WEAR SUNSCREEN

I'm feeling really blah today--probably from lack of sleep and a few minor problems. And whenever my spirit needs lifting, this is one of the things I like to read to stay optimistic about life.

I thought I'd share it with you.

WEAR SUNSCREEN
By Mary Schmich
The Chicago Tribune
Originally published: Sunday, June 1, 1997

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen
would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved
by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more
reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this
advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You
will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until
they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at
photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much
possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You
are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying
is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things
that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you
at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead,
sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's
only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank
statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with
your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22
what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most
interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them
when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children,
maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the
funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do,
don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.
Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it
or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument
you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living
room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel
ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone
for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your
past and the people most likely to stick with you in the
future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people
who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you
soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians
will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll
fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable,
politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust
fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when
either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it
will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over
the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

TO HEEL OR NOT TO HEEL?

Heelless shoes.

I know! What the hell does a heelless shoe look like?

Mrs. Beckham wore one last week.



And this is how it looks like up-close.



Fugly, isn't it? Here's another one



They're made by Antonio Berardi. I wonder if they're comfortable. Would like to try on a pair just for kicks.

I would chose heels anytime.

GUESS WHO'S BACK?!

Samantha who is!!!

I really miss watching this show and was wondering why the 2nd season hasn't started yet. I looked it up today and the new season started last week. I have 2 episodes to catch up on.

Samantha Who is a comedy series about a girl who wakes up from a coma and finds herself with retrograde amnesia. She has absolutely no memories from her past and so she starts to rediscover herself. In the process, she discovers that the old Samantha was a total bitch and she wants to change that.

SWEET WEEKEND!

I love dessert. I don't care if it's the reason why it's so hard for me to lose weight. It's something I cannot get rid of. I'll just make up for it by running.

Sharing with you desserts I had over the weekend:

FRIDAY
I went to Glorietta after work to look for running shoes for me and slippers for Joaquin. Didn't find any. What I did come across though, was this quaint cupcake stall called Frostings at Food Choices in Glorietta 4.

(Clockwise)From top left: Swiss Chocolate(Php50), White Chocolate(Php50), Red Velvet(Php50) and Double Dutch(Php35)

Except for the Red Velvet (Sonja's is better), all the cupcakes were really, really good! And so much cheaper! I really enjoyed the Double Dutch, which is their cupcake of the month. The frosting is yummy and buttery and the melted chocolate in the middle of the cupcake is just divine.

I've been dreaming about their cupcakes since Saturday and I can't wait to get some more. Will try their extra premium cupcakes next time. The Kahlua, Irish Cream and Tiramisu cupcakes are intriguing.

Another thing you must try are their Whoopie Pies (Php35). My sister, Francine and I went craazzzyy over this one.



It reminded me so much of Ding Dongs which I love but can't find here.


Frostings Cupcakes
3rd level Jumpstreet West Wing, Robinsons Galleria, Quezon City
3/F Children's Division, Shangri-La, Rustans, Mandaluyong City
3/F Rustans Makati, Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Food Choices, Glorietta 4
Tel nos.: 9833880 / 9837064
info@frostingscupcakes.com.ph
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SATURDAY

My sisters and I met up for lunch at Powerplant Mall last Saturday. The ad said they were on sale but there was really nothing to buy.

Decided to get some ice cream before heading home. We were lined up at FIC when I saw a pink flyer with a cute cow in it. I just read "ice cream" and "yogurt" and we were off to the 3rd floor where Lulubelle's was.

Joaquin and I had the a large cup of Strawberry Yogurt with chocolate malt balls. I loved how it looked but we loved the taste even more. Next time, we will try the smoothies.



Lulubelle's interior is also very purty. Just look at their lights!


Lulubelle
R3 (Playground Area at the opposite end of Fully Booked)
Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
Telephone: 515-8129

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SUNDAY

After lunch, we heard familiar bells outside. Mamang sorbetero!!! For Php10/cone, how can you go wrong?




Drooling yet?

Hahaha!

Have a sweet week!

I WANT SOME BOOTIE!

Booty-- I've got.

But Booties-- I want.



Images courtesy of Neiman Marcus

I wish I had sexy legs to wear these with a nice mini-dress. But I don't.

Guess I'll just have to be satisfied with my booty. Hehe!

MY OWN INCREDIBLE

We're going trick or treating next Saturday and we are excited!!! I had Joaquin try on his costume to make sure it fits. This comes with a mask but he hates wearing it.



And just like Jack-Jack, he looks harmless but really isn't. Hehehe!

----------------------------------------------------------------

My sister, Marby and uber kulit Nephew, Gabe slept over last Saturday so we had lots of fun! It's really nice to see the Gabe and Joaquin together even when they're fighting over toys half the time. Hehehe!




I bet you're going "Dum dum dee dum dum dum du dum dum" now...

Have a great week!

HOMESTYLE SUKIYAKI

It was raining the whole day yesterday plus my family was sick so I knew that a filling, tummy-warming dish would be perfect for dinner. And it was.

It's actually pretty easy and quick to make.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 kilo of sukiyaki-cut beef
1 white onion, cut into rings
2 liters of beef broth
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mirin (this is sweet rice wine which you can buy in the supermarket.)
1 cup kikkoman soy sauce
100 grams sotanghon noodles, soaked in water.
tofu, cut into cubes
chinese cabbage
dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water and sliced thinly
carrots, sliced diagonally

1. Fry onions in oil until brown. Add the sukiyaki beef and cook until almost cooked. Take the onions and beef out of the pan and transfer to a plate.

2. In the same pan, add the beef broth, soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Bring it to a boil. After that, drop in the shitake mushrooms and carrots. Then, simmer.

3. When the carrots are tender enough, return the sukiyaki beef and onions to the pot. Add the cabbage, tofu and sotanghon noodles. Simmer for a couple of minutes and serve.

GLOOMY FRIDAY

I bet you had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.

I, on the other hand, saw the sun come up today. I was up all night (only had about 3 hours of sleep) because Joaquin has cough and colds. He would sleep for awhile and then wake up crying. Then he would ask me to carry him and he would sleep on my shoulder. If I lay him on the bed, he would cry and ask me to carry him again. I would have to wait for a pretty long time until he falls into a deep slumber before I can put him down. Now, I cannot feel my arms! Hehe!

V offered to do the carrying but Joaquin refused to be carried by anyone else. Whenever I would hand him over to his Papa, he would cry louder and stretch his arms out to me. (Sweet noh?)

So anyway, I took the day off from work so I can stay home and take care of my son. Also doesn't help that I already have sore throat and colds and V has the same thing Joaquin has. Hawa-hawa na kami. Guess we are staying indoors all weekend.

What brightened my gloomy friday was watching Twilight's new Trailer. If you're also a fan, you'll love this! It's kileeeeeggg!!!

Enjoy this and enjoy your weekend!

TERRIBLE TWO

Joaquin is turning 2 next month and as early as now (actually, it started a few months ago), he is already on the "Terrible Two" phase.

According to Dr. Greene:

Gradually, though, sometime after he had mastered walking, an irresistible urge to make his own choices began to well up inside him. This is an exciting development, but the difficulty with his making an independent choice is that he must disagree with you in order for the choice to be his own. Now, when you ask him to do something, he refuses.

And it really is quite terrible. Lemme tell you why:

Then: We would force him to walk.
Now: We run after him.

Then: He falls asleep before we do.
Now: We're sooo sleepy and he's still climbing up and down the bed and running around the room, etc.

Then: Loves afternoon naps.
Now: What afternoon nap?

Then: Stays and plays in his playpen.
Now: Climbs out of his playpen.

Then: We wake up with him in bed.
Now: We wake up with him standing by our bed.

Hehehehe!

Have a good work week, everyone!