TOPAZ HORIZON

Actually, it's just one winner. Vanessa Arinsol won the Sunsilk Style Curls and Wave Bounce set. She won because she was the first who followed the rules. Never underestimate following instructions! Nhe, I emailed you about the prize details.

Twisted Halo also followed the rules but she also wanted the same set. Alas, Vanessa answered first. Twisted Halo, better luck next time!

Thanks everybody!

She's Galadriel, named after the elf queen in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. She's almost 7 years old, a grandma in rabbit years. This was taken two years ago, when she was perky and plump and fast. Yes, she's 2 feet long with a 17-inch waistline. Fat wabbit!

This was taken when she was first brought home. What a fist of fur! Oh, how she skidded about the parquet floors and nosed about every nook and cranny, jumped high over any obstacle, and basically was super adorable.

She's slow now, preferring to lie quietly in the sun. She still loves her cuddles though. When Vince and I are anywhere near, she'll hop slowly to our feet and nudge us, demanding to be petted and loved. And then we'll oblige of course and she will sit quietly, happily, content. I get sad sometimes, afraid that my darling baby will leave me, too, just like little Alice in the photos below, taken almost a year ago.


Oh, how we love our baby bunny! She's our darling dearest. Vince and I adore her to bits!

So I may be flabby and un-muscly, with weak eyesight and even weaker lungs but at least I know I have strong bones!

In keeping with the season's spooky themes, today's entry is about my skeleton. Yesterday at work, we had a bone density scanner machine. The scan would normally cost Php 4000 (USD 85) at hospitals but the service yesterday was free so we all lined up to look into our bones. I was afraid I'd have weak bones. Being lactose intolerant, I don't drink milk and avoid dairy. That's why I'm small (I'm a mere 5'4") and skinny (my wrists and ankles are the tiniest things). And I don't exercise so I know my bones aren't being reinforced by physical activity. So there I was dreading away.

But surprise, surprise! The machine read that my bones are actually okay! I scored a 1 (the scale was -2 to 2, -2 means you're extremely high risk for osteoporosis and 2 means your bones are strong and healthy). I got a 1! The bone analyst said my diet of green leafy veggies and fish supplies my calcium needs although he warns that if I plan to get preggers soon, I better up the calcium intake.

So that's my happy news today. Happy Halloween!

*image from Clipart Heaven

Or write in it actually. I'm from Manila and I speak Tagalog and I can't help but code-switch when I'm writing in this blog. Because I speak English better than Tagalog, this blog is mostly in English but I do have Tagalog expressions that leak into the posts. The Mother Tongue sometimes expresses it best. But when this SiteMeter report came in, I just knew it's time to say au revoir to my beloved Tagalog.

Yes, 62% of my readers are not from the Philippines. Hello to you all, readers and lurkers alike! Do tell me what the weather's like in your part of the world. Here in Manila, it's like a burning oven. Unbelievable how hot it is considering Christmas is just around the corner!

Oh, and may I remind you that I have a blog contest happening! I'm giving away two Sunsilk hair treatment gift packs. Join now!

This is for Mama who passed away exactly a month ago. I miss you dearly.



I don't believe in dwelling on things that I should've done, shouldn't have done because at that time, that was my truth and I needed to live that truth. I lived the way I lived and I did what I had to do to be happy, to grow up, to find me. Still, when the silence becomes deafening I can't help but feel sorry I put you aside so that I can be me.

I know I'm right where I belong
But sometimes when I'm not that strong
I wish I, wish I'd done a little bit more
Now shoulda woulda coulda means I'm out of time
Shoulda woulda coulda can't change your mind
And I wonder, I wonder what I'm gonna do
"Shoulda woulda coulda" are the last words of a fool.

Someone left a comment about how the "engagement-as-an-acne-cure story is cute" but he/she thinks I actually did use a product.

Well, dear curious reader, I was taking Yasmin. It's what my obstetrician-gynecologist prescribed for my endometriosis and what my dermatologist prescribed for my acne. I was so happy that two doctors told me to take the same thing to address two different conditions. Apparently, since my pimples were cystic and I had an endometrioma (or cyst) on my right ovary, then they are one and the same so one treatment can alleviate both. At least, that's the theory that worked happily in my case.

So that's the internal treatment. Now for the external. Rose, now my sister-in-law, got engaged around the same time and she had lovely glowing skin. She says she uses Olay Total Effects. I bought a jar et voila! Beautiful skin. I also happened to have had a few diamond peel sessions around this time.

So Yasmin, Olay Total Effects, diamond peels plus love equals clear skin!

Okay, I'm on a blogging roll. Might be gone next week because it's my magazine's deadly deadline week so I'm writing enough posts to keep you busy!

So as I published the last post, I wondered how on earth can I lose the fat when I'm already 15 pounds underweight? I honestly do not want to become anorexic. I've put a lot of veggies and fiber in my diet. I've also cut back on sugar and carbs. Of course, at meal times, everyone's worried about me! "Are you on some diet?!" they accuse. And I mumble, "Well, I'm trying to be healthy."

Can you believe I'm even beginning to be attracted to those diet pills on TV like Fitrum, Slenda and Phentermine? Maybe I'll just try it for a month and then supplement it with body-weight exercises to build muscle. Argh! This is so confusing and hard! I want to be healthy but I don't want to be super skinny!

I love contests. So when I found the Avalon.ph and Wifely Steps Moleskine Giveaway, well, I just had to join! The prize is a Moleskine notebook and although Vince and I already have Moleskine notebooks here (bought them from London!), we won't say no to one more.

All I have to do is answer this question: "What would you write in your Moleskine?"

Well, this is what I would write: All the things I can't write on my public blog! And that's a lot.

Though this blog is pretty much quite out there, believe me, there are a lot of things that are boiling up inside me that I don't write here. This used to be a very negative blog, full of ranting and raving and bitter hatred against the world. Most of the sources of resentment is imagined, I now think. This blog has caused some pretty big problems for me because I carelessly treated it as a diary where I poured out all my insecurities, anger, resentment, fears. And you know what? No one really likes reading nasty things.


So I cleaned up this blog, took down hurtful posts, and promised I'd write only silly and shallow things. My blog's readership almost immediately went up! While I'm glad I have new friends through this now-very-positive blog, that doesn't mean I'm all sunshine. A lot of things I'm now dealing with is Mama's death, my family's reconciliation, my very new marriage, my aging, my life! Some things are difficult to deal with or too joyful, too intimate to share to the world. And so when I get my Moleskine, I'll write all the things that happen in my private life so that I can deal better and make my public life be as sunshiny as it is.

Hey, in case we all forget, I have an ongoing contest myself! So few are joining. Do scroll down and join my Curly vs Straight Sunsilk Giveaway!

Okay, quick post. Woke up this morning and stared at the mirror. With absolute joy. My skin looks fabulous!

You can't imagine how something as silly as that gives me so much pleasure. I've had terrible cystic acne since I was 12 and I pretty much tried every acne treatment under the sun. I even took expensive pimple medication but the acne and the scars stayed till I was 30. So I never really liked looking at mirrors. Now, I do!

Maybe it's because my skin grew up or perhaps it's the years of hormone therapy I've been on (for my endometriosis). Whatever the reason I am oh so glad my skin has finally cleared up! Actually, my friends tease me that my skin's secret was my engagement. Yep, I got engaged December 2007. By January 2008, my skin was fantastic. Fancy that, eh?

We moved into our lovely condominium just over a year ago and everything is in place except for my own desk, a bed frame and a seriously wonderful shoe cabinet. The shoe cabinet has to be custom-built since Vince and I have a lot of shoes. That's the great thing about my husband--he'll gawk and complain when I shop for dresses and accessories and stuff, but when I come home with shoes and books, he is wonderfully supportive. That's our huge vice--books and shoes!

Anyway, I'm beginning to think my desk has to be custom-built, too. I have scoured the shops and markets and have not fallen in love with anything. Nothing!

I did see this photo from Spacify.com's section on computer desks and I think that's feasible. It's compact, simple and saves space. Maybe I'll just have the whole thing done in dark wood or a bright pink. A candy pink! Maybe a happy yellow! Or basic white. Gee, now that I've found a desk, I have to worry about the colors next. Sigh, it never ends...