Wifely Steps

Got the Monday blues again? We can’t have that. I hope at least one of these messages cheers you up! Let me know which one made you smile the most. Is it:

a.) Thou Shalt Not Use Poetry (via)

b.) It Is In All of Us (via)

c.) Be a Good One (via)

d.) Hugs Will Save Us (via)

e.) Alone with Comic Sans (via)

f.) Falling Together (via)

g.) Please Return, Please Exchange (via)

h.) DARNA! (via)

Which one made you smile the widest? A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H? Or perhaps something else today made you smile — let us know what (or who!) it was.

Have a good week.

“Mukha ka nang Toni ulit (You look like Toni again),” a friend of mine told me two months after I gave birth. I asked myself if I really did look that terrible easing into Mommyhood. Ouch. Then again, he was right. I didn’t really look like myself. Heck, I didn’t feel like myself. I was trying to understand the whole task of Mommyhood that I parked self time aside. It was only after two months that I finally got a haircut, finally fit into some of my non-baggy clothes, finally remembered to put on a little lipstick when going out.

When Timmy’s playing with his grandparents, I would usually use this free time to organize the baby’s closet, clean up our bedroom, fix his bottles, etc. But by the time he was back in my arms, I’d remember that whoops, I hadn’t showered yet. Gross I know, but hey it happens. Reality check!

And so the past few months I’ve learned that when Timmy’s with his grandparents for a few hours, I go for ME time first. Like what things? Oooh, just thinking about them excites me. It’s usually one of the four things:

a. Take a looooooooooooooooooooooong shower. Bad for the environment, good for Mommy. I take out my favorite vanilla-scented body wash and relax under the shower.
b. Play The Sims 3. It’s my all-time favorite game, and I used to spend hours immersed in it! I love creating homes and making up characters. It’s a great escape.
c. Eat leisurely. Oh, to savor a meal! Yum yum yum. I even get dessert if there’s more time. It’s a joy eating dinner seated!
d. Watch TV. I usually do this while eating leisurely. I watch re-runs of How I Met Your Mother, Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. Relaxing.

If I’m lucky I get to do all four things in an hour. It’s bliss. But what’s even more blissful? Your baby excitedly wanting to get back in your arms. While I’m certain he enjoyed playtime with his grandparents, there’s nothing like him being in Mommy’s arms, his huge smile and his arms around me proof of that.

So yes, to my fellow new Moms, go for that ME time. You can fix the baby’s closet while he’s fast asleep, or after you’ve done all your Me time. You can take better care of the baby when you feel good about yourself too. Which reminds me — I need to get a haircut and some new lipstick.

Hey Mommy, what do you do for your ME time?

Bibingka is one of my favorite Filipino treats, but I don’t eat it everyday. It’s usually prepared in a size good enough for at least two people to eat. Since H isn’t big on bibingka, I hardly get to eat it. True, I could bring the uneaten part home and nuke it when I crave for it again, but microwaved bibingka just doesn’t taste the same.

So thank goodness for these mini bibingkas! H & I were doing the groceries at Rustan’s Greenbelt when we saw the Bibingkinitan kiosk by the store’s exit. Each piece cost P20, has cheese in it (YUM!), and you could have it with topped with butter and sugar. The aroma of freshly baked bibingkas made my mouth water, and we walked out of the store with a box of six.

I ate one on the way home. Then devoured another upon reaching home. They’re so delicious! The box of 6 was supposed to be mine, all mine (I was heavily pregnant then, so I’m excused, heehee!), but H & I ended up splitting the box. He took one bite out of my Bibingkinitan and fell in bibingka love again.

And that thing about not liking microwaved bibingkas? Well these little babies are still as good after two days. Just put a pat of butter on top, a sprinkling of sugar, microwave for a minute and you’ve got yourself a tasty little treat.

Now the challenge is not to eat this everyday. Gah. Temptation.

Different kinds of chocolate bring me different kinds of happy. A Kitkat bar gives me a relaxed kind of happy; Baby Ruth bar an indulgent kind of happy; M&Ms a playful kind of happy… and Meiji Strawberry Chocolate? A giddy kind of happy.

Thanks to my sister for surprising me one evening with a box of this strawberry chocolate love. She’s sweet and this snack even sweeter.

What food gives you that giddy kind of happy?

What? You’re feeling crappy? We can’t have that! No, no, no. Yes I know it’s the Monday blues, but we can’t go starting our week now all growling, can we? It’ll set the pace for the week! Would you like to growl till Friday? I didn’t think so. Here’s a quick picker-upper for you. At the end of the post, could you pick the image which made you smile the biggest? Good! So, is it:

a.) Mirroring You (via )

b.) The Emoticon Shower (via)

c.) Sheldon’s Toast (via)

d.) Subway Love (via)

e.) Coffee on an Dreary Morning (via)

So tell me, which image made you smile the most? I hope I chased even a little of those blues away. Have a good week, my friend.

This morning has been a particularly stressful one. What I wouldn’t give to go pop some bubble wrap. So seeing Happy Slip’s video on Twitter made me smile. Bubble wrap is happiness indeed.

Did you know that the last Monday of January is annual Bubble Wrap Day? I missed it by eight hours, but it’s not too late to celebrate by sharing this video with you guys! Happy Slip’s tips are funny and practical. I particularly like the line your crisper with bubble wrap tip. I just don’t know if the bubble wrap will make it to the refrigerator intact. Must. pop. bubbles.

So thanks for making my morning better, Happy Slip, even if I didn’t have any bubble wrap with me right now. Must. search. for. bubble. wrap.

And, uh, Christine? Where’d you get all the bubble wrap you used for your shoot? That’s enough to make anyone go bubble wrap crazeh!

(via thedailywhat)

To one of the funniest entertainers and possibly the most positive one ever, we’ll be seeing you again sooner than you think. As you said, work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.

Go, go Team Coco!

P.S. I want this sign for my office. Simple inspiration!

Conan O’Brien’s Farewell Speech

Electroman!

How do you recharge yourself during a workday?

I have a snack box on my office shelf. It’s a little plastic container that contains chewy candies, different kinds of chocolate, gum, a small pack of cereal, and just this morning, three pieces of fruit bread. It’s my go-to box for energy. True, the sugar doesn’t sustain my energy that long, but it helps perk me up especially after lunch.

Lucky you, coffee drinkers. I miss coffee. I cut down on coffee when I was pregnant, and still don’t drink much of it now that I’m breastfeeding. I have a one-coffee-a-week thing for myself, and reserve that reward for the most dire of situations. Or if I’m offered a cup of coffee during a meeting and I simply can’t refuse.

Other things that help recharge me: a walk up the stairs. Instead of taking the elevator, I take the stairs to get in and out of our office. It wakes me up and in the long-term, will be friendly on my waistline too.

Then there’s the brush-your-teeth-for-no-reason reason. Even if I hadn’t eaten anything, the minty break wakes me up and I go back to my desk cool and refreshed. Well at least my breath is.

What do you do to recharge yourself during the workday? Tips must appreciated. Happy Monday!

So is my baby going to hang out with girls at home when I’m at the office? Heehee. My sister took this picture while I was at work. Timmy’s practicing his moves on my Aunt’s doll, methinks. His bib adds extra charm.

But er, no, baby, I don’t think licking another baby’s head is a particularly smooth move.

Maybe Daddy can teach you some when you’re older. MUCH older. I want to be your only girl for now.

Happy weekend everyone! What have you got planned?

Image credits:1. Greetings from New York map postcard, 2. i <3 Tumblr, 3. Happiness, 4. Happy Timmy

Reality meets fantasy. My lunch hour was spent pumping milk & looking through New York City real estate. I always dreamed of being a Mom so now who knows when I’ll be living in New York?

Get me out of this black hole. Okay, maybe not just yet. My friends have said it’s evil, and now I understand why. Tumblr’s like a fun, massive black hole. I say it’s a good source of pop culture. If you’re tumbling about, let me know. My tumblr’s called Macaroni and Serendipity. And feel free to ask me stuff.

“by the time I got good with things other people were into something else.” So goes the opening line of one of my favorite poems. I’ve been re-reading this Charles Bukowski poem and the comments on the entry. It got me thinking that we’ll always be lagging behind on something, ‘no? Perhaps it’s not because we’re dissatisfied with where we are. Maybe it’s more of we’re always aspiring for something else, something better for ourselves and so we have that impression of ourselves as being left behind, being not quite there yet. It’s all a matter of perspective, yes. But when I’m feeling like I just can’t catch up with others or with the dreams I have for myself and my family, I go back to this poem. It gives me hope.

And speaking of hope: my son, my chunky ball of love. It was about a year ago today that H & I announced to family we were expecting a baby. My Dad said it was his best birthday ever. A year later, he’s holding his best birthday present ever in his arms. Timmy’s just one big ball of love, love, love. He’s turning 5 months old tomorrow! My chunky little one is growing up so fast. I haven’t even gotten his baby scrapbook together yet. Yowza.

And how are you doing so far this week?