Is it the blue moon?

Different kinds of emotions come rushing in, just like that. I suddenly felt warm tears rolling down my cheeks and I heard myself sobbing. I fought back, afraid to wake my husband up. My throat hurts and so is my head in my effort to stay silent. I can barely smell the scent coming from the essential oil I heated up before i went to bed. All I see was darkness until I opened my phone up. It's now 2:30 AM and I'm still wide awake, crying. I had no idea what went wrong...

Is it true that the rare blue moon will show up on August 31, 2012? Could it be the strong energy coming from this phenomenon that's causing my emotions to go haywire? Weird...

I wish, just for this moment, I can fast forward the time so I'd laugh this off in the morning. Mornings always give me another hope, and paints a fresh new mood... Just let me sleep now.

Empowered and inspired

I missed my blogspot for a few days being busy with a lot of things with my husband. We have taken a few steps to start doing our dream project and we were swarmed with how huge the involved tasks are.  No, I am not ranting 'coz I enjoy every bitsy of it and there's no complaining doing something that I've longed to do.  What it is, I will reveal when the time is right.  :)

So yesterday was a sort of my "rest day" and I attempted many times to write up a post, but was too tired and uninspired to do so.  It's probably one of those days... Today is a different day and is the best time to write.  I am empowered, inspired and excited all at the same time. 

Aside from where our project could take us, what inspires me the most is a post by one of the Philippines most admired young host, reporter, columnist and a blogger.  She's Bianca Gonzales and I'm glad I came across one of her posts last night:

Historic dates, historic places http://www.iamsuperbianca.com/2011_11_01_archive.html 

The post is about being in a historic place or somewhere she's never been on a historic date like 09-09-09, 10-10-10, 11-11-11.  She'd normally do a "tumbling" shot at the place she has chosen.  How cool can it be?  No matter how busy she could get, its fab how she came up with ways to sustain this activity.  Talk about seizing the day and always being reminded of the simple things you can do to leave a legacy to yourself.   She ended the post by asking where she'd be on 12-12-12...

This made me wonder too.  Where will I be on 12-12-12?  With so much inspiration from Bianca (thanks to her! she touches lives of the many, including myself), from now on, I will start my own legacy and will make sure I'll be somewhere special, doing something special on 12-12-12! 

It can be simple. It doesn't have to be grand.  

Note to self: I always have the power to create little things or ordinary days into something really special. 

Bring it on!

Will I earn online?

For the past weeks, I have been spending over two hours a day trying to find out things I can do online to earn a few bucks while doing the normal things I do over the internet.  I have come across various ads boasting few hundred US-dollar earnings, but obviously, not all of them are legitimate and real.  Most of them are too good to be true and are proven to be scams.

Two months ago, I almost signed up for the Amazon's internet marketing home-based gig that was described as a great way to earn extra money during one's free time.  I've read a couple of reviews, both positive and negative.  From what I've gathered, it seems legit enough, although most people complain of having to add & do more things to get a decent earning.  I tried to dig deeper and filled out a form to see where it would take me.  I was cautious enough and did not put any credit card details, etc.  I guess, I just filled out the form to get more information from them past the "pre-registration".  Come the payment form, I just closed out my browser and did not go further.  I reckon, I couldn't get more details without paying first.  To my surprise, my phone rang after a few hours and a guy (who sounded like an American) was on the other line.  He said he's from Amazon and he's asking why I did not push through with the registration.  Surprised to receive such a call,  I did not give him any chance to upsell and immediately bid goodbye.  The guy on the other line was courteous and  told me that most people are hesitant at first just like me.  He provided me with Amazon's hotline number in case I made up my mind and wanted to speak with someone for any questions I might have before signing up.  As per the reviews, earning was slow and not substantial.  Well, that was the end of it.  I did not sign up.

I know I could still get something out there.  In fact, I've done a few surveys and polls online and I was rewarded with vouchers and paypal credits.  Not bad for a start, huh? :) In addition I landed to this interesting website and it looks really promising.  I've seen so many reviews about the company and what it offers.  One site has tickled my senses and led me to believe that this "might" be the one that I'm looking for.  You'll work for the money and it doesn't seem to be a "get-rich-quick" thing. I will not share specific details on this post yet.  I'm still doing my own research to make sure I won't be scammed.    Will I take the risk and earn online?  Give me few days and I will share once I tested the water.  Wish me luck! :)

Life is what you make it. Go for Yoga glow!

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  Walk in the rain, jump in mud puddles, collect rocks, rainbows and roses, smell flowers, blow bubbles, stop along the way, build sandcastles, say hello to everyone, go barefoot, go on adventures, act silly, fly kites, have a merry heart, talk with animals, sing in the shower, read childrens' books, take bubble baths, get new sneakers, hold hands and hug and kiss, dance, laugh and cry for the health of it, wonder and wander around, feel happy and precious and innocent, feel scared, feel sad, feel mad, give up worry and guilt and shame, say yes, say no, say the magic words, ask lots of questions, ride bicycles, draw and paint, see things differently, fall down and get up again, look at the sky, watch the sun rise and sun set, watch clouds and name their shapes, watch the moon and stars come out, trust the universe, stay up late, climb trees, daydream, do nothing and do it very well, learn new stuff, be excited about everything, be a clown, enjoy having a body, listen to music, find out how things work, make up new rules, tell stories, save the world, make friends with the other kids on the block, and do anything else that brings more happiness, celebration, health, love, joy, creativity, pleasure, abundance, grace, self-esteem, courage, balance, spontaneity, passion, beauty, peace, relaxation, communication and life energy to all living beings on this planet." - Bruce Williamson

I can't remember how many times I googled and posted this quote (or part of this quote) as it's one of my favorite reads of all time.  I learned swimming at 29.  Believe it or not, I can barely walk around the swimming pool without somebody holding my hand (yes, at 29!).  I would normally just stay in one corner, plunge my head once in a while, making sure I'm still holding on to the pool wall.  Why I tell you this is not to take pity from anyone ('coz I still enjoy "swimming" that way), but just to prove that, indeed, it's never too late to have a happy "childhood" and to learn a new thing.

I still have a lot to tick on my list of things to do before 40.  I'm proud to say that I have accomplished quite a few this past months.  I've started this blog, contributed on trip advisor, learned swimming, and recently, took a baking class.  The few others, I've chosen not to disclose. Hehe!

I'll blog about the new thing I've tried, Bikram Yoga.  I can summarize this practice in 2 words, sweat and cracking.  Those poses literally pull every bone in your body... in the opposite direction! Day 1 was a torture, taken that my body's not prepped up few days before.  No exercise at all!  But my friend and I were proud to have finished 90 minutes of the session.  Although we haven't done most poses perfectly, we managed to stay in a chamber heated to 41 degrees!  It was the only expectation for a newbie and we did it. Kudos! :)

The first 2 minutes of the drill, I was all sweaty, even in some parts that I didn't expect to produce such a sweat. I did yoga classes before, but Bikram proved to be more effective for me, judging through the amount of sweat I squeezed out from the clothes I was wearing.  Every pose has a benefit for your body and is considered a cure for something.  The instructor was amazing as well as the ladies who seemed to be veterans of Bikram (Gosh they're great and I don't know where they get the energy from!).   They all encouraged us to come back and I'd quote the instructor "Staying in this room is half a battle won".  Well, that's soothing... 

Finishing the session takes me to a whole new level.  I felt relaxed and I slept really well (earlier than usual).   I'm set to come back to finish my 10 day challenge.  Let's see what happens after.  Will I come back for more?  Will I master the art of breathing? posing? I can't tell, but for now, I'm up to unleash the beast within. Go!

We survived Day 1! :)
Credits to my dear friends, Yhen and Jowan, who encouraged us to join.
We'll be back and bring someone along. :)

The joy of baking!

One of the things I enjoy the most being a housewife is preparing good food for my loved ones.  Cooking is not new to me.  In fact, I love cooking and everything that comes with it!  I may not always serve 5-star look dishes but, at the very least, I can come up with decent meals that could put on those smiles of satisfaction afterwards.

Baking is a different thing though, and I still consider myself a neophyte. I can only do classic chocolate & vanilla cupcakes,  “perfectly chocolate” chocolate cake (courtesy of Hershey’s), brownies and blueberry cheesecake (recipe from a very good friend of mine).  Dealing with the mess after baking is one thing, but for me, the greatest struggle so far is to do the measurement part.  I have no patience.  My normal cooking doesn’t always need to measure each ingredient but could still turn out to be edible.  If there’s something missing, you can add something in.  In baking, you can’t undo!  Well, the last time I didn’t religiously follow the measurement, my “Pan-de-Sal” turned out to be as hard as a rock and none of them were edible!  What a waste!

Thanks to my friend, Mae, who introduced and encouraged me to this course center, Bake It Yourself.  They offer various baking and decorating courses and to my delight, they do hands on classes!  Courses are endless!

I recently finished “The Ultimate Cookie Baking and Decorating” course at BIY.  It was awesome and a fun place to be! I learned a lot of things and the littlest tips they shared were extremely handy!  I loved the decorating part of it and was inspired with all the designs made by the other ladies. Kitchen was overflowing with the aroma of baked goodies and I was overjoyed to have gone out of the class bringing home real tasty cookies, coated with art! 

Oh, it was also the first time I ever set a perfect icing!  My previous attempt when I did my friend’s “wedding cake” turned out to be really messy… “icing” that can very well be used as a fondue! Hahaha!

Captured moments below :)

B-I-Y shop along Bukit Timah Road
Bottom right: Mae and I :)

The preps

Baked cookies in fun forms!

Finished products! You'll be an instant artist!
Upper left: Made by yours truly :)

The ladies rocked the kitchen!

Love the cert!  Makes me proud, lol!

I put my baking/decorating skills into good use when my couple friends had their going-away party 2 days after my course.  I baked cupcakes for them and since they're heading to New Zealand, I tried my very best to have a NZ themed cupcakes.  I had so much fun in the process and I'm glad everybody loved them, especially the kids!

My very first deco project after the course.
I used a neutral fondant and colored them myself!
The chocolate frosting is always a favorite! :)

A thoughtful present for my friends