Slumbook - From Mia, the MrsPartyGirl

Got this from an online friend and their weblog. Thanks, Mia. This was fun.

THE BASICS:

1. What is your (screen) name, and why did you choose that as your screen name?
- Don't really have one, but I've been using dieamazon for a lot of my blogs. It came from a co-worker of Dr. Jung who elaborated on the two instintive attitudes of women and added a couple more. One of them was amazon - it's a long explanation but I decided that dieamazon fit me best.

2. How long have you been married? Have kids?
- Going on our 7th year this Sunday and have 2 kids to show for it. Moira who just turned 6 and Ian who is 3.

3. What is your favorite color? And how has your color preference influenced your life (if it has)?
- Red. While I don't really buy a lot of red clothes, I do have a dress and shirt and jacket mixed in there for those times when I feel the need for color. I've always associated red with passion and life so in that sense, I try to live by that color.

4. What are your hobbies?
- Hobbies? What's that again? Haha. Mostly reading and writing - although that's been reduced greatly these past few months with work and responsibilities. I also knit which is a great stress reducer for me and helps me stop my mind from thinking when I need to relax. Retail therapy, of course is a huge influence too.

5. What is your motto in life?
- Wow, I don't really have one...I do have a question I do ask myself when conflicted about something, Eligere Magistrum - choose whom you will serve. Nuff said.

6. Do you have pets?
- Do kids and a husband count? Hehe. Nope, we'd like one but the logistics of it all makes it too difficult.

7. What are the three adjectives that best describe your spouse?
- Witty funny, Rockstar, devoted

8. Give three songs that best describe you.
- Hey, this is hard .... hmmmm....a) You've got a friend (James Taylor) - I'm a very loyal friend sometimes too loyal, some say;
b) Any man of mine (Shania Twain) - my sister told me this song fit me...I read the lyrics (I'm not into country) and damn...she was right. Haha
c) Tower (Vienna Teng) - this just hits me where it hurts

9. What satisfies you about the work that you do?
- That I control my time, and I know that what effort I put in, an equal reward would come out and it would all depend on me.

10. Do you blog? Where? Can we visit?
Right here, and visit anytime....

CHIKAHAN:

1. Define Love.
- Love doesn't hold you back, it allows you to grow into yourself and be happy; love doesn't put rules, you just end up doing the right thing because you love someone; love doesn't strangle, doesn't possess, doesn't own - it just is.

2. Kakaibang talento mo.
- find really sarcastic and witty people in a crowd and drift naturally towards them
- decide to lose weight and start regulating my meals and eating without effort
- stop smoking when i want to

3. Share your adobo recipe.
- Put pork with 1/3 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon garlic, bayleaf, 3 tablespoons soysauce, peppercorn; boil then simmer uncovered until tender; add 1/2 cup water and simmer until completely tender; saute 1 tablespoon garlic in oil until brown, add pork and fry intil brown; add the sauce from the initial simmer.

4. Describe your current screensaver/wallpaper.
- None, regular windows wallpaper - I just re-formatted my machine.

5. During your teenage years, what fad/s did you follow? Why?
Oh gosh....the teased hair, the black leggings, the double belts, the mismatched socks - can anyone say fashion victim? haha. I did the whole Bagets look (no, my mom did - hey! I can use that excuse - she made me wear it.)

6. How many times have you had a broken heart? Which was the worst and how did you recover from it?
- Once, that would've been the worst and I recovered by letting myself be surrounded by friends, doing a lot of community work, kept myself busy by focusing on my work and not getting into a serious relationship until I felt ready. I went back to my dating habits of never getting serious but just having fun.

7. If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?
- Freeze time! So that I can do what I need to get done before the hours of the day run out - OR better yet, freeze time so that I can finally read the tons of books I have sitting here.

8. What frightens you about getting old?
- Regrets.

9. Do you have a guilty pleasure?
- Shopping for clothes, shoes, bags...I can easily drop hundreds (my husband says thousands) in one shopping trip. On the cheaper side, I watch America's Next Top Model and Top Chef - it's awful!!! But I love it.

10. What's your favorite chore?
- Washing dishes. My sink looks out into the street and I can see my kids and the neighborhood kids playing; I have my rubber gloves, hot water and getting it all rinsed and into my washing machine. The look of a clean kitchen is also pretty satisfying.

11. Describe your wedding ring.
- It's actually 2 rings, one engagement ring and wedding ring, that have diamonds and hooks together to look like this diamond flower. It's feminine, dainty and my husband chose it - it's perfect.

12. If you could have a tattoo, what would it look like?
- An ankh on my lower back.

13. What book would you like to be made into a movie? Who would you like to star in it?
- David Edding's The Belgariad and The Mallorean series. Ryan Phillipe.

14. Share something that you do not believe in.
- Anything that sounds too good/too easy/too simple to be true. Pyramid schemes, multi-level marketing, investments that promise lifetime benefits for peanuts, a free gift IF YOU SIGN UP...
I also don't believe that realizing Jesus' humanity will ultimately destroy the Christian faith.

15. What qualities are important to you in friendship?
- Loyalty, dependability, trust

16. So far, what WS topic have you found most helpful? Most entertaining? Most controversial?
- A lot and I can't really remember one at the moment.

QUALIFIED TRUE OR FALSE:
1. First love never dies.
True - it will remain a special part in your heart that time just makes more sweet and ideal as you grow older and forget the reasons why it didn't work out.

2. You can change your partner once you're married.
False - no way. And if you believe that, you're in for a surprise.

3. The Philippines is worth it.
True - I know too many good people with amazing talent, intelligence and heart to not believe that.

4. Women are moodier than men.
False - Everyone is human - some are just more expressive than others, regardless of gender.

5. James Yap is innocent (Sorry Kris!).
Huh?

6. 80s fashion is coming back.
True - but I'll control myself this time.

7. Angels.
True

8. Good and bad luck come in threes.
False - what's with the threes?

9. Destiny.
True - there is a path and even with free will, as long as we're true to ourselves, we'll be where we're supposed to be.

10. It is better to have love and lost, than never to have loved at all.
True - I wouldn't be the person that I am without my past - hurts and all; happiness and all. I wouldn't know what true joy is, or the kind of person that I need.

TIPS:

1. What is you favorite skin care product?
- Neutrogena moisturizer, sunscreen, acne cream, and Aveeno body lotions.

2. What do you do to keep fit?
- Eat balanced meals, pilates and yoga.

3. Where do you do your bargain shopping?
- Target, Ross, Marshalls
- Philippines: Greenhills

4. Recommend an effective household cleaning item.
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!!! Omg, it cleaned up Sharpie drawings from our stone floor!!! I just love these.
- Swiffer is still the best!

5. Sex.
- Be comfortable in your sexuality and just let go.

Not another airport...

Just came back from (another) trip to Manila for business. I cannot believe how often I've been back after saying that I was going to be travelling quarterly. But in between clients dropping by to see the facility, having to prepare the facility for an important client visit, preparing to move, moving and setting up the new facility, there was just no way but to travel back and forth.

When I was younger I thought travelling would be the best thing ever - having a job that would require me to travel and see the world or visit various people, that would be perfect. Although I don't travel the world, I visit only one place all the time, travelling has become very tedious. The airports drain me, airport security and luggage fears exhaust me, and staying in one place for enough time to get me back into the time zone only to fly back...the travelling isn't so much fun anymore.

Oh don't get me wrong, I still love going to places, I think I am just done with the flights. If someone could already invent that machine that would allow us to transport ourselves through time and space THAT would be great! Imagine, pay for a ticket, go to this transport and FLASH, you're in another place with all your bags with you, safe and sound.

Once I landed, it's not fun either that 3 days after that (still jetlagged and all) Brian has to fly out for 3 days for budget meetings. So I have both kids, jetlag, all the unopened mail and catching up to do...tiring. No surprise that I am at my most unmotivated right now. I am both happy and weary at the thought that I will have a couple of months at least of being able to stay put. Happy because I get to focus on one side of the world, without having to worry about rushing to get things done prior to flying; weary because I still will be working on both sides, only I don't get to fly out.

I can hardly tell if my writing is making sense, yet another reason jetlag sucks. Be back when my brain is with me. Toodles.

Knitting craze

I've been so busy lately with the business, Moira's kindergarten, Ian's preschool, the house and Brian that I've found myself thinking and unable to stop. It's not hard, with Moira's and Ian's school schedule and activities, bill paying for the house, expenses with the business, and all other responsibilities with the family; not to mention we just finally sold our old townhouse. The debate on keeping it and renting it over selling it and focusing on just one house finally is over.

It doesn't stop the fact that there are a LOT of things to think about and I couldn't stop doing it.


I finally found a way to overcome it by picking up knitting again. I had learned it when I was in high school and found a store nearby where I found these great looking yarn. So I decided to try knitting again. My first project was a scarf for my mom, this was back in July 2006! - a simple one using a ribbon yarn and stockinette stitch (knit on one side and purl on another). It came out nice and simple, the yarn did a lot more to it than my knitting did, but it helped me re-learn my skills again.

The next project I did was a baby afghan for my cousin's newly-born daughter. It looked absolutely beautiful on the picture. The pattern was on the yarn label so I decided to try it, 6 months later it was done - and I was happy to see it looked exactly as it did on the pattern picture. It took awhile and my cousin's baby wasn't quite the newborn that she was when I first started but I was happy to have done something for her with my own hands.

My next project was a sweater for my husband. Yes, yes, I know - ambitious especially considering I haven't knitted in over a decade. But I found a great pattern online for it and great knitting learning resources that I could tap that even had free online videos to explain how to do a particular stitch. The sweater took awhile, but when it was done, seeing Brian where was well worth the effort. The fact that people in his office complimented him on the new sweater was an added bonus! I found a matching sweater for Ian which was great so I got the same yarn and color and this time, it went much faster. He looked sooooo cute in it!

Going out of the house with Ian and Brian in matching sweaters didn't go well with Moira as she had a poncho that she couldn't wear. So, we decided that she would choose a new yarn and I'd make her one and this time it would fit her. So we found one and with her constant, "are you knitting my poncho, mommy?", or the early morning, "get knitting, mommy.", I was finally done and she LOVED it. She wore it around the neighborhood with her friends and now I have 3 little girls making hints about how they loved the poncho and how they would love one of their own...

But I decided it was time for me - and here is my project. I did it in 1 week which is awesome and now...I have this great cardigan that is warm and perfect...my thinking has been completely controlled. Everytime I get stressed out and find myself thinking and worrying needlessly, I pick up my knitting needles and I get to start to relax.

Now, if only I can keep people from asking me to make something for them...my current project, another scarf for my mom AND the same cardigan that I made for myself....I think I jumped from the frying pan into the fire with this one...