Monday, June 30, 2014

Sleepy, sad music

I'm 38 weeks pregnant. That means I'm exhausted and excited and sleepy and can't sleep. So I'm listening to Bread to relax me before I go to sleep.


The sadness of the surprise at the end. So heartbreaking!


The longing and wistfulness of his voice and the devoted love when he sings, "If I can't have the one I want, I'd do without the best." That's selflessness. That's real love.


Right after my Mama died, this played in a taxi I was riding and I wept, yes, wept right in that taxi. The driver just looked at me and asked, "Ma'am, boyfriend?" I said, "Hindi po. Namatay nanay ko." And he nodded and said, "Masakit talaga yan."


"And when my love for life is running dry, you come and pour yourself on me." I always think of Vince when I hear this line. Always.

Good night!

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Friday, June 27, 2014

This four-eyed girl loves Four Eyes! (Part 2)

CONTEST IS CLOSED.


Remember when I tried out the eyewear online shopping site, Four Eyes, last week? Well, my glasses are finally here!

I picked the Cat Whisperer frames because I looked really good in them! Or they looked really good on me.

After trying out the three frames I picked, I asked for the glasses to be picked up on June 13. They were picked up by courier service Xend on June 17. Again, there's a wait. I finally got my glasses on June 24. So from the time I ordered on June 2 to the time I got my glasses on June 24, it's 22 days. Three weeks. That could've been shorter since I really kept the trial frames for 5 days before I scheduled a pick up.

To be fair to Four Eyes, they never said they'll deliver or pick up the next day. So the process does take time, but if you're in no hurry, I think Four Eyes is much better than going to the optical shop. A big reason why I dislike optical shops intensely is the fact that they hide price tags. So you go around the shop, you pick your frames, you try them on. The sales person says, "Bagay! Bagay lahat!!!" Which really doesn't help. Finally, you pick your frame and then realize it's out of your budget range and then the salesperson looks at you with a sigh, and then you feel small and sad and poor, and then you just hurry out or pick something else that you don't like. Haha, I'm so melodramatic! But I think you know what I mean!

With Four Eyes, I had the convenience of picking out frames at my leisure (it took me an entire afternoon doing the virtual try-out, then a whole five days trying them on at home), and all of that in the privacy of my own home. Then my new gorgeous glasses just cost P3,495! I mean, look at them. They look so chic, not cheap!

THE GOOD CAUSE
Here's another reason why you should totally buy your glasses and sunnies from Four Eyes: The eyewear shopping site has partnered with the charity organization, World Vision Philippines. For every pair you buy from Four Eyes, they will donate another pair to someone in need of prescription glasses.

As someone who needs glasses, I know how vital it is to have clear eyesight. When I was in 3rd grade, my grades started to slip. We couldn't figure out why I seemed to be failing some classes. It was only when a classmate in 7th grade said, "You're actually smart. Maybe you should have your eyes checked," that we went to an optometrist and realized I had been near-sighted all that time! Now that I'm a mom, my eyesight is just as important. I'm always on the lookout for nasty bugs that might bite my babies' tender skin, for example. A huge part of who I am and what I turned out to be relies on my vision. Imagine if we can give that simple but profound opportunity to our less fortunate brothers and sisters! 

Last month, Four Eyes and World Vision visited an underprivileged community in Cavite, where they checked the eyesight of more than 250 adults and kids. Then Four Eyes made eyeglasses for these lovely people. Last weekend, Four Eyes went back to Cavite to distribute the free eyeglasses to the community. I wanted to go, too, actually, since Four Eyes invited me but since my pregnant tummy is about to pop any day now, I regretfully stayed in Manila and missed the event. Jeremy Callegher, business development manager of Four Eyes, said, "All [glasses] were distributed, the event was a success and you can tell so, thanks to the smile of the people from the community."

Buy yourself glasses for just P1,495 and another person benefits from your shopping!
Top right photo shows host, teacher and blogger Patty Laurel-Filart helping distribute the glasses.
New glasses for all! What a happy day!
The World Vision and Four Eyes team with the happy CaviteƱos!

THE GIVEAWAY!
Four Eyes would love to extend their services to one lucky Topaz Horizon reader!

Sunday, June 15, 2014

This four-eyed girl loves Four Eyes! (Part 1)

Let me see. I've been wearing prescription glasses for my nearsightedness since I was 13. My first pair was this monstrosity of pink frames that cradled thick glass lenses I was forever afraid would shatter.
Me at 14, with my baby siblings Theodore and Jacqui. 

Later on, when I was in college, I asked for anti-reflecting, ultra-thin plastic lenses that have UV protection, too. These were expensive lenses but my parents allowed it because they didn't want me to look too nerdy. Papa said nerdy girls never attract any boys. His fears were unfounded. Boys do make passes at girls who wear glasses! The best boy turned out to be the guy who'd marry me! (Yes, my husband has a thing for girls with glasses.)

Now you all know I love online shopping. So naturally I loved FourEyes.com.ph! Here's my review:

THE ONLINE SHOP
The shopping site is very easy to navigate. It's simple. No bells and whistles. Just the way I like it. You get presented the frames available. You pick the ones you like and you get more product details. You even get to try the glasses on virtually.
Just upload a photo and that's it! I was worried pa nga that I'll need a photo na full frontal, parang passport ba. But even this semi-side, semi-looking down shot of me with my boys was okay because there's a tool that helped me position the frames perfectly. It allows me to make the glasses bigger or smaller and move them around on my face. So easy! So fun! So easy and fun that I virtually tried on dozens of frames! Look at some of them:

I ended up picking Vanilla Wafer, Cat Whisperer and Sing Me A Lullaby. The frames are just Php 1,495 each. Super affordable! Like, crazy affordable! If you pick regular lenses, too (yes, even prescription ones), the lenses are free! But since I'm maarte and my grade is pretty high (which means if I pick out regular lenses, they'd be super thick), I chose the ultra-thin lenses, which is an additional Php 2,000. Still, the whole pair of glasses will come out at just Php 3,495. Still waaaaay cheaper than buying from a shop! You can buy two or three!

Ordering the glasses was super easy. You just fill in the information needed, like if you want prescription lenses or just lenses without a grade. If you need prescription lenses, you'll need to know what your prescription is so you'll really have to see your eye doctor first. Since I have a prescription from last year, I already knew what my grade was, the distance between my irises, and the types of lenses that I like (ultra-thin, non-reflective, with UV protection).

After filling out the info, just tell them if you want a flat-out purchase or if you want to try out some frames at home first. I chose the Home Try-On service.

THE SERVICE
I placed my order on June 2, Monday. The box of glasses arrived on June 7, Saturday. So there's a bit of a wait there.

Inside were a sturdy blue box and the return envelope addressed to Four Eyes. You can keep the glasses for 5 days. I imagine that's enough time to try them out, and ask your friends and family which ones look best on you. After the five days, you're supposed to contact Four Eyes and tell them to pick up the glasses again.

Helpful instructions on the inside of the lid.

My glasses! Which one is really for me?

Let's start with Sing Me A Lullaby.
I picked it because I wanted colored frames. I already have a black one and a red one so I figured I'd try blue. While I liked it, I thought the blue brought out the shadows under my eyes and the blue-green veins on my cheeks. You don't notice it on the photo here because I increased exposure/brightness so that my flaws will disappear. Hehe, vain!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

All that matters is here in the Philippines



Just saw Jolibee's new ad for Independence Day called #SarapMagingPilipino, and it made me tear up a bit. You see, over at Facebook, a lot of the people I know are on trips abroad and they keep saying things like how horrible it is here in the Philippines. Look, I'm not blind to the ills of our country but if it's that bad, then don't come back, diba.

Whenever I see or hear people talk about how it's so much better in other countries, my first thought is always, "Then help make life better for us here."A lot of us always just talk about how everything is so bad here (and always over cups of designer coffee or something like that!). But it's the same all over the world. There are good things, there are bad things. Nothing is ever perfect.

When I go abroad, I think, "Oh wow, the public transportation system is so efficient. But, wow, the train is almost P80 a trip? So expensive!""Oh wow, the people here are so disciplined but, wow, they're so frikkin' rude, too!" "Oh wow, the streets are just as filthy as Manila's streets but at least here, it's cold so it doesn't stink." "Oh wow, no traffic at all but there's a rule you have to replace your car every 3 years? Kaya naman pala walang kotse nyek."

I'm not saying the systems of other countries are bad. I also believe that the ticket prices of the MRT should be raised way up, just like in other countries, so that the MRT can make money to buy more trains and therefore accommodate more passengers. That's called running a business. But that's also called anti-poor. A lot of what makes other cities in the world so nice and clean is because of their anti-poor policies. Parking in London for a month? USD 950 (almost P41,000 or P1,300 a day) vs around P120 here. To drive around London in your own car? You have to pay GBP 10 (P730) just to enter the city. Kung ganyan din dito sa Maynila, imagine spending P3,650 a week para lang pumasok sa office!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Win Krispy Kreme #JoyInABox!

CONTEST IS CLOSED.

Krispy Kreme asked me (pretty please with candy sprinkles on it) if I'd like to treat my readers to something sweet. Of course I said yes! So if you're in the mood to treat yourself (or your family, friends, co-workers, etc) to a sweet treat with an even sweeter message on top, why don't you give them #JoyInABox from Topaz Horizon and Krispy Kreme?


Yes, my dear readers! I'm giving away 10 boxes of #MessageDoughnuts from my family's favorite doughnut shop, Krispy Kreme! But you get to pick the message you want on it. Here are a few samples:

So without further ado, let's get on with the giveaway!

The prize:
A whole box of doughnuts with the message you want to tell anyone. It can be a "Happy Dad's Day!" to your father, an "I love you!" to your boyfriend, an "I miss you!" to your friends, "Congrats!" to a new mom or a friend with a new job, or encouraging words to your staff at work. Kinda something like this:

The details:
  1. 10 readers will win a box each of #MessageDoughnuts from Krispy Kreme. 
  2. Contest is open to anyone near a Krispy Kreme shop! So this is a nationwide contest! (Philippines only!)
  3. My contest runs from today till June 12, 12pm.
  4. I'll pick the winners on June 12 and announce on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Winners must reply to my announcement by June 13, Friday 12 noon!!! If I get no feedback, I pick new winners!
  5. Winners will then send me their name, the message they want on their #JoyInABox, and which Krispy Kreme store they'll claim the box from. Bring a valid ID to claim your box of #MessageDoughnuts!

How to win:
  1. Like Krispy Kreme's Facebook page, and follow them on Instagram and Twitter
  2. Like Topaz Horizon's Facebook page, and follow me on Instagram and Twitter. Ya, you kinda have to because that's where I'm going to announce the winners! 
  3. On Instagram: Post a happy selfie and say this: "I want to get #joyinabox from @KrispyKremePH and @FrancesASales!"
  4. On Twitter: Post a happy selfie and say this: "I want to get #joyinabox from @hotlightgirl and @FrancesASales!"
  5. On Facebook: Say this: "I want to get #joyinabox from Krispy Kreme and Topaz Horizon!" Make sure Krispy Kreme and Topaz Horizon are tagged!
You don't have to post on FB, IG and Twitter. Okay na ang isang beses lang. Promise! Para di kayo at ako makulitan hehe.

That's it! Good luck! Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

*This is not a sponsored giveaway.

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