30 Day Challenge – Day 18

* Plans/dreams/goals you have *

At the start of the year I posted my visual dream board. I got my most-prayed-for dream which was to get pregnant (it’s only a matter of weeks now and I’ll be delivering little Johan Matthew into the world). As for the rest of my plans/dreams/goals, please read on:

• To have our own home (with at least two bedrooms, an all-white T&B, modern living room, modern kitchen and a garden)
• Save up for future needs.
• Learn to cook.
• Go back to work at least 3 months after delivery.
• Support hubby with his plan to work abroad after I give birth to Johan (and eventually follow him wherever he ends up in).
• I plan to breastfeed exclusively, I just pray that I be given the capacity to do so.
• I’m not sure if I wanted another child after Johan, but if it’s in the “Master Plan” I just pray that the child be given to us after 4-5 years. I want to be able to dedicate most of my time to Johan until he’s old enough to go to school then I might be ready to care for another infant by then.
• I want to share with Johan my love of books so I plan to read to him as soon as he is born.
• I want to give Johan the best of everything that we can offer.

30 Day Challenge – Day 17

* Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why *

I’d like to switch lives with Kristen Stewart.

Why? Oh, just because of Edward. :)

 

30 Day Challenge – Day 16

* Another picture of yourself *

Taken on 11/01/09 at the Manila Memorial Park.

30 Day Challenge – Day 15

* Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play *

1. Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Part II Broken Down)
2. Paramore - Brick By Boring Brick
3. Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me On The Equinox
4. Owl City – Fireflies
5. Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
6. Kris Allen – Heartless
7. Huey ft. Akon - Stronger Pop, Lock & Drop It
8. Lady Gaga - Just Dance
9. Nickleback - This Is How You Remind Me
10. Jason Mraz - You And I Both

30 Day Challenge – Day 14

* A picture of you and your family *

This picture was taken last Christmas.

30 Day Challenge – Day 13

* A letter to someone who has hurt you recently *

I don’t think I’ve been hurt recently so there’s nothing to post for today.

30 Day Challenge – Day 12

* How you found out about Blogger and why you made one *

I really don’t remember how I found out about Blogger but I’ve had two more blogs here which I don’t remember anymore because I haven’t been updating them as frequently as this one. With many other sites offering free service, I must say that Blogger is the easiest to tinker with. I am yet to discover how Wordpress and Livejournal works but for now, I’m gonna stick with Blogger.

30 Day Challenge – Day 11

* Another picture of you and your friends *

 

My college buddies. This picture was taken in August 2009 when we met up for a reunion after 7 long years.

30 Day Challenge – Day 10

* Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad *

I love listening to music. A day won’t pass without me listening to my fave radio stations or mp3s. So to answer today’s challenge here are the songs I listen to when I’m:

 

“Happy” – Charice’s Pyramid

 

“Sad” – Vonda Shephard’s I Only Want to be with You

 

“Bored” – Owl City’s Fireflies

 

“Hyped” – Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance

“Mad” – Paramore’s Misery Business

 

 

 

30 Day Challenge – Day 09

* Something you’re proud of in the past few days *

On my previous post  for the Day 08 challenge, I said that part of my short term goals would be to do the laundry and ironing.  Yesterday, I started with our laundry right after I posted my short term goals and today I ironed all of hubby’s clothes that need ironing. I’m proud that I’ve accomplished at least two of those goals and that I’m back to being a domesticated wife to hubby. Proud but tired so I might hit the covers earlier tonight. At least hubby won’t say I’ve been neglecting him. :)

30 Day Challenge – Day 08

* Short term goals for this month and why *

• Do the laundry (at least the small items) and iron hubby’s clothes – I haven’t been doing the laundry and ironing for months now due to the pregnancy and hubby even had to wear wrinkled clothes to work sometimes. I’m just lucky to have a supportive MIL who does our laundry and ironing when she’s here in Manila.
• Walk as a form of exercise. Everybody needs to exercise especially me now that my feet are starting to swell. I was advised against this by my OB because of the mild contractions I’ve been having the past few days but I’m hoping she’ll give me the go signal when we come in on my next prenatal check up.
• Eat less rice and more fruits. This is so I won’t gain too much weight and won’t have a hard time come labor day.
• Minimize my online hours. I’m online for 2-3 hours every morning and then again every evening for 3-4 hours. I’d like to minimize this just to save on the electricity bill.
• Stop fretting about my stretch marks. Even before they appeared I was very vocal to hubby that I don’t want to see stretch marks on my thighs and tummy. I’ve been doing some preventive maintenance by rubbing Palmer’s lotion but then the marks still appeared. I make a face every time I see them in the mirror but this I have to stop ‘coz as they say, “Stretch marks are a mom’s badge of honor.”

30 Day Challenge – Day 07

* A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you *

I took this photo during a trip to Puerto Galera in 2005. I got up early the day we were headed back to Manila to take some photos of the place and these three boys kept on following me. I ignored them thinking they would be asking for money. I had to hide my embarrassment when one of them said, “Ate, kodakan mo kami”. All they really wanted was to have their picture taken and imagine their delight when they saw their faces on the screen of my digicam. These kids made me realize that not everyone is how we perceive them to be so it would be wise not to pass judgment so easily.

30 Day Challenge – Day 06

* Favorite super hero and why *

I was never a fan of superheroes but if I am to choose just one then I’ll go for the most popular Superman only because he’s shy when he’s Clark Kent, he’s always been in love with Lois Lane and as he is traditionally described - “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound”.

30 Day Challenge – Day 05

* A picture of somewhere you’ve been to *

 

These were taken at the Caleruega Transfiguration Chapel in Nasugbu, Batangas. Hubby and I went there during our honeymoon in May 2009. It has been a long travel just to get to this place but we never minded the long drive and the almost deserted, bumpy road leading to the church as it's all worth it. The place is very serene and very beautiful, the church resting on top of a hill overlooking some mountains and valleys with greeneries everywhere. It definitely is worth the long travel and I wish we could visit again hopefully with our little Johan Matthew in tow.

30 Day Challenge – Day 04

* A habit that you wish you didn’t have*

I wish I could stop myself from biting my nails. It usually happens when I’m thinking hard and then I realize that I’ve been biting my nails unconsciously.  It has stopped when I started putting nail polish on my nails but since getting pregnant and not being able to put some polish on I noticed that this annoying habit has returned.

30 Day Challenge – Day 03

A picture of me and my friends. I was trying to search for a graduation picture so I could post it here but I could not remember who posted the photos in Facebook so I’m putting this one instead.

This was taken (I think) in 2001 when our class went for a field trip in Subic.  We never lost communication over the years and still meet up from time to time for coffee. Me and two of my friends even go to the same OB-Gyne. From left to right: Precious, Maricar, Abigail, Lloyd, Cherrylou, Myra and myself.

 

30 Day Challenge – Day 02

Today is about the meaning behind my Blogger name. I started this blog on February of 2009 when Hubby and I finalized our plans to get married. I wanted to document everything as I plan to be a hands-on bride to be. I’ve considered a lot of Blogger names but then I thought since we were getting married that time my inspiration is mostly “us” – how committed we are to each other, what our relationship mean to us and what we’re looking forward to in the years to come. Hence the birth of: 

30 Day Challenge - Day 01

Just so I won't be called a slacker, I'm starting the 30 Day Challenge today. Day 01 is about me posting a recent photo of myself and stating 15 interesting facts about moi.

So here goes:

This photo was taken during my friends’ wedding last May.

15 Interesting Facts about Myself: 

1. I’m scared of cats. I’m not sure where this came from but I am. There was even a time during college when one of my classmates put a kitten beside me and I was so scared I cried and did not talk to that classmate for days.
2. I’m such a clumsy person. I almost always had to put myself in an embarrassing situation by falling down the stairs of the LRT, my previous office’s stairs with the contents of my bag all over the place, slipping on a wet floor – getting up and slipping again. Yeah, I’m funny that kind of way.
3. I’m a sucker for corny Filipino romance-comedies. Like the Sarah Geronimo-John Lloyd Cruz movies kind. They’re funny in a cheesy kind of way and they do have some “kilig” moments. It’s embarrassing to admit but yes I watch them over and over again.
4. I used to be so against getting pregnant not because I don’t want kids but it’s the difficulty of carrying the baby for nine months and still had to endure the pain of labor and delivery. The nine months are tolerable to say the least but I’m still not sure about the labor and delivery. To say that I’m super scared is a HUGE understatement.
5. I multi-task a lot. Like right now as I’m writing this, I am also watching Legally Blondes while chatting with my husband and a college friend on Yahoo Messenger. Not to mention checking my pastries at Facebook’s Baking Life.
6. I rarely go to the salon to have my nails done for fear that the nail attendant will miss when removing an ingrown toenail and I end up with swollen toes. I just go to the salon prior to a special event but not on regular visits because I end up getting stressed out instead of getting relaxed.
7. I am a cry baby. I cry over the littlest of things that makes my husband exasperated at times. I used to cry while doing the laundry and when hubby asks me to cook which I lack the talent big time.
8. I’m compulsive in a lot of ways. Buying is one, even if an item is not needed but I ended up buying still – like a couple (or more) eye shadows that I just threw the other day because they reached their expiration dates without being used or that Guess leopard printed blouse still tucked at the back of my cabinet still waiting for that “special event”. It’s on sale, btw, hence the reason why I bought an animal printed blouse. (Yeah, yeah)
9. I like not-so-usual food combinations. I used to bring lunch when I was still working. It was usually sweet ham and rice but what’s unusual is that I add sliced cheese while the rice is still hot and then I put in coffee as “sabaw”. Weird, huh? Another combo is Skyflakes and coffee. I snap the Skyflakes into tiny pieces and put ‘em in my coffee ala cornflakes in milk. This one I got from my Lola.
10. I am a cheapskate or for a nicer description “a smart consumer”. I buy secondhand books from Booksale, I welcome hand-me-downs from my cousin with open arms and I’ve bought some of my shoes and dresses from my “suki” in Divisoria. I know this is conflicting with Number 8 where I said I am compulsive. Well, I guess you could call me a compulsive cheapskate.
11. I can spend hours and hours at the mall without buying anything but for sure I would be eating. I can visit every boutique and browse the shelves at Booksale without having to buy but I cannot resist the aroma of Turk’s Shawarma or Hen Lin Siopao or my fave Mango-Banana Fruitas shake or my most recent find a cold cup of Scramble.
12. I was never a junk food fan. I might dig my fingers on some if there’s one available but you will rarely see me put chips on my grocery cart. It might be due to my mom’s constant reminder while I was growing up and according to her “nakakabobo ang chichirya”. Of course, we don’t want to end up dim witted, do we?
13. An officemate used to bring a bottle of Efficacent Oil to work and massage some on her temples or tummy whichever is aching and I wrinkle my nose every time I get a whiff of the oil. Back home, whenever my back is aching my mom massages me using what else, the ever reliable Efficacent Oil and it doesn’t bother me as much. She even bought a bottle for me a few weeks back and I use it to massage my already swollen legs. Yes, I do like Efficacent Oil.
14. I love doing crafts, designing invites and multiply lay-outs. I saved loads of money by making most of our wedding paraphernalia myself, I earned a few bucks from my multiply lay-outs and invites and I have a drawer filled with boxes of different sizes and shapes that I did myself.
15. I lose track of time a lot of times. Especially in the company of friends, while reading a good book, watching a movie or if I become too engrossed with what I am doing. Like now. I think told hubby I’m going to bed 20 minutes ago and here I am still typing away.

Now, that one took longer than I thought. Day 01 accomplished.

30 Day Challenge

Everyday is a struggle in search for blog topics especially if you are, like me, just bummin' around at home unable to go out following doctor's orders. So, it's such a relief to find this 30 Day Challenge post by Chevy Mae of Candy May Be. I just hope I could follow through with this one as there are some days that I'm just too lazy to even get up from the bed. Here's the list:

Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your Blogger name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogger and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Who are you?