I realized I am not sad anymore. I am just lonely.

Dear 2014

Happy New Year!

Hello 2014, I hope we can be good friends.  It was sad to see 2013 go because 2013 was extra nice to me & my family personally.  Although 2013 was harsh to my country, 2013 opened our eyes to the truth – that we cannot win when nature is angry but made us realize that we are not alone.

I am so excited to having wonderful moments with you, 2014.  You don’t know me well so I hope you’ll take time to know me, not to judge quickly because you’ll find out that I, along with the rest of the world, only want to be good friends with you.  We do not mean any harm and our apologies if we didn't satisfy your expectation of us.  I hope & pray that your kindness will prevail.

Love,

Anne and the rest of this big world

Late Post: One Republic Live in Manila

It was their first time in Manila.  It was amazing.  Warren and I will never forget how great Ryan Tedder was on stage.  We even agreed that it was a natural high, for a few hours there, we were like floating and high on music.  We do not fully understand why people would resort to substance abuse when there are a lot of natural highs.

I wanted to post the videos my husband painstakingly took while I was dancing like crazy but Youtube has other plans.  File was too large he said and I am not as techie as I pretended to be.  Oh well the videos will just stay in my laptop memory until the laptop crashed (oh not in the near future).

I'm here...

In life, you just have to live the way you believe will make you happy.

Hello my dear blog friend. You must think that I just miss you when I'm lonely but I don't. I just want you to remember that I think about you and I will always let you know how I feel.

I may not have updates but remember that you will always know what's new sooner than you think.

Food for the hair: Vegetarian

Since I am now semi-based in Bicol I savor every minute I have to do errands and visit my family in Manila.  Not that I miss Manila so bad (okay, a little I must admit) but there are things that can only be done in Manila.  Take for example, I only trust my foot pampering to be done by my suking taga kutkot which is located in Manila.  As for my hands I do not have any problems taking care of it, massage it with hand lotion (lots & lots) and that’s it.  Since my hands are too delicate, a mani doesn’t make it look good.  It gives the reverse effect, my cuticles are too thin and soft that pushing or removing it causes more damage to my nails so I stay away from manicures.  Aside from foot spa, pedis and massages, my hair activities (and hubby’s too) are done in Manila, only in Manila.

I do not post any kikay reviews but I am dying to share a new discovery.  I went to a hair salon in ATC hoping that they could help my hair problems.  I am just being very dramatic hehehe because my hair is soft, smooth and shiny but it is lifeless.  It’s so flat and I am not a fan of the hair dryer.  I went to the salon asking how they could help me add volume and bounce to my crowning glory.  Their solution – a perm to make it wavy.  A what?  No way Jose!  I am not ready to make a drastic and dramatic effect to my hair.  I find it hard to maintain curly locks because I am a sort of a wash & wear girl.  So what’s the plan B, I asked.  They said any treatment like keratin (Brazilian/permanent blow dry which I tried before but after 3 days my hair is back to its usual self, will tackle about this more later) or hot oil will make it more limp.  However they asked me to try a vegetable hair treatment and see the results because regular application of this treatment will improve my hair strand quality.  It’ll be firmer, thicker, will avoid hair breakage and hair fall.  I agreed to give it a try since I went to the salon to solve my hair mystery.

They shampooed my hair, applied the hair cream treatment, massaged my head/hair from the roots to the tips, placed some cling wrap had it stayed in my hair for 30 minutes while the attendant massaged my shoulders and back.  I love it that the whole time my hair was wrapped the attendant kept on massaging me while making small talks.  When the plastic wrap was removed my hair was massaged some more before it was rinsed.  I can smell the vegetable cream they applied, it smells like celery (in a sweet smelling scent and not the kitchen-y type aroma) and aloe vera.  I was advised to have the treatment again after 2 weeks (I know it’s a marketing strategy and I didn't fall for it but I kinda believe that repeating the treatment will make wonders to my hair) instead I asked if they sell the conditioning cream and they do.  I am due back in Bicol that week so it’s not an option to go back to the salon 2-3 weeks after that day.  They gave me some instructions on how to use it.  They even said that I can go back to the salon anytime just bring my purchased product and they will apply it for free on the 1st visit, the next ones would incur a very minimal fee to cover the attendant’s time & effort plus the use of the salon’s equipment and other stuff.  I am pretty much sold with the benefits of the organic vegetable treatment, I even googled it using the salon’s free wifi (hehehe).  The results even made me happier, when my hair was blow dried I immediately felt that my hair strands were happy and full of life.  I was advised not to wet and shampoo my hair for 24 more hours so that the conditioning effect will penetrate my hair strands more.

While making some chika with the attendant, she mentioned that nowadays a lot of organic shampoos are available.  She mentioned that organic shampoos are sulfate free.  She mentioned that when you had treatment done to your hair (like rebonding, perming or coloring, etc.) sulfates in commercial shampoos damages the hair and this makes the effect of the treatment not to last that long.  So I went to my good friend google again to research on sulfate.  Sulfate is the key ingredients in hair products to make it bubbly and foamy when lathered onto the hair.  Although the amount in products is approved and is acceptable to FDA standards it is still harmful when used continuously.  I was more convinced when I remembered the permanent blow dry I had in one of the posh salons in Resorts World.  They claimed it will last 3 months when in three days my hair was limping again and unhappy as it can be.  The treatment I had was erased by the harsh chemicals that can be found in the commercial sulfate laden shampoos.  The sulfate-free shampoos are pretty hard to find and are expensive.  Even botanicals and herbal shampoos in our favorite groceries are not free from these ingredients.  Then I remembered one brand that claims to be organic.  I researched the ingredients and found that they are indeed sulfate-free.  Today is my 3^rd day to use the shampoo and conditioner.  I have no complaints yet and it seems to be a great product.  I won’t name it or rave about it yet but will review it once I finished the whole bottle.

Our hair like our skin needs TLC too.  It’s not just about hygiene anymore, we seek for clean and nourishing products to take care of our whole body.  There are women who are not vain (like me) but will always opt to have clean, clear and supple skin.  While I can be the lotion, body and hand cream guru, I am pretty much a newbie when it comes to hair.  I was pretty excited with my discoveries because I know that there are people like me who were just happy with shampooing and conditioning their hair then visits the salons to pamper their tresses once in a blue moon.  And now that I am kinder and gentler to my hair I would love to share facts I have learned to all of you.

It’s the weekend, a long one for us Pinoy boys & girls.  To our Muslim friends, enjoy your festivities and my salute to you all for the culmination of your sacrifices and fasting.  Let’s celebrate and enjoy the days of freedom (from anything!!!).  God bless!  

World, Say Hi to Utoy!

I realized that I wasn’t able to write anything about my first ever grandson (yes I’m a proud Grandmomma hehehe).  I am now presenting him to my blog.  I love you Putotoy!!!

He's 10 months old now, loves to eat, loves to drink fresh juices and he always sleeps in our bed.  He love sleeping in it with Dada Warren.

My Bestfriend's Birthday

I wanted to write something meaningful today, you see it’s my bestfriend Luchie’s birthday and because I love her so dearly I wanted to share how lucky I am because I grew up having a best friend like her.  So here it goes… Luchie and I are second cousins but we only get to know each other when we started High School.  We are cousins yes, but we were not instant friends. We became friends in our sophomore year and we were inseparable ever since. 

There is this saying that we can never choose our families but we can always choose our friends.  I am just glad that I have a (blood) family and friendship combined in Luchie.  I do not want to dramatize that we both been through a lot together and individually but it is true.  We’ve been through a loss of a parent (her Papa), we’ve been through heartaches and pain, rejection and fear.  Between the 2 of us I can say my bestfriend is the stronger and the braver one.  She has the biggest heart and she deserves the blessing she’s been poured in the past years.

She can be bossy, yes.  She can be persistent.  She can be opinionated.  She can be demanding.  But all of these in pure reasonable boundaries.

We do not have a perfect friendship.  We don’t fight but we sometimes get disappointed bordering upset with each other.  I do not agree with her all the time and she’s the same with me.  I tell her everything and I think she tells me pretty much everything too.

There are times when I’m sad that I cry in the ungodly hours of the morning and just wish that she’s awake so that I can hear a voice that would comfort me.  

I was talking to my husband last night and he’s teasing me why I would go home for the Holy week on Monday and not this weekend.  He said I have the weekend off so we should maximize out time together – we being a long distance married couple.  I accused him of competing with my bestfriend who is home for this week.  I told him he doesn’t understand how it is to have a bestfriend in life.  I was pretty feisty and ready for a debate.  My husband conceded.  I know he’s only teasing me because he already told me before that he’s happy for me that I have Luchie to turn to whenever I feel an overflow of emotion, happy or sad.

An on this special day, I am grateful to Him that a new year has been blessed to me.  Yes, you read it right, a new year blessed to me and it is not even my birthday.  A new year to share life with my bestfriend.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!