My Female Pick!

I like her the first time I saw her play in the Australian Open 2006. To say that she's a good player is an understatement because currently, she's the world's number 1 female tennis player. But, I didn't know it back then. I simply like her for no apparent reason except that I like the way she behaved on court.

She played the finals against Amelie Mauresmo where she quit in the 2nd set for not feeling well, to my disappointment. She cried though. Her retirement gave way to Mauresmo bagging the championship trophy but I reckon Amelie was not at all happy because her worth was not really proven. (MCJ was happy because he's been rooting for Amelie as she had always been a bridesmaid but never a bride until that time.) But Amelie proved that she can be a champion without her opponent's retirement (Justine Henin) in the Wimbledon of the same year.

That same year, Justine bag the French Open Championship title for the 4th time and third in consecutive years which makes her grand slam titles equal to six. She was also in the finals in the US Open where she lost to Maria Sharapova.

She withdrew in the Australian Open this year for personal reason. I speculate, she must have been in the process of getting a divorce from her husband (or might be the other way), Pierre-Yves Hardenne. She has then confirmed in her website that she has separated from her husband and will assume her maiden name, Henin. And I didn't knew about it. :) It was just at the first day of Wimbledon 2007 that MCJ told me she had divorced from her husband and that I should stop adding the Hardenne after her name. For almost two months, she lost the number 1 title to Maria Sharapova but reclaim it again.

Justine won the French Open Championship title this year against Serena Williams, equalling Monica Seles's open era record, and surpassed US$15 million in career prize money earnings.

Justine is playing on Monday for the 2007 Wimbledon day 7(?).

I used to know her as Justine-Henin Hardenne and up til now, I still have tongue slip-up and call her that. :)

Call Me...

I had a good laugh when I read this from fionixe's, so here I am doing it. :D

1. YOUR NAME
-- Era

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle)
-- Eraizzle (sounds weird)

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and fave animal)
-- blue parrot (pwede na rin - parang pang-underworld talaga)

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name and current street name)
-- delfin coutts (ay sagwa, sounds masculine)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name)
-- petergon (what? pentagon? hehehe! kaloka to!)

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favoritecolor, favorite drink)
-- green water (hummm cordial kalalabasan nito eh - hehehe)

7. IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your mom’s maiden name, 2nd letter of you dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name)
-- rtioam (can't even read this.. waaaaa)

8. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (father’s middle name)
-- (do i need to say it? it's witness protection name, supposedly secret, right? hehee) magallanes

9. GOTH NAME: (3rd favorite color, and the name of one your pet)
-- pink lucky (now, it sounds nice.. thanks to our cat)

Any tag out there? Hehehe!

Color Your World!

I don't have the talent to make small room look big, to add light to a dark nook or to transform shabby place into a haven. I can arrange and put things inorder.. err the order that I want them but they don't warrant professionalism. They are just my personal style.

I always seek help of the experts over the net and today, this is my find:

What colours will work best for you? How should you combine them? Here are some no-fail schemes to try.

Colour is a decorator's secret weapon - it can make a large room seem more intimate and a small room less squeezy. It immediately changes the mood of a space. Rich, deep colours bring drama; soft colours are calming. Cool colours in the blue-green range suggest tranquillity and warm, earthy colours are welcoming.

Colours either harmonise or contrast with each other, and their relationship is easy to see on a colour wheel. Ones that harmonise are adjacent on the wheel, while those that contrast sit opposite.

A lot of people are scared of using colour, and live in a sea of beige and off-white. But it's time to lose your fear! These goof-proof colour combos will get you started.

Blue
True moody blue is a timeless favourite, a cool colour that suggests tranquillity. Deep, intense blues bring energy and a fresh feel to a room. Pale, soft blues give a sense of open, airy space.
For drama: use deep blue with white, terracotta and rich ochre.
For harmony: use mid-blue with cream and white.

Pink
Pink is an extraordinary colour: psychologists believe a pink room will put you in a good, optimistic mood. Tones range from pale fairy floss hues to rose and subtle salmon.
For drama: use pink with turquoise, violet or red.
For harmony: use pale pink with rose and white or salmon with linen and warm neutral tones.

Green
Green is a natural colour, varying from citrus lime to sage, and comes from the cool side of the colour wheel.
For drama: use green with red or orange and white.
For harmony: use green with blue, yellow, cream and linen tones.

More here.

Nope, I am not renovating, re-inventing, re-decorating or mucking around our abode. I am just simply researching and I know this tip will come in handy in the near future!

Hope you'll find this useful as well!

My Hidden Talent Daw

Your Hidden Talent

You are a great communicator. You have a real way with words. You're never at a loss to explain what you mean or how you feel. People find it easy to empathize with you, no matter what your situation. When you're up, you make everyone happy. But when you're down, everyone suffers.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Awww! Am I really this? I think not! As a matter of fact, it seems I am the complete opposite but I admire the picture above more than the others. What can I do? :D

I'm Spidy!

You Are Spider-Man

Quick and agile, you have killer instincts (literally).And that kind of makes up for the whole creepy spider thing.

What Superhero Are You?

I find this funny though as I don't really like Spidy but then, I don't really admire any particular super-hero.. so Spidy will do! But I don't like anything creepy! :))

Looove it!

I love nature.. the rain, the trees, the dew... the green! And this photo says it all!

My Visal DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Miss.. Miss.. Miss

I don't know if Miss Universe will be aired here in free tv. You know, we don't subscribe to pay tv. :D

While waiting for some mysteries in the free tv channels to announce that they're going to cover the event and for May 28 Mexico City time, I take a peak to some of the photos of the contestants on the net where I dont have to pay.

Miss Australia

Miss Philippines

I am rooting for these two! I bet you know why? :D

Source

The Notebook

Genre: Drama / Romance

This is one of the movies that worn me off if I watched over and over again. I've seen this is in the cinema and I bought a disc with the good intention of watching it many times more.

And I did, for the nth times last week.

I am not really into movies that are flashbacks as it ruin my trail of events of the movie but this one is off the record.

I couldn't help to admire Noah for his determination in building his dreamhouse which Allie had made notable contributions on how she want it to be designed when they were still an item, when it was already 7 years that he didn't have contact with Allie. God knows, what Allie could have been up to that time. The house was a labor of love. Little did he know that his love for Allie will bring him back the love of his life.

It is another movie that proves first love never dies rather, it is just burried in the deep recesses of the mind that will be awaken anytime.

The love that Noah and Allie shared was so strong that it brought them out of so many hurdles even dementia.

Nicolas Sparks could not make it more beautiful and inspiring as it already was.

Typical Aussie Friday Night

A typical Aussie Friday night is no cooking, gobbling pizza with beer for dinner while watching footy!

I had a little dose of a typical Aussie Friday night. Having pizza for dinner while watching movies. I cooked though but had to keep the meal for the next day and instead order pizza for MCJ and the guy fixing the computers. Oh, I didn't drink any beer also. I don't particularly like beer even if I was not preggy.

And yes, I watched two movies just to be around MCJ.


I don't mind sounding un-cool and admit that I am a Juday fanatic. Back then, I always see to it that I don't miss to see any of her movie.

When Don't Give Up On Us was shown in the cinema, I was here but I secure a copy of the movie when I got back to Manila. I've watched it twice there and I did again last Friday and yet, it didn't fail to entertain me to the max and lighten up my mood. I still giggle and feel mushy like it was the first that I've seen the movie.

I particularly like this movie, as I think this is the first where Juday's role was the mature, sophisticated and practical career woman not the damsel-in-distress role that most if not all of her movies were themed.And I love the twist at the end... made me cry though!

Btw, I had to watch this movie using the headset as MCJ and C (computer geek) can overhear the dialogue and I don't want to rattle them. :D

I bought some old movies before that I reckon worth watching over and over again. And the Story of Us was one. But after seeing the movie, I proved myself wrong. It isn't worth seeing more than once.

Why?

Because, the story slipped down pass my expectations. After reading the synopsis saying "they worked on their failing marriage on the latter part" and the acclaim that it was "the most romantic movie of the year", I put all my heart's desire into it. And I just end up disappointed.

I was really looking forward to the moving, heart-wrenching scenes where they would laborously patch up their marriage rather than Katie's realization on the last part opting for the chinese resto instead of their house where they would break the news of their separation to their kids. And pfffftttttt! The end! Fairy tale of sort!

Romantic? There were only few romantic scenes and they were flashbacks.

My only consolation was I like Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfieffer.

Let the World Knows About Your Business

Does your business has a website? If so, that's good value as people can accidentally or intentionally click on your site and make a go from there. But having your business known to 45 million companies in 75 countries is another story. Worldwide businesses can view your company profile. And that's what Masterseek does to your business!


Simply enter your company profile and product in Masterseek and the world can view it. That's value added to your company as most business is running on a fast pace and are techno-savvy, so you're in for the competition and even have an edge.

Just have a go to the Masterseek website and try to search for different business categories in your area and you'll see and know what I'm talking about. Being a Masterseek member really makes a difference.

A Simple Way To Earn Money

I have been blogging for almost two years now about our lives, the environment and anything that may catch my fancy. My motivation before was, I want to develop my writing skills then I went to a full time wife from a working woman and I need to channel my excess energy and time to something worthwhile.

Then, I discover Bloggerwave. I bet those who wants to earn money while blogging the things they love would agree to me that the motivation to write more raised a notch higher if you are getting paid. And Bloggerwave exactly does that! You just have to sign-in which is pretty much easy to do with the user-friendly website and register your blog. You can register up to 5 blogs, so the more you write, the more you earn and the more you earn, the more that you're motivated to write some more. Did I make sense? Did you get my drift?

Bloggerwave is in the process of branching out in this competitive industry so approval to your blogs registration and post just takes a little time.

I told my friend, we should have been a long way of earning money from blogging should we know and discover Bloggerwave early on. Now, all I just have to do is write and write some more!

So what are you waiting for? Head now to Bloggerwave and start earning money right away!

They're Back

My Tuesday nights are lighten up a notch higher by these three! Two and half men is back last Tuesday showing two episodes to my delight.

Hubs and I usually don't watch telly series but because of Charlie Sheen, we do now!

Just love the dry humour of Charlie and the smart-ass remarks of Jake.

Can't stop grinning even until the show is over. Ohhh, giggling sometimes!

Spiderman

Movies are shown a bit late here in my part of the world but the good thing is for sequel movies they showed the prelude in the box. In my point, it's a good marketing strategy. It psyche the viewers to watch the new flick.

For two consecutive Saturdays, one free telly station aired the Spiderman 1 & 2. It was a premier. Hubs and I stayed up late of course to see it though, I have seen them all, Hubs hasn't then.

We don't have plan when to watch the Spiderman 3. I'm sure, we'll wait for the dvd release again. :D But we're already guessing who's the villain in the third sequel. I won't tell you but I am excited to see it to prove that I am right. lol

Lucky You

I am a Bana-tic. The first time I watched Eric Bana's movie, I instantly fell head-over-heels over him.

And now, Lucky you is shown in town. In your part of the world, this might be an old flick but in the Land Down Undah.. well, this is new.

I couldn't wait to see this movie but we might be able to wait a little longer for the DVD release. Hubs and I don't really watch movies in cinema, we just wait for the DVD so we can watch it over and over again. :D

For now, I'll just hang on to my memories of Eric Bana's movies.

Lawrence Wright: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

About the Book A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conducted in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. Read on..

Jill Smolinski: Next Thing on My List

June's life takes and unexpected turn when a tragic accident finds her embarking on a whirlwind mission to finish a stranger's 'to-do' list! Funny and ultimately poignant, fans of Marian Keyes will relish this new member of the chick-lit gang!

New Book from Mirriam Talisman

This is the second book by new author Elenor Gill, and follows her first book In the Shadow of Trees, published in May 2006. Set in the UK, the story takes place in the months following the sudden death of Miriam, mother of Hannah and grandmother of the protagonist, Clionha, who are both deeply affected by her death, but in very different ways. When Miriam leaves everything she owns to Clionha, including a distinctive silver amulet, Clionha begins to move in a shadow world which leaves her friends and family concerned for her mental health. Sought out after her grandmother's death by a tall and intriguing stranger, Iolair, who is very interested in her amulet, she encounters him again as she begins to unravel Miriam's extraordinary legacy. Inevitably she finds herself a pawn in an ancient love story that has wreaked havoc in the lives of the women in her family. Aimed at the Barbara Erskine market, this book is targeted at female readers of romantic fiction and is a superb read, even stronger than In the Shadow of Trees.

Source

Kristin Hannah: Home Again

I have read this moving novel a long time ago yet, it never stops to touch the melodratic in me every time I read or hear related stories.

Excerpt Hollywood bad boy, Angel De Marco has everything - talent, looks and fame. Then tragedy strikes, and he winds up in the care of cardiologist Madelaine Hillyard, the woman he had ran out on 16 years before. But it will take more than forgiveness for the betrayals of the past to save Angel.

Angel has a brother, Father Francis - obviously a priest, who's the complete opposite of him in attitude even while they were young. Angel, the bad boy - alcoholic, smoker - was prompted by a very bad news, he won't live long unless he'll have a heart transplant. That's when Madelaine, his childhood love and his brother came into the picture again.

Moving forward, Father Francis met an accident on a stormy night when he was going home from a conference. He then became brain dead. And his heart was transplanted to Angel, of course with out the latter's knowing. There is this strict confidentiality regulation.

After the transplant, Angel became a different person. In some ways, he was living his own old life as well as Father Francis'. The story has a happy, melodramatic ending.

Don't pass up to grab a copy whenever you're close to a bookstore!

Michael Dibdin, 1947-2007

Word has just filtered out about the death here last week of British crime novelist Michael Dibdin, after a "short illness" at the age of 60. Dibdin was a bestselling fixture in his home country and had many fans in his adopted one as well (he moved to Seattle in 1994), mainly for his brainy, atmospheric mysteries featuring Aurelio Zen, a Venetian detective who, though sophisticated and pleasure-loving, was not entirely sympathetic; one commentator described him as "not a man with whom one would want to be marooned in a gondola." Through Zen's eyes, Dibdin was able to write a region-by-region account of the corruptions and charms of modern Italy.

More...

Best Books of 2006

It is always nice to know that those books that we've read were ones that were the editors' pick. Makes me "think" that I am "one of them", that we are in the same wavelength one way or another. :D

Here's the Amazon's Editor's Pick for the Best Books of 2006. Time to dig in our memory for the title of our favorite books last year.

Our choice for the best book of 2006 was actually written over 60 years ago. Irène Némirovsky wrote Suite Française under the worst conditions: as a Jew in France under constant threat from the Nazi-allied Vichy government. She didn't live to finish her planned "suite," but what she did write--which was recently discovered by her daughter and only this year translated into English--stands on its own as a riveting and remarkably clear-eyed story of life under the occupation. Read the rest of our top 50 books of the year below, and see more editors' picks and customers' favorites in our Best of 2006 Store.

1. Suite Francaise
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
3. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
4. Sharp Objects: A Novel
5. The Emperor's Children
6. The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
7. The Place In Between
8. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
9. The Road
10. Caesar: Life of a Colossus

More

For One More Day

This one great book is by Mitch Albom. Have read two of his bestselling books before and now is always on the lookout for something new from him.


Review

For One More Day is a book about regrets, but also a love story. Chick Benetto is a middle aged man who has become a lonely alcoholic with no reason to live. He is estranged from his only child, divorced and the only person who ever loved him completely, is long buried. He decides to end his life and chooses his childhood home as the site. When he arrives there he encounters his mother. He realizes that he has been given another chance to make things right. In the “one more day” that he gets to spend with her, he discovers the reason for his parents’ divorce, learns about the sacrifices his mother made for he and his sister and gains insight into her character. This journey provides him with hope and the conviction to become a better father and person. More...

Source

Untamed and Unashamed

Fond of reading autobiographies? This one is for you.

The autobiography of Pauline Hanson, taking us through her time spent in prison for fraud, her struggle over the charges, and her life before and after politics.

Description In 2003, Pauline Hanson was sentenced to three years jail on convictions of fraud. She spent three months in prison before the verdict was overturned and she was released with a full withdrawal of the charges. Now, four years later, Pauline tells the story of how she came to be charged, her fight to prove her innocence and of her life before and after politics. This is Pauline's story – the good, the bad, and the ugly, because she is determined to let the Australian public know the truth about those heady years and why she kept fighting for what she genuinely believed in. Pauline's book covers her time in politics and her shock discovery about what really happened behind closed political doors. The text goes to the very edge of defamation and libel – names are named, and Pauline speaks for the first time without fear or favour. This book is a truly remarkable read – a "Warts and all" read told by the real Pauline Hanson!

Source

The Quest

New release from Wilbur Smith.

Wilbur Smith returns with the eagerly awaited sequel to his thrilling Egyptian series. Following on from "River God", "The Seventh Scroll" and "Warlock, "The Quest" continues the story of the Warlock, Taita, wise in the lore of the ancient Gods and a master of magic and the supernatural. Egypt is struck by a series of terrible plagues that cripple the Kingdom, and then the ultimate disaster follows. The Nile fails. The waters that nourish and sustain the land dry up. Something catastrophic is taking place in the distant and totally unexplored depths of Africa from where the mighty river springs. In desperation Pharoah sends for Taita, the only man who might be able to win through to the source of the Nile and discover the cause of all their woes. None of them can have any idea of what a terrible enemy lies in ambush for "The Warlock" in those mysterious lands at the end of their world.

Source

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows jackets released!

Source

Natural Born Charmer

I've been constantly checking SE Phillips site for her latest release. And this is it! Natural Born Charmer. A very feel good book not to miss. Check your local bookstore.

A little teaser for you:

CHAPTER ONE It wasn’t every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of a road, not even in Dean Robillard’s larger than life world. "Son of a"" Dean slammed on the brakes of his brand new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her. The beaver marched right past, her big flat tail bouncing in the gravel, and her small, sharp nose stuck up in the air. Way up. The beaver looked highly pissed. More...

Source and Photos swiped here.