So it’s my mom’s birthday tomorrow.  Me and Mr. BF are going to visit her for a hearty seafood lunch as she promised.  It will be nice to get out of the house since it’s still filled with boxes *sideways glance to Mr. BF*.

Anyway, my chiropractor says I’m better now and that means I can start carrying more stuff inside my bag.  But I’m still not over my love for thin bags, even when looking for presents for my mom!  So I am planning to give this Anuschka Saddle Bag Collage to her, because it’s slim and light enough without eliminating the ‘tote bag’ feel.  She would love it.  Heeheee!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I really don’t know how to react to this question. Okay there’s a war going on in Georgia, but like, which ‘Georgia’, again?

Too small? Allow me to recite.

Open Question

“I live in georegia but I dont see rusia no where not even sound but they says theres tanks should i be worrie”

Sub Question

“I herd on the news that rusia has invaded but i dont see them no where wats going on”

Answer:

“You are in the state of Georgia. The nation of Georgia is on the other side of the world”

I am speechless.

And beginning to wonder what they teach people in school nowadays.

*sigh*

Picture from leenks.com

I am always thorough with my Anuschka collection.  But apparently not thorough enough.  This morning I discovered that I have lost my Anuschka Wallet on a string in Abstract Still Life.  I know I only forgot where I put it and it’s been driving me crazy!  AAGGGHH!

The thing is, it’s not easy to navigate the house nowadays, because Mr. BF had just received tons and tons of papers from his Singapore office and they literally came in huge boxes that are now scattered everywhere.  He said it’s going to be temporary, until he manages to clear our home office to accommodate the horrific brown boxes.  This morning I wonder, as I sip my coffee:  why would they put a ‘FRAGILE’ stamp on boxes full of papers?  Would they be treated differently?  I feel for those hard working airport staff, then.  They are tricked to handle the boxes with care, while there isn’t anything inside to be careful about, to begin with.

Oh enough about the boxes, I am downright worried about my Anuschka wallet.  I mean, of course I have other Anuschka wallet, but this is rather special.  It contains memories of my television days.  And I remember I was wearing it (yes, it’s a wallet on a string), when somebody who is now known as Mr. BF, asked me out for the first time.  So really, I can’t afford losing it.  *sob*

Here here wallet dear, are you hiding under one of the boxes now?

So I went for yoga this morning and it was great!  I couldn’t remember the name of the poses except for the “cobra”, but all in all it was great.  The instructor, Maggie, paid attention to newbies like me and corrected my poses because as she said: the main emphasize of Iyengar yoga is correct poses so the yoga can be beneficial to our health.  And the cool thing is, unlike my body balance class where we really seldom use props, on my first day of yoga, I was already introduced to the wall ropes, the yoga belt, blocks and bolsters.  How fun!

And these are the contents of my Anuschka Travel Tote today:

Sigg Water Bottle, Body Shop Vanilla Hairspray, Paper Soap and Paper Shampoo, old t-shirt and shorts (well, actually I brought spare undies as well, but… naaah I won’t display it here!)

I rarely bring too much on exercise day, because at my gym they provide towels and all sorts of amenities a girl might need like lotions and spray deodorants.  It is a swanky gym (Mr. BF got a corporate rate… tee heee!) so you expect those kind of things anyway. So I was kinda surprised when I found the similarly equipped locker room and showers at the seemingly simple yoga studio.  Cool, ain’t it?

Tomorrow is another day of yoga and I am looking very much forward to it! Yay!

An attempt to revive Austin Powers by wearing a beard, singing the already awful ‘More Than Words’ but smart enough to find that BIBLE is actually an abbreviation of Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.

So by now you’d probably think I’m into anything India.

Well yes I do like the food, and I adore the Anuschka Bag they make so beautifully, and am still bummed for not going to India this summer.  But I got my epiphany yesterday.

I should do yoga to complete the experience.  Yeah yeah, I know I’m lightyears behind in these kind of things.

The story is: I’ve been having backaches lately and it turns out that apparently I don’t drink water that much.  I’ve taken some drastic action into that and would now just drink a tall glass full of water every morning and every time I get thirsty. My friend Amy told me that I should also try yoga to improve my posture and live the healthy life.  “You know, ever since I do yoga, I’ve gotten really balanced and immune to sickness,” she said.  When I consulted my best friend Trish, she also recommend yoga because apparently she takes Pre-Natal Yoga before giving birth.

So I am now wondering which yoga I should take.  There are, apparently, many styles of yoga.  I have done my homework and it’s time to decide now. Let’s see:

Bikram
I would like to try Bikram yoga, because I think I’ll sweat more in the heated room.  They practice it in a 105 degrees room and a humidity level around 60 percent!  Wow.

Iyengar
Now the Iyengar yoga focuses on the precision and correct alignment of each pose. They sometimes use props too.  Hm. Interesting.  And this, is in fact, the most popular form of yoga in the U.S.  Hm, maybe I should try this before anything else?

Kripalu
They say this is the most gentle yoga there is, because it focuses on mind-body awareness.  I guess I have to learn to meditate

Kundalini
I think this is the hardest of all yoga types.  It consists of rapid breathing techniques, chanting and mantra meditation.  Wow.  They say I can awake the kundalini energy, stored at the base of the spine.  Groovy!

Ashtanga
I think this is what they have in my gym.  It’s a bit fast-paced and it’s said to emphaisze the continuity of movement and purification.  Maybe I’ll try after mastering the basics. 

Power Yoga
Oh wait, this is actually what they have in my gym.  Yeah.  Okay, definitely not it.  Gotta learn the basics first, methinks.

Purna Yoga
Right.  This is the yoga which features the iyengar precision and alignment.  It’s bringing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual awareness in a gentle way.  Again, I think the Iyengar is the basics.  So maybe I’ll take this after learning that!

Viniyoga
This, apparently is a holistic approach to yoga.  Hey wait a minute, aren’t all yoga holistic?  Oh well, I might be intrigued to try this because it’s said that the pace is much slower than other classes.

I called the lady at a yoga studio just now and she told me that they have an Iyengar yoga class tomorrow.  I also asked her what should I wear to a yoga class, and she said I could wear just my regular gym gear.  Which is kind of a bummer because  I thought I’d have to own those flowy white cotton pants and turbans and all.  It would be great to look all “yogini-chic”, especially with my Anuschka Travel Tote in Abstract Classic.

And now I am getting really psyched about joining the yoga class tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck!

Yes I am back.

In fact, I’ve been back checking my e-mail at approximately 4 p.m. yesterday.  I gave up.  But I did not give up first!  Here’s the hour-by-hour story on yesterday’s e-mail deficiency.

07.30 - No email fasting started.
08.00 - Mr. BF started tailing me everywhere around the house, just to make sure I don’t sneak a peek on my Blackberry.
09.00 - I felt cold sweats are appearing.  The first sign of craving.  Mr. BF started working on a new project, mostly by phone, saying stuff like: “I am out of internet connection, today…” and “My house is flooded and I can’t get electricity” -while he was in fact using an electric cordless phone.  And I thank God he’s a bad liar.
10.00 - Finished talking to my client in NY and my office in San Fransisco.  Turned out that I almost don’t need to check my e-mail because all was taken care of.  I can just do the paperworks.
11.00 - Mr. BF suddenly screamed in frustration.  When asked why, he went: “Oh nothing, I just wanted to scream”.  Tsk.  Men and their ego.
12.00 - We were chatty at lunch, probably to distract our minds from the e-mail starvation.  Whatever.
01.00 - “Baby, you wanna go to the park and teach me how to rollerblade again?” He’s asking me to get him out of the house / office.  I was dying to go outside too, but to add spiciness to the competition, I shook my head and pretended to be very busy making reports.
02.00 - Mr. BF suddenly pulled out his tool box and said, “I am going to repair the sink”.
02.03 - Tool box nicely tucked back into the cabinet.  “Let’s call a plumber,” he said.  Drenched in sink water.
02.05 - “Oh but the plumber’s number is in my blackberry,” he said.  Me = trying hard not to laugh and shook my head with a warning look.  Modern Bride was on my lap.  Yeah, we’re not exactly engaged but he doesn’t mind me reading bridal magazines.
03.00 - “Ok.  That’s it.  I give up.  There’s a very important e-mail from Stanley.  He’s in Nebraska, you know?”  Mr. BF dashed into the room, fetched his Blackberry and I relished watching the almost childlike look on his face when he was finally able to check his e-mails.  I didn’t budge.  He offered me my blackberry but I refused.  “I am going to see how much longer I can take this,” I said.
04.00 - I stood up from my desk and went to the bathroom.  When I got back, my e-mail login page appeared before my eyes.  Mr. BF grinned mischievously from across the room.  “Go ahead, I know you want to,” he said, encouraging me to log in.  I hesitated for a moment and logged in.  158 e-mails since 07.30 this morning!

Whatever the result is, I am proud to say that I apparently could hold myself off from checking e-mails for about 8 hours!

And the most important thing is I beat my boyfriend.

LOL!

Still within my e-mail fasting, I now present before you the newest edition of Thursday Fact ‘n Pick.  And this week’s Anuschka fact is…

Each Anuschka Bag is marked by a handwritten signature of the brand.

They are handwritten, people.  Not printed!  Don’t believe me?  Well see these:

It’s the Anuschka Medium Shoulder bag in Abstract Classic, in case you don’t know which bag that is.  Now check the signature and see that it definitely is the same as this one’s:

And in case you don’t recognize this beauty, it’s the Anuschka Shoulder Bag in Abstract Lava.  The signature is the same, and I am still wondering how they trained these artists to keep up with the quality!  I am seriously amazed.

So that’s the fact… AND the pickS of today :D  Aren’t they gorgeous?  Of course they are, they’re Anuschka Handbags.  I love them to bits and would want to write more about them, but Mr. BF is standing behind me, making sure I don’t check my mails.  So I have to go now and distract him.

Until then!

Last night, Mr. BF and I got to talking about how today’s human beings are too dependent to technology. One thing led to another and we agreed to hold a competition among ourselves.

We would stop checking our email for a day, and see who breaks first.

This very silly competition started this morning, when we turn off our Blackberries and stuff them into our (now locked) socks drawer.  The key is hidden on top of our closet.  He’s recording my every move in his Twitter, and I’m writing down my blog, which as he can see, there’s no Gmail tab in my computer!  Ha!

Let’s see now, he’s making brunch.  Yeah, we’re in the kitchen and he made me turn my laptop towards him so he can make sure I am not checking or even attempting to check my mails.

“You know, this isn’t really fun.  We have to rise the stakes.  How about no Twitter for a day?”

I looked up from my laptop with a wide grin.  He looked as pale as the glass of milk he’s about to drink.  I know he can’t live without Twitter and this would surely make him suffer.

“Fine,” he said, “No Twitter for me means no Wordpress for you.”

I frowned, “Too late.”

So we decided to just stick with the No-Email Day.  Will report the outcome, tomorrow.

One of my favorite thing to do in the morning is having a hearty breakfast -I’m sure by now people would already smell how fierce my appetite is- and… checking my e-mails.  This morning, my friend Jack sent this to me and it made me snort my cereals.  But it was worth the shock.

Regarde, s’il vous plait.

Dang.

Look how frat parties can be of damage to your brains.  LOL.  Oh well, as Jack said in the subject line:  “To The College Sophie.  Does This Ring A Bell?”.  Yep, I partied in college.  And I mean, p-a-r-t-y!  I never did this bad in a test, but I’ve had those hungover moments in class and taking Language when I was supposed to take Statistics.

Quite different, if we’re talking about the ‘now’ Sophie who sleeps at 10 p.m., waking up all fresh and cheery in the morning to greet online clients and still has the time to grocery shop and cook dinner.

Oh dear, I’m an old lady.

I’m dragging Mr. BF out tonight, then.  The poor guy is burned out from work.  See, I told him we shouldn’t have postponed that India trip.  *sigh*.  But that’s ok because I am going out, backache and all, with this:

The Anuschka Shoulder Bag in Premium Peacock Safari

Old lady begone!