Today, I am un-loving...

Today, I am un-loving... having to work the day after Christmas. Christmas was over too soon. Just a weekend. So going back to work today was difficult.

Of course, it wasn't like a normal workday with the shorter hours and a lunch-out. It was also quiet with much less emails so I got to finish my to-do list pretty quickly!

Still, it would have been great if work stopped at my workstation today so I could sleep in or go shopping or meet up with friends or play with the kids instead. Today, I am un-loving... having to work the day after Christmas. Thankfully, the New Year's weekend is longer with the holiday on Friday!

Photo from i'mjustsaying.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am un-loving... series.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

It feels kind of odd that this moving photo (click here for previous posts on animated gifs) does not come with sound. Though even if it did, I wonder if we'd be able to decipher what he's saying because I could never understand when Donald spoke.

And since we're on the subject of Donald Duck, I just need to point out something that I've always found puzzling: Why is it that when Donald Duck comes out of the shower, he has a towel around his waist? But when he's all dressed up, he only wears a top?

Have a merry, merry Christmas!

Photo from anniegirl.

dear Santa

Remember how Noah wanted me to buy outdoor lights of Santa and his reindeer here? Well, I never got around to measuring the ledge outside my window to make sure I got the right size. So yes, 3 days left before Christmas eve and we still don't have the outdoor Christmas lights Noah wished for.

So dear Santa, I wish you would stop at our house...

And let Rudolph and the rest of your reindeer play games with Noah...

Dear Santa, I know I am way too old for Santa letters, but boy do I wish you would grant this Christmas wish!

Photos from i'mjustsaying and anniegirl.

Click here for previous posts from the Dear... series.

tis the season for rule-breaking

You can start small like say, move away from red & green for your Christmas trimmings... and have a colorful Christmas!

Or even forget to put up the outdoor Christmas lights this year (and apparently, lose one of your shoes)...

Maybe take advantage of the themed parties and don something outside of your traditional style?

Forget diet rules and indulge...

And party hard!

Have a fun week of parties and get-togethers!

Photos from anniegirl and i'mjustsaying.

i wish...

... I could get through the holiday party photos looking like this. Long and slender despite the grand feasts that come with these holiday parties.

I wish I could get the camera owners to stretch the photo lengthwise - just a tad - before posting the photos on facebook.

Or maybe I can get them to drink...

So they end up taking blurred photos?

Hahaha! Enjoy the season's countless holiday parties!

Photos from anniegirl.

Click here for previous posts on fatness.

gifts under the tree

There never are gifts under my tree. I always end up wrapping gifts at the last minute - the night before I have to give it out. So while I absolutely love Trisha-of-Playtime-Break's color-coded giftwrapping idea via OCMomInManila here, I really haven't had the chance to wrap gifts early enough for them to have some wait time under my tree.

Even for my kids' gifts, I end up spending December 24 from noon onwards wrapping the gifts I will be giving out to the family that night and the day after. Oh no! Am I depriving my kids of the eager anticipation of finally unwrapping their Christmas gifts? Am I keeping them from excitedly wondering what is inside their wrapped gifts as they hold it up to their ear and shake it days before Christmas? :(

Photo from anniegirl.

   

foiled christmas traditions

Turns out, posting photos of your Christmas tree is a common holiday tradition. So I didn't realize it when I did it here, but apparently, I started my blogger holiday tradition. 

I find myself starting new traditions every year. Largely because my previous ones somehow get foiled. When Isabella was much younger, we would watch Disney On Ice every December. But for a couple of years, the Araneta Coliseum skipped showing it so that Christmas tradition was foiled. When Noah was born we started going to Policarpio (this street in Mandaluyong where the houses go all out with their outdoor Christmas lights). But 2 years ago, the economy took its toll on the once extravagantly lit street and only a couple of houses put up their traditional decor. So we didn't go back the following year. Christmas tradition foiled again.

Even our traditional family photo by our Christmas tree was foiled the year we moved houses in mid-December while I was pregnant with Noah and on complete bedrest. Putting up the tree was just too difficult in the scheme of things. Other Christmas activities we did a couple of times but didn't pursue consistently include roadtrips to view the Ayala Center Christmas lights, letters to Santa, roasting marshmallows by the fire and the Christmas service and cantata at our church.

This year, inspired by Trisha of Playtime Break here, I may have started a tradition of Santa videos for Noah. Will need to think of an appropriate one for 14-year-old Isabella though.

Perhaps, the point of Christmas traditions isn't consistency. Maybe we don't need to commit to one thing and do it every year. Maybe the point is doing many different Christmassy things every year. It may be roasting marshmallows one year, Disney On Ice during the years it is on, and Policarpio or Ayala Center lights every now and again. Perhaps, that is the Christmas tradition.

Photo from nyctaughtme.

oops, my neurosis is showing...

For some odd, neurotic reason, I wake up in the middle of the night to check if my kids are breathing. I quietly watch to see their chests rise and fall. If Isabella happens to be hugging a pillow, I hold two fingers outside her nose to feel the air come out. If Noah's face is buried under the pillow he is hugging, I pull the pillow away even though I know I could wake him. When I am satisfied that they are breathing, I go back to bed.

Oops, is my neurosis showing again?

Photo from lushlee.

Click here for previous posts from the Oops, My Neurosis is Showing series.

 

pencil connections

Some things intuitively go together. Salt & pepper. Bacon & eggs. And in time for Santa's visit soon: milk & cookies. Some, like perhaps  a pencil, don't have intuitive partners.  

But a few decades ago, we could intuitively tell why a pencil would be paired with a cassette tape -- or a VHS tape. Or even the connection between a rotary phone & a pencil (albeit, an eraser-less one) to protect one's manicure.

Do you remember these pencil connections?

Photo from here, here, here and acupofjo.

Click here for previous nostalgic posts. Click here and here for previous posts on wondrous art out of pencils.

it's Friday...

Today, we start rehearsals for our Christmas presentation. It's a competition so everyone at work takes it seriously. But since I don't know how to dance (seriously, I have no rhythm, no coordination), I dread these annual presentations.

Sigh. It's Friday... Let us please NOT dance.

Photo from i'mjustsaying.

Click here for a brighter view of Friday.

Today, I am un-loving...

Today, I am un-loving... hard-case luggages because they open in the middle. Sure, they're sturdier. But it is impossible to fill them to the brim like a soft-case one that opens at the top. With a hard-case, it is difficult to estimate how much you can pile up on the bottom half, beyond its middlepoint brim, without making it impossible to lock when you bring the top half down to close it. If you try filling both halves separately first, gravity will mess up your tightly stacked top-half and items you packed by the edges will spill out when you attempt to close your hard-case luggage. Soft-case luggages, on the other hand, can be filled to the brim. Even beyond the brim, because they stretch to conform to the bulges your tightly squished shopping loot makes. Of course, this is coming from someone who sits (even stands) on her soft-case luggage to ensure it is packed as tightly as possible.

Today, I am un-loving... my hard-case luggage. I might as well convert it into our dog's bed!

Photo from inspirationoohahh.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am un-loving... series.

  

dear Cougar Town judgers

When I tell people I enjoy watching Cougar Town, I feel them judging me. I don't blame them. Even the Cougar Town folks know the title's bad. Because the plot cannot be further from the title. So they poke fun at it in every episode with a new commentary mocking the title in the title sequence.

So dear Cougar Town judger, I suggest you try watching the first season. Sure, the first 2 to 3 episodes were about cougars, but the rest will leave you in stitches. Because the funny titles do not even come close to how totally hilarious this show is.

You'll have to be in your mid-30's to mid-40's to appreciate the jokes though. Pretty much the age of Friends fans by now. In fact, it's a lot like Friends except the 6 friends drink wine instead of coffee.

Photos from here, here, here, here and here.

Click here and here for previous posts on my Friends' obsession.

i don't like watermelon

I don't know why. But I have never been a fan of watermelon. I don't really like how it tastes. The seeds - that make it a hassle to eat - don't help either.

But these photos are making me re-think my view of watermelons. They seem so fresh and thirst-quenching.

Perhaps I should start with this watermelon jelly? Especially since they're made with lime and red jello - not watermelon.

Or maybe this pretty watermelon skirt? 

Photos from katespade and lushlee. Sorry, can't remember where the watermelon skirt photo is from. If you know where I got it, please tell me so I can properly credit the source.

Click here for the original post on this watermelon skirt.

his fashion opinion

Remember when I pretended to buy this here? Well, I realized a month later that I must really love it because I ended up actually buying it.

Sadly, the love wavered when I wore it last week and when the hubby saw me, he started singing Purihin ang Panginoon (a popular Filipino mass hymn). He said I was missing either the stole (what priests wear around their neck, over their shoulders and down the front of their vestment) or the wimple (nuns' head covering).

As I was leaving our room, I heard a muffled How do you solve a problem like Maria... Sigh, he ruined it.

Photo from Zara.

the "down"side of a road trip

Like I talked about here, I am going on a road trip today. But as with every road trip, I worry... that there will be long, winding roads to get there.

Or a boat ride that will trigger my motion sickness (see related post here).

Or even old rickety transportation that I don't really mind the oldness of, but the rickety shakiness always makes me dizzy.

Yes, I am somewhat anxious about my motion sickness ruining the trip. But I am hoping for a pleasant time with opportunities to relax, swim, drink some wine, maybe even ride a horse!

Fingers crossed... Ciao!

Photos from olivetsquarespace, acupofjo and frommetoyou.

partyline, pakibaba

Do you remember the days of the rotary phone? Did you dial 9 and wait for the rotary dial to go back to its position? Or were you one of those who would force the dial back to 9?

Do you remember the days when someone interrupts your conversation and you have to say, "Partyline, pakibaba"?

Do you remember the time when the yellow pages were so important? Nowadays, they seem to be more useful this way...

Okay, my Lola (grandma) still uses her thick yellow pages book. So maybe they are still useful. But I'm sure even my 90-year-old Lola will agree that these are a much more beautiful use of ye olde yellow pages.

Photos from here and adverblog.

oops, my neurosis is showing...

I have a meticulous photo-organizing system. I organize photos chronologically. So on big family vacations or on special occasions, I find it so difficult when there are so many cameras.

My chronological photo organization is put to test by multiple cameras - multiple photo sources. Would be easy if every camera had a uniform date and time. But of course, that is impossible.

So first, I organize the photos by camera: my folders will read cam1, cam2, cam3, cam4. Then, I create folders per activity. It's easy when activities are defined. Like say, lunch at Puca Beach. But idle leisure time drives me nuts. Like for example, hours playing in the sand. Based on the chronological order in each cam's folder, I figure out which idle activity went first. Oh, and when Isabella and Noah split up and go enjoy different activities, I end up having to have an Isabella folder organized by activity and a Noah folder also organized by activity.

Oops, is my neurosis showing again?

Photos from everythingfab and streetfsn.

Click here to see the first peek at my neurosis.

oomph piece

I am a believer that towering heels can make any outfit look great. An outfit that looks dowdy and frumpy in flats is magically transformed into a smart, chic look with towering heels. They just give that oomph every fashionista [who has gained ten pounds] needs. Somehow, I stand up straighter, look slimmer, project a more stylish demeanor just by slipping on these oomph pieces on my feet!

Turns out, slipping on an oomph piece on your head works just as well... Check out these hats from the Hermes FW 2011 collection. Don't they make these puzzling, almost questionable outfits striking?

Isn't it magical how adding an oomph piece transforms a look?

Photo of the towering Pradas is a re-post from here. Photos of the Hermes FW 2011 looks from Vogue.

Click here for a related post on these Hermes hats.

bracing myself

Am bracing myself for the day ahead. I am anticipating a difficult day at work today.

But on stressful, exhausting days like these, I remember what one of my old co-workers would always say: "Diamonds are made with fire and extreme pressure."

So I know, something good & beautiful will come out of this long, hard day.

You never know... Maybe Chuck Bass will leave a diamond ring on the steps of my office tonight. Pardon the cheeky joke. They're both in khaki trench coats, so I couldn't resist. Plus, a sense of humor always helps on days like these.

Photo from heritage and here.

Today, I am un-loving...

Today, I am un-loving... the fact that my kids have no ratatouille. Anton Ego was the tough food critic from the 2007 Disney Pixar movie, Ratatouille. When he was served ratatouille, a peasant stew, he was shocked. But the second the flavor hit his tongue, he was transported to his childhood.

He returned to the time he crashed his bike and his mother prepared the same meal, the same way for him. It comforted him in a moving, inexplicable way.

I feel the same way about my Lola's (grandma's) cooking. Her chicken in brown sauce is my comfort food. No matter how bad a day I have, when I taste that first bite of her chicken in brown sauce, I magically feel better. None of us can recreate it (not that I ever expected I could. See related post here). I cannot even figure out what goes into the mysterious brown sauce. To this day, my 90-year-old Lola cooks me my chicken in brown sauce, my ratatouille, as my birthday gift every year.

I realized recently that my kids grew up with Inday's (Inday is a typical househelper's name here in the Philippines) cooking. We've gone through our share of different Indays through the years so there really isn't any dish - cooked in a distinct, personal way - that they grew up with and could call their comfort food, their ratatouille.

Sigh. Today, I am un-loving... that my kids do not have their own ratatouille.

Photos from here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am un-loving... series.