I have got to learn how to keep my mouth shut.

Talk is never harmless when you talk about something or someone you don't have any business talking about. I'm thirty years old but I still often have a difficult time being discreet. It bothers me in a major way that I'm this way.

Got to really practice taming my tongue. *Sigh* Someday, someday. Today, today.

These last two months...

I'm a terrible blogger, I know.

But I've been a busy, terrible blogger so please, please find it in your hearts to forgive me and continue to read my blog, yes? :-)

So here are some updates about what has been happening in my life these last two months:

1. Went on a trip to Boracay for work in early April. We launched Summit's newest title - Women's Health. Got my requisite summer tan and my beach fix.

The lovely white sands of Boracay

Our feet on Boracay's powdery white sand (feet belong to Hilary, Ingrid, and me)

Women's Health workouts along the shores of Boracay


Sun-scorched: me and Ingrid

2. Went to Hong Kong with family. Saw HK Disneyland. Still prefer Disney in Anaheim of course. But had fun nevertheless. Good thing we only stayed a week because the very next week after we had left, Hong Kong reported its first case of Swine Flu. The hotel where the guy was billeted was quarantined. Imagine that.

all aboard the HK Disney train (with my sister Gabbi)

hanging out with Johnny Depp at the Wax Museum

3. Went to Tacloban, a province in the Visayas, to be a LIFE coach for youth enrolled in the city government's Work Appreciation Program. It was my first time to farm, to climb a mountain, to sleep in a makeshift tent on top of a mountain. Unforgettable trip. I learned a great deal getting to know the young people of Tacloban. Hoping and praying that I will be given more opportunities to work with more young people in the future.

the LIFE coaches after a tiring day of farming and carrying those bamboo poles

Hanging out with LIFE coaches and WAP participants

Now, it's almost back to normal, back to the daily grind. I still miss Tacloban, though, and sometimes still wonder about these young people we got the chance to meet.

The Holy Week break is over and it's back to work for me. The books I brought home to read over the break remain untouched because I chose the unproductive options of going on a DVD/TV show marathon and staying online almost the whole break.

One good (?) thing that came out of that is that I learned about this cool Facebook game called Restaurant City, which I am completely fascinated with. Don't try it if you don't want to get hooked.


The other good thing I got from being unproductive over the break is this movie.


I am so glad I watched it last Saturday. It was good preparation coming into Easter because the film reminded me of the love God has for us. This movie, which I thought would be an action movie ala Ladder 49 does not revolve around fighting actual fires as the poster may suggest. It is about a troubled married couple about to get a divorce and how the man takes the advice of his wise old pop to wait 40 days before he proceeds with divorce. The husband (who happened to be a fire fighter) is given by his father a handwritten notebook which contained a 40-day Love Dare challenge. The movie is about how in the quest of winning back his wife's heart, the man was also given a new heart. It's a story about how God uses our greatest struggles as a precursor to great miracles.

If you're married or would like to get married someday, please, please do watch it. The VCD/DVD is available in House of Praise stores.

What I'm loving now

There's this website called polyvore.com that I am losing sleep over. It doesn't matter whether it's fashion, art, or poetry that you want to do. If you love to create beautiful things, you will love this site. I learned about it through my Plurk pal Carla (thank you, Carla!) and I have been making project after project since.

Check out my first few attempts:

black is beautiful by romanalo featuring Jimmy Choo shoulder bags

black and blue by romanalo featuring Lanvin shoulder bags

casual fridays by romanalo on Polyvore.com

Six things that make me happy

I was tagged by my friend, Frances, a couple of weeks ago to blog about six things that make me happy. Here are the rules:

• Mention the person who tagged you
• List 6 unimportant things that make you happy
• Tag 6 blogs, state the rules and notify them with a teeny comment on their blog

Here are my six things:

1. Books - Okay, so I'm cheating on #1 because books are so not unimportant to me. But they make me soooo happy. When I'm bored, when I'm sad, you can leave me in a bookstore or in a room with a good book and I'll be skippy-happy.

2. A massage - it doesn't matter if it's done in a spa or by someone who's generous enough to give me a backrub. My shoulders are usually very tense and a back rub/massage just makes my day.

3. A yummy treat like the oreo caramel sundae from McDonald's. If you like Twix, you will love this sweet treat.

4. Plurk - I never really got the hang of micro-blogging before I started plurking. I love everything about Plurk--how it connects you to people, how you're never pressured to make sense, how people get to respond to whatever you have to say, how when you keep plurking, you increase your karma and get more cool emoticons. If you're not on it yet, try it! :)

5. Juice - I am so glad my mom loves buying all of these juice boxes. I never really liked juice growing up. I found the usual powder juice drinks too sweet. But that was before I tasted this brand of juice called Ceres. They have the tastiest juice. It has no added sugar, no preservatives, no colorants. My favorite flavor is Secrets of the Valley, a mix of different berries.

6. Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, The Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Privileged - these TV shows give me something new to look forward to every week.

I'm tagging: Ingrid, Mica, Fran, Sarah, Ana, and Hilary.

Bora-bound

Two weekends from now, I will be in Boracay again. The beautiful, blissful Boracay… The place I don’t think I will ever tire of going to. Yes, it may be highly commercialized now, it may get a little dirty at times. But it is still beautiful to me.

I’m so excited. This is just the thing I need right now. Can’t wait!