Randomness

it's a bird!!!!, originally uploaded by M'roy.

Scandal is back!!!! Why am I not very excited?

No one to be excited about in the new lineup of American idol.

Nothing is making me excited about spring. Is it because we hardly had a winter to speak of?

I won a coach bag from a blog I read religiously. I won it just by commenting on a post, which I regularly do. My first branded bag. Thanks.

On my other blog, my kitties also won a bag of treats from another kitty blog we read regularly.

Two wins, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket now!

Been eating out quite too much this first 2 months of the year. Not losing weight at all.

Looking forward to not wasting away my 2014.

Would love to take on more sewing projects. The first time I sew it was like riding a bike, once you learned you will never forget it. I love it.

Award, Weather, Movies

The supremely talented PRINSESA'S ANATOMY has bestowed upon me another blog award. Well to be precise the award went to my meme blog, FRANKLY MY DEAR. However, since I have been using that solely for memes, I thought I'd acknowledge the humbling honor that she passed on to me.

Muchas gracias mi amiga!

And now to the talking points for this post:

WEATHER:

It's silly that I'm even talking about it, considering the impact that bad weather had on other people all over the globe. The terrible snowstorm that's happening on the other side of the USA for example; or that deadly typhoon in the Philippines a month ago. Yet, it's been cold here. Freezing. Over the weekend, I don't think the temps have reached 50 F. It's cold! I'm worried about the outdoor cats in our neighborhood. My hubby has put out boxes in the yard in case cats want to get out of the elements and hang inside the box. Also we had that rainy day that downed a lot of water, then raced out of here like an unlicensed sidewalk vendor at the sight of a policeman.

And as crazy as it may sound, last evening we hang lights in the backyard, in freezing cold temp. Hubs said we've been postponing this task for weeks now (we've been truly busy), it was now (yesterday) or never. So we dressed warmly (or so we thought) and went to proceed with the task at hand. Needless to say I was shivering the whole time and my fingers froze even though I had gloves on. My jeans were no match for the biting cold. Well at least my body burned a lot of calories trying to warm me up.

MOVIES:

I've been very lucky with movies lately, both on Netflix, cinema, or on tv. I saw this old movie on tv that featured Michael Douglas called Solitary Man. I liked it a lot.

Then on Netflix I've seen Oblivion, which is good too. This one's with Tom Cruise. Have I told you that Tom Cruise rubs me the wrong way, so as long as I can help it, I don't see his movies in the theater and wait for the dvd if I ever was going to see it? But this one's a good one.

Also on Netflix I saw Taken 2, sequel to Taken of course. Maggie Grace is a 30-year old actress who can play a teenager, good for her. I think there is a part 3 to this the way the story went. A special bonus for me in this movie is its location. It was sorta travelogue for Istanbul, a bit, and I like it.

What else did I see on Netflix? Lemme think.....Oh I've seen Argo. What an excellent movie, no wonder it was the talk of the town at last award season. If you haven't seen this, go rent it.

Finally, I got to see CATCHING FIRE, which I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the movie. I am beginning to like Jennifer Lawrence after seeing Silver Linings Playbook (also courtesy of Netflix) and this second installment of Hunger Games series. I don't know what the ending of the movies is since I haven't read any of the books, but I hope that Katniss ends up with Gale. You know why I hope that? I've got a miniscule crush on the actor playing Gale, Liam Hemsworth. So happy he's no longer with that Cyrus girl.

That's all for now.

A Few Good Reads

Here are a few of the blogs I've been stalking, er reading, that are worth sharing.

SUGAR, SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE

If you like to eat out and shop in the metro, be sure to check this out. It is full of beautiful pictures of food and fashion. But it's not all that. The blogger, Jane, mother of three, is hilarious in her storytelling of being a mom and a wife. You'd fall in love with her just like I did. I read her entire blog in a few short days. Must read, really. Plus for an expat like me, it's a great way to get reacquainted with the hometown - eating and shopping wise.

THE ITTY BITTY KITTY COMMITTEE

Cute kitties.....need I say more? If you need a picker upper that doesn't contain caffeine, but works better than caffeine, then this is your must-read. No denying that cute kitties gives our day a boost. Laurie works with the humane society helping them raise money (the famous IBKC telethon) in addition to fostering the kitties. Check it out.

VICTORIAN HOUSES

If kitteh is not your thing, but architecture is especially Victorian architecture, then this photo blog is the must visit for you. It is a great place to gawk at ornate, fancy, whimsical, fantabulous, historic, rich, decadent, incredible Victorian houses. I spend a lot of time looking at dream houses.

JIN LOVES TO EAT

Gastronomic adventures in glossy images await the readers of Jin Loves To Eat. She eats and eats and still is slim and fit. Life is unfair *grin*. Although her dining exploits are mostly centered on the Asian cuisines, she features the dishes beautifully.

NIKDAUM

I've been a lurker/reader for a while now of this fabulous once-a-month blog. He writes the way I like to be able to write someday and he takes pictures the way I dreamed of taking pictures. I want him to be my blog sensei. The way he tells stories, straight to the point, funny and succinct. I'd like to see how his mind works when he goes on photo walks because the compositions and the things he photographed normally aren't the same subjects that would interest me, but seeing it on his blog in b/w or wonderful colors I can't help but be awed. I'm a big fan. Check him out.

Weather, etc

I do not have any complaints with our gorgeous weather. It's hot, even reaching the 80s with plenty of sunshine and the most beautiful blue skies. BUT, it's autumn. Where is the crisp air, where is the chill when a breeze passes by? Where is the smell of burning wood coming from the neighbor's fireplace? Where is the hot cocoa at night?

While the Indian summer that we're experiencing has been delaying its exit, I'm not sure I want the lovely weather to end. It has been gorgeous as I have said before. Today at 8:30 am it was already 77F as I was driving to work. No doubt the temp will rise some more by the mid day. I just wish I was outside today in a park or something enjoying the good weather.

I've been quite preoccupied with church stuff, as usual. As a member of the committee that puts out monthly Saturday night events, my hands are full. Not only is the first Saturday night this coming Saturday, I'm also keeping an eye on the following monthly events, as they are more hands-on. I don't know why I even volunteered to help out in the planning of the events. I can be a masochist sometimes.

I know it's good to be involved in social activities, let alone church functions. And these activities combine both the church community and the larger community. Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the task at hand. Opening an e-mail can be daunting sometimes. I don't know what's waiting for me out there. What other tasks I must do, what alterations I must perform, etc, etc.

It's all good. It's using one's "talent" for the good of many. I did put that quotation in there because I still am not sure what my talents are. I know my leadership qualities have long eroded and I'm content with assisting people who's leadership qualities leave nothing to be questioned.

However, my talents seem to be completely lost when it comes to the website I'm trying to maintain. It's our church website, it's just not an ordinary personal website where I can just ramble on and on about the weather and the movies I've seen. I cannot seem to generate a post about the functions/events we've had lately. A fellow church member who not only writes a blog, but also has published the contents of that blog into a book has agreed to write an article about said function. It has been a month and I have not heard from her yet. I don't know why I hit a wall when I open the website and attempt to update the contents. I feel like I don't have full confidence in myself and I'm always second guessing my intentions. In the end, nothing gets published. Sigh!

This October has been quite blah overall. It's work and church and housework. Although lately the housework part has been neglected plenty. I've also been harping about pulling out the box that contains the holiday decors from the garage so I can start decorating the house, but other than getting cat food from the garage, I haven't been there lately, let alone dig out the box of decorations. May be this weekend. Oh no, I'd be tied up with church events all weekend. Sigh!

This also leaves me very little time to blog. I play memes on a daily basis. That is in addition to the travel blog I have, which is my original blog, this blog, my cat blog, and then my project blog. I don't have enough time to do all that. So I temporarily cut down the memes I play in half and I just incorporate the memes in my travel postings.

Also in my plate is full with research of IVF facilities, so we can proceed with our baby making project. I have heard from one facility that we planned to use. I have to do more research and hit the phones and get some answers to the questions I'm trying to formulate. I'm giving myself a few more days to accomplish this so that I can then go ahead with getting excited in planning our excursions for the cruise we're taking after the Thanksgiving holiday next month.

Half of me wants another vacation so close to the last one in August. The other half is not ready to go away again, because I don't feel like I have fully settled into daily living after one month in Asia in July and August. But the cruise has been reserved since before the Asia travel was planned and taken, so we're going. Time to kick back and relax after the rush of Thanksgiving and before the chaos of Christmas preparations.

And so I ranted and rambled again. Until next post. Hope your autumn is wonderful.

July and August - Recap

I know I've neglected my monthly recap for July because I was travelling. And now that I'm about to do it, I can't seem to remember the earlier part of the month. What did I do before July 22, which was our travel date? I cannot recall, senior moment on my part.

The last week of July we were in India, hot humid India, where we enjoyed the sights and savored the food. To be honest, I think I have had my fill of Indian food for now. I'd be passing up any dinner invites for Indian food, thank you very much.

While in India, I expected the street chaos - traffic jams, no traffic rules, people everywhere. But what I didn't expect and totally surprised was that New Delhi, the capital, is very green. There are many open spaces with greenery and the gov't is keen on pursuing the program of tree planting with the goal of planting a million trees. Way to go Delhi!

New Delhi's subway is the best way to go around. Although the lines are also long and the station can get very confusing and chaotic.

I loved the long road trips from New Delhi to Agra and from Agra to Jaipur and then from Jaipur back to New Delhi. There are so many things to see and enjoy and photograph along the road.

If there is one thing I wish I regret about taking this India tour it's this: I should have travelled in wintertime when the weather is much cooler, even though I'd be risking more crowded sights.

August saw me in Bangladesh, my husband's birthplace. Dhaka surprised me. Coming from New Delhi, Dhaka looked so much more cleaner, I even remarked that while we were traveling from airport to my SIL's apartment.

So many changes in 4 years. Many apartment/housing buildings are up in my SIL's neighborhood. However, my favorite market is still the same as I remembered it, thank heavens.

I celebrated my birthday with my in-laws and friends. They got me cake and hubby's mentor ordered take-out. Hubs also made noodles, in keeping up with my Filipino traditions.

I saw a lot of Bangladesh on this trip. Long train ride to Chittagong offered countryside sights so bucolic and tranquil, it comforts the soul. Long bumpy drives to even deeper countryside showed more of the rural living that can only be seen on magazines nowadays.

Oh and I sweated buckets after buckets on a daily basis. I thought it was monsoon season but where was the rain, and why is it so hot?

It did rain a few times, not the monsoon rains I expected. I don't know what I expected, but definitely not this puny rainfall :)

A delightful bonus was meeting Peachy, a fellow blogger, who I met through blogging. She's currently based in Dhaka and soon to marry his Bangla prince charming, who I also met in person and would vouch that he is indeed pretty charming. Both of them are. I hope them all the best in their married life.

The picture above is from New Delhi, one of the mosques that I captured while driving along the big city for sightseeing.

A Quick Friday Post

I overslept this morning. If my husband did not nudge me, I would be sleeping until noon. Nope I was not watching the Royal Wedding in the wee hours of the morning. That wasn't the reason for the extra minutes of sleep.

It wasn't Manny Pacquiao's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live either, which I caught accidentally. I am not normally awake by 12 midnight, when Kimmel's show comes on, but last night I was still up. And when they announce that MP was going to be there, I waited for his interview. My husband asked if he was going to sing again. The last time he guested on JKL he sang much to both our chagrined. That super boxer simply loves to sing. However, last night he spared all of us by not singing. Thanks MP.

Earlier that night, I was unhappy with the AI results. Did anyone see it coming? My ever wise hubby guessed it was Casey (and no he did not peek at Yahoo either - where the results would have been posted since we are always late here in the west coast), reasoning that he had been voted off once before - until the save by judges kept him longer.

Okay so what's in store for the weekend? I am hoping that in between running errands and doing chores I'd be able to sort out photos for posting in this blog since I still have photos from our getaway in Central Coast for my hubby's November b/day and from the cruise we took in January.

Also I am hoping I could window shop (either physically or online) for my much-wanted DSLR. I have lamented previously in back posts how my p&s have been ruined by having dirty lenses. One has been sent out to the company for cleaning (part of the warranty).

Any good movies lately? Oh yeah, I have a Royal Wedding to watch this weekend. I think I may need to pop some corn.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

TGIF because I'm in a rut.

Glad to see this week end because I am in a rut. This week I have drank way too much coffee, slept way too little. Feeling so blah, disinterested, depressed and craving chocolates all week. I don't crave sweet other than that special time of the month. And it's not that time of the month. Not for another 2.5 weeks yet.

And I've been hooked on reading this blogger's journal. It feels like a novel to me. I stumbled upon the blog late last year I believe and I wondered how "they" met. So I went back and read all the posts in the archives - that's four years of posts!!!. Pathetic, I need a life!!!!

Anyway, finally I think I just came upon the post where the beginning of the friendship was mentioned.

And I am more depressed.

And the sad part is I have no clue why.