TOPAZ HORIZON

I haven't been to Boracay since 2004. Don't feel bad for me, folks, I'm not a beach person. But 6 years away from the most famous beach in the Philippines is starting to feel wrong. My days these days have been filled with work, clinic appointments, inquiring after medical and life insurance quotes, reading pregnancy books, hugging the toilet as I vomit my meal yet again... So, before Jelly Bean takes over our lives, I think it's time for more getaways (yes, more trips aside from Tagaytay and Cebu!). And if I'm lucky, I can go have an all-expense-paid trip to the island!

Boracay Packages is having a fabulous contest open to everyone in the entire world! In celebration of its 5th anniversary (hey, it's the 5th anniversary of OK! Philippines, too!), the site is treating 2 people to a 5-day stay at the lovely Le Soleil de Boracay! Here are the details:


WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating its 5th year in business on July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us. We decided to give away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5-Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package:

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5-Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash


Oh, I want to win this! To be honest, it was the Philippine Airlines aspect that won me over. Really don't want to fly on Cebu Pacific anymore. But that's another story for another day! Let me just look for my ancient Boracay photos so you can see how much I enjoyed Boracay. And that's coming from a girl who hates sun and sand!

If you want to join the contest yourself, click here!

Mariel and I were at Kate's atelier and we had such a fun time just choosing cloth swatches, designs, accessories. Well, the truth is Kate drew and drew and Mariel and I just oohed and clapped in delight. Why were we there? Mariel's wedding is coming up! So excited for my dear friend.

So I had my measurements taken for my gown and, let me tell ya, I'm a little alarmed at my size. Everything's about 3-5 inches bigger. Good for the boobies but the waist and hips? Yikes! It's not that I'm being vain. It's more like I feel this is a stranger's body. Last time I checked, my waist was 26; now it's 31! I guess if it was a gradual gain, I'd think nothing of it but, my goodness, every time I look in the mirror, I do a double take, "Who's that?!"

For the first time in my life, I've started thinking seriously about exercise and diets. I look at the Kardashian sisters' bodies for example (here's their pic when they did a Quick Trim review) and I find myself wondering if I'm ever going to need to work hard to get thin again.All my mommy friends tell me--almost gleefully--that, "No, you'll never get your body back!" and I feel a little sad. Not because I'm vain but because I like my body--the skinny, flat-chested, bony-kneed me. It's who I am and, despite being taunted for being a skeleton all my life, I really like my eat-all-I-can-yet-remain-skinny self.

I've always been super thin. I can spend the entire day at the buffet and not gain an ounce. I've never owned a weighing scale but, now that I'm pregnant, I got a nice bathroom scale that I step onto every morning and evening. That needle has climbed to 112 lbs. That's way beyond my average weight of 100 lbs--which is my 30's weight. In my 20's, I was an average of 95 lbs. In my late teens, I tipped it at 90 lbs. Nope, no eating disorder. My family and I are just naturally skinny. My husband is slim, too.

At the OB's office last week, my OBG told me I'm gaining too much weight and put me on a diet--more leaves and salads and grains, no more sweets and fatty stuff. I'm not even a fan of sweets and fatty stuff! I'm already eating less than I used to (blame the nausea)! Where on earth are the pounds coming from?

Curiouser and curiouser indeed. In other news, we're very excited about the baby. Vince says he can't wait to see me get big. I also want to see myself get big, but in the boob and tummy areas only. I'd like to look like Nicole Richie when she was pregnant. This is what I expect actually since my mother, when she was pregnant, always looked like she just swallowed a basketball. But with my fast weight gain and my OBG's confirmation that I am indeed piling it on, I don't think I'll be anything like Mama!

Thanks, GQ! Any magazine with Johnny Depp on its cover is the perfect magazine cover really. What a dreamboat!

I think I'm finally enjoying my pregnancy. I say that cautiously because, well, I never know when the nausea will strike. Well, I do know now when it will strike--after I take my prenatal vitamins--but the nausea has indeed lessened. Plus, I have more energy and my acne is clearing up (thanks to Murad and VMV, damn expensive but working!). What I'm really happy about is the "less nausea" part. That has got to be the worst thing ever about pregnancy. However, ask me again when the varicose veins, stretchmarks, fat, and labor come!



Anyway, right now I'm thinking about that whole Kris-James-sugod the fan issue. So weird that after she goes on and on righteously saying "I'm a wife. I have to protect my marriage!", she announces just as righteously to all and sundry that she's now separated from him. Er, I thought she was saving her marriage? Let me be clear on one thing: I'm a wife, too, so I have no issue with Kris confronting that Mayen woman. Mayen threatened Kris' marriage and it is only right that Kris go and annihilate the threat. But now that she has, what does she do? She leaves. What the hell was all that fuss for then?

Let me tell you how Vince and I see marriage. We see ourselves as a pair of scissors. Separate, we are each a blade--we each have our own purpose; therefore we are not meaningless individuals. Together, we still have the same purpose but we work together towards one goal. And whatever comes between us, we destroy. This we both agreed on--for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do us part. Only death will separate us. That's the plan. There is no other plan.  

Let me tell you about another couple with no other plan. When Playboy asked Will Smith if he and wife Jada signed a prenuptial agreement, he replied, "No. I don't even like the concept of a prenup. The idea is that this is going to work out and we're going to be together forever. I am the type of guy who doesn't have a plan B because plan B distracts from plan A."

Those are wise words for marriage and for life. Dream big. Let go. Jump in. Commit. Don't think about second chances. Think: This is it!

Life is about commitment. Freedom comes only with commitment. When I married Vince, I finally became free from insecurity, jealousy, doubt and fear. I know he feels the same way. We are free to love each other, to kiss, to make love, to get pregnant, to live the way we want because we committed our lives to each other. Why would I want to give that up? That is also part of our vows: To not just cherish but also to protect our marriage. So believe you me, if anything dare threaten my joy, I will rise up and crush it.

I know this announcement is 18 days late. That's because only 8 people joined my OK! contest so I figured that I'll reward all 8 ladies with an amazing beauty cream each! While I'd really love to give away grand prizes like a trip abroad (I hear that a stay at the Outer Banks rentals is exquisite in the summer), I'll have to content myself and my readers with the best face creams on the planet! Not bad, not bad. Et voila--I finally have them all here (with my amazing January issue!), and they are yours, my dearest ladies!

The prizes are (I arranged them with the most expensive product on top):
1. La Prairie Creme Cellulaire Platinum Rare

2. Lancome Renergie Morpholift Nuit Overnight Regeneration Cream

3. Lancome Renergie Morpholift Advanced Contour Serum

4. Shu Uemura B-G Reinforcing Gel Cream (with lotion and essence)

5. Kiehl's ACAI Damage-Repairing Serum

6. L'Oreal Paris Derma Genesis Cellular Youth Creator Day Creme

7. Avon Anew Rejuvenate Flash Facial Revitalizing Concentrate

8. Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Minimizing Lotion

And the winners are (just match your name with the numbers above!):

Congratulations! Kindly email your your full name, shipping address and contact numbers to frances@topazhorizon.com so I can send you your lovely prize soonest.

Again, thank you for joining my contest and for being ever so patient with me. I hope you've already gotten the January issue of OK! magazine. It is our first and super fantabulous offering for 2010 and it's so super juicy! Grab an issue now while there are still some left!