2015 Reading Challenge: Second Chance Summer

Be careful what you wish for cos you just might get it. I enjoyed Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone so much, I decided to read another one of her books, plus reviews said this one's going to give you (the reader) a good ugly-cry, which I reckon I needed right now. But you see, I was still a little skeptical. I didn't know I was going to get my wish. Kaya ayan... I am now nursing a headache from all the ugly-crying I did.

The story starts with Taylor not wanting to go with the family back to Poconos for the summer vacation. The last time she's been there was five years ago and how she left things there back then were a little unresolved. She was dreading going back not only because of the possibility of running into Henry and Lucy again, but also in facing the real reason why the family's going back there again.

It was a beautiful story of second chances, rekindling relationships with friends and also our family. In a world so fast-paced, it's easy to forget about the things that really matter. It was just unfortunate that for the Edwards, it had to be a situation like this to bring them all back together and be a family in the truest sense of the word.

My favorite part would have to be when Taylor begged his dad's nurse to bring his dad outside so he could see the meteor shower and she told him, 'I love you daddy,' to which he replied, 'I knew that. Always knew that.' I was already bawling at this point.

I was going to give it five stars but minus one star for giving me a terrible headache so, four stars.

"Sometimes my grandfather was awake, and would sit with me while I looked

up at the stars, needing to see something fixed and permanent while everything

else in my life seemed to be breaking apart."

Living Life As If Everything Is Rigged In My Favor ☺

So we've finally moved to our new location- YAY! Super stressful, I tell you. At hindi pa jan kasama ang pag-realize na andami kong chinarge sa credit card na business-related expenses and I bet when I see my next babayarins, mas mastre-stress pa ako ng bongga. But so far, so good. This our sixth day operating in our new location and there are still a lot of things to repair, add, chuchuchu. I swear ang bagal- bagal ko. I really should change this attitude of procrastinating things. Like my ITR, for example. Blech.

I remember reading an article from Entrepreneur.com about the most common mistakes rookie business owners make and one of them is know when to stop bootstrapping. Well, I take pride of the fact that I do almost everything myself. At least, I am not threatened about anyone leaving. But the biggest mistake I may have made was trying to make the business' financials by myself. I should've let someone take care of it from the get-go. If I did, then I would have less worries today. But yuuh, that's one lesson I learned from all these kahibangan.

Bakit ba tayo napunta sa usapang yan? Ah, ITR. Change topic na nga.

Another month has passed. We're on our fourth month of 2015 and what do I have to show for it? Aside from the additional calories and fat rolls? Haha.

Catch-up with Ama Jo. Because I need to meet and greet all my friends before the Big Move, met up with Jo the week before. I had to run to Ortigas first to purchase some frickin' expensive nail polish (para lang may option sila) and then scamper off to Binondo for my lunch date. Lunch again at Tonkatsu and since it was my second time to eat there, no more food pictures. Ha. A little gallivanting and supply-shopping, then back to Lucky Chinatown for dessert at UCC. People who know me know that Starbucks is my go-to coffee place. I am not really a coffee drinker,  I just like Starbucks' mocha frappuccino ☺ So when Jo suggested UCC, medyo na-sad ako. Haha bwiset ang babaw. My IC friends and I go to UCC in Rustans Makat for coffee and I always order the same thing- coffee jelly cooler- and I'm not very happy with it. That time, I thought of rocking the boat and ordered something different- Kori Kohi.

at least may bago akong oorderin next time 

I loved it ☺ And we also enjoyed apple crumb pie. The pie had a hint of cinnamon but I didn't mind. The Kori Kohi adn apple pie didn't really change my mind when it comes to my go-to coffee place but at least I know what to order next time we go to UCC for dessert.

Another restaurant V, H and I ate at was Wok Inn. Wow. I've been missing Wok Inn for years already. First introduced to us by our ates, we used always eat there with entire family either in their Wilson branch or the one in Ortigas Extension. When both branches closed, our Wok Inn habit ended. Thanks to my very gala sister and her husband, I got to try Wok Inn again ☺

Ordering was a challenge because they don't have a menu. You just tell them what you want and they'll cook it for you. That is easy if you know what you want and what it is called. Pero kung parang ko na walang alam (at magulo pa mag-explain), patay tayo jan. Pero in fernez, na-gets nila nung sinabi kong mixed mushrooms.

we meet again ♥

sipa
albeit yummy, my dumpling ♥ still belongs to wai ying's hakaw

  

brought back childhood memories
so kinanin ko kahit nasundot-sundot ang loob ng bibig ko

Scrumptious. Bow. I will suggest that when AB comes home later this month, we eat lunch in Wok Inn for old time's sake ☺

And when I got home (yep, that same day we ate at Wok Inn), I was super duper excited to make my own bar soaps. Bought from my supplier earlier that day, soapmaking supplies. I added kojic acid active and pure honey and ze finished product est

honey kojic soaps

I'm my own guinea pig and I'm using the soap for my face these days and I've got to say I'm a satisfied customer. Haha. But seriously, the stuff works. I have uber-sensitive skin and if my skin doesn't agree with the product I'm using, I break out right away. I've been using the soap for almost two weeks and no major pimple situation yet. The whitening part (I added 5% kojic acid active ingredient and in kojic speak, that is A LOT) I'm not sure if it's working though. I may have done one step wrong because I didn't dissolve the powder in water, I added it right into the mixture, so I don't know if that affects the kojic's effectivity. But aside from the whitening effect, success ang honey kojic soaps ko.

Since we're in the topic of DIY-stuff... here's another diy project I made over the Lenten holiday- a cover for my kindle case. Because a kindle case is expensive (mahal ang 500 ha! isang bote na ng Orly yun), I kept putting off buying a new case for Kendall (FYI: that's my kindle's name). I used to spiffy up Kendall with stickers but when the material of the case started peeling off, the stickers can't do the job any longer. So I decided to make a "damit" for my Kendall.

materials used for the project

the fabric I'm going to use + old Kindle case

 I could've used a less dumihin fabric but since it's the only fabric na puede-puede na, I used it anyway. Next time I'm going to Divi, I'm going to look for  pretty canvas fabric with smaller details/ design, but for now this will do.

So wala akong pattern whatsoever. I just winged it, so to speak. And here's the finished product

ta-dah!!!!

Not bad, eh? Now my kindle case looks like a wallet, haha! But it served it's purpose, right? Hindi na mukhang kawawa ang case ko ☺ This is what the inside looks like

finally had use for these velcro thingy that has been sitting
inside our cabinet for years!

Pretty decent work for someone who doesn't really sew, right? Well, plus I used a lot of fabric glue to use for the seams. I didn't want it to be too bulky which the thread would do (make it look bulky) had I sewn all the sides. I'm giving myself a proverbial pat on the back. Gujab!

And oh before I forget, here's what AD gave me for pasalubong from her work-related trip to London~

For pasalubong, AC asked for M&S panties
Ako, I wanted to be surprised.
When AD said she won't be bringing us our pasalubongs
muna kasi may panty pa naman siguro si AC (ahaha),
sabi ko, "ayaw ko panty!"
AD said, "hindi nga. ele-panty sayo."
Totoo nga naman.

Finally, nakapagpahinga na ang aking CD-R King usb hub na laging nagloloko. The elephant hub is just a little bulky but it's serving naman its purpose and it's not 'disconnecting' every once in a while like what my previous usb hubs did.

Umm, so that's basically what happened in my life. Looking back, my life actually seemed boring but at that time I was exhilarated for being able to (1) make my first batch of bar soaps, and (2) make that kindle case's case by hand. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. Napaka-babaw ko actually. So why do I get the feeling I may a be a little depressed. I think the weight has something to do with it. Or maybe, the hormones are to blame. Yes, the hormones. I'm blaming the hormones.

I wish for a very exciting (the good kind of exciting) summer with the family ☺ AB comes home on the 24th I'm looking forward to our lakwatsa engrande + mommy's 70th birthday + Katy Perry concert ☺ I will be ending this post with my personal mantra these days~

Works like magic ☺

Try mo :P

2015 Reading Challenge: Since You've Been Gone

It took me a while to finish the book because of, you know, real world stuff. I've been busy with the NS relocation among other grown-up things that it took me two weeks to finish this- absolutely not an indication that the book sucked because it totally rocked my socks, dude!

...And we have Frank to thank for that. It's been a while since I've encountered swoonable fictional boyfriends and now here's one when I was totally not expecting him. He's every bit a gentleman- nice, proper and smart! But honestly, Frank had me at the mention of his 'abs.' Yuuuh, I'm an ahjumma like dut.

Plus, I also liked Emily. She's not as angsty like most of YA heroines and what she felt at the start when she found out her best friend, Sloane, just left town with no word of goodbye or whatsoever. And I understand how she felt lost without friend. They used to do everything together, they spent almost every waking hour together and just like that Sloane's gone. Ni ha, ni ho.

So the gist of the story is Sloane and her family left town and Emily's dumbfounded as to where her bestfriend could be and why she would leave without saying anything. Sloane just left without a word. She just left Emily a list of bucket-list-ish things to do. Emily does the things on the list, believing that they'd lead her to Sloane. Well, they did alright but also it led her to so much more.

Ahhhh basta loved the book and if you're into kilig reads, I highly recommend this.