Happy New Year & Resolutions!

AN ADVANCED HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Just got home from laser-tagging with the cousins, and am now off to get ready to celebrate my cousin's birthday, and do all sorts of New Year's Eve-y things later on, that I do not want to delay posting this. That, and I'm thinking of going on a blogging hiatus for the duration of January (that's tomorrow!) to focus on thesis and prepare for deliberations happening in February. TUN TUN TUN. 

But, moving on.

In 2011, my goals for the last three hundred and sixty-five days were as follows:

1. Pass fourth year unscathed. Surprisingly a good year, academically-speaking. 
2. Get into fifth year with lots of inspiration and drive to do well in thesis.
3. Have an awesome time doing thesis (because I've heard it kills!).
4. Have a blast during summer. I worked through most of it, but it was SO much fun. 
5. Get an internship in a firm this summer. Le awesome! No regrets whatsoever. :)
6. Earn a bit of cash. And I spent a LOT of that, too. :(
7. Travel. Palawan, I'm coming back!
8. Go out of town with friends again!
9. Gain weight! If you call a pound or two as gaining weight. 
10. Clear out my closet. Hurrah for that wonderfully lucrative yet exhausting garage sale experience!
11. Live a healthy lifestyle - good food, exercise, you know. :D

I'm proud of myself because when I look back to this list, I at least accomplished fifty percent of it. 2011 was quite the achievement (even if these victories were most felt in the first half of the year), and I cross my fingers and pray that 2012 will bring greater blessings to me and my loved ones. I am happy I met so many new people this year, and my only regret, perhaps, is having started thesis on the... well, not-so-confident and shaky foot. But I shall tread on and believe.

This 2012, the goals for the next three hundred sixty-five days are to:

1. GRADUATE. Please lang!
2. Travel. A lot.
3. Get a job.
4. Earn a bit (if I'm lucky, a LOT) of cash.
5. Go out of town with friends!
6. Live a healthy lifestyle - food-wise, body-wise, soul-wise. :)
7. Read more books!
8. Be nicer to people.
9. Follow through.
10. Focus.
11. Set up a travel fund!
12. Exercise once or twice a week!

This new year, I pray that I believe in myself more, but at the same time, focus and follow through with whatever I say I'll be doing. No to procrastination and dejection! Eyes on the prize (that is, graduating and the prospect of travel).

And, as what the quote on my yearbook page will say: 

"The first and great commandment - don't let them scare you." 

Elmer Davis

Once again, a most wonderfully happy new year to you, friend, and God bless you. :)
See you in February/March-ish.
If you need to contact me, e-mail me instead. :) 

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The last few days of 2011.

Just a couple of pictures collected for the last few days of 2011, really!

 Having the photos printed | Mom's spectacular shrimp and garlic pasta in the middle of the week | Carissa's Christmas gift, nomnomnom | My baby nephew's first birthday | His birthday cupcakes | New Keds-like dark blue shoes from Payless (wonderfully half the price of classic Keds!) | And a soft leathery LuLu bag for the weekend which wonderfully fits my essentials and a book! Thanks, Mom and Dad. :D

Cannot believe time flies by so fast! I wish I could stay in the memory of this year's summer forever, but alas, we must grow up. Le sigh.

The Giveaway Winners

Finally drew the winners today (a day early so that the winners know they won already and we can all enjoy New Year's Eve!). First off, thanks very much to all of you for joining! You've made me and my sponsors very happy!

I listed the entries in Excel and randomized them again via Random.org's List Randomizer, and then ran the True Random Generator to pick out three numbers.

And without further ado, the winners!

Photographs and Postcards for Sale :)

My creative juices went to this project instead of thesis work this Christmas break, and though I'm a bit regretful of that, it's all gooooood. I've always wanted to do this anyway, and I have now, finally. Still looking for the perfect printer company/shop for postcards (unbelievably, it is hard to find one who does unique prints!), but for now, I printed the photographs as photographs in dependable Picture City. 

And good news! You can order a stack of ten photos for yourself! I hope you're quite the old soul and paper-product-lover like me! :) For more pictures and details, click here. 

I've three sets so far (two of Paris and one of the sea), and I'm waiting for Valentine's greeting cards to arrive from where I printed them. Unfortunately, the shop said I'll be receiving them by next Wednesday (late!), so I'll have to be patient. Still, I'm excited for that too, so watch out for that! :)

P.S. YAY, played with Curves to process these pictures and finally came up with one that suited me and my style! Thanks very much, Chai, for the inspiration. :)

Christmas That Was

Just a bunch of pics, really, of what transpired two days before Christmas to two days after it: an epic seven-hour Monopoly Deal marathon; what I wore to ze high school barkada dinner; Mom's baked cookies; The Best of Chico & Delamar's Top Ten from Mom (because I've recently become a Rusher, YAY!); Aloe Vera juice from Korean Del Monte; wrapping Christmas gifts; the annual Christmas Eve get-together; the cousins drinking; Christmas lunch; cutiepatootie time with the cutest shihtzu puppy Pepper; just snippets of Christmas gifts this year (LOOK! A Fully Booked gift card, YAY!); a vintage leather purse; a perfect polka dot shirt for the New Year; and OMGGGGG an RF cap from Mariel! WOOOT WOOT. (Yes, I've long been a tennis fan, and it has been many dreamers' dream to get a cap with Federer's logo on it.) 

Thought I'd use Chai's curve to try it out on most if not all of these pictures, and it does make a whole lot of difference! I love it. I've never attempted post-processing pictures using Curves before (I always just went by blending changes, vibrance, Color Balance, Brightness/Contrast, Saturation and whatnot), so now I think I will. Thank you, Chai. :)

Happy Christmas!

I just wanna send out the greetings before getting ready for tonight's festivities!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and God bless! 

Love,

Carla

P.S.

Four days left for you to join the giveaway! Join now before it's too late :)

I'm in the middle of experimenting postcards and whatnot, so watch out for that around January!

Le Christmas Wishlist

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Here's a rather gay-with-all-those-hearts and happy wishlist I have for this Christmas:

Washi tape! 

I've heard it's only available in Heima, but I do know you can order it in Multiply as well (I know; I've searched. HAHA!). 

Postcards. 

That photo is from Fikafikafika, which, btw, is such a delightful store.

A Fuji Instax camera.

More red velvet cupcakes!

Ala-riding shoes from Ichigo.

A cute leather log purse from Ichigo. Two lovely bags received this season, yay!

A geometric necklace from Wear Mauve! 

(Heaven knows how I've been going back again and again to that store!)

A pleated midi skirt! 

That picture is from Chick Flick, btw.

And MORE WASHI TAPE! 

I really want those washi tapes. They're so adorable, fufufu. :3 

I think they retail for PHP150 in stores, but it's cheaper online by PHP50. Still, though, if you include shipping, I suppose it's still the same price. Point is, I WANT THEEEEEEM. *sigh* So if you've got spare change in your pocket and are feeling nice, do give me one roll. HAHA! *facepalm*

Anywho, if you still haven't joined, join my giveaway before it's too late!

If you haven't done your charitable part, donate and help Typhoon Sendong victims in Mindanao.

Before Ever After and My Reading List this Week

I have to admit that I had my doubts about this book. It was slowly but surely gaining momentum as a local bestseller, and I surmised that it helped the sales a whole bunch that it was a book published abroad. But I have had my share of stories written by fellow countrymen, and while they were good in their own right, they... weren't just my cup of tea.

So when I decided to pull this out of our bookshelf, I really wasn't expecting much. My mom had written a note on the first page, reminding the reader that my brother had given her this book. I ran my finger against the rough, uneven edges of the pages, relishing this design detail in publishing the book. Half-heartedly, I turned the page to the beginning. Quietly, I hoped it wouldn't disappoint. This was to be my first book to finish in what seemed to be an eternity, and I really wanted to be satisfied, literary-wise.

Lo and behold, I actually quite enjoyed it! It was a breeze to read, and while I didn't really fancy Shelley (in my head, I thought she seemed too much like Isabella Swan, and I don't like her in the same degree as well), I loved the jumping back and forth from century to century. One chapter was spent in eighteenth century Paris, and the next chapter went back to the present day, and then it went further into the past into twelfth century Austria. I enjoyed every bit of it, if only for my love of history and places.

The plot somewhat reminded me of My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (another good read, recommended by a friend), but that one dwelt on a reincarnating soul of a man always searching for his first love Sophia, while Before Ever After explores immortality and the life and love of a never-aging man with many names. This book was a delight to read, really, and worth the whole day of staying in bed and reading - something I've missed doing, and which I hope to do more in the future!

Just a bit of an excerpt, and it doesn't reveal anything, really, if you're worried about spoilers. :)
It's just an honest-to-goodness burst of honesty and vulnerability from an immortal man in love.

Meanwhile, while I do think I should spend a considerable amount of days this break for working on thesis, I thought to myself that I could give myself a bit of a break and challenge-of-sorts to finish books. I'd add more, but I thought these books would have to do for this break/week:

That's Lisa See's Peony in Love (as I adored her Shanghai Girls); George Martin's Game of Thrones;
and the recently finished book, Samantha Sotto's Before Ever After.

Next up is Game of Thrones. I'm in the third chapter already, and it helps that I've watched the series
because a part of me is smug that I'm at least familiar with the characters!

Here's to hoping I finish the next two books before Saturday. YAY for reading! I sorely missed you, hobby.

Lend a Hand!

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Let us please pray for those afflicted by Typhoon Sendong in Mindanao last weekend and send as much help as we can. Approximately 927 mortalities have been reported and still hundreds more remain missing. Below are helpful links that almost completely list down ways and means to lend a hand in cash or in kind.

1. HOW YOU CAN HELP TYPHOON SENDONG VICTIMS - via my little ways
2. Charge donations via your Citibank card with a simple text. - via Citibank 
3. TYPHOON SENDONG: COLLATED TWEETS RE: VOLUNTEERS, SOUP KITCHENS, SPONSORED MEALS, ETC. - via Bayanihan Online
4. Philippines: How to Help Typhoon Sendong (Washi) Victims - via Asian Correspondent
5. MEDS for ILIGAN and CDO

The easier means:

1. LBC will kindly ship donations for free to the afflicted areas.
2. 7-Eleven branches nationwide are accepting donations, so visit the nearest branch and help out.
3. Smart subscribers may donate to Sendong victims via text. Send RED to 4143. Valid donation amounts 10, 25, 50, 100.
4. For Globe subscribers, text RED and send it to 2899. You may donate in these denominations: 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000.
5. Donate to UNICEF and help the child victims - For SMART MONEY users, text UNICEFAMOUNT and send to 270    (ex. UNICEF 200 &  &send to 270). For G-CASH users, text DONATEAMOUNT4-digit PINUNICEF and send to 2882  (ex.DONATE 200 4-digit PIN UNICEF & send to 2882).

Drizzle drizzle.

Today was quite the rainy afternoon. I was home alone for the bigger fraction of the day, wherein I decided to upload a new set of clothes to sell. I was supposed to model them, but the lazy daisy bug of this day had taken hold of me and I chose to hang the clothes up instead of having to go through the changing and the styling and the setting up of the tripod. *coughlookingformodelscough* 

Then it started to drizzle ever so slightly and as I sat waiting for the pictures to upload, the vine-covered wall of our backyard called out to me. It looked so inviting and so fresh, and I remembered that I brought home my plastic umbrella this week. The garden yearned for a spontaneous shoot, and I gave in. 

I am obviously not the best model in pictures, but fehhhhhh. I look kind of smooshed and spaced out in these shots, but ah, well. My only consolation is that I finally look somewhat Japanese in these pictures - that, and these remind me of movie stills, heee. I finally got to photograph myself with my favorite umbrella  while I wore my favorite striped sweater, and the whole setting was just perfect with the rain. YAAAAAY.

Off to go enjoy more of this cold and cozy rainy day, so I'm going to curl up in bed and read a book!

Meanwhile, let us pray for those who have been slain and for those who are unfortunately affected by the storm Sendong in the southern part of the Philippines. You can help and donate by reading the info here.

P.S. Please don't forget to join my store giveaway and check out the latest collection!