Thursday, December 31, 2009

Sayonara 2009! --

It's the last day of 2009!

5 Favorite Movies of the Year
1. Up
2. Star Trek
3. District 9 <-- I was determined not to like this movie and I didn't, at first, but it has a way of drawing you in and captivating you
4. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
5. Julie and Julia

This week, we received a package from my brother and he gave us a R2 copy of Nausicaa so my sister and I watched that and we also watched and re-watched Howl's Moving Castle (so, so beautiful!) and watched Ged's War Chronicle (Tales from Earthsea) and I just unearthed Neko no ongaeshi (The Cat's Return) and we're planning to watch that tonight. Notice a trend? ;-P

5 Movies I'm looking forward to
1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Iron Man 2
3. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
5. Toy Story 3

5 Favorite TV Shows
1. Glee
2. Top Chef
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Amazing Race
5. True Confections on QTV

... also Entourage, Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Battlestar Gallactica

5 Favorite Magazines
1. Yummy
2. Real Simple
3. Domino/Blueprint <-- too bad these are discontinued
4. Romantic Times
5. Dwell <-- though I don't buy this anymore

5 Favorite Books
1. Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barberry
2. Anna Godbersen's Luxe series (4 books: Luxe, Rumors, Envy, Splendor)
3. Nigella Lawson books (How to Be A Domestic Goddess, How to Eat, etc.)
4. A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore <-- romance novel. Her debut work.
5. Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh <-- another romance novel. Made me cry. Made me stay up late.

<-- also Real Simple: Celebrations and Domino: The Art of Decorating ... and all of Anne Stuart's historical romances

5 Best Purchases for 2009
1. An iPod Touch (for my sister)
2. My Reisenthel Allrounder <-- a German brand which I discovered in Tokyo
3. Our Tokyo plane tickets (thank you to Philippine Airlines for the insanely affordable promo fare.)
4. Our Wii (Whee~)
5. 400-thread count beddings <-- My mom got them when she was in the US and I'm glad she did. Amazing! Now I'm spoiled...

5 Favorite Places in Iloilo
1. Booksale
2. Tinapayan at Atrium
3. Kopi Roti in Smallville
4. Iloilo Supermart at Atrium
5. Daily Buns <-- such a great place to buy bread

5 Discoveries for 2009
1. The Crispy Pata at Cafe Laguna
2. Having only two friends here in Iloilo (and always loving the lunches/dinners/conversation with them)
3. The Kopi Trio at Kopi Roti
4. Cebu <-- I was there twice this year and I love, love, love the place. I want to go back! >_<
5. The Korean Hair Salon inside Ledesco Village

<-- also Anne Stuart, the historical romance writer who is now writing mostly romantic suspense

5 Things that Made Me Go "Wow
1. San Miguel Brewery stock hitting 9.6 this month (when it was 8.9 at the start of the month)
2. Anna Godbersen's conclusion to the Luxe series (Splendor was amazing)
3. Tokyo and takoyaki
4. Uratex Senso-memory mattresses
5. The presidential candidates for 2010 (some were "wow" in a good way and others ...)

Happy Thoughts for 2009
1. My romance novel business <-- and hitting Power Seller status this month
2. Cebu and Tokyo <-- Tokyo deserves a blog entry of its own ... and I'm working on it
3. My children (and my entire family: parents, siblings and husband)
4. Two jars of peanut butter from The Peanut Butter & Co <-- thank you, thank you to Char who got them for me. Makes my mornings oh-so-bright and peanut-buttery wonderful ^_^
5. Life and all it's possibilities!!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

My thoughts exactly --

A noiseless patient spider,
I marked where on a promontory it stood isolated,
Marked how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be formed, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

- Walt Whitman

Am feeling a bit bleh this evening -- and this poem sums up what's going through my mind right now. (I hope I understand this poem correctly ...)

I'm so glad I had to chance to study lit in university and then getting to study it again for my (unfinished) M.A. --

I don't get to touch poetry much these days, but it is comforting to know that it is there ... and in its simplicity of form, it expresses in loudly and clearly the complexities of the human condition.

Thank you, thank you to Eric Torres for sharing Whitman with me.
Thank you, thank you to D.M. Reyes for Possession, which I will dig up tomorrow and will read and finish before the New Year.

A great find! (Or, when you're in Iloilo...) --

We discovered a lovely Korean Hair & Beauty Salon in a nearby subdivision!

My sister had her hair cut there yesterday and it looks amazing! (And very affordable! 250 for a haircut!)

My sister was a bit worried because she hates trying out new things and hates (even more) trying out a new salon -- her hair is a bit tricky to cut because it is sooo thick --

When we saw the Korean stylist make the first few cuts (she calls them "slice"), we knew my sister was in good hands.

The shop doesn't have a name but it's located along the main road of Ledesco Village and is a straight line from the entrance to the subdivision.

Store hours are from 10am to 9pm and, for appointments, call 3006559 or 3290602.

I'm planning to get my perm re-done there this January. Am excited! =^_^=

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Where is this year's wishlist? --

For the past how many years, I've published my Christmas wishlist earlier and earlier --

This year, I'm a bit surprised that I haven't posted one yet and even more surprised that I really don't have much on my list.

1. New pair of glasses <-- this is on my list every year. And I go to the optical shop every year but I could never find a pair that would convince me to give up my old pair of glasses.

2. The following Anne Stuart books: <-- yes, yes. Historical romances.
- Lady Fortune
- Prince of Magic
- Lord of Danger
- Shadow Dance
- A Rose at Midnight

3. Time to read books. ^_^

4. A new pair of shoes/Crocs <-- I really love my pink Primas but they are old and they are my only going-out shoes.

5. An afternoon at the newly-opened Dulcinea in SM City-Iloilo <-- but I'm getting this one early. We're meeting friends for dinner and then having dessert there. Yay for Churros and cream puffs!