Naps, anyone?

These days it seems I can never get enough sleep. I’m always so sleepy and around 8 in the evening, I am already struggling to keep my eyes open. If I make the mistake of lying down to nap, I will most likely end up sleeping through the night. Last week, after eating dinner I decided to lie down for a few minutes. It was only 8:30 pm and surely enough, I fell asleep and woke up the next day at 5 am. I was so confused the next morning because I couldn’t figure out what day or time it was (and yes, there are days when I wake up and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what day it is which ends up scaring the crap out of me).

Do you feel the need to have a day within the week where you just sleep-in? I do. And let me tell you, I get really cranky if I don’t get to sleep-in at least one day of the week. I used to be able to sleep-in until noon without waking up but now I get a headache if I do so I just sleep-in until about 9 or 10 am and then I force myself out of bed (like that’s a big difference, right? It’s only 2 hours shy of noon after all!). But yes, I enjoy sleeping. I actually like napping during the day too.

It really surprises me when someone tells me they can’t nap. I just have to ask, “Why??” For me, it is the most natural thing to do especially during a rainy afternoon or a boring subway ride. I have no problems whatsoever napping. Even if I tried to stay awake during my hour-long subway ride to work during the morning, I will eventually end up closing my eyes. I feel better after a nap. I think the only time I actually feel bad about napping is if I end up napping during an inappropriate occasion or place. Like when I’m in church for example. Or if someone is giving a really long talk and I end up dozing off. That’s just rude.

I remember when we went to Mexico last year, Steve and I resisted napping during the afternoons because we didn’t want to waste our days sleeping. In our entire stay there, I think I only napped once or twice and only for about an hour or two during both times. I think it’s the only other time where I would have felt bad had I slept for long periods of time. I certainly didn’t want to waste my Mexican vacation in a nice resort by sleeping! I’d rather be at the beach relaxing and drinking an iced tea or a Miami Vice (yum!) or even better – swimming!

I remember not getting much sleep through College especially when we had projects to work on. I really don’t know how I was able to function with zero or very few hours of sleep and no coffee. If I attempted that now, I’d be a walking zombie (even with coffee!). Now even with 5 hours of sleep, I feel exhausted.

I wonder how I will be like when I have a baby and I’m not getting any sleep. I worry that I will be very cranky and mean!

Sleep and I are very good friends indeed.

Beautiful

For some odd reason, I am sitting here at my desk at work and I am suddenly craving the lasagna they have at Greenwich. I don’t know why it even came to mind! I haven’t had one of those since I left the Philippines more than four years ago… they were really good!

My uncle sent me an email the other day about the possibility of having a family reunion in Bacolod sometime next year. I would REALLY LOVE to go but I don’t know how we’ll be able to afford six plane tickets to go home especially since we’ll be catching up with the expenses from the wedding and buying household items. I told the rest of the family about it and we were all bummed out because we think we might not be able to afford it.

I can’t believe it’s less than a month until the wedding. Time flies! In between tasks at work, I keep looking at the traveler photos of the resort we are going to. It always brightens me up but it also makes me so anxious. I really hope it is as great as it looks on the photos. It’s gotten so many excellent reviews but who knows right?











It looks so warm and inviting doesn't it? I can almost imagine all that sunlight on me...

Updates

It was time to make some more wedding-related payments so I took out all the money I had in my savings account today. It was the most amount of money I have ever saved in my entire life and having to spend it all hurt a bit. It’s hard to save and it’s equally hard to watch all that saved up money go to someone else. I’m hoping I’ll be able to save up again after all the wedding expenses and household expenses have been taken care of... but that might take a while though. I’m thinking of contributing to my RSPs at some point too. How do you get what you want without spending?

I have been going on TripAdvisor.com a lot lately to look at reviews and pictures of the resort we are going to. I am pleased with the reviews so far and I am hoping that it is as good as they say. I can’t wait to be under the sun, lying on the beach and just relaxing. I think all of us could use a vacation. There are still a few things we need to take care of but we’re crossing tasks off our list one by one.

I am looking at several places for hair and make-up for the civil ceremony and I’ve narrowed my list down to a few. I would have loved to go to the salon I usually go to for my haircut but their rates were a bit much for what I was willing to spend especially since it’s just a really simple civil ceremony that would probably only be half an hour long and then we’re having a small lunch reception after. I can understand spending that kind of money for the beach wedding or if I were having a full blown wedding here. But I just can’t justify spending hundreds of dollars for a civil ceremony. The problem is, most places downtown charge an arm and a leg and since the wedding is somewhat early, I’d have to consider distance and travelling time when it comes to selecting a place. I did find a few highly recommended places online and I am thinking of checking out one that is closer to city hall and another that is located west of Toronto. They both got great reviews but they’re prices were very affordable.

I forgot that when I went dress-shopping, my cousin and my brother took a few photos of the dresses I was trying on. I had them saved in a folder in my laptop which I just remembered again today. I took a look at them and I still love the dress I bought the most. It’s still with the seamstress for alterations but I love how it feels on me and I like its simplicity and elegance. I hope it still looks good even after the alterations have been made. I keep worrying that it will get ruined as soon as someone touches it. I would love to post photos here but I’m afraid it will ruin the surprise!

Spring is almost here and I can’t wait for warmer weather! I would love to once again be able to step out of the house without a thick jacket on and sit at a patio or go for walks. I am thinking of visiting the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) again and maybe even going to a cabin somewhere north (I’ve never been to one yet). OR maybe we can drive to the States!

I haven’t been using the Wii Fit for more than a month now (sadly). I’ve slacked off and I think my Wii trainer will reprimand me the next time I sign in. My goal to lose 5 lbs every week is out the window at this point. I read somewhere that you actually lose weight just by sleeping. So maybe I’ll do plenty of that!

Geez... I feel so busy!

Johnny Rockets!

On Saturday, while the family and I were downtown, we decided to eat at this new place that opened along Dundas and Yonge called Johnny Rockets. According to Steve, they’re a chain and quite popular in the States but I’ve never been in any of them. I’m not too crazy about burgers but since my dad really wanted to try it, I gave in.

As soon as we entered the place, I was instantly amused. It was classic! I loved the Juke Box, the old Soda machine, old-style Coke glasses, stainless counters and old-style diner decor. The servers were super friendly and they even did a dance number when the Donna Summer’s Last Dance came on the Juke Box! It was soooo CUTE!

Anyhow, here are some of the photos I took of the place... my apologies if they’re a bit fuzzy since I only used my phone camera to take these...

My brother holding the menu

A view of the restaurant and that's our server (her name's Lola) walking away from us

Little Juke Box on our table (there's a bigger one that actually plays music)

Old-style Coke glasses!

Stainless counters

Productive weekend

I had a really productive weekend and I feel better knowing that we got so much done in a span of two days.

On Saturday, my parents, brothers and I went downtown to shop for suits, shirts and ties (for the civil ceremony), khakis and slacks (for the beach wedding) and swimming clothes (for our stay in Dominican). I thought we’d have a hard time looking for suits but it turned out really well. Not only were we able to find nice suits for the boys but they were really affordable too. I was so happy that we got them on sale and ended up saving a lot of money. The boys look so sharp in suits! I couldn’t resist snapping a few photos of them using my phone camera. The only complaint I had about the whole thing was how long it took. It took us about 3-4 hours just to shop for suits and shirts. Miguel was so adamant about wearing a green shirt with his suit so I had to look for a nice shade of green and a matching tie. JR was easier to shop for because he didn’t really have a preference and liked pretty much anything I handed to him.

After the boys bought clothes, Steve came by and picked me up and then we headed over to Square One in Mississauga to look at the linen suits he saw last week. His best man (also best friend and cousin) met us there and we saw three different kinds of linen suits. Out of the three kinds, the Calvin Klein ones fit them the best and they were the color we wanted so we decided to get them. They were also able to find matching shirts and ties to go with it so that was good.

There are still a few more items we need to get like dresses for my mom (one for the civil ceremony and one for the beach wedding), a bathing suit for her, sandals, etc. We also still need to check with our bank to see if we can get travel insurance from them for a lesser amount of money compared to getting it from the travel agent.
We also still need to book the reception for the civil ceremony but I’m sure it won’t be a problem since it’s just a simple lunch and there aren’t going to be a lot of guests.

It’s a lot of work but it feels good to get things done. So I am feeling pretty tired from all that walking and shopping we did over the weekend but it was all worth it.

Do You Need to Be Lucky to Find Love?

Do You Need to Be Lucky to Find Love?
by Rich Santos

Looking around at the earth's processes, I'm reminded of how lucky we are to have beautiful things in the world.

Way beneath the earth's surface, when carbon has been placed under enough pressure, diamonds are formed. It takes millions of years for this process to occur. When a parasite drills into a mollusks' shell, that mollusk performs a set of defensive actions that result in the formation of a pearl.

Okay, maybe love happens easier than diamonds or pearls happen. Or does it? Like other beautiful things in nature, a lot of things have to happen for anything to culminate. One of the main governing forces over these kinds of processes is good old-fashioned luck.

Here are four elements of falling in love that require a little bit of luck to ensure success, in my opinion:

Timing
When two people meet and start hanging out, a key to taking the next step in a relationship is where people are in their lives. Are they both in a position to be able to be close to someone? Perhaps one of the two is working on their career too much, or maybe someone has just been through a painful relationship not too long before, and can't commit.

When it all works out, people come into one another's life at just the right time. And, luck has a lot to do with it because you really can't plan it — you can only hope that it happens just right.

Circumstance
Circumstance dictates the entire process of running into a person. Are you both living in the same town? What brought you there? Every meeting you have with every person in your life is determined by a combination of personal choices and events in your life. As Back to the Future taught us, even the most minute choice/action can change the future.

If you want to go even further back, your existence is based on events and choices of ancestors before you stretching far back in time. So, not only are we all lucky to be on earth, but we are lucky that our significant other is on earth as well, and even luckier that circumstance brought us together.

First Impression
They say first impression is everything. This holds true in business and pleasure. We base so much on that first meeting with a person. There's a lot of luck involved. People like me are lucky when we can control what we say and not screw anything up right off the bat. OK, maybe there is some control over that, but what about subtle things?

Perhaps when you approach someone in a bar, a particular song happens to be on, or the lighting and atmosphere are just right to give your meeting a little more impact. Making a memorable and emotional first impression is not easy; so a little luck always helps.

Chemistry
When my high school teacher told me that everything a human does is based on chemical reactions in the brain, I was floored. From then on I walked around wondering about the chemical reactions going on in my head that made me wave to a friend, or snap my fingers along with a song. Hell, how do the chemicals in my brain even make me like a song?

With so much complex brain chemistry telling us what we like, what we do, who we are, and if we are happy or sad, we are lucky that people even exist that we can blend with. I am convinced that my brain chemistry is so scrambled that there are no possible compatible female minds. But I'll keep looking, and perhaps I will be lucky enough to meet someone who is not only compatible, but makes all my brain chemistry happy.

Article swiped from MSN Lifestyle


I saw this article on MSN this morning and I thought I'd share it here because I think it's so true. I completely agree that timing, circumstance, first impression and chemistry all play a role in what relationship we'll develop with each other. It's funny because these are things we can't control and yet they have such a huge effect on what happens next. Do I think that falling in-love involves luck? Maybe...

God Bless You!

I seek in prayerful words, dear friend
My heart’s true wish to send you,
That you may know that far or near
My prayerful thoughts attend you.

I cannot find a truer word
Nor better to address you,
Nor song nor poem have I heard
Is sweeter than God bless you!

God bless you! So I’ve wished you all
Of brightness life possesses;
For can any joy at all
Be yours unless God blesses?
And so through all the days
May shadows touch thee never
But this alone, God bless you
Then art thou safe forever.

My grandma sent this to me and Steve along with a letter to my dad. Although it is a simple poem, it really touched me and almost made me cry. I miss her everyday and I regret not being able to visit her as often as I'd like. Even though we're in Canada and she's in the Philippines, she never fails to send her love and well wishes. I hope she knows how much she means to us.

Halo - Beyonce

I'm currently listening to Beyonce's Halo and although at first I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, I eventually did develop a liking for it.

-------------------------

Halo
Beyonce Knowles

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make up a sound

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

Hit me like a ray of sun
Burning through my darkest night
You're the only one that I want
Think I'm addicted to your light

I swore I'd never fall again
But this don't even feel like falling
Gravity can't forget
To pull me back to the ground again

Feels like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
The risk that I'm takin'
I'm never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
Halo, halo

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo
I can feel your halo halo halo
I can see your halo halo halo

Parting ways

These past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster for both Steve and I. A close couple friend of ours has filed for legal separation and the circumstances which led up to it were... to say the least – very unfavourable. As a matter of fact, it was downright shocking and hurtful. When we first heard about it, we honestly didn’t know how to react or what to say. I reacted by first thinking that it must be a joke because we were all together last weekend and everything was fine. Then after realizing that it was really happening, my second reaction was to ask the “whys” and “hows” and “what happened?” and of course the “what do we do?” and “where do we go from here”.

Steve and I were both extremely upset over the news because these are our close friends. They’re the people we practically spend most of our weekends with, the people we thought whose kids would be our kids’ friends and the people we go on vacation with. We’ve had many dinners together, seen movies together, played board games together... and this was the last thing we expected. I wish the separation were amicable because it would make it easier for everyone to just get along. But it doesn’t seem that way right now. In fact, we don’t know if we can still be friends with one party simply because of the reasons behind the separation.

It’s only been days but it’s already turning ugly. Sides are being taken, clothes are being packed, lawyers are involved, and sooner or later someone’s going to have to deal with who gets custody of the dog and who gets what assets. Thinking about all these things, I can’t help but get upset... I feel angry, hurt, shocked and sad... mostly sad.

I’m sad because it couldn’t have happened at a worst time. But then again, there is no good time for something like this. I’m sad because nothing will ever be the same again and we’ll miss all the activities we enjoyed doing together. I’m sad because the plans we had together may not ever happen. I’m sad because I don’t know if their separation will eventually lead to divorce. And I’m sad because of the circumstances that led to the separation and I’m sad because I don’t want to see such a young, lovely couple have to go through something so terrible.

Knowing what I know about what had happened, I honestly can’t say if they should stick together and try to work it out or if it would be best for them to part ways. Right now, I am leaning towards the latter. I am pro working things out but only if both parties are willing to make it work. I don’t know if this is the case. There are some things that harder to accept, forgive and forget.

The last thing you would want to see is your good friends go through a really difficult time. As much as I’d like to mend things so that everything can go back to the way they were, the best that I can do is pray and hope for the best.

Edward

Swiped this from Clever Girl's Blog and I can't help but SWOON!

I have to be honest and say that there are times when Robert Pattinson looks so hot and there are times when I think he needs a hair cut. At times I see shots of him which remind me of the "magnum" pose from Zoolander (sorry!).

Regardless, he IS cute!

Phenomen'Eyes Mascara

Phenomen'Eyes Mascara by Givenchy (photo courtesy of Sephora)

I saw this on the internet and I really want to try it. I'm not a big make-up person and the only make-up I wear on a daily basis are foundation, pressed powder, and chapstick/lipstick. I am not particularly good at putting on make-up and I actually think I look weird with eye make-up on. But anyhow, the primary reason I don't particularly wear mascara is because I have such tiny eyelashes that make it hard for me to put on mascara especially the really little ones close to edge. I wonder if this "sphere-shaped" Givenchy mascara will do the trick.

They don't carry Givenchy at Holt Renfrew and apparently Sephora is the only store that carries it. I wonder if Sephora here in Canada has it too...?

Sad news.

I just found out (courtesy of White’s post) that Francis Magalona succumbed to leukemia. He was just 44 years old. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.

Related news here.

Books for the desert

You're packing your bag for that other desert island - the one with no electricity - what 5 books do you take with you?

I swiped this from Jela’s blog (thanks Jela and I hope you don’t mind..).

A bit of a toughie since I love to read and I usually end up loving most books I go through. I am a big fan of “feel-good” books and I normally go for the romantic and emotional type of books. As Steve says, I am a sucker for mush. So here goes…

Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas (James Patterson) – A friend of my mom’s lent her this book and I ended up reading it before her. I have never read any of James Patterson’s action-filled, mystery books but absolutely loved this one. From the moment I read the first few pages, I was instantly hooked and I think I actually finished it the same night that my mom brought it home. I loved the book so much that when I saw it at National Bookstore, I bought my very own copy which I brought with me when I moved to Canada. I read it again after a few years and I still keep it in my bedside table.

Lamb (Christopher Moore) – I would probably be chastised for reading this just because of what it is about. Some people might be offended by it but I thought it was hilarious. I found it so funny that I actually cried quite a number of times because I was just laughing so hard. I adore the sarcasm and the author’s sense of humor. It is a fictional story about Jesus and his best friend Biff and all their adventures while growing up. It’s one of those books that make you go, “oh this is just so wrong…” in between laughs. Ever wonder what Jesus did between the ages of 12 and 30? Read on…

Twilight (Stephenie Meyer) – Need I say more? Some people do drugs, some people smoke… but Twilight is just my kind of heroin. I can honestly read this book over and over and over again and still gush and cry every time Edward and Bella are together. Yes, it’s a teenager’s book but I love it just the same.

The Notebook & A Walk to Remember (Nicholas Sparks) – Technically these should count as two separate books but I figured since they’re written by the same author and have almost the same theme, that I should just bunch them together. I don’t own all of Nicholas Sparks’ books but I did enjoy the ones I’ve read. Want to have a good cry? Pick one up from the bookstore near you. They always make me burst into tears but I love how he portrays the characters in his books and the complex relationships they have. His books don’t always promise a happy ending but they’re really good reads.

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) – We had to read this book for a school paper but I loved reading it anyway. It’s certainly one of those few classics that I enjoyed reading. I still have the tattered copy which I bought years ago when I was still in high school. I really admire how well the book was written and how effective it was in describing scenes and characters. Just like Pride and Prejudice (another love of mine), I enjoyed flipping each page, trying to figure out what was going to happen between the two main characters. Where they going to end up together? What’s the big reveal?

These are just a few of the many books I have enjoyed reading. I am currently reading The Long Walk Home by Will North but I've only read the first few pages and it's too early to tell whether I will love the book or not.

Confusing?

"I'd rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a
could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be
a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might-
have-been has never been, but a has was once an are."

-- Milton Berle