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Monday, June 19, 2006

And it all started with a twig of silk cherry blossoms...

Current Mood:

I'd have blogged earlier, but things have been a little busy at work so I didn't really find much time to create an entry until today :-).

If you've read Steve's blog, you know that he and I gave the bathroom a makeover last Sunday. I'm so thankful that he didn't let me mope around all day Sunday because getting out of the apartment was just what I needed.

After we dropped off dad's father's day gift (It was really funny: a garden stone with the words "Grow, Dammit" inscribed on it

), Steve and I agreed to go to The Avenue Carriage Crossing, a newer mall over in Collierville. For my Filipino readers, imagine the promenade part of Alabang Town Center as the overall theme: an open air mall. It's pretty when the weather's nice, but we've had some thunderstorms lately and poor Steve was drenched at one point because he had to go get the truck in the rain when we were ready to go home.

Anyway, we started off by going to the Cold Stone Creamery. They make really good ice cream :-). After you tell them what you want, they get a scoop of the base ice cream flavor, put it on a very cold stone counter, get the other ingredients, and mix the whole thing up for you. Imagine a Dairy Queen Blizzard, only with more flavors of ice cream and more things to choose from to put in it, mixed by hand instead of by machine, and placed in a waffle cone cup.

Next we went to the World Market. That was when the inspiration hit me. We were just browsing, really, when I came across twigs of silk cherry blossoms in a vase. I picked one up and thought, "Wouldn't this be lovely as an accent piece in the bathroom!"

Before you know it we picked up a Li-Leger print, a bamboo candle holder, a scented candle, and three woven baskets. Naturally we had to go to Linens and Things next door to get matching bathroom rugs and curtains (we forgot the towels, though--but that's okay, we got some good ones at Target).

I took some before and after pictures so you can see what our bathroom looks like now. It looks very warm and Oriental :-). Since these pictures were taken we've also added a small bronze-ish buddha candle holder to help solidify the Oriental theme.

Then for dinner we went to the Steak and Ale. I love that restaurant. It reminds me of the Old Swiss Inn in Manila, only more German than Swiss, and instead of all being in one room there are separate rooms with tables.

I felt MUCH better at the end of the day :-).

Posted by Unknown | 2:45 PM | 2 Comments |

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Sunday, June 18, 2006

Was NOT a nice girl last night

Current Mood:

Last night should have been more fun for me. It was our first social dancing event and I was very excited to finally have a chance to practice all the steps that Steve and I had learned in foxtrot, tango, and rumba. It started out great--we even met our teacher, Mr. Rukendorfer, and his wife, Christine, at the dance and because we were his guests, we weren't asked to pay admission for this dance.

I started having less fun when Steve and I began to dance. It was difficult for both of us: I was frustrated that he didn't remember most of the steps we learned; he was frustrated that I wasn't more relaxed. Dancing was a struggle for control.

"That's not where you're supposed to put your hand...!"
"Nobody else is doing it that way."
"You're confusing me, I don't know where you want me to go...!"
"Will you relax?"

Oh yeah, that must have been quite a sight. Out of over a dozen couples dancing expertly in the gym, there's this one couple in the corner doing nothing more than a couple of steps and stepping all over each other's feet, arguing with each other. At one point Steve let go of my hands and threatened to go sit down and leave me in the middle of the dance floor.

Towards the end of the dance, with much prodding from Steve, I finally started to relax enough to have even just a little fun. In the car on the way home though, I kept trying to figure out why I couldn't make him understand why it was important for me to be technical about the steps. I replayed the night's events in my head, remembering that he kept stressing the words "improvise" and "dancing for fun." Then I realized what it was.

"We're coming from two different perspectives," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"You want to dance just for fun. I want to be the kind of dancer you see on tv. I want to become a good enough dancer to one day be considered to join a competition."

We each wanted different things from our dance class. No wonder we couldn't see eye to eye: he believed that you should have fun even if you don't get the steps right, I believed that having fun *meant* getting the steps right.

It makes perfect sense now, but it was terribly frustrating last night when he and I couldn't understand each other. Hopefully having this realization will make the next dance better for both of us.

Posted by Unknown | 6:44 AM | 3 Comments |

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Saturday, June 17, 2006

Life's simple pleasures that bring comfort

Current Mood:

...a steamy cup of coffee...
...a cool outdoor breeze at noontime...
...a sleeping dog's head on your lap...
...snuggling with your spouse...
...flowers...
...a clean apartment :-)

Posted by Unknown | 6:00 AM | 0 Comments |

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Thursday, June 15, 2006

It would be so cool...

Current Mood:

It would be so cool if I ever get to meet Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage from Mythbusters :-). I love that show :-).

Labels: Home, Retail

Posted by Unknown | 6:39 PM | 0 Comments |

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

My new favorite meal

Current Mood:

Have you heard of Holiday Deli and Ham Company? They make great stuff :-). My new favorite lunch is the Hot Turkey Pita. It's "turkey with melted Swiss cheese, cucumbers, sprouts, with your choice of buttermilk ranch dressing or creamy italian dressing, all in a toasted pita." I ask for the honey mustard dressing though. It also comes with a pack of chips and a pickle spear. And then I add a cup of lobster bisque soup.

It costs $8.47, but man, is it ever worth it

Posted by Unknown | 3:41 PM | 0 Comments |

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Saturday, June 10, 2006

Will probably be visiting Manila

Current Mood:

I was told that I will probably be visiting Manila in July, which is great :-). It'll be good to see friends and family again :-). I don't know exactly when I'll be leaving or for how long, though (Steve would like me to come back home as soon as possible :-)).

At the same time, I'm a little nervous--I've been away for about two years. That may not sound like a long time, but one of my second cousins was just a baby when I left and he's probably walking by now. When I left, the Mall of Asia was only being built and now it's open to the public. Heck, my Philippine driver's license has expired :-). And goodness knows how many one-way streets there are in Makati NOW :-).

Speaking of changes, I don't know if I've been away long enough for my digestive system to change. I hope I can still eat fishballs and not get sick. I hope I can still drink the water without having to resort to the bottled stuff.

I'm probably just being paranoid, though--I'm sure I'll be fine :-).

I called my brother to let him know, and he said they're going to have to clean my room. Ever since I left, it's become one big closet :-). I told him to let my folks now that I really didn't mind staying at a hotel if it was going to be too much trouble to clean (believe me, I know how much junk can build up in two years, I don't want to have to clean it either if I can avoid it :-)).

Posted by Unknown | 6:55 AM | 3 Comments |

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Monday, June 05, 2006

Blaaaahh

Current Mood:

I was feeling all blah this weekend. Poor Steve--he was trying so hard to get me to snap out of it. I was too tired to even go to Sunday's dance class.

He cooked dinner last night though, which was really nice. It was good, too--grilled pork chops with country style potatoes and corn.

I'm sure I'll feel better in a couple of days...

Posted by Unknown | 4:49 AM | 3 Comments |

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Saturday, June 03, 2006

Happiness is...

Current Mood:

Happiness is a steamy cup of coffee after a nice, relaxing bath :-).

Labels: Happiness

Posted by Unknown | 2:01 PM | 0 Comments |

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