Happiness Starts With A 'K'

Aside from dancing, singing (via videoke) and listening to favorite tracks on my music player, another activity relaxes me and takes my mind off day-to-day worries.... reading. I started reading pocketbooks when I was in 3rd grade. I remember finding a hardbound copy of a Nancy Drew book at home. Out of curiosity, I tried reading the first few pages and ended up not only reading the entire book but visiting the school library more often to borrow pocketbooks. Alas, another bookworm in the family. From Nancy Drew, I also read The Bobbsey Twins and other detective series I could find. Back then, it was a given in our school for the girls to read Nancy Drew and for the boys to be more inclined to reading The Hardy Boys. Well, out of defiance, I read The Hardy Boys as well. Haha.

Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley series became a favorite when I reached 5th grade. I was lucky enough to have a friend who had a collection, so I was able to read each and every book in the series (SV Twins, High and University). I also loved Sweet Dreams.

In high school, I read Sidney Sheldon and Stephen King. When I read Erich Segal's Doctors, I decided I wanted to become a surgeon. Haha. I also started reading historical romance novels.

When I started working and became a mom, however, a lot of things changed. I found myself having less time for reading. There were also several instances when I suddenly had the chance to catch up on my reading but can't because I didn't have my book with me (e.g. waiting for hubby to pick me up in the office, waiting for school programs to start, etc). There were also times when I had a book with me but I felt like reading a different book but can't because, again, the book was at home sleeping in my shelf. I can't naman bring my library with me, debba?

But all that changed when this darling came into my life last Monday (July 23)... my very own Kindle Touch!

This baby can store over a hundred ebooks! I can bring my "library" with me anywhere! It's small and light so it easily fits my bag. Battery life is also longer (I heard it lasts for more than a month) so you don't have to charge as often as you do when you use your phone or tablet as your ebook reader. The E Ink display is also a delight! Ebook reading without the glare is bliss for me. I love my "K!" Oh, I do. I do!

Thank you, dear Mommy and Hubby. I am very, very happy with my new baby. :)

PS: I got my unit from an online seller I would be very happy to recommend. She has great after sales support. Look for Nelson KRX on Facebook.

Low Maintenance

All these years, I thought I was very kikay and shopaholic. Many times I felt I bought clothes, shoes and what-have-yous too often. Pero over the weekend, I realized low-maintenance pala ako after learning how much a lot of my friends spend for shoes, bags, clothes, scents and makeup! Shusmio, wala pala sa kalingkingan ng mga binibili ko! Walang halong pag-judge ito ha. This is not about whether it's practical or not or if they can afford it or not. Hindi ganun. Comparison lang ito ng shopping behavior. Haha!

I just realized that I am not as magastos pala. I am not so particular with brands. When I buy shoes, I prefer buying comfortable shoes I can wear often. At konti lang pala ang mga sapatos ko, gamit na gamit pa lahat! Whew! I buy basic scents only... light ones I can wear on weekends and another one I can wear to work and on night outs. Yun lang! 

Akala ko rin I have a lot of bags na pero shuskoday, I don't spend more than P3000 for my bags. Kuripot lang siguro talaga ako. Haha! And when I buy bags, yung talagang hindi na ako nakatulog sa sobrang gusto ko kaya gamit na gamit ang bawat isa.

No inggit here and no plans of shopping to catch up on my friends. I'm just not like that. Hindi ako competitive pagdating sa gastos. Hahaha! I just felt like hugging myself for being practical and low-maintenance after all. :)

I realized though that my being more adventurous when it comes to fashion seemed to have taken a backseat when mommyhood came... maybe because I always have a lot of things on my mind that I don't have time na to plan my outfit and just take out whatever is most comfortable for me. Hmmmnn... maybe that part I can change. I think I should find time to plan naman my outfits and experiment more often with my wardrobe. Kuripot pa rin no? Experiment (meaning mix and match) lang talaga with whatever is currently in my closet. Haha! Well maybe I can buy a few pieces next month. *wink*

Weekend Warriors: July 21-22

Nope, I wasn't able to go to the salon, therefore, mahangin-sa-labas pa rin ang look ko today. We weren't able to do the groceries either. Hindi rin kami nakapagpamasahe. Haha! So what did we do last weekend?

Well, I think ang bukod-tanging natuloy sa mga weekend plans namin ay ang paglabas with friends last Friday night. Hubby and I met up with friends at Nipa Hut (in Valle Verde) last Friday night. Inuman, kwentuhan at tawanan hanggang 1 am. In fairness to Hubby and me, we woke up early the following day because we were supposed to accompany son # 2 to his Math competition. However, his teacher called to inform us that the event was cancelled due to the heavy rain. Hubby and I happily went back to bed after breakfast. It felt so good to be home on a rainy day so Hubby and I decided to stay at home the whole day which was also great for me because I was waiting for something to arrive (this deserves a separate post). After lunch, son # 3 kept asking me if it's study time already. I can tell he was so eager to work on his assignments so I said yes. After that, we were all back to kain-tulog-internet-basa routine and it felt soooo good and relaxing! It's official, I love stay-at-home Saturdays!

The following day, we went to UP in the morning for some errands. After that, we went to Trinoma to watch The Dark Knight Rises... another wala-sa-plano-pero-masaya family activity. Well, son #3 slept 90% of the time but he woke up just in time to see Batman in action so I guess sulit na rin. Haha! :) After the movie, we tried to look for a pair of shoes that son #1 can wear to a school party he will be attending this Friday. Ang hirap pala maghanap ng sapatos para sa binata! I didn't know what was uso. Haha! Son #1 didn't find anything he liked and I think he wasn't really in the mood for shoe shopping so he asked if we can go home na.

When we got home, we had merienda then it was plantsa time for me. Pakonti-konti lang because I didn't want to overdo things and get a relapse (I got sick the other week and was not able to report for work for three days). Dinner time was 7:30pm and because it was raining again, we were all in bed early. Ang sarap matulog kapag umuulan! :)

So there. Maraming hindi nagawa last weekend pero you know what, I enjoyed it because I was able to rest and relax. I feel so well-rested today! :)

Plans for the Weekend

My Hubby and I... we're weekend warriors. We work hard from Monday to Friday and then try to make the most out of the weekend. Here are the things we have to do this weekend:

* Friday night - night out with friends and then some Hubby-Wifey quality time after
* Saturday - accompany son #2 in a Math competition; do the groceries; study time with son #3
* Sunday - hear mass, salon time for Mommy (yey!), plantsa time for Mommy

In between, we hope to squeeze in time for...

... Facebook.
... reading.
... spa.
... a movie.

Busy much? Yes. Happy much? Definitely!

Kung...

Kung ibebenta ang utak ko, malamang sa murang halaga lang... kasi sa araw-araw na pag-a-analyze ng data, gamit na gamit, mga atey. Hindi kagaya ng iba dyan, good as new! Har!

If

Hmmm...

If I had more time for myself, I would...

- go to a salon and have my hair rebonded.
- write more posts for my blogs.
- read, read, read.
- sleep, sleep, sleep.

If I had millions or billions in my bank account, I would...

- have every inch of my body checked so I can be sure I am healthy and cancer-free.
- ask my Mom to come home to the Philippines.
- ask my Dad to stop working and just enjoy life.
- pay for the heart surgery of my niece.
- make sure that my children and their children's children will be able to live very comfortably in the future.
- set aside money for retirement (for me and hubby)
- set aside money for a business or businesses hubby and i can manage while working full-time
- buy a nice house for my brother. He has a been very good Kuya to me all these years...it will be a very nice way to say "thank you" to him.
- help my in-laws (hubby's dad, mom and siblings... I dunno how but I'm sure hubby and I can figure out a way we can help them live more comfortable lives).

For the simple joys (which are not so simple right now because of budget constraints... hehe), I would...

- buy my little guy an iPad. Remember how he cried the last time because he wanted us to buy him an iPad?
- buy laptops or netbooks for the two Kuyas. I swear, the ones they are using right now, gusto na talagang magretire. Haha!

Haaay.... ang sarap mangarap! Makataya nga sa lotto mamaya. Malay mo. :)

Thursday Delight

I love the new look of this blog! Clean, crisp and simple. <3

The Letter Ff

Last weekend, to keep Mako busy while I was preparing the things we needed to bring for our Sunday family day out, I gave him his book and told him he can look at the pictures while waiting for Mommy. Mako's face lit up and he eagerly started browsing through his book.

Mako (while pointing to a letter in the book): Mommy, tingnan mo, letter Ff!
Me:  Tama!
Mako: Sound ng Ff.... fffff.... (then points to a picture) Ffff.... fish!
Me: Very good!
Mako (goes through the rest of the pictures on the page): Ffff.... flower! Ffff.... fan! Ffff... four! Ffff.... fa-a!

>>> Oh my cutie patootsie! Feet, anak. Feet. :D

Test

Uuuuy! Pwede na ulit mag-upload ng photos! Finally. :)

Rawr!

I can't upload photos from my computer! #annoyedblogger