SM Therapy

Wow!  A portion of SM's department store in Southmall (Las Pinas) have been renovated.  Way too different from its old gloomy state.  The new look makes it much more pleasant to shop!, to stay and browse around longER than usual.  Much to my pocket's dismay, I gave in to my shopaholic urge. What the heck! Besides, I am still on THERAPY :)

Half of the newly renovated Ground Floor (the other half is still under renovation).  This is where I spent 2 hours of my Sunday last week. 

Beaded Slip-ons!  The left pair is now m-i-n-e :)

Plus a few more purchases.  Yup, I'm an Imelda Marcos fan.  Haha!

Can't wait to drop by SM Southmall today, again.  Ooh. I am healing fast.  Happy weekend everyone!

WAGGING along

A Sunday morning walk in the park ..... 

Purr-fect!!!

Yummy Fashion Accessories

I never knew that fashion accessories can be oh so yummy! See what I discovered at Gawaran Elementary School's Nutrition Day  :)  Ooh la la!

Grade 3 girls in their calamansi headbands and bean stringed necklaces.

Close-up of the Calamansi headband.

Can't get over these headbands.

Moving on. How about String Beans as a belt or hip accent?  Cool!

String beans head and neck accessories for boys only!

Take 2, String Beans boys!  This time, closer!

Yummy fruity-licious hats! 

And the best of em all.  Ayayay!  Love it!

Raj and 7-11

Here's a tip, Raj's "luck" cards suck!

And for some reason, being in this 7-11 branch yesterday afternoon reminded me of Raj's "quaint" store found along the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and Congress Street in Jersey City.  But the difference is -- this 7-11 is way too new, jampacked with goodies, fun knick knacks, patronized by a relatively "young" market and found at the ground floor of J. Bond's office in San Lazaro, Manila (near UST Hospital).  He was here for a quick construction inspection, while I strolled around (including a short stint of window shopping in SM).  Raj's store, on the other hand, is the opposite -- gloomy, old,  boring and  patronized most of the time by yours truly ... J. Bond and Dad2! 

I ain't  fully recovered yet.  So 30 minutes after, J. Bond brought me to  7-11 for a  bit of relaxation. I was struck the moment I entered their store door and I just had to repeatedly say, "I miss Raj!".  "I smell Raj!"   Hahaha!  I was  there only for the coffee, but apparently a lot of reminiscing came along with it.  Must be the Bingo posters displayed by the counter. 

Yes, it is the posters.  Raj's playing cards keep crawling back in my mind.  Unfortunately, luck ain't on my side.  As I've said, Raj's cards suck! Never did I win.  Not even a money back.

But I guess someone else sucked more?  Who else? ME!!! It was just way too difficult to resist the thrill.

I  had to have this photo taken.  Me at 7-11 yesterday afternoon.  Yup, alive and kickin'.

... and ME in my Laso beaded necklace standing along Kennedy Boulevard en route to Raj.   Right across this street is his store :) 

What day is it Today?

Six days since I was discharged from that  patient-pampering hospital and a day before I go back and see my doctor, I find myself back to driving today thinking that it is Monday (pharmacy day)!

ME           What day is it today?
Staff J     Friday.
ME           Ah, Friday.  What's our line-up next week?
Staff J     Monday, School Talk on Nutrition at Gawaran Elementary School
               Friday, School Talk at St. John
ME           Huh??? Monday?  That's today!
Staff J     No, it's Friday today.
ME           Oh sorry, I meant St. John.
Staff J     Mam, St. John is Friday next week.
ME           Wait!  What day is it today again?
Staff J     Mam, it's Friday.
ME           Ok.  I have to go.  I'll see you on Wednesday.
Staff J     Huh!  But we have our School Talk on Monday.
ME.          Whatever!!! Just remind me the day before.

Something's just not right. Lol!  Happy Weekend :)

The Love Circle Prayer

Sure, I'd love to get going with my beading. That's what I planned for this month anyway. Bead-Bead-Bead!  Christmas is coming very soon.  Start early before the "rush" begins.  But with my recent medical mishap, life so far have slown down, with ample time to breath, relax, and enjoy my family's sweet and tender loving care =)

Not only that.  I  finally! found time to try-out Bo Sanchez's The Love Circle Prayer.

This ain't  a board game.  Though it looks like one since it comes along with these:  1)  A card showing multiple circles in a a solar system like position, with instructions printed on the right.   And 2), nine pebbles.

A gift given to me a couple of months ago by my friend, Patti, who at that time gave a quick explanation on what it was all about. I had the idea but admittedly I had made no effort to try it out until this "no choice home arrest situation" came along.  So, here's how it goes (a step-by-step guide by Bo Sanchez,  interspersed  with a bit of  "tweaking" and "commenting" from my end) ...

First, a little bit of background. 

Called The Love Circle Prayer, BO Sanchez introduced this special ritual prayer on the following premise:  Pray in the evening before you sleep for seven days, then a Big Promise awaits that will change and transform you and your relationships. (ME:  Oops!  I said my prayer in the afternoon and have already skipped a day.  Is this still valid?  Or better yet, I repeat from the beginning?)

Step 1: Be Grateful For You

Select one stone to represent you. While holding it, thank God for who you are and the blessings of the day. (Example: “Thank you Lord for protecting me from an accident this morning; Thank you Lord that I was able to finish my report and my boss likes it…”) After praying, place the stone at the middle of the “Love Circle” Card.

ME:   How about I use a heart-shape ceramic bead instead of a stone?  I think a bead best represents me :)   And here's what I thanked God for ... "Thank you Lord for answering my prayer! ".

Step 2: Be Grateful For The Love You Received

Select a stone for each loved one in your life. Hold each stone and thank God for how this person blessed you. (Example: “Thank you Lord for my wife’s unconditional love for me.”; “Thank you Lord for my mother’s gift of life to me.”) Place the stone at the outside circle. Repeat for each stone.

ME:  Obviously, I stuck it out with beads!  The stones??? These are on display now.  (Lol).  Now, who are these gracious folks who have "pierced"  the heart?  Start from the star-shape bead then go clockwise (in no particular order)  -- Family1, J. Bond, Family2, Family3, Family4, Friends (one bead), Family5, Doctors and Nurses (one bead).  Here's what I thanked God for in a gist ...

"Thank you Lord for Love and Care of Family, for the gift of "unspoken" friendship, and for healing!".

Step 3: Be Grateful For The Love You Gave

Hold each stone representing each of your loved ones, and thank God for how you were able to show love to that person. (Example: “Thank you Lord I was able to spend time with my son today”; “Thank you Lord I was able to tell my father I loved him today.”) As you do this, move the stone from the outer circle to the inner circle. Note: If you weren’t able to show your love to that person that day, plan how you can do it the next day.

ME:  Yikes, I need major improvement on step 3.  A little MORE loving won't hurt, right?  My apologies to the folks represented by beads 4 to 8.  Hopefully, I make it up to you one of these days.  

I wonder if The Love Circle Prayer truly works.  It's too early to say.  Besides, I  already got the time wrong and skipped a day.  Apparently, this entails a lot more effort, patience and discipline.  Perhaps, having more FAITH also matters.   Time is not a concern here, just allocate 5-10 minutes per day. That's it!  I've decided to start all over again, with seriousness this time :)  I know I can do it.  After all, the best way to enrich the heart is by giving THANKS!

In this LINK, Bo Sanchez further explains why this ritual  will change your life. He says,

If you do this for seven days, you’ll be changed. How? By the power of gratitude. For seven days, you’re reprogramming your mind to look at the way your loved ones bless you. And not how they irritate you.

on July 14, 2010

Thank God, I'm finally home!  Last week's ordeal I would say was a major knock on my head and a stressful situation for my loved ones. Something that was bound to happen sooner or later but was deliberately set aside and left unacknowledged. No one to blame here but me.

I have never learned to stop.  Not even go slow. I thrive on the words, Urgent!, Rush!, Stress!, with health placed on the rear-end and often ignored ... a long-ago developed habit which I still practice until Wednesday morning (July 14, 2010) came along.

On that day, every single thing stopped.

First was Typhoon Basyang ... I'm a 100% sure that I was not alone in that havoc situation when Basyang landed in Manila early morning of the 14th.  Even an ounce of sleep was way too difficult to catch given the ravaging sounds heard and felt in all parts of the house. Electricity was cut-off.   Thus, making me rely heavily on the hard swaying shadows of coconut trees to gauge the magnitude of the typhoon. At 6:30am, here's what Typhoon Basyang left behind.

Leaves. Branches. Scattered Trash.

 

A car bumper that landed in our garage. 

Our water hose blown away from its usual spot.

Two fallen trees.  One, right in front of the house. 

 Second, at the end of this road.

After a little bit of inspection for damages and a slight sweeping of leaves and branches, I instantly fell sick. Really sick! Slumped on the bed the whole day, longing for electricity and gallons of ice cold water. But each gulp only left me more and more dehydrated. In the afternoon, J. Bond rushed me to a nearby hospital and stayed on for 4 days and 3 nights.

Let's just say that all those years of "stress" and "neglect on health" have finally crept up on me.  Those who know me, know well enough  how I work, how I move, how I think.   Never say stop! Never say No!  Just GO!  Every single thing masked well for the purpose of  delivering good results, except health.  I thought I was a super hero (lol!).

Now that I feel much better (though still recuperating), I know I needed this to happen to make me stop, to make me slow down and most especially, to make me realize what really is important and what truly matters.  Believe it or not and crazy as you may think,  I long prayed for this =)   But I never had the discipline to stop.  I was too pre-occupied and hooked with the unimportant and the waste of time!

Then, July 14 happened. Every single thing stopped.  It's time.  I start anew.

Cheers ............... TRIX

HOLA

Hola!!! How are you? Any update on your part of the world?  Tell me. I'm longing to hear.  Even just  a tidbit. 

I'm cooped up here for 3 days now.  No beads. No Pharmacy. Can't wait to get out. I was told, most likely today. For now, I'm glad that this window in my room keeps me sane :)

Temptation Island

I was literally on the brink of giving in yesterday while having lunch at Paseo Uno, Mandarin Oriental Manila with an aunt who celebrated her 60th.  The feeling was exactly like this less the "sexiness ...

Courtesy of http://www.giovanniplozner.com/

LOL!!!  As I've said, I am a true blue WEIGHT-O-HOLIC.  No doubt about that! But much to my dismay, I am frequently lured by the scorching  redness of temptation ... most especially -- the forbidden. 

Jelly topped with 3 blueberries

Chocolate lollipos and Cookies

Here's what I call this, Sinful Strawberry cake

Fruit tart

Four out of so many that I hallucinate for, but can't!!! As in NO for the rest of my life.  I have long passed that age of "innocence".  Ergo, cute excuses are no longer cute!  Allowing myself to succumb to sweet cravings for satisfaction's sake will truly cause a great "mishap", not immediately but definitely sometime in the future.  Am I confusing you?  Whatever question you have in mind (most especially to those who only know the superficial me), the answer is yes I AM A WEIGHT-O-HOLIC and yes to the question that pops in your mind. 

But as they say, life is life!  So, I am left with just one choice ... deal with it and be happy with whatever is thrown my  crooked, tempting yet colorful way :)

Bread!!! My every single day staple (with Good Shepherd's sugar-free Strawberry Jam).  This I can't live without.

Say Cheese!!!

Yummy salad placed inside Mr. Crab's shell

Preferably, a must not.   I gave in (in moderation, promise!).

I love Tuna Sashimi until I came face-to-face with this ...

Plus an eye contact with this!

Something's missing here

There you go, healthy (really sour) dessert to satisfy the  sweet-craving.

A limbo rock is how I describe the battle.  Living life surrounded by sumptuous temptations ain't no joke. 

But, I have slowly learned to come to terms with the real deal especially now that I have J. Bond who very much enjoys my share of the forbidden ...

... and exactly that J. Bond who said NO and immediately pulled away that dessert-filled plate away from me...

J. Bond               NO way will you eat any of those deserts!
J. Bond (again)  and NO to bead picture taking now. Let me finish.
ME                     Pleeaaase. I want NOW! If you won't help me, I can do it.

So here you go. My attempt to take that bead shot.  Eeek!