TOPAZ HORIZON

I'm a creature of habit so it takes me a long, long while to add new blogs to my blog roll. But let me present five new blogs I like to read:

1. Citizen Nerd
It's written by a very special man--my husband, Vince Sales! Before I buy any gadget, I always ask him for advice. In fact, before anyone I know buys any gadget, they ask Vince for advice. Vince is the last word when it comes to technology because he is Citizen Nerd! In my book, that makes him the most amazing man on the planet! (I hope this post gets me laid--ahahaha!--or at the very least earn me a shopping spree!)

2. Hypermom
This new blog is by my friend Jing Lejano, editor of Good Housekeeping. I like her blog because, unlike most mom blogs, hers is honest and candid and discusses motherhood frankly. Sure, she loves it but she doesn't overly glorify it. She talks about the good and the bad. I like that. And--very important to me!--it's well written!

3. The Blog King
Another well written blog! Too bad he updates once every blue moon. Elijah Mendoza is an editor, a new husband and a soon-to-be daddy (although I think his wife is giving birth right about now!). So his observations on marriage and fatherhood are a refreshing read--funny, witty and candid.

4. Style Kit
Jane Kingsu is the author of one of the best beauty and fashion blogs in Manila. She writes short and sweet and really well. I always seem to get my fashion and beauty news from her--how strange is that considering I also work in media! I like how clean and stylish her blog is... and I like how I won in her Schu contest! Thanks, Jane!!!

5. Flipflopping My Way Around Town
As you can tell from above, I like reading about technology, parenting, marriage, fashion and beauty. But I also have another passion--FOOD! Fran Haw has a delightful food blog that makes me hungry every time I read it! I love her blog and a lot of people do, too, because she's a finalist in the Philippine Bloggers Awards! Congrats, Franny! As promised, here's my vote:

Now, how come no one nominated me for this award-giving body?! Can someone please nominate me next year? I'll give a fantabulously special beauty gift bag to the one who nominates Topaz Horizon in the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards!!! Okay, I've resorted to bribery... Very bad of me! Just kidding, folks!

*images taken without permission from the aforementioned blogs. Sorry, folks! I promoted you so I hope that makes it okidoki!

The times, they are a-changin'. Used to be we looked to newspapers and television for what's happening in the world. Now, we turn to our blogs, mobile phones, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other live chat software. It's back to the old ways of spreading the news--word of mouth. Citizen journalism is very democratic. And fast. It has its problems, too, like some of the news can't be confirmed to be true. But, for now, I'm going to think of it as a blessing.

For me, it started with Michael Jackson's death. For others, with Obama's rise to the US presidency. And for the rest of the Filipinos affected by Typhoon Ondoy, this new way of spreading the news was so true during the height and the aftermath of the storm.

And then there's the uplifting messages we get that we no longer seem to get from TV and newspapers. These are inspiring stories of people we'd never have heard of because there are so many of them out there but there's only so much space on paper and airtime on TV. With YouTube and blogs and the worldwide web, we get to learn about wonderful people like Logan.

This gets me every time. Every time. Especially now when I've lost a mother, I'm losing my beloved pet wabbit, and I see suffering everywhere. God understands. He will always understand. God bless you, people.

You know what works better than weight loss diet pills? Teeth whitening. Yep. I had my teeth whitened two weeks ago and I was told to avoid all colored food for an entire month. I gaped at Dr. Dorotheo, "But all food has color!" He just smiled sweetly in reply.

Now I'm a tomato lover--I have to eat something with tomato sauce/ketchup once a day (read about my love for tomatoes here and here). If I can't have tomato once a day, I lose my appetite for everything else. So you can guess what happened--I've just resorted to eating once a day, so unhappy was I. I've been nibbling on carbonara, ham sandwiches (palest ham possible on white bread and mayo), congee and the like, and a lot of baked/steamed fish.

Now my jeans are loose and my tummy is flatter. My lovely friend Zerline, who is about to get married and is also opening a quirky store this month at Power Plant Mall, marveled at my thinness. "Maybe I should have my teeth whitened before the wedding!" she exclaimed at the thought of hitting two birds with one stone: white teeth, slimmer body! The perfect solution for any bride-to-be! (See our photo above? That's water we're drinking. Colorless food only!)

Well, my teeth are still sparkly white. But then this happened:Vince cooked his famous spaghetti meat sauce. Lovely meaty beef, extra virgin olive oil, plenty of garlic and onions, freshly grated parmesan cheese all bubbling away in a rich tomato sauce. Obviously, I did not resist!!! I'll just have to brush my teeth madly then! And even if my teeth yellowed again, I don't care--Vince's special spaghetti sauce is oh so worth it!

Want to have your teeth whitened for free? The Drama Queen is holding a contest at her blog to celebrate her blog's first anniversary (congratulations!). Contest ends today!!!