All posts filed under: NaBloPoMo

Pedi-cure Therapy

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SITS Day 24: If you are a parent, how do you make time for yourself? Towards the final days of my pregnancy, one of my friends told me to enjoy each day to the fullest.  Some suggestions were to go chill at the beach or go out on a date with my partner or treat myself to a spa day.  I recall questioning her on these suggestions, as I thought it was ludicrous.  Why would I need to take some free time for myself when there was so much I had to do to prepare for the birth of my baby? I also felt guilty as all of my friends did a lot to help me get ready for the baby’s arrival, too.  I already felt like I was being pampered. Well, fast forward to one-year, and now I totally get what my friend was trying to convey to me.  The days go by with a blur and my entire day is focused on one little being.  I love my baby, but at times I just …

Share Your World – 2013 Week 42

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If you were the original designer of one existing corporate logo, which one would you select? I love  .  And everything that they stand for.  Walking into any one of their stores gets me excited to see the selection of their outdoor clothing.  Their gear packs nicely for a long trip. I love how their logo is the outline of the Andes mountains found in South America. If you could have your own TV channel, what would it be about? I definitely would have a TV channel that involved travel and adventure.  Episodes would include trying new foods, witnessing cultural festivals, and meeting the locals.  I don’t have a TV in my home, but when I do travel, I usually have the travel channel playing the entire time I stay in a hotel. If you were on a small island, who would you want to be with? And where is it?  How big is it? Well, I live on an island already. But I guess if I had to pick a smaller island, I would …

Haiku Holoholo

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Fellow blogger Nathaniel, of Introvert Japan, just posted a great write-up about the history of haiku. Here is my challenged and cringeworthy attempt at the aged art. ʻahu mark the path. mokuʻāweoweo. ascent to the gods.   steep and winding path. quiet wonder in the cliff. nageiredo.  sighing gentle breeze. like fingers through my loose hair. seduced by the wind. rays of light find me. piercing through the canopy. illuminated. crumbling at your feet. fragile wall around my heart. you dismantle me. Weekly Writing Challenge:  Haiku Catchoo! |  http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/challenge-haiku/

Thursday’s Special: Trip to Japan

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Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Here in the U.S., this holiday is an opportunity to reflect and give thanks for all the great things that we have been blessed with in our lives.  Thanksgiving also marks the start of holiday eating.  The main course in Thanksgiving is usually the turkey.  In my family, we celebrate with a medley of food, but not with the traditional turkey.  I never grew up eating turkey for Thanksgiving unless I was invited to someone’s home. I fondly remember on one occasion when one of the aunties mentioned she would be refraining from eating turkey as she didn’t want to be going on a trip to Japan.  I was so confused.  How could eating turkey prevent you from going to Japan?  I was puzzled, but as I was a guest, I didn’t want to seem out of sorts with not understanding what she meant.  It was not until I asked one of my friends what the aunty was referring to that I started to laugh. This aunty was not …

Gratitude, Love, & Peace

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The aggressive commercialization of Christmas that has breached Thanksgiving Day concerns me. How can we spend a few hours of the day in grace and gratitude, while a few hours later, we are aggressive, often vicious, in edging each other out for the commercial goods we hope express the love and care we feel for the intended recipient? Love is not found in Black Friday sales ads. It’s not wrapped up in pretty paper and magnificent bows. These days, time is much more valuable than anything money can buy at a reduced price. It is the most precious commodity during the holiday season, that we often squander away in check-out lines at God-forsaken hours of the day. With time, we can create meaningful memories that will be with us long after that 60″ flatscreen flickers to its death. Today, immerse in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Celebrate the culmination of a year spent in appreciation, all the while taking stock in the blessings and daily miracles of our lives. Forego activities that limit the expanse of your light. And …

Practice Makes Perfect

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Confidence: Are you good at what you do? What would you like to be better at? “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” ―Aristotle People often assume that acquiring new skills and knowledge comes easy for me. The reality is, I pick things up with very little effort at first, but it takes considerable observation and steady practice to commit them to memory. Whether it’s reading or listening to something continuously or dancing/chanting songs over and over again to be able to successfully recall without a hitch, repetition and application are key to my confidence. I’ve employed this tactic in everything I’ve done in my life and it seems to work… except for when it comes to weaving bags from coconut fronds (My tactile and ancestral memories for weaving are underdeveloped, so it’s taking me a while). What I have not practiced enough and therefore am not confident doing, is publicly expressing love. Sure, I can say it in private, but it’s never been easy to articulate beyond the confines of a familiar …

Stuff We Love/Obsess Over: Heirs

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I swore never to watch another k-drama again, yet here I am, about to write an entire post on the K-drama that takes up 2 of the 5 hours I set aside every week to decompress and watch TV. You can’t know how it infuriates me that I’ve succumbed to this drama and after 14 episodes, with 6 more to go, I’ve decided to stop wasting energy on this love/hate relationship, and just go with it. So this is me, going with it. Kim Tan (Lee Min-Ho) is a chaebol and the illegitimate son of the large business conglomerate, Jeguk. We meet him at the start of the drama, living alone in California and surfing to his heart’s content. He’s not entirely alone, save for a few American friends. As a side note, there is a bit of English at the beginning of this drama, but the English speakers have an intonation and cadence that sounds like English language drills.  Cha Eun-Sang (Park Shin-Hye), flies to California from Korea to attend her sister’s wedding. She arrives to find her sister’s …

Nothing like a fabulous pair of “kicks!”

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#NaBloPoMo: Describe an outfit that makes you feel good. Bette Middler said it best, “Give a girl the correct footwear and she can conquer the world.” My Superwoman shoe is a vintage set of white and teal colored Nike Air Icarus. It was given to me as a gift from my grandfather in 1993. They were my very first pair of running shoes and sadly, my only possession kept from the days when my Lolo (grandfather) and I ran every weekend at Ypao Beach, Guam. It was during those morning runs with Lolo that he shared his wisdom and valuable life lessons. Now 20 years old, worn and held together with Shoe Goo, my Nikes are tucked in a special place in my closet.  And on days when I am hit with waves of nostalgia and self-doubt, longing for comfort and advice from my Lolo, I put on my Nikes, stand in front of the mirror and say to myself: “You are enough.”