Thank You, KAILA....from your Teta Trixy

At the midst of mapping out my imagined musts for my Travel for Beads Project, I was shaken by a startling realization.  My ticket and hotel voucher have been delivered 5 months prior to departure (yes, I do things in advance when too excited.), but I have in some  way  forgotten the part that says ... "your passport is expired!".  Obviously, I panicked and wondered how I could have forgotten.

While gathering all the necessary documents needed for the renewal, I came across small square dotted sheets of paper tucked within the back flap of my passport holder.   I never bothered taking a closer look in the past thinking that it could have been one of my reminder notes that I habitually tuck everywhere and anywhere.  But written was ... "To Teta Trixy".

My heart melted as I went through the sheets of paper one at a time.  These notes, with  cute pencil drawings, were written by my Hello Kitty fan niece, Kaila, in 2009.  First, she had thanked me for the Hello Kitty goodies I had brought for her from the Philippines.  I remember how her jaw had dropped upon seeing all her goodies. Absolutely a fantastic moment.

How I look from Kaila's eyes.    I love how she had included J. Bond in this note too.

To Teta Trixy...a dragon.  a cat.  a rabbit.   And of course, Teto James is mentioned too.

Kaila's bye-bye note.  Aww!  In this case, school sucks.

I am choked by the fact that time zooms so fast.  Here's 4-year old Kaila as my pretty flower girl on my wedding day in 2006.  She surely felt proud showing off her pink gown and pink sneakers to family and friends. 

Kaila at 6, goofing around with an orange at a Chinese restaurant in New York.

Photo c/o my brother.

Recently, Kaila turned 10. Here she is with brother Jaden at Central Park a few days ago.

Oh dear Kaila, Teta Trixy is sorry for having ignored your loving notes for so long.   I promise with all my heart to safely keep all your notes in my precious treasure box.  These truly mean a lot to me.  I look forward to the day when we can both look back, smile and talk about how special your notes and drawings are.

In the meantime,  I want you to know that you will always be my  pretty little flower girl who will forever hold a spot in my special locket. One day, I will hand this over to you.  Wear it as often as I do, so you will never forget.

Thank you dear Kaila!.... Love you to pieces, Teta Trixy.

Dog separation anxiety

It's the weekend, and I feel anxious for having left Bugsy behind with his dog yaya(nanny).  It may have stemmed from my fastforward imagination, or maybe not, but dog health concerns emerge when faced with momentary separations. I'm not kidding. Our 5-hour separation last week unfortunately had resulted to a minute  seizure.  Read here on what had happened. A rush to his vet and a series of laboratory tests immediately followed.  Results say that he is in perfect health condition.   Previous to his seizure, it was a toss between an upset stomach or a loss of appetite. Ayayay!  I should have taken Mother's dog stories more seriously as to how care and time must be devoted  in taking on the role of a dog owner.  But today, I am faced with no other choice as an important task needs to be worked on A.S.A.P. 

My state of being since Bugsy came to life.
Image from Pinterest.  Follow me and let's share each other's interests. 

J. Bond says that a year ain't complete without me busting an appliance or a gadget.   Two years ago was all about a microwave.  Alleluia for our long-term warranty that had granted us a refund which we then consumed to purchase a new microwave  instead of pondering further over a possible resuscitation.  Fourth quarter last year was the unfortunate accidental drop of my Ricoh camera while taking photos of bead works.  Another allelua for our warranty, but the unit had to be repaired in Hongkong since no Ricoh service centers exist in Manila.  Lesson learned.  When buying appliances and gadgets, always ask if service centers are within an arm's reach.  And now, I am sulking over the loose cardholder of my Nikon D3100.  So I am off to the city for another bout of repair on which this time Bugsy can't tag along.

Picture taking while wrestling is what we do every night.

This crazy spell of dog separation anxiety kills me. I was never this way with dogs.  I feared them since I was a child.  That barking and spiteful Japanese Spitz who had killed my playful childhood years while biking along the village continue to haunt me to this day.  It was right that moment when I perceived dogs in a rather vicious light. To me, a bit of barking and growling already connote viciousness. My closest friends know by heart how  emotions wildly transform when vicious dogs are within sight.  Surely, expect  a great deal of tears, screams, pinches, shirt pulling and back riding.   They only had their sigh of relief  when J. Bond had entered the picture.  So, it was surely a big shock amongst my close circle when the most unlikely and  unexpected move of bringing home Bugsy happened one day last year.

Sleeping time with J. Bond on my work mat.

Having Bugsy have  helped minimize the vicious perception I see in dogs.  I still fear them, but now I know of my capability of taking care of a dog like Bugsy.  First, he rarely barks unless teased for long or denied him of his toy.  Surely a plus point. He is way over friendly to both humans and dogs which make me think of his loyalty at times.  Yet when at home, he clings and sticks like glue as if holding on to dear life.  Thank God,  he now understands what I mean by "give me space". But at this point,  I am seeking for more possible reasons for his seizure. Anxiety from momentarily being physically apart is the most probable cause I can think of (if such thing exists in dogs(?)). His vet says his seizure is caused by too much excitement.  This is all new to me and needles to say, scary.

Shalom

A warm surprise left by a guest on my Mom's bedroom window a few months ago. I share this blessing with you especially on this day of continuous heavy downpour while the tragic news over Colorado's Dark Knight shooting is featured on every news channel. Stay safe!

For sure, A SPIDER!

In line with the ongoing spider talk, the movie and a robbery, I have my own spider too.

Spider ring courtesy of the girls from Sonya's Garden.  Thanks!!!

For sure, this is a spider...and absolutely not a second case of mistaken identity!  :)

Wake up call

Fascinated with the word "sensuous"! 
Sonya's Garden, Alfonso, Cavite

I dreamt of Luke last night.  Set in a  familiar mall hallway  while patiently waiting for a few former co-workers to arrive, Luke suddenly appeared in his usual work clothes seemingly sporting a rounder stomach. The growing roundness was my alarming concern prior to his early departure.  In fact, Christmas gifts for Luke had deliberately transformed into unsalted crackers to simply make my point.  I  fed him loads of noodles when I still lived in the city.  I ceased the feeding but he didn't. 

Luke's bag of Shing-A-Ling from Rowena's Tarts. 

In my dream, I shared the same sad and pissed emotions while awake.  And when Luke appeared, a happy yet disgruntled screaming LUKE!!! was all I said.  I remember having stomped my right foot too, a typical act I do when  teased by Luke.  Though I was aware enough even in my dream that he now lives in an entirely different spectrum, I surprisingly ignored. But being the  Luke that he was, he replied with his usual mocking "HE-HE-HE, Tri-kikay!", then walked away.  Yes, he often called me by that name.  He had sabotaged my name by capping it off with a slang word that best describes what a "girly-girl" is all about.   Luke passed away on the day I was en route to Baguio for J. Bond's Globe Cordillera Challenge. He was 43.  We have been friends for close to two decades.

Patti's celebration at Conways

Last Sunday, we celebrated Patti's end of a decade and toasted to a life that begins at "40".  We had fun, but there's no denying of having missed Luke during such special moment.  I'm sure he would have loved to be there and be part of the celebration.  Tears flowed for a short while, but life and the party just had to move on. 

Patti and Luke.  All about F.O.O.D.

In some way, situations happen for a reason. I said the exact same line in a previous post that talked about celebrating 93.  Despite the denial, Luke's departure had somehow triggered me and my friends to review, realize and desensitize our life's routine from the unnecessary.  A friend focuses on stress from work, the other aims for a healthier life, while the other regard friendship more than ever.  Little things, yet significant. I, on the other hand, target to embrace the undeniable concept of age and ageing.

Christmas 2011, Our last hang-out with Luke.  A July 20, 2012 dinner is set and surely Luke will be missed.

I turn on a blind eye when faced with the topic of ageing.  I fear turning 40 as much as I feared 18, 20, and 30.  Shallow yet I am amazed on how a number can define boggling thoughts which then translate into fear.  I am pretty sure that you have thought of age and ageing at some point in your life too.    But in reality, there is nothing to fear and that neither single or double digit number are in no way applicable to defining life. Luke's departure  made me realize that.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

When Luke passed away, I thought of him as too young, in contradiction to my absurd notion of age and ageing.  Yet, he lived a good and jolly life.  I was shook from my deep slumber when that unfortunate day happened, which in reality was a wake up call for having long entertained unnecessary and useless thoughts. At this point, I constrain myself  from entertaining more, and instead look forward to living life.  I look forward to my Travel for Beads Project, to building dreams with J. Bond, to celebrating joyous moments, to exploring and discovering more.  I would have to agree that a life well-lived best defines our being, not age, not ageing. 

And I thank Luke for having led me to realize that.

All about "B"

Busy yet looking forward would best describe my weekends lately.

First, we finally made the Bold move of ending our "sightseeing" and closing the deal.  I'm sure our property specialist felt ecstatic to have closed his first deal ever.  I thought of him as young and fresh from college.  But how timely he was within my reach  while having dinner in Sentro a couple of weeks ago.  I will share more details of this project in a separate post soon.  This is in relation to investments and building dreams.

And like any other weekend, Bikes and at least three hours of Biking are part and parcel of J. Bond's program.  He's thinking of a 4th bike fit to conquer the slippery trek of the Mountain Province of Sagada soon, while I think of possibly opening a (2nd hand) bike shop someday.  Too much bikes, bike parts and bike-related dvds are lying all around. 

J. Bond's "calming" drink, Tsing Tao Beer.  A bottle a weekend is a must, wherever we are.  Have you tried this?  J. Bond prefers this beer over the usual San Mig Light these days.  I think there's not much of a difference.  Both are called BEER and spelled out B.E.E.R anyway =)

Meanwhile, Beads must be part of our weekend program too.  Here's a typical scene of what happens when I meet with a client.  Client goes over my works.  Bugsy runs around, climbs and jumps on the client.  I reprimand, then carry.  He squirms and escapes.  I run after, then we go through the same process. In a nutshell, I multi-task by controlling Bugsy from being excessively hyper and dealing with the client simultaneously.  I have applied a  variety of discipline techniques.  Unfortunately, not even an inch of progress have manifested yet.  At least, he doesn't bark. 

Bold, vibrant and creative are three words I would describe Happy Starchild's owner.  Her handpainted works on fashion garments (shirts and dresses) is the main reason why I regularly drop by Legazpi Park Sunday Market.  I adore and support crafts that are handmade and handpainted.

A bit of info on who Happy Starchild is.

Really excited over my handpainted Jane Austen top.

Amazed and Inspired.  I'll surely make a purchase this weekend for a dear "happy starchild"  friend who is turning 40.  The 40 roll call has officially begun by the way.  Some are in denial, yet some are looking forward.  I fear it, but I look forward at the same time.  But here's what I think of 40...not young to repeat the same crazy mistakes, yet not old to keep building dreams.  I'm sure my happy starchild friend would make 40 Beautiful.

And Before I cap this post, here is the 4th necklace that fall under By Beaded Story's Flora Collection.  Visit Facebook for more details.

Cheers!