and the survey said...

So, I asked you "Which posts do you most enjoy reading on LifeCandy?" And you came back with...

Your funny family adventures.	10 votes
Your green living ideas.	4 votes
Your natural living experiments (eg. go veg, no-poo, etc.)	3 votes
Your healthy eating and fatloss journey.	4 votes
Your stylish living wishlist gems.	3 votes
The celebrity gossip junk.	2 votes
You told me to read your blog - if I stop, you might hurt me.	3 votes
I just found this place - I'll be back to read more.	3 votes
I came looking for rectum-cloth fetish info - I'm never coming back.	4 votes
Other (Please email.)	0 votes

View this graph online at Pollcode.

It appears that most of you come back for my funny family antics. Well, they produce weird stuff everyday -- and no, I'm not talking bathroom output or crafts -- so I'll have lots of material for you to read.
Green living and healthy living come in second. Natural living and stylish living tied for third.

So, I will still continue to talk about life-improvement, getting healthy, decluttering, going more natural/organic, and other stuff that crosses my brain -- you know, stuff I'd consider "life-candy". Eh? Get it? Life Candy? Ahem, anyway...

Now I must say I'm disappointed that none of the rectum-clothers are returning. But hey, you can't win 'em all, right?

Thanks for your feedback, folks! Y'all rock!

plus I don't smell like BBQ sauce anymore

I don't wash my hair with baking soda and vinegar anymore.

For those saying "What the hell is she talking about?", read this. Go on. I'll wait.

Back? Okay...

Yes, I've gone poo again. As in SHAMpoo. Shampoo, conditioner, styling product -- the whole package. I started on the Saturday just before Christmas, so it's been over a month.

I'm so bummed about this because I had such wonderful results on the no-poo. And I truly tried to continue it.
Through the increasing static, the frustrating flatness, the undeniable stringy-ness, the appearance of a few too many flakes -- all of which started pretty much as soon as the mercury dropped below 0C -- I tried!

For the love of FSM, I TRIED!

But no matter my efforts to hang on, I just couldn't stand looking like this anymore...

Yikes! ...Because in this city, winter is just too dry, and I'm just too Filipino.

Curse you, cruel fate! To be born on a beautiful tropical island only to be dumped in the middle of the frigid, dry, mosquito-infested Canadian Prairies!

Oh, for pete's sake, I need humidity 24/7/365 or else I shrivel up. And end up looking like that.

Ugh, I look like I haven't bathed in a month! I just washed it that morning!

Anyway, after the first shampoo and conditioning, I looked like (brace yourselves) this...

Holy Big Hair, Batman! Okay, it's not as big as my 80s picture. And the picture makes it look worse than it really was. It's just really wavy. Like I'd braided my hair just after showering and went to sleep on it.

But you know, what really rocked my world were the scents!
OMG, my hair smelled so PRETTY! I'd forgotten.

So, I used -- of course -- natural haircare products:

Shampoo: Hugo Naturals French Lavender Shampoo
Conditioner: Aloe 80 Organics Daily Conditioner
Styling Product: Aveda Confixor

Then, blowdry. Scrunching. Remember "scrunching"?

Okay, fast forward 4 weeks. Now, my hair looks like this...

Sorry 'bout the faraway shot. I was sitting at my laptop at the diningroom table writing this post. Too lazy to get up.

So, my hair doesn't feel as light and fluffy anymore, as it did during the baking-soda/vinegar days, but the lack of static, the moisture, the bounce, and the pretty flowery scent make up for it.

For now.

Hair guinea pig, out!

random things about my little dude...

Lam's been sick. A fever of 40C, low energy, and nausea. And we fear it's just the start. A bunch of kids in his class have had the stomach flu. I guess it's our turn. I'm giddy with anticipation.

As a tribute to my little 6-going-on-36yo guy, this post is all about him. Here we go...

1: His daily "uniform": long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and mis-matched socks.

2: Lam was confused when he found out that he couldn't send his classmates emails because they wouldn't be able to read them -- while he was in Nursery School.

3: When Lam gets sick, he likes to sit on the couch under a bunch of blankets and watch NewsRadio DVDs.

4: Lam has his own blog. Sorry, the URL is (sorta) a secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you.

5: Four of his stuff animals are named: (1) DontPet the Lion, (2) Ano, (3) Atteno, (4) Menteleto (Yes, my son speaks English.)

6: He's a social networking fanatic -- He's bummed that the closest thing to Facebook he has until he's 13 is Webkinz.

7: He gets freaked out when suspenseful music comes on during Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends, but he'll watch -- from beginning to end without flinching -- Van Helsing.

Scary spider...

Cuddly puppy...

8: Lam burst into tears when we told him that we wouldn't install Windows XP on his computer -- he later conceded to having Linux installed instead.

9: Lam loves sitting around in coffee shops... with my laptop and a mug of hot chocolate.

10: He has yet to understand "personal space". My boy is what you would call a closetalker. You know, REALLY CLOSE. Like this...

Meme of the Week: SOS

Thanks, Harmzie! xo

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press >> button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag friends: Su, Cyndi, Toni, Zandra, Zandria


IF SOMEONE SAYS "ARE YOU OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Ride wit Me
[Nelly]
Is that the same as "piss off"?

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Pump It
[Black Eyed Peas]
WTF? I like to wear pumps?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Groove is in the Heart
[Dee Lite]
Because Groove anywhere else is so unattractive.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Natural
[SClub 7]
That was a nice one! And quite true.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Spybreak!
[Propellerheads]
To do machine-gun acrobatics in a lobby... and look super cool whilst doing it... with Keanu.

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Don't Speak
[No Doubt]
I type, not speak. Believe me, it's better this way.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Public Affair
[Jessica Simpson]
Really? Do you? It's because of the blog, isn't it...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Butterfly
[Crazy Town]
Uh, "Butterfly", I doubt -- "Crazy Town", most likely.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Buttons
[PCD]
Apparently, I think of scaring Harmzie very often.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
I Like Big Butts
[Sir Mix ALot]
Does this mean my best friend has a big butt? Or that he likes big butts? I don't think he does.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
London Bridge
[Fergie]
My life story is to be married to Josh Duhamel? Meh, I can think of worse.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Most Girls
[Pink]
Because uniqueness is for chumps.

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Yo (Excuse Me Miss)
[Chris Brown]
Does this mean I like girls?

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Give It Away
[Red Hot Chili Peppers]
I think I did! LOL

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Magic Carpet Ride
[Steppenwolf]
Because the limo to the afterlife is so "been there, done that".

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Walk Away
[Kelly Clarkson]
Avoidance, escapism? Telling men to "Ride wit me"?

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
What Would Brian Boitano Do?
[DVDA]
Yikes, really, what would he do? Those triple Axels are freakin' deadly.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Promiscuous
[Nelly Furtado & Timbaland]
Yes, and with the ladies too apparently.

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Ain't No Other Man
[Christina Aguilera]
Okay, this clinches it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Sucks to Be You
[Prozzak]
OMG, so untrue! Sometimes I would truly love to be you, especially if YOU happens to have only 19% bodyfat.

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
SOS
[Rihanna]
I need help. You see it, don't you?

Gong hei fat choi! Congratulations and Be Prosperous!

Today is the first day in Year of the Ox in the Chinese Calendar.

According to EarthFamily.com:

"The OX year is a conservative year, one of traditions and values. This is not a year to be outrageous. A slow but steady year.

This OX year will bring stability and growth where patience and diligence pays off.

This is a year of Harvest - when we reap what we have sown. Take care of business this year, do not let things slide."

From this Rooster to you, I wish you a wonderful year of good fortune and prosperity.

Image by Formulax

week 3: you're in the groove, then BAM!

Okay, so I'm trying to type this post on my slimdown update, and I'm HOPELESSLY distracted by this...



Yes, my pretend boyfriend, Gerry Butler, is on TV right now, and his stunning hottie-hottiness is seriously interfering with my thought process.

Sigh.

Anyway...

This week's workouts have been interfered with as well. Too bad too. I was in the groove with my workouts. The soreness stopped been as debilitating, and my muscles seemed ready for a step-up to the next level. I felt like a cross between Tom Cruise dangling from the cliff at the beginning of Mission Impossible and Susan Powter.

Then the girl thing appeared. Every month it happens. I feel weak, low in energy, and tired. Crabby and hormonal, I've not wanted to do ANYTHING. And Advil has been my friend, a wonderful, dear friend. I love you, Advil!

I'm hoping that, as I lose the fat, I'll eventually get back the problem-free cycles I had in 2006 and before I gave birth to Mini, when I was, uh, smaller.
Meanwhile, I have not lost any more weight. But I have also not gained any weight.

So, I remain...

Total Weight Lost: 3

movies and the books that spawned them: a challenge

I love "Based on the Book" movies.

Some of my favourites: Pride and Prejudice, Excalibur, Dune, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Count of Monte Cristo, 101 Dalmatians, and of course, the Bond flicks.

I see the movie, then I always tell myself that I really should read the book... but I rarely do.

So, for my installment in Shai's 52WoC#38: Join or Start a Challenge!, I challenge myself -- and you -- to...

Read 9 books that have been made into movies.

The rules are easy:

1. Anyone can participate.

2. Choose 9 books that have been made into movies. (9 because it's 2009!)
- You can get some ideas here.
- You can change your list of books at any time.
- It's okay if you haven't seen the movies. Re-reads are acceptable.

3. To join, leave a comment with this post or email me.

4. Finish reading your books by December 31, 2009.
- I'll check in monthly to share my progress... and allow you to share your own.

Easy, non?

Okay, here's MY LIST:

1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (I know this is more than one book, but still)
2. Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes
3. Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
4. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
5. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
6. A Scanner Darkly - Phillip K. Dick
7. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
8. A Room with a View - E.M. Forster
9. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

Honourable Mentions... in case I have extra time:
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells
The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

Okay, now you. :)

week 2: pain for a pound

Yeah, week 2 ended last Sunday, and it's now Thursday. I blame my dishwasher giddiness, sore muscles, and Dora shovels. I'll get my reports out on Mondays from now on. Promise.

Workouts: 4min. tabata and 15min. intervals (alternating days)

I stopped doing hula -- I was BORED! Probably because I'm a hula instructor and crave something different -- and just replaced it with 30s/30s intervals (jumping jacks, burpees, stairs, etc). I'll go back to hula eventually. Maybe.

But really, the week has been punctuated with the PAIN OF SORE MUSCLES! Advil, take me away! But it's all okay -- it's good pain, productive pain. Well, if you get technical, it's actually destructive then constructive pain. Okay, ahem, anyway...

Egg whites, fruits/veggies, and post-workout protein shakes. Having a dishwasher to deal with the blender makes this all so much easier.

But even with all of this -- and the sore muscles -- I lost only 1 pound this week.
Meh. That's okay. Add that to the 2 pounds I lost during week 1, and I'm happy.

Total Pounds Lost: 3

larabars, creamcheese, and shovels -- oh my!

I narrowly escaped being THAT MOTHER. You know, the kind that does her kid's homework for him.

Yeah, well, last week, Lam was given an optional homework project: Make a small house out of any material you want, and discuss why you chose that building material and the pros/cons of said material.
Sorta like a spin-off of The Three Little Pigs.

Due date? Wednesday, January 21, 2009. Yes, folks, it's due TODAY.

Of course, Lam left it to the last minute -- he IS my son after all, and heaven knows that the only way I graduated from engineering was all-nighters just before exams.

Anyway, it was 8pm last night when I asked him if he still wanted to do it. He said, "Oh, yeah!", then PANIC ENSUED.

So, I watched my son run around the house, screaming and looking under the couch cushions and at remote controls for inspiration. WTF?
Lam said he wanted something that looked like bricks, but someone was already thinking of using LEGO. He couldn't use that idea! AHHHH!!!

Then I remembered we had a ton of Larabars. "How about those?" "Sure!"

I cut up the Apple Pie Larabars -- it's our least favourite flavour -- into bricks for him, gave him the cream cheese "mortar" in the plastic bag to pipe it on, and let him have at it.
Then he looked at me with those cute little lion cub eyes and said, "Mama, help?"

Crap.

So, I did get dragged back in, and my son and I put together his little house for him. We did it TOGETHER.
And we did a mighty fine job.

When asked the pros and cons of the building material, he said...

"If you were hungry, you can just eat some of your house. But if you eat too much of it, you won't have a house left."

Couldn't have said it better myself. :)

In other news...

Mini hit Lam in the head with a shovel.

An aluminum and balsa wood Dora shovel.

We saw the whole thing, and it was no big deal. No ER, CSI, or NYPD Blue required. My little Xena Warrior Princess was genuinely sorry, and upon inspection, Lam's naturally bumpy skull turned up no new lumps, so we suspect the tears were mainly of aquatic reptilian origin.

But boy, did he milk it.

keepin' it real

Nie Nie is BACK! She and Mr. Nielson are in recovery (and still in considerable pain), but they're alive, and it's so good to hear from them.
In celebration of her return, I give you my own version of Nie's Keepin' it Real.

This post is to give you a little tour of the real things in my home. Hope y'all like it. :)

I tag all my photomaniac readers! You know who you are. Do it only if you wish, if you have nothing else to post about, or if you want to wow us with your super-organized undies drawer.

Okay, here we go...

1: Kitchen Sink
Beautiful, eh? That's because all the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher!!!



2: Refrigerator
Note the kazillion cartons of egg white and soy milk (oh, we're running out -- need to get more soy).



3: Favourite Room
This should come as no surprise. I love this room now. It feels comfortable and cozy. I just plonk myself on that loveseat with my laptop, and I'm ready to work. Or I cuddle up close with Roomie and/or the kids and watch tv.



4: Favourite Shoes
Yes, I went into the basement to get these from the "Summer footwear bin". I love them, and it makes me sad that I can only wear them 1/3 of the year.



5: Toilet
It's a toilet. Clean. Flushed. No big.



6: Closet/Dresser Drawer
My stuff's on the bottom. Roomie would break his back if he had to bend down there to get his clothes everyday, so his go on top.



7: Hamper
Yeah, we need to do laundry. The tea set? Yeah, they were wet. Nowhere else to put them at the time. I think they're still there. Lemme check -- yeah, they're still there.



8: What are my kids doing
Mini claimed the dishwasher box for her own little cave. She's furnished it with pillows, her jewelry box, stuffies, blanket, and flashlight. She's put a large blanket on top so she can cover up the large open end for privacy.
Now she has a place to get away from it all -- "it all" being her brother.



Speaking of her brother, Lam is still sick. The poor little dude. He still loves going to school, so he must be really ill to want to stay home.



9: Self Portrait
Just a quick shot of me today.



10: Dream Vacation
The Mediterranean. I want to go to Spain and see something like what's in this photo by Pamela McCreight. It's the coastal city of Tarragona, which used to be the Roman city of Tarraco.

he's hot and he knows his way around Max Power's tool

[Updated: I had to change the title because, well, harmzie's proposed title was just too good to resist! Thanks, Girlfriend!]

It's -5C today. Yay! But my son's sick again. Boo! But my dishwasher's installed! Yay!

Yes, folks, my dishwasher is installed. See? If you want to see the flashing lights -- you know, to be sure -- just click on the pic.

Please ignore the chips and dip on the countertop. What? It was Treat Day!

Yes, my dear Roomie installed our dishwasher on Treat Day, but the work he did was certainly no treat. (Nice segue, eh?)

I truly didn't expect him to make time to get the new one in right away. Work's kept him busier than usual.
But he surprised me -- yes, he's awesome. :)

Okay, the story left off with Roomie having just removed the old machine. As mentioned, we suspected that the counter top was attached AFTER the old machine was in place. (The kitchen was reno'd in the early 80s -- the dishwasher was clearly purchased before that.)

Well, as Roomie slid in the new machine, it was painfully clear that the WHOLE FRICKIN' CABINET WAS BUILT AROUND THE DISHWASHER!
In the very back of the cabinet, there's a 4"x5" toe-kick that didn't interfere with the old machine. The new machine? HA!

So, off Roomie went to borrow Max Power's jigsaw, so he could cut some of the toe-kick out.

Huzzah! Presenting the hole in my cabinet! See where Lam is reaching toward the light? Yeah, that's it.






Mini loved having this little window to see her father toil in the kitchen. And she got a good giggle when he reached back to her.

After all the cutting and wood shavings, Roomie then had to make a quick run to the hardware store for some flexible tubing because the plumbing wasn't lining up. Gah!

It took Roomie all day to finish the installation, but he finished it, and we washed our first load last night.

Big love and thanks to Roomie, who then started working on his work after he sent us all to bed.

My kitchen looks beautiful and finished now that the dishwasher's in. One project down -- 4999 projects left to go!

have you made the switch?

Yesterday, I moved my feeds from Feedburner to their new home on Google -- Google bought up Feedburner a while back.

Now, if you have a blog and use Feedburner, be sure to move your feed to Google before February 28, 2009. After that date, your feeds will return either a "404 Not Found" or "301 Moved" response.

You won't lose any subscribers, but your reporting and analytics will need time to catch up.

Anyway, just a heads up. Happy Sunday!

what the *aych-ee-double-hockey-sticks* are you doing here?

Many thanks to Su, harmzie, Cyndi, Marko-Ruckus, SnowBear, Toni, and wyliekat, who responded to my invitiation to stand up and say 'yo' on Delurking Day. You guys ROCK!

Now, I KNOW there are more of you out there. Really. My Sitemeter.com tells me so. My over 30,000 unique views this week wasn't all me! Really.

As you can see, there's a new poll on my sidebar. Now the reason for that is to find out exactly why you read LifeCandy. What do I write about that keeps you coming back?

You can choose more than one answer. And, yes, you can stay anonymous. Plus, it's FR*EE! So, please vote. :)

Deadline: January 31, 2009.

"But, dear Nenette, you who are so cute and adorable, why do you want to know?"

Mainly curiosity. But I also want to know which of my personal life-improvement topics to blog more about: Becoming more green? Simplifying my environment? Living more organically/naturally? Getting and staying fit and healthy? Eating well? All of them?

In addition to the family and "girls' night out" stuff, of course. ;)

You still reading? Go on. Vote.

luckily I have great hand lotion

So, we bought our dishwasher last September, but I still have dishpan hands. Yeah, it hasn't been installed yet. We tend to procrastinate in this household -- a lot.

I still consider procrastination a bad thing -- especially when it comes to delaying the installation of my dishwasher -- but I have to admit that it's saved our butts on more than one occasion. Like the time we had $20,000 just lying around (I must say that I still heart Nortel for laying us off) that we were going to pour into tech stock. If we hadn't waited as long as we did. Anyway, narrowly dodged that bullet.

Back to my dishwasher. No, in this case, it wasn't the procrastination. The old washing machine was just a complete bitch to remove! It's a really old machine, as you can see in the picture here, meaning it had to be wired in (instead of just a regular plug in). And the kicker: it could've been installed BEFORE the countertop was put in place, meaning we would have to CUT OUT THE COUNTERTOP to remove it!

I was seriously having visions of a beautiful new eco-friendly countertop in my kitchen, like this recycled glass and concrete number by IceStone. Gorgeous, eh?!
Or a sweet Tyndall stone slab I can get locally.

Anyway, no such luck. Wait, what am I saying?! We got lucky. Roomie got the offending machine out without problem. See?

And now there's this hole for the new machine to slide into.

When is the new one going in? Probably within the next couple of weekends. So, I see a few more days of dry dishpan hands in my immediate future. And this dry weather certainly isn't helping keeping me moisturized.

Speaking of the weather...

It's F*CKING cold!!! The windchill is back to -43C again. I've caved -- there's no way I'm letting my kidlets are walking out in that cold. Yesterday, Mini came home (Roomie picked up the kids by foot) with a red frozen cheek -- she'd wiped her nose across her cheek, wetting it, and it froze.

And now, Environment Canada is saying that it's going up to +1C by the weekend -- that's +1C!!!
Yeah, nuts.

That's why my family looks like this. Yes, I married a Mexican wrestler, we reproduced, and he looks just like his father.

Maybe my sad, old dishwasher out back is cold too. Perhaps he needs a balaklava.



What do you think?

how does he come up with these things?

Roomie was standing at the kitchen sink. He had just turned on the faucet and was about to put a fresh face cloth into the stream of water.

Me: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Roomie: "Wetting this cloth."

Me: "Yeah, but why?"

Roomie: "To wipe the table."

Me: "Oh! Don't use that. That's what THIS cloth is for." I take the Norwex cloth hanging on the faucet and shove it into his hand.

Roomie: "Well, how was I supposed to know?! For all I know, you wiped your rectum with it!"

Me: "RECTUM? Ugh! If I did, that cloth wouldn't be hanging there!"

Roomie: "Oh, just say it: My name is Nenette, and I hang rectum cloths in my kitchen."

week 1: don't hate me because I lost 2 pounds

Yes, folks, you read it right. I lost 2 pounds. You may now applaud.

Can't tell you how many inches about the waist I lost because I didn't measure that last week. And yeah, that's the measurement that most concerns me -- well, that, and my cholesterol level... which is borderline high.

Anyway, 2 pounds. Not bad for a woman with an insanely slow metabolism[1] who had no muscles to speak of. Seriously, I think I would've lost more pounds if my body wasn't rebuilding muscle.

So, what have I been doing? Well, let me tell you... ("She's going to tell, she's going to tell, she's going to tell..." Remember? From Python's Holy Grail? No? Okay, never mind...)

After the Big Christmas Binge, I've gone back to eating well. About 1500 calories ballpark. I've been eating LOTS of egg white. Cut out sugar. No caffeine. No pasta. Little rice. More fibre. Fruits and veg. More water - I just have to make sure it's all not just before bed! Gah!
Anyway, as far as food's concerned, it's been all common sense.

But the difference has been the exercise. The fat wasn't going to come off until I rebuilt the muscle. I made a schedule...
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Hula & Tahitian Mix, 20 mins.
Tuesday, Saturday: Tabata (squats, push-ups), 4 mins.
Thursday, Sunday: rest

I'm well into week 2, and I'm still keeping up that workout schedule. Miraculous!!!

And after just a week and a half of this, for the first time in over 4 months, I didn't feel fat.
Yeah! I KNOW!

And this amazing feeling has given me the guts to share with you a Before shot.
Check out my friend Jami's Bionic Beauty Gallery! She just started it. Be sure to get your own Bionic Beauty shirt, and you too can have your picture in her awesome gallery.

Jami said I looked adorable (yes, I have fabulous friends!), but you can really see the chunkitude in my jowls and my ginormous boobage!!!

So, go ahead, have a look! :)

[1] - Once again, I don't blame my former CRON lifestyle -- it was my inability to sustain that lifestyle that left me in this mess.

Excalibur! It's Delurking Day!!!

Happy Delurking Day!

Yup, it's that time of the year when we cajole, beg, taunt, harass, threaten, and politely invite every single one of readers to put hands to keyboard, hit the "comment - add yours here" link, and say "hi!"

If you've been here before, commented a lot, are new to this blog (welcome!), read but have always been too shy to say anything, please make your presence known!
It doesn't matter if you just say "Yo!". Just do it!

Now, I would've sent this out earlier, but laptop and I plonked ourselves in front of the TV, and well, Excalibur was on. It was the scene near the end where Merlin tricked Morgana into undoing her spell. You know, smoke was coming out of her mouth... she became an old crone... her son killed her... yadda, yadda, yadda...
Anyway, Helen Mirren played Morgana, but of course, even though I've seen this movie millions of times, her name just wasn't coming to me at the time. So I, of course, had to pull up IMDB.com, and look it up. I completely forgot that Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart were in it too!
Then I had to read up the movie's Trivia and Goofs... of course.

And I somehow think my kids have trouble with focus... sheesh...

I love these... be ashamed to know me... I am...

eTalk, accesshollywood, TMZ, ET, ET Canada (Is it just me or is host Rick Campanelli a tad too perky to be un-creepy? Considerably more intense than his days as Rick the Temp on MuchMusic.)

the smell of gasoline (just like Ali, from whom I stole the idea for this post)

Days of our Lives

Eggo Waffles with cream cheese slathered on top

twitter (yes, over plurk)

A Public Affair by Jessica Simpson

ketchup on everything

infomercials

Maroon 5 (which apparently is soccer-mom music -- thanks for the 411, Harmzie. Gah!)

The Twilight Series

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

Coffee Crisp

Family Feud (Now with John Hurley! New and improved! Richard Dawson without all the cold-sores! No, I don't know if he had cold-sores, but I'm sure there was a good deal of herpes going on with all that smoochie.)

Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron, Jared Padaleki, and Joe Jonas

McDonald French Fries

Justin Timberlake (As a musician, he's pretty awesome -- as a person, I just think he's nice.)

jerky, hot rods, bacon (and other offerings of the land of nitrates)

Supernatural

garlic-fried rice

Pussy Cat Dolls

imdb.com, people.com, and usmagazine.com

when lessons in table manners go spiraling out of control

Elbows off the table. Check.
No singing/humming/rapping at the table. Check. (Yeah, rapping at the table was a problem for a while.)
No dancing at the table. Check.
Use your utensils. Still working on this one -- they're still not convinced that not everything is fingerfood.
Chew with your mouth closed. Check -- most of the time.

Our newest lesson is: No farting at the table.

I never knew this would be such a big problem for us. The modus operandi seemed so straight-forward: You hold it in until you next have to use the bathroom.

Despite the effort, we still ended up with the occasional accidental 'outgas' -- and by 'we', I mean Lam. Yes, it's a proud mom moment.

So, I decided that, if he truly can't hold it in any longer, he is allowed to leave the table, go to an empty room, let loose, then come back.

On this new plan, we've had good evenings, and when it's bad, it's like a revolving door between the diningroom and livingroom. Then there's last night...

The four of us were having dinner, enjoying pleasant conversation, catching up on our day, when Lam jumped off his chair and ran to the livingroom.

Me: "Hey, where are you going?!"

Lam (from the livingroom): "I need to fart!!!"  He returns to the table.

Me: "You should've excused yourself to let us know."

Roomie: "Or you could just try harder to hold it in until after dinner."

Me: "It's good practice."

Roomie: "Yeah, you'll appreciate it when you're older.  Like when you're in your car with your girlfriend. You can't fart, so you hold it until you can stop and tell her that you have to check the headlights or something. So, you make sure you walk ALL THE WAY around the car, then let loose as much as you want."

Me: "Right." At this point, I was foolishly thinking this was the end of the topic -- apparently, I was mistaken.

Roomie: "Just let it ooze out a bit at a time so she won't hear you."  Sigh.

Me: "Or just make sure the windows are closed." Crap, why didn't I just shut up? Now I'm just encouraging them.

Roomie: "When you had dinner at Adam's, did you feel like farting?"

Lam: "Yes."

Roomie: "What did you do?"

Lam: "I held it in."

Roomie: "It's easy, right? Look at me. I'm holding my farts in right now because --"

Me: "Okay, can we please talk about something else at the dinner table?!"

Great. I just wrote a whole post about farts. My pride is choking me.

Image by James Byrum

hm. so, self-indulgence *does* have its limits.

Imagine, if you will, Treat Day. Every single day. For two whole weeks.

Slurpees, cans of pop, boxes of chocolates and candy canes -- ALL DAY, ALL THE TIME!!!

As if the kids needed another reason to think "OMG, I totally love Christmas holidays!!!" They were seriously like little happy piglets rolling in a whole lotta poopage. Okay, I admit Roomie and me too.

Then it happened. We hit the Saturation Point. It happened around Friday, I think: (a) the kids no longer ran at the announcement of newly-revealed/baked/purchased treats, and (b) every picture taken of me was a fat-face shot -- I'd gained enough weight that no angle was a "good angle".

For (a), I present a photo of the Grands cinnamon buns I made on Sunday. Looks yummy, yes? The smell was even MORE awesome.
But get this: the photo was taken 1 HOUR after I pulled it out of the oven!

No one had touched it for a full hour! Crazy, eh?! On a normal day, the whole tray would've been gone in an hour, with one of the kids licking the icing off the foil. And I'm raising barbarians.

For (b), I present... nothing! Pfft. As if I'm going to reveal any of those horrible pictures now. I'm saving all of the frightening fat-face pictures for me to look at every time I want one of those Grands!

So, yeah, with this added motivation, I've started working at getting back my "good angles". Yesterday was Day 1 -- with a good intense hula and tahitian dance workout. Of all the workouts I've ever done, nothing gives a burn like polynesian dance. Seriously. You want to get strong and slim? Join a hula halau!

Holy crap! After almost a year of not doing even a single kaholo, my ass is totally getting kicked! But it's all good. Despite muscle soreness today, I still did my workout. And I'll be doing another one tomorrow. Everyday. Except Sundays. That's Nenette's time!

Don't worry -- you'll eventually see those fat-face pictures of me. As BEFORE shots. When I have a worth AFTER shot to show you as well...

2009's First of Many Memes

It's Friday, and I'm stuffed full of green tea and chocolate. Yes, I said chocolate.
It's okay -- I'm on vacation.

Here's a not-so-interesting meme about me. I found it on Angela's blog.
Feel free to do it too -- just let me know in the comments so we can come to your blog and read it too.

10 Favorites
Season: spring... the few days when it's warm and there are no mosquitoes.
Color: burgundy
Time: 1:02pm... and not a second before.
Food: sushi & sashimi
Drink: green tea
Ice cream: mango
Place: on the couch, under a blanket, surrounded by my kids, laptop nearby, green tea within reach
Sport: dance -- as long as no celebrities are involved
Actor: Gerard Butler -- who is also my secret boyfriend
Actress: Angelina Jolie

9 Currents
Feeling: relaxed and a little tired
Drink: hot green tea
Time: 10:38pm
Show on TV: Futurama: Bender's Game
Mobile used: a sweet black Razr
Windows open: my blogger dashboard, Karen, Angela, thinkin-lincoln
Underwear: black La Senza high cut bikini briefs
Clothes: brown yoga pants, black t-shirt from Pockets, tan sweater
Thought: "My daughter's hair smells so nice."

8 Firsts
Nickname: Candy
Kiss: I don't really remember...
Crush: Paul Fia -- and he's only gotten cuter over the years
Friend: Beth Maglapit
Vehicle I drove: Chevy Nova '74
Job: Avon lady
Date: With one of my sweetest friends Rick M. at the swanky Velvet Glove -- I was 17.
Pet: my pet chicken Manok

7 Lasts
Drink: green tea
Kiss: just today on the cheek from my little girl
Meal: spinach & italian sausage soup
Website visited: IMDB
Movie watched: Iron Man
Phone call: my sister Ning
TV Show watched: "Dragon" on Treehouse

6 Have you ever...
...broken the law: I'm sure I have
...been drunk: countless times
...kissed someone you didn’t know: No
...been close to gun fire: No
...skinny dipped: No
...broken anyones heart: Yes

5 Things
...you can hear right now: my sleeping daughter snoring on my lap
...on your bed: my favourite fluffy pillow
...you ate today: hardboiled egg
...you can’t live without: love -- okay, all together now: "awwww"
...you do when you get bored: surf the internet

4 Places you have been today:
the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, the familyroom, the mudroom... yeah, I didn't leave the house.

3 Things on your desk right now:
earphones, Lego pieces, lip balm

2 Choices
Black or White: White
Hot or Cold: Hot

1 Place you want to visit:
the UK

Will hitting "Reset" rewind time & make me an 18yo hottie again?

So, last night, all 4 of us grabbed our favourite munchies and packed ourselves on the couch to watch Futurama: Bender's Game. We were all comfy cozy (Mini even fell asleep) and together as a family -- the best way to ring in the new year.

Now, it's 2009.

One of the first things I did after I woke up this morning -- with this atrocious "gluttony" headache -- was look at the list of things I wanted to accomplish in 2008. Well, imagine my horror when I realized...

Holy crap! I got NONE of them done!

Not one. Not even the Poker one! -- my 6-year-old can kick my ass at Poker!

Clearly, like many Resolutionists, I didn't take my goals seriously enough, didn't make enough time for them, didn't put in the effort, procrastinated, started doing other projects, and generally, thought "screw you, I'm going to the chocolatorium!".

So, this year, I've decided to make a new, more-realistic list -- not so many projects, a more channeled focus, and tied in with my Things to Do Before I Turn 40 (only 10 months to go!), which are marked in red italic.

The following is My List of 2009 Projects. I will focus only on these projects. And I will be taking YOU with me on this ride with progress posts right here on LC. Okay, here we go...

1) Get down to a healthy 115-118lbs or 21% bodyfat
I've already planned this down to weekly and monthly stages. Eat clean and healthy. Maybe do a detox too after all these chocolate and sweets I've had. And EXERCISE (hula and tabata). So I can proudly get that portrait of myself painted and, you know, wear that bikini by July. :)

2) Speak more Tagalog at home
So my family can finally learn!

3) Pay Big Chunk Off Debts
Meaning: monitoring all spending to find the "leaks", control big and small ways to save, finding better sources of income, etc.
So, my family and I can take a train trip to the west coast this summer.

4) Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
A. Declutter
B. Control Journal or something like it

5) Focus on Writing Projects (aka My Work-At-Home Gig)
A. post regularly on Life Candy
B. start my shopping blog
C. finish my first erotic novel... and freak out my friends who will wonder which characters are based on them! heeheehee!

Okay, that'll do. I'm thinking I can do all of that in the next 12 months. As long as I don't take on new projects until these are done. If I do, you have my permission to tear me new one. Really.

So, how about you? Do you have goals for 2009? What are they?