faith and trust in Him.

3.) Blogs and new blog buddies. After 2 years of blogging I am to this day still amazed at all the wonderful people I have met through the blogosphere. Little comments from you guys really goes a long way and makes me super happy. It's nice to know that despite your busy schedules you still go out of your way to say hello or to stop over at my blog and read whatever I have up. You my dear make me happy. I like you, you, and you reading this.

4.) Bubble tea makes me feel bubbly, especially when I have it during hot hot summer days. This is so refreshing.
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5.) Outdoors, enjoying the sun, the beach, and the sand. Anything outdoors is love for me. I absolutely love nature. I am in awe at all the beautiful places there are in the world. I love just laying on the sunbed and breathing in some nice pollution free fresh air....
6.) Emails are the fastest way to get in touch with someone. But know what? I still prefer snail mail compared to emails. I love getting mail from friends from across the world. I am a pack rat and almost all letters I have collected since my younger years are still with me. It's fun to see how we used to have kiddie handwriting and now our hand writing has greatly improved.
7.) Babies! I like babies, they are such adorable beings. I love how they look up at you with their bright eyes full of happiness and curiosity. Little kids just warm my heart.
credits: weheartit.com

8.) Chocolates! Need I say more?
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9.) Jackie Chan! I like Jackie Chan. No, scratch that, I lurrrrve Jackie Chan. The fastest way to my heart is by making me laugh. He makes me laugh so hard my stomach and cheeks start to hurt. He is smart, rich, talented, and yet he is still so humble and so down-to-earth.
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10.) Dresses! I am such a girly girl. If you raid my closet you'll find dresses, dresses and more dresses. Despite having more than enough dresses I just keep wanting more and dresses make me happy! I hope I didn't sound shallow saying that. For some girls, they can never have enough shoes or bags, for me I can never get enough dresses.source: weheartit.com

Ok so enough about my likes... Let's pass this little award to 10 other people. Don't forget to click on their links, these bloggers are definitely worth getting to know.

Better Than Coffee
Thank Goodness For the Good Ones
Darjeeling Dreams
PatiKym
It's Simple Love
Stefbunny
This Free Bird
My Art and the Mom In Me
Gypsy Diaries
Winter Eve

HangOver!

2010-08-26T21:34:00.006+08:00

Hey guys. Was there ever a time when you stuffed your face silly that you felt like you had a hang over? Or when you ate so much that you really fell asleep right after eating? Believe it or not. This happened to me after eating this:

source

and this:source

I'm feeling guilty after stuffing my throat down with these sinful oily giants.Ugh! Anyway, I hope you guys have a yummy day

Tables Have Turned

2010-08-18T23:33:00.007+08:00

"Hey Cinderella, be home by 12 midnight!"
text message: 11:59am, one more minute till midnight, where are you? Be home by midnight or else...

A couple years ago this was me and my mom. Yes, even at 20 something I still do have a curfew. A couple nights ago mom got together with a couple friends from high school. While mom was with her friends, I was at home. Yes, me at home, while mom was out?! Unbelievable. It was 12 midnight and I realized I had been tossing and turning and I couldn't sleep. So I texted mommy the same line she texted me long ago, "Hey Cinderella, it's midnight, you better come home or else..."

When she came home I was surprised to see her wearing my top! Oh my goodness. I can remember long ago I used to borrow all of her clothes. Now she borrows mine. The tables have turned. Here's a picture of mommy with her best friend.
and here's a picture of me wearing my top a few days before she borrowed it from me

Since I was certainly not going to get any sleep til she got home this is what I did to keep myself busy.
I fixed up one of my bags. It was a hideous bag with a creepy looking cartoon, but I just got some scraps, old feathers, and voila.

Mom came home a few minutes after 1am. She felt guilty about coming home late, so the next place she took me here:she got me the strawberry nutella crepe. yummmy!

Ladies, do you girls still borrow clothes from your mom? Does your mom raid your closet too? For the guys, do you guys borrow clothes from you dad? A guy friend of mine constantly borrows his dad's watch, but clothes nah, they don't fit him and plus they make him look super old.

Any other 20 something lady here who still has a curfew like me? Oh and better question, are there any guys who have curfews ( I doubt there are any, but who knows? )

Another Lesson Learned

2010-08-14T21:01:00.010+08:00

There are people in this world who just do not know how to control their temper. And then there are those people who can control there temper but then it piles up and one day...BAM! Ms. Nice Girl is no longer nice. I guess I am that way sometimes.....Boyfriend and I had a fight a couple days ago

The fight was actually really petty now that I come to think of it. I am now blaming it on PMS (excuses excuses). But anyway, I learned an important lesson in our petty little fight. When we had our petty fight, I asked boyfriend "How many times have I ever made you cry or have I ever made you angry?" And then he stayed quiet and I went at it by saying, "Why so quiet? Because there was never a time I made you feel that way." And then boyfriend answered "In a relationship I don't ever count how many times you've hurt me, actually I don't even remember, that's because I am always counting and recalling all of our good memories." I felt horrible about what I said. Like really really really horrible, so horrible I am ashamed for what I said. But I guess I wanted to share this with you guys because well it is a very good lesson.

So anyhow...I decided I wanted to make it up to him. Since we fought about him playing tennis. I decided I wanted to show him my support. I bought him a pair of socks. I put the pair of socks in a cute little box with a mushy little note. He opened the box and found the pair of socks I had given him. And inside the box I had another note telling him to go to his car and check the driver's seat. He ran to his car like a little kid and a big big box of surprise was waiting for him. His face beamed when he saw what was inside the box. It was the tennis shoes he had been saving up for. =) Little did I know that boyfriend got me something too. He got me a pair of flip flops. But I have tons of flip flops already I told the boyfriend. He told me to wear them and he took me to the beach. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go for a swim since I am at that time of the month if you know what I mean so after spending an hour at the beach we went on a little road trip =)

TOO UPSET TO COME UP WITH A TITLE!!!

2010-08-05T19:43:00.005+08:00

I was going to tell you guys something funny, but I forgot what it was. I can't even recall a tad bit what it was about, that's all because of this:

{source}

What you see is not edited, this 18 year old girl does not have a nose. No, she didn't suffer from a disease or anything of the sort. But what she went through is far worse than any disease I could imagine. To summarize what I read here, Aisha went through a tough marriage. A marriage where her in laws treated her like a slave and where her husband would beat here. To save herself, she ran away. And this is what happened: "The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose." to read more about this article click here.

Carina, one of my favorite bloggers also mentioned about how some women were faceless because of domestic abuse. How their husband's had poured acid on their faces. Please check out Carina's website here.

I really want to say more about this issue but I'm afraid I'm just too clouded by anger right now.

It's All Your Fault!

2010-08-01T02:52:00.004+08:00

It's your fault that I am always so busy. You are the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing that keeps me occupied before I go to bed.
You open my mind to a world far beyond my little corner. You are never afraid to speak up and point out the harsh realities of the world that we live in today .

I've always been a goody goody. But now.... Now that I've met you I am starting to cross over to the other side. Being bad can be more fun

It is your fault I feel naughty sometimes, I mean come on, you and all those eye candies ! hubba hubba! . Then there's the sensual massage thingy. Oh and then there's the humpty dance.

It is your fault that I am not spending a single penny. I am saving up for a trip to Taiwan and other parts of Asia . I learned a lot from your travels and I hope that I too can go an adventure like that someday and that I can at least look half as good as all those pretty ladies you told me about. And then I learned that you were sick and you had me worried. I want to travel half way around the world just to be your personal nurse, then when you feel better we'd hang out and do all sorts of girly stuff. We'd also buy cute shirts from our favorite herro.

It's your fault that as I am typing this right now you have me craving for gastronomic delights. And trust me this is not good since it's already 3am and this is just so bad for my diet. But how can i resist the urge when you have me craving for some yummy in my tummy pizza?
I have to control myself. How am I ever going to look cute in a Marc Jacobs outfit if I keep stuffing my face?

You inspire me to become a better person . Even as a kid you have always been so nice. I wish I could be half as nice as you.

It is your fault I am addicted...
I am addicted to you....

Hello my name is Melissa and I am a blogoholic. I'm not sure when or how... But I do know one thing. It is your fault. And you know what? I love you, you, and you reading this blog. Thank you for sharing your lives with me, for making me laugh, cry, and hungry and everything. You are all wonderful. This post is about you guys. Do click on the posts I linked to in this post, I'm sure you'll find something interesting. Oh and I'll be writing posts like these in the future so if you don't see your blog/post on here there will be a second edition of this. It's time for me to give back and let others shine.

Have a happy weekend guys.

XoXo
Mel

Psycho Alert!

2010-07-26T23:42:00.012+08:00

There's a psycho in the neighborhood. Scary much? Here's something even scarier, she doesn't just happen to live in my neighborhood, she happens to be my neighbor. The pyscho lives right across the street from me, that's 10 steps from my house to be exact. I know you guys must be thinking that I'm over reacting. But I'm not, I swear. She's a psycho because:

1.) She's got one hundred pets. Yes! That's one zero zero. What kind of pets? Cats and dogs. Sometimes I can hear her screaming at the top of her lungs like she got bit or something. She ran to my house and rung the door bell furiously. When the maid went outside to see what was wrong, the crazy neighbor just smiled in an evil way and then stuck her tongue out and ran away. Did I forget to mention that this crazy neighbor is in her late 60s?

2.) She was at the mall and saw a cute kid. She carried the kid and ran away. The kid's dad ran after her and punched her. She punched back. Crazy.

3.) Saturday I had a close encounter with her. Boyfriend and I were in the car. I saw her at the corner of my eye. She ran towards us and banged her fists against the doors and windows. Boyfriend was in shock and I was in panic mode screaming at the top of my lungs for boyfriend to speed out of there. Crazy neighbor ran around the car banging her fists. Then she ran up to my side again and reached for the door! WTF?! Boyfriend's jaw literally dropped. Crazy neighbor stooped down and no signs of her. Then she was in the front of the car holding a rock! What! Boyfriend's eyes nearly popped out of his face. He burned rubber and we drove away as fast as we could. Now I'm not sure why the neighbor did that, but I do know that at that moment boyfriend was concerned about his car. Here I was screaming in panic mode and boyfriend was numb and was not doing anything until she held a rock and was about to throw it at his car. Lol.

So anyhow. This incident left me shaking and crying. This crazy pyscho has been in and out of the hospital and she's known all over the place for her strange behavior. I have called the cops on her once and they took her away but then she always seems to find ways to get out.

Boyfriend apologized for not driving away so quickly. He made it up to me by taking me somewhere relaxing. He took me up to his place which is far far far away from the city. It's about a 2 hour drive. The rest of the weekend went pretty well. Here's a couple pictures of where we went:See this behind me? This used to have a lot of greens, trees, and soil...Now it's just a huge lump of rocks. What happened? There was a landslide here years ago.
This picture was taken about 1 hour into our travel. It looks like there was a tornado or something. Do you see what I am talking about? Hmmmm...

How was your weekend sweetie? What did you do?

I hope you all have a wonderful week ahead. Mwahugzzzzz. =)

Picture Perfect Moments

2010-07-19T23:44:00.026+08:00

(photo credit: photo taken by me, necklace was a bday gift from my bro's gf)
Hey guys, thank you so much for all the birthday greetings. It really means a lot to me that you all took the time to say hello and wish me a happy birthday. My birthday weekend was awesome.

For the birthday weekend boyfriend took me here:
Nothing special about it right? Not really a pretty sight. I asked him what we were doing in this place and what is it exactly that is so special about this place that he had to blind fold me to get here? He told me to take a deep breath and imagine having a house built all the way up here. How awesome is that? A house that overlooks the city? Or what about...

what about a house that has a mountain view? Boyfriend started talking about plans for the future. We have been a couple for 5 years now and he just thinks it's time we start planning for the next level. I am really giddy, but talks about stuff like this really makes me nervous. I cut him off and said, we will talk about it next time when we are engaged. I have this feeling that a proposal would follow soon. But I don't want to get my hopes up.

Anyhow, after checking out places where we could settle down someday soon, he had another surprise.
Boyfriend took me to this really gorgeous place. Oh and did you guys notice anything? Anything at all? We have the whole place all to ourselves. Boyfriend pulled some strings and had gotten the place exclusive to us.

If you think that was pretty. Here's what the place looks like at night:

Isn't it just so romantic?!

I hope you all had an awesome weekend and may you all have a great week ahead.

What did you guys do over the weekend? Oh P.S. I saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice, it was a cute movie. And I also saw Inception. Inception confused me a bit, the storyline was not at all what I expected, I am a bit disappointed. I heard Salt is coming out this week? I'm looking forward to watching that. Have a great week guys. Mwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhugzzzzzzzz

Ewwws and Awwws

2010-07-14T14:38:00.001+08:00

Ewww:
We had another family get together last night. It was my aunt’s birthday. I sat at the kids table. The grown ups table consisted of my aunts and uncles. And the kids table consisted of little kids and my cousin Kayla who is 22 and myself. So we were the big kids I guess you can say. I sat next to my favorite little cousin JM. This fat little boy loves his mashed potatoes. For some reason he only ate a few spoons of his mashed potato. I asked him what was wrong with his mashed potato. And the little kid answered “It tastes like fart”. Lol! What?! How does mashed potato end up tasting like fart? And how does he even know what fart tastes like? So then his little brother starts laughing and says that he just farted. Hahaha. Silent but deadly fart!

Awww:
Another little cousin, Krisha had an awwww moment. She told me that she had gotten a new puppy. I asked her what kind of puppy it was and she said it was a poopzhu. A what? A poopzhu. I asked her if this was the same as a shitzhu and she covered my mouth and told me that I shouldn’t say bad words. How cute!

Tomorrow is my birthday and the little kids will be around to celebrate with me. I wonder how many more ewwwws and awwww moments we will have.

Have a great week everyone.

XoXo
Mel

Smile!

2010-07-08T19:49:00.012+08:00

Ever so often we meet people who makes us smile. Not the kind of smile that just has our facial muscles moving but the kind of smile that not only brightens our faces but also leaves our hearts feeling happy. 2 years ago I never would have thought that I would meet such people through online. Blogging has just been "ChinkyMel's Corner" it's always been about me and what I wanted to share with the world. But now, I realize it's more than that. Blogging is about connecting with people, it is not ChinkyMel's Corner but is OUR LITTLE CORNER. It's our corner in this world wide web where we can get to know more about each other, laugh together, cry together, and bitch together.

I want to say hello to my new followers. I hope that my blog leaves you feeling happy, I hope that my blog makes you smile not just with your lips but with your hearts. I want to say thank you for my loyal followers who's been with me for months, you are not followers but friends. Thank you for sharing a part of you with me.

Also I'd like to say a special thank you to the person who sent me this:

I got this package in the mail yesterday. It's an early birthday present. See that pouch? This pouch wasn't bought, it was handmade. Awesome right? The person who made this put in a lot of time and effort into this. This person is someone I don't just consider a blogging buddy, it's more than that, she is someone I consider a real friend. Curious about who this person is? She's Duni over at Lovely Purses. She is one talented lady. Please check her out. Thank you so much Duni for the early birthday present.

Smile everyone and I hope you all have a happy week.
For the mean time I will try my best to not......pout. I can't help but pout. This is the last week I will be 25. Next week I will be saying hello to being 26!

What makes you smile?
P.S. Any of you lovelies care to share a few make up tricks or two. The only thing I ever put it on these days is just my strawberry lipgloss.

Mwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh