The Problem with Tiny Feet...

...is that you have to check 22 (count 'em, twenty-frickin'-two) stores before you find cleats in your size!

Those beauties are from Adidas in Power Plant, kids' size 5.5 (I'm a 5Y in Nike). I checked stores from Sta. Rosa to Trinoma. After days of searching, I finally found this just-delivered pair, in my team's colors, no less!

But seriously, 22 stores?! And here's the thing: You won't find women's sizes here. If you're a girl who needs cleats, you either have to have small feet and go for kids' sizes, or big feet and go for men's sizes. (Luckily, I fall under the first category, which means my shoes are cheaper. I think the men's version of my new shoes are over five grand!) The last time I found shoes in my size, I bought two pairs because they're just so damn hard to find.

Which reminds me, a moment of silence for my retired pairs...

Goodbye, Adidas cleats, which Pia wore during her MVP run in Shanghai. Farewell, Nike cleats, which didn't give me blisters. You've both served me well.

Sports stores, the disc community is growing and growing and growing, and lots more girls are playing disc. Please stock up, I beg of you. And include women's sizes too! Or I could just order loads of women's cleats abroad and resell them here. Ha!

So, my problem is cleats. Ladies, tell me--what do you have a hard time finding here?

My First Home Service Haircut and Color

You know it's time for a haircut when your hair...

Starts reminding you of...

To be honest, I did love the Cousin Itt-like length of my tresses, but there were two problems: 1) It had become dual-tone because I hadn't had it retouched in months--it was so bad that, when I'd have my hair up in a ponytail, the hair against my head would be black and the hair on the tail would be light brown; and 2) it was just getting too heavy for my head! I would find myself getting dizzy late in the afternoon after having had to support Rapunzel's crowning glory for hours.

As luck would have it, Revlon sent over their latest hair color. The bad news was I had never colored my hair by myself before. So I thought this was the perfect time to give Michael Morano a call.

Michael is perhaps the only home service hairstylist that I know of. He normally does haircuts and has his sister do the coloring, but since I had my own color, he came over by himself.

With Michael. That black cape is not a good look on me.

Michael is a Shuji Kida-trained hairstylist. He's got LOADS of customers (including some high-profile ones), and entire families ask him to come over regularly to cut all their hair. I think this customer loyalty is a clear indication of just how good he is!

It was a treat having my hair done at home. I felt so special, (and kind of sosyal, haha!) being the only customer! And, since I provided my own color, the whole thing cost me--wait for it--just P1,000 (about $24)! That's one grand for cut, color, and blowdry! (Expect to pay more if the colorist brings her own hair color.)

And now, a before and after. Try not to let my just-woke-up, zero-makeup before pic frighten you too much...

Un-Tangled: I do miss the dyosa-like length, but it feels so much lighter now! And I have bangs again!

Want to get your hair cut and colored at home too? Contact Michael at 0939-8887860.

Would You Wear These Shoes?

I'm a high-heels girl myself but...

Ladies and gents, those are the 8 (yes, eight!)-inch Louboutin heeled ballet shoes, still with the trademark red soles. I think they were up for auction. The only way these shoes could be even harder to wear would be if the heels were...in front?

Afraid.

DIY Spicy Chicken Burrito Day!

My husband and I had a pretty awesome lunch at home yesterday. For some reason, I wanted to make burritos. And I'm glad I did--they turned out yummers, if I do say so myself!

I got mini whole-wheat tortillas, instead of the usual big ones. We ended up polishing off 9 of them. Har.

Spicy Chicken Burritos

Ingredients

2 chicken breast fillets
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped
Cumin
Chili powder
6 small tomatoes, chopped
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped
Black beans, drained
Whole-wheat tortillas (the chicken's enough for about nine; you can probably make 4 or 5 big ones)
Rice, cooked (we're a brown rice household)
Cheese, grated
Sour cream

1. Cook the chicken: You can opt to grill it, but I boiled it for a bit, just til it was cooked enough to shred. Then after boiling--yup, you guessed it--remove from heat, drain, and shred.
2. In a pan, heat a bit of oil and saute garlic and onions. Add chicken, season with cumin and chili powder (adjust to taste--you can tell from the red chicken in the photo that we like it hot!). You can add a bit of salt and pepper. (Don't overdo it with the salt though--the black beans available in supermarkets pack a salty punch. I had to wash and drain 'em a few times.) Remove from heat.
   
3. Make salsa: Mix together chopped tomatoes, garlic, and onions. You can add cilantro leaves if you wish.
4. Assemble burrito: In the center of a tortilla, place cooked rice, chicken, beans, salsa, cheese, and sour cream. Fold on two sides (to seal) then roll. Enjoy!

Note: Should you decide to heat the tortillas, keep an eye on them. If heated too long, they become tortilla chips.:s

A Dance with (Boracay) Dragons

As the recent Filipino dragonboat racing team's win has shown, there are a lot of Pinoy teams out there that remain unrecognized, excelling on the international platform in sports that aren't really a part of the mainstream consciousness (or the PSC's budget...). One of my favorite examples: the Boracay Dragons, a beach ultimate team that has caught the eye (and, at the 2007 Worlds, captured the hearts) of the international disc community.

I've seen these Dragons play, and it's unbelievable. Anyone who's tried to run on sand knows how difficult it is, but they're all incredibly light on their feet. It's as if they're simply running on grass. Their foreign competitors are normally a head (or more) taller than them, but never has "small but terrible" rung more true than in the Dragons' case!

Tonight, the Dragons begin their quest for the gold at this year's World Championships of Beach Ultimate. Much like the Olympics, this event happens every four years (the last one was held in Brazil, and our countrymen got the silver in the Open category!). This year, it's being held in Italy, and select games will be broadcast here. The first game--Philippines vs. Italy--will be broadcast tonight, 11 PM Manila time. Do pray for the team (a couple of members are my friends!) and watch, support, and see just how awesome they are!

Go, Dragons! Go, Pilipinas!

El Cheapo Shopping Finds

Am on a bit of a budget now, so had to keep expenses down on a recent shopping trip. Found these basic pieces at great bargain prices...

Racerback tops from Forever 21 at P190 (about $4.50) each. Super versatile.

At long last, wide-leg pants! These are by Weekender at SM Department Store. My priciest purchase of the day, at P699.75 (about $17)!

I'd been searching and searching for a nice pair of wide-leg pants since late last year. I still want a pair in camel, but this chocolate brown number can take the place of my faded brown slacks.

Next: Le Donne flats, P595 (about $14). It's very hard for me to find flats that I like--I have wide feet so a lot of the ones in the market tend to be unflattering. These pointy-toe ones seem to elongate my feet. Sooo comfortable! Soft as butter.

And finally, my husband's favorite: a little black dress--or, more accurately, a little black-and-white dress.

He loves that it hugs my curves (while I love loose clothing--I seriously have a lot of things I could wear once I'm preggers--husband likes it when he can see my figure). The fit is great now, but if I plan to eat in it, I should lose a couple of pounds! Or maybe invest in Spanx. Hmm. I did save a bundle on this shopping trip. This dress's price tag? P450 (about $11)! By Liberte at Robinsons Department Store. A similar one appears in September's P500-and-under fashion feature.

Found any good deals lately?

Why Did I Not Hear about This Sooner?!

Apparently, I've been hiding under a rock because last week was the first time I found out about...

"Zombadings," for my non-Filipino-speaking readers, pretty much means "gay zombies." This movie was shown during the Cinemalaya indie film festival and will be shown in major theaters on the 31st. I can't wait! I skipped watching Thor, Captain America, and a bunch of other movies because I wasn't too excited about them, but I am definitely not missing this one!!!

Weekend Warrior

In my past life (meaning, pre-GH), I spent a lot of my weekends working on rakets. At Summit, we have what we call the Golden Rocket Awards, given to the top-performing magazines each year. Some people used to joke that I could win the Golden Raket Award. I would contrib to Candy, Seventeen, Yummy, Men's Health, Marie Claire, Cosmo, Total Girl, Martha Stewart Weddings, even GH. It was tiring, but I enjoyed it--boredom is not a great color on me. Plus, all the extra moolah paid for my trips (both in and out of the country) and my wedding. This, of course, was before I had to pay for things like rent, utilities, and my own toilet paper.

I don't raket as much as I used to (truth be told, I miss it), but after a looong while, I felt what it was like to have a packed weekend again! It started with Saturday. My first stop was a baptism, where I served as ninang to this little bundle of joy...

My goddaughter with her proud parents

After a quick lunch (I couldn't possibly say no to the Officers' Club fried chicken, so I really stayed to eat!), I had to rush to Timezone for another godkid's birthday. Here I am with my kumare, her second son, and my TF (true friend) Mona.

Former SGV co-workers, friends for life

And then, I had to make my way to Megamall for a GH event where I had to give the opening remarks. Horrors! You can make me dance in front of a crowd or teach a class, but I hate hate hate giving speeches.

With my no. 1 fan (it's a tossup between her and Hamil)

Afterwards, Mumsy was nice enough to give me a ride to disc training. And after that, my teammates and I hung out at a friend's new condo, where we loaded up on carbs.

I finished a 22-oz Big Gulp Gatorade from 7-Eleven before chowing down!

Not shown: The macadamia nut sansrival which was delish! But after two slices, my teeth started to hurt!

The following day was the start of the Malakas at Maganda league, which is the all-male/all-female league. Imagine the fun I had considering we only had a total of nine players, while our three opponents each had two lines. I didn't sub for back-to-back games.

Which brings us to Monday, when I could barely walk! Oh, to have more weekends like this. But with more QT with the hubby!