It has been really nice and warm these past few days. The sun is out but it’s still breezy.
This is my kind of weather.
It adds a little more spring to your step, and encourages productivity.
To be specific, it makes you want to do the laundry because it dries them up quickly. Then it leaves a distinctly fresh scent to them.
I could not stop smelling the linens over the weekend.
Here is hoping you have a sunny, fresh Monday!
It’s almost Christmas and it got me thinking about the gifts that I wanted to buy my former bosses. These bosses were more like mentors and friends, only older and slightly intimidating in stature.
These people already have everything that money can buy while I’m a simple public employee. I thought to myself that someday if I have the money, I would want to buy them a priceless gift. Like these paintings that are works of art and are sold for a noble cause.
Treehouse by Vic Bacholo {http://www.sandaangpintor.com/}
Finally came around to writing a post for the One Lovely Blog Award Nomination that was so graciously extended to me by Olivia Slama of The Slama Family Project last July 10, 2012. Again, thank you very much Olivia for this wonderful honor!
Without further ado, the 5 steps to accepting the nomination are:
1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
2. Paste the award image on your blog, anywhere.
3. Tell them seven facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award.
5. Contact the bloggers that you have chosen to let them know that they have been nominated.
1. People I meet always say these two things when I introduce myself using my real name: “What a unique name!” and “How do you spell/pronounce that?”
2. Cessie is a shortened version of my nickname, Princess. My real name is a portmanteau {naks!} and an archaic English word.
3. I always try to stand by 3 Fs: Family, Friendships, Faith {not religion} and openly declare my 4th F identity: Filipina
4. There’s this insatiable thirst for travel and an involuntary muscle towards being helpful -> it’s a vulnerability sometimes, so i’ve learned to tame this
5. Wonderfully strung words and striking visuals are priceless treats! Imho, literacy and art/culture appreciation are just as important as science and math.
6. I find all sorts of babies cute but the thought of having my own scares the sh*t out of me.
7. Life is generally complicated so I try to live it as simple and uncluttered as I can.
I have lived and is still living vicariously through these blogs. I see the beauty in every story and picture they have shared.
Varied Visuals
Keep On Drawing by Jules {http://julzh.wordpress.com}
Canadian Hiking Photography by Patrick {http://hikingphoto.com/}
Thefty by Helena {http://thefty.wordpress.com/}
Manipal’s Photo Blog founded by Preetam Nath {http://manipalphotoblog.wordpress.com/}
Eat. Shoot. Go by Des {http://desarellano.wordpress.com/}
Second Lunch by Tim {http://getsecondlunch.com/}
Awesome DIY
Whollykao {http://whollykao.com/}
Delightful eats
Thistasteful {http://thistasteful.wordpress.com/}
Rantings of an Amateur Chef {http://rantingchef.com/}
The Culinary Adventures of the Bacolod Food Hunters {http://bacolodfoodhunters.wordpress.com/}
Maggie’s One Butt Kitchen {http://maggiesonebuttkitchen.wordpress.com/}
Places, Sights, Fashion, Etc
Slapppshot by Torbs {http://slapppshotblog.com/}
Dream Love Believe by Glor {http://dreamlovebelieve.com/}
Pumps & Iron by Nicole {http://pumpsandiron.com/}
Going Dutch by Malou {http://malouprestado.com/}
Now I’m off to contacting my nominees!
To the one reading this, thank you!
To those who got interested enough to like, and follow, thank you very much!
To Olivia, sending you and your family hugs and warm thoughts! Especially the very cute Baby Carrot!
Posting very soon…the Second Appreciation!
Cue up the Elvis records! ”Blue Moon…. You saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.” In song and literature, blue moons have long symbolized lost love and melancholy. Elvis set the standard for lunar heartbreak in his 1956 pop hit “Blue Moon.” (NASA website)
***
July and August was a fleeting moment and taking that as cue I have to mentally prepare myself for the flurry of activities that usually comes with the ‘ber’ months.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened to me during the Blue Moon and neither did I do anything out of the ordinary to mark the Blue Moon.
Maybe next time I should do something about that just for the spirit of adventure and doing something I would otherwise rarely do. Good thing that I have at least 2-3 years to think about what merits a Blue Moon celebration =)
More Blue Moon reads:
P.S.
There’s a Filipino romantic film entitled Blue Moon that showcases decent acting and plot =)
***
{Note to self}
URGENT! blog posts to do:
*Nominations for One Lovely Blog Award (thank you Olivia of oliviarslama.wordpress.com) and Readers Appreciation Award (thank you Jules of julzh.wordpress.com)
Upcoming blog posts:
Life isn’t always a bed of roses, it isn’t always peaches and cream. Even the most optimistic kid in the block feels down, beaten, and blue sometimes.
But less-than-cheery days just like it-so-sunny-nothing-can-dampen-my-spirit days are also a fact of life, right?
Just like the sucky Manila weather of the past days, I have not been in my best state of mind, health, and mood. So after two nights of tossing and turning, and missing out on precious sleep, and the nasty head and eye ache, I decided to help myself get out of a rut.
Here are some of my pick-me-uppers, in no particular order.
~ Color my nails happy
~ Down a fruit shake or something cold {ice cream or halo-halo works too}
~ Connect with a family member {usually mom} or a close friend
~ Shut off my thoughts with happy, inspiring music {see Stuck on Repeat}
How about you? What do you do when you’re feeling sad and blue? 
Sound off and share your thoughts below. Virtual hugs are most welcome, too.
{Title is beyond exaggeration}
I have eight older siblings. Seven are biological half-siblings from mom’s side and one is biologically a full-cousin from mom’s side. So add six more people to the photo above to make nine.
Anyway, that sort of clarification is always meant for the curious people. For the ones who ask how come we are siblings when we have different last names. I have been asked that gazillion times ever since kindergarten so might as well get that fact across.
Mom had seven kids, was widowed, and then remarried. I’m the plus one from the second marriage, the youngest in our brood of nine. By the way, of the eight it’s six bros and two sisses. In my part of this world, older bros are called kuya and older sisters are called ate. That commonly applies to older in-laws and cousins. When in Bacolod, we call kuyas as manongs and ates as manangs. Cousin-sibling was taken in by mom when she was still a baby. She’s my Ate, a fabulous baker and strict teacher of domestic chores!
Come to think of it, I like sharing these quirky facts about my family. I like it that we’re really half but we’re actually full. You get what I mean. Though, we no longer live in close proximity with each other and not everyone is proficient with the use of technology we still manage to keep in touch and try to have an-almost-complete gathering at least once year.
Today, I got a handful of messages from an email exchange with the other ate and a kuya and his wife. Maybe in the not so distant future I could share more details about the conversation that transpired. But the short of it was that I got bullied into do something I would have made some lame excuse not to do.
Sometimes life is just like that for the youngest sibling. pfffftttt!
cute sibling graphic but totally unrelated to the story*
Back to the story, ate was the requesting party and the couple was the recipient of the request.
My sis-in-law bailed out by deftly passing the job to me through some sort of compliment worthy of an ego boost.
Kuya made a reply with a summary of points and conveniently excused himself to get back to work with a promise of a draft afterwards.
Then ate, ever persistent, asks for a finished output.
Kuya responds a one-liner: try to call Cessie, or will try to finish tonight.
Ate responds with one-liner, too: Yehey! Thanks! :)
Hours later, kuya replies.
“Cessie, I was not able to make it. Please do it. I had to do OT. Consider it as help for your ate. Good night. Thank you.” (implied translation from Hiligaynon-English)
I was asleep when they had that conversation. But I still ended up doing it.
Kuya just sent a reply. He says I’m “Super Brilliant” coupled with an I love you and a brotherly reminder to ate.
Yeah, whatever brother! :p
Disclaimer: This article is not in anyway meant to sow sibling discord. It’s meant to be taken as a funny, silly read about sibling relationships. Especially treatment of the older siblings to the younger ones. pfffttt! Which brings to mind another sibling story I’ll share next time. Here’s a peg of how that story went.
ate plays doctor to cessie, sheesh
All photos in this post are not mine. Click on photo for link to source and for * here’s the photo credit link.
Sibling reads:
Heart Coffee Mosaic // Coffee Served Daily
I cannot say what exactly triggered it. I just know and feel that this is a defining moment. Or last night was that moment and I’m just blogging about it now. I am coming out of a stupor. A year or years of it, I do not really know. What I am sure of is that today is a different day. A different me, back to parts of my old self, bringing in something new, and getting to know some parts better. What lay ahead looks like fun. Bring it on, yes!
P.s. Still on LSS mode for End of Time Remix.
