Pure love blog

I’ve been thinking of concentrating on one “branch” of the pro-life cause for the past year already, and finally, a few months back, I started this new blog called Main Squeeze. It’s a blog for the youth, and it’s about pure love, chastity, and modesty in a world that says they don’t matter.

From my first post:

Pure love, or chastity, is needed so much nowadays, because many things in the mainstream media and the youth culture have made the impression that the opposites of chastity, purity and modesty are way cooler. This blog is not "free PR" for chastity. It's not here to sell the idea of chastity to unsuspecting youth. Instead, it is here to show that living the virtue is possible for anyone (singles, marrieds, and even those with a past)... and results in a person who is happy and free!
Hope you can visit!

Let's look at dresses

Preparing for my friend's wedding, I had to look at a lot of pegs (hairstyles and dresses) and it's pretty tedious... especially when nothing seems to turn up that is close enough to what you're looking for. Now that I've a dress already, I think it's time to just relax and admire other people's dresses and how they wore them.  

Nice detail on this one. Charlize Theron.

She looks so creamy but spunky. Emma Stone.

So elegant and sparkly! Evan Rachel Wood.

This is how you can wear regular sleeves at a formal event and still fit in: sequins and the right color. Kelly McDonald.

She looks so angelic hehe! Kirsten Dunst.

I like the color, and the dress looks so Greek. Laura Haddock.

Not too L but still elegant BD. The hair is so nice too. Shalaine Woodley.

This dress makes her look really tall. Zoe Saldana.

What do you look for in a dress?

Grace of the moment

It's funny how a well-planned day falls apart with just one hitch: just last Monday, I had the whole day dedicated to writing, but I couldn't get to it because I had to coordinate with other people about something urgent. I didn't finish the story, so I ended up re-planning the week!

Admittedly, there's hardly a day when things don't go wrong, but I think, with those things that we can do something about, it's worth trying our best to do them at the right time.Some friends of mine use the phrase "grace of the moment" to describe that little instant of grace that everyone can catch simply by doing what they planned to do at the right time; like getting up at 6am, or timing your preparations so that you leave the house on time, or even a setting a regular 15 minutes of your day for the Rosary.

It may seem a little thing, but even many little things make up a big thing! If there are activities within the day that you keep regularly (such as the ones mentioned above), then no matter how many distractions and hitches happen, somehow there will be something to use as a guide, to remind one to stop for a while and figure out the difference between what's urgent and what's important. Orderliness is a virtue, too. It's not about being OC! A person who is orderly ends up accomplishing more at the end of the week.

Now, it's time to plan for next week!

Convenience vs credit

You don't feel it, but credit cards are hungry little monsters that can eat all the bills in your wallet. How? When you let the lines blur between smart shopping and impulse buying, you make yourself vulnerable to financial disaster (ok, too much utang at least).

Credit cards are credit cards for a reason: they allow consumers to spend more than what they have on hand. Smart credit shopping differs from impulse buying in this way: a smart shopper uses the credit card for convenience, not credit.

For example, you get a phone bill, an electric bill, and a water bill every month. Instead of going to three different places, you can enroll them in your credit card and have them all in one paper. (Better pay off the whole amount in one go to avoid huge interests!) That's convenience.

Some comments on "convenience":

• Convenience is not finding a dress on sale and swiping the card because you don't have enough cash on hand.
• Convenience is not using your credit card to pay for your birthday blowout just because it's such a troublesome task to list down what you need and create a budget.

When you spend like this and find that you can't pay them off in one go, you'll see that you're actually spending more on credit card interest than you are receiving interest on your savings account. If you continue to plod on this way, don't be surprised when the cash you've worked hard for simply dwindles down to zero! Not fair, but that's life.

Smart shopping is about spending within your means, so don't fall into the credit card trap of thinking that a credit line increases your spending capacity. Remember, you can only spend as much as you earn, and you can only save as much as you keep.

Happy saving!

Cheer for 2012

Wow, is it 2012 already?

Whatever your plans for the year ahead, it's always good to start with cheerfulness. It's one surefire way of transforming the world around you. Imagine if all your colleagues were glum--wouldn't you be glum at the office too? And what kind work would you have done?

Of course, there are times when being cheerful is extra hard. When it's raining and you have to commute; if somebody is angry with you; when things don't turn out like you planned. Times like these, cheerfulness counts even more--because where is the challenge in being cheerful only during the good times?

When you make mistakes, laugh it off--and then learn from them. When friends leave you out, shrug it off--and invite them to do something else with you. When you feel you haven't accomplished enough last year, then make a concrete resolution to do something this year--and do it well.

You just can't be glum when you know that all you have to do to please God is say "Yes, I'll do it!"--look at what happened when Mary said, "Be it done unto me according to Your word."

That said...
Why should getting up early in the morning be difficult?
Why should smiling at somebody annoying be difficult?
Why should getting your work done (and done well) by 5pm be difficult?
Why should giving up Saturday mornings be difficult?
...why should anything be difficult?

The Christmas season ends today--but not the joy! Have a happy, energetic, and awesome new year everyone! ^_^

Tis the season...

Image from the National Museums Liverpool Blog

...for Christmas shopping? Sure, but, in times like these, it's easy to forget that it is the thought of giving and not the price of the gift that counts!

Budget-friendly tips for the season:
1. Set aside an amount to SAVE before beginning to shop. Remember, Expenses = INCOME - Savings!
2. Now that you have a budget, stick to it. Don't worry that the receiver will scoff at the price (should it be obvious). It's a gift, and gifts are always welcome!
3. Hold on to that credit card. As much as possible, don't swipe. You don't want to start the new year with a big credit card bill. Either pay in cash or debit, or buy that special person something more affordable but still nice and useful.
4. Personalize your gifts! Add a handwritten card with a dedication longer than "Merry Christmas" and you're sure to enhance the receiver's "gift opening experience," no matter how simple the actual gift is. It just makes people feel more special!
5. Remember that you don't have to give everyone a gift. It might sound cruel and selfish, but it really isn't if you think about it. The gift-giving tradition is a means for us to thank family and friends for making the year wonderful. If you can't give a gift, thank the person in a different way: do a favor, share something you have received (like a box of brownies), or write a helpful note or an email.
6. Forget yourself. There's enough time in a year to shop for yourself. Besides, January is sale month (hint).

This season, don't let the lights, the special offers, and the shopping high mar the true meaning of Christmas. Take some time each day away from the noise and the parties to contemplate the Baby in the manger. When all this is through, you'll see that what matters most is preparing the heart--and you'll be glad you didn't spend too much on the frivolous!

Some things to ponder on