TOPAZ HORIZON

Okay, back to regular programming!

I promised myself I was going to spend more time with my family. So just this Sunday, when my sister Jacqui had to go to Divisoria to buy some props and costumes for her thesis play (she's taking Theater Arts), I tagged along. We girls figured there's nothing like shopping to distract us from our despondent mood. Plus, Mama loved to shop second-hand and inexpensive places so we felt like shopping would be like being with her. I also know about Divisoria's incredibly cheap prices but I've never actually been there (just once , and it was very very briefly). Well, let me just say everything was absolutely dirt cheap and everything was cheap and dirty! Sigh...

Anyway, part of Jacqui's costume included eyeglasses. If you remember my post on the funny yearbook photos (scroll way down for a giggle), I said that cat's eye frames look good on me and made me think about resting my eyes from my contacts and just wearing glasses again. And I found a really cute pair of eyeglasses there. It cost me PHP 150 or a mere USD 3.20! Well, the cheap frames were a bargain and I love how they make me look very severe and serious! However, everyone I told about my find warned me that as soon as I bring it to the optometrist for the prescription lenses, the plastic frames are sure to break. Hmmm...

So I turned to my online shopping obsession--the solution for my can't-find-anything-here dilemma. My search led me to Zenni Optical, a website that sells really cool eyeglasses. I also checked if they can be trusted and according to Fox News and consumer advocate program Clark Howard Show, Zenni's pretty okay! They have a wide variety of frames and these are my favorites:





Best thing is they're all just USD 8 each. So still very inexpensive but the durability is guaranteed. Sigh, with all the economic troubles these days, we really have to be more careful with what we buy!

"Man's mortality remains a gift which goes to the very heart of his being and points his will in the right direction... From a Christian perspective, the 'ultimate blessing' of the gift of death was not the extinction of life but, paradoxically, the fullness of life... Life, like death, demands the surrender of all."

Mama was buried yesterday. It was a happy send off! The past few days have been filled with singing and laughter. Tears, too, of course. It feels so strange to have her gone. But as Christians, we firmly believe that she is now in heaven with her Lord Jesus, so there is a happiness we feel for her soul and a sadness only because we miss her so.

About a thousand people paid their last respects to Mama. That's a rough estimate. People kept pouring into the chapel throughout all hours of the day. Each one had a lovely story to tell about Mama. There was even a woman that Mama just met two weeks ago (Mama asked to share a table at a restaurant) and she came because she said she wanted to tell us how absolutely blessed she was when she met Mama. Strangers kept telling me that they met Mama briefly at a mall or a lobby somewhere and how her smile was unforgettable and how Mama cheered them up, telling them, "I'll pray for you." I am so flabbergasted at how Mama affected people!

We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Because my Mama loved music, people got up to sing, play musical instruments, and dance! It was amazing. It was like a four-day concert of the very best musical talents. A choir filled the room with their voices. My younger brother wrote her a song, which got everyone crying. Papa's own song for Mama had everyone in tears, too (yeah, that just killed everybody). But Mama would not have wanted us to be sad so the tears had to be wiped away and everyone was encouraged to sing and sing. It was such a celebration of Mama's life. She would have been absolutely thrilled!

She also looked fantastic. I kid you not. Someone said, "She's the best looking dead person I've ever seen!" Even my makeup-artist friend took one look at her and said, "She looks flawless!" People who saw her kept exclaiming, "She is so beautiful!" I know it sounds disrespectful but it's true--Mama looked so lovely, it was unsettling. She looked like she was just sleeping and having a very good dream, too. We all kept staring at her in disbelief. In fact, my little niece kept knocking on the glass to wake her up. Poor thing... Indeed, we all are convinced she died happy and at peace and she must've seen God just before she died because her face was so radiant in death.

The past few days have been a blessing truly. We feel a sadness of course but we also feel peaceful and filled with joy. The love people have shown Mama and our family overwhelms us so. She gave her life fully to Christ, her family, her friends, even to complete strangers. She surrendered her all. She never held back! And now, in death, life rewarded her just as passionately. May we all live our lives as fully as she did.

Just came home from a L'Oreal Professionnel party. It was sooo fun! The invitation said to come in your best spy outfit but I totally forgot and wore my sack dress instead. So everyone looked amazing in black sexy slithery things while I looked like a sack!

Anyhow, the party was to introduce the Autumn/Winter hair colors—mysterious looks mostly (hence the espionage theme)—and L'Oreal got the best hairstylists in Manila and Cebu to create wigs for the guests! And that was when things got interesting. Here I am getting prepped for the photo shoot:



And here are the results!




Which ones do you like? I'm totally digging the blond crop but when I showed the hubby my pic, he went in absolute shock: "Yikes! No! Please no!" Harhar. He knows I've been dying to cut my hair forever. I don't like long hair on me at all!


Oh, the dress is called my sack dress because it is the color of potato sacks and feels like one, too. I just wear a slip underneath so I don't feel scratchy. I bought it because... well, ever heard of that saying, "She's so gorgeous she can wear a sack and still look great"? Well, darlings, this sack literally makes me feel that way!

Okay, that last post was way too serious but something we must all take very seriously. I've already gotten the list of congressmen who authored/sponsored that Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Bill and I will post their names and photos soon! Do NOT vote for these Pharisees!

Now, back to regular programming...

As you know, I love to shop online. I just found this fabulous shop called Urban Original. O. M. G. That site is, for me, pornography. I just got so turned on by all the yummy shoes, I nearly fainted with pleasure. There are so many fabulous shoes and they're so cheap, too! I had too many moments where I had to stop and blink hard because I was getting dizzy with desire.

So anyway, I've picked out the ones I really want. I'm going through a prim-and-proper shoe phase. These days I kinda like my feet covered up. Must be because of all the Fall fashion in the magazines... or the fact that it's rainy season here and I walk to work now so I hate getting my feet wet! Anyway, these are my finalist babies. Help me choose!

So! Which ones? All?!? That would only cost me USD 93, plus shipping (yes, they ship to Manila!) so only about USD 130 (PHP 6K++) so the shoes come out as only PHP 1,200 each pair!!! Why, I do believe I'll take them all. What do you think???

P.S. I kinda also like the multi-color multi-strap crocodile heels. They're funky, although I just know my husband will think them horrendous. Should I include those, too?

*all images from Urban Original website. Please shop at their store!

UPDATE: The hubby thinks I need to replace my two phones because they're 3 and 4 years old. Yeah, my Sony Ericssons look really beat up but they still work perfectly and don't give me any trouble at all! Hmm, for the same amount: 5 pairs of shoes or 1 new phone? Man, I don't even know why there's a debate! Still, in a marriage, the budget's not mine and mine alone anymore. So, dear shoes, another time!