Goddess, I Am.

Our New Year’s Eve was a rather laid-back, almost subdued, affair. We all missed Mum, methinks. Not to mention her restaurant delivery perks, too, which is probably why we ended up with very little food compared to last year’s food coma – just a lechon (roast pig), two pasta dishes, leche flan, and Krispy Kremes. There were no presents, too (haha). Mostly, it was a night spent eating, talking, playing Monopoly, and lighting sparklers.

Even our usually rowdy neighborhood was a tad quiet. There seemed to be a real shortage of fireworks this year. Or maybe it’s because most of our notorious firecracker-crazy neighbors opted for the pretty, colorful sort this year, rather than the rude and annoying whistle bombs and Judas belts of old. This is a good thing, mind you, because it’s pretty hard to enjoy the New Year countdown when you’re jumping out of your skin every two seconds. So yes, the gorgeous fireworks were a welcome change indeed.

My new tattoo was 2 days old by NYE, so you can just imagine how much it was smarting. Plus I was miffed at having to give up the New Year ensemble that I had so meticulously planned because I couldn’t wear shoes yet. I didn’t feel like taking any pictures at all. I let The Husband take over the photographer duties so he can break in the shiny new hybrid I gave him for Christmas, but he just ended up taking videos of fireworks mostly. Maybe I should’ve gotten him a video camera instead. *sigh*

But the best part about NYE this year was the nephew’s delight at, well, everything. This is the first NYE that the 2-year-old really enjoyed because he is now at that stage when he notices everything around him, so you can imagine what a novelty it was for him to see a pig on the table and pretty lights everywhere. It was muy cute.

Nevertheless, it was a lovely NYE spent with family. And I won in Monopoly for the first time that night, too, so that means I’m off to a good start, yes?

WARNING: Extremely photo-heavy!

So I’ve barely finished going through everyone’s Photo Christmas Cards, and the next thing I knew, it’s 2011!

I have this mindset that every year is a GREAT year (except for a phenomenally bad one a lifetime ago), and 2010 was no different. It was another year of laughter, tears, and everything in between; lessons learned both the hard way and the easy way; and changes both welcome and unwelcome. Suffice to say, 2010 was exactly how it was supposed to be – and then some. And though I know that 2011 will be the same, I CANNOT wait to see what it has in store for everyone!

I don’t think I’m going to make any New Year’s resolutions this year because the novelty sort of wears off after, what, a day? I’ve only got one big plan this year – and that is to LIVE it and LOVE it! ♥♥♥

Here’s a not-so-quick look at the year that was:

From my family to yours, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas is meant to be over, right? Or am I missing something, because why is it I’m still running around like a headless chicken? I was expecting a calmer week, even with New Year’s Eve looming in the not-so-distant future, but nooooo – the malls are still packed (though not as bad as last week’s Black Friday-ish insanity, I must admit), the cab queues are still pretty bad (though not as bad as last week’s mayhem), and I’ve still got a gazillion things to do (though this is pretty much a constant in my life).

I would scream, but really, I’m too exhausted for that, too.

Thank God for delightful little things like these cheap-assed ankle boots and even cheaper fur vest.

Paris postcard top, Topshop; Gray faux fur vest, Dress O’Rama; DIY denim cutoffs; Tan ankle boots and pink socks from the Metro; Scrabble tile pendants from Thimble Cap

How about you? How are you coping with all this madness?

PS. I am now on Bloglovin’ because I’m hip like that. Follow my blog with bloglovin!

The holidays – you gotta love ‘em. After all, it’s that happy time of the year when you can eat everything in sight without feeling the slightest twinge of guilt. In my case, at least.

And so here I am at the dawn of a new year with a head full of dreams and a belly that was full of lechon, pastries, and what-have-yous – and still somehow showing it, several days after the fact.

No, I did NOT eat it all. I had help.

I can no longer ignore the fact that my clothes seem a tad – okay, a lot – tighter, and that I haven’t seen my toes in a while. Methinks it’s time to bring out my hidden cache of the best diet pills ever created for lazy-assed, work-at-home freelance writers like me.

I did consider (however briefly) the idea of hauling my bum off to the gym and sweating the extra pounds away. But I find myself thinking of that disastrous time when I had a gym membership, and I couldn’t help but shudder. You would, too, if you threw up on your trainer’s shoes after 10 minutes on the elliptical machine! I kid you not.

For all I know, I could be very well and truly banned from Cebu Holiday Gym and Spa, anyway. And I don’t want to go anywhere else that doesn’t have a pool. And yes, that’s me making lame excuses not to exercise.

So it’s definitely back to the ol’ reliable for me. And for good measure, I could possibly (highly unlikely, but not impossible) pry myself away from this:

This:

Or even this:

Just wait, this lazy-assed, work-at-home freelance writer will look like this again in no time:

I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. I do, however, make it a point to figure out my goals for the year. What’s the difference? I find resolutions more fleeting – insincere, even. Goals, on the other hand, are more concrete, serious, and often realistic, so I find myself more driven, more inspired, and more determined to achieve them. But that’s just me.

All in all, 2009 was quite a great year for me. No, I did not manage to achieve ALL my goals, but I did accomplish a great deal – some of which were totally unplanned and therefore, pleasantly unexpected! It only makes perfect sense that this year’s goals should be just a tad loftier. In fact, it seems like an insult to the year that passed to regress!

So enough babble. Here are some of the things that I’m hoping to accomplish this year, in no particular order:

1. Get my government paperwork FINALLY sorted out, so I can start processing the PAG-IBIG loan, which, in turn, will . . .

2. Start the house construction, and hopefully, let us . . .

3. Buy a car – nothing fancy, but something that works. I want a Suzuki Swift. The Husband wants a Honda Jazz, or a secondhand two-door Pajero. Whatever it’s going to be, it’ll most likely be secondhand for the rest of the list to come into fruition. (Read on, do!)

4. Have about a million (pesos) squirreled away. How we’re going to do that is beyond me, but it’ll happen, I tell you! And no, robbing a bank isn’t part of the plan.

This year, I hope to do away with unnecessary purchases – meaning, no more gadgets (unless necessary), weekly online shopping sprees for clothes, expensive dinners (do you hear me, T.G.I.Friday’s?), and two-way cab rides (one-way will do).

5. Build Innuendo, especially now that I own 50% of it (yey!). The company was fairly successful in 2009, and it gave us an idea exactly how huge its potential really is. We’re hoping to hit the ground running this year, what with Chris & Berns at Ayala Center’s The Maze now carrying our swimsuits and another bazaar in I.T. Park coming up on January 11 to 24 (I’ll see you there, yes?).

Progress is a bit slow on the Innuendo website, however. I’ve got so much work to do that I haven’t had a chance to sort out the ecommerce fulfillment and even the site design. Plus, we haven’t had a chance to shoot the new collection, so I don’t have photos to post. BUT all these will be sorted out before January ends, AND I’ll be doing a little giveaway on this site, so I hope you’ll watch out for the launch.

6. Travel, travel, travel. The fact that we traveled very little in 2009 was probably the year’s biggest disappointment, but we are determined to remedy that this year. We’re off to Donsol, Sorsogon for my birthday to swim with the migrating butandings (whale sharks), so hopefully the inevitable Mt. Mayon eruption won’t be too serious, considering that we have to fly to Legaspi City to get to Donsol. We’re also off to a 6-day Hongkong trip come June, yey!

7. Still on the subject of travel, another reason why I have to sort out my government and financial papers is that I’ll need them to apply for a Schengen visa this year, if we are to tour Rome (!!!) and the rest of Europe in 2011. I’m hoping the process won’t be too painful, considering that I am married to a British citizen, after all!

8. Invest. The thing about working online is that you never know when it’s going to end. You could be working on a project that you’ve been on for years, yet find yourself unemployed the next day. That’s reality. So though I know that my bosses intend to stick around for a long, long, LONG time (fingers crossed!), I still want to invest in something tangible. Presently, I’m considering a laundry franchise. (Just imagine: Iris, Goddess of Laundry.)

9. Get in better shape. Last year saw my weight going up and down like a freakin’ yoyo – literally. I was 102 lbs. at my thinnest, but I have now ballooned to 112 lbs. after the holidays. I intend to stay within the 100 to 105 lbs. bracket throughout the year. And. This. Starts. NOW.

10. Lastly, I intend to be more productive and better organized this year. Although I’ve worked extremely hard and gotten more things done in 2009 than I initially expected, I still have a tendency to slack, sometimes for days on end. I intend to do away with slacking for good. This means I will sleep earlier and wake up earlier to get more things done during the day. I will also learn to delegate more effectively, so I don’t end up climbing the walls in panic whenever I’ve got deadlines coming up.

So am I likely to achieve all my goals for 2010? The year is young, so we shall see. But if 2009 was anything to go by, I daresay, it’ll be a cinch!