On Working, Deaths on Other Stuffs

It's been a week since I came back to work.

It was pretty much busy: attending to mails, updates on procedures and processes, etc.

Suddenly, I realized that my life is mostly about working, earning enough to support my family back home.

Most of the times when I am just sitting alone at home, I cry, and I cry a lot.

I feel tired and wish that I could at least have a vacation - in the truest sense of the word, and I don't have to think about other stuffs...just enjoy and have fun.

Being the eldest in the family comes with great responsibilities - that is if you choose to be responsible enough or you can simply walk away.

For me, I can say that I had chosen the first one.

I wish that I would stay healthy so that I can still work and get that well-deserved vacation that I've been meaning to have soon.

It was also a couple of days back when an uncle died.

He is the father of my cousins - the closest ones that I have.

Our family is mourning but I cannot do much but to pray for his peace and happiness in eternal life and strength to those who are left behind.

Today is September first by the way.

That means, only a few more months and it'll be Christmas yet it'll be another holiday away from home.

I have vivid memories on the last Christmas that I had spent with my whole family.

It's sad to say that I haven't spent with them any since I had started working.

Am still hoping that I'll be able to do so in the coming years.

I really do hope so...

XoXo,

Joana

Top Model College Edition

Gals, the wait is over!

ANTM is now on it's 19th cycle and they have the first-ever College Edition!

Though Nigel and J Manuel are no longer part of the judges, they had brought in new ones.

Kelly Cutrone is still there, Rob Evans, the boxer-turned-model and celebrity stylist, Johnny Wujek.

Their prizes includes a campaign for Smashbox and not Cover Girl anymore.

With all these fab ladies, oh, it's hard to choose a fave but I like Jessie and Maria so far (haha). 

Looking forward to the next episode. 

XoXo, 

Joana 

Thursday Thoughts

I've been loving the posters from Not Salmon.

Check her site too!

There are lots of thoughts to ponder on!

Happy Thursday!

XoXo,

Joana 

Falafel...Just Falafel

Falafel is an Arabic food made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans which is deep-fried.

These can be eaten alone or as fillings in a pita bread and other variations.

There is a newly opened restaurant in Al Nasser St. and they serve all different kinds of falafel.

This is the one I like, their Quesadilla with a kick as it's a little spicy.

So, the next time you drop by the area make sure to check out their menu.

XoXo,

Joana 

The "Vacay" is Over

Wheeew!

My almost one week vacation is over.

I'll be reporting back to work tomorrow.

I feel relaxed, recharged and rejuvenated (yay!)

My friends and I had finally gone out to swim.

Actually, I cannot swim so I am just staying on the shallow part of the pool.

I am planning to go to a swim school come September and I am hoping that it could help me build muscles therefore gain weight.

Awww, I hope I can adjust easily to the new working hours again since we were only working for 6 hours during Ramadan.

Speaking of vacation, my good friend Mimi, and I will be going to Dubai before Christmas.

I won't be going to the Philippines until after 2 years as I am saving for my brothers' college fees and all so we had decided to go somewhere.

Hope I can save as soon as I can so that I can travel again for another trip back home.

Pray for me gals!

XoXo,

Joana

Sugarpova

Sugarpova

Are you a gummy bear lover? 

For sure you will also love "Sugarpova". 

It's a premium line of candies by no other than tennis superstar, Maria Sharapova. 

Yes, it's Maria Sharapova! 

For more details, you can check their site here. 

For the mean time, I'll leave you with these yummy photos from their page too! 

"Chic"

"Flirty"

"Quirky"

"Sassy Sour"

"Smitten Sour"

"Splashy"

"Sporty"

Oh, how I wish someone's coming over from the US. 

XoXo, 

Joana 

Survivor Philippines

OMG! 

I am so excited.

Survivor will be in the Philippines. 

They had just announced the cast and will start off on the 19th of September. 

Are you as excited as I am? 

XoXo, 

Joana 

(Window) Shopping Day

Monday was the 2nd day of Eid.

I'll be reporting back to work on Saturday still! Yay!

My friends and I had decided to go window shopping, of course all girls (except for my friend's kid).

You know what they say about shopping with boys so we had decided to go in an all girl group.

If shopping is a sport, I would have a better chance of being a Gold medalist (hahaha).

We had gone to Landmark at around half past 1 pm.

Thanks God it was not crowded.

I already planned on the things that I want to buy which excludes shoes as Hamude might cut off my feet (a girl can't have enough shoes).

I was walking in yellow peeptoes. 

Gold detailed buttons

This is the last piece wheeewww... 

Pink Macaroon Lip Balm from H&M 

Bold Colors from H&M

3 for QR 100 @ Victoria's Secrets 

After almost 3 hours of walking around, we grabbed some snacks from Friday's.

It was such a fun girl bonding day. 

What about you, how did you spend you Eid?

XoXo,

Joana

Amazing Emma

Awww, I've not seen the Amazing Spiderman yet.

I am planning to catch it during my "very" long weekend.

Since Eid will be tomorrow, I had reported for work earlier and will be back to work next week. Yay!

It's quite a long vacation and my first time ever since four years.

My colleague and I used to get the Eid Offs during the latter part of the year since we are working in the "operations".

But since we were moved to another project, we can avail it too!

I've been meaning to watch this movie since it was released but with Villaggio Mall still closed and the other malls crowded, I had opted to watch it later than planned.

I've always loved Emma Stone when I had seen her in "The House Bunny" and "Easy A".

I find her quirky.

She is also one of those Hollywood stars who always look "nice" and fab.

These are some of her photos (thanks to Google Images) that I adore:

I love how the Red Lipstick worked for her. 

Side-swept bangs and her hair colour look great too. 

Emma's take on peach. 

She bangs! 

Hair Talk

Are you also in search of easy to do hair styles?

I found a new site, Bangstyle, that offers a lot of new do's to try on.

Here are some of the ones I think is suitable for day wear or even at work.

These are illustrated by Colette Malouf (you can check this link for more hair talks!).

So, which one will you wearing for today?

XoXo,

Joana 

Eid Readings

Yay!

Eid is coming and this is the first time that I won't be working and will be on holidays too!

Aside from the scheduled "Shopping Day" with the girls on the 20th, I don't have any other plans.

I won't be able to swim since it's my "time of the month" and anyways, it's too humid outside.

I grabbed some books and am hoping to finished all of these.

What's on your reading list?

XoXo,

Joana 

Wordless Wednesday

My Scrubbing Partner :) 

What's your Nail Color?

Yay!

I've been meaning to get myself new nail polish colors but since it's Ramadan, I have work in the morning and the streets are busy at night.

It was last week when my friends and I had gone out together for coffee and I had got a chance to go to the mall.

So, here's my new nail color: Green it is!

Green Toenails

It's from NYX and they've lots of colors.

I got a red one in Matte too.

Below are some of the fab colors that they have.

Mine is green, what's yours? 

So, with all of these shades, which one do you like the most?

For me, I love them all!

XoXo,

Joana

Vanilla Sugar Scrub

I had discovered a new DIY website, TipJunkie. 

I was looking for a good scrub formula and I've got tons of ideas from this site. 

Since it's already September next month, it's just in time as these are also great as Christmas giveaways. 

This one's simple and here are what you need. 

1 Cup White Sugar 

2 Cups of Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil (you may use sesame oil or any alternative)

Storage Jar

Be crafty with your label.

Just mix all of the ingredients and make sure that there are no lumps! 

Here's what it should look like: 

It smells yummy too! 

Sweet and did I say yummy? 

Enjoy scrubbing! 

XoXo, 

Joana 

My "Bento" Box

Ramadan's going to end in just a weeks time! 

I am hoping that I get the chance to work on the morning shift still. 

I've got lots of plans for this year and I am praying that I can have these cleared off my reminders' list. 

Hamude cooked the chicken and rice, something like curry while I had prepared the salad and cooked fried dumplings. 

It reminded me of the Bento box. 

"Bento" which is of Japanese origin refers to food which is either bought or home-cooked packed food, consisting normally of rice, fish, vegetables in a usually box-shaped container. 

For us Filipinos, we call it "baon". 

It was early this year when I had started getting my packed lunch. 

I tried to cook almost everyday and I would love to do it still. 

My concern is, since we were moved to another project, the pantry is not that big for us to have lunch. 

We will be eating in standing position. 

Anyways, I can bear with it. 

I've been trying so hard to gain weight too so I really have to eat as much as I can. 

Can I prepare this everyday? :)

Here's to the "weight gain" program!

XoXo, 

Joana 

Hey, it’s the “Social Networking Era”!

Ask people around.

You won’t be surprised if everyone or most of them have accounts in the social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and the list goes on.

With all of these, we tend to update every single thing we do: be it grabbing some stuff, having dinner, vacation plans, being confined in the hospital and even death funerals.

As they say, we are now in the “Digital Age” where everything can be accessed through a few clicks of the mouse.

Here are some guidelines on how to be “safe” online:

Secure passwords.

It is advisable to create strong passwords, for example, alphanumeric ones and symbol combinations. Avoid using birthdates, mobile numbers and the like which most are likely known by other people. Make it a point to change your passwords from time to time. Also, do not share your password. Treat it like your bank account PIN or password: you would not want other people to have access to these right?

Be sure to log out your accounts.

Always be mindful to log off your accounts especially if you are using a common computer or “public” ones like in an internet café. Even if you are using your gadgets or devices, do not forget to log these off or put a pin or password so that no one will be able to play with these should your gadgets be lost and fall into the wrong hands and start posting on behalf.

Do not share “too much”.  

Sometimes, we get too excited and start to post personal thoughts, plans and things that should only be known by those who are really close to us. Be careful when creating your online profile and bear in mind that there are strangers who can view these information. There are things that we can share, things that we can share more or not at all. Do not post things that you would not want other people to see or comment on. Also, be socially responsible and be sensitive when posting stuffs.

Verify links, attachments and online invitations or requests.

Even before we reach the peak of the social networking era and the digital age, it has been known that it is not advisable to open links or attachments coming from unverified or unfamiliar senders. Remember the viruses that they say come with such? The same thing goes for online invitations or requests. It does not matter to have hundreds of online friends. It is still great to have some that you personally know and have really personal contact with.

Use HTTPS.

I had seen a post in a site before about this. It says something like do not access the sites if it is not on HTTPS. So what’s the difference? In layman’s term, if the site is on HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), it simply means that whatever details you put on that website is accessible or can be seen by another party whereas if it’s on HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), your “computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on”.

So, the next time you click the button or press the return key, think again.

Do you have any other tips in mind?

References:

Columbia University Information Technology (http://cuit.columbia.edu/cuit/it-security-resources/social-networking-dos-donts)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Whats_the_difference_between_HTTP_and_HTTPS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Https

Wordless Wednesday

It's a matter of perception. 

Villaggio!

I am so excited to have heard that most of the shops are prepping up to open on August 15 in Villaggio Mall.

Of course, our sympathies and heart-felt condolences still go those who had lost their loved ones in the fire accident before.

We are hoping that such accidents will be avoided in the future.

Looking forward to walk by the amazing shops there.

XoXo,

Joana 

Java U? Java Me?

It was the other day when a friend and I went out to grab some drinks (coffee, I mean) to catch up.

We had discovered a new coffee shop near Al Nasser St., near Al Safa Polyclinic.

The ambiance is very cozy and they do have this wall with running water outside the shop.

In this weather and this time of the year, we are in search of a place that is not too crowded and is quite enough.

Most of the coffee shops are jam-packed and it was so good to find a new place such as this one.

Drop by one of these days!

XoXo,

Joana 

Grilled Fish

We've been craving for fish and here it is.

We had decided to grill a big one with some carrots, tomatoes and topped with chopped parsley.

Burp!

XoXo,

Joana

Garangao!

Garangao Goodies!

I had received a Garangao Bag from a colleague.

The Garangao Festival is celebrated here in Doha during mid-Ramadan. 

The kids are pretty much excited as they are receiving lots of goodies (like this one!). 

Oh, yes, that's the kid in me!