Planning for a Debut Party

So, my niece, Algy, turned 18 last Dec 8 and we will be holding a debut party on the 20th. Algy has limited idea on what the party would be. All she knows is that the motiff is midnight black which revolves around the color black, silver and purple.

I am pretty excited not of the party but of the planning. This is the first time that I am actually planning a party and a surprise one at that. I don't find it challenging but fun because I'm doing  it out of love for my niece.

Planning started last month but of course because we have limited budget most of the decors were prepared last week. This is what my idea looks like:

Ideally that is what I really want it to look like but since it will only be held at home, it will not look exactly like that. But you get the idea right? it will be dark with curtains hanging and the light will be dim. This reminds me of winter themed parties. The challenge will come on the day we will decorate the venue. For now, let me hold on to that dream setting.

Now that we have an idea on what the place would look like, the next challenge is the hanging decors. I was checking online and saw beautiful pompoms that will accentuate the hanging curtains.

Very pretty isn't it? Since the theme is midnight black, the colors will definitely be black, white and purple. I love that can be easily made and very cheap too. Since Christmas is also approaching, I can use this to decorate our home.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make pom poms.

My next project is the photobooth area for Algy and her friends take a photo in. Teenagers nowadays love to takes selfies and I think that it will be a sin if they do not have a corner/place in the party to do that. A sneak peek of my idea.

The food will be handled by my sister. I really do not know much about what is best for parties. I like to eat and that's it. :D

That's it for now. Will show you the finished product after the party.

Let's get busy,
Kat

A certain kind of Friends

It has been a very very long time since my last post. I will try to keep on updating my blog often. Lemme tell you what I have been through the last few years. Since my last post, I've had a son, grew 4 years older, got a lot bigger (vertically) and has since became matured. 

What you most likely read from here onwards are about life, motherhood, choices and a certain kind of something. Now I'd like to write about friendship.

For me, in life you will get to meet 2 kinds of friends. The real ones and the fake ones, I do not mean fake like plastic or whatsoever (duh). 

Let me explain the real friends first.

One of the things that I am proud of are my real friends. They are the ones who stick with you through thick and thin. They are the ones who have proven that sometimes, water is thicker than blood. I don't believe that one should have a hundred of friends. I'd rather have a handful of real friends.

For me, a real friend:

• Is there when you are down
• Is there when you are happy
• Will wipe your tears when you cry
• Does not mind when your silent
• Won't judge your decisions
• Will listen to you mumble
• Laugh at your craziest jokes
• Lends a hand
• Helps out without expecting in return
• Understand your texts even when it misses a letter or its jumbled
• Most importantly, they are just there not for any reason but because they just want to.

A good friend once told me that friendship does not require you meeting and texting everyday. You might not see each other for months, nor text each other everyday but you know in your being they are there. Friendship is not about the presence, it is about the heart.

Now thinking about it, I can say I have a handful of true friends. From elementary to high school, to those I met in Medicus, to those I went with in college and now here in Callbox. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you.

Now let us go to the best part, the fake ones. I have the fortunate chance of meeting this kind of friends. They are the ones who are nice in front of you but talks shit behind your back. Now, I say fortunate because now I can avoid this kind of person. They are not the kind that one should waste time on. 

It is a challenge to distinguish these kinds of friends since they can be so nice. Sometimes an accident is what you need in order to know who are real and who are fake. I am not an expert so I wouldn't really know how to point them out. What happen to me is not really a bad thing. For one, it has helped me appreciate my real friends more. It taught me a lesson that sometimes being nice to you does not mean they are really good. 

It is good that we get to meet these kind of people so that we can learn. The lesson is to choose your friends well, really well.

Don't chew more than you can swallow

This often happens to a lot of people, me included. I tend to start things that I cannot finish. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed by things that I get illogical. It's true what they say not to make decisions when you are happy cause you tend to make stupid decisions that you will later regret.

It's so sad to think that during this process, we hurt other people. Seeing others get hurt because of you is not easy, but if that's how it should be then there's nothing we can do about it. Life is like that, sometime you get hurt, sometimes you hurt other people. It's a cycle. That's life. we can try to avoid it, but it will run after you no matter what. I have one philosophy about choices and decisions and that is, no matter what the outcome, no regrets cause you chose it. Stand by it and accept the consequence.

Happiness Chooses No one

Hmm..It's been a while since my last post. Been busy with work and personal issues. So, Happiness. It chooses no one. It's our choice. There are a lot of people who whine, I do sometimes, about life. How they wish that they have this and that. How they wish they richer than other, how they were prettier or handsomer. This is not possible. We choose our destiny, we choose to be happy. God give us what we have and its up to be contented. Of course, we have dreams of becoming more but it all boils down to us, to be contented. 

I was reading The Book Thief last week and it made me re-think about my life. How blessed and lucky I am. 

The Book Thief is a novel by Australian author Markus Zusak.^[1] Set in Nazi Germany, it describes a young girl's (named Liesel Meminger) relationship with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa, and the other residents of their neighborhood, and a Jewish fist-fighter who hides in her home during the escalation of World War II. -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_Thief

The Book Thief takes place in Germany before and during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Death who finds the story of the Book Thief, Liesel Meminger, to be very interesting, as she brushes Death three times in her life. The novel begins when Liesel's mother takes Liesel and her brother Werner to live with foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann in Molching, as she can not provide for them. Werner dies during the journey, and at his graveside funeral, Liesel stealsThe Grave Digger's Handbook, fallen in the snow after a gravedigger drops it. Though illiterate, Liesel knows that books are precious.

Liesel's foster parents, the Hubermanns, treat her well. The stern Rosa often insults Liesel by calling her a "dirty pig" (saumensch in German), but we learn that this is Rosa's prickly way of showing affection. The gentler Hans teaches Liesel how to read The Gravedigger's Handbook. This begins her love for reading and words, as well as keeping the memory of her brother close to her. Liesel also befriends the other children of Himmel Street, including Rudy Steiner, who is in love with her and is also her best friend. She continues stealing books from various sources, but mainly the library of Ilsa Hermann, the mayor's wife. She also steals once from a Nazi book burning. Her foster family helps a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg, whose father saved Hans' life during World War I.

Liesel begins to write her own book, The Book Thief, as the story of her life. When Himmel Street is bombed, she is the only survivor, as she was writing in the Hubermanns' basement at the time. She finds the body of Rudy, then her foster parents. This is Death's second encounter with Liesel. Distraught, she drops the book, which Death finds and keeps. She goes to live with the Hermanns (the mayor and his wife) and when Alex Steiner (Rudy's father, drafted into war) returns, she works in his tailor shop. In 1945, Max Vandenburg walks into the shop, and he and Liesel are reunited.

At the end of the book, Death tells us that she dies in Sydney, Australia, along with revealing a few other details of her life. He returns her book, along with a truth he can not tell anyone else: "I am haunted by humans." This is his third and final encounter with her.

I'm so touched by Leisel naivete, her relationship with her foster parents and her friendship with Rudy. If I were in her place, I would have given up. 

Reading the book made me appreciate my blessings more. Being contented is hard. People by nature always want more. For me, being contented means being happy with what you have, appreciating what has been given to you and accepting your fate. It's difficult. But if you are contented you can be happy. so let me leave you with these quotes:

“I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or
misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances.”- Martha Washington

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.  ~Frederick Keonig

My very first post

I am a thinker. When I am alone, I think about a lot of things and ideas. So, I decided to create a blog so that I can write down my thoughts and my ideas. I created this blog as a diary as well, to keep track of my memories and share it to the world. 

So, here I am, writing my very first post. I really do not have anything to write. i'm still thinking : p. Since, this is the first post, Ill say something about myself. I am currently employed as a SEO specialist at Callbox. I have been working there for the last 3 years and its pretty okay. 

I love to read. My favorite authors are James Patterson, Paolo Coehlo, Nicholas Sparks, Jude Deveraux and Lisa Jackson. My favorite book is The Alchemist, its the best of Paolos' work. The Alchemist is about finding your destiny. I also love to watch movies and sitcoms. How I met your mother, Grey's Anatomy, Glee and The L word are just a few of my favorite. 

I have been through a lot in my life and I think it has molded me into what I am now. I'd like to say that I am strong. Life has it's ups and downs. I've been through the worst but thats life. I believe that everything that is happening around me is for a reason, even though its not clear for now.

That's about. I'll write more when something pops in mind.