Giving is Glorious

Oh my!  I really love this friend of mine because she never fails to use her thinking cap to come up with unique gifts  this Christmas.  In fairness, she is known for her good fashion sense  and taste.   Last year, she gifted my family with a luxurious table lamp and this year it was outdone by giving us an ideal white faux fur throw which I’ve been wanting to own to complete the total look of our bedroom.   She might have known that lately our master’s bedroom had undergone  make-over and it was so sweet of her to put so much thought on her gifts.  For all I know, she purchased it on line at The White Company London where you will find wide array of luxurious, gorgeous and high quality bed linen collections that we all wanted to be around in our bedroom.

bed linen collection I raved about…. and got it as Christmas gift!

Such a coincidence that the bathroom mats and towels that I gave her were also purchased on the same on line store.   Does it mean, I have good taste too?

Sophie is the pet dog of my sister Jen and she is such an adorable puppy.   Whenever I come for a visit,  calling out her name  from the gate, she excitedly runs out quickly to welcome me.   She will lie down, roll over and squirm around anticipating for me to give her a stomach and groin rub.  I am not really a dog lover but Sophie (whom my sister considered as her “daughter”) made me changed my perspective about pet dogs.  Oh she is such a darling and because she has won my heart,  my Christmas list is not only for families,friends but pet Sophie included.

Since I am deep into my photobook projects as gifts for my loved ones, I thought it would be a good idea to give Sophie a fashionable and personalized dog tag.   Initially, I thought of dog clothes or fancy costumes but when we bought and fitted one for her, we’ve seen how she roll and roll over until it comes off  and  she tries to bite them off.   Well, it is ideal to buy her dog bone or chew toys because definitely she likes them.  My sister lavishly bought her bedding for her cage, a colorful food bowl, new leash and collar and assorted pet care products.   She loves her so much and I am not surprised at all because I already have this special fondness for her.

Sophie’s 2nd Birthday celebration

I remember on her 2nd birthday, she celebrated it with cake, juice and lunch treat for family who gathered around as she was prepped up for photoshoot.   She hates the head band on her head and and she would shake it off to get rid of it until it falls.  Maybe she is the conservative and simple type of dog… ( is there such a type ?).   I made up my mind now, it will be dog tags for Sophie and I know it will suit her fine!

sample of dog tags made especially for Sophie

Nail art is the ” in”  fashion these days and I really admire nail technicians who have the patience and creativeness in designing nails.  It requires hours of putting designs of choice and I am in awe everytime I see nails come alive with different color and textures.   But lately  this nail art no longer pleases me.  Why? It only make my daughter including her cousin lazy because since they want to protect and extend the life of their pricey nails- the bottom line is they don’t want to do even simple house chores.  Everything is up to me to do so I have this feeling of  resentment towards this nail art.

Yesterday, I’ve spotted both cousins were giggling and excited over their nails.  Oh no! not again… I hate it!    The dishes are still in the sink, the fridge defrosted and who else  is going to do all of those but me.   Though, I appreciate nail arts but I hate it for making my daughter untouchable (meaning she won’t dare do the dishes, cooking and laundry).

Wahhhhhh.. I can cry a bucket now!

… the nerve to post their  nails

Thank you Miss Angola, your winning the coveted Miss Universe 2011 title, boosted the sagging spirit of my friend Diana who is a self confessed self hater because when she entered the age of puberty she then realized that she was very much different in color with her other friends and classmates.   From then on, she begun to abhor her dark complexion.   But Miss Angola’s winning indeed proved that “black is beauty” and became an eye opener to my friend who seemingly lost all her hopes. Diana my childhood friend developed inferiority complex having realized that most people put much weight on beauty and skin color.  She can’t really fathom how and why she was born that way and she always blame her genes.

You bet, she has tried almost every whitening product endorsements in the market be it soap, creams, lotions, pills and right now, she  is into gluthatione injection.  She purchased a set of injectables online to be injected intravenously.  That’s how desperate she was.   The last time, I saw her she was glowing and was very ecstatic because she seemed to have lightened a bit but after few months, her true color slowly creeped back  in which means she have to go through the same process again of buying the products and have it injected.   Actually those whitening products may have worked wonders to some and maybe not for others.  As they say ” different strokes for different folks”  Well meaning friends has been telling her to just be contented on what she has because beauty is only skin deep and that what matters is that she is beautiful inside.

Miss Angola’s winning the pageant saved her from the bleaching sessions she had booked in.  It made her realized that beauty has nothing to do with colors and  that she stood a chance in any competition because my friend is brainy and it so happened that she always shy away from people much to her disadvantage.

Miss Angola – mighty proud of her color

Now that my friend has finally opened up her mind, she too will be like Miss Angola, mighty proud of her color and beauty!  I am so happy for Diana.  Finally, she was able to accept and love herself more.

I think there are still some beauty pageant fanatics who can’t get over yet with the results of last night’s Ms.Universe 2011 pageant.  And in my humble opinion, it was a well deserved win for Leila Lopez, Ms. Angola.   Though our bet, Ms. Shamcey Supsup did not bag the title, still, we are mighty proud of her to have graciously and represented our country well.  In our eyes and hearts, she is a WINNER!

Early morning when I got up from bed still sleepy from staying up too late waiting for the announcement of winners, I got so amused with one post from a friend who tagged me an interesting pic and it helped me blew my sleepiness away.  Admiringly, I thought of how cleverly it was edited by someone who undoubtedly with good sense of humor.  I believe that it will somehow lessen the pain of people who is still hurting because their bet did not win.  Check the picture below:

… just for laughs!  Technology has gone a long way!

If you will notice it was the picture of  Mommy D., the loving mother of  world’s boxing champ, Manny Pacquiao that was used to replace the original face below.  You will be amazed somehow on how technology works or with the mere use of Photoshop it can instantly produce a different picture.   And you will also wonder why some people have to do such things?  Amusing!

the true beauty.. Ms. Angola

Hmmm… Mommy D is also a beauty in her own right!

Everybody looked forward last  September 12 to the  coronation night of Miss Universe pageant 2011.  The eyes of the world once again focused on one country that is  Sao Paolo Brazil where over 89 countries represented by gorgeous and wonderful ladies vied for the elusive Miss Universe title.

Our very own Shamcey Supsup who is an exceptional Filipina beauty with a good head on her shoulder is a Filipino pride.  She is not only beauty but brains as well!  She graduated Magna Cum Laude in the University of the Philippines, Diliman with a degree in Architecture.

The intellect and grace she exhibits during the pageant embodied the true Filipina beauty and spirit though she did not bring home the bacon for our country, in our eyes and hearts, she is a winner!  We were all eyes  glued on our TV sets admiring and appreciating her ideals, good values and beauty and that is the true victory for all of us!   We all hope that her victory in most ways will erase the negative issues of our country.  We don’t only have beautiful people but beautiful country!  (huh … patriotic- love your own!)

Official ranking of the Miss Universe 2011 winners

Miss Universe 2011 –  - Ms. Angola, Leila Lopes

1st Runner up – Miss Ukraine, Olesia Stefanko

2nd Runner up- Miss Brazil, Priscila Machado

3rd Runner up- Miss Philippines, Shamcey Supsup

4th Runner up – Miss China , Zi Lin Luo Luo

All winners!

*All pictures were downloaded from the Official Miss Universe 2011 website