Happy 2007 to all of you 😀

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A few scenes from MY December:

One of my bestest friends Sheila was in Manila last month so naturally Tips and I dropped everything to meet with her for good ol’ lunch and coffee. And then of course there were the family reunions and get-togethers galore (my dad flew home for a vacation and so did Arn’s brother Jing ((Who’s been based in Singapore since October)) so the families were complete ((I’m sure my other brother Christopher was with us in spirit, literally, like I’ve always believed…)) once again :)): miscellaneous pre-Christmas lunches and dinners with relatives and friends, Christmas eve dinner and Christmas day lunch with my family, Christmas day dinner and day-after-Christmas breakfast and lunch with Arn’s family, our day-long wedding anniversary celebration, day before New Year’s lunch and dinner with Arn’s family, and then New Year’s Eve dinner and New Year’s Day lunch with my family. Whew! ((So yes it’s true, when you get married you will eat twice as much as you did when you were single because there are now two sets of families to eat with. 😉))

More:

From left: our kitty by the Christmas tree, the last of Papa’s kaki (persimmon) pasalubong before I mercilessly sliced through it with that little knife beside it, Papa and Mama at Seven Corners, my ice cream teppanyaki being tossed together, half of the batch of red velvet cupcakes I baked for our families, and Arn and his brother Jing at the NAIA canteen “Windows of the World” minutes before his flight back to Sing.

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So how’s everyone’s internet connection doing since the great, year-end quake ((Thank goodness nothing but our internet connection got hurt.))? We’re on PLDT-DSL and it’s been buggy for the past week to say the least. There are days when Google and Gmail loads quickly but then I get stuck loading my own webpage for 10 minutes ((My official excuse for not updating 😉)). I wonder how it is in other Asian countries. Shei? It’s comforting to know though that repairs are under way and here’s hoping that normalcy is restored in a week’s time.
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By the way, the January-June 2007 issue of Wedding Essentials is set to come out this month — it may even hit the newsstands this weekend. Please watch out for it because it might be our thickest and most comprehensive issue yet.
UPDATE: I just received a hot-off-the-press copy from our ed Marbs and the girls and holy guacamole it’s dooper thick! See the pic.

It’s 285 pages thick, not counting the ads (with the ads it clocks in at 340 pages). It’ll be on newsstands by next week so pretty please grab a copy if you can. It’s still at P250 and I promise you it’s worth every centavo (hey it’s less than one peso per page!). Will write about the issue in detail once it’s officially out. 😉

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Last but not least, a big hearty THANK YOU goes out to everyone who’s bought shirts and merch from my Cafepress stores! As of this writing, I’ve sold a total of 97 98 ((As of today, Jan 5! I know it’s not that big a deal since others are selling 10x as much but to me it’s already *huge* considering all I’m investing is a bit of computer time and design savvy.)) 99 ((As of Jan 5, 6:23 pm, I can’t believe it. You readers must be my lucky charm. 🙂 One more to go…)) 100 ((As of Jan 7, 2:10 pm. Hip-hip hooray!!)) shirts and when it reaches a hundred I’ll be listing down all your names so you can send me photos of yourselves wearing them, alright? 😀

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May all of you have the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years!

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And if you’re still stumped about what to give your loved ones this season, why don’t you check out Michael’s list of Christmas Gift Ideas from Filipino Graphic Designers ((Thank you for the mention, Michael and Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!)).

One of the best things about having a blog is that you get to meet and interact with people who share your interests. A few posts ago, I talked about how much I liked Real Simple mag. And then a friend of mine — working mom Candice — posted a note saying that, surprise, there’s a Real Simple online newsletter. ((See, I didn’t even know that and I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t blog about it and if she didn’t point it out. Thank you Cands!)) I’m glad she told me because now it’s the only newsletter I look forward to receiving every week. It’s chockfull of clever and aha! tips with titles like: “Decorate on the Cheap with Everyday Items” (ex: Use binder clips to display photos), “Learn How to Say No” ((A must-read. In my life I’ve been through a lot of sticky situations where I had difficulty saying no.)), “16 Quick Ways to Take Control of Your Life” (ex: Itemize your possesions), and “27 Clever Cleaning Tips” (ex: Store cleaning products in a see-through shoe holder). If you want to simplify your life, go ahead, do yourself a favor and subscribe.

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By the way, I think I’ve gained some three years worth of stay-at-home-wifedom cred to list down a few household tips myself. Let me share them with you:

1. Baking soda is your friend. Use it to unclog drains (sprinkle some on the drain before pouring boiling water through it), freshen up kitchen counters (sprinkle some on the counter, pour some vinegar or squeeze a few pieces of calamansi on the powder — it will fizz — then wipe it off), or remove unpleasant smells in your ref (keep an open container of it inside your ref).
2. Rub off the nasty black stains on the bottoms of your pots and pans with vinegar.
3. Keep a little basket or tray containing everything you’ll need when you go out. Ours holds our house keys, car keys, wedding rings, cellphones, and a wallet with “emergency money”. We bring it to the bedroom with us when we sleep, and we bring it downstairs every morning when we open the doors. We’ve made it a habit to put the abovementioned items in it everytime we go home.
4. Make duplicates of all your keys and label each one carefully. Entrust the duplicates, or at least the ones that open the main doors) to a trusted family member or friend who doesn’t live in the same house.
5. Make it a habit to switch off the gas before turning off the stove.
6. Have scissors, even the kid-size ones will do, available in every room. Trust me.
7. Put all loose change on a bowl on your kitchen counter. Pretty soon you’ll end up with a big pile that you can use for miscellaneous expenses like parking, tips for your cleaning lady and drinking water delivery guy.
8. Enroll your bank accounts in an online facility, if possible. (I’m not sure about the other banks but I know BPI and Citibank accounts can be managed online). My fabulous friend Tippi introduced me to online finance management and I’m glad I took her advice. It’s so convenient — you can check your balances, transfer funds, and pay monthly bills all from the comforts of home, even on weekends and holidays!
9. Keep extra trash bags at the bottom of your trash cans. This way there’ll always be a bag when you need one.
10. Buy toilet paper, paper towels, and table napkins in bulk. They don’t spoil, it’ll come out cheaper, and having them around will give you peace of mind.
More next time. 😀
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By the way, another fabulous friend Sheila has a happy new blog. She’s an award-winning advertising creative director so please visit her site, try out her tasty recipes, and just see what else goes on inside the mind of a genius! Clicky.