All Sunny and Happy

I love how the sun illuminates my porch and the whole of my room. The light and warmth the sunlight brings must be God’s way of reminding me to start the day right by having a grateful heart.  Indeed, there is so much to be thankful for and a sunny morning as beautiful as this (I know my pictures don’t give justice. Forgive me.) is one of the countless.  

So here’s the key: To start your day happy, no matter how tough your night was, and that includes crying yourself to sleep for whatever reason you have, thank God for anything, for the simple joys that make you smile or for the trials that drive you insane, but undeniably stronger; just anything.  Keep a heart full of gratitude. And I assure you, your day will turn out relaxed and fuss free.  Wanna bet? ;) 

Ipad Sold! And Something Else.

Today I sold my ipad. Thank God I was able to sell it easily and quickly. This means I am surely getting an ipad2. Yey! But somehow, I am missing my ipad. It has served its purpose really well. Talk about using it as an effective therapy material for my kids at work, my source of fun when I’m all bored waiting for something in offices and malls, my library, my planner , my diary and so many other functions put into one gorgeous piece of a gadget. I am no gadget and neat freak but I know I took care of it in the best way I know how. No regrets on that. But a little part of me wishes I should have maximized it more. By this, I mean using it to the fullest and not missing out its other exciting features. Okay, I sound like I’m an advocate for an ipad-for-everyone world.  Oh well, now that someone else owns it, the least thing I can do is hope that the new owner will take care of it and will see its value more than I did.

On another note, a realization not contingent; but not totally unrelated hit me. The cliché “You’ll miss me when I’m gone” is really true.  I was reminded to value who I have more in my life while they’re still there, and before it’s too late. To over deliver and to give what I can, without of course, compromising what is right, for the people I love. It’s just sad that sometimes being too busy or worrying too much about the future gets in the way and in turn bruises relationships. Come to think of it, we only pass this way once; therefore, relationships should be cultivated and nourished first before anything else, because at the end of it all, money, prestige, investments, power, etc. will not make us happy. It is the people we love and the happy memories shared with them that will last a lifetime. 

Survived One Month of Shopping Hiatus

This blog will simply narrate how a shopaholic survived one 

month of not shopping anything at all.

To give you a background, I have the tendency to buy pretty stuff, clothes and shoes mostly out of impulse. Either  I randomly go to the mall, and get anything that attracts my fancy, or  I  surf the net for online shops which make me submit order forms in a flash. In fact, I bring with me a tape measure wherever I go just so I can immediately compare the dimensions of the clothes i check out online with my own body measurements. i know, i'm kinda weird. Shopping has become my vice. I keep on buying even if i have more than enough shoes (following the 7 days a week need to wear shoes scheme.haha) and even if some of my clothes have not seen sunlight yet!

Last September, I suddenly thought of calculating my month's shopping expense. And to my surprise, it constituted more than 50% of my monthly pay. How  wasteful of me! I then contemplated about ways to counter this vice. Fortunately, during one of my nocturnal insomniac mode, I wrote down my goals and plans for 2011. There i realized that my goals will not come into reality without adequate cash funds. (my goals are still too private to divulge them here.). And so that's how my desire to stop unnecessary and impulse shopping grew. Every time, yes I'd like to emphasize this, every SINGLE time, I get attracted to a pretty thing, I just remember my goals. And then I am reminded how I can make use of my money better by saving it for that goal. Then, I visualize how much more I can shop once I acheive that goal than spend the cash and jeopardize what i want to achieve.

It's the first of November today. And I am proud to say that I did not spend a single penny for shoes or clothes or anything fancy and pretty the whole month of October. It feels very fulfilling knowing that my little sacrifice will pave way for the realization of a goal. One that will make my life and the lives around me better in the long run.

My Own Version Of Losing 13 Pounds In 3 Weeks

February 2010. I randomly thought of cutting rice from my diet just so I would know how it feels like. My rules were simple.

My meal was composed of a sumptuous viand (lutong pinoy meat viands ), fruits (mostly apples or grapes, bananas or oranges) and lots of water. I also had yogurt in between meals. Never had that "starving" moment as I usually gobbled on something healthy in between meals (no sweets. no softdrinks. Just.meat.and.fruits). 

I then thought of adding some spice into my whole endeavor. A day or two from starting the  "no-rice-but-don't-starve" diet, I spent 15-30 minutes using the elliptical exercise equipment. Initially, I did not have enough stamina to go beyond that. I had to stop, or I might have turned blue!  So my elliptical routine was composed of 5 minutes of slow movements, just like walking at the park followed by 3-5 minutes of fast movements like i was running chasing a snatcher (no, i did not experience that). :D  I repeated the cycle for about 30 minutes or less. Surprisingly, after approximately 10 days, I survived keeping my toes on the elliptical for 45 minutes to an hour. 

P.S. Watch a good TV show or a suspense/action movie OR play some Lady Gaga music while using the elliptical. The whole experience becomes more fun and less of a work. 

I did this when I was on a 3-month leave from work. That means I should have gained more weight during that time. Obviously, I did not. After weighing a day before my flight back to the Philippines, I got so excited with the results! From weighing 45 kilos (99 pounds) 3 weeks back, that day I weighed 39 kilos (86 pounds). Suhweet! At least, I figured out what works for me. 

And that's it.  How i was able to do it daily and religiously for 3 weeks? I simply challenged myself. I wanted to know if I'd accomplish something like it. Keywords: challenge, curiosity, discipline and mindset. 

To the cups of rice and to my beloved chocolates and candies, you will be on leave soon after the Christmas holidays. I'll miss you and till we meet again!

Dear Online Shopping Virgins,

(From an online seller's point of view)

1. Never purchase an item from a seller who ONLY accepts payments via G-Cash. Scammers are known for this. Yes, you can still settle payments via G-Cash. However, you need to make sure that the said seller ALSO accepts bank deposits and money transfers (as these have tougher policies in checking the receiver's identity) for settling payments.

2. In inquiring for an item's details (unit price, dimensions, shipping fee, how to order, etc.) send the seller a PRIVATE MESSAGE.There is a big possibility that the seller might not notice your inquiry among the hundred other inquiries. And it can be pretty annoying for others who were also tagged in the same photo.

3. Know that paying through money transfer agencies will cost you more. Money transfer fees can be a bit pricey especially if you'd send a relatively bigger amount. Bank deposits, those that don't charge another P50 for interbranch transactions, will spare you from added expenses.

4. In deciding to purchase an item, don't forget to include the shipping fee. Unless, the seller's making the sf free!

5. If an online shop has policies or FAQs page, read it before asking endless questions. Please spare the seller's time from answering your queries which are clearly explained already. Reading it beforehand, will save you time as well.

6. Make sure the photos are the onlineshop's, unless otherwise specified. Pixelated pictures may be copied pictures from someone else's page. Another thing scammers do.

7.  Having a "SOLD ITEMS album" and an "airway bill album" do not guarantee the onlineshop is for real. These photos may have been stolen from a certified seller only. And in online shopping, don't buy on impulse. This is one of the reasons why others get scammed. Explore the seller's albums, the info page, the wall (for some notes from other clients) FIRST.

8. Settle your payment ON or before the agreed date. The item you didnt pay for on time would have been given to a more responsible buyer.

9. After making the payment, inform the seller your COMPLETE payment details, especially for money trasfer transactions (complete name, address, correct money control number and the works).

10. Once shipped, ask for the tracking number from the seller. Sit back, relax, and wait for your item. Once the package's delivered, open it, enjoy, and online shop some more! haha!

Xoxo,
Just Another Online Seller and Shopper :))

Shorts Embellished

One chilly morning, I glanced at a sad looking shorts quietly sitting on my closet porch. :D It must have been waiting for me to notice his lonely life. So i got a needle, a thread and a pack of beads and started sewing on its blank surface. Few minutes later, the shorts finally started to look more alive than it has ever been. 

This one's still under repair though. I still have to think of a design that will match the already embellished side.

It will have to go back to its place for now. But for sure, this shorts will serve its purpose real soon. :-)

Foundation and concealer in one!

I have been sporting this puffy eyebags for quite some time now. My quest for a concealer to hide both my puffy and dark circles has come a long way. I've switched from one brand to another. Tried one tone or shade to another. Much for this failed quest, rather than actually masking my eyebags, these concealers actually highlight them! They make my eyebags look bigger and more powerful.haha! 

It was only maybelline new york's light ochre pure mineral healthy natural powder foundation (whew! That's a long one!) that hid my ever existing eyebags. It has become both my foundation and concealer. Just put thicker powder on the dark circles/eyebags, spread and brush it well, and voila, it works even better than all the concealers I've explored! Nah, this actually works best for me. Definitely getting another one to replenish my almost empty container.

Rat race: count me out!

To this date, I'm still not out from THE  famous rat race. Almost two years back, fresh from graduation, all I impulsively  wanted was to get a job (not that it's hard to get one considering my course), pay the bills, travel, help my family in whatever way I can, and shop! It's been almost two years since I got that. Then, I started getting tired of the mundane cycle, this rat race. I started wanting to not just work so I can pay bills (btw, my family was still helping me pay my OWN bills back in Manila) , not just drag myself out the bed, so I can save for an upcoming vacation. I started getting dissatisfied with being able to help my family with JUST any way I can, I want to help them get out of the rat race; the same way that I'm longing to be free from it also. I want to be financially free! Being rich and having more than enough money is not bad, as what most of us are accustomed to think, it is actually the LACK of it which makes it awful. It is nice to be able to donate school supplies to less fortunate kids because we have enough or a little extra moolah, but would it not be way nicer if we are able to send a child to school and train him to be financially literate? Someone with just enough or a little extra will not be able to do that easily than someone who is financially free. As I speak, my thirst for  financial freedom is just growing by the minute. I have so many BIG WHYS why I want to be one. You might doze off if i'd enumerate all of them here. My point is, it's not bad to want to be rich, to have that money just so we can help others more and better; it's the lack of it.Let's dream, act and grow. Think of your WHYS to fuel your desire in becoming financially free. Once you have those, the HOWS may just come in handy, if not, the pre-requisites in being able to think of HOWs no matter how challenging they may be, may just begin pouring like rain in the middle of a drought.