Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Sparkles

Not all that glitters is gold. But I'm pretty sure that you won't mind receiving some gifts of sparkles during this season. 

Photo: Sparkling Silver Jewelry Set, Rhinestone Swirl & Crystal Necklace & Earrings 503 S

You can't go wrong with sparkles esp. when you choose classic ones that can be worn in any occasion. Or just find out what the birthstone is for your intended person. Mine is pearl. I've learned that pearls are best given as gifts. My daughter's birthstone is Ruby, so it's no wonder that that's her color motif for her Junior-Senior Promenade. 

Here are some more ideas for your gifts of sparkles:

For a list of birthstones and months, visit Birthstones on Wikipedia.

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Peaceful Sleep

Sleep is too precious not to be enjoyed. If you want to gift someone this Christmas, why not give the gift of peaceful sleep. You can always scout around for a new bed, or better yet, why not invest on some comfortable themed cover set? 

They come in a lot of lovely themes. Plus, you have choices that range from babies to adults. I think it's a gift that even I would love to receive! ^_^

Photo: Patch Magic Mount Vernon Queen Quilt, 85-Inch by 95-Inch


Below are some more ideas on themed cover sets.......

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Wisdom

Have you ever wanted to share something different and challenging this Christmas? If so, why not consider giving the gift of wisdom. How? Try giving out puzzles as gifts. There are a few different types of puzzles depending on whom you're giving them to.

Why not give away Sudoku puzzles? They're totally fun esp. for those who love challenges. Pick easier to solve ones for younger children and teens.

Then there are Picture Puzzles. :) They're pretty fun and challenging to solve.

I've always liked Jigsaw Puzzles. I'm sure kids do too! Find age-appropriate puzzle toys that children will like and cherish.



Last but not the least, Crossword Puzzles. My late dad has a fascination for them. He used to answer the one from the daily tabloid. ^_^

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Wellness

Earlier in the night, I was listening to some audio lessons from Spring Forest QiGong. I actually learned about it last year. It's about maintaining health and wellness using the old Chinese practice of balancing and maintaining harmony of one's Qi ("life force"). 

According to the lessons I've been learning, we often times don't feel well because there is some sort of imbalance in our well-being. One way of healing is removing the blockages within our body system. There are some steps involved in achieving this balance and removing blockages. 

I'm totally new to all these, but for all that it's worth, it has helped me achieve a more positive outlook in life. This is because of one quote that I heard from the QiGong Master. "The body cannot make the mind sick, but the mind can make the body sick." Since then, I've tried to focus more on the good and positive things. Even when I'm in pain, like headache or stomachache, I no longer focus on the pain but on healing. So far it has helped a lot. 

Here's a sample video from YouTube showing an exercise called "Breathing of the Universe".......

You can learn more about it by visiting the website too. This is one gift of wellness that I can share with you all. And if you do want to read more about QiGong and its amazing healing effects, you can always grab some of these books.......



or some of these DVD's.......



Here's to a sound body, mind, and spirit! The gift of wellness is perhaps one of the best gifts we can give someone today! ^_^

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Wishes

This post is inspired by a tweet from Fully Booked online earlier. It's about a Christmas Wish List. Do you have one? Time was when I would have one annually. My daughter had one too. She used to write to Santa Claus about what she would want to have. Then we try to fulfill her wishes. That seemed like a long time ago.

I know what I’ll be busy with this weekend, haha! Care to share what’s on your Christmas Wishlist? :) twitter.com/_FullyBooked/s…
— Lucy of Fully Booked (@_FullyBooked) November 16, 2012

I must admit I haven't been much into Christmas shopping or any of the secular materialism associated with the season. Christmas break means the holidays and vacation goes with it. It also means I don't have extra income from my hourly tutorial. So I guess I was never really fond of it. 

What I do look forward to is the "Simbang Gabi." The Midnight Masses -- more like early morning masses -- that start from 16th December until 24th December. To me, Christmas is celebrating life and thanking God for every blessings that come my way. At the same time, it's praying for more blessings to come in the coming new year. What I do like to believe is that my wishes are granted after I have completed the novena for nine mornings. 

Going back to the tweet from Fully Booked, what's on your holiday book wish list? Here are a few suggestions in case you don't have one yet.......


'Tis the season to be merry. But in case you want to make it more meaningful, why not try granting someone's wishes for this season? Christmas is, after all, the season of giving and sharing. ^_^

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Youth

I've heard this once but believe it to be generally true.. "Youth is wasted on the young." Personally, I think that kids and young people these days have so much more resources than we did have when we were their age. Yet a number of them give so much less in terms of effort and appreciation. Seriously, I don't know what's wrong with them. If there is such a thing as a fountain of youth, I probably know some people who would like to be young again. As for me, I'm okay as I am. With age comes wisdom. LOL ^_^ Although, I honestly wouldn't mind waking up one day and finding myself young again, but keeping all the knowledge and learning  I've acquired through all the years. That would be bliss!

Talk about being young again, I remember that when my daughter was younger, she used to love playing with her Polly Pocket toys. It's interesting to see how some things change over the years and still they remain. Of course, in this case, I'm talking about Polly Pocket. I've seen some amazing new playsets that even I would wish I were a kid again so I could ask Santa for a gift.

Amazingly Polly.......

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Memories

It's the season of giving but we don't really need to splurge on lavish shopping gifts. Sometimes, the best gifts are those that simply can't be bought or traded in, like the gift of memories. You may want to gather up old photos that showed fun and laughter and other celebrations. Put them all together in a frame or scrapbook. Then give them out as gifts to your friends and loved ones. This is really a personalized form of gift. I don't know about you, but I like personal gifts. They somehow hold more true and valuable meaning. I certainly would prefer them to recycled gifts from someone's closet. LOL!

Here are some samples of what I mean.......

Special photo frames. Then just add your memorable photos. Voila! Your gift is ready to go! ^_^

Christmas Gift Ideas -- The Gift of Time

No, you probably won't be able to give the gift of time, but there's a more human counterpart to that. One, you can try spending more time with your family and loved ones. That goes for those who are too busy working or earning a living for their loved ones. But do remember that aside from the material needs, there's the emotional and social needs that your family, esp. the little children, need more of -- quality time with their parents. 

On the lighter side of life, I took a look at what I could find on Amazon on nice dress watches for women. I'm not really that particular about the brand. But branded products sometimes have the edge over quality as they do have a reputation to maintain. Here are some of the nice dress watches that I found:

Christmas Gift Ideas -- Favorite Scents

Everyone has a favorite scent that we love. Sometimes it reminds us of happy moments. At times, it's just the opposite. Nonetheless, perfumes, body mists, colognes are just some of the great items for gift ideas this Christmas.

What's your favorite scent? I've a list of a few of them...

1. Gap Dream

I don't know when I started liking it, but it's truly one of my most favorite, if not my only favorite, scent. It's just dreamy!

2. Envy by Gucci

Here's another scent that I totally dig. If I don't have Gap Dream, I'm okay to settle for Envy by Gucci. It has a scent I totally like.



3. Sweet Honesty

I've loved the scent of Sweet Honesty even as a teen. It's just sweet, not too strong or "citrusy" at all. I think it's great for teens and young ladies.



4. Sweet Temptation (Victoria's Secret)

There is something about this scent that I totally like. It's different from the others, but I like it for every day use. It just feels refreshing.



5. Malibu Musk

I remember this scent from my younger years. I haven't seen it in a while though, but I remember liking the scent so much. It reminds me of summer and how great that feels!

Christmas Gift Ideas -- Yummy Cakes!

So, Christmas is just around the corner. Perhaps you're thinking of what gifts to give for friends and loved ones. I'm not that demanding, but know that in case you're thinking of a gift, here's one suggestion I have for yummy cakes.

Some folks love giving cakes. I certainly won't mind receiving a Cheesecake from Mary Grace Cafe. It's so yummy! ^_^

Want to make your own cheesecake? Check out these amazing recipe books:

It's Back to School Again!

Well today marks the return to school once again after the semestral break and the long holiday weekend! It's going to be busy for sure.. not only with school but with another upcoming holiday -- the Christmas season! ^_^
I hope though that my daughter can still insert some blogging time into her tight schedule. If not, I will be more than happy to fill in when I can as I'm also working on two personal projects: 1.) scanning old photos to be stored digitally. Mom has too many albums that need to be organized. 2.) Multiply site will be doing away with its social media features -- photo, blog, video. I have stored quite a number of old photos there so I will need to move them somewhere. Since it's more of a fan site, I've set up a Tumblr blog to store them. It's really like reliving the past and adding lots of new insights. There! I've written about these two projects so I would be forced to see them till completion. LOL! I've also decided that I would be tracking them and updating progress about them on another blog. That way, I will somehow feel I'm going somewhere with these projects. Plus, I will be motivated to complete them in the soonest possible time. 
That's it for now. The night is young, and there are more tasks waiting for me. Till next post! Ta-tah! ^_^

Can You Keep a Secret?

Hey pips! Boy is it nice to be back on track, and since today is a Saturday, I'd like to welcome you guys to the DOM's Saturday's Movie Reviews! Yeah, I guess that was a pretty lame title but hey, I'm just doing my best here you know. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, movie reviews, so what am I going to review today? Well it's titled, "A Secret Affair"

Shhhh.... It's a secret, remember?

So yeah, this movie was really talked about for being... well you know. Anyway, the movie stars Anne Curtis, Derek Ramsay, and Andi Eigenmann. The movie goes like this: Rafi (Anne Curtis) has it all, a loving family, caring friends and a boyfriend to die for and just when she thought nothing could go wrong in her life, things will suddenly change. Anton (Derek Ramsay) is Rafi's boyfriend and soon-to-be husband, however that all soon changes when Rafi unexpectedly backs out on the wedding; forcing Anton to commit a life changing mistake. Sam (Andi Eigenmann) is the woman who comes between Rafi and Anton; she's used to getting everything she wants and she wants Anton. In the end, we have to learn to choose our battles wisely and see if this is the kind of love that's worth fighting for. Directed by Nuel Crisostomo Naval, while the synopsis here was made by me, here's a little trailer for you guys to keep you interested: 

All in all, I find the movie entertaining, especially the dialogues exchanged by the characters in the confrontational scenes, it's what I would call rockin! Aside from the dialogues, I was also satisfied with the ending very much thank you! No spoilers, I just wanted to say that the ending was idealistic based on today's generation and stuff like that. So if you want to know what I'm talking about, go and check the cinemas right now!