TOPAZ HORIZON

I am still alive. Spent the last 13 days...

... having a wonderful party with my high school friends Tatin, Stephanie and May
... exploring the walkways in Makati with Vince and resolving to exercise more because, dammit, those stairs took our breath away!
... paying for overdue bills!!!
... opening a checking account because I will no longer use credit cards and will instead pay with checks! NO TO HSBC CREDIT CARDS! The damn bank refused to reverse the charges.
... cleaning the house for the Real Living photo shoot
... having a great time at the Real Living shoot, the staff of which taught me how to arrange flowers and how to arrange our shoe collection
... going to my stylist Louis Kee at his fantabulous uber posh new salon and getting a sexy haircut, great new color and highlights, a terrific hair treatment, and an hour-long massage... bliss!
... buying new bedsheets at SM Makati with Vince
... and trying to avoid all the malls (unsuccessfully, too) because of all the sales! Imagine that--pretty dresses, fab shoes, great books, discount furniture, and a lot more!

That's it. Just checking in while I catch my breath!

... because in a few days, our home will be the subject of a photoshoot for Real Living magazine! I've always said that I live in a beautiful home, and the editors seem to agree because they've scheduled the home feature already. But over the long holiday, as I've been busy tidying up, I worry that my house isn't ready yet. For one thing, I don't have lamps. The walls need more pictures. The living room needs a statement chair. The foyer needs a console table. The bedroom needs a slipper chair, side tables and new sheets. I need to buy flowers and fruits. And I'm thinking my bathroom needs new faucets. Vince's bathroom has these cute ceramic faucets. Mine, well I chose my bath fixtures to be simple and functional, not for any design merit.

I promised I'd blog about it so before 2008 is done and I forget entirely... here it is!


The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is marvelous. Absolutely the best hotel I've stayed in in my entire life (see my TripAdvisor review). My darling husband and his sister, Lizelle, were bemused. Liz said, "Vince, you have to take her to Vegas!" And Vince teased me: "You're so easily impressed." Grrr.


I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and as I washed my hands, I can't help but feel a shiver at the mirror-mirror-on-the-wall and its eight faces. I'm not posting all their carved faces here but can you name all Seven Dwarfs?
This will sound silly but when I saw Cinderella (my favorite Disney character when I was a kid), I kinda melted. Vince told me to get a picture but I got shy. Argh.
We totally enjoyed the trip because we were all complete. Actually, we were all kinda dreading the trip. Imagine 6 young and very excited kids, a huge park... But we all had an amazing time! I loved how the kids loved it. Their excitement really rubbed off on me.
There were more than these three, I assure you. I took a lot of photos, squealing each time I found a Hidden Mickey. Finally Vince said, "You have more photos of those than of us!"
A lot of people complain that HK Disneyland, being on Lantau Island, is in the middle of nowhere. While it is indeed in the middle of nowhere, it's very easy to get there. A special MTR will get you from the city to la-la land in no time at all.

Ooops! Funnily enough, I don't have enough pictures of the park itself! I was wondering about that until I remembered I didn't like lugging about a big camera while on the rides so we left it in our room. The ones here are on the last day of our trip.

Oh, I had so much fun, I still can't believe it. Vince says HK Disneyland is nothing compared to the one in California, for example. I don't care! I'm planning to go back in the summer!

There you have it! Whew, this post tired me out, and I didn't even put up all the pictures! Anyway, this should be enough for you, dear readers, till after the New Year's celebrations! From our home to yours, we wish you a 2009 filled with joy, peace, love, friendship, wisdom, adventure... and magic!