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!

Power Tools

"TOO MANY OBSTACLES!"  ...   says J. Bond's twin named "wisecrack".

Pappy's Trail

Huh?  What obstacle???  The cleaning aids and a few small beads were what he called obstacles for the reason that these blocked his way.  I was cleaning .... as in obsessively cleaning!  I stopped mid-air and tried with might to put some sense into this  wisecrack.

Where the fall happened (Fort Bonifacio). Here he goes again, a month after.

I get it.  To someone who prefers bumpy trails, a high jump over hurdles and spider-web obstacle courses,  cleaning aids and beads are  two power tools that will surely glue Mr. Wisecrack's feet flat on the ground. 

Yahoo!  How about that huh?!  Cool!

Afternoon Shopping Date

A week after the FALL, J. Bond and I chose to spend Saturday afternoon on a break mode. 

We locked our door at past 2pm, then zoomed our way for some retail therapy.  Having discovered the healing elements of shopping for recycled paper, I entertained the possibility of  J. Bond healing faster in this same manner too ... (with the hidden intention that he realizes later on that there's truth to my shopping theory.  Then, shopping would be a pleasant breeze!).    He welcomed the idea and that made me very much gung ho ..... considering the deliberate acts I have painstakingly mastered the past week:  Walk Slow and Move with Care -- not so me!

J. Bond, on the other hand, is the opposite.  He walks and strides around with his overly exposed wounded arm and slightly bruised leg.  No trace of worry  (nor shame) at all.  He walks ahead while I trail behind.  Pretty much this way --

Fast actions can be an advantage.  I somehow missed out on what he said. More like he said nothing at all.  I found myself in this situation prior to retail therapy ... 

1st stop --- J. Bond's office clinic for a flu shot.  A surprising way to kick-off an afternoon shopping date.  Something new!  Intentions were good but it felt I have fallen into a pit-filled of tricks.  As I've said, I didn't know.   But then again,  I had my own hidden agenda.

2nd stop ---

Cartimar is located at Pasay, Manila

How could I have allowed him to lead the way?!  For the 2nd time around, I fell into his trick-pit.  Cartimar was in no way part of my therapeutic place to shop list ...  More so the "goods" found in this popular destination.

Except for my continued patronage for this ---

Hot Taho (Soy).  The best I have ever tasted.

and this ---

Frozen dimsum.  Same place where I buy Taho (Soy).
The name of the shop is in Chinese.  Thus, I always forget.
The shop faces the fruit market and is right beside Cartimar's Management Office.

... I rarely join J. Bond each time he traverses the alleyways of Cartimar.  Last Saturday though was an unusual case --- He was fast and I was slow.

For information purposes, Cartimar is better known as ANIMALandia. Popular pets like fishes, puppies, rabbits, birds and  more exotic ones like snakes, alligators, scorpions can be found here.  Shops also carry a wide range of basic and fancy pet accessories.  On top of these pet shops, found as well are plant and landscaping shops, quaint stalls that claim(?) to sell authentic dry goods, a wet market,  Chinese/Korean/Japanese delis, a mini-food court and a handful of BIKE shops~!

You read it right.  I repeat, BIKE shops!  So while J. Bond's jaw dropped in his favorite shop Paulinas ....

.... and capped the shopping with a thumbs up by his wounded arm (thanks to biking! but a sign I took as his acceptance to my shopping theory ), .....

... I was fast in scheduling next day's therapy session.  This time my way :)

Bruises and Paper

The remedy for bad falls resulting to unsightly bruises -- SHOPPING for PAPER!

Last Sunday was jinxed.  J. Bond came home from his usual weekend mountain bike adventure  looking normal as ever.  But it only took a split second to notice and be alarmed of the  BIG gauze pads patched on his right arm and  leg. Not to mention the bruised ribs masked by his sweat drenched shirt. Like what he said 3 years ago, this happens in "extreme" sports like this.  Yeah right!

I don't approve, yet I support.   Call me a confused nut but it's hard to say no.  So PRAY is all I do each time he goes on an adventure ....

January 24, 2010
PAPPY'S TRAIL -- somewhere along the slopes of Tagaytay, near Taal Volcano

For the second time around, the alarm button rang full blast.  I pretty much zoomed all around the house ... zoomed from the garage to the medicine cabinet .... zoomed up then zoomed down ... zoomed up once again then ....

... zoomed  FALLING DOWN!  Yup, from top to bottom.  TWO injured bodies in one day.  With my fall, that ended the zoom.

Pain set in the day after.  First aid remedies have been applied, but lo and behold ... great discoveries do happen even in pain.  First, SHOPPING cures! Second, PAPER products cure all the more!

See what I discovered in National Bookstore.  What do you think these are?  Comes in 3 colors and obviously I bought all 3.

These are pens made of RECYCLED PAPER!  Writes well and very affordable -- around Php6.50 each.  National Bookstore now features a section where recycled paper products like notebooks, notepads and pens are heavily promoted.   I just take extra care when using these pens, making sure that my hands are dry and no wet marks around. 

After having discovered these, a thought came to mind.  Do recycled paper beads exist? 

Sunday's fall led me to discover recycled paper pens.  

Recycled paper pens made me ask if recycled paper beads exist. 

My asking led me to do a quick research over the net. 

The research then led me to discover BEAD BY BEAD.

Courtesy of Bead by Bead

Taken from BEAD BY BEAD'S site,  their cause is all about this ....

Bead by Bead is a project and a vision of Mirella Brenke, who lives and works in Uganda with her husband and two children, that strives to help the families from one of the poorest Kampala districts, Soweto. Soweto is a district, more precisely, a slum, situated along the railroad. Most of its residents come from the poor northern part of Uganda, devastated by war. They live in inhuman conditions, with no water, electricity or sanitary facilities, and all members of the family mostly share one single room. The children often don't go to school, and famine, violence and poverty is what these people have to cope with every day.

After talking to many people, guided with our own experience, instinct and vision, we decided to start Bead by Bead. Bead by Bead is a socially responsible business, a model for which we strongly believe is the model of the future.

Bead by Bead is a company which does business like any other, the only difference is that it invests 20% of its profit and gives it back to the community that makes our products. Bead by Bead does this by investing in children's education, health insurance, and various other socially beneficial projects.

Our goal is to bring this unique, ecological product closer to you, to enrich your appearance with these beautiful colours, and your soul with knowing that you've really helped our cause.

How we can support?  Check out their site by clicking on the title of this blog.

As for me, I will order this soon.  Just finalizing quantities ....

Called DEMBE (means PEACE).  Note:  All beads are handmade of recycled paper.
Thank you Bead By Bead. 

Falls aren't bad -- It rattles your brain to remember that taking extra care is important ... And, it brings along great discoveries like National Bookstore's recycled paper pens and Bead by Bead's recycled paper beads.  I have somehow controlled myself from all the zooming since the fall.  I just wish that I can somehow zoom my way to Uganda to check out the beads in person, and more so meet the beautiful  women behind it.

My husband's case is a different story.  As they say, boys will always be boys! 

February 4, 2010 CELEBRATING 4! CHEERS!

HE:  4th YEAR of this . . .

... and because of that, hopefully HE does not go through this again . . .

SHE: started 4 years ago with this. . .

. . . and now, she has all these . . .

But together, HE & SHE celebrates 4 because of this . . .