Goddess, I Am.

If you like to shop as much as I do, never EVER voluntarily mind a booth in a popular bazaar. Really, it’s not healthy coming home with an armful of purchases every night when you’re supposed to be minding the shop. So far, I’ve bought dresses aplenty, swoon-worthy accessories, shirts for The Husband, and a bunch of other odds and ends.

But my absolute favorite is this pair of chocolate brown Gucci loafers that I got really cheap.

They’re knock-offs, of course (I’m not silly enough to presume that I can afford the real thing – yet). Why, I’m not even sure if the design is really part of an actual Gucci collection. They could be MBT shoes, for all I know – I don’t really care about stuff like that.

The only thing that matters to me is that the pair is cute, fairly basic, and uber comfortable. In fact, they’re so comfortable that I haven’t stopped wearing them since I bought them last night.

Best of all, they actually fit. I’m a size 5 (35 in Europe), and for some strange reason, I’m finding it harder and harder to find my size ’round these parts. This makes me think I’ve died and gone to loafer heaven.

Honestly, what’s not to love about bazaars?

P.S. Has anyone noticed that I now know how to put watermarks on my pictures? Lame, I know.

I honestly don’t know anyone who can multi-task better than me. Not that I have any choice in the matter, what with deadlines that never seem to want to get caught, a family that always seems to be doing something or another together, and a husband who refuses to get cheated out of quality time with his wife. Still, I cope very well under the circumstances, probably because I hate being idle and I actually enjoy working my bum off, believe it or not.

The past week alone, however, has seen my coping mechanism take a beating when we decided to showcase and market my sister’s swimwear and clothing line in the IT Park Christmas Nights Bazaar. With my mum about to take the nursing board exam (which ended yesterday), who else gets to mind the shop with my sister but me?

The bazaar is open from 4PM to 12MN. This means hours and hours spent dealing with the most fickle shoppers this side of the equator, hours and hours away from my work, and hours and hours not spent with a very cranky husband.

But really, I wouldn’t be The Queen of Multi-Tasking for nothing. I’ve been taking Octavian with me every day – with a fully loaded Smart Bro prepaid dongle to boot! – so I can surreptitiously run my posting/bookmarking/RSS aggregator software in between dealing with women who haggle with a zeal that borders between ruthlessness and downright mania. Yes, I’m working while I’m “working”, and if I wasn’t having so much fun dealing with people face to face for a change, I wouldn’t be doing it.

Thank heavens, though, that we only signed up for 2 weeks (we’re open only until December 10), and not through the entire month that the bazaar runs for (it’s on until December 23). Fun or not, I will be quite happy when this bizarre bazaar business is over and I can go back to my usual routine. But what I really look forward to most is the chance to spend time having my muscles kneaded into blissful oblivion with the spa filter gurgling soothingly in the background to lull me to sleep.

Yep, the 10th of December can’t come enough! But for now, come see Innuendo Fashion at the Christmas Nights Bazaar in Asiatown IT Park for gorgeous swimsuits, lovely dresses, and oh-so cute sleepwear. You can even get your swimsuits custom made, too, for extremely (and I mean really) reasonable prices. (FYI, the only other “company” we know of that offers such a service in Cebu charges ridiculous prices.)

Or, you can just come over for a chat with yours truly. I don’t bite. And I give discounts.

I have lost the will to live, really I have. All because I think Nestle might have discontinued my favorite milk. And yes, this is a very big deal for me, folks.

You see, I’m an insomniac. And it doesn’t help that I normally get hunger pangs just when I’m about to go to bed. In fact, the slightest sign of hunger will keep me awake till kingdom come. On the other hand, eating before bedtime makes me feel so porky that I end up staying awake and obsessing about it all night. Honestly, I can’t win either way.

So I drink milk. Lots and lots of milk. And my milk of choice is Nesvita Pro-Weight Management. In fact, I’ve refused to drink anything else since I discovered it 3 (or was it 4?) years ago – save for the year I spent in Thailand, that is, when I subsisted on that lovely Foremost chocolate milk . . .

But I digress. I love Nesvita Pro-Weight Management because it tastes so good without being sinful. A glass of which only has about half the calories of a glass of ‘normal’ milk, which means I could drink it anytime I want without feeling guilty.

I drink about 2 or 3 glasses a day, which means a big box usually lasts me about a week or less. That’s not a lot, is it? I couldn’t have possibly consumed every single box there was in Cebu, could I? Because I cannot find a single box anywhere now. And believe me, I’ve looked and looked and looked in every grocery, pharmacy, and convenience store I could find every single day for nearly 10 days now.

Out of desperation, I picked up a box of the Pro-Bone variety, hoping that it would allow me to enjoy the same milky goodness that I’ve come to know and love, but I took one sip and flushed the whole lot down the toilet. I’ve tried going back to Nido and Birch Tree (the milk brands of my youth), but I only succeeded in eating them the same way that I used to as a child. I’ve tried various brands and kinds of fresh milk, too – none of which do it for me because I’m a powdered milk kind of gal.

Maybe I should write to Nestle and beg them to bring back my milk. Surely they won’t ignore me, right? After all, it’s not like I’m demanding an all-expense-paid trip somewhere complete with Myrtle Beach vacation rentals or anything ridiculous like that. I just want my milk, sleep, and my sanity back.

A Plea for Help: If anyone has seen a wayward box of Nesvita Pro-Weight Management, do let me know. Better yet, buy it for me. I’ll pay you back, of course, with interest. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 10 days!

Let’s see what he’s been up to so far.

He’s played ball.

He’s gone a’traveling with Daddy.

He’s made friends with strange creatures.

He’s gone swimming with Nana.

He’s made faces with Mommy.

He’s smiled for Auntie’s camera.

He’s (kinda) caught butterflies with Uncle Steve.

He’s discovered a love for walking.

He’s kissed a girl.

Maybe he’ll get a haircut next?

But then, he’s had worse.

Happy birthday, Xabier. Auntie loves you, little man.

The Husband, he doesn’t read my blogs. Or at least, I don’t think so. I’ve never found any indication that he does, so I suppose it’s safe to assume that he really doesn’t.

Here are 5 things that I really want for Christmas, anyway, on the off chance that he might read my blog. Who knows? He might stumble upon my list while looking for worthwhile Christmas gifts for her – that is to say, ME.

Of course, I could always just tell him, but then, the rest of you, my beloved readership, won’t know what I want for Christmas. I figured I’d make it a bit easier for you, just in case I’m on your Christmas list, tee hee. Hey, a girl can dream!

1. A White 32GB iPhone 3GS.
I love all things Apple. But though I’ve come close to buying one of these several times, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy myself another gadget when I’ve already bought so many this year. I still want one, though. In fact, I’m wanting it more and more every day, preferably one that’s already jailbroken.

2. A 64GB iPod Touch.
Okay, I admit the iPhone is a tad too pricey, but I’m reasonable. I would happily settle for technically the same thing without the phone and camera functions, among others. Naturally, I want the model with the most storage because how else will all the I, Caesar documentaries and Dexter episodes I downloaded fit?

3. An 18-200VR lens, also known as the ‘all-around’ lens.
I knew photography was going to be a really expensive hobby to get in to, so I’m not going crazy on accessories for Caesar, nor do I plan to. I do know, however, that I’ll need to invest on lenses eventually. Of course, it’ll be a lot better to just get one for Christmas.

I want an 18-200mm lens because it’s wide enough for landscape shots when I travel, yet it also takes decent macro shots, which I do more often, anyway. I’m thinking getting a good ‘all-around’ lens for Christmas will help me stop blaming my bad shots on my poor kit lens.

4. A Tenba Messenger Bag in Plum, size small.
I have been longing for this bag since September. It’s a messenger bag that’s designed to carry a laptop, an SLR and 2 lenses, and just about any other stuff one can think of throwing in there along with these gadgets, such as chargers, cables, external drives, portfolios, etc. I’m so sick of having to carry different bags when I’m out with Octavian and Caesar, so this is the bag of my dreams.

As far as I know, only Digital Walker in SM carries these in Cebu. I was about to buy one one day, but they only had the larger size in black. After that, I kind of lost my nerve. At $108.95 (a whopping P7,500 from Digital Walker, for some reason), it does require a bit of courage. But watch the video, do! You’ll know why it’s worth every penny (or centavo).

5. Books aplenty!
To be perfectly honest, I really am probably one of the easiest people to get presents for. Sure, I could harp on about how I’d like to have every single gadget known to man, and sure, I would be very happy to get any one of ‘em, but really, I will be just as happy to get a good book or two.

Because I’ve spent the last 8 months reading ‘em stories of Rome and Caesar, however, I’ve got very specific books in mind because I’ve got a lot of catching up to do on my reading. I’ll probably post a list of the books that I really, really want soon-ish. That is, of course, assuming I don’t get sidetracked.

Goodness, how did my 5-item list get so long? Off to bed with me, methinks.