TOPAZ HORIZON

Someone, impressed with my husband's gift-giving skills, asked me why I didn't blog about Vince's Christmas gift to me. Well, because by the time December and January came along, I was in the midst of that first trimester madness and totally forgot that my Christmas--despite all the morning sickness, sleepiness, fatigue, etc--was extremely happy and blessed!

So what did Vince give me for Christmas? Actually, we gave this to each other because we both wanted it and since it was kinda not cheap, we both decided it'll be perfect for us both! We got ourselves this:

Happiness! We totally love Rock Band 2! Super funnest game ever! Ya, I know the girls reading this are disappointed ("A video game? WTF?!") but you have to understand I'm a geek and I'm really good at some video games. That would make me every guy's dream girl, right? But Vince doesn't even want to play with me sometimes because I can get fiercely competitive. It's not about having fun for me, it's about annihilating the enemy (and if you're the other guy, that would mean killing you). Worse, I'm a sore loser. I don't take defeat lightly at all, which makes playing games with me totally not fun. 

But Rock Band is just fun. Fun! Fun! Fun! I've never had so much fun playing with others--we've even done Rock Band parties because it's the kind of game that just makes everyone happy.

The bride. Glorious in a Rajo Laurel creation. That skirt is just incredible, Nikki! I want to hear all about the creation process or maybe we can feature it in a bridal story in OK!. What do you think?!

The groom. Looking dashing in his three-piece suit. Looking very serious, too! Bernard, I prefer you when you're smiling--you look like a smiley face! I think that's what got Nikki hooked!

The entourage. This photo is so surreal, like it was for a fashion magazine! And, unlike a fashion magazine, this photo is not Photoshopped, so yes, the ladies really do look like they're fans of Stimerex ES--although they aren't! Those svelte bodies are the result of good ol' exercise and diet.

The guests who can't keep their hands off each other. Someone tell these two to save it for the bedroom. Really! Look at where all this affection got that girl--pregnant! I think this was the part the candle kept going out and I found it funny and Vince didn't.

The OK! girls. Everyone's here except Joanna, who was occupied with domestic matters (she is a new mom, after all, and traveling can be stressful). These are the women who make each issue of my magazine fantabulous each month! We're a happy bunch who likes Hollywood happenings and eating, eating, eating! We love swooning over love stories, too, so this was definitely a night to remember.

Photos (except last) by Pat Dy

My darling friend Nichole Reyes became Mrs. Bernard Mercado last Saturday in a fabulous wedding over at picturesque Tagaytay Highlands. I can't get over how glamorous Nikki and Bernard's wedding was! Here are a few photos from my camera but I'll be stealing from Facebook in a bit so you get to see nicer pics.

The couple arrived at the altar looking like Barbie and Ken. Hmmm, actually, Barbie and Ken never looked this good! 

Congratulations, my dearest friends! May all the love and laughter in the world bless your marriage! Love ya both! And I want to have cheese fondue soonest!

Gown and suit by Kate Torralba
Photos by Pat Dy

OK!'s March issue is out and it's hotter than the weather! Look at that cover—it looks like we slathered testosterone creams on it then set it ablaze! Johnny Depp is my favorite. Yumminess to the extreme. I don't mind David Beckham either as he's just oozing sex.

Now that Robert Pattinson... well, the girls love him so he's there. But I can't stand the guy. He's like John Mayer. I mean, what is up with his interview with Details magazine? He says, "I really hate vaginas. I'm allergic to vagina." Well, thank goodness I don't want him anywhere near mine but I feel really bad for all the girls who love him. Ladies, he hates your vaginas. What are you going to do???

Meanwhile, we do have other testosterone-free stories. We have a big story following Taylor Swift, arguably America's biggest star these days, on her tour bus, backstage, in her dressing room and performing onstage. It's a fab story! We also have a lovely interview with Susan Boyle. She's a charming lady, that Susan. Anyway, lotsa lotsa great stories so I hope you grab a copy!

I'm sure you've already seen it if you've been reading my blog long enough (I wrote about the Real Living feature here). But if you want better photos, head on over to the newly revamped Female Network to see!

The photos are kinda old, though, as the house looks a lot different. We have a whole wall of shoe cabinets now, the Louis Ghosts and a new elegant love seat, a bigger flat screen computer monitor to replace Vince's tired one, a Chinese porcelain stool... The house is now more home and, ya know, though we've visited nice hotels over the years, nothing beats coming home to our lovely apartment. So it's kinda scary with all the devastating earthquakes happening lately. Do you think we should ask around for home insurance quotes? Is your home insured?

Here's a better photo of my gorgeous Prizmic & Brill writing table. Vince gave that to me for Christmas 2008. I told ya he's absolutely genius when it comes to giving gifts. The cream stuffed teddy is very very old. His name is Mozzarella and Vince gave him to me for my 27th birthday--that'll be 6 years ago! I love that bear to bits and I'll tell you why soon--that bear deserves his own blog post!

Been veeeeery busy these past few weeks preparing for two weddings of two very good friends. So I've been neglecting my blogging work from PayU2Blog and that's money down the drain! So I'll be blogging a lot this week to catch up.

Anyway, I want to know what you guys do to earn money through blogging. I know blogging is supposed to be just an online diary, an outlet of thoughts, but I'm a writer and I write for a living. I gotta get paid whenever I write! So even if this is an online diary, if I can earn from it, I will!

When I went to the Nuffnang Awards in Singapore last October, I met many bloggers who are literally earning thousands of dollars through their blogs. They told me about selling ad space on your blog and manipulating the best SEO tools (SEO means search engine optimization) so that you earn a lot from Google Adsense. Like I said, these people earn thousands of dollars from their blogging!

Me? Let's see... I've earned about $750 from the paid blogging network I belong to and P5,000 from Nuffnang. That's from months and months of being a member so divide that up and that's really just pocket money for me (about 3K-5K a month). From Adsense, not much at all, around $60, which I haven't been able to cash out because they'll only send you the money if your earnings have reached $100. Clearly, I have no idea how Adsense and SEO works! If you know of any class or seminar that will educate me on this, drop me a comment below!

I started coloring my hair when I turned 18. That's because I started getting tons of white hair at the back of my head when I was 15. It's a genetic thing--my mother's family are the salt-and-pepper type. Since I didn't want to be gray in my teens, I begged for hair color and Mama allowed me to do it at 18. So I've been black, mahogany, chestnut, warm brown, bluish black, red, strawberry red and even blond since then.


Obviously, I love coloring my hair! And since I've found Louis Phillip Kee in 2006, I have discovered the glory of highlights. I tell ya, folks, Louis is the best hair colorist ever! You have to be the adventurous type though to appreciate the many layers of colors he puts on your hair. The last time I visited Louis was in late October, where I had my hair colored bright red with blond highlights and dark red lowlights.


Then I became pregnant in November and my husband has forbidden me to have my hair colored. Ditto with my OB. Now, I'm taking prenatal vitamins, which I believe are the best multivitamins ever. I've taken vitamins before but my body's really changed with prenatals--my nails are so strong, for example, and my hair grows really fast now. That's great, of course, except that my roots are showing!


Now my hair is red, blond and 3 inches of dark brown. It doesn't look good at all! Of course everyone says, "That's okay, you're pregnant." And, just to assure y'all, I really won't get my hair colored till after I give birth, but... Don't I look weird???

My dearest darling friend Mariel Chua just became Mrs. Alvin Jimenez over the weekend in a beautiful wedding at Cebu. Ohhhh, it was such a lovely wedding! Perfect for two of the nicest people on earth.

I don't have a lot of photos of the wedding, but I do have pics of me! Nyak! Sorry, folks. Don't ya worry--I'll try to get Mariel to give me pics (her photographer was Pat Dy! The most fabulous wedding photographer ever!) but then I can just send you over to her blog as soon as she comes down from her happy cloud and comes around to updating it! Meanwhile, here are some photos from our trip:

I'm matron of honor! Mariel chose a sunny yellow for me to match my personality. Of course, our friend Kate Torralba did the gowns. I'm wearing purple shoes under this gown but I forgot to take photos of it!

Vince and me! He was supposed to wear a tie with the suit but it was really really hot! I look so pregnant, don't I?

With the Summit girls. Most of them don't work with magazines anymore, however, all nearly gone to their next adventures.

The cathedral was huge! Huge! It's really rather beautiful inside but the pics we got didn't do the church any justice. When we finally buy a new camera, we'd take more photos. 

Here comes the bride! In a creamy tiered lace confection. That skirt is fully beaded and is layers of different kinds of lace. Mariel, you look divine!

The ceremony had us laughing and crying. Very romantic. But I have no photos! At the beach reception, the newlyweds cuddle.

Ianne Evangelista and me. She used to be the editor-in-chief of Cosmo and she gave that up to get pregnant and have a baby girl. After meeting her little Claudia--the smartest 2-year-old girl in the world--I totally understand!

Aside from making the gowns, Kate also sang a few songs. She is amazing at the piano, by the way, with a deep melodious voice. This girl can sing better than she can sew, and that's saying a lot about her musical talent!

Me and Kate with the bride. I'm holding my tummy because I ate too much and it felt really heavy. This photo is a variation of the photo from my wedding (click here for that pic)!

That's Kai, the maid of honor. Kai's Mariel's best friend since they were little kids. She's just as nice and smart as Mariel.

Mariel and Alvin, congratulations! May all the happiness in the world bless your marriage. Vince and I are so happy for you--such a great adventure ahead!

Got an email today. One look at it and I knew it was a demolition job. The email said it was presidential candidate Manny Villar's house but I've been to one of Villar's houses (we shot it for a magazine feature) and his decorating taste certainly does not look like this:


There are many more photos but I'm lazy to post them all. I'm sure you'll get it in your inbox soon anyway, if you haven't already.

Like I said, I've seen how Villar lives. Villar's home decor is actually more shabby chic—floral, wood, comfy seating. I personally am not a fan of his taste in decor but hey, it's not my house! Besides, Villar is one of the richest men in the country so I always thought he'd have a fabulous house and it turns out he actually doesn't. Well, it's not ugly, not like it was constructed out of stainless steel drums, but he sure doesn't live as well as certain people I know! And one more dead giveaway that this ain't his: Villar loves photos. His house is literally covered with picture frames of him and his family. The house above has no photos.

Now, I'm not voting for Villar in May (I like another candidate. My only clue for you is he has a pretty wife) but I think this email is just disturbing.

This house isn't Villar's. I can tell because I'm a magazine editor. Those photos were obviously taken by a professional photographer—the flooded-with-light look gives it away. If Villar wanted to keep this house hush-hush, why would he have it photographed by a team of professionals? It's just stupid. As a journalist, I quickly investigated whose house this is and found this blog entry: Is This Really Mugabe's Mansion?. Mugabe is the president of Zimbabwe and he's been holding power since 1980, so he's like our Marcos.

Anyway, so now the house is supposedly Mugabe's but after further investigation, it turns out it also isn't! It supposedly belongs to the biggest movie star in the world. Who's that? Tom Cruise? Brad Pitt? Angelina Jolie? Puh-leeze. They don't even hold a candle to this guy! The biggest movie star in the world is Shah Rukh Khan, with a fan base of a billion. Yes, you read that right—a billion! He's Bollywood, baby, and everyone in the film industry knows that Hollywood is so much smaller than Bollywood.