To Sew Or Not To Sew

I just realized that I'm one of those people who once a year, decide they need a hobby. They then go out and buy supplies, books, and other paraphernalia in support of this new "hobby", thinking that it will be easy and in no time they will be well on their way to become an expert in said "hobby". Hmmm, let me see ... one year it was a mountain bike, another year it was a scrapbook, and then another year it was jewelry-making, and yet another year it was art supplies, and then last year it was crocheting. Oh and there's the long-time staple, fitness equipment. (Well, at least I have not yet bought an abdominizer.) Sad to say, everything has amounted to just more unused stuff hidden in some drawer somewhere. Well, it looks like it's that time of year for me, and I guess this year it is sewing. I would like to make my own clothes, in manner of Wendy of Built by Wendy. (I love her clothes - www.builtbywendy.com) I'm itching to buy her book - Sew U - The Built By Wendy Guide To Making Your Own Wardrobe. But writing this blog entry just makes me realize that:

a. I haven't had a hobby that has actually flourished and has produced tangible results.

b. Even if a turns out to be untrue for this new hobby and I actually sew something, I run the risk of producing something a cat won't drag in. (I'm imagining those playclothes Maria had sewn in "The Sound of Music" out of Captain Von Trapp's curtains. Hideous! Yikes.)

What's a girl to do?

Oh Happy Day!

To most of you, this might seem like a stupid thing, but I, for one, am riduculously overjoyed about it. Today I tried on my old jeans and they still fit! I have these favorite pair of jeans by Mon Petit Oiseau - and a few weeks ago, I tried them on and was devastated to find out that I couldn't get in them. I felt really fat and sad. (Only women will understand this part. So guys, just ignore this.) And most of all, I felt really helpless, since I have to be careful about losing weight since I am breastfeeding, and well, the baby needs all that he can get. Phong even bought me an industrial Costco-size box of granola bars to make sure I get enough calories in. It takes a lot to make milk - I really feel like one of those Kobe Beef cows, who get massages (to get better marbling) and even get fed beer to heighten the quality of the meat. Or the Hershey's cows, who I heard get fed chocolate, and the Herr's cows, who get fed potato chips. (It's all in this article -http://www.fass.org/fasstrack/news_item.asp?news_id=988) Anyhoo, after reading an e-mail from my friend Monica, who bought some nice Rock and Republic Victoria Beckham Crown jeans that only she, the slimmest of the slim, can fit into, I decided to try on my jeans, thinking that I could at least figure out now how much weight I have to lose. But to my chagrin, I guess I actually lost weight without even knowing. Hurrah!

Here's the site for MPO:
www.monpetitoiseau.com

I Need New Nails

Oh. My. God. The Colts are in the Superbowl. BooYeah!!!!!!! That game last night was a real nail-biter though. I think I had my first official chest pain on that last drive by the Colts with about 2 minutes to go. Phong kept laughing at me since my hands were all clammy and I was really nervous. But they finally did it - beat that Monkman and his Golden Boy. (Hey, I like Brady too, but it seems like the Patriots had all the luck these past few years. I seriously believe that he and Bellichick sold their souls to the Devil for perennial Superbowl rings. Tony Dungy may finally have offered the requisite 100 chickens to the Devil as ritual sacrifice at halftime to get that win. Kidding. LOL.) Anyway, one more game to go. This may really be Peyton's year. Let's Go!!!!

I'm $elling Out

I've decided to put up posts on my blog for reviewing products and services. As you all know, I like to comment on anything and everything under the sun, and I figure this is a great oppotunity to share my thoughts about products and services that I encounter in my everyday life and make some money in the process for Caleb's College Fund (that's right, get those fingers to work). It also helps that I'm bored out of my mind and ranting and raving on the blog is a good form of release for me, not to mention mental exercise. (Remember that I am subjected to MIDI baby tunes all day.) So, from time to time, please bear with me as I write a few words for our sponsors. I'll try to make it as entertaining as possible. ;)

NEWSFLASH!!! The Colts are in the AFC championship!

Woo-hoo!!! Thanks to Adam "Money" Vinatieri and his Golden Hoof, the Indianapolis Colts are in the AFC Championship! Just one more game until the SuperBowl. I know, regardless of who wins tomorrow (the Pats or the Chargers), it will be tough, but by golly, at least they advanced one more game when nobody thought they could win! BooYeah!

Your Family Tree

Earlier this year, out of sheer curiosity, I Googled my name to see what came up. I ended up finding my Family Tree. A woman named Toni Gumboc put up this site called the Pandan Family Tree Project (it was originally called the Zapanta Family Tree Project). Pandan, Antique is the area where my Mom came from. The site listed the descendants of Padre Mariano Vicente Zapanta, Cawayan, Inyawan and Tinawagan, and me, my dad and my brother were on the list. I was excited to find out about my ancestors. Turns out that I may have descended from an affair between a Spanish Governor-General's wife and a local on my mother's side. (The site had a very good story about it. Stuff of legend, I tell you.) The fact that one of my prime ancestors was a Priest somewhat confuses me though. (It would actually be funny if my ancestors were straight out of "Noli Me Tangere".) The thing is, all my life, I've always said I was pure "indio", that I was a pure Filipino native. Granted, my Spanish ancestors are from way back, but still. Turns out I was wrong! See, you never really know what you can find when you Google yourself. Unfortunately, right now the site is down. I'm trying to contact Toni and see if she can get her site back up.

Listmania

I just noticed that I like making lists. Much like that John Cusack character in 'High Fidelity'. Or like Mia Thermopolis and Lily Moscovitz in "The Princess Diaries". Even Bridget Jones made lists. So here's a list of my favorite lists:
1. Your Desert Island Five (Top 5 Men or Women You Would Love To Be Stranded On a Desert Island With)
2. iPod Playlists (it's like a Mixtape, really.)
3. Top 10 Movies of All Time (I would really have a hard time limiting this to 10. 100 is too much though.)
4. 10 Things I Hate About Something. Anything.
5. A List of Food That You Would Like To Eat Everyday Without Having To Worry About Getting Fat and Maxing Out Your Visa (or Die Of High Cholesterol)

Speaking of lists, I am reminded of that ubiquitous list, the shopping list. I always make one for Phong before he heads out to the supermarket. Somehow he always loses it before heading out.