Blog Your Heart

While working overtime (yes, I was working but waiting for the server to start up), I blog hopped to one of my favorite scrapper/writer --- Stephanie Howell, and found her post about blogging from the heart... I decided to take part about what's in my thoughts and what's happening lately...

1. I couldn't believe how fast the days are... I am a bit worried because I spend long hours at work lately. I have so little time to follow-up on my things to do for the move. I haven't really found an international mover yet. I haven't prepared for the resale appointment. Though you'll give me a star for following up with my boss if I can stay with my current company. That's the bright light amongst the pile of to do's.


2. I just want to share about this. Yesterday, I had a good prayer time. I prayed for some important things, and some important people. And, it was so funny, a breakthrough came just when I told the Lord that I am letting go. I've been worrying about it for quite some time, and now, I am ashamed of myself BUT HAPPY. Hahaha...


3. Last Saturday, we watched one of my favorite cartoons, SMURFS. It made me cry... La La LALALALA La La La La...


4. The girls are doing great! My Bebi A had cough and it just suddenly disappeared after 3 swimming lessons. Hmmm... Should I still believe her pedia? He told me never to bring her swimming if she has cough. Well, it's gone now. Dawter T has been eating well and we told her that her tummy's getting big. She's becoming a little lady and it is evident from all the changes her body is undergoing right now.


5. On the scrappy front, I am doing a mini-album from scratch. I am very happy with the result. And, I thank my friend, E, for giving me this opportunity. Hehehe. I will be helping E on her scrapbook party and this album is the sample. I hope to incorporate techniques that would entice the guests to follow through with scrapbooking.


6. My server is still not up but hopefully it'll be anytime now.

An All Girls Party

I was really not comfortable to hold a party without the hubby but I promised Dawter T that we would celebrate her 9th birthday with her friends from school. Well, I'm glad we did! It was so much FUN!!! Amidst all the screams and the shrills, the girls were so much fun to talk to. They're very mature 9 year olds.

I convinced the Dawter to hold a scrapbook party and a baking party and a spa party and so on... In the end, it was a scrapbooking party with lots of games. They had fun with the "pabitin with a twist"; and they ate a lot of corn dogs. Hehe!

Craziness

Some randomness in our lives :

1. Dawter T scoring higher in her Chinese exams versus her English papers.
2. Sleeping at 11pm then waking up at 4am, not able to go back to sleep anymore. Sleeping at 2pm then waking up at 640am. Sleepness nights.
3. Winning a signed copy of Just One Of The Guys by Kristan Higgins by simply signing up on her mailing list. I love romantic comedies!
4. Bebi A whispered to me at church, "Mommy, don't get mad. But, someone from the bus gave me my favorite cookies." An aunty gave her a pack of Hello Panda and it's not her favorite cookie!
5. Learning to move on. Forgiveness.

My February Resolution

Note : Candy Shoppe Designs blog hop is still ongoing --- please check it out HERE! Awesome prizes awaits YOU!

For January, not adding flowers and swirls on my layouts was a bit hard. I am finding hard to find my niche again. I feel that my layouts are lacking something. Well, if I am not too stingy with supplies, my layouts will probably be full, LOL!!! I hold on too much to my supplies to the point that I don't want to use them hahaha... Do you sometimes do that?

So now, my February resolution is to be ALL OUT on my papers/embellishments. It's time to purge. A little FYI though. Aside from the gifts and prizes, I HAVEN'T BOUGHT ANY SCRAPBOOKING SUPPLIES FOR 2 MONTHS!!!

Can you believe that? Just awhile ago, I answered SC's GTKY Monday and one of the questions was how much do you spend on scrapbook supplies. Hehehe... Well, that means I saved some for 2 months. Well, I need to save with all the wonderful new papers from Webster's Pages, Prima, Pink Paislee....

Scraps

It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon. And, Tuesday not being my favorite day haha (because of my team meetings) just made it all the more gloomy.

I am sitting here at my cube itching to scrap. After all, I need a "pick me up" but since I am at work. I can just blog. Hehe. That got me into thinking what do you usually do with your leftover papers? Do you make cards with them? Use them as matting?

For me, I try to use all the papers in one layout coz I am not that fond of leftover. I seriously don't know where to keep it. I get to use most of them because I use them as matting, layer, etc. Well, of course, there are times when I don't get to finish ALL of it. I just stack them on the same stash as with the other scraps or with the same manufacturer stash.

Till here. Hope you're doing great this Tuesday!

Crazy Baby

1. I love that you said that "when you grow up, you want to stay at home with your baby."
2. How funny you are when eating vegetables. You eat everything around it and leave it until we just tell you not to eat it.
3. When you don't care what you wear as long as it matches colors.
4. The long way you've gotten from being a very shy girl to Ms. Congeniality!
5. You cry when you've become embarrassed about something like not being able to eat your beef cubes because your tooth is moving.

These are just some things, there's a lot more. But, you are still my Bebi... Will always be...

My January Resolution

Yes, only for January.

I've noticed that almost all my layouts for the past few weeks have swirls and flowers on it. And, I would like to break away from that for awhile... Well, until the end of the month, hehehe... So, I will shelve my flowers and swirls and will try new designs and possibilities. I hope I can do it though. I realized flowers have been my go-to embellishments and if I ran out of ideas, I tend to add it on.

What's yours? How do you break free from scrapping routine? Hehe...

Welcome 2011

Happy and blessed New Year!!!


First of, I would like to apologize that I was not able to finish my December Daily. Preparing for vacation and being on vacation really was a whirlwind of activities. Thus, the lack of output... But, we had fun going back to the home country. The girls had a blast!


The girls fished (in their pajamas), played with chicks/dogs/goat and had a good time!

They also cleaned up nicely and were attendants to my cousin's wedding.

Day 2 : Routine

We wake up and our hands instinct is to look for that mobile phone we've parted for a few hours. It sometimes takes precedence to "Good morning, God. Thank you for this beautiful day!" Technology has crept up in our lives.

I see my two daughters sleeping peacefully. I say good bye to my husband as he goes to work. I then prepare for work. Though we drag our feet to do all these. The routine has kept us sane. When life has thrown us some quirks, a part of us long for routine. I guess change and routine in inevitable part of life. One doesn't exist without the other. Or else, we'll be suffocated and overwhelmed.

But, I have to change the precedence. Before I turn on my phone, I have to greet God and thank Him for the wonderful day ahead.

note : all these will go to the december daily

Day 1 : Blessings Abound

Let me tell you about my December Daily.

I was supposed to finish it up but my two hands were bound by work during the weekend and early this week.

Nothing to show but thoughts to share...

Day 1 :

My family and I welcoming December with open arms. There's a lot to be thankful for. Lots to be happy about. This is definitely different from my sullen rantings from the past. Hehe. No, we didn't win the lotto. But, we were blessed much more than we can ask or imagine right now and all we can utter is "Thank you, Jesus".

Life sure has a way of sneaking up on you. Good and bad, part of the package of life. We just have to deal, accept and let God.

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

It's the last day of November. Tomorrow should be fun, the start of December Daily! Yipee!!! And I have only finished my cover!

Been so busy these past week, worked late, worked during the weekend and crammed 2 server upgrades yesterday before my colleagues in the US come back to work. Whew!

Was not able to sleep well, kept thinking about work... Woke up thinking about work... And took me an hour before I can check my email from my Iphone (bored with my story yet? hehe) -- I was that scared to find an email from boss! Haha... There was but it was ok.

Tuesdays mean a late night meeting for me... I am so tired. And, I have to finish a project to post tomorrow. Cramming again... What else is new? *grins*

Thomas Edison

He was asked how he felt on the 10,000 failures before finally lighting up the first light bulb.

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"

December Daily

I am taking part this year. 2010. What urged me was my not so good day yesterday. So, to take my mind off my boss who was asking questions that I don't have the answer at the moment and my daughter who was throwing up every time she eats. (my daughter was watching tv at this point hehehe) I started the cover of my December Daily. I still have no idea what to put inside though hihihi...

I am using my OLD Webster Pages stash. And I just realized that I might run out. I am crossing my fingers that I don't have to touch my new ones hahaha (so that I can use my new ones next year --- that seemed to be my phase as I am still using Christmas 2009 WP papers).

I managed to put the title on the cover page. But, I need add some more blings and flowers and swirls and cut-outs... Can't wait to go home!

Good To Be Back

Though slightly jet-lagged... I felt that my body clock had adjusted better this time than the last time I was in the States.

Looking back, I had a very depressing first 4 days, I was sleepy, "dinner-less" and was welcomed at the hotel by some creature which I don't particularly like from the insect world. Hehe. It did a 360 though by Thursday and from then on, my trip went by fast. Couldn't believe that 20 days had passed... tsk tsk... I felt I did nothing most of the time, most days I went directly to the hotel, watched my fave shows (yahooo!!!) Most of my friends asked me WHY I DIDN'T SHOP??? hahaha I am asking that myself but I only have to look at my wallet for the answer. Hehe...

Went to Las Vegas on my first weekend. Got the chance to go to M&M store hehehe. Also won 30+bucks at the slot machine. Not bad. That's for my taxi fare from the airport to the hotel in Austin. Hahaha.

Then my second weekend (+ 3days hehehe) was spent with my relatives and friends in San Francisco. A few hours after the plane touched down SFO, my cousins and I went on a night cruise. Went to Treasure Island, Giant's stadium and ate sundae at Ghirardelli. Afterwards, I was snoring at car already while they pass by Union Square. Couldn't keep my eyes open. In my defense, I just came from Austin and there's time difference. Hahaha.

The next day (Saturday), despite sleeping late. I met up with one of my BFFs and we went to Monterey. Had so much fun catching up with her, friendships like that are very rare, time and distance doesn't matter. We ate yummy seafood at Monterey then cruised 17th Mile Drive! Monterey and Carmel is very beautiful, it made me miss my husband and daughters. Wish they were there with me.

Sunday, we were surprised by my cousin whom we were supposed to surprise... We were planning to give her a surprise mini-shower... We were supposed to have our nails done together. Well, she had hers in the morning. The bride to be had to wait for me and my cousin R while we had our pedicure hahaha But, in the end, we had a great time eating at Elephant's Bar (so much food --- gluttony, I tell ya!) and buying stuffs at Target! Love my pink Cutterbee scissors! Then, we ended up oohing and ahhing cousin B's scrap nook. So much toys and goodies to play with!

The next day (Monday), we were up early to attend my beautiful cousin's wedding! Still can't get over the yummy fries I had during the reception!!! Hahaha...

SFO's city hall was so beautiful, I just wished that cousin R and I were able to see the mayor! Hahaha... I am so happy for Cousin B and Kuya P!

I really had so much fun and I have to thank my grandma, aunts/uncles, and cousins for it. My colleagues said that I am darker. Well, well, I seem to bring the sun/heat in Austin and San Francisco. The day I left, the fog rolled in. Hahaha...

Jet Lag

is my biggest nemesis today. Slept in the afternoon and now I AM WIDE AWAKE. It didn't help that I didn't mute my laptop earlier when I was trying to sleep. I kept hearing the ting, bing, ling... Hehehe...

Nothing scrappy but I am so excited with what Cousin B gave me!!! A Tattered Angels kit!!! I can't wait to get started. Maybe tonight unless I find my way to Joanns or somewhere else.

Blessings

First thing I read this morning is about my BIG God who is the God of small things too! So, no wonder it's a prologue of what's going to happen the whole day. I tend to be NEGA (major, major) and I am trying to swing that around and be more positive, not to be stressed with small things.

Anyway, I WON, I WON at Scrappers AT SG's Challenge #36. Thank you so much Beband and her hubby, Benjo for picking my layout. The layout, Shine, is my everyday affirmation. It's now pinned on my wall and will be there forever. Hehehe. When I am down, I know this will motivate me to be better and to know that God is just by my side, cheering me on.

And, I didn't get any stressful emails from my boss. That's a huge blessing for me. The moment I wake up, that's the first thing that comes to my mind. If I have the dreaded email or will my day be awesome because there's none. My boss is not an ogre, he's actually quite nice. But, it's so hard to please someone far, far away. Hahaha.

Anyway, writing this made me affirm that I have to let go of those negative thoughts. And, I know the solution to that. PRAY. *wink*

34

My friends and I were chatting earlier about the current challenge at Scrappers@SG when we decided to try online scrapping.

This is from Pencil Lines 196. And, this was supposed to be a 30 minute layout turned to 1 hour. Oh what pressure! Hehehe!

I Am Not Vain

I just realized that I am not young anymore. I was daydreaming hahaha about what I would like if I slimmed down (20kg slimmer). Will I look like the young girl they usually mistake me for 5-7 years ago. Talk about vanity! Hahaha...

Sometimes, I look in the mirror to see if I have lines. You know, the one that comes with age. And, I do have! Wahhh... And, and, and I don't look young anymore even though I shortened my hair.

In my workplace, I am one of the "older" colleagues. Thus, I feel OLD. I am the one with the 8 year old while they're pregnant with their first babies or their baby just turned one. Hehehe.

I guess it's a matter of acceptance. When there are times I wish I am still 25. I am also happy that I am now 35. That my daughter is turning 8 soon. I just can't get over that I am 20kg bigger than when I was 25! Hahaha!

Hope everyone will have a great weekend!

July Madness

Couldn't believe how fast the days in July was/is. It's nearing August and I have to complete 2 more projects to get in the good graces of my boss (HeeHee!) There are so many plans/tasks at work and I am waiting impatiently for answers. My life this second half of the year will probably take a turn. Scrapbooking will keep me sane, I know it will!

I have some projects that I need to do, projects that I want to do. But, I need space in the literal sense. I don't have much at home and I'm sure my husband is a ticking bomb on this area. If I catch him in a really bad mood and he sees the mess, some of my supplies will probably be ermmm compromised as he has plans to put them in the store room *sigh*. Hahaha. Arghhh... I am planning to housekeep soon. And, I am keeping my eyes closed for now (maybe this moment until I am tempted again). I really need to use my supplies and save. Hehe.

And allow me to plug a bit, there's still time to register to Pamela's class at Scrapbook Challenges. It'll be fun!

One OFF My Bucket List

Well, I have never written a list but it's in my heart. The things I need to do, I want to do. Like writing my own tele-novela (no kidding!!!), I used to daydream about that being shown in Kapamilya channel. For me, 2010 has been about fulfilling dreams.

And I am very glad to say that I did tick off one from my bucket list. To join in a 5km run. Well, I was supposed to join Standard Chartered's 10km run last year but there were "outside forces" that hindered that dream (read as : hubby nagging me that I am not in shape hahaha). But this year, since it was just 5km, and it was a few days after my birthday, I guess it's his birthday gift to me.

Yesterday, we jogged, we walked, we laughed then we ran with the other ladies who joined Shape Run 2010. It was a camaraderie like no other since you're all ladies. And, since we're not vying for any place hahaha... It was a fun run/walk. And, I am really fulfilled.

Thank you, Lord that it didn't rain and I didn't collapse even when I was so hungry. Hahaha... Thank you to my wonderful sponsor, my hubby for taking care of the girls while I was out. Hehehe.