new years eve.

my cough woke me up at 4am. but the last few months i've been waking up in the middle of the night or really early. i think i am addicted to the sound of silence. and knowing everyone is sleeping except me. well that and my fear of owls and aliens. i'm not even getting inot that. so new year calls for a new notebook! yey! so i'm reading though my i-refuse-to-call-it-journal journal and i'm thinking i'm freaking nuts!
1. "today we celebrated our 3rd year anniversary by going on a date. just me and jay. feels so good, just like when we were teen agers..." awww (and we gave each other bibles) hahaha. i had 6 new vocab that day. great cleaning tip from hgtv: hydrogen peroxide plus baking soda. hmmm i have yet to try that one.
2. "i need a ruler and a box cutter!" i was making a statement. my new house list: grapefruit sugar bowl (which i got for christmas), coffee and eggshell fertilizer (really?), turquoise collander, vintage calendar art, emily henderson, candice olsen, gromet curtain, outdoor living.
3. "thank god i am am always full" j said that when i was complaining how i ate so much.
4. one of my many survival/emergency lists: 3 bottled water, powdered milk, first aid kit, 7 instant noodles, 7 spam, flashlight, radio, charging thing, antibiotics, tylenol, pad + paper, wipes, diapers, 3 sweaters, 3 raincoats, $4.99 kit from costco, soap +toodbrush set. damn, this list is messed up. "if you want to improve, be content to thought foolish and stupid - epictetus" - which is exacly what i am doing right now.
5. peelows - my secret weapon to conquer the world. mwahaha. still in the works (in my head). stay tuned. places to go: meat packing district (x), yankee stadium (check), central park zoo (x), licm (x), jones beach (check), chelsea piers (x). boooo.
6. the quilt pattern i've been planning using 200 squares of sophie's old clothes. i finally have my own sewing machine!
7. daycare idea: all organic, embrace nature, peaceful songs, summer camp, museum + aquarium trips, organic food, organic uniforms, wodden toys, classic music. :why should i fill my brain with facts i can find in 2 minutes in any standard book? - einstein"
8. xmas ideas that i forgot.
9. my super minibus.
10. goals before the year ends
11. in case of emrgency: id folder (has our passports, ssns, birth certs...), my external drive, cell charger, bling box engagement and wedding ring, baby tylenol, thermometer. wow.

how did i miss this.

seriously. cristian siriano for payless. last year!

new year jitters.

although i am feeling a lot better. i haven't fully recovered yet. and i am not talking about my medical status. i feel like i've been either sick or i've been baking the whole month of december. i was robbed at least four decembers days including christmas day. 2 days after my hubby's surprise party so that means the days before that i've been baking and planning the party. and i was asleep the whole day of december 25!!!!!! - yes i've been saying that to everyone. i know "relax, ayan, get over it" but that's christmas day! i've never been sick on christmas day before! so before that i've been baking banana bread for everyone. this is freaking crazy. i still have a few pyrex loaf pans left and when i say "a few" that means 8. damn. and eveytime i see them i just feel like screaming as in picasso's the scream kind of scream. and the worst part if i've no more bananas! let's just say that i have reached my banana bread limit for 2011.
anyway my point is - yes people there is a point to this post. i think. i hope. oh yeah, my new years resolution. it's freaking tomorrow already! i am usually busy around this time (like in my head) but i'm just so lazy. i can't accept flu as an excuse. it's just that 2010 was a big year and we've been busy. or i've been busy and december went by so fast. i forgot to mention the snow storm that's still out there. i actually went to the supermarket today and totally forgot about new years eve!!! i didn't buy one thing for tomorrow. like that is so not me! what the heck is going on with me! i'm sorry i guess i don't have a point. or i did i just forgot it already. damn.

my christmas.

1. i am super happy with my red velvet cheesecake. thanks to this recipe - i first made it for thanksgiving and it was a huge success! so freaking good. so i decided to make it again for christmas and this time red velvet cheesecake - using this instruction. 2. since the start of december i have been so busy baking my banana walnut bread for everyone and my body decided to just shut down. so on christmas day, i was out with a flu. really?!??! boooo. my dinner contribution was cut down to roasted lemon herb chicken, red velvet cheesecake, leche flan and potato salad.
2. since the start of december i have been so busy baking my banana walnut bread for everyone and my body decided to just shut down. so on christmas day, i was out with a flu. really?!??! boooo. my dinner contribution was cut down to roasted lemon herb chicken, red velvet cheesecake, leche flan and potato salad.
3. can i just say that i love ina garten! she's my fave!
4. we failed to wait for midnight AGAIN this year to open presents.
5. after opening presents, i went to bed with sophie and missed the whole day of december 25.
6. woke up on the december 26 with 26 inches of snow! still sick. boooo. couldn't play in the snow and take pix outside.
7. can't wait to try on my christmas goodies.
8. in laws are coming so it's time to clean up!

today i made.

10 banana cakes, 2 trays + 2 tupperwares of bicol express, a tray of pancit, 2 trays of mac salad. can i just say whew. hey i can actually cook/bake now! nice!

sunday.

funny website.

http://www.dearblankpleaseblank.com/
thanks ate.

stuck in my head.

be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. - plato

holiday cards.

finally get this thing over with and order our cards. yey! i can send out cards in time for christmas. so hard to shoot - photograph children, they're so playful. i literally took as much shots as i could (thank goodness for continous release) and yep this is the best one. it's not as sharp as i wanted it to be but today was a bit gloomy so i had to increase the ISO level. it annoys me actually but just need to get this out of the way.
i love making my own layout for photocards! instead of paying almost $1.70 per card if you order. i can just easily print this as a 4 x 6 photo for 10cents each or 15cents each and you get it within 1 hour ! ho-ho-ho! excited much? right.

my favorite ornaments.

dutch wooden shoes from our trip to solvang, ca.
reindeer on ice skates from brandon's birthday last year.
one of the 20 fab ornaments from mama. "ornate christmas tree ornament on a christmas tree". sorry couldn't resist.

can't decide.

think i'm liking the black and dotted font.

finally.

What: A book launching for An Isteytsayd Life: Not-so-random thoughts from a Pinoy living in America by Lorenzo Paran III
When: 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010
Where: Philippine Navy Golf Club, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila
check his website too!

random thoughts.

1. sophie grew an inch and a half in two weeks! coudn't believe it at first. yey for growth spurts.
2. still need to set up our cristmas tree. can't wait to hang ornaments from our cali roadtrip.
3. sophie's new found word: before
4. just downgraded our netflix plan to no dvds out. yikes.
5. haven't watched tv much since fios, not familiar with channel line up.
6. walking dead - omg one of the first scene in the city is crazy
7. just upgraded back our netflix to 2 dvds out.
8. i have 3 hayao miyazaki movies left to watch. yes thats the nerd in me. so? i love all his movies.
9. my new boots did not fail me. so comfy. i love it.
10. going to the movies with sophie. tangled.
11. don't you just love taking nice photos esp when there's good natural light.

holiday cards.

for our holiday cards. now i just need a good photo.

kneading at 4am.

i woke up at 4 am and i am seriously getting so paranoid about going to sleep - that my nose will get dry. i have serious sinus problems and winter only makes it worse. the air in the house is so dry. need humidifier bad. saline is my new best friend. anyway, after doing some research online about humidifiers, i decided to make bread. yeah i know sinus and bread - yummy. my newest obsession is perfecting the dough. i have a good feeling about this one. now i have to wait 1.5 hours. i should document everytime i do this. but sticky hands on my cam is a bad idea. and i would do it too. hence, my need for a tripod.

max.

can i just say that i lOVE our little bodyguard.

surprise.

happy birthday, babe. mwah! xoxo

in honor of the holidays.

i present to you my wish list. (for now!)

1. rotary cutter + mat

2. navy blazer

3. tripod for my slr

4. cognac carlos santana boots - 9.5

5. sewing machine

6. turquoise colander

7. knee high socks

8. grapefruit sugarbowl from anthropologie

9. gray cardigan from american eagle

10. navy checkered shirt from old navy

11. red sweater from american eagle (pretty much any cardigan from ae)

12. brown braided leather belt

13. sneakers from steve madden

14. mary magrill pendant necklace