me want...

Last year, I made a Christmas wishlist and got most of the stuff that I wished for. Not everything came to me as a gift though, there are things I had to purchase myself. 

I did not get the oven toaster, and in as much as I planned to buy it myself, I kind of lost interest (i hope just temporarily) in being a master chef.

I bought the juicer, and used it for probably a maximum of 7 times. I went back to using my old trusty blender. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the ginger, not a huge fan of ginger but once it is juiced together with apples, carrots and a bunch of spinach, I had fun sipping it. Unfortunately cleaning the juicer is a huge task.

I got a huge bottle of Nenuco, journals and pen, pens,pens!!!

This year, I am again making a list... and checking it twice. The following are the things I would love to have for 2014. After all, I have this nagging feeling that I have been very behaved this year and is probably on santa's "nice" list.



Belle De Jour Power Planner

I have always been fascinated with journals... I call them organizers. But don't get your hopes too high, I may not be able to fill this up very nicely. But I will try to. Although I have already received a nifty little weekly organizer complete with the daintiest post-its and a little envelope that I presume will be for cash.. or receipts from my favorite couple elaine and emer ( yeah I know it is not yet Christmas and I shouldn't be opening gifts yet... I have low EQ... sue me.) I would really love to get this one. If I don't get a it as gift, I will not go out for coffee for 2 weeks and buy it myself from this site : http://belledejourpowerplanner.com


Handkerchiefs

Yes for real. I want handkerchiefs. But I hope whoever gives me handkerchiefs would not feel bad if I lose them. It is a very popular gift item but I have not received any. I sneeze a lot, and in my desire to do away with disposable napkins and do my share in helping the environment. I will start to use handkerchiefs in 2014.

Wristwatch

I can't remember the last time I wore a wristwatch. I used to be addicted to watches, I lost count of how many Swatch watches I owned and eventually lost. I wear them to sleep, even as I take my shower. They say using the mobile phone to tell time is now a thing of the past,so I guess it is time for me to get a watch. The one above may be too fancy for my pay scale, as I always say, "act your wage" maybe what I can save up for and buy is nothing close to the one above. Maybe this one will do:

Bicycle

A simple one. Maybe something I can buy from a Japan Surplus shop. Just so I can use something for short errands within the subdivision. Not too familiar with bike specifications, but one thing I know, I won't be joining any triathlon event nor do I plan to bring my bike to the nearest offroad trail. I just want a bike, two wheels, a pedal and a handle bar. 

Gym apparel

The bitter truth is I am obese, and losing these bulges is starting to be really frustrating. I have done everything from starving myself and taking nothing but lemonade for 5 days, Brazilian Coffee that keeps me up all night, appetite depressants, juicing, meal replacements... but I have never really paid much attention to spending time burning calories. As early as now I have already purchased vouchers for gym sessions. And now I need to make sure I have the right apparel to motivate me.


Pen pen pens!

There is never too much pens for me! 

Just a few stuff that I would aim to get in 2014... aside from World Peace. Looking forward to a prosperous, stress-free and kilig-filled year ahead! I CLAIM IT!!!

Granting a "TINY" wish

Not sure if any of you remembers, but I did post about being a ninang (sponsor) to one of the students of Mapedya Elementary School. Over the weekend, the group who spearheaded the project successfully delivered the gifts that they were able to gather over the past few weeks. 

All these pinky-girly stuff:

has been so thoughtfully delivered by the group TREK to this little girl:

Yup! That's Tiny Joy... With her little umbrella sticking out of the huge bag that TREK provided.The pig tails gave me a huge sense of relief, she is girly enough to appreciate the pink overload. And that very shy and almost reluctant smile is enough for me to feel blessed to be able to share. 

And this little note made me go awwwww:

On another note, I work in the airline industry and this video literally sent shivers down my spine and got me crying happy tears :

So just like little Tiny Joy and the lucky passengers of West Jet who got what they were wishing for because they were honest enough to say what they want, if anybody asks me what I want... I will definitely say what I want... A White Christmas Suzuki Swift ... and of course World Peace! 

teach them to fish

It is cliche to say "Give a man a fish and he'll have food for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime"... But that is exactly what I did to make my sister realize the value of working for money. See my sister has not been working for quite a few months now a ( since mamu is away), my sister gets to keep the household running. Making sure that meals are cooked, clothes are washed. It is with high hopes that I am thinking that she will find a job as soon as my mom returns, but that is still a couple of weeks from now. And Christmas time is just around the corner. That time of the year when everyone, and I mean everyone needs money. 

With that in mind, I thought of having my sister do something to ensure that she will at least have money to buy presents for her inaanaks, or better yet, buy herself something nice. I thought that if I give her 1,000 pesos, the probability of her spending it all on foodtrips is very likely. So instead of giving her the money, I purchased milk, colorful candy sprinkles and declared that we are making pastillas. 

I had everything planned out, I wanted the pastillas to have fillings, so we made pastillas with strawberry, caramel, nutella and chocolate fillings and had them rolled in colorful sugar. We called it sweet surprise. they look something like this:

The first batch we made was given out for free. All I wanted was for my sister to have at least 5,000.00 profit. But my sister-in-law proved to be the "bestseller"! I sometimes think she can sell even ampalaya -flavored chewing gum! Orders started pouring in. From making 6 dozens every night, a day came when my sister had to produce 50 dozens! I urged my sister to not decline any orders, to strike while the iron is hot.

A month into our operation and my sister has already reached my 5,000.00 peso target. 

I feel good about it. My sister has her own money, my nephews have extra allowance, (they sell them to their friends), they all learn that  making money requires a lot of hardwork... but the most priceless benefit we all get from this pastillas-making activity... is the chance to bond! 

Got to go.. I think my sister needs help in boxing those sweet little milk balls!