Shopping IS Good for Your Health

I got this piece of VERY VALUABLE information from sis Jannesse's blog. My oh my, I couldn't agree more! :)


















Here are the benefits of my most favourite activity in the world - shopping:

1. It's good for your mental health. Shopping "releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals) in your brain, boosts your immune system, keeps your brain nimble, and fulfills basic social needs." A study at the UK's Brunel University also showed that shopping increases activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which processes your pleasure and positive thinking.

2. More brain activity guarantees good mental health in old age. "People who are doing really well as they get older tend to be mentally engaged, physically active, and socially involved," said Guy McKhann, MD, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University. "And women are all of those things when they shop."

3. It's good exercise for you and your partner. Your partner may not get as much pleasure from shopping as you do, but it doesn't mean it's less beneficial for him. Here's an interesting fact: "It's not shopping per se that men dislike—it's shopping for things that hold no interest for them," said Lester Lefton, PhD, a professor of experimental psychology at Kent State University. So why not let him buy things he actually likes? Tynan recommends that partners split up when shopping so each can relish its pleasures. "As long as you're both looking for stuff you love, coed shopping excursions will help keep you—and your relationship—going strong," wrote Tynan.

Thanks for the info sis, it makes me feel a whole lot better. Now I understand why I am so happy. :)

Keep those endorphins coming! :D

Welcome 2009

2008 was a great year for me - it is the year when I married the love of my life. The year I made a vow to stay beside him, all the days of my life. :)

This year seems to have gone by so rapidly. Lots of things happened throughout the year - laughter, tears. Nevertheless, we were always blessed by God. He never failed to guide us even though at times we ourselves failed to remember Him. I am always grateful for His presence, because He keeps me strong. He is the reason why I am still in one piece today.

Entering 2009 is very exciting for me (and my husband). This will be our year. The year when we will finally be together physically, sharing each day of our lives together. I can't wait! I'm sure there will be many roads to explore, with lots of surprises along the side. :)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who have been beside Arthur and I this past year. Having you beside us makes life more colourful. Thank you. :)

I wish everyone a year full of happiness, love, prosperity, and peace.

Happy 2009 to All!

Pancake Parlour

Just came back from lunch at the Pancake Parlour. Our Supervisor treated us to lunch today. :D

I ordered the Tabriz (World Famous!) - Delicate French crepes rolled around ground beef cooked in red wine with herbs, bacon, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and other delights served with a side salad.

Honestly, it was like eating bolognese but without the pasta. Hehehe. Even though, the overall taste was good. I even enjoyed the salad (but didn't finish it). :)

Lazy Moe's

We took my Dad's brother (Tito Rene) and his family to dinner at Lazy Moe's last night. My Grandma, and two of my Dad's sisters (Tita Thelma and Tita Baby) and their husbands came along as well.

Lazy Moe's is known for their VERY generous servings.

I ordered my regular - Calamari and chips (plus salad which I didn't touch, coz I'm quite picky with my salads).

Here is my meal prior to being attacked:


















And here is my meal after:

Of course, I didn't eat it all on my own. I had help from the family. :p

We were all STUFFED after dinner - as expected.

Last Minute Boxing Day Sale

Yesterday after work I went straight to Highpoint to meet Marc and Sha. We bought the prizes and sparklers for our New Years Eve program.

And as usual, it was very difficult not to purchase anything while a good sale was on. So I ducked in to Nine West for a good 5 minutes, and came out with this little beauty. :D

Gotta stop this shopaholic thing. It's getting dangerous. Very.

AMF Bowling Night

The Esmaquel cousins went for a bowling night on Sunday, 28 December at AMF Bowling. My cousin Carlo organised the event.

It took a while before people warmed up (especially me). I told myself I had to get at least one strike before I went home. I got two strikes in the second game. Haha.

It was good fun!

Boxing Day Madness

Day after Christmas - Boxing Day SALES!!!

Oh dear, I think I got carried away again this year. I went to Highpoint Shopping Centre on Friday (during the day and the evening) and Sunday too. Yikes.

Well, I was able to get a pair of Billabong board shorts for hubby too! :D

Here are some of my fab finds - a Lacoste bag, some Roxy board shorts, G Star jeans, G Star, FCUK and Urbane shirts. I didn't include some in the photo coz they're in the wash. :)

Christmas Day

Christmas Day (and night) was spent at my other cousin's house (Ate Flor). Another humongous house that one! Ate Flor's house is newly built, and we were very happy to see that their pool was ready for use! :)

I wanted to have lunch first before I went for a dip. So I stuffed my face with lechon, chopsuey, laing, Victoria's salad, etc. Actually, I stuffed my face too much I couldn't swim right away. LOL

So we went for a swim, ate some more, watched DVDs, chatted, napped, ate more. :)

I made a special treat for the kids (and the adults) - Honey Joys. They were surely a hit! Kids took up to 3 cups each, all at once. The kids were asking me to make more, so I promised I'll make some for New Year's Day. Here are my famous Honey Joys. :D

It was definitely a fun Christmas day. Once again, I missed my husband.

Christmas Eve (Noche Buena)

We spent Christmas Eve at my cousin's place (Ate May). Luckily, she has an enormous house. With our growing clan, big houses are handy. :D

Although we are away from the Philippines, we still celebrate Noche Buena. Lots of yummy food was spread across the dining table. So sorry wasn't able to capture images, was too busy enjoying the moment. Hopefully I will be able to steal a few shots from relatives so I can post them.

Santa came to our party a little bit before 12mn as the kids were getting sleepy. He did his usual calling out of names to give out the pressies, and got the kids to sit on his lap for photos. When that was finished, the kids Kris Kringle was next. This was the first year we did kids Kris Kringle, and it turned our quite well. My clever cousins and nephews and neices described their KKs very well.

After the kids, it was the adults' turn. We did our Kris Kringle descriptions once again. And my Mummy Kris Kringle gave me the book I wanted - Jamie's Ministry of Food. Yahoo! Thanks Mandy! :)

Handing out of pressies came after (Kris Kringle took forever coz there were at least 40 of us included in the KK). Here are some of the pressies I got this year.

It was a lovely evening for everyone. Except I was missing one big part of me that night - my husband.

Little Miss Busy

I've been wanting to blog but haven't had the time (nor bandwidth) to. But I'm back at work now, blogging during my free time. :)

Now, time to catch up with some posts. Yipee!

Corporate Kris Kringle

We just did our Kris Kringle here at work (followed by Pizza), and I got a Fantasy (Britney Spears) perfume! Probably the best Kris Kringle present I've received at work so far. Hehehe. Thanks Chuck! :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just in case I don't get to blog tomorrow, I want to wish everyone (especially my blog sisters) a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all have a wonderful time with your loved ones - near or far. :)

Amazing Blogger Award

Thanks for the award sis Leah! :)

Gave this award to Era, Rama, Iris, Claire, and Eds.  :D

Breaking Dawn [please don't read this post if you plan on reading this book]

Here I am, finished with the final book in the Twilight Saga.  And I am feeling extremely sad. At the moment I am somewhat lost, not knowing what to do, after spending this week reading the saga. Oh well, I'm sure I will find something to keep me busy - I hope I will be able to catch up with blogging.

I loved this final book! As usual, I couldn't put the book down.  Apologies, sadness is reigning over me at the moment. Still.

Anyway, I pondered about the saga, Breaking Dawn in particular.  That in some ways, I can connect myself with Bella. Not that predators followed me everywhere, or that I was surrounded by supernatural creatures.  But I felt like Bella, in many ways than one regarding her relationship with Edward and Jacob.  And it struck me that I miss my husband and my best friend like crazy.  Like Bella, I am:

.. blessed with two special men beside me

.. lucky that my husband understands the relationship I have with my guy best friend

.. lucky that my best friend has not forgotten about me even if my attention is towards my husband

.. spoiled by these two wonderful men

.. surrounded by unconditional love both ways

I miss the presence of my husband and my best friend.  *sigh*

Back to the topic - I definitely recommend reading the Twilight Saga. I'm not sure if your experience will be similar to mine, but it's totally worth reading. 10++ rating from me.  

Can't wait till the next movies come out! :)

Twilight Soundtrack

So you might have all noticed that I have gone "gaga" with Twilight, and to top it off, I bought the Twilight Soundtrack yesterday!  I haven't been able to listen to the entire soundtrack yet, as I have been busy with the saga.  Although I made sure I listened to Rob's song and Bella's Lullaby first. :D

Missin' Blogging

Apologies - I feel bad, being an inefficient blogger. I blame it on the Twilight Saga. :p

I'll catch up. Soon. :)

Eclipse [please don't read if you plan on reading this book]

I have just finished reading Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer), the third book in the Twilight Saga.

I LOVE IT! It was much better than New Moon, mainly because Edward played a bigger role in it. :p

So many "kilig" moments in the story - the way Edward talks, and how he does all in his power to protect the lady he loves. It's amazing how protective he is of her, very sweet and thoughtful (despite the fact that she was everyone's prey). I also like the frequency of how Edward puts his arms around Bella's waist. I've always thought of that act as somewhat screaming "ownership or possession". Like the guy is saying to everyone, "She's Mine".  I like it. Teehee. :D

It saddens me that the next book, Breaking Dawn, would be the last in this saga. I guess Midnight Sun would be the next novel to look forward to, but the release date has not yet been announced. *sob sob*

Me in Pictures

Thanks sis Leah for this. This was fun indeed! :)

Instructions: The rules will start by using Google Images to search for your answers to the questions below. You must choose pictures from the first page from the results and post it as your answer.

1. My age on my next birthday











2. Place/places I Would Like To Travel

















3. My Favorite Place















4. A Favorite Thing





















5. My Favorite Food



















6. My Favorite Color























7. The City Where I Reside Now




















8. The City I Was Born


















9. My College Major
























10. Name of your First Lover















11. A Bad Habit
























12. A Hobby






















13. My Wishlist

I'm tagging Eds, Iris, Marie, and Badet.

New Moon [please don't read this post if you plan on reading this book]

Okay, I started reading New Moon (Stephenie Meyer) Tuesday evening, and finished midnight on Wednesday. I just couldn't put the book down!

I warn once again, if you plan on reading New Moon - PLEASE DON'T READ THIS POST. :)

The main reason why I couldn't put the book down, was because I was waiting for Edward to physically get back into the story! (I won't go into too much detail) Every little whisper by Edward's velvet voice made me want to keep reading, hoping that he will once again show up in Forks. :p

It was sad (or kinda disappointing) that majority of the story was about Bella and Jacob. I'm like, "I'm not that interested in the warewolf, i wan't the bloodsucking dude!" LOL

Can't wait to get started with Eclipse. Hopefully Edward is physically present more often! :D