TOPAZ HORIZON

Last week, Mariel made me the most delicious carrot cake in the world (read why in my Topaz Mommy post). Just look at it!

Yummy yummy yummy! Even Vince said it was amazing and Vince does not eat vegetable confections!

Then a few days ago, Nicole sent me red velvet cupcakes that she also baked for me! Wow! These were such a lovely and tasty gift.

Truth to tell, my OBG will send me off to get a colon cleanse if she ever finds out I've been stuffing myself with sweet stuff. Because, contrary to what people say, pregnancy is not the time you can eat anything and everything you want. This is the time to eat healthy and in small portions throughout the day. Which is driving me totally crazy because I want to eat, eat, eat all the sweet, fat and salty food in the world and I can't! That is why I am not a fat pregnant woman, by the way, because I am really trying to follow my doctor's strict diet regimen of vegetables, fruits and other yucky healthy stuff.

But how can anyone resist the goodies above? And the love of friends? I mean, they didn't buy those cakes--they baked them for me! Thank you, Mariel and Nicole. You are the bestest friends a girl can ever have!

*Mariel posted her carrot cake recipe! 

I don't believe it! I wasn't part of the hordes of women who watched HBO's Sex and The City but it was such a huge pop culture hit that I knew Sarah Jessica Parker, or rather, Carrie Bradshaw may have worn a different fabulous brand every week on the show but she used just one and only one computer on every episode: a Mac!


But for the upcoming movie sequel, Carrie will be typing out her thoughts on a--gasp!--HP Notebook.


Well, I'll be honest with ya--it's pretty much discombobulating. It's like watching Transformers and seeing Bumblebee is now a GM, not a VW! Weird. Hewlett-Packard's marketing department did its darndest to partner with the franchise (and successfully so) but I dunno. It's just not right!

The Mac is the computer designed for creative people--that's why we all have Macs at the editorial department (mine is a mighty impressive iMac). Macs are used by musicians, photographers, copywriters, art directors, fashion designers, writers. I really can't explain why (I'll let the Third World Nerd do that) but Macs just seem to be designed in such a way that creative people intuitively know what to do with it. I knew from the moment I switched one on that a Mac and I had something beautiful going on. It's like love!  

So writer and design-crazy Carrie Bradshaw and the Mac were just the perfect partnership. They made sense. But Carrie and HP? Hmmm. This I gotta see.

Of course, I'm not putting PCs down at all. I am, after all, typing this blog post on an HP Mini. I got a Mini because it was cheap. And I wanted to keep my computer-related stuff at home simple--surfing, blogging, photo storage, emailing, eBaying. I didn't want to take work home--which is what the Third World Nerd does, hence his MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone. He has nothing against PCs, too, since he also used one for gaming and downloading. I chose a PC for home because I wanted my online doings at home to be simple, no fancy stuff. After all, that's the HP promise: The computer is personal again! But when it comes to doing creative things (from simple to heavy duty!), there's only one baby for that job: a Mac.

Read more about this shocking new partnership from Popeater and The Guardian UK.

UPDATE: It's not what we think! Spot.ph has the story here.

If you've visited my husband's blog lately, you'll know that we have an exciting new gadget in the house, which is driving the Third World Nerd crazy happy. He's so cute really.

This, of course, means we should slow down on the purchases with the impending arrival of Mr. Jelly Bean. Actually, that would be "purchases unrelated to babies" since I just got a list of stuff we supposedly need for a kid and that list is mighty long. I've already looked at how much things cost and am seriously upset.

For example, an Avent electronic breast pump is about P13,000 here, but if I buy from the US, it'll just cost me $140, or P6,200. Same goes for a lot of baby stuff--they're cheaper from online shops so I guess this means we'll use Johnny Air again.

We really really love Johnny Air! I think from now on, we'll buy our things from the US because Johnny Air ships absolutely anything and everything for an inexpensive shipping fee! We've already bought books and toys and gadgets and we really love the service. Although, we bought small and light stuff so maybe for big stuff, like a Sony or Samsung HDTV, we'll have to get from here!     

So there. Must save money now. And yet, I still want to buy this yellow topaz ring I saw in a jewelry shop last week. It's been haunting me every day! And we also saw these cute puppies for sale from Project Lightning!
Awwwww! Cute little critters! I can totally see my son with a beagle! Vince wants Jelly Bean to own a dog. Research has shown that children who had pets were more responsible, healthier, more compassionate and--this is the interesting part--were less likely to get pregnant/get someone pregnant out of wedlock. Well! That's a good enough reason for me! Thing is, we live in an apartment. With a rabbit. So maybe we'll get a beagle in 5 to 7 years' time, when we'll maybe live in a house with a big garden!


*breast pump photo from Philips online shop. Puppies photos from Project Lightning's Facebook page. Don't forget to "like" Topaz Horizon's FB page!

I just realized that when the GoDaddy reminder came in my inbox. Time to pay for another year's domain use!

While this blog has been up since May 24, 2006, I actually started blogging via Friendster in May 2005. So I've really been blogging for 5 years now. But my blog used to be too honest, too raw, too... me! Har de harhar, not that I'm saying I'm fake now; just saying that I've learned to edit myself and not to spill every little emotion on cyberspace. That, my friends, is a very bad idea, and I can say that with conviction because I've hurt a lot of people and got hurt myself just because I was careless.

Anyway, on to the present! To celebrate, I created a Facebook page!!! I really dunno if I did it right but this link should get you there. If not, just type "Topaz Horizon" on your FB search and the page should come out. Pleeeeease like me!


While I've been blogging for a while, it's only now that I really feel like I'm a blogger. For one thing, bloggers now are recognized as the new media. Events and press conferences now aren't complete without bloggers. I feel a bit weird sometimes because I'd get two invitations to the same event addressed as "Frances Amper Sales, OK! editor-in-chief" and "Frances Amper Sales, Topaz Horizon" (or "Beauty For A Living")!

I'm glad that my blogs are getting popular. I feel like I'm being recognized as a person. What I mean by that is, as an editor of a magazine, I'm usually addressed in the context of my work, usually very politely and in a very business-like manner. With my blogs, people see me as a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a homemaker and now a mom-to-be. People see the person behind the editor-in-chief, and this is really okay with me. Because when I'm no longer editor-in-chief (let's face it--this gig can't last till I'm 60!), I don't cease to exist in people's minds because they already know my other roles. And that's a big relief! 

How about you? How long have you been blogging? And how do you feel about blogging as the new media?

Weekends are much more precious now. In a few weeks, it won't be just Vince and me anymore. There'll be the baby, the maids, the friends, and relatives... That's a good thing, of course, but Vince and I happen to be loners. We're quite anti-social although when we're forced by our work/family/friends to attend events, we do try our very best to be friendly! So the prospect of not being alone for the next 20 or so years is quite mind-boggling.

So today, one of the last few Sundays where it's just him and me, we spent it just reading, playing video games, eating, and chatting. Such fun! When the kid comes, we'll have to spend more time with family and the community. Weekends will be spent for the kid's entertainment--educational trips to museums and zoos, fun trips to amusement parks... I'm already tired just thinking about it.I am not being resentful here, not at all. It's more of I'm marinating in the time Vince and I have alone but, at the same time, anticipating the little one's arrival. It's so strange and scary and happy all at the same time!

Speaking of family trips, here's one we had last November at Tagaytay: