The One About the 32nd

I just turned 32. :)  Normally, I'd take a leave off from work on my birthday and spend it alone and do anything I want.  This year, I did away with that and showed up at my usual weekday routine.  And I'm glad I did.  My grade-level partner and other teachers and all 26 second graders of ours pulled off the sweetest surprise...

Felt the love. :)

I guess too much celebration of the introvert in me has made me forget how nice it was to be surrounded by people on my actual birthday.  I'm thankful to be reminded of it. :)

And as anyone else knows, birthdays are equal to pig-outs!  In the past, I would prepare a spread for my and Hon-some's families but early on this year, I decided all that birthday cooking made me too tired and took away the fun in the celebration.  So this year, I decided to just take everyone out.  First off, Hon-some and I had lunch at Yabu where I was treated to a free birthday meal by the restaurant.  Yes, free! :)

Then it was Casa Verde where we had potato skins and the Cebu-famed baby back ribs with my family.  I missed the ribs...and the P128 price tag it used to come with.  The ribs were still good, though, and still amazingly fall-off-the-bone.

As much as I enjoyed the day (and ended it responding to all text and FB greetings), I welcomed the following day (a school holiday) as an ode to my usual birthday routine.  I had "me" time and had breakfast at Pi Breakfast and Pies.  And then took a stroll in the mall and treated myself to an item or two.  Or three (haha!).  And then I willed myself to do nothing upon arriving home and opted to catch up with Season 2 epsisodes of Once Upon A Time before taking a nap (saaarraaaaappp...).  I juiced some fruits and veggies and just before the day ended, I sewed because my fingers got itchy.

Skillet Fritata at Pi Breakfast and Pies

'Twas a lovely birthday.  The loveliest I've had in years. :)

Currently...(Week 1)

Jumping on the "Currently" bandwagon.  I personally think it's pure genius.  And so, here's a "current" slice of my life.  :)

The One About Getting All Cheesy

How did  your Valentine's Day go?  We don't normally celebrate it; in fact, I don't think we ever did in the seven years that we have been together.  This year, I felt we both needed some perking up and, given the timing, I gave in to preparing a lovely spread.

And so, our Valentine's Day looked like this..

 His and Hers

Lovely. :)

The One That Keeps My Coffee Cozy

Sorry for the pun in the title but it's just that I'm over the moon after finishing this new coffee cozy that took longer to finish than the first one I made.  This is a long overdue gift for a friend -- along with a long overdue coffee date with her. :)

I made a cardboard cutout of a coffee tumbler, wrapped the knitted cozy around it, and labelled the card with my friend's name in my beginner-level calligraphy skills and line drawing.

Next knitting project:  NOT a coffee cozy!  :)

Happy crafting!

Wednesday Nugget

Photo from here.

Like sipping hot tea...
Walking barefoot in the grass...
Taking a long, relaxing, hot shower...
Curling up with a really good book...
Sand between your toes...
Popcorn and a really good movie...at home
The cold, snuggle-under-the-bedsheets weather (which was gone too soon here in Manila!)...
Watching a baby sleep...
Hot, old-fashioned pandesal...
A long conversation with a friend...
Good coffee...
Being lazy on a Sunday...
Arriving to a clean house...
Markers and pencils in cheerful colors...
The smell of a freshly baked good wafting throughout the house...
Helping someone in need...
Smiling for no reason...
Smiling in spite of a reason to cry...
French fries...
An early morning yoga session...
A heavy breakfast...
Saying "I love you"...
Hearing "I love you"...
Reese's peanut butter cups
Crossing something out of your to-do list...
Sleeping in on a rainy day...
Finding money you've forgotten you had in between pages of a book...
Snail mail...
A bike with a basket...
The way your husband smells...
Green gummy bears...
Holding hands with someone...
Popping bubble wrap...
Getting the bigger slice of pizza...

Weekend Tidbits

Had a lovely long weekend.  Aside from doing the usual weekend chores, I was able to do work for school (Bringing home work.  Pathetic, I know.), juice carrots and apples, and continue my knitting.  I don’t know why it’s taking me this long to finish a coffee cozy.  Still, I’m on it. J

The highlight of my weekend was a trip to the theater to watch Wicked with my mom and my brother.  We’re all theater fanatics.  As a matter of fact, I cringe at the exorbitant price of movie tickets nowadays that’s why Hon-some and I do not fancy going to the movies anymore.  But the theater…sigh…I don’t think twice about shelling out thousands for an experience.

And what an experience watching Wicked was.  The set design was jaw-dropping, the dialogue and all the punchlines were spot-on, and the songs were all applause-able (the Glinda effect!  Hahaha!).

After that gratifying theater experience, my family and I had dinner at Project Pie at the newly-opened Blue Bay Walk.  I must say, the pizzas lived up to all that hype.

As everyone knows by now, Project Pie operates on three simple rules about dining there:  Design.  Build.  Eat.  For P285, one gets to pile on as many toppings as he/she wants on a pizza dough:  mozzarella, feta, cheese, gorgonzola, ricotta, parmesan, pepperoni, Italian sausage, crumbled meatballs, bacon, grilled chicken, Canadian bacon, prosciutto, anchovies, red onions, green bell peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, pineapple, artichokes, fresh chopped basil, black olives, pesto, and barbecue sauce.  Oh my!

Three Golden Rules

I built my own white pizza (no red sauce, the dough was slathered with olive oil) with mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, parmesan, cracked black pepper, garlic, fresh chopped basil, fresh tomatoes, and crumbled meatballs.

And then I ate the whole thing upon the promise of attending my Zumba classes dutifully. J

Weekends are also when I try to catch up on my reading.  I usually read a chapter or two before going to sleep but it’s really on weekends when I can curl up with a book and read relentlessly.  I have noticed that I have already read quite a number of books since the year began.  I’ve just finished David Levithan’s Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List and Every You, Every Me.  I kind of have a hit-and-miss relationship with Levithan’s books, most of which are hits.  I loved Everyday but I was surprisingly enamored by the photographic novel, Every You, Every Me.

I have also started exploring Wendy Mass books.  I’ve read two so far:  Every Soul A Star and A Mango-Shaped Space.  Wendy Mass’s books make for great middle school literacy links to Science and I love how each book focuses immensely on unique topics like eclipses for Every Soul a Star and synethesia for A Mango-Shaped Space.  On a recent trip to a bargain bookstore, I was able to pick up a copy of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life for a song (as in P50).  It’s on my reading pile now.

Furthermore, I have also started a relationship with Rainbow Rowell after reading Fangirl.  I love her humor.  And Levi is my new literary crush (sorry, Gus Waters). J

This book, however, is what I’m currently reading.  I love Cath Kidston’s modern vintage prints and very pleased was I when I chanced upon her book about how the brand started and grew.  The book is so lovely that I’m willing myself to read it slowly in order to savor each page, each sweet print.

And so, the weekend that was.  Here’s to a great week ahead!