TOPAZ HORIZON

All the pregnancy books and websites say that when a woman is pregnant, she has the most vivid dreams. Now, even though I wasn't pregnant, I've always been the type who dreamed the most awesome and fantastic dreams. Now that I am pregnant, the dreams have taken on such a realistic quality that I am often awakened and disturbed, wondering if what I dreamed really did happen. So now my memories are befuddled--I don't know sometimes if something was real or not.

Recently, I dreamed that I traveled to a parallel universe. Before you say, "Well, that's definitely a dream!", science has not dismissed this hypothesis and is in fact mulled over by quantum physicists till now. I've always been fascinated with the multiverse theory and my favorite TV show, Fringe, happens to deal with the topic very well. Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy also presents parallel universes in a most spellbinding way but he didn't end that story so well. Anyway, I'm not going to discuss quantum mechanics, TV plot lines and book reviews here; instead, let's go back to my dream.

In my dream, I went to a universe where Vince was an editor for a small-town newspaper. His life was peaceful, he lived in a lovely cottage furnished with beautiful heavy wood pieces. He was very much like my Vince except that he had a girlfriend that was pregnant and he didn't know if he wanted to marry her. That isn't like my Vince at all!

Of course, when he met me, well, you can't argue with destiny--he felt like all the pieces fell into place and he wanted me to stay in his world and marry him. I became alarmed! I said, "Vince, I am already married to the other you." To which the other Vince replied, "Then it isn't wrong for us to be together because the man you married is also me." I shook my head and said, "You have a girlfriend here and you're expecting a child. I don't belong here. I don't belong to you here."


The dream ended there and when I woke up, I felt so sad for the other Vince. He seemed so lost and grasping for happiness. And I wondered, "Where was the other me? Why aren't they together? Was the other me lost and unhappy, too?" I spent the rest of the day grieving for the other Vince and the other Frances, two souls wandering about their universe, looking for each other.

Yes, it was just a dream but I couldn't shake off the feeling that, here in this world, if Vince and I hadn't found each other, if we had allowed petty fights to separate us, if we had been less responsible with our future, we could also have ended up unhappy.

And so because little decisions can unravel one's life, I will be more careful and be more grateful. We worked so hard for this happiness and it can be undone just like that! I will treasure what I have even more.

Okay, so I know I've been gone forever! Blasted Internet connection! And darn busy schedule, too! But I am back now with very happy news. This is what's thrilling Vince and me to bits this week:

That's Real Living's latest book and my house is the cover!!! Of course, the photo looks much better than the actual thing (see here). That's because they had to style that little space so that it'll be more photogenic. So they fixed the curtains, grabbed the garden stool from the foyer, the crystal vase and Rustan's orchids from beside the TV, the suitcases from under the coffee table, the felt rabbits from the shoe cabinets, and the editorial assistant's bag from her shoulder... Et voila! Now it's cover worthy.

Grab your copy of Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions from your favorite bookstores and magazine stands now for only P195 a book. I'm definitely getting a few! My home just became a star!

Update: The book will be officially launched on June 23, Wednesday, at the SM Megamall Atrium at 4:30 PM. I'll try to be there, of course! If you want to attend the launch and get a free book (Book 4, though), do send an email to abigail.pinili@summitmedia.com.ph to register.

Happy Monday, y'all! I haven't been updating here because all my updates are in Topaz Mommy and Beauty For A Living. I wrote about my surprise baby shower, gifts from NIVEA Baby and my 4D ultrasound results; and also the latest offerings from Kenneth Cole, Revlon, Ferragamo and LUSH. So if you'd like to know what's up with me lately, do visit my other blogs. Thanks!

You can also join my blog's Facebook page. Just click on the badge on the sidebar!

Based on recent blog posts, it looks like I'm swimming in money. So I guess it's kinda strange when I start talking about how baby stuff are so expensive, I don't want to spend on baby clothes, and all my gasps and exclamations over the cost of having a baby. Well, I'll tell you a secret: I really set aside a budget for everything!

I'm not an impulse buyer. I will sleep on something I saw in a shop window for days, weeks, even months! If I really want it, I take out envelopes and mark them: "Topaz Ring," "Maternity Dresses," "Sunglasses," "Eyeglass Frames," etc. So, for example, my budget for maternity dresses is 10K. Every pay period, I will slip in 1K or 2K or P500 in that envelope, whatever amount I can set aside after paying the bills. When it finally reaches 10K, BAM! Off to the stores I go and so it looks like I went on a wild shopping spree!

Then when I say, "I don't have money for that breast pump!", it's kinda true. I just mean the envelope marked "Breast Pump" isn't ready yet. 

Here's another secret: When I go on a spree, I don't bring the cash. I usually charge it to the card so that I collect points. I don't despair because I actually already have the cash to pay for my credit card purchases—they're just in my little envelopes. And I always pay the balance in full to avoid fees and other charges. Of course, I can afford to do that because I've already spent a lot of time saving up for it!

I also usually don't get money from my salary. I use the money I earn from blogging, eBay and writing projects. The money that comes from the paid blogging network I belong to is the best because I feel I get it for free. I just write posts and I get $5 for each blog post. It's a small amount but after a month or two, it really adds up. That's how we buy our Threadless shirts from the US and film nerd tees from London. Blogging money!

So though I might appear I'm throwing away money, I'm not. I scrupulously save every extra peso (emphasis on "extra"!) so that I can shop! It takes a lot of discipline and patience but the reward is oh so sweet!

First, let me establish that I love coloring my hair. That's me in October 2009, the last time I had a color job done at Louis Phillip Kee in Greenhills.

When I was a young girl, I absolutely adored supermodel Linda Evangelista because every time I saw her in magazines, she'd have a different hair color. My Mama was the same. In her family, you see, white hair appears really early so she colored her hair in various shades of brown and burgundy all the time. She was gorgeous!

So when I started sprouting white hair when I was 15, I begged for color. My parents allowed me to do so on my 18th birthday and I've colored my hair ever since! I've been blue black, mahogany, blonde, chocolate, chestnut, strawberry, magenta... The only colors I haven't been are green, pink, platinum and purple!

So my chief agony all the time I've been pregnant is I have been forbidden to color my hair! I've been complaining complaining complaining nonstop about my roots. While other mom-to-be's are happily busy with shopping for bottles and baby clothes or worrying about their health and asking around for medical insurance quotes or even maybe exercising and taking Lamaze classes, I've been obsessing over my roots.

I'm normally not a whiny girl but these past few months, I've been whining about it constantly. My OBG and my hubby refuse to be moved by my whining, however. They are adamant: You CANNOT color your hair!!! So after agonizing over recent photos like this...

... I went to a salon and had most of my hair chopped off! I now look like this:

I actually wanted a Carey Mulligan crop so that all the colored hair will have disappeared but the hairstylist said gently, "You're hormonal. Let's do this gradually." So we agreed that I'll drop by every month for a trim so that by the time I give birth, I'd only have an inch or two of blonde tips.

Argh, il est vraiment horrible! I swear that my first beauty act after giving birth is a complete hair color--deep magenta with strawberry red highlights and mahogany lowlights!