Lavender & Coffee Stains

Dear Me,

Not really a real manic Monday for me but here goes:


What is the sexiest part of the body?
~~ Having a baby and the tons of chocolates I had and continuously devouring, that only leaves me my eyes. Hehehe. :)


If you kissed a frog, who would you like it to turn into?
~~ Hmm. Mulling about this right now, that would have to be an all-around sports guy who can teach me all the sports I would love to engage myself into. Someone like Marc Nelson...Hehehe.


What do you have stuck up on your refrigerator right now?
~~ A couple of magnets and a menu pad!


Join the fun here.

Have a pleasant week!

Dear Me,

It's another bright Saturday morning. The sun is high up already and I'll be otherwise engaged in one major house chore: tackling our dirty laundry. My regular companions for the day: our washing machine, Ariel detergent, a drum of water, buckets and basin and of course, our soiled, filthy clothes. Sheesh.


Here's my HIGH theme for today:


I've been a mountain trekker for years so what do you expect? Hehehe. *winks* I can't think of anything except this when the word 'HIGH' is mentioned. For me, high = mountain.

And so the photo above is a shot of the majestic highest mountain in the Philippines and the second (2nd) highest peak in Southeast Asia.

Situated in the island of Mindanao, Mt. Apo towers at 2,966 meters with a vast area of 70,000 + hectares of mossy tropical forest, exotic flora & fauna, flowing rivers, streams and waterfalls. It is also home to the endangered Philippine Eagle.


And so I was able to climb the country's highest peak amidst physical difficulty, nature's assault and human drama (secret...hehehe).

I took this shot for I was standing there with the clouds, hugging me to warm me from the growing cold.

I also took this shot as the sun retired to its abode to remind me that there's another new day, another trek to each and everyone's trail of life. :)


Want to join the Saturday fun? Participate and grab the code here!

View more Saturday Photohunters!

Dear Me,

For the past three (3) days, Miguel has kept us awake till the super wee hours of the morning rendering us disoriented throughout the day. Hubby goes to work while I do some house chores while Miguel sleeps soundly, catching up with his deprived slumber.

So for the first time, Miguel and I stayed in our bedroom the whole time.

While he was deep in his dream land, I was busy tidying up our cluttered room.



Folding the clean laundry, arranging my books in a neat pile off the shelves (it's already full), picking up the stuff strewn down in the floor, putting things in their rightful places, etc.

Well, it was a productive day for I was able to do a couple of tasks. :)

Like being silently compensated for having a day such as that, hubby arrived with food and a surprise. :) He had a take-home dinner from McDo: a chicken rice meal and my all-time fave, their regular yum burger. His surprise: two (2) more Margaret Truman paperbacks in addition to my growing book collection of this former First Daughter of the White House (US)-cum-Washington author. :)


Retiring through the night in between feeding Miguel at odd hours, I kept myself awake reading Life, Italian Style: Quotes And Quips From Notable Italian Americans authored by Erica Merino.


It's a lovely book, I tell you. It's a collection of chic and smart one-liners and insights of famous Italian Americans about the diverse aspects of human life.

Italians? They're such a distinct race from the continent of Europe. I love their unique heritage for they celebrate life with zest and passion.

I'm halfway through this and I'm enjoying it. Check this book out! :)

Dear Me,

It's TGIF once again! Another refreshing weekend in the works. :)


Appetizer - What does the color dark green make you think of?

Dark green reminds me of fresh tall grass found in the mountain trail (while mountainclimbing) early in the morn.

Dark green also reminds me of lush fields of the countryside.

Dark green also reminds me of my #1 fruit, avocado. :)


Soup - How many cousins do you have?

I really have countless direct cousins from both sides of the family tree. I can probably count those in my father's side but in the mother's side, that's kinda hard. They're scattered all over and haven't really met them all.


Salad - On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?

How honest am I? When I was younger, I tend to lie a lot for I was such a naughty, wicked girl. Hehehe. Then, I made a promise to myself to lay low in lying. I was successful, I think. But then, there are times I have to do the proverbial occasional white lie.

Rating my lying ability, I guess that would be a nine (9). But since we are referring to how honest I am, that would be an eight (8). Hmm. :)


Main Course - Name something that is truly free.

Everyone is free to love, be loved and be happy. :)


Dessert - Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence.

Some People Really Inspires Nostalgic Glory. Hmm.


Links to other Friday's Feast diners!

Dear Me,

Here's my 2nd edition of Wordless Wednesday.


my boy and his toy

Check out the new Wordless Wednesday HQ!

View More Wordless Wednesday Participants here.

Dear Me,

I'll be heading to the post office anytime this week so I decided to prep the stuff I'm planning to mail - that would be a couple of postcards for my friends and some books mooched from me via Bookmooch.

Click here to get the banner code and start tackling.
I was planning to do all the preps the other day but since Miguel had been so restless during the daytime, I had to put it off.

It has been my predilection to gather/pile all the things I will use in one place before I literally sit down on it to accomplish the task.

And so it looked like this:

a heap of books, green box containing my postcard collection, stuff like scissors, glue and tape, new envelopes, recyclable plastics and bubble wraps

Sitting in the floor, I was a little messy - stuff strewn around me.



The books which are mooched from me via Bookmooch are the first to go. Everytime I will send out books, I include small notes in stationeries that will go in the package. Then, I will wrap them in plastic to avoid getting wet while in transit towards its destination. Afterwards, I'll enclose them in thick envelopes, write the contact information of the recipients.

Just today, I decided to do some recycling. Instead of buying all the time, I was informed that I could still utilize those envelopes and bubble wraps from the packages I had received before. At first, I was against it but then, I got the idea of being environment-friendly and pocket-friendly (hehehe). And so, I used them and they looked pretty decent to me. :)

Next, the postcards. I mentioned before that I'm into Postcrossing. I'm out to send five (5) postcards to someone in Taiwan, Finland, France, the Netherlands and USA. I have some stamps (not only do I collect postcards, I'm also starting to collect stamps) with me so I made the initiative of sticking them in my postcards.

The output of my endeavor:


I also organized these recyclables for my next use. :)


The over-all result:


Mind you, I had fun. All throughout the task, Miguel was sleeping soundly in his crib. I was able to sweep the floor after tidying up. :)


To join: kindly add the meme's banner by simply copying and pasting the code into your tackle it post and/or link back to http://www.5minutesformom.com so that folks can find other participants. Then add your url to the "Mr. Linky" at the bottom of the current "Tackle It Tuesday" post at 5 Minutes For Mom and leave a comment.

P.S. Remember your projects can be big or small. We are all so busy I know (especially on long weekends.) That is why we left certain tasks undone in the first place. So if you only have fifteen minutes to tackle something - No Worries! For example, you could find a drawer or a shelf in your house that needs some attention and then celebrate the order that you have restored in that little part of your world. Many weeks my projects will be just small steps in the greater goal of gaining control of my house.

Also, tackles are not limited to housework. Any task you need to accomplish can qualify for Tackle It Tuesday.

We're making housework blog-able!

To learn more about this meme, click over here.
View More Tackle It Tuesday Participants.
Come and join the fun! :)

Dear Me,

I thought of doing this long ago and now here it is: She Says, He Says.

The idea is that any of these: a question, fill in the blank, multiple choices, photo or a writing prompt will be posted here. Express your thoughts in your blog and feel free to leave a link to your blog with your answers when you're done. Anyone can hop in and join the fun every Tuesday! =)

Do grab the button and host it up in your own photo hosting site. :)



What would put a smile on your face?

• my baby's innocent, smiling face,
  
• my baby's giggles
  
• a warm tight hug
  
• being holed up in a bookstore for hours
  
• the aroma of a steaming brewed coffee early in the morning
  
• of course, my 1st cup of caffeine kick for the day
  
• splurging on books
  
• a new bag
  
• my favorite Hershey, Cadbury chocolate bar
  
• going to the post office and mailing letters/postcards/parcels
  
• malling with the family

At the moment, these are the reasons that paint a smile on my face.

So, what makes you happy these days?

Hope you can share your answers in your blog and leave a link here. See yah! :)

Dear Me,

As I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for lists. :D I love striking one item after another off the list till they're all gone. It gives me a sense of gratification and pride to see that almost everything in my list has been ironed out.

my various lists headed in the trash
I create a list for everything albeit, I don't keep them for long. I will make one and throw it as soon as I'm done with it. But then, there are some lists that are ought to be kept and maintained. These lists may entail short-term and long-term plans.

Meantime, here's a list of things I have a list for:

• Things To Do (weekly, monthly)
  
• Grocery Shopping
  
• Books especially TBRs
  
• Things To Pack/Bring When Mountain Climbing
  
• Places To Go
  
• Travel Itineraries
  
• Mountains To Climb
  
• Movies To Watch
  
• Birthday List
  
• Gift List For The Holidays
  
• Mailing Addresses
  
• Lifetime Goals
  
• Tasks/Deadlines To Beat (when I was still in the corporate world)

For now, I am just about to make a category lists of everything. Then later, I'll decide which lists are for keeps and which ones are for trash. :)

And because I'm a list lover, I love books that has something to do with lists. Currently, I have this book (which I haven't finished reading yet): Lists to Live By: The Second Collection by Alice Gray. I mooched this copy from BM member Patricia.

I'm coveting the following list-related books either from book stores, yard sales or book swaps.

• To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us by Sasha Cagen
  
• Lists to Live By: The First Collection by Alice Gray
  
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List by Patricia Schultz
  
• Unforgettable Things to Do Before You Die by Steve Watkins

Creating a list, accomplishing them and scratching them off make everything fun. For me, it's a hobby. :)

Are you a list person, too? What do you list down in your list/s? :) Care to share and post away!

Dear Me,

He just turned another year older today. :)


To my dear brother, here's a toast for you on this special day of yours!

Although we're miles apart, we're sending you warm thoughts and wishes. The bond we share will always be strong even when you're not here with the family. It is our prayer that this life brings you many blessings in your future and good things come your way. May God grant you the power of His love and guidance!

Link: http://www.paulsadowski.com/NameData.asp

There are 7 letters in your name.
Those 7 letters total to 30.
There are 2 vowels and 5 consonants in your name.


What your first name means: Teutonic Female Free.
Latin Female From France or 'free one.' Feminine of Francis. Famous bearers: British novelist Frances Burney and actress Frances Kemble.


Your number is: 3

The characteristics of #3 are: Expression, verbalization, socialization, the arts, the joy of living.

The expression or destiny for #3:
An Expression of 3 produces a quest for destiny with words along a variety of lines that may include writing, speaking, singing, acting or teaching; our entertainers, writers, litigators, teachers, salesmen, and composers. You also have the destiny to sell yourself or sell just about any product that comes along. You are imaginative in your presentation, and you may have creative talents in the arts, although these are more likely to be latent. You are an optimistic person that seems ever enthusiastic about life and living. You are friendly, loving and social, and people like you because you are charming and such a good conversationalist. Your ability to communicate may often inspire others. It is your role in life to inspire and motivate; to raise the spirits of those around you.

The negative side of number 3 Expression is superficiality. You may tend to scatter your forces and simply be too easygoing. It is advisable for the negative 3 to avoid dwelling on trivial matters, especially gossip.


Your Soul Urge number is: 6

A Soul Urge number of 6 means:
With a number 6 Soul Urge, you would like to be appreciated for your ability to handle responsibility. Your home and family are likely to be a strong focus for you, perhaps the strongest focus of your life. Friendship, love, and affection are high on your list of priorities for a happy life. You have a lot of diplomatic tendencies in your makeup, as you a able to rectify and balance situations with an innate skill. You like working with people rather than by yourself. It is extremely important for you to have harmony in your environment at all times.

The positive side of the 6 Soul Urge produces a huge capacity for responsibility; you are always there and ready to assume more than your share of the load. If you possess positive 6 Soul Urges and express them, you are known for your generosity, understanding and deep sympathetic attitude. Strong 6 energy is very giving of love, affection, and emotional support. You may have the inclination to teach or serve your community in other idealistic ways. You have natural abilities to help people. You are also likely to have artistic and creative leanings.

If you have an over-supply of 6 energy in your makeup, you may express some of the negative traits common to this number. With such a strong sympathetic attitude, it is easy to become too emotional. Sometimes the desires to render help can be over done, and it can become interfering and an attitude that is too protective, rather than helpful. The person with too much 6 energy often finds that people tend to take advantage of this very giving spirit. You may tend to repress your own needs so that you can cater to the demands from others. At times, there may be a tendency in this, for becoming over-loaded with such demands, and as a result become resentful.


Your Inner Dream number is: 6

An Inner Dream number of 6 means:
You dream of guiding and fostering the perfect family in the perfect home. You crave the devotion from offspring and a loving spouse. You picture yourself in the center of a successful domestic unit.

Dear Me,

I don't actually believe in stuff like this but sometimes, they do hit the right note about a lot of things depicting yours truly. In a scale of 10, I think this comes close to a 9.

Do tell, what does your name means and how true is it for you? :)

Dear Me,

It's been eleven (11) days of not blogging despite being online everyday. I was too preoccupied checking/reading emails and cleaning my inboxes, surfing/reading sensible and interesting sites. :)

I haven't finished de-cluttering my inboxes yet for it is such a daunting task if you're just going to do it in one sitting all throughout the day. Boring, actually.

Anyway, I remembered it's a Saturday and thought of her.

This is my 10th time to participate TNChick's Photohunt.


Started by her in March 2006, the Photohunt would present a theme every Saturday. Participants should post a photo that best represents the theme. Photos should come from the participant's personal collection and those not snitched from the web.


Some of my favorite fashion accessories.

I love those two (2) pairs of metal dangling earrings. The stones are colored in pink and the other in white. I rarely don it for fear that Carlos Miguel may harm himself since I carry him frequently.

This metal bracelet with purple stones was given to me as a holiday present by my sister-in-law when she came in Manila for a visit. I love this, too, because it sports my favorite color.

So tell me, what's your metal theme for today? :)

To participate in this Photohunt, please get the code.

View more Saturday Photohunters!

Dear Me,

Having been a regular lurker of 5 Minutes For Mom, I found myself succumbing (for the very first time) to this Tuesday meme called Tackle It Tuesday.

This meme is definitely apt for me, considering I'm what you may call a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom). Being a house mom absolutely includes working around the house (obviously...hehehe) and getting those chores done. Some tasks may not also be limited to household chores but also to some projects or errands in my to-do list.

I think participating in this meme will be fun and make house work a little more exciting. Don't you think so? :)


To start off, I'm posting these after-photos of what was supposed to be a bare wall. With the thought of my baby, Carlos Miguel, growing up and in the stages of being curious and interested about his surroundings, I urged my hubby that we bought colorful, educational posters and mount them off our wall in the bedroom.

The results:



To join: kindly add the meme's banner by simply copying and pasting the code into your tackle it post and/or link back to http://www.5minutesformom.com so that folks can find other participants. Then add your url to the "Mr. Linky" at the bottom of the current "Tackle It Tuesday" post at 5 Minutes For Mom and leave a comment.

P.S. Remember your projects can be big or small. We are all so busy I know (especially on long weekends.) That is why we left certain tasks undone in the first place. So if you only have fifteen minutes to tackle something - No Worries! For example, you could find a drawer or a shelf in your house that needs some attention and then celebrate the order that you have restored in that little part of your world. Many weeks my projects will be just small steps in the greater goal of gaining control of my house.

Also, tackles are not limited to housework. Any task you need to accomplish can qualify for Tackle It Tuesday.

We're making housework blog-able!

To learn more about this meme, click over here.
View More Tackle It Tuesday Participants.
Come and join the fun! :)

Dear Me,

It isn't too late to join. Yehey! :)

I have been meaning to hop in the fun the moment I signed in months ago. But I just seem not to remember making this post.


5 Minutes For Mom, a fab site for moms, is hosting The Ultimate Blog Party beginning March 7-14. Jump in, have fun and best of all, meet new people! :)

Sounds exciting, isn't it?

Anyway, welcome to this side of my world as I participate in this blog party.

Call me Ivan Girl and I'm currently a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) to my 1st baby named Carlos Miguel. He just turned five (5) months. :)

I love to write stuff, diary-style. I used to have notebooks turned to journals when I was younger. So when I discovered the fun of blogging online, I joined the throngs of bloggers out there beginning 2003.

Being a personal blog, nobody should expect anything less than this. It's all about me and my world. I love a lot of stuff. I love to do a lot of things. I love to go places. And in this blog, one will bumped into tidbits about my sentiments (happy thoughts, solitary musings, insane rantings), love for reading and books in general, itchy feet for travelling, exploring nature and the outdoors by mountainclimbing, compulsive need to forever have a taste of coffee, chocolate, french fries/potato chips, inherent desire to frequently visit bookshops, have coffee and chat with good friends and learn a new thing or two in any way I can.

Ultimate dream: to be a happy, contented person and celebrating the fullness of life with my parents, siblings, hubby and baby. :)



PS. It's a week long party of meeting new bloggers, reading interesting blogs and a chance to snag fabulous prizes and giveaways! So what are you waiting for? *winks*

Dear Me,

I've laid low from jotting the keys of my laptop for three (3) weeks I think. I just seem not to find the time to sit down, relax and take off the thoughts off my head and transmit them here.

I'm back. Sort of.

Anyway, it's been two (2) hours since the clock ticked midnight and it's another new day: a Thursday.

A round of Thursday Thirteen to jumpstart my almost-dull life online. :)




Thirteen Things On Top Of My Head

1. Flattered and touched (emotionally, ok) by Jon for considering me a close friend as he posted and celebrated his blog's 5th anniversary.
   
   
2. I haven't claimed my new atm savings account card. It's been more than a month, I guess.
   
   
3. Gratitude/appreciation to Emmyrose, Pinay Mommy Ruby, Trinity for the blog awards galore; to Rosemarie, Wifespeak for the tags they shared with me.
   
   
4. I'm overwhelmingly ecstatic when I received a 5-digit cheque for my maternity reimbursement via mail.
   
   
5. I'll be sending a birthday card for my brother Jeff overseas. He's turning 26 this month.
   
   
6. I'm planning of making a scrapbook for my brother for his birthday and mail it to him overseas. But I learned that he's going home soon for a vacation so I decided that it will be better to give it to him personally as a "going-away" present when he leaves.
   
   
7. Received my renewed HSBC Mabuhay Miles credit card.
   
   
8. Thinking that I've been so hard of myself and feeling emotionally deprived of something, I splurged on books. It felt like heaven. :)
   
   
9. Speaking of books, I *heart* Margaret Truman as a first-rate murder mystery writer. Hubby has been completing my collection. :)
   
   
10. About books again, I was kind of disappointed when my request to do a particular book review (it's a baby book) was rejected (despite the fact that it's for free). It was because they couldn't ship that book to me from the Americas. *sigh*
    
    
11. Am I such a late bloomer? Would you believe that it's only now that I get to see American Idol? Before, I didn't understand the fuss why some people go loco over it and didn't care if they do. Lately, I've been waiting for it on QTV beginning Wednesday till Friday.
    
    
12. Yeah, yeah. I'm becoming a fan of some Tagalized-dubbed telenovelas: Korean and Taiwanese. Hmm. I'm actually having fun. :)
    
    
13. My adorable 1st-born, Miguel, just turned five (5) months yesterday. He's growing so fast. :)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It's easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants