things are looking good

I had a difficult time falling asleep again last night so I gave in to an inspiration: I reviewed my 2008-2009 journal.

It always amuses me when I read stuff I've written in the past, even in the not-so-distant past (Too bad I threw away my journals from my teen years [they took up so much space]; those would have been fun to revisit). I was hoping that this particular journal could help me see how much ground I've covered in the past two years.

My logs began sometime in the last quarter of '08, and the last entry one was dated mid-'09, (around the time before my dad had his stroke; after that episode I recall I resorted to logging my thoughts online because I found it more convenient). There wasn't much in that journal, but the contents were enough for some perspective.

Reading what I had written, it was easy for me to see that life is much better now than it was two years ago, in most if not all aspects. The Hubby and I are in a better place in our lives; there is visibly more peace and joy and love. This is undeniably good. Even better than good.

The wisest decision the Hubby and I made was getting out of a toxic environment full of non-supportive people. It allowed a whole lot of room for more good things in our lives.

In that journal I also found our '08 wishlist. Though we still don't have the top item (which was / still is, our own home), I realize that we've already acquired most of the other things, such as a laptop, a DSLR and some other stuff we wanted. Cheers to us!

I also reviewed some of the prayers and prophecies concerning myself which I jotted down during that time-period. I think they are now in fulfillment - well, not every prayer / prophecy is happening right this moment, but I see some significant items coming to pass in the present. There are still a few that have yet to happen, and I am quite excited about them.

One very encouraging word I received was that I will make choices that will seem wrong to others, but I will be exactly where God wants me. Right now - despite the probability that there are others frowning upon us - I am convinced that the Hubby and I are where God wants us, and I am blessed and thankful.

In the following nights, I suppose I should visit my journals from as far back as 2000. I'm, sure I will be encouraged by the progress I've made.

cheers to me!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.

So today I turned a year older, had a date with the hubby and stuffed myself with Mediterranean food and a lovely, lovely dessert. As I looked back on my lovely day I thought maybe I should've toted my lovely new camera and taken lovely visual mementos of the day.

It's my day. My day. I slept in and stayed in bed until noon, letting the greetings roll in on my Facebook wall.

I decided I was going to look nice. Nice by my standards anyway. I wore my favorite white skirt and threw on the tumbled-gemstone necklace I made.

I got some new stuff. I didn't buy any new clothes or shoes (yet) but I might before Christmas.

I got me a new look earlier. I had my hair treated. When I had longer hair I'd invest in rebonding, but these days that my hair's short I decided it's not worth blowing more than a thousand bucks just to make my hair behave. I thought of saving money by having a straightening instead. It doesn't quite produce the same effect, but at least it makes my haircut appear a lot neater and sharper than it would with my usual frizzy wave. I love it. My left ear looks cooked though (Because my hair was too short, some of the chemical flowed to my ear while rinsing and the hairdresser lady didn't spritz it quickly enough). Oh well. At least I look good and I learned a lesson.

My new favorite dessert is baklava a la mode with orange sauce, by the way.

I wind down tonight with a smile on my face, anticipating what looks like a good December.

the early birthday gift

My birthday isn't until a few more days but the Hubby surprised me with an early gift: a long-coveted, wonderfully practical, I-love-it-immensely DSLR. Woot! Woot!


I finally have my own (whee, I no longer have to borrow someone else's), and a real spankin' nice one at that! I'm excited to start capturing art with it ^_^ It'll take some getting used to, of course; it's a Nikon D5000 and it's way different from the Olympus I've gotten used to. I delved into the user's manual and started testing the camera's settings earlier today; perhaps tomorrow I could start snapping photos.

girls talk: apparel and accessories shopping

This week on Girls Talk: What I often look for in the apparel and accessories section.

Apparel. Right now I've got a thing for leggings. I'm so glad they made a comeback.

Leggings are like that perfect pair of jeans, but lightweight, more comfortable and much softer. They can go for different degrees of casual - from overly rugged to smart-casual. They can also make your legs look skinnier.

What I look for to go with leggings: A long-ish tunic or babydoll top.

I don't think too-short dresses or skirts are appropriate for someone my age (and size, haha). Since I'm now over 30, I don't want to dress like a teenager. Throwing on a pair of leggings under a short skirt / dress achieves the right look.

Accessories. I don't normally buy accessories, since I can make my own (A good rule to go by: "Don't buy anything you can make"). If I find a piece I like, I'd take a good look at it, and then make my own version at home. It saves me money and provides an outlet for creativity.

These days I go for chunky necklaces, statement necklaces and / or large dangling earrings (NOT to be worn at the same time of course).

So this is this month's last installment of Girls Talk. Check out other ladies' shopaholism at Beauty Queen Gene.

Looking forward to our December topics. ^_^

creative week

I spent the past week putting together more wearables. I decided to exhaust what remains of my current stock of materials, so as to make room for the next time I purchase supplies. Prior to this week of creativity, I'd been whining that I couldn't come up with any new works worth selling because I've been wanting to buy new beads and stuff. Apparently, all I needed to do was to take another look at what I already had, and apply a bit of creativity.

I'm kinda proud of what I was able to come up with out of those "leftover" beads. I made 12 statement necklaces this week.

See the rest of them at