Ready to Tackle 2014!

So it's a new year again. A fresh start for everyone. Have you listed down your resolutions? Well, I've personally stopped listing down mine a long time ago. But what I do is draft a plan for the year. Last year was a grand one that was put t a halt because I had to make a big room for a major change at work.

For 2014, I still am making plans. But nothing grand. I do not want to be overwhelmed this time. Just one project every quarter.

Q1 - Herb Garden Project. I've been keeping a Pinterest board for that project since the beginning of 2013. I hope to finally start that this weekend.

Q2 - Baking lessons. Tibs bought me a gas oven as a 2013 parting gift (also to commemorate all of the hardwork I've put in 2013. I plan to learn how to bake in Q2 in preparation for the kid's birthday as I want to make a homemade birthday cake for her this time.

Q3 - DIY Party for Maia's 6th birthday. I plan to do more crafts this quarter, improve on my artistic skills since I'm not really very creative. I'm one of those moms who really thank God for Pinterest. I want to do more DIYs this year. I want my little girl to feel I've put in more effort this time to make her birthday party more special.

Q4 - Home improvements. I plan to repaint our house this year. The last time we had our house repainted was Oct 2008 when I gave birth to Maia. I think it's high time we have it repainted. I've been planning to repaint it with teal. But the 3 of us will take a vote. We'll see how that goes.

That's how rough my plans are for 2014. Not filled with details but I'm just happy I got to list them down. I need to be constantly reminded so I'm posting them here.

How about you, have you drafted a list? My friend Toni's goals for 2014 are very inspiring. Go check it out here.

Holiday Rush

Exactly a week to go before Christmas day and how's everything been so far?

From my side of the world (or country or town), things are starting to mellow down. Work is still pretty crazy as we're nearing the year end closing. But things that were unclear to me at the beginning of the month (most especially) are starting to take some form of certainty, and well, sense. Comforting thought although the deluge of new challenges ahead still makes me a little nervous. But nervous (just a little pinch of it) is always good news for me. That means I am taking the commitment to heart. And that I will pour blood and sweat over it. Good news really for my bosses most especially :)

Moving on, I am missing blogging so much. But of late, I found myself running out of things to write about. I don't know if it's the crazy schedule that I've been having or finally embracing the fact of my kid sort of detaching from being the baby to a fully-grown preschooler therefore signalling that I stop documenting the nitty-gritty happenings of her young life. I don't know really. Whatever it was, I just didn't feel the need to vent or talk anymore. Come to think of it, despite the craziness, I felt contentment. 

Or maybe I should thank my husband. He's probably been more available to talk to these past weeks and maybe just maybe that explains the peace. (Good job husband!)

Funny you think, how I would put all my holiday happiness card on
one boring looking cabinet set But this cabinet set was long awaited (like about 4 years)
*i know that top molding is kinda off* (but it's the husband's project so I have to respect his taste)

Also, I am also beyond happy at finally seeing our cabinets installed. The minute I saw them hang over the wall, I blurted out: "Wow, the house now feels more like a real house". That solicited a glare from the husband though. When the carpenters left, he asked me: "how exactly does a cabinet turn a house a real house?". (men are indeed from Mars - or at least in this particular situation)

Well for one, the house looks more organized now. And having these hanging cabinets enabled us to move items that used to occupy the floor. Now we have more room to move. Not exactly a lot, but at least we have MORE room. And that's a good thing, right?

I'm not exactly sure how we can push through with the repainting project now that my schedule has changed (I need to come to work a few days after Christmas, bummer eh). We might end up pushing that project to next summer but at least it's in the pipe line already. 

I just have a couple more Christmas parties lined up (the difficult ones are now over, whew) and I can finally look forward to a little rest. As you know I'm really not fond of parties but they are a requisite to the merriment of this season so I'm just going with the flow. I am really in no position to retort as I am now seeing how the kid LOVES joining parties. So yes, I'm all for the fun of parties if it makes my kid happy. 

How about you? Has the holiday rush been good to you?

Re-assessing Priorities

At the beginning of this year, Tibs and I felt we are finally ready to get pregnant again. I never thought that day would come but we just woke up one day and felt that sense of readiness. Yes, its true that really happens sometimes. It was funny at first because last year, each time we'd bring up the topic of having another baby, Maia would blatantly refuse to move forward and would insist she doesn't need a sibling. So we didn't consider. But it started unfolding towards the end of 2011, when Maia would often yearn for company and would seek her village friends and cousins. Maybe that tickled our subconscious and started us rethinking but I guess what matters to us really is that we felt that readiness that we initially thought would never come.

So timely was this plan to get pregnant again because my yearly visits to my doctors were coming up and I had the perfect opportunity to get everyone's blessing before we really consider making this a part of this year's plans. My OB was the first to give her blessings. She actually wanted us to work double time since she doesn't want me getting pregnant past 35 considering my medical history. She wanted to avoid age-related complications and risks. Next came my surgeon and yes she agreed with my OB-Gyne. She agrees, I'm still in perfect shape and should really try to have another baby. Then everyone else gave their go - Cardio, Neuro. It was happy news for us. 

And so we begin. Wish us luck!