10 / 10 / 10

view from my window sill

oh 10 / 10 / 10...

Woke up at the crack of dawn...

Had grand plans...

Had my camera ready...

You obviously had other plans for me...

Got a "panic attack" after breakfast... MIL and BIL told me

Baby M seemed to be losing a lot of weight...

I have sort of recovered... Good thing I can move his check up

to tomorrow... First time mom jitters... ho hum...

How to Have a Hair Makeover

I have been with my stylist for more than 10 years now.
She knows what I like and DON'T like about my hair.
On the upside, I have never left her chair with a bad
hair day. On the downside, I always end up with the same
look.

S knows I will never have anything new done by her.
But she knows I'll be back for my regular cut. And I'll
have my hair fixed when I've had something done that
wasn't quite my liking.

#15 Solo Flight on my 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days -
Have someone else cut/style my hair

I've finally crossed that off the list. Yes, my hair
looked great when I left the salon. Yes, I do not have
a stylist much less a blow dryer at home. Yes, my hair
suddenly has a mind of its own.

My fault really. I kinda told V to just work her wonders.
I forgot to tell her that putting too many layers will
bring out my natural curl (aka buhaghag) and will make
my hair fly every which way(aka tikwas). Can you imagine
my dilemma?

Sooo.... for today's How To:
How to Have a Hair Makeover

1. Figure out WHY you want to change your hairstyle.
- Do this because you want a change. DO NOT DO THIS
because you need to make changes in your life. If you
feel like jumping off a cliff, a new 'do just wont do.
2. Do your research.
- Look around. If possible, show the stylist some
pictures. This will help you avoid a "Surprise!".
3. Give the stylist a heads up on what will and wont
work for you.
- Consider your life and your lifestyle. A photographer
has more artistic license on his hair than a doctor.
If you're low maintenance like me, forget having a style
that requires blow drying. Believe me, it's not gonna
work.
4. Have a Plan B.
- If your worst case scenario suddenly comes to life,
what are your options? Do not skip this step as it may
save your sanity.
5. Take the Plunge.
- If you've thought about it a gazillion times and you
still want to have it done, then go for it!

As for me...
Well yes, my hair will grow back. But I will probably have
to wait more than a year to have my old hair back. I just
remembered that I've had this "new" style before. Back
then, I had to grow out my hair then rebond it to get it
back to normal. I'm currently breastfeeding so it's gonna
take awhile. Ho hum ho hum.

My 090909 Day

Day to day life has it's regular rhythm and pace. Okay, that's a nice
way of saying that life can be one big routine. But routines are good,
they provide us with some semblance of order. However, every once
in awhile, doing something different can do one some good.

Yesterday was 090909. It was an auspicious date for some. Fo me, it
was a chance to check off something from the 101 Things to Do in
1001 Days List. 090909 was a chance for me to look for something
extraordinary from an otherwise ordinary day.

The day started where the previous day ended. H decided to work until
really late. At around 1:45am, H decided it was time to hit the sack.
Oh man, I had to get up as I was "resting". I had to do my night routine
as I was too lazy to have brushed my teeth earlier. Then I noticed that
the toilet did not want to flush; no problem, it just needed a minor fix.
And then, our roof started to leak from the heavy rain; no problem,
nothing paper towels couldnt fix. So before you know, it was 2:45am.
Okay, this day was not turning out the way I was expecting it to.

H and I were celebrating a birthday so we decided to take the day off.
We were supposed to just pass by the office. "Passing by" rarely or
never happens. So, I was not surprised to find ourselves there until
lunch time. For lunch, we decided to try the new Jollibee Chicken
Barbeque. Not bad. I have to hand it to Jollibee, they're R&D is pretty
good.

Tsk tsk tsk, half of the day had already gone by. We decided to spend
the rest of the day doing what needed to get done. Unfortunately, my
doctor did not pass by the clinic. H, on the other hand, couldn't have
his haircut as the guy had his day off. So, H worked on his paper. I
then decided to just kill the next few hours searching for a new baby
book. Before you know it, it was 6pm and we were off to mass.

Our day ended with a nice dinner at Crustasia. Boohoo, I forgot my
camera. We had Tom Yum Soup, Shrimp Pancakes, Singaporean
Chili Crab (Wow! Was that crab huge!) and Pad Thai (complimentary).
Yum yum.

As a whole, I'd say nothing extraordinary really happened in 090909.
But as a whole, it was a good day. H and I are in great shape. Sure, we
have our fair share of joys and "challenges/opportunities". But at the
end of the day, I'm glad everything is under His control.

101 Things to Do in 1001 Days

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Day Zero Project. Back then, it was
"something nice to do". Nothing I needed to take seriously. Boy, did I change
my mind when I got around to making my list.

I have been on bed rest for about a month now. Today is my first official
"normal day". However, my ob-gyn has advised me to take things easy.
The last thing we'd want is for me to end up doing bed rest again. After
six months, H and I are expecting the arrival of the baby.

I have to emphasize now that this is our first baby. As such, we have to
prepare everything from scratch. We will have to clear out tons of our own
stuff to make room for the baby. We will have to buy the baby's things. And
of course, we will have to learn how to have a baby-friendly life.

All these we have to accomplish before the six months. As I see it, I need
to get most of the baby preparation part done by November. Otherwise, we
will be overwhelmed by the Christmas activities we usually attend.

Some realizations:
- Some ideas were inspirations I got from others. I hope my list will inspire
others as well.
- I left a just in case portion. I don't know what life will be like in the next
six months. I think I deserve an allowance hehehe...
- I have to finish H and my "first year together" scrapbooks/albums. I'm sure
these will take a back seat to the baby projects. Better to get them done now
while I still have the time.
- Cooking is something I really do. In fact, I tend to "make a career" out of
it. Sooo, I consciously want to follow the weekly menu instead of doing something
creative or different.
- How I wish I had a decent oven. Then I could have listed some baking projects.
- Traveling is something H and I enjoy doing together. However, I had to put
less of this. I highly doubt we will be traveling much while the baby is this
young.
- I always had the baby in mind. Some activities will have to wait until the baby
is older. I guess that's part and parcel of being a parent.

My 101 List

Start date: August 1, 2009
End date: April 28, 2012

Solo flight
1. Fix my personal files
2. Fix our common files
3. Make the directory
4. Finish the birthday list
5. Get rid of clothes I no longer wear
6. Make an emergency kit
7. Read 5 classics (0/5)
8. Learn Morse Code
9. Brush up on Philippine History
10. Practice Mandarin 30minutes daily for 1 month straight (0/31)
11. Watch 30 TED talks (0/30)
12. Take a class
13. Master 5 skills from 75 Things Every Woman should Master (0/5)
14. Have a reunion with the old gang
15. Have someone else cut/style my hair
16. Have a "fabulous" day - mani + pedi + outfit
17. Wear a "look for less" outfit
18. Wear a dress
19. Buy new clothes (post-pregnancy)
20. Sleep by 11:30pm for 7days straight (0/7)
21. Be aware of and have good posture for 3 weeks straight (0/21)
22. Do a 5K
23. Do a 10K
24. Make a will
25. Do Assignment 51 of Learning to Love You More
26. Write a letter to myself to be opened in 1 year
27. Write a letter to myself to be opened in 5 years

H and I
1. Do an annual review of our goals
2. Learn a new language (French?? or Spanish??)
3. Experience the Manila Bay Sunset
4. Repair the wedding ring
5. Buy a jumper cable
6. Take a first aid course
7. Finish Verdana1 GK Project
8. Finish Verdana2 GK Project
9. Give away the good stuff we dont use/dont have space for
10. Have a fantastic all white theme for the bed (think Martha Stewart)

Artsy Fartsy
1. Wedding Scrapbook
2. Honeymoon Scrapbook
3. Hong Kong Scrapbook
4. Make 10 homemade gifts (0/10)
5. Read the camera manual
6. Do 5 projects from Keri Smith's 100 ideas (0/5)
7. Do 1 A Day in the Life project
8. Do 1 Q & A : The Photographic Interview project
9. Take head shots/portraits of family members
10. Do a photo series on the color red
11. Make a 2010 Christmas Journal
(inspired by Ali Edwards and Molly Irwin)
12. Document 09/09/09, 10/10/10, 11/11/11 (0/3)
13. Calendar Project
14. Make a collage
15. Make a beautiful floral arrangement
16. Make 30 entries in my food blog (0/30)
17. Dress up for Halloween
18. Do 1 sewing project for myself

Yummy
1. Faithfully follow a 1 week menu (0/7)
2. Faithfully follow a 2 week menu (0/14)
3. Make a bento meal
4. Make an okonomiyaki
5. Make a scallion pancake aka cong you bing
6. Make bread from scratch
7. Make pizza from scratch
8. Make sangria
9. Make a gingerbread house
10. Make bread pudding
11. Make a romantic meal for H
12. Buy Kulinarya and make something
13. Make a fantastic Filipino meal
14. Make a fantastic Filipino dessert/merienda
15. Make a soft copy of my recipe notebooks (important recipes only)
16. Try 10 new desserts (0/10)
17. Try 10 new tea flavors (0/10)
19. Try 10 new ice cream flavors (0/10)
20. Try 10 new coffee blends (0/10)

Moolah
1. Discuss with H our year end financial report
2. Read 5 new finance books (0/5)
3. Complete Jomar's Internet assignments
4. Get an online project/work
5. Finish 1 ebook

Our Baby
1. Do a 365 Project (0/365)
2. Do a The Year I was Born project
3. Teach baby "Baby Signs"
4. Get baby at least 10 Dr. Seuss / Berenstain Bears books (0/10)
5. Make reading flashcards for baby
6. Make something wearable for baby
7. Make something edible for baby's 1st birthday

I heart God
1. Read the bible from cover to cover
2. Go on a retreat
3. Pray the Rosary for 30 days straight (0/30)
4. Distribute 1000 copies of religious booklets/prayers/etc (0/1000)
5. Forgive
6. Let go
7. Have a thanksgiving mass and party for THE answered prayer

Where in the world is...
1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. *Secret*
4. Beach
5. Food trip

Just in case
1. TBD
2. TBD
3. TBD

Wish me luck!


I love lists... There have been so many that I can't
recall them all...

This is my ode to the humble list...