Come join us in our nesting place.

I have a mixed opinion about name necklaces. Hmmm, actually over the years, I switch back and forth from liking  and then not liking them. Maybe you can attribute that to my erratic personality. Oh what a fickle creature I am! Lol.

But really, sometimes when I see someone with a cool name necklace design, I would decide that I’d like to have one. Then when I see someone who seem “lost” with it, I simply forget of ever getting one. Thoughts ping-ponging, and so goes the reason why, over time,  I haven’t absolutely decided of  having one made for myself despite the fact that I consider personalized jewelry a nice gift to friends and family.

But call it my luck as I have recently received a personalized name necklace from the store that offers the widest selection of styles and languages of handmade personalized name jewelry, the Wow! Imports. And it’s all for free! Also, I got to choose the design of my initials on this sterling silver necklace. *Smile, smile*

I love this one and only necklace I possess which has my initials on it.  I really do, although at first sight I was a bit disappointed to see  the size of the name — I’d have liked it a tad bigger (but then that wouldn’t be proportional to the size of the chain, too). So if the chain is increased a bit in size along with the name, then it would have been perfect for me.  But apart from that, I think it’s lovely.  It’s lovely to have a name necklace afterall and I deeply hope I look lovely wearing it as well. *grins*   Gotta bring justice to  the craftmanship, which I believe is unquestionable! With its chain simply fine and smooth, I certainly have no  doubt with the quality of the product.  

In the end, I think there’s good in being fickle. Who’d have thought I could have one for free? And having it without forking out a single cent from my wallet, I seriously wouldn’t complain. Really, I gotta thank my lucky stars for sparing me from spending some moolah for a lovely accessory such as this one! Thanks ParentReviewers and Wow! Imports.

BTW, Wow! Imports, the premier online store for African fair trade bead & wire art, also offers beaded animal figurines, piggy banks, beaded key chains, beaded zipper pulls, wire wrapped and beaded serving pieces, beaded Christmas ornaments and recycled plastic bag animals.

Tomorrow, I’ll be.

After a month long of rest, I’ll be coming back to work tomorrow. Oh chuck it, make that “very early tomorrow.” The show starts at 6AM.  Holy cow, it’s too early but I’ll get used to that again. Somehow. =)

I have prepared some of my things; my bag is ready. But my mind is not; my body -*shrugs* I don’t know.

Wake me up early, baby. 

Joseph Campbell wrote:
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

Lennon Lennon said:
“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.”

These are two powerful quotes that made me stop and think about Life; quotes that carefully summarize the point where I am standing now.

Says it all, huh? Sigh.

On the second thought, the to-do list is not updated. I did a good deal of  house cleaning today.

But today really is just like any ordinary day for me -except that I needed to work 4 hours earlier. *wry smile*

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to ALL!

I’ve been meaning to do something like this before (I actually imagined something like this to be my first post in 2009) but… *shrugging my shoulders* I wasn’t able to get past the conceptualizing  to the actual writing.

When I hopped into a friend’s blog and her her post of similar nature, I was suddenly reminded to do this. Anyway, I hope it’s not too late to do this now.

So 2008 found me with:

A new baby in our family- he’s my nephew :-)

A new PC –my husband wanted to get me one (one for our room). It’s one of those dinosaur PCs though because I was still undecided whether I’d opt for a laptop then.

My son getting positive of primary complex- I was too glad and relieved  when he got a “clear lung“ x-ray 6 months later

My son having his worst asthma attack and his getting sick of pneumonia – horrible moment  of my life

My first DSLR- because I wanted to see the creative side of me – if I do have any. *wink*

Trip to Boracay – I couldn’t believe I actually dared swimming in the ocean…but of course, not without a lifejacket and a buddy to guide me.

Parenting Dramas. Haayyy.

Broken N70 Phone – with a toddler at home, this is not too shocking.

Good blogging income – this was unexpected and I feel so blessed. I used  some to pay for my DSLR and then our trip abroad

Seeing an old friend with her cute daughter again

Lots of paperworks “for the future” - like you can’t imagine!

New N70 Phone- my husband gave this as a birthday present because I didn’t want any  phone other than my old phone, so he got me the same model.

First trip abroad – I still think of Disneyland as a magical world!

Worst LQ ever and then better understanding of my partner- Hmmm…

Positive career assessment – here’s one step leading to my goal-or my family’s goal

Huge credit cards bills –it has something to do with the paperworks and trip abroad (but which I miraculously paid in full)

Having two foreigners as guests in our home – a Vitenamese and a Brazilian. They are my siblings’ “loves.”

My sister’s wedding - Finally… after a long wait for the papres from Brazil to get to  P.I.

Series of car repairs  :-( Barney. Mickey and Friends. Green Puma Bag. Spongebob. Winnie ‘d Pooh.  Outdoor Clothing. Bob the Builder.  Photoshop.  Lightroom. New clothes and shoes that I didn’t buy.  Photobucket. Flickr.   BVLGARI Crystalline. A  Tommy H watch and jewelries that I didn’t buy. *smiles*  A happy heart.

From the author of Sex and The City, here’s another book that would let you have a look at the lives of the people living in this Greenwich Village Art Deco landmark called One Fifth Avenue.

THE AUTHOR:

Candace Bushnell. She has written other novels namely, Trading Up, Lipstick Jungle and the widely popular Sex and the City, which  later became a phenomenal TV series hit.

THE STORY:

One Fifth Avenue, the Art Deco beauty towering over one of Manhattan’s oldest and most historically hip neighborhoods, is a one-of-a-kind address, the sort of building you have to earn your way into—one way or another. For the women in Candace Bushnell’s new novel, One Fifth Avenue, this edifice is essential to the lives they’ve carefully established—or hope to establish. From the hedge fund king’s wife to the aging gossip columnist to the free-spirited actress (a recent refugee from L.A.), each person’s game plan for a rich life comes together under the soaring roof of this landmark building. Source: Every Women’s Voice

When I received the hardcover copy of One-Fifth Avenue, I couldn’t help but flipped with excitement. I went like Oh my God, Oh my God, I actually have a copy of Candace Bushnell’s recent novel. I was half-hoping that it’s autographed but maybe that’s too much to ask for. My copy is not autographed.

Getting over the initial giddiness, I so wish I could do justice with my review of the novel. I hope.

MY REVIEW:

The  characters that make up the story are  so  gossip-worthy. I hate to say that but that’s how interesting the characters are.  Take for example, Philip Oakland,  the screenwriter who hooked up with the very clever and selfish but beautiful Lola Fabrikant. Then there’s Schiffer Diamond, Philip’s old flame and an actress who moves back to One Fifth after a failed relationship.  There’s also Mindy Gooch, the bitter head of the co-op board and who passionately writes about her miseries on her blog called, the Joy of Not Having It All.  These are but few of the interesting characters living in the Apartment, which is the subject of this novel.

In this book, in my own standpoint, Ms Bushnell carefully echoes the truth about human nature: the greed, the discontentment, the pretensions, the bitterness, the need to have money, power and social prominence and most of all, (along with) the pursuit to be successful and to be admired.

I actually found myself enjoying the tales of  the lives of the characters in this novel. If I can be truthful about it, I was drawn to Schiffer Diamond’s character and her pursuit of love and happiness. She’s actually one of the motivating factor for me to finish the book ASAP. Me being a hopeless romantic, I had wanted to see how her relationship with Philip Oakland would develop and was secretly rooting that they’d end up together.

One  Fifth Avenue is definitely “unputdownable.” This is the first novel by Candace Bushnell that I read and though it somehow lacks the “shock element” that is commonly found in Sidney Sheldon’s novels,  I have to say I am impressed. Overall, I find the book truly compelling and entertaining.  I wouldn’t really  be surprised if  this is made into a movie or a TV series.

Great thanks to Parent Reviewers for giving me the chance to review a novel that might become another TV series hit in the future.

I just found out that someone copied a post in one of my site. Unbelievable! But yes.

My initial reaction was irritation.  I honestly felt bad - and so annoyed was I that I wrote few straight-from-my- bungled-brain posts  about the incident.

Anyway, that was couple of weeks ago. So today,  let me be thankful that I’m over that episode now.  I’m glad I’ve gotten past the dark stage of wanting to punch someone  in the face ala Pacman. *chuckles* That I’ve moved on.  That I can forgive (although not necessarily forget). There’s really a lot  more to do than be consumed in negative feelings.

I’m thankful that today is a better day than yesterday… and surely, tomorrow will even be better than today.

One more thing. I can think of bazillion of things that needs improvement with the way I blog but I’m thankful that God  has given me the capacity to translate thoughts into words and weave them into posts (although not coherently at times!).  I’m thankful for the opportunity to share them in Blogland.

For more of Thankful Thursday participants, please visit Iris.