11 Things Never To Say To A Man You Love

The operative word being never.  I read this in a women's magazine.  I'm guilty of nos. 3 and 11. Haha! A couple of years ago, I tried no. 9 and he totally ignored me.

1.  I can't wait to see what you're doing for my birthday.

2.  Are you...crying?

3.  If we leave right now, we'll have time to stop by Bed, Bath & Beyond.

4.  Do you need help lighting the grill?

5.  I'm putting this whole conversation on my blog.

6.  You had so much hair back then!

7.  I don't care how big and drunk he is, he shouldn't be talking through the movie. I'm going to say something.

8.  Actually, it doesn't happen to every guy.

9.  We're vegetarians now.

10. My dad can fix that; you should call him.

11. You know why.

Source: Redbook

Nook Color

My new awesome book...

Only it's a Nook!

I love how my Nook cover actually looks like a real book cover.  It's made of leather and has the names of famous writers and poets written all over it.

For about a hundred dollars more than the original Nook, I think the Nook Color is worth it.  It's light, easy to navigate, has a lot of features that make it easy for the reader to peruse books and magazines. Oh I love the fact that it was made to accomodate the glossies!  Look how awesome the colors are!

An ad page in Reader's Digest

National Geographic

Because of the high specs, the battery life is just eight hours compared to the original Nook's ten days and Kindle's thirty days.  I also enjoy the free trial feature which gives the reader fourteen days to try out a magazine.  Monthly subscriptions for magazines are a lot cheaper and the books come in cheap too.  The Nook uses the Android program and makes web browsing a breeze.  It also has a slot for a micro sd for additional memroy. Best of all, I can play this game that follows me whichever gadget I use.

Angry Birds for Nook

new toy

Three days ago, my husband and I had our regular visit to Barnes and Noble. I usually attack the clearance section first, followed by the new releases, and the magazine section last. If you dont remind me of the time, I could go on for hours in this store. All the time I was keeping busy, my husband was stuck by the entrance where the Nook counter is checking the sample product. Well to cut it short, we left the bookstore with me grinning from ear to ear giddy with excitement and anticipation as I hold my new Nook Color. Three words: I am obsessed. I had no idea he's been thinking of getting me one. One small gesture that made my heart flutter. I will write a post about the Nook once I've calmed down.

Venice Canals

You can find the canals just a few blocks away from Venice Beach.  The canals were originally built by Abbot Kinney.  They were modeled after the famous Venice Canal in Italy. 

The houses here are beautiful.  They all have their own docks and most have kayaks parked along the canal.

Many tourists walk along the sidewalks and on the bridges to look at the houses. 

The houses vary in size and most of them are two-storey houses.  As for real estate, houses here start at $2,000.000.00 making it an upscale neighborhood.  A lot of movies and TV shows were also shot here like Little Rascals, Hollywood Homicide and Valentine's Day to name a few.  I'm not really sure but this house kind of looks like Ashton Kutcher's house in Valentine's Day.

Walking along the sidewalks and admiring the quaint houses is a very enjoyable experience.  To make it even cooler, you can hang out in one of the cafes and restaurants along Abbot Kinney Boulevard.  My favorite cafe is Jin Patisserie.  The treats they offer are so delectable.  They make THE best french macarons in California. 

The cafe has an outdoor garden where patrons can enjoy the tasty food and awesome Cali weather.  And if you get lucky, you might just see a Hollywood star walking by!  On our last visit to Jin, Marisa Tomei walked by as we  were getting off the car.  Talk about star struck. Haha!  For a split second, my sister and I thought of pulling a paparazzi move but eventually chickened out.  Maybe next time:-)

Venice Beach

Have you ever been to this vibrant place?

This is Venice Beach in Venice, CA.  Many years ago, local artists and poets made this place as their hang out and eventually for some, their home.  I heard this is where Jim Morrison created The Doors.  Unlike Malibu and Santa Monica, I find Venice Beach unpretentious.  What you see is what you get.  Everything here seems to convey an artistic history.  Other people find it a bit dodgy and cluttered and I can see why it gives that impression. Here in Venice Beach is where you can find medical marijuana easily.  Let me correct that, medical marijuana finds you here.  I think almost all the stores here offer that.

To me though, the vibe that this place generates is simply electric.

Not to be missed are the famous Venice Art Walls.  Not all artists can participate here.

Even the trash cans are artfully decorated!

Stylish and modern houses and apartments can also be found next to the boardwalk.  Some of the Hollywood stars known to have lived here are Julia Roberts, Kate Beckinsale, Jim Morrison, Nicolas Cage, and Robert Downey Jr.  Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson are also known to have their respective apartments in Venice. 

Venice Beach is also known to be the home of Muscle Beach where Arnold Schwarzenegger first started his body building career.

Skateboarders dominate much of the boardwalk. Well, Venice Beach is somehow synonymous to skateboarding.  This particular man though caught my attention.

I was very curious as to what role he plays in Venice Beach so I Googled him. Lo and behold he's in Wikipedia!  How cool is that?!

There are also a lot of historical cafes and bars in Venice Beach. But if you want to avoid the eccentric crowd, this restaurant is just off the main street.

Just a few blocks away from the beach is the famous Venice Canal.  But it's way past my bed time so that will be in my next post.  Have a great weekend wherever you are!

11 years

We've been 'special friends' for eleven years now.  You are an answered prayer.  I'm overjoyed that not so long ago, we decided to become more than friends.  I love you more each day.

Novena for Motherhood

Most Blessed Trinity, I, Your child, thank You for all the gifts and privileges which You granted to St. Gerard, especially for those virtues with which You adorned him on earth and the glory which You now impart to him in heaven. Accomplish Your work, Oh Lord, so that Your kingdom may come about on earth. Through his merits, in union with those of Jesus and Mary, grant me the grace for which I ask...

(intention)

And you, my powerful intercessor, St. Gerard, always so ready to help those who have recourse to you, pray for me. Come before the throne of Divine Mercy and do not leave without being heard. To you I confide this important and urgent affair...

(intention)

Graciously take my cause in hand and do not let me end this novena without having experienced in some way the effects of your intercession. Amen.

Mother's Day

You gave up your career so you can be with us at home.
You chose a life stripped of nannies and became a hands-on mom.
You trained us well early on so we can be great individuals.
You taught us how to be God-fearing.
You made sure that we understand how much you value education.
You cooked great meals every single day. You still do.
You always know how to bounce back everytime you fall down.
You have so much confidence in us.
You always say how great we turned out to be.
You will fight with whoever will get in our way.
You are strong, resilient, loving, understanding, patient, forgiving.
You are you.

These are just a few of what makes you a supermom.  Happy Mother's Day Mama. I hope I can be at least half the mom that you are.

Paint the nails lavender!

Salon pedicure or self pedicure? Salon pedicure!

Every once in a while though, I don't mind painting my own nails.  In fact, I just realized that I'm becoming an expert on it.  I leave it to the experts to paint my nails using branded lacquer. They're way too expensive for me to waste.  So at home, I only use cheap ones.  That way, I don't hate myself feel bad when I chip my nails five minutes after I paint them.  The weather's getting more shorts and flip flops friendly so I decided it's time to make my nails pretty. 

my lavender painted toenails

I got those thin-as-paper slippers (that salons also use) from the dollar store.  It came with a buffer and a pair of toe separators, all for a dollar!  Hmmm, I'm looking at the picture now and it seems like the color turned a bit more on the blue side.  In reality though, it's really lavender. Haha.  I also painted my hand nails the same color.  I'm kind of shy though to post a picture of my hands because I find them too big...?

Japanese snacks

I go wild whenever I visit a Japanese grocery.  I buy snacks as if there's no tomorrow.  Well, there's no Japanese store near our place so I go berserk when we visit the one next to my parents'. 

When the tsunami and quake happened a few months ago, I read in the news that most countries became strict in letting goods in from Tokyo.  That got me really worried.  So this time around, I made sure that I buy enough stash that will last me for a month.

My must-have Japanese snacks

I bought three big bottles of my favorite Kirin Lemon Tea, six boxes of chocolate and strawberry Lucky sticks (by Meiji), and black pepper potato chips (for him).  One of the things that helped me withstand summers in Japan is lemon tea.  At home, I drank it like it's water. And on my way to work, I would buy some more either from the convini or the vendo.  Drink it ice cold and it becomes even more heavenly.  The Lucky sticks I only discovered a couple of months ago.  When I was living in Japan, I was very loyal to Pocky.  But outside Japan, Pocky is super expensive.  Lucky is just $0.99 compared to Pocky's almost three dollar price.  Meanwhile, he's still on the lookout for potato chips that can come close to his favorite salt and pepper chips from Japan.  The one I bought is a differnt brand so we'll see if he likes it.  I hope I can make my supply last!

I love my girlfriends

Lately, I've been missing my girlfriends who are mostly oceans away from me.  Sometimes no matter how hard we try, it's not easy trying to keep in touch especially when we all live busy lives.  I think God heard my secret wish and gave me not one but two opportunities to see and catch up with two of my girlfriends.  One of them plays a huge part in my life as she's the only one who still calls me and does not really mind spending money for phone bills. Haha.  These days, people hardly ever use the phone anymore.  Skype or YM have pretty much replaced phone calls.  We ended up talking until 2:30 in the morning.  It felt really good.  The other one was an unplanned meeting.  Usually, we would plan our dates days ahead and plans will just go kaput.  This time around, she happened to be nearby and didn't have plans after dinner.  We went to a vibrant place a few blocks away and had yummy gelato and cakes.  More than the delicious desserts, it was the talk that filled me up. What a great weekend!