Done with Christmas shopping…almost!

Yeahhh…my Christmas shopping is almost done except for just one more gift. And I’m wondering how to find time to buy it considering it’s for my Mom. Well at least, I won’t have to go online and browse through Cyber Monday specials to find her a gift. All I need is just to drag her to the mall and let her choose what she wants. Of course, it should be within my budget. Now the only thing needed is time. How about you, are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?

Refrigerator magnets as souvenirs

It was during my first trip to Europe that my fondness for refrigerator magnets as souvenirs of places traveled started. I bought a Milan Cathedral magnet and coat-of-arms magnets from Austria and Germany. I also bought some as pasalubongs or travel gifts for my siblings. I think I’ve influenced them to have their own refrigerator magnet souvenir collection as well.

Currently, this is how the front of our refrigerator looks like:   

When searching for refrigerator magnets as souvenirs, make sure they’re durable. Usually those made of ceramics and metal are better than the wooden ones. 

I gained a LOT of weight!

I was shocked and dismayed to see my present weight as I stepped on the scale at the department store yesterday. Imagine gaining 4 kilos! I am so disappointed with myself. Sometimes I would consider taking over-the-counter weight loss pills just to get back to my previous weight, but I still would like to be fit and healthy the natural way with eating the right food and regular exercise. Now all it needs is a LOT of focus and self-discipline, these you can’t buy anywhere though, it really has to start within.

Gifts for guys?

My Christmas shopping is about 80% done. Thankfully I was able to buy gifts for Dad, Uncle, Rv, and Rj. Note that they’re all guys (and boys) who usually dream of those flashy racing cars with high-tech performance parts or having the latest gadget.

I was glad to find a nice shirt for uncle and it was really a good buy. My gift for Dad took a while though, since he was with me shopping and I asked him to choose a shirt. He had about two brand choices and tried about five shirts on before we finally decided on the light green with stripes.

Oh well, shopping for guys can’t be that fast as you usually think it is. But maybe if it were something for the van or some carpentry tools, then the choosing could have been faster.

Heroes 03×12

NBC’s 12th episode of Heroes Season 3 is a reunion of sorts, with Claire and Hiro traveling back in time, exactly 16 years ago when Claire was still a baby. It was a heartwarming moment between Claire and her second parents, and a sad one for Hiro and his mom. Hmmm… I wonder how I would feel if I would go back in time and talk to my parents while I see myself still in diapers. Anyway, the face of Claire’s step-mom, Sandra, was obviously made up to look younger, but to me it was not so nicely done.

The episode gave a lot of surprises, which I am not that happy about. huhuhu… now, what to do with Hiro who is now trapped in time? 

Christmas shopping rush

We just came home from Bacolod and hopped from one department store to another to buy gifts to complete our Christmas list. First we stopped at Lopue’s, then Robinson’s and finally SM. Buying presents week before Christmas can be so tiring, especially if pressed for time and I still need to buy gifts for about 6 persons (most of them guys). What makes shopping so tiring is when you have to find the right item that would fit your budget. Yup, definitely no expensive Patek Philippe watches on my things-to-buy list. 

Candles for holiday centerpieces

What’s a nice Christmas centerpiece aside from flowers?

Candles! Aside from providing a comfy room ambiance, a centerpiece with candles can be designed anyway you want. You can make a single candle centerpiece or a three-piece set or more, same-colored or of different shades, symmetrical or not.

Last year, we had a candle centerpiece for our dining table. It was just a single big-sized red candle adorned with holiday trimmings. Candles really add a special holiday feel to any room especially if they’re styled with Christmas decors. Different sizes, colors and shapes of candles provide variety to your lighting. Imagine a room lit up with tealight candles on the side tables or some scented candles on stylish votive candle holders. Personally, I prefer simply designed candles. I don’t like that much of colored wax specks or glitters on them.

Picture picture

I wonder how professional photographers would spend hours just to capture that perfect shot. Well, this thought just came to mind as I was looking at some photos of my Europe vacation. I remember how one guy was just standing by the fountain in front of Prague’s National Gallery where my sis and I sat to rest. I think he was waiting for the fountain to be empty of tourists before he took some photos.

The question is whether you would like some people to appear in your photos or not since they can be pretty distracting to the whole scene. For me, few people in the background is fine as long as they add interest and meaning to the overall capture. It also depends on whether you’re set to photograph a lively street filled with pedestrians, vendors, fruit stands or popcorn machines or an empty bench along a quiet neighborhood.   

Help! My laptop is hot

It’s so puzzling. The two mini-fans from my laptop cooler can’t keep my HP Pavilion dv2518 laptop from getting hot. “You can fry eggs on it,” somebody commented when his hands touched my laptop by chance. “Auntie, your laptop is hot,” my 7-year old niece told me when she played some games on it. Hmmm… I wonder where the problem is?

I’ve browsed the net for some answers and there are many that came up such as running too many processes or the laptop getting dusty. I checked my windows task manager and found out I have 90 processes running! Tsk…Could this be the cause? Let’s see about that when I turn off those programs that don’t really need to run in the background.

If you’ve experienced your laptop getting hot and got it solved, please share some info or tips on how to keep it from heating up.