Happy Holidays!

I'll get back to blogging real soon. The holidays have been so busy that I barely had enough time to compose some entries especially since my mom is in town. I hope you're having fun with your respective vacations. Got any New Year's resolutions yet?:)

Party pooper.

Flu chose the worst possible time to manifest itself… on the day of our WFM Christmas Party! No matter how hard I tried to convince myself it was simply a mind over matter type of sickness, my body gave in eventually. I slept the entire three hours I was at the venue. What a waste, right? There goes my contribution for the year. :(

The venue was perfect, the food was great, everyone was in high spirits. I cannot believe I missed all of that. I apologized again and again for ruining the mood of the party. My brother was kind enough to take some shots using my camera. But he’s more of a candid moment type of photographer so I apologize again if there are some embarrassing shots uploaded on Facebook. Heehee!

Good thing my manito managed to lift my spirits up. He gave me the item I listed on my wish list! Yes folks, I now have a sandwich maker. Yayyy! Thank you so much, Jayvee.

Happy Endings: Not quite there yet.

I’m very protective of my favorite shows. To me they’re in a league of their own. It’s blasphemous to even compare them with another show of similar format that hasn’t reached their caliber yet. I guess this is the reason why it took me sometime to warm up to Happy Endings. The half-hour series, described as an ensemble comedy about a group of friends living in Chicago, is already touted by critics as one of those shows with the FRIENDS magic. 

I have never seen the first season. Just recently though, out of curiosity, I decided to download the first five episodes of its second season. My verdict? It’s a hit and miss for me so far. There are episodes that I love while there are some which lacked the oompph! needed. One good thing is that the actors have already settled into their characters and the chemistry is much more evident. I have no favorites yet. Penny comes close but she has this annoying quality of over-exaggerating on things. She’s very relatable though. I can totally see myself in her shoes.

I have to give credit to this show for making Elisha Cuthbert likeable again. (Kim Bauer, who?^___^) Who would’ve thought she’d do really well in comedy? Although they’re not quite there yet in terms of FRIENDS standards, I’m giving them a chance. After all, I ended up liking HIMYM after ignoring it for almost four seasons.

To a decade of friendship.

The last week of November was one of the most memorable days for me this year. I love it when my friends are in town. We don’t live in the same city anymore so it’s a rare instance for all five of us to be together. What was agreed upon was that the next reunion after the semi-disastrous summer escapade was not supposed to happen until 2012, but Harry Potter and a wedding intervened with fate. I welcomed the distraction. I was in need of a break again from my usual work routine.

The weekend’s best surprise was probably us running into a former college classmate while we were having Sunday lunch at Zubuchon. Funny thing was, prior to that, we were in a discussion about when and how did all of us become friends a few years back. Little did we know that Ann would soon pass by our table unknowingly. I think she recognized my sister first, then saw me. It took her a while to realize she actually knew the other three (Gen, Reah and Isa) who were seated together with us. So surreal and hilarious. Don’t you just love chance encounters? :)

The lady in pink is Ann. Too bad Xtian couldn't join us for lunch that day.

I love how these ladies are the only ones who can make me wear a dress without feeling conscious about how I look. That’s how comfortable I am in their company. My mom would be so proud. Haha!

Our favorite photo! Would this pass for a Christmas electronic postcard? Hehe! ^__^

The Harry Potter marathon never happened. But we made a lot of new memories in those three days to mark a decade of our friendship. I am proud to call these ladies my best friends and I know we will remain this close even if one of us gets married (one already is!) and starts a family.

Wishes, wishes, wishes.

Don’t you just love the feeling when December kicks in? I felt like this year flew by so quickly I didn’t even realize we’re nearing the end of 2011 in a few weeks. How’s your Christmas shopping going? I haven’t even started mine. I was too wrapped up in the weekend getaway I had with friends last week that I’ve even pushed back the setting-up of the tree at home. We promise to get it done soon otherwise Mom would definitely throw a fit when she finds the house bare of any decorations. 

Speaking of gifts, I finally came up with my wish list this year. I decided to throw in something frivolous just for kicks. But as Krissy mentioned in her post, more often than not, I will end up buying some of things on the list for myself. 

A new pair (or two) of flats. I am in desperate need of a wardrobe overhaul. My style can actually be compared to that of a college kid who’s still stuck in that “jeans and sneakers” phase. Blame it on the casual dress code I have at work. I love it… but sometimes you have this urge to actually dress your age and it sucks when you don’t have everything within arm’s reach. 

A Modalu bag. I am no fan of Pippa Middleton, but I instantly fell in love with the bag she was photographed with the day after her sister’s wedding. How I wish I can carry that style!

Sandwich-maker. Any brand would do. This is actually what I’m asking from my Secret Santa at work. My sister and I love to fix midnight snacks for ourselves and this would save us the hassle of using the toaster. Grilled cheese sandwiches, here we come!

iPad 2. Okay, okay… I’m a sell-out. I swore before that I would never join the Apple bandwagon. Guess what? The iPad’s lure is just too hard to resist. Bear in mind that this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. My sister and I carefully researched the pros and cons of the gadget compared to its competition. So yeah, we have our reasons. :)

FRIENDS DVD Boxed Set. It’s been almost seven years since the finale of the show and I still have to complete all seasons on DVD. With its timeless appeal, the show never gets old with viewers. We will always laugh and cry at the misadventures of these six individuals from Manhattan. Good thing a friend gave me the Harry Potter DVDs so I can strike that from my wish list this year.

And for my frivolous wishes this year…

Xabi Alonso jersey. Yup, this was on my list last year as well. So far no friends of mine have been planning to go to Spain yet. If they do, this will be all that I’ll ask from them as pasalubong. Heehee!

A new puppy! Gwen could definitely use a playmate, or a surrogate child around here. I’ve always wanted to own a beagle but dogs with breed cost a fortune. I’ll probably save up for it sometime in the future unless a kind individual would actually give me one out of the blue.

How about you? Anything special that you plan to purchase for yourself this Christmas? :)