Bisdak Babbles

I came across NiqueHappy.com, a very interesting website and found these tips for us, ladies, on how to pamper ourselves. Let’s see if we’re already treating ourselves as we ought to…

1. Pamper yourself with a nice sparkling bubble bath with candles.
This is really effective at relieving stress, but our tub still needs a lot of scrubbing. I’ll definitely try this before autumn (keeping my fingers crossed).

2. Indulge in them chocolates.
I eat chocolates everyday! If only Lady Borden chocolate icecream were cheaper, I’d also help myself with at least 6 scoops a day!

3. Send yourself flowers! Clueless-style.
Maybe I will. If only those yellow roses were a lot cheaper. (Here I go again… ranting about the price tag)

4. Watch a comedy movie and laugh a lot. You’ll be surprised how much stress you relieve just by laughing.
Watching a comedy movie or anime while eating chips and icecream - 100% effective stress reliever. Well, at least for me.

5. Order an expensive meal and have it delivered to you. I mean, why not? Errr… let me think…

6. Make snacks (rice krispies, bake some cookies, blend drinks, etc.)
I miss those times I spend with my cousins scouring the neighborhood for snacks ingredients.

7. Work on that scrapbook you meant to finish but never had time to do it.
I do have lots of unfinished scrapbook!

8. Do some reading.
I always have a novel with me.

9. Or take a cruise out to a bookstore and indulge on some interesting reading. Or, if you’re feeling a bit homebound, order one online!
I do this sometimes. Good thing there’s a bookstore nearby that has lots of English novels. But I wish there’s some BookSale branches here, too.

10. Catch a free makeover at the department store. We even have beauty tips and products picked out for you!
I wonder if I have the guts to approach those sales ladies.

11. Take a yoga or dance class.
Tried an informal Samba dance lesson once and it was a lot of fun! But the venue is a bit far and it’s on Sunday night!

12. Wake up and catch the sunrise.
This is out of the question, especially because at this season, the sun rises before 5AM.

13. Cook for yourself! I guess I have no other choice.

My friend, Fortuitous Faery of Writings on the Wall, invited me to join PostCrossing, sort of a community where you can send and receive postcards to and from other members from random places in the world. I’ve been a member for more than 2 months and so far, I’ve sent 10 postcards and received 10.

I received one from the US and the sender talked about her place, Outer Banks. The name is very catchy, the postcard was so lovely, so I did my homework and searched through the internet more about it. Outer Banks of North Carolina is referred to by USA Today® as a world-class backyard destination, and a classic, affordable U.S. vacation. If you love white sand beaches, lighthouses, aquariums, museums, wildlife, and cultural sites, then Outer Banks is one of the best places you have to visit. If I were given a chance to travel to the US, I’d definitely drop by North Carolina.

It’s been more than a month since I’ve posted my last Thursday Thirteen. I’m glad I’ve got the mood to write my list again.

I’ll reveal some of the steps I’ve taken to battle off an enemy for over a decade: acne. I was so desperate (and still am), that I even did some idiotic unique things just to get rid of it.

(1) I’ve been using Shiseido’s Pimplit for a few months. So far, so good.

(2) I heard from a friend that Cutina, an over-the-counter medication here in Japan, is effective. But I guess it really depends on some physical factors, because I think it made my acne worse.

(3) When my father was still working in Saudi Arabia, he often brought home Magic Cream. But my father’s now retired, I ran out of supply, and it became hard to find that certain brand (I forgot the brand name).

(4) Natural Living’s Aloe Vera Jelly was also effective and I can’t remember why I stopped using it.

(5) A friend from college used Chin Chun Su beauty cream. In a way, it helped minimize the pimples but it made my face and my neck skin abnormally lighter than my arms’ and it felt weird so I stopped using it.

(6) San-ing Cream also had the same effects as the Chin Chun Su.

High school days…
(7) I also tried applying aloe vera THE plant. I can’t remember if that was effective, but growing aloe vera wasn’t easy.

(8) Of course I sought the help of the dermatologists but no medication seemed to work!

(9) I think I’ve tried scrubbing my face with every kind of Eskinol. It helped only a little. After all, it’s only a cleanser.

(10) Queens bathe in milk, you say? So I’ve tried washing my face with fresh milk, then leaving it on overnight. It made no difference, aside from the unpleasant smell and the sticky feeling.

(11) Perla soap. To those who are not from the Philippines, Perla is a laundry soap. Many claimed that washing your face with it then leaving it on overnight could eliminate those uglies. But all I got was the burning sensation in my face, sometimes in my eyes!

(12) Face mask from egg whites, then leave them on overnight. How I hated the smell and my scary look when I wake up.

(13) The craziest of all: my mother brought me to an albularyo/folk healer! I was 13 years old at that time and I was made to believe that “curses” might have caused my pimple outbreak! To prevent more outbreaks, I had to wear an amulet! Yep, wear an amulet to prevent pimples. haha! (This is really embarrassing but I can’t help laughing at my stupidity when I think about it. All for acne’s sake!)