Sale! Sale!: 80% Off at Swimsuits For All

I love a great BIG sale! *giggles*

Given that I seldom buy regular-priced items when it comes to branded clothing/apparel, I wait for the opportunity to purchase what I like at a lesser price (better if it's slashed down to less than 50% off). Never mind if I wait for a little while, as long as I'll save more - that's the idea.

Swimsuits For All is currently holding a clearance sale with discounts up to 80% off! They carry a wide range of hard-to-find swimsuits for women, men, teens and kids; but best of all, there are a lot of styles that will suit any kind of size and budget.

I browsed the selections and picked 2 items that have been super marked down:

The brown ensemble has a suggested retail price (SRP) of $78, but now it's on sale at only $19.95! The printed swimsuit's original SRP is $98, now you can have it for as low as $14.48! You get up to 85% savings from these beauties.

If you will notice, both styles have a slimming effect. A solid top and bottom color gives the illusion of length, while prints take away attention from problem areas. Both are great for those who want to make their tummy area look flatter.

You may want to take advantage of these additional promos as well:

50%-70% on Liz Claiborne
50% on Longitude Swimwear (use code: LONGITUDE50)
Extra 20% off on hot sellers (use code: SAVE 20)

Win $100 Gift Certificate Towards Next Purchase at SwimsuitsForAll.com! Click Here for More Details!
Win a FREE Swimsuit at SwimsuitsForAll.com!- Enter Yourself into a MONTHLY FREE SWIMSUIT Drawing- CLICK HERE!

Now, that's what I call a SUPER sale! :)


P.S. Check out other SALE items here!

Care to Visual Talk?

Visual Talking

Here's what I just composed through Visual Talking. It's a cool new way to get your message across!

Can you guess my message just by looking at the pictures, without reading the words? It's a line from an old favorite song. Click the image to reveal if you got it right. Unless you got magnifying eyes, that is! ;-)

By the way, this is part of a $1.50 survey from dNeero. You too, can get paid by answering surveys like this! All you have to do is answer the survey and post it to your blog or any social networking site! It's easy and best of all, it's free! Click here to join now!

Reviving the Wormie in Me

I haven't seen the sun for a while.

Only now, after days of mandatory solitude that I am able to bask in its rays once again.

Oh, I miss how the heat makes my skin tingle! After days of rain coming from the sky and my eyes, pouring into my soul, the sun makes me realize I'm still glad to be alive.

I'm already smelling the perfume emanating from my chest where I lavishly sprayed it earlier. The fact that I'm wearing a low-cut blouse only made it worse. The mild Green Tea scent is giving my olfactory senses a lot to deal with; it's starting to make me feel dizzy.

I just realized I haven't had lunch yet.

Lines from a novel? Nah.

Maybe I just sound particularly novel-ish today, partly because I snagged some good books at a sale yesterday. I got these books or only P99 each and, get a load of this-- they are NEW and on BUY ONE, TAKE ONE! So each piece costs only around $1 and a few cents. Great deal, huh!

I got "A Map of the World" (Jane Hamilton), "Under the Tuscan Sun" (Frances Mayes), "A Little Help From Above" (Saralee Rosenberg) and "Welcome to my Planet" (Shannon Olson) for me.

"A Map of the World" is on Oprah's Book Club and a national bestseller, so I figured it must be good. I already watched "Under the Tuscan Sun" before, and loved it. But I'd like to read the story this time and compare. On the other hand, the other two are light novels which I hope will turn out to be good reads too.

As for the Little Lady, I got lucky to find these thick hardbound books:


"The Magickers" (Emily Drake) and "Mira, Mirror" (Mette Ivie Harrison). She loves magic and mystery, so these are really perfect for her.

Did I mention that she already started reading Nancy Drew books? She chose to get the hardbound type last time, like the ones I used to borrow from the school library when I was still in high school.

Good that she doesn't need colorful graphics to entice her to read. Though she still loves reading Princess, W.I.T.C.H, Total Girl, Winx, Monster Allergy magazines and Archie comics.

I'm glad she shares the same interest in reading at this early age. :)

Now, if only I have the time to read all these. I got them primarily to revive the bookworm in me. It's been a while since I finished reading a book. All the rest were half-read and gathering dust and cobwebs in my shelf.

Since I joined Muthahood Crib's Online Book and Movie Fan Club, I might as well find time for this. :)

Wish me luck!


P.S.
Love Books? Check this out! Free Shipping: Booksfree.com

Art on My Mind

Art on My Mind

My theme for this week's Scrapbook Saturday is still about art. But this time, it's Chestene's art. I can't fit them all here, so I just chose four of them for this scrap.

If you'd like to see more of her work, head on over to her blog and tell her what you think. She'll be thrilled to hear from you! :)

Graphic Elements by: Pimp Your Scrapbook, Sooze and bengigirl of Scrapbookflair.com


Related Posts:

My Art, Revisited
Framed
Smile Baby, Smile!
Chestene is Hannah Montana
Good Girl in Glitters
One Summer in Subic
My Favorite Babies
Flower Power

Win an XBox 360!

I love contests! In fact, I write about them here, from time to time. Whenever I stumble upon a cool one, or when I get lucky enough to win a prize, I post it right away to share with everyone so each of us can take a shot at it.

Well, it’s been a while since I last won a giveaway, but I recently discovered another contest that has great prizes at stake. You could win an XBox 360, tickets to Michigan vs. Penn State (Saturday, October 18, 2008) or a $100 Gift Certificate from Dick's Sporting Goods! Now, isn’t that awesome?

It’s really easy to join! All you need is to sign up as a member of SportsVids in order to participate in the contest. This site has a wide array of online sports videos, so I assure you that your membership would be well worth it.

Once registered, you will be given specific contest instructions, which will then provide you with a unique URL. The goal is to drive the most number of unique visitors through this URL to the SportsVids website. So put it in your blog and social networking sites, email it to your friends and spread the word!

One click from a unique visitor is equivalent to 1 Referral Point, and the top three members that will gain the most unique hits/Referral Points will win the contest.

Contest ends on September 30, 2008, so hurry, visit the link to join now!

http://www.sportsvids.com/index.php?contest=TVRrdw==

Two Lessons I Learned from My Child Today

It’s been sometime since I last thoroughly organized the contents of my Little Lady’s school bag. So when I had the chance a while ago, I turned it upside down to get broken crayons, short and over-sharpened pencils, candies and lots of pieces of pad paper folded into different shapes.

Some of them crumpled, while the others are neatly folded with the label “secret” on top. No- they are not love letters this time. :)

I patiently looked at each piece of paper. I'm not the type to throw things right away; I'm too sentimental for that. I keep her notes, drawings and anything worth saving to stash in her memory box.

In the pile of paper, there were drawings, quizzes, stories, letters from her classmates and her own letters to God. Everyday her teacher asks the students to write to God first thing in the morning, before starting class. What a way to start the day!

It made me think of my own daily prayer habit. Sometimes, I forget to say my morning prayers because I’m always rushing off to work; then at night, when I feel so tired, I doze off without even saying, “Thank you, Lord.”

I'm guilty to the nth degree.

Lesson #1: Always put God first.

We get too busy and sometimes self-absorbed in our own world, to even say a quick prayer to the ONE who gave us everything we have today.

It's always good to start the day with a prayer to ask for strength and protection to carry out our daily tasks, guidance to do what is right and just, and both physical and spiritual blessings to get us through.

She was happy when she came home today because she received a St. Michael medal for sharing last Sunday’s Gospel. I thought she found the paper she’s been looking for early this morning - her interpretation of the Gospel. She was very eager to show it to Sr. Estrella, a nun in her school, but it turned out that she wasn’t able to find her work, so she just explained it to the class. The nun commended her because she knew the Gospel not only in words, but by heart.

Lesson #2: Listen and understand the Gospel.

How often do you find yourself sleepy in church when it comes to hearing the priest’s sermon? Why do people start to feel drowsy at that exact moment?

A priest once said that it must be the work of the devil, and I believe him. I always experience being awake the whole time, but when the sermon starts, my eyes feel heavy right away as if I’ve been sprinkled with sleeping dust; only to feel awake again the minute it’s done.

Psychological? I don't think so.

When people fail to hear the Gospel, they miss out on the teaching; and that makes the devil rejoice. It’s like going to class, falling asleep during the lecture, learning nothing and flunking the exams afterward.

God asks for only an hour of our time each week, and yet we come late, fall asleep, and become altogether inattentive while we're in His home.

Why is it so hard to spare an hour of undivided attention to Him, when we can do meetings and appointments that we willingly devote our focus and attention to?

They say it's human nature. Yes, we always blame it to human nature.

I’m thankful I have my daughter to constantly remind me of important lessons I’m missing out because I’m too jaded and preoccupied living my life as a multitasked adult.

She nudges me to stop and smell the flowers once in a while. She is my life, but I never thought I could also learn from her how to truly live.


Related Posts:

God's Ad
Child Discipline, My Style
What Type of Parent are You?
Surviving the First Week of School
To My Child

Diet and Me

I’ve been on a diet forever. It’s actually a mixed diet that makes me gain and lose weight alternately, depending on my appetite and metabolism. :)

Hah. So my body is not perfect and nowhere near a bony and catwalk-worthy physique, and more on the curvaceous-voluptuous side. But I love it!

Yes, I get tired of hearing comments about losing weight and gaining weight from some of my friends whenever I see them; as if the world revolves around the numbers on the weighing scale and there’s nothing else seem worth conversing about. But of course, in my mind, there will always be a permanent yearning for me to trim down a bit and to look my best in all aspects.

I want that to feel good about myself and not to please anyone else. I want it for me.

It will be utterly hypocritical to say that looks don’t matter. Looks DO matter. It’s one’s tangible representation to others. You need not be gorgeous to look good. I guess the effort to be clean, healthy and to carry a positive outlook is enough to exude the look that you are taking care of yourself.

Some work their tushies off the gym to get Madonna muscles, stone abs and rock-hard butts. I admire women who have the patience to sweat it all out just to achieve their desired shape.

I, on the other hand, don’t like to exercise much. I'm more comfortable doing regular activities such as walking, sleeping or singing, to burn off calories.

Yeah, sleeping and singing also burn off calories!

The greatest effort that I did was to enroll myself in Tae-bo class, and that was it. I figured there must be some way to shape up without getting all that sweaty (except for sauna and something else ^_^ of course). After all, it’s not my goal to have a body-building-competition-worthy body; I’m just interested to target and manage the usual problem areas that are always eager to grow faster than the rest of my body parts.

So I searched and read about diets that might help me achieve the body that I wanted without heavy exercise involved.

I tried the high protein-low carb diet, and it really worked for me. But after a few months of eating no sweets and bread at all, I started having dreams about Cinnabon rolls and Auntie Anne’s pretzels, so I snapped out of it.

For a couple of years I also went on a no-rice diet, but whenever I face ‘Binagoongan’ (shrimp paste with veggies/pork), ‘Laing’ (Gabi leaves in coconut milk), ‘tuyo/daing/danggit’ (dried fish) and other dishes in coconut milk, my willpower gets thrown out of the window.

When a diet deprives you of certain food, most especially your favorite food, it usually doesn’t work.

To be on the safe side, I always try to go for natural products. So I tried green tea, apple cider vinegar tonic, chili (which is normally a part of my daily diet) and other natural thermogenic products that aid fat burning without side effects.

Yes, they helped me manage my weight, but I’m still on the lookout for other products that are natural, and yet have faster slimming effects. Then I found this:

LOSE WEIGHT NATURALLY!
Risk free trial of Brazilian Weight Loss Natural Supplement

Tempting, huh! Especially if you're just like me who loves free trials - the kind that won't cost you a cent if it doesn't work out.

So I checked it out and true enough, it's 100% natural (derived from the Hoodia plant) with no side effects, and anyone can try the product risk-free for 15 days. One just have to pay for shipping and handling; if after that period you're not satisfied, just cancel it anytime.

Well, they must be really confident about the product to have a deal like that.

Anyways, this diet supplement already got featured in the news (CBS, Today, BBC) and also in Oprah's "O" magazine, which makes it more interesting to try.

Hmmm. I guess I need to decide before the free trial runs out or I'll just have to go back to singing and drinking gallons of green tea to lose a pound. :-)

My Art, Revisited

I did some digging through my old stuff and dusty books and look what I found for this week's Scrapbook Saturday.

These two freehand drawings were done in the early 90's. The portrait of Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a political figure in the Philippines, was my first charcoal painting (July 1990); I made the Hallmark baby four years after, on March 1994. I call it such, because I copied the photo from a black and white greeting card.

I can't remember where I stashed my other artworks. Guess it's high time to do a little organizing. :-)

If you wish to take part in this weekly activity, click here to join Scrapbook Saturday!


Graphic Elements by: Sooze, Adeyeo and Rainbow7203 of Scrapbookflair.com

P.S. This is a super late post because Blogger had problems uploading earlier. I just posted it anyways. :)

Related Posts:

Framed
Smile Baby, Smile!
Chestene is Hannah Montana
Good Girl in Glitters
One Summer in Subic
My Favorite Babies
Flower Power

At 5:00 AM

Guess what I'm doing right now?

What does head-banging to some Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers' music sound to you? Crazy, huh. And it's like 5:00 am on my side of the world.

Well, I was out yesterday afternoon to meet a friend, have some birthday photos printed and to look for a chess set for the Little Lady (yep, she wanted to learn chess this time around) when I saw this MP3 player (2 GB memory w/radio and recorder) on sale with a cute white portable speaker to match it. I didn't have a gift for the little girl on her birthday except for the party, so I thought she'd be thrilled to have this one.

I'm prepping it up now so this baby can wake her up later with her favorite Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers' songs. I never thought I'd still enjoy teen music at this age. Guess it only proves that I'm still young-at-heart. ;-P

Oh, I still need to get her the chess set though. I totally forgot.

The All New B-I-N-G-O!

When I was a kid, one of the afternoon activities that I remember enjoying a lot, is neighbor hopping with my aunt to play Bingo. It’s an incredibly easy game to play and a fun way to get acquainted with numbers. The excitement of anticipating the next number to be called and when one gets the winning pattern, is almost viral. It’s a game I would enjoy playing anytime!

During our visit to the province last year, my daughter played Bingo with her cousins for the first time. She enjoyed it too much that since then, she’s been bugging me to buy her own set.

Good thing I was too busy and have not purchased yet the regular game, because I just learned that Screenlife has released a Disney Bingo DVD game that offers a high-tech educational twist to everybody’s good old favorite. Kids can now have hours of fun learning numbers, colors, and matching skills with their favorite Disney characters and movie clips.

I’m sure we’re going to have loads of fun playing this all new enhanced version and create new memories with the same game I first enjoyed years ago.

If you’re wondering where you can get this game, look no further, as you can get your very own Disney Bingo at Amazon.com or Drugstore.com!

Before You Call Me a Tease… (BFMUBL Part 4)

Here’s the continuation to the “Back from My Unannounced Blog Leave (BFMUBL)” series. :)

As a first time mother, I was clueless as to how kiddie parties work. Before I became a mom, the ones I attended were all of the same kind. So I promised myself that when the Little Lady’s turn comes, her parties need not be grand, but I want guests to remember them for a long time.

I always want to create something and not just buy ready-made stuff. As I said in a previous post, I love the challenge of having to create something out of limited resources and just my wild imagination. My sister would tease me every year that I’m making my life complicated with my ‘labor of love projects’.

I shared with you last time, the Little Lady’s 3rd and 4th birthday invites. During her 1st and 2nd birthdays, I just used generic invites that can be bought at any party supplies shop so I'll just post today her 5th and 6th, to complete the list along with a rundown of how we celebrated her birthdays in the past:

1st Birthday: Powerpuff - Disney Babies - Popeye

Venue: Park
Food: Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits meal; Ice cream and Cotton Candy carts
Program: Games with *Pabitin and Hit the Pot; Popeye & Olive mascot appearance

Giveaways: I single-handedly made around 40 loot bags out of brightly-colored cartolinas/thin construction boards. I placed handles and pasted Powerpuff Girls cut-outs at the front to give it a more personalized look.

Labor of Love: The lootbag making activity gave me callus on the side of my right hand’s index finger, due to excessive scissor usage. :-P I placed toys, candies, milk (care of Sustagen) and chocolate crinkles I baked myself (last minute!), inside the bags.

2nd Birthday: Hello Kitty

Venue: Pavilion
Food: Catered Buffet; French fries, Dimsum and Fiorgelato carts

Program: Kiddie Salon; games with *Pabitin and Piñata; Magic Show; Hello Kitty mascot appearance

Giveaways: Character designed plates, pencil case and tumbler wrapped as a set in transparent cellophane and tied with curling ribbons; cupcakes.

Labor of Love: Candy bouquet in Hello Kitty holders - different kinds of candies were attached to hard colored straws with metallic wrapper, and arranged to look like bouquets.

3rd Birthday: Dora the Explorer

Venue: Home
Food: Home cooked buffet; French fries and Dimsum food cart

Program: Dora show on TV; games with *Pabitin and Piñata; Dora mascot appearance; Song number by the Little Lady

Giveaways: I saved the Little Lady’s empty 1.8kg milk cans and was able to collect more than 30 cans. I painted them with the colors orange and yellow, placed rope handles, personalized stickers and put goodies, Dora CDs and toys inside.

Labor of Love: The can painting part plus the backdrop where I made Dora and friends styro cutouts (as shown below). I painted and attached them on plain yellow tarpaulin along with the text "Feliz Cumpleaños, Chestene!"

4th Birthday: Disney Princess

Venue: Home
Food: Home cooked buffet; Dimsum food cart

Program: Games with *Pabitin; Digital show presentation; Princess song number by the Little Lady

Giveaways: Pink canvas bags for girls with assorted goodies (stickers, comb, metallic rubberbands, pearls, etc.); lunchboxes for boys with toys and candies inside; metallic mugs with candies for adults.

Labor of Love: Digital show; tiaras made out of thin board, designed with metallic foil hearts and glitters.

5th Birthday: Disney Princess (again!)

Disney Princess Invite

Venue: McDonald’s
Food: McDonald’s meal
Program: Games with *Pabitin; story telling by the Little Lady
Giveaways: Gift-wrapped Princess art set portfolio for girls; robots for boys.

Labor of Love: Disney Princess tarpaulin layout

6th Birthday: Total Girl - Fashion Barbie

Barbie Invite

Venue: Pizza Hut
Food: Pizza Hut meal
Program: Games with *Pabitin; Model interview

Giveaways: Beads set for girls (assorted beads, sequins, strings, jewel hair clips, wire and glitters) placed in violet microwavable containers. I just punched holes, placed a piece of hard metallic ribbon as handle and designed the cover with fuchsia sequins to make it look personalized. I placed them in Barbie lootbags together with headbands, stickers and candy cups; basketball hoop sets and Toy Story place mats for boys.

Labor of Love: Organizing the beads set giveaways and making the Total Girl Magazine cover layout.

Total Girl Backdrop

*Pabitin – The idea of this Filipino classic party game is to grab all you can from the toys and goodies tied to the hanging crisscrossed pieces of wood/bamboo.

One of her favorite games

Whew! I'm so glad I already survived this. :-)

Coming up next: Finally, a peek into the Little Lady's 7th Rockstar birthday party!


Related Posts:

Back From My Unannounced Blog Leave - Part 1
Back From My Unannounced Blog Leave - Part 2
Back From My Unannounced Blog Leave - Part 3
Chestene is Hannah Montana

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

The birthday series is my official entry to the Pinoy Parenting Blog Carnival (PPBC) 9th Edition "Birthdays!" hosted by The Working Mom.

Framed

Sometime in July, I sketched this lady. I think it was around the same time my DSL was having connection problems. Well, that's the only time you could get me away from my computer and do other regular stuff - when there is no internet connection. Lol. :-P

Graphic elements by: Pimp Your Scrapbook


Related Posts:

Smile Baby, Smile!
Chestene is Hannah Montana
Good Girl in Glitters
One Summer in Subic
My Favorite Babies
Flower Power

Romancing the Movies

Life is never the same without love and romance. They make all things around us bright and beautiful. They lift our spirits up and give us inspiration.

Maybe one of the reasons why I love watching romantic movies and hearing romantic movie lines is that they always give hope. After finishing a movie, I always end up hoping that one day, someone would be 'in love enough' with me to say those words.

Okay, forgive me for being sappy here. But please allow me to quote one of my favorite romantic lines first:

“I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”–Harry Burns (Billy Crystal), When Harry Met Sally (1989).

If someone said that to me, I’d be swept away. Of course, not with the exact words, but with the same way Harry professed in detail what he loves about Sally, and why he seized the moment to tell her what he truly feels the minute he realized it.

Love is too great to be put on hold. So when you feel it, express it!

Meanwhile, to give you a head start in testing your own real life romantic lines, why not play Extreme Style by VO5's Ultimate Flirting Championship to see if it's the best style that might just work to give you Victory Hair. I had fun playing this game, and I’m pretty sure you will too!

Back with Something New!

A little update.

The 'red eye' is now well on its way to recovery; though still marked with red strains somewhere in the middle part, it looked much much better. My heartfelt thanks to those who freaked out, and yet left get well messages, as well as to those who chose not to comment, but uttered a silent prayer instead.

You guys are the best! *hugs*

Dad gave me a couple of supplements (Super B-Complex with Vitamin C and Folic Acid, Superior Amino, Centrum and Vitamin E) in order to prevent another bloodshot eye incident. Hopefully, this will help strengthen my seemingly weak blood vessels.

So what else is new?

I guess by now you've noticed a few add-ons I've been placing here lately. I did these stuff one at a time, whenever I get tired of sleeping and resting my eyes.

1. New Header with Black Background - This is so long overdue. I just remembered to make myself one when somebody left a message in my Cbox this afternoon saying, "flowers, flowers again". Ugh. I don't know if he liked them, but I was meaning to change that bouquet for the longest time. Anyways, thanks for the reminder, Harley!

I was going to wait until I finalize my preferred layout in mind so I could let Carlota do my customized template prize, but I was itching to change it now. :-) So what do you think?

By the way, for those who are wondering, those lips are mine. ^_^

2. About Me Page - Isn't this almost 6 months late, Karen Claire? ;-P

3. Blog Button - Care to take me with you? Just copy the code and paste it anywhere you like in your blog. :)

<a href="http://barefootedme.com/" target="_blank" title="BaReFooTeD Me"><img border="0" alt="BaReFooTeD Me" width="125" src="http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/pp169/Kceeys/BarefootedMe.jpg" height="125" /></a>
4. Pink RSS - Something cute to feed you. Click the image to subscribe now!
5. Blog Followers - I just added this new and awesome Blogger feature. If you wish, you can follow me here. :)

6. Blogroll Page - I already removed the overcrowded sidebar blogroll and transferred all my linkies alphabetically, in one page. If you wish to exchange links with me or you need to change your link, please leave a comment THERE and I'll try to update it the soonest.

7. Share/Save Button - You can find this button at the bottom my posts. If you like a particular post, you can do anything with it (Digg, Stumble, Bookmark, Email, Yahoo Buzz, etc.) through this cool button. Just click the black arrow at the middle to see more options for adding/sharing.

8. Top Commentators - I've also added this widget to my sidebar as my way of saying thanks for always leaving comments that put a smile on my face. :-)

Whew! Having a bloodshot eye isn't so bad, huh?


Related Posts:

The Red Eye
Who Am I?: Just A Little Piece of Me

Fancy a Free Makeover?

Remember I wrote a while back about how to make an easy digital slideshow out of your photos through Roxio online? Now, the same company has recently cooked up a fun show called Roxio Digital Makeover, which aims to help average Joes make the most out of their digital lives.

Let’s face it, even though we already live in the digital age, some people are still in the dark when it comes to technology, as they are not aware that there are already simple ways to use it for their maximum benefit.

Well, this show demonstrates how anyone can do their own photo slideshows in a snap. Check out the episodes they have online and see what it’s like. I personally like the "Wedding Day Crunch", where the funny team of Chris and Zoey helped a couple to create a slideshow for their wedding.

What’s even great is that anyone could actually be the star of this show, just by entering their contest. Entrants are also given the chance to win great stuff like HDTV, cameras and other digital goodies! So head on over there and take a shot on being a Roxio Extreme Digital Makeover future star or taking home some of their cool prizes.

Who Am I?: Just A Little Piece of Me

My self portrait?

My name is KCee.

'K' stands for Karen - meaning 'pure', 'C' for Claire - which stands for 'bright or brilliant', and 'ee' stands for nothing but additional letters to complete my nickname.

I am a Filipina with an English name, and a Japanese lineage from my mother side which explains the small eyes that disappear when I smile. :)

Moshi moshi! Nanika atta?

A Writer and Artist at Heart

It was in school where I first realized that I wanted to write, and it was destiny that led me to be a part of our university paper in college.

I was a new student then, when I came across the editorial exam schedule in one of the bulletin boards in school. It was the last day, and the exam was about to start in 30 minutes. Without much thinking and preparation, I took a shot at it.

A few days after, I was surprised to see my name on top of the list. I aced the exam; but since only graduating seniors were allowed to take the Editor-in-Chief position, I became Literary Editor instead. Nevertheless, I was happy. No. I was ecstatic! I was given the Managing Editor position thereafter, when they figured a way to give me a title equivalent to Editor-in-Chief, without making a technical violation.

Despite the student leader status, I kept a low profile. As a member of The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), we had regular scheduled meetings with then Vice President Estrada; none of which, I attended, as I always let one of my staff fill in for me.

As a student, I was never the kind who burned the midnight oil just to get an A in school; neither did I try so hard to impress my teachers just so I could get a grade that would look perfect in my report card. It's normal for me not to conform sometimes, especially if I find it boring, predictable and everybody wants to do it.

I loathed every form of Math subject and loved the ones that challenged my mind to think beyond the multiple choice type of questions that needed fixed answers, straight from the book.

All I wanted from school was to learn. That was my priority.

Intelligence is inherent; it's not something that you gain from memorizing books or hearing lectures in school. It is also a fact that there are many intelligent people who are illiterate. That's why I've always believed that school achievement (which can be manipulated) should not be the sole yardstick of a person's intelligence nor should it be considered the 'be all and end all' of going to school.

I love reading all kinds of books; I believe this fueled my passion for writing my own stories. I remember writing short stories and drawing my own comics pages when I was younger, to share with my classmates in school.

I currently write short romance novels in my spare time, while I do reports, studies and system analysis during my full time day job.

On the side, I'm also a freelance graphic artist. I do traditional drawing and painting, but ever since I got amused with digital graphic design, I tried to learn and earn from it at the same time.

You can check out some of my work here.

A Stagemom

I'm a proud mother to a smart and talented 7 year old who I lovingly refer to as the Little Lady in my posts. Ah, I love my daughter to bits, it's so hard not to show! :) In my future articles, I will write in detail the reason why I call myself as such.

The Optimist

An incurable positive thinker, I'm forever an optimist. I find beauty in the worst situations. It’s a gift; but it’s also a state of mind, so it can be done.

One of the philosophies that I'm glad I learned early in life, is not to worry over something I have no control over. So I just lift my cares and burdens up and let God do the rest.

If you really want to make the most out of living, you should never let worries consume you, or you will miss out on life itself.

Life, after all, is whatever we make it.

The Rest of Me

A typical Taurean, I'm stubborn and strong-willed. I'm not thrilled with structure; I feel it curtails my freedom.

I'm a bit of a rebel; I think that explains the fact that I was once enticed with student activism and idealism. Although I don't talk as much as I write, I can reason my way out through any kind of argument; that's why until now, my Dad still thinks I should become a lawyer. :)

I still hope to meet someone who is strong and patient enough to tame the bull in me and put a little structure in my life. I guess the search for my ever after makes me a hopeful romantic, huh?

Generally, I don't care about what other people think of me. I'm flattered that they lose sleep thinking about me and who I am. :) As long as I live according to my values and journey the path I think God wants me to take, then I'm on the right track.

I'm thoughtful, patient and persevering; but sometimes, to a fault. I forgive easily and don't keep a record of wrongs for too long, but I don't necessarily forget.

I like feel-good movies, music and singing, watching the sunset and nature's wonders, warm hugs and conversations over Starbucks Frapuccino, black coffee, tea or flavored herbal infusion. Sometimes, I'd rather stay home in the company of a good book than go out with friends.

A self-declared kitchen diva, I love to cook and bake. They say I make glorious pasta dishes; but you have to taste it to believe it! :) I generally love pies and pastries, pasta, chili peppers and spicy food, tamarind, dimsum, Japanese food, grilled food, Krispy Kreme donuts, fruit shakes, strawberry lemonade and pizza.

What else can I say? I have a humongous appetite that keeps me on the curvaceous-voluptuous side. Te-hee!

I seldom wear flats. I'm into wearing beautiful high-heeled shoes, willing to sacrifice comfort for beauty (only in footwear!), and love virtually anything in red and fuchsia.

Oops, have I said too much here? Any violent reactions? I just thought it's about time to have an 'About Me' page. ^^,

If you wish to subscribe to my feeds via email or reader, just enter your email in the field below or hit the pink button.

Enter your email address:

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment or if you wish to reach me for any reason at all, please feel free to drop me a line or two here and I'll try to get back to you the soonest! :)

The Red Eye

I don’t mean to freak you out; but after getting red from allergy, showing you my red nails, now I bring to you red eyes! Yup, that’s how my left eye looks at the moment. Yesterday, it was even worse.

What's with the color RED and me? It's my favorite color but I don't intend to be red, all over!

I was googling about the causes of bloodshot eyes but there are no images that best describe what I have now, so I took some photos of the actual.

This is not the first time I experienced this, but I still freak out when the red starts to crawl and takes over the white part of the affected eye.

For two days, I slept very very late, so I figured it could have been big time eye strain. I usually have it on the corner of my right eye, and it just disappears after a couple of hours. But this time it’s different, as it lingered for a day already.

According to About.com, this could be Subconjunctival Hemorrhage:

"Subconjunctival hemorrhage is a bright red patch appearing in the white of the eye. This condition is also called red eye. It occurs when a small blood vessel breaks open and bleeds near the surface of the white of the eye (bulbar conjunctiva). It may happen without injury, and is often first noticed when you wake up and look in a mirror.

Sudden increases in pressure such as violent sneezing or coughing can cause a subconjunctival hemorrhage. The hemorrhage may also occur in persons with high blood pressure or who take blood thinners.

Symptoms

A bright red patch appears on the white of the eye. The patch does not cause pain and there is no discharge from the eye. Vision does not change.

Exams and Treatment

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and look at your eyes. Blood pressure should be tested. If you have other areas of bleeding or bruising, more specific tests may be needed.

No treatment is needed. You should have your blood pressure regularly checked. A subconjunctival hemorrhage usually goes away on its own in about 1 week. There are usually no complications."

I checked my own blood pressure and it’s 90/70. So I guess there’s nothing to be really worried about. Maybe I should start using my computer glasses again to avoid further eye strain.

Did you have a similar experience? Do share your thoughts. :)


Related Posts:

An Itchy Story
The Day I Painted My Nails RED... Again
Red Eye: The Return

Tags and Award Sunday

This tag came from Ria. Thanks, girl! I haven't been doing tags for a while and they're piling up really good, so I decided to unload a couple of them today. :)

7 Random Facts About Me:

1. Whenever I go to one of my favorite malls, my trip is never complete without eating spicy Jamaican beef pie and Takoyaki (Japanese octopus/squid and veggie balls) in the food court.

2. I always have around 4 pens and a notebook inside my bag. I just can't live without them.

3. I seldom delegate. I'd rather do things myself than have to redo somebody's work that I could have done right the first time.

4. I don't care about what others think of me. I don't lose sleep over other people's opinion of who I am.

5. I love my daughter to bits. I think this fact is quite obvious! lol

6. If given the chance, I'd rather be a stay-at-home working mom.

7. I am loyal, patient and persevering; but sometimes, to a fault.

Now, it's your turn to tell me something about yourself:
Hailey, CC, Shawie, Darlene and Camille. :)

The Love Blog's Award

This was awarded to me by Recheers of In The Life Of..."Mně". Thank you so much for this thoughtful gesture. I love it! :)


And I am giving this award to all my blogger friends who have been spreading the love all around the blogosphere! *hugs*

Mom’s Real Spa Treatment

Hailey shared with me this funny but true-to-life tag. Thanks! This tag really made me laugh. :D

Having Spa Treatments: Wheng | Yen | Shimumsy | Eds | Mitch | Hailey | KCee | add your blog where you posted this.

Eyebrow Threading and Microdermabrasion

Aromatherapy and Body Wrap

Blowout

Mommies who can avail of the Spa treatments by having this tag are: Wena, Cherry and Ria. Have fun, girls! :)

An Online Shopper's Best Friend

I love to shop – a lot! And that’s even an understatement. :)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind who splurges on fancy purchases and exhausts my credit limit in just one spree. I love great bargains and fab finds, but sometimes, no matter how much they slash the prices of branded items I like in signature shops here in the country, they still cost a lot.

What I usually do is to ask my cousin who lives in the US to do the shopping for me, or if I want it delivered the soonest, I purchase them directly online in the comfort of my home. They have a wider range of choices there and items are sure to be authentic.

A reliable and reputable international package forwarding service like MyUS.com, who's been around the business for more than 10 years and yet charges low international shipping rates, is really heaven-sent and indispensable to online shoppers like me who want to take advantage of great deals online. Imagine saving up to 70% on shipping rates? That's unbeatable!

With the availability of an efficient service like this, I am always sure to shop with ease and pleasure, without missing special offers online.

Check out the MyUS.com website to start your own online shopping adventure now!

Smile Baby, Smile!

Chestene at 6 months old

Both photos were taken when the little lady was just 6 months old. The one where she wore a red hat, earned her the Smartparenting Baby finalist title in 2002.

She has always been a smiling and happy baby. And now, at 7 years old, she's back where it all began - toothless at the front, yet still smiling! :D

Graphic elements by: Pimp Your Scrapbook


Related Posts:

Chestene is Hannah Montana
Good Girl in Glitters
One Summer in Subic
My Favorite Babies
Flower Power