This Christmas I Give You My Heart

I now have come to a point that I am giving up the rest of my goals on my list... for this year at least. I still have no concrete plans on how I am going to accomplish all the things that I want but at least, little by little, I believe I am getting there. Baby steps, Jen... baby steps.

My personal accomplishments for this year may not be a lot in terms of the projects I originally had in mind, but to the destinations my fate brought me to, I loved each one of them.

To wit, in 2010 (in no particular order):

• I traveled a bit around Asia and the Philippines (Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Caramoan, Bicol, Donsol in Sorsogon, Cebu, Malapascua, Moalboal, Dumaguete, Sibulan & Valencia in Negros Oriental, Padre Burgos islands in Quezon, Subic, Baguio, Batangas, Potipot Island in Zambales, San Pablo, Caliraya and Sta. Rosa Laguna.)
  
• I spent a considerable amount of time with some amazing people
• I bonded and got to know some of my friends better
  
• I accomplished a lot of work related tasks
• I attended a lot of fun blog events and received a ton of freebies
• I was able to register my Sexy Nomad Enterprise with DTI
• I was able to cash in one of my insurance policies
• I finished reading a couple of my books despite my hectic schedule at work
  
• I bought more books about culture, civilizations, how-tos, self-help, comics and fiction novels
• I spent most of my party nights with my fave band, Brownman Revival
  
• I became more religious in my spiritual practices; I meditate more; my spell-casting has been more effective and I read my Tarot almost everyday.
• And, from time to time, I was able to do the things on my original list.
  

So this holiday season, Peter and I won't be celebrating like we usually do. I've already used up all of my vacation leaves and I need all the hours I can devote to work so I can encash my full salary at the end of the month. So instead, I will be giving my heart to my virtual assistant job. Work and travel have always been my top priorities so it's no wonder I wasn't able to take up driving lessons; why I never really memorized two songs each month on my keyboards and guitar; why I never got to bake anything else except brownies; why I wasn't able to manufacture as many spa products as I want, nor create as many bead designs as I would love to; why I say no to many blog events; why I never get to visit my family and friends as much as I ought to.

But I never lose hope. In fact, I've added a new hobby to my list --- drawing, which I am also excited about. But before I fully delve into that, I want to finish all my VA tasks first, including those I personally choose to do (like personal blog posts) before 2010 finally ends so I can start fresh in 2011.

By starting fresh, I mean practicing one of the things I relearned (from Carelle and RR) this month --- that in order for me to get to my destination much faster, I have to be able to say NO to things that don't help me get there. It could be as simple as not watching Harry Potter on DVD over and over again, or not sleeping more than 8 hours a day even if my body craves it, or not saying yes to every exciting party invitations or not spending too much time deciding what clothes to wear. I want my 2011 to be more focused, streamlined, spiritually enriching and more profitable as well. I want my 2011 to be different... A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENT. I only want to say YES to things that help me achieve my goals.

And with this kind of anticipation in my heart, I wish all of us a joyful Christmas this month and a prosperous New Year ahead! Ho! Ho! Ho! ^_^

Wishing for the Moon this June

Wow, I've already reached half of this year and yet, I still haven't done a lot of the things that I have placed on my resolution list when 2010 started. Let's see what I wrote on my list last January:

• 1. Soap Making
• 2. Level 2 of Drums
• 3. Baking
• 4. Guitar playing (must memorize 4 songs)
• 5. Painting
• 6. Candle Making
• 7. Spa Making
• 8. Scuba Diving
• 9. Wind Surfing
• 10. Surfing
• 11. Making Beaded Accessories
• 12. Driving
• 13. Biking
• 14. Play Keyboards (must memorize 2 songs)
• 15. Tarot Card Reading
• 16. Cooking My Own Dishes
• 17. Reading My Books
  

It's all been about work, work and more work since last month but I'm not complaining much. I am happy that somehow, I am compensated for a job that I enjoy doing... that somehow, despite the many financial obligations Peter and I have been facing as of late, we're still able to manage them all.

Like Peter said, it just so happened that these obligations came in one big wave (house and car mortgages, MRI & Fire insurance, registration of 2 cars, sky high electricity bills, unexpected Nikon D40 repair, life/health/personal accident insurances plus the usual credit card and utility bills). That's more than Php100k down the drain in one go. I guess this is what being a mature adult is all about --- the fact that we can make some simple sacrifices in the hopes of big returns in the future (Yup, 2.5 more years for the car and 7 more years for the house! And come August, I shall be getting one of my insurance claims. Yes!)

And even if we haven't been traveling much these days, even if we haven't been spending on simple luxuries, even if we're just always at home watching DVDs, cooking our own food, spending quality time together... we're still happy, healthy and content most of the time. I think these are the things that matter the most.

On another note, I have been more active on blogging these days. To wit:

• I overhauled my fashion site and included Hollywood celebrity news and gossips in it.
• I am a very much active baby wiccan as of late. I always do tarot card readings, spells, and further enhance my psychic development which I share to my readers.
• I manage to update my travel blog almost everyday.
• I manage to also update my food blog more regularly than before (at least once a week).

And because I am back to my meditation practices, and regularly read my self-help books, I also plan to squeeze into my busy schedule a little time to update my self-help and bookwoorm blogs as well.

What else did I miss?


The only time we got out of the house last month was when we went to Enchanted Kingdom Biki Water World to cover the Crocs event. I had fun watching the fashion show and I was so awed by the magic tricks performed by a magician afterward.


What else...

Oh, Peter and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary on June 8! We didn't plan anything special. Both of us will be working on that day. And I'm still not sure if we will go ahead with our Dumaguete trip scheduled for June 10-15 coz Peter may not have enough vacation leaves to cover the trip plus we're a bit reluctant to spend money. The plane tickets have already been paid for last March. It's the hotel and other travel expenses that I'm really worried about. Hopefully, after I do some financial check-up, some funds will be left for that trip. If not, well, it's not the end of the world. And hopefully, the weather will cooperate too. It's been raining hard these days. Though I very much welcome the cold and rainy weather, it is not conducive for traveling.

I guess that's pretty much it for now. I'll try to do some beaded jewelry today plus play with my drums and guitar. And maybe try to do a jar of body scrub too! ^_^

Ciao for now! Update you again next month. Or perhaps sooner. ^_^

A Fool For April

Yeah... April is turning out to be one fun summer month and the heat is making me soooo lazy to do any work. I stopped doing two of my jobs and I'm thinking of whether to give up this third one. I just feel like bumming at the beach, or lounging at home so I can catch up on blogging about my travels, reading my books, doing my spells and  what-not. I guess March burnt me out so much  that half of what I planned to do like windsurf, visit Bolinao again,  and discover all the other lakes in San Pablo did not materialize. The only trip we did last month was our weekend of sunbathing  and shopping in Subic and our Anilao snorkeling day trip which I haven't even blogged about yet. Well, at least, I had my bathroom tiles changed and we now have a brand new front yard. Yipee! At least the money we worked so hard for went to something lasting, practical, and  productive for a change. ^_^

Sunset at Dampalitan Beach where we camped last weekend.

So, what's in store for me this month? Honestly, as long as summer is here, I want to concentrate on summer stuff like camping (we've only used our brand new Coleman tent once when we were in Dampalitan beach last weekend in Padre Burgos... we have to use it more often), more beach hopping, windsurfing & snorkeling, and finally  exploring all those other lakes in San Pablo, Laguna. In between trips, I want to finish reading all those new books I bought from Readers' Digest, and finish all those DVD series we bought early this year (Supernatural Season 5,  Dexter Season 5, Medium Season 5, Fringe Seasons 1&2, House Seasons 5&6, Grey's Anatomy Seasons 5&6, Vampire Diaries Season 1) and several other movie DVDs. In short, I just want to chill and relax this summer. I guess this is one of the perks of working from home. You can quit any time you want and find another job when you feel like it. ^_^ Of course, my drums, guitar and Peter's keyboards are always at hand to keep me company. I started playing other songs aside from This Is Me and Alone but I haven't got the time to memorize them yet. I'll let you know.

Our Coleman tent is the best!

Lastly, I hope to start making beaded necklaces, bracelets and earrings again. They're the perfect accessories for my beach trips this month. We've already been to the white beaches of Padre Burgos in Quezon last Holy Week, and we plan to camp at Potipot Island in Zambales this coming weekend, then head to Sorsogon to swim with the Butandings and explore the Caramon Peninsula on April 17-21. On the final weekend of April, we hope to windsurf again and finally check out Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo. I guess it's a good plan.

I'll check in on you again next month. Enjoy your summer!