Scavenger Hunt Sunday 101313

I wasn't able to continue with FatMumSlim's October Photo a Day, but I was able to take a picture of some of the prompts this week.


1) M is for...
Moe-Moe Furballs, our baby cat. Again, he was trying to convince me that it's time for bed, so after hopping on me and disturbing my tv watching, he started playing stints by cleaning himself on the desk, directly across me.


2) What you saw today
A typhoon just left, and when I checked the garden to assess the damage, I was surprised to actually see a plant blooming.


3) Corner
An image of the Rocky Road Brownies, taken near the corner of the pan before I pop it in the oven toaster.


4) Pink
The only pinkish picture I took this week - another one from the garden. It's just cute to see how green turns to pink and pink to red.


5) Hands
When my nail polish starts to chip, I either take it out (chipped nail polish often results to chipped nails so I had to do something about it asap) or I experiment with nail art. Not a good outcome of the ombre sponging technique, but it's always great to try... at least I know now that this combination doesn't work. :)

This weekend, the girls and I...

• Cleaned the house. I don't know how and why, but last Friday night when the rain poured real hard, I saw about two or three cockroaches near the stove, so yesterday morning, we cleaned the entire house and sprayed a tin of insect repellent. It's so icky to see cockroaches, we had to eliminate it right Baway.
• I baked Rocky Road Brownies using the oven toaster. It wasn't a very successful one, but not a failure either.
• We went to the mall - eating lunch together, bought shoes, and did the grocery shopping.
• Listed the things needed to do for the coming week. For me, it's all about diet and exercise. 

It's a great thing that the rain has stopped and the sun shone today, and we are all looking forward to a great week ahead.

* Jenn *

The Happies and the Crappies

Listing down the happies and the crappies from this week:


Happy happies:

❤ Buying another silver footwear. The nearby market has a store that sells different kinds of footwear (mostly flip flops and sandals), and when I saw this pair of thong slippers for less than 100 pesos (a little over 2 usd), I immediately bought it. This pair will come in handy when my feet get tired wearing the Mary Jane pumps I plan to use for brother's birthday.

❤ My cat Moe-Moe sleeping with me. Well, he always sleeps next to me every night, but I can be like Elmyra Duff (from the Tiny Toons animated series) with my cat, so he would wait 'til I am asleep before he would hop on my bed (I always wake up with him next to me), but lately, I am still up late at night... and this would disappoint him, because as soon as the clock strikes 11pm, he would meow and rub himself on my legs and sometimes bite my arms or walk across my netbook just to say that it's time for bed. One night this week, I was reading my eBook and he suddenly just hopped on my bed and lied next to me. Awww... what a sweet kitty.

❤ Painting my nails. Whoa, it's been more than a week since I last painted them.

❤ When K flew here for a holiday, he gifted me with a clothing item. It was two sizes smaller than my current size so I told him I would just wear it once I lose the weight, but yesterday I tried it on... just for fun, and it did fit!


The crappy crappies:

☠ My skin is way too dry and looks like snake shedding skin. Well, this is actually a happie, because I knew the product I applied on my skin was working, but then again it just look awful at this moment.

☠ I still am not done reading my book. Sucks to encounter a reader's block. Hahaha.

☠ I lost in two giveaways I joined, but it's just fine. I am more sad that I just read about Nuffnang's current bloggers giveaway because I cannot join anymore. They are giving away free roundtrip tickets via AirAsia Zest, and it would be a great thing to win because the airlines fly to Cagayan de Oro (I could use it for brother's wedding should I win), but because they are only giving the prize to the first 5 bloggers and there were already 60+ bloggers who registered for the giveaway, there is no way I will win that one.

☠ It's raining again... and with rain comes more mosquitoes. Ugh.

☠ I still am not done fixing this blog. I don't know what's up with Blogger, I would hit the save button over and over and it wouldn't save!

☠ Yahoo! Mail and Flickr changed the user interface and I just hated it.

This weekend, I am going to bake some rocky road brownies and next week, will try to bake carrot cupcakes. I hope both of these baking adventures will end up on my happies list next Friday.

Enjoy the weekends, everyone!

* Jenn *

 

September Photo a Day Recap

This post may be a little too late as it is already the 8th of October, but really, finishing a month of FatMumSlim's Photo a Day makes me happy because I always attempt to do this but I always fall short, like what happened to me this month. I know this can be a little bit shallow for me to say, but now that I have finished one month, I know next year I can do all 365 days.

Photo descriptions:

This Weekend, I...

Emotions start to pick up this weekend, but there were still moments I felt quite low, which wasn't so bad. I am ready to face another full week of helping myself get fit, and I need to help myself recover from this low feeling. I think watching a few episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" (season 8) helped. :)

This weekend, I...


Enjoyed reading a few pages off "Double Cross" while eating breakfast. What's so sweet was that my ever cutesy cat jumped on the table to sniff on my cereal bowl, try to act silly by distracting me and scratching a bit on the book to grab my attention, but after a while he just stayed there, allowing me to do what I wanted to do.


I signed up on Goodreads to keep a list of the books I have read and currently reading. I know, I told bookish topics will be shared every Thursdays, but I am pretty sure I'd finish a book (or two) by Thursday, so I am showing this now.

I also know that I said I'll read the books I borrowed from my uncle (the James Patterson books), but when I go to bed, lights off... I still want to read until my eyes get tired, and I don't want to go re-read Fifty Shades for I already read "Fifty Shades of Grey" and "Fifty Shades Darker" two times and if I read "Fifty Shades Freed," that would mean using precious time I could spend reading a new book, so I decided to start reading "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." I was able to finish 96 pages before I dozed off... and I think I am liking this book a lot.


I received and used a sample product. Many, many months ago (maybe even a year ago), I remembered seeing a post from HHN asking people to give their details if they want to be a part of the sampling team for new products. I actually have forgotten about that, until last Friday, when I received a call and an e-mail to ask if I still want to sample this particular product. I received the sample yesterday (Saturday) and I loved the product. Of course, I can't tell what the product is, but I am all raves and I am excited for this to come out in the market.


It rained today (very heavy rain), but yesterday was a very hot summer day, and I got to see the little yellow bird again! It was tricky to photograph the pretty critter because it moves after a few seconds, but even if I am not super duper satisfied with the pictures I've taken, it gives me hope and anticipation to see the bird again and attempt to get a pretty photograph.

This weekend, too, I did the laundry and updated my Aldiko Library. Lotsa books to read... making mom happy to know that I am enjoying using my phablet as an eBook reader. Speaking of mom, at the dinnertable while watching the replay of "American Idol," she suddenly said, "Oh, the curly hair guy from the previous American Idol is having a concert." That gave me a puzzled look because I didn't hear any of the previous contestants coming over for a concert (last one I heard was Jessica Sanchez with Colton Dixon concert last Valentine's Day), and after a few minutes of thinking, she blurted out, "Oh, Aerosmith! I know you like that guy... you gonna watch?" Wow, my mom knows I like Steven Tyler? Amazing! :) Well, I am not a very big fan of Aerosmith, but yes, I do like the band (their "Get a Grip" album was the very first cassette tape I bought with my own money in 1994), but because the ticket is way too expensive, I won't be watching the concert.

Yesterday, I ate two oranges - one after lunch, one after dinner, and my sister was so surprised about it. I don't eat that much fruits, but they bought quite a lot of oranges and apples... least I could do was help them eat the fruits. :) Well, the oranges tasted really good, maybe I'd put some on my salad tomorrow.

29 March - 04 April

Of the four blogs I currently update, this will be the only post I will have because I am too darn sleepy and lightheaded already. I tried sleeping right away last night, but I just can't stop myself from reading "Fifty Shades Freed." Another sleepless night for me, but I am pleased to say that I have finished it already... reading it straight for 12 hours. :) I will try my best to finish "London Bridges" as soon as possible, but for now, I really have to sleep and carry on with the reading tomorrow.

Five major, major things that made me happy this week:


1) My cat.
He started sleeping next to me again, and although he would wake me up in the middle of the night (no need for him to do that the last two days, as I am still awake) so I could open the window for him to go out and do his personal business, he would go back to bed again. Also, his antics never fail to make me happy - even if it means being scratched from time to time.


2) Food Portioning.
When I decided to be off the "weight loss track," I started eating mindlessly again. In my attempts to go back on track, I would say food portioning posed a challenge and measuring the food became a chore that I sort of threw out the idea. The salad project last week taught me to have a little determination, and now I am friends with the measuring cups and diet scale again. I have no idea how much calories I take everyday, but having portions - in grams and/or in cups - allows me to have a sense of direction as far as food intake is concerned.


3) Going out to smell the fresh air.
I am such an indoor person (unless I am traveling, because during my trips, I always prefer to be out), but tending the garden gives me the chance to go out of the house, taking breaks from the usual chores and assignments.


4) Summer.
Hot, but tolerable. The summer heat allows me to sweat, and it makes drinking water easier. :)


5) New Hanson video!
MTV premiered the new Hanson video yesterday, but Hanson just uploaded it on YouTube this afternoon (Philippine time), so I just grabbed the code from YouTube. I truly, truly love the sound and the video (their youngest brother Mac is there, by the way - the curly haired guy who looks a little like Jack Black), and as early as today, I am already anticipating their new studio album this June.

Other things this week that made me happy -- exercising, losing a few pounds already, reading three books (the Fifty Shades trilogy), and exchanging e-mails with K - he's happy to say that he has booked another hotel of our choice for the holiday. I already told mom that he's coming soon, and as much as it saddened mom that I will be away from home for three weeks once he arrives, mom is happy for K and I to travel again. She trusts the man to take care of me and sees no problem with the holiday... after all, this would be the third time we would go on a holiday (first was in 2008, second was in 2010).

The crappie things this week?
1) Lack of sleep... definitely.
2) Turning down event invitations. I really need to focus on my weight loss for the next two months, I think of it as accepting a job, or enrolling at a summer class... once K arrives, I'll take a break from the weight loss routines so it's work now, play later for me.
3) Body aches. Though not really annoying, I experienced muscle pains since I started exercising. Thankfully, even if I am eating less, my tummy is not that reacting negatively (meaning, I don't feel hungry that much... but I don't starve myself).
4) I wasn't able to try a healthy recipe this week.
5) Too much laundry. Well, I do video workouts in the morning and afternoon... and I take shower after resting, that means I change clothes twice a day, giving me twice the amount of clothes to wash.

It's the weekend tomorrow... I am quite excited to do the LesMills dance workout, but I do hope I can get the steps right this time. Anticipating Sunday, too - my rest day. I might get a hair cut, but I will definitely pamper my feet.

Happy weekends!

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* Quote on the fourth picture is "Beautiful Day" by U2