i am woman, hear me rawr!

It has officially begun…the Starbucks Christmas Craziness Every year, like clockwork, I go all gaga over the holiday promos and beverages of Starbucks, and more importantly, I get all excited for the annual planner Starbucks offers.

This is one of five planner designs available this year. I’m so thankful to my friends because they helped me get this quite quickly! Hehe. I admit that I do not really get to use the planners much because I’m not much of a planner, so to speak, but I do have this extensive Starbucks collection. I have about 80 Starbucks mugs and tumblers from all over the world and of course, the yearly planners since 2005. They’re all kept in the cupboard at home but soon they’ll need more space! I wish I had one of those glass cases like in schools that can hold those  sports trophies so I can display them properly. As for now, the cupboards got to do

Bookmark It

I am  not a very big fan of spas but I do enjoy a good massage from time to time. I prefer having them done at home, though, mainly because I get too self-conscious about doing these things in public places. Although, yes, I do know that many spas have great facilities and that it is quite “private”. Nonetheless, I like home service better.

A few weeks ago, however, I finally decided to give the Mandarine spa near my yoga place a try. I tried their hand and foot reflexology combo package. All I can say is OH MY GOSH. It was soooo worth it. It cost about Php 800 for the 90 minute treatment, but like I said, it was worth it. I don’t really like those exfoliating scrubs (I think for some pricier spas they even offer scrubs with dead sea minerals) because I get tickled but when they did the rub on my hand, it was soooo nice I’d love to go back soon and get another treatment

Bookmark It

A few weeks ago, I decided to buy myself a new bed. It was quite a random decision on my part, and to be honest, it was an impulsive one. Nonetheless I went with it and never regretted making such a choice. Over the long weekend, it finally arrived and since I had a new bed to put in my room, I decided to might as well do a little room makeover. I rearranged the furniture, cleaned out the stuff in and around my closet, and even unearthed a whole bunch of stuff, such as curtains and quilts, that made my room look much homier.

I decided to place the bed near the windows, as opposed to where it used to be which was at the corner by the wall, and so I needed to hang up some curtains, especially since I do get the morning sun in that side of the room. By the end of the night, this is how my room looked

Pretty, right? But yes, I do realize I need new curtains. I do think those are so old fashioned and outdated already. Maybe that will be my next project And the cross-stitched quilt!!! As for now, this will do

Bookmark It

Yesterday I had the pleasure (and honor, I must add ) of checking out Beyond Yoga, one of the newest yoga studios to open it’s doors in the metro. My dear Yin Yoga teacher, Dona Tumacder-Esteban (who also happens to teach there), took me along for the ride and I got to attend two classes in this pretty, pretty space.

I wasn't kidding when I said it was pretty, right? Even the bathroom was SOOOO pretty

Classes start as early as 7am and there are about3-5 different schedules and an array of yoga styles to choose from. I got to attend the Hatha class with Johan and the Yin class with Dona. Other classes include power yoga, vinyasa, hot yoga, ashtanga and yoga basics. Drop in rates are Php 450 per session. Weekly, monthly, and yearly unlimited packages are also available.

In between yoga classes, the studio also offers dance classes, such as Belly Pop, Belly Dance and Zumba. Lockers and showers are available for your convenience, and should you be hungry after the practice, they also have a little cafe in the premises.

As for my experience, well, the yoga I loved, the dancing…well, I don’t dance, right? Haha. I skipped that even though Dona was cajoling me like all hell to try it out. It looked fun though. I will write more about my experience of the hatha class (I’ve already written much about yin after all!) in my diet and fitness blog, so do watch out for that I’m just a little too achey to do it now, hehe. Kinda rediscovered my core yesterday and well, suffice it to say I kinda forgot how that felt!!!

I must admit that Beyond Yoga is (pardon the pun) beyond far for me, especially since I live in Parañaque, but it surely was well worth braving the distance to check it out. I am soooo looking forward to the opening of their Antigravity Yoga classes and even if it is very far, I would definitely, definitely love to try that one out. Let’s just hope I don’t get too hooked…I can’t afford the gas and toll expenses harhar. Then again, as my friend said yesterday, kung nakakagimick naman tayo sa Morato, why not come for yoga diba? HEHEHE!!! So, yes, maybe now I have a new reason for going to Tomas Morato!

Beyond Yoga is located at the 3F Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato Avenue corner Scout Madrinian St., QC

Check out their website at www.igobeyondyoga.com or contact them via mobile at 0917-5BEYOND (0917-5239663). You can also follow them on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/IGoBeyondYoga) or like them on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/IGoBeyondYoga)

Oh…and on a random note….yesterdays practice at Beyond Yoga made me soooo want to get a Manduka mat….I so wanted to roll one of them up after the practice and tuck it in to my bag hehe. Joke They do, however, sell mats and other yoga merchandise. I made it a point to not even ask how much that maroon mat was because knowing me, I would have given in to impulse

Bookmark It

Groupons will be the death of me I swear. I should really unsubscribe from all these new group coupon sites I have signed up for. Sure, I get really good deals because of it but since it is so darned accessible, I keep spending my money! With these sites users can get great vacations, overnight stays, discounted meals at top restaurants, and even all sorts of gifts for whatever occasion, be it Christmas or for your wife’s birthday, and with Paypal or online payments, how much easier can it get right?One of my favorite purchases thus far was an overnight stay at one local hotel. It sure was a great weekend getaway!:)

Bookmark It

I recently wrote about how people have been asking me if I would consider teaching yoga. Today I attended a yoga immersion workshop (which is technically for teachers but it is also quite beneficial to those who want to just go deeper and explore the practice for their own benefit, just like me) and I was so touched by what my partner in the practice said. She told the teacher that I had a good touch when I adjusted her during the poses. Woot

I still love my teaching jobs, don’t get me wrong and it’s not like I’ll drop it anytime soon for another one, such as those Technical Recruiter Consultant Jobs that keep popping up on my Jobstreet account because of my supposed credentials. But maybe Teacher Ria can go yoga teaching, whatchathink???

Bookmark It

Back in the day when I believed in fairy tales, love at first sight and forever-happily-ever-after, I started a little project. I decided I wanted to make a quilt, one to lay on a baby’s crib.

Suffice it to say there hasn’t been a crib, save for that purple plastic box lined with old towels and rags when Joe arrived. And so I packed away that dream of a pretty little quilt for a teeny tiny bed and forgot completely about it. Granted it took a long, long, LONG time to forget about that particular dream (perhaps more like the ideal picture of that dream), but eventually, I did forget. I never did stop dreaming of the baby, I must admit, but the image of the family in my head I did  let go off eventually.

Today as I was weeding out my closet, tucked in a little box in the corner that I hadn’t seen in say, four years or so since I packed it away there, I came across the little project I had started.

Hmmm….When I first saw it, I drew in a sharp breath and well, to be honest, didn’t know how to feel about it. Was I happy, was I sad, was I hurt?? I dunno…seriously. But after taking in several deep breaths, I looked through what I had done and felt myself smile a bit. And as I browsed through the pieces, I got a text message from my friend saying my new bed is due to arrive on Saturday. Maybe it’s time to see this project through…it may not be for a baby’s crib, but maybe it was meant for me, to remind me to keep on dreaming, and more so, to believe that, although forever’s aren’t always forever and happily ever afters aren’t always the way you think or imagine they are, dreams do come true…somehow, someday, in the way that’s just right for you.

And the thing is, you’ll never know till you get there. So just keep dreaming, Ri, keep dreaming and stop packing it up in boxes when it doesn’t work out.

random comment….I was tamad to fix the exposure of the shots hehe…it looks better in person, I promise

Bookmark It