Monday, August 31, 2009

my hello kitty plate


i have fin'lly received the hello kitty nail stamping plates and new polishes yesterday from an ebay seller in hongkong, and though i wanted to go home straight to try it, i had to finish my part time job first, which got finished at 5.

so tired as i was, i slept when i got home and when i woke up at 9 only did i remember to change my nails for the 3rd time since thursday.

these were my nails yesterday before i changed it to hello kitty:


these were my nails last friday:


and these are my hello kitty nails, good thing my right pinkie isn't showing much, coz hello kitty's face looks awful there (i had to squeeze her fat face on my tiny nails so she looks unhappy on my pinkie)



and these polishes are special, coz you can either make a design on your nail using the brush or the pen:

dory is so excited to try these out, we're having a manicure afternoon in moss' house on thursday... i can't wait to try the other designs on the plate, especially the dolphin.

my next ebay buy will be the most awaited hello kitty long wallet, which is on my wishlist. i'll try to squeeze a hello kitty handbag (also on my wishlist) if i can, coz it's from the same seller and maybe ill have combined shipping discount! :)


today with my new nails:


"ah, the distraction that is nailpolish!"


anyways, i deleted punkymoods. the stupid image won't refresh...

introspects...

today was a milder version of the usual hot and humid august. usual jam-packed morning since we have to squeeze our work into six hours each day... sometimes only four hours for me if i have to go to my boss' new chocolate shop. stay there until 5 or 6. realization no. 1: distraction freezes depression

i tasted that piece of heaven called chocolate cheesecake jam again. this time being caught, hehe... i told her i was thinking of showing the middle part (where i bit) to show what's inside the chocolate when i make the brochures. no more arguments there, she thought i was officially working ^_^. realization no. 2: murphy's law is always in action


so these past few days i've been having nightmares that wakes me up in the middle of the night and squeeze myself into my husband's arms. but i usually forget them in the morning. realization no. 3: fear subsides when you are hugged

i also miss jared most these days. sometimes too emotional it's become oa. i don't want to have moss' aura of constant depression, as in everyday. comfort her today, tomorrow she's still the same. but sometimes i realize i've become like that to bambi, and he has given up the reassurances and the comforting. maybe moss is contagious...

i don't understand why she repeatedly goes back to the part of her that hurts. and i don't like if i will someday be like that. if she is contagious, then i better stay away, a little each day. realization no. 3: you could be influenced by depressed friends


look at my current mood. i found punkmoods again. how touching to have a drawing of how you are feeling on a certain day...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

the chocolate wrapper

yesterday instead of going home at 2 because our ramadan timing is only from 8am to 2pm, i went home at 9.

i didn't wander off, not in this heat! bahrain is having it's worst summer yet, not because of the heat but mostly because of the humidity. imagine getting near to a big bonfire and you'll feel how we feel when we go outside.

thankfully 100% of the places here are air-conditioned, you'll only suffer when you go out.

anyways i got home late because for the first time in 6 years i have a part-time job. oh, wait, i had a part time job before, too, in a candy store. hmm, and now in a chocolate store? i might have a calling in the sweets business (*wink wink*)

my boss's wife is starting a chocolate shop and as part of the build-up team i also got to wrap the chocolates which are heavenly. and who loves chocolates more than me? omg, it's like going to chocoheaven. just going inside the chiller room which smells of chocolate to select which ones to wrap makes me smile..

and after designing them i couldn't help but giggle in delight because they're so cute!!! who would eat these after all the wrappings?



luc, the choco-wrapping master, was with me, and she is a pro! i love her designs!!!

the shop is supposed to open on the 1st of september but it's still empty:



the chocolates came from lebanon early this week, the accessories came from dubai and the furnitures will come from china. they are suppose to arrive tomorrow. so there's too much to do!

maybe that's why madam is stressed.

not me, i love designing, what more if there are chocolates in my hands!!! i tasted one and i sighed... i have never tasted a chocolate like that! that was the best ever. i think there are sweet jams and cheesecake and crunchy sweet things inside and they all melt in your mouth... such pure happiness...

that's why even if i went home at 9 i was still hyper... see the evidence: (i love my hair btw)



and i was still able to cook a mean adobo... which was already devoured when i remembered to take a picture.



a quick tip from my sister, she said when you add the vinegar - don't stir yet. just let it simmer for a little while and your adobo will be magically sweet!



fast forward to today, it was pretty much the same sched, escept that luc was not there. i was with nina, who howeebwee wraps chocolate... we decided to go home at 5 and i was able to catch bambi at home! his sched is from 7pm to 1:30 in the early morning, so basically he's free the whole day. imagine that...



addie: a cute house by a'ali... imagine jared playing in the yard. i missed him so much when i saw this!


oh, this is my face today. my eyes are sparkling in chocolate excitement!!!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

thank you to my sponsors (hehe)



i love this pic! see how my cheeks shine?

i don't have special regimens, and i use only the affordable products on my face. always i avoid to be high-maintenance.


it was interesting coz when i was in highschool i had oily skin, but in mid-college when i went to dubai i must've left my oil glands at home coz my skin started to dry.

then my skin thought it would be funny to try all skin types coz when we transferred here in bahrain i started to have combination skin - oily on the t-zone and dry everywhere else.


anyways, my daily regimen 101. (with matching reviews in fairness)

to start with, i wash my face in the morning only after i take the shower. they said the stuff you use on your hair reacts with your sensitive face and more or less it might be the cause of your skin problem. i just use normal soap, although using clean and clear, belo or skinwhite soaps shows better results.

my secret weapon - bare escentuals skin rev-er upper. it preps my face for mineral foundation, and helps it last longer.  although it smells weird, it really makes a difference using this first before foundation.



then my daily face routine is to buff bare escentuals mineral foundation, then my mineral veil and finally - clear radiance.



the fine mineral powder foundation hides the discolorations and pigmentations, while the mineral veil gives a "soft focus camera lens effect" (no lie, this is the one i can't not do coz it gives my face a soft finish), and the clear radiance gives me that glow on my cheeks.

i started using these since i saw their video, and i never bought another foundation again.  i really do not want heavy makeup, and this is perfect for me.  it's so light, you wouldn't even feel like you're wearing foundation.  and it's really pure, the tagline says 'you can even sleep with these on your face'.  plus it lives up to its name with regards to effectiveness.  and easy to apply, which is the number 1 reason why i use it since i usually wake up 30 minutes before our office starts.  who wouldn't want to use this?

unfortunately they are available only from US, so i buy on ebay to stock up way before i run out.


if i want a dewy look ill use the body shop's illuminating vitamin e cream on my cheeks. it's tested and proven, and it was so convincingly beautiful that ariane actually started using this when i finally told here why my cheeks are glowing, after months of her asking me.



and at night-time if i want sparkles ill probably dust my fez with penshoppe's face it face glitter. it doesn't have big glitters, just small fine ones perfect for your face.



and for my most healthy-looking blush! ive been using it for 6 years now. it's also a good lip stain but it fades fast. it's just perfect as a blush. ariane became an avid fan, too. i've been getting the most compliments saying i have natural healthy-looking cheeks because of this baby:



in the afternoons when i come back to the office and i want a darker blush i use bourjois' rose amber blush. it helps contour my face to eliminate chubby cheeks! ariane asked me about this blush too but it didn't work for her coz we have different skintones.



for mascaras i either choose avon black waterproof mascara if i want dark eyelashes, or the body shop's brown mascara to accent my brown eyes, or borjouis deep black mascara if i want lengths. i got this for free and i wasn't expecting much from it but it is awesome because it makes my eyelashes look longer and it looks so natural!  the body shop makes my lashes thick, while avon makes them long.




for face brushes i never use anything else with mineral foundation except for this facebrush from bare escentuals called flawless face brush. i love it coz it's so soft, it makes the mineral powder feels like silk on my face! the next one is an angled blush brush, good for contouring your cheeks. the two ones are from hongkong and im not using them except if my facebrush falls on the floor on one clumsy morning.



i wash these with jared's shampoo by the way:





then the lips. these are my favorites: the battered one is the body shop's born with it strawberry lipbalm for a more healthy looking slightly-red lips. ariane tipped me that. i use it everyday and it's always in me bag, then penshoppe's fruity pout lip jelly if i want mega awesome glossy lips, and my everyday balm, chapstick, which never fails me. i always stock up on this when im in manila.



for lipsticks, well, i don't really use lipsticks coz i hate their smell. plus i hate their quick disappearances when i needed them the most. i use nivea 10-hour extreme resist lipstick, which comes in a creamy tube.  so far, the longest it stayed on my lips was 5 hours.  i don't use the attached gloss though, coz it looks so oa for normal days...



this is a staple in my bag: a mini-mineral veil and the body shop's retractable brush. for oily t-zones.




then at night if i feel grubby ill wash with my sister's neutrogena, otherwise just my favorite whitening soap again. then loreal's pore tightening toner. if i have remaining makeup on ill wipe it with a makeup cleanser (my sister left me with givenchy clean-it-all), and i moisturize. always i moisturize.





in all fairness, i know every girl has their own, be it quick or time-consuming, as long as you're comfortable with it.

these are all basic, and i know i will add more come salary time. i will gladly update as soon as i have a new pretty discovery!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

chores. chores. chores. is it ever gonna end?

we are just in a cycle of cleaning and messing things up, aren't we?

since my sister is in manila, and won't come back ever, i started doing the chores again. i know im usually up with the schedule but im sure my enthusiasm will go away sometime soon...

and so they have been done - laundry, cooking & others, what im wondering is how a long day it has been. usually on fridays ill just sleep whole day, but today i was able to cook a decent dinner (omg how can i resist fish?!? i ate too much!!!) and the chores, plus i was able to have a karaoke night, and then afterwards i did my nails... although i wasn't able to have my weekly bubblebath and hot-oil, im pretty ok with my day... like i have accomplished enough. with matching siesta in the afternoon!

i marked this day "super masipag ako" day.

anyways here are my nails today:

before:




















semi-visible gold glitter from nivea with white flowers from konad

after:



















gold base with red rose from konad





i did good...

eyeshadow friday


its battered, i know...

for so long i have planned to try out all the colors in my eyeshadow and this afternoon i finally had the curiosity to do so, but i was only on the 3rd row when i lost interest again and said ill try tomorrow.



then i remembered that even though it's ramadan and office hours are suppose to be from 8am til 2pm, i have a part-time job at my boss' new chocolate shop and promised to design the chocolate wrappings...

oh well, maybe next year!


here are the rankings i made:

Class S- super pigmented, parang pang pageant na parang fairy ang effect. talagang napa-wow ako :D
Rate #1 - super pigmented din but i cant wear at daytime. maganda ang effect pag dinners
Rate #2 - excited to wear during summer, may be subtle or not, but kita naman, esp.the pastel ones.
Rate #3 - may kulay, pero hindi enough. parang highlight na kulay lang, kita parin yung skin
x( - clumpy and not pigmented at all

since it's from hongkong i expected it to have x( ones, but i was impressed by the number of Class S (parang sila eugene lang hehe) that i found... grabe ang silky pag brush ang ginamit mo and it was super-super ang ganda!!! hindi ako nagsisising binili ko sya :)

some shots:



and then i realized that after all this years, what i most wanted to do was to fix my eyebrows. but everytime i plan either with my sister or my officemates to go to a salon, it gets cancelled. many times i stared long and hard at the mirror with either a razor or a tweezer but im too scared to start. what if, instead of correcting my unidentical brows (i think i got one from each parent x(...) i make it worse?

anyways i faced my fears and with a tip i got from one make-up blogger i started little by little until finally, i was satisfied. i won't post the pix here for fears of judgment, but anyways maybe you'll see it in future pictures...



have you faced any silly fears of yours lately?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

how do you forgive yourself?

they said the month of ramadan is a month of self-reflection, to see if you are a good person, and to decide how to make yourself better.

so in one of those self-reflecting afternoons i tried to think of things that i did that i have'nt asked for forgiveness yet, from the people i have wronged and from myself.

1. to jared, im sorry for bumping your head when you were a baby. even if i try to hurt myself or bump my head on the wall to compensate my clumsiness i still can't forgive myself. im sorry if i made you cry. im sorry if i didn't know how to take care of you before.

2. to francis, im sorry for being childish sometimes. well, i can't think of anything else because i usually talk to you when i did something ( or you talk to me super-immediately ).

3. to my mother, im sorry for not taking care of you. i am capable but i don't give you any priority and kept telling myself that you have a husband now who should be taking care of you, but i should also do that, as your daughter.

4. to my father, im sorry for ignoring you when you asked for my help. i should not have held a grudge for the things that had happened, and if i did, i should have been honest with you.

5. to my sister, im sorry if we didn't have enough time to bond when you were here. it was a hard year and most of the time you were the one who was helping me, and it should have been the other way around.

6. to yves, im sorry for lying to our lolo before when we were young about jojo falling and telling him it was your fault, when it was mine. the sight of the walis tingting scared me but the memory of it hitting you still hurts me until now.

7. to jojo, im sorry for not taking care of you better when you were young. you were the most unfortunate for the fact that our parents were not around while you were growing up, and i should have filled up for them.

(so far, i think i am a horrible person already for all these... :( )

8. to moss, im sorry for not telling you that i know your affair, pretending that i believe your stories, but i wanted you to tell me when you are ready, coz when you are, i won't judge you.

9. to ariane, im sorry for that time when you went to my house and i pretended to be somewhere else. no excuses here.

10. to dory, im sorry for being rude at you when you are at your most talkative. some days i just want to tell you to shut up. and im sorry for that.

there are some people that i want to ask forgiveness form, but that would be on another post. these people are the most important to me, and i want to turn over a new leaf...

in my defense, i am not that bad. i just made some mistakes. pretty horrible mistakes...


now, the part of forgiving myself....

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

my current wishlist

don't you just have that list, maybe saved on your mobile phone's draft folder or a scratch of paper somewhere in your wallet about the things that you would buy if you have a lot of money? sigh...


so im compiling my wishlist today in preparation for christmas because i'd like to have my presents early... don't you?




Number 1 (with capital letter N!): The Imac..

omg i almost fainted and played dead on the floor when i was looking at this one night (my most favorite way to surf is to lie on my stomach on the floor) ... it is totally awesome! im already awed by macs since 2003 and never got back to pc again but they still continue to taunt me. i am actually tempted everytime they release a new one because, if you look at their site, who wouldn't be? i have g4 at the office in 2003, and at 2005 bambi bought me my ibook, and last 2007 he bought my super-loved macbook. didn't you notice the 2-year difference? didn't you also notice that it is 2009 already? i am really waiting for santa to pass by apple centre one of these days... ;)





No. 2: Hello Kitty flip phone

hihi... just look at the photo and tell me why i shouldn't get this!!













No. 3: More bags

i promise to be a nice person if i can just have this bag. tell me why does the things that i want is in hongkong???











No. 4: Hello Kitty wallet

WHY? Why does the bidding of this wallet end today??? i have noticed that all the stuff i want on ebay ends sooner than my salary? is there any scientific expanation for this???










No. 5: Lacoste Love of Pink

this is probably the most unnecessary thing that i need, since i have 4 scents to choose from every morning: escada ocean lounge, be givenchy, a green tea inspired perfume from bench, the super-fresh-im-just-gonna-hang-out-today baby's breath, and some samples from sephora, but i just can't get it out of my head. don't you have that nagging feeling about some things too?










i think i should only visit ebay every first week of the month... from now on i'll ban it on my safari once the date is past fifteen!

Monday, August 17, 2009

moments with officemates

videoke-trip, spaghetti-trip... ano pa ba?!? beer na lang ang kulang!

nung sweldo, sabi namin magtatabi kami ng 5 dinars each, nilagay namin yun sa steel cabinet para wala nang atrasan (lol)... it was suppose to be for city centre, magma-mall sana kami one of these thursdays, kaso this morning was so hectic kaya napag-usapan kasi na either magpapa-spa kaming tatlo or kakain na lang sa bahay. omg im sure hindi pinagsisihan ni irish yung desisyon namin hahaha!


the financial auditor, the creative supervisor, and the marketing executive. taray di ba?


cecille, batenten & aiai


with our IT engineer. gusto daw nya tumaba, yung parang balyena :D



and then in the afternoon napadaan si chinchu sa office, omg straight na ang hair nya :)

Thursday, August 13, 2009

la casa de mis sueƱos





my dream house, i designed it in sweet home 3d, a free software you can download to design your house, a long time ago. it's on the third floor, because the first floor's the garage, ill have the 2nd floor rented but i want them to have their own stairs, and the third is ours.

since we already have a place of our own, we just have to save for the actual building... i think 2 years is enough for that.



everytime i miss jared i just think about this house. this is what makes me stay here and save up. by the time jared's ready for school i will be in manila and i will send him everyday and pick him up, with matching umbrella.



*emo*

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

crossroads...

(note: this is supposed to be a very sad post, so read it slowly)


you may have had them. you may have not.

for me, this is the only time that i cannot answer a question that has been bugging me for 93 days.

im here in bahrain. my son is in manila. the question is, where do i stay?

if i go home, i don't have enough money to start a business. i might find a job, and that's what i'll be for a long time. an employee. but i have my son with me, and every moment of his growing years ill be able to witness. i'll be able to hug him at night, comfort him when a small ant bites his toes, feed him jollibee burger and go to the parks on sundays.

if i stay here, even for two years more, ill be able to build a two-storey apartment and our house at the third floor. and that will be enough for an income, since francis will also have his sources. but two years...

if i bring jared here, i feel bad leaving him with a babysitter everyday. he is obviously happy in manila, where the people who look after him loves him and takes good care of him.



i have contemplated this a hundred times. it caused a subconscious depression that sometimes surfaces and sometimes doesn't. at times i have decided, obviously since im still here in bahrain, that this is for our future, this is for the best.

i guess my unanswerable question is simply not unanswerable. it is just too difficult to decide upon.



in the end, who would i want to sacrifice? i could stay here and be miserable, but can i risk leaving my son with a babysitter?


jared's 1st birthday. 3 days more before my hysterical overacting...



his first birthday and we're not there... wahhhhh!  it is so depressing...



overacting aside, how early can you remember your birthday? i can only remember it when i was in gradeschool.

grade 1 - i ate spaghetti at school.

grade 2 - i wasn't at school. i had chicken pox and even though i wasn't contagious anymore i still didn't come back after 3 months hihi!

grade 3 - i was in guimaras, and i had a broken elbow. imagine me going to school with a bandage.

grade 4 - i think i had a terrible headache and just stayed in bed. saddest ever...

grade 5 - there was a storm. we went to school to check if we were allowed to go, coz i didn't want to spend it at home. i don't have parents like you...

i slipped at school, wet my skirt and it turns out the classes were suspended.

grade 6 - my mother came home from hongkong and we had a big celebration. i was the star! it was weird and i didn't know how to handle it so i tried to be low-profile...

high school birthdays weren't much remembered too... except for this one time when we were practicing for choir practice and it was almost over when pastor told the band "ok..." and we were ready to sing our song when they all sang "happy birthday".

i almost cried.


thinking back, i realized it wasn't normal what i had for my birthdays. weren't your parents suppose to at least prepare something and make you feel special especially if you're still a child and birthday were magical days when your wishes comes true?

im overacting again...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

my favorite things!

in keeping up with each blogger's universal solemn promise to brag, here is a list of material things that keeps me happy in this sad and lonely world :)

syempre mawawala ba ang macbook ko? anjan ang lahat - pictures, music, movies, at videos ni jared since nasa tyan ko pa sya at naglilikot...









my trusted n95. like my macbook, it's super multi-tasking. phone, camera, video, karaoke mp4s, music, office files for quick checkings... but most importantly it's my alarm clock :D







green eyeshadow! kase kahit malungkot ka, maganda ka pag may green eyeshadow ka hehe!








the chosen ones. my favorite kikay stuff: bare escentuals foundation and mineral veil, nivea 9hr lipstick, bodyshop lipNcheek stain, hello kitty contact lens case, makeup brushes, perfumes, pink nailpolish, magiff buff, konads, bodyshop retractable blush brush, mascara and eyelash curler. if only i use a bigger bag...





white eyeliner...










i call them my polish therapy... kase when im depressed pumipili ako ng bright colors :)







the mask : my bare escentuals foundation and veil, with rev-er upper as my primer / bodyshop and bare escentuals face brush & concealer brush.




syempre my boys. mawala na ang lahat wag lang sila!









what are your favorite things?