On the Go with Toes and Broken Glass

I think I may have found someone busier than me. I met Annette Day at my daughter's free preschool program. Miss Annette is Monica's art teacher. I liked her at once because she reminded me of two of my best friends, M and J, all at once--with the short, pixie-cut stylish hair and hip outfits. Chatting one day, she said she set up Toes On The Go--her pedicure service, geared for anyone but mostly seniors. Her mom succumbed to cancer last year and she then been exposed to many seniors.

Divorced and orphaned by her mom in the same year, she tended to her 2 kids, did her pedicures, taught at the YMCA, does mosaic tables for the cafe downtown, and is part of the Brentwood Arts Commission. It's a wonder I pinned her down twice for an interview and pictorial.

"Everyone loves a pedicure," she said. "Everyone loves the reflexology with tons of lotion. And all those hot shades can really lift up your mood. I also like working with seniors, they are so wise and generous."

It's been almost 2 years since I had a proper manicure/pedicure, which I had almost weekly in Manila. And why not at $5 for both hands and feet? (versus Annette's $26 for the feet only!)

I ache for trim toenails and neat cuticles. And I salivate at the thought of a foot massage. At least, Annette's toes look nice all the time--zebra stripes, rhinestones, hot pink, polka-dots:



And I am here, taking a sneaky ceative break, blogging, while inputing data in an Excel sheeeeeet. . .

And then Annette is off to art classes with the tots. They have learned painting, colors, messing up, glitter, clay, and cutting and pasting--all in fun. Then she goes home and paints her kitchen cupboards red and her wall trims blue. Then she works on her mosaic--mirrors, tables, countertops.

"When you are artistic, it will eventually find a way out of you," she says. "I love, love, love mosaic."



What a privilege to be creative most of the time. Julia Cameron of the Artist's Way said that you are closest to your God when you are creating.

No matter how busy we are, Annette is a reminder that we must pursue our creative selves, otherwise we are not as full, not as deep, and maybe, not as happy.

I remember my cousins who wanted to be architects, or my son who wants to sing and act. May their creativity remain blessed.

Between my 2 jobs and my 5 kids, creativity takes a definite back seat. I am very worried that I have not crocheted in a week and that I have to grab my pints of paint from Home Depot soon. I am worried because I don't like to lose balance--I don't want too much work, too much money, with no time for play or for the small things. I guess that is why I have stayed away from a career or from a full-time job. And that's why maybe I may never be super rich. . .

My shelved projects await--I want to finish a chair into turquoise blue to match my turquoise elephant found at Target for $9.



Hope to get to it and post it soon!

All clothes for a dollar

Nifty As Is accepts donations of gently-used brand name clothing. They then sell any piece for a dollar and the proceeds go to the physically or mentally challenged members of the community, who man, clean, and operate the store.

I think it's the best deal ever. The concept is truly nifty, saves landfill space, attracts lots of bargain-hunters, (I found a blue Tommy Hillfiger sweater, with the tag still on--the one I am wearing in the pic! I wear it all the time!), and helps provide livelihood for those with cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or just plain wheel-chair bound. In fact, the cashier was the friendliest I have met. She is always smiling and she is likes being asked.



Check out my friend's Harry S., article about it in the Antioch Press.

Y. Syrel had a ball, fishing out clothes for a dollar. She bought a bag full for her relatives in Bacolod, and spent just $12.



I discovered cuddly teddy bears for 50 cents. Gently used and nice and clean, these I will send to Bearsfor Bicol for their February shipment, along with the other bears I have been collecting from the Fil-Am community here.



Nifty As Is has hooked us as regular customers. A level above ukay-ukay in Philippines, even above Salvation Army and Goodwill, Nifty is the greatest deal in town!

Frugal in the City

My in-laws came to visit us in SFO. We got to stay with them at Parc Hotel, smack in the middle of Market St., across Nordstrom, Gap, Forever 21, and the cable car boarding station. They rented a room for all of us and we got to spend after Christmas in the city. This is also a good time for post-Xmas sales and pre-New Year sales, with every store offering up to 75% mark-downs.



I also marveled at the new Westfield Mall, home to Bloomingdales, opened in SfO just a few months ago. Wonderfully designed building, with winding escalators. But the mall was just too full for comfort (because of the mega sales), I couldn't even begin to look at things. I tried to check out the coat I needed, and saw some interesting ones in BEbe ($120) but I guess, not today. . .




Market Street, though, is interesting with unique finds on the sidewalk. There were the usual exotic earrings and jewelry, scarves and bonnets. But I met an artist (fond of Filipinas--"You are all beautiful!" he said.) who made charms out of spoons. He decoupaged style icons like Jackie O., Bruce Lee, or even Mao Tse Tung, Elvis, even Disney Princesses on spoons and added beads or charms and looped them into a string for an instant necklace, all for $5.



I also found the Korean woman who crocheted her wares on the spot--bonnets ($10), floral scarves ($18) and attachable crochet flowers (3 for $5) in all colors. It took a lot of will not to buy those cute flowers as I convinced myself that I could make those myself. Isn't this every crafter's dream--to sell her wares?



In Old Navy, I got a fur-lined vest in beige by--from $34, on sale at $16. I like the way it feels plush and the way it slims my upper torso. I also bought hoop earrings studded with black tiny rhinestones from $12, which I will wear when I have to look dressed.

Shooting pictures and window shopping were next. The trend for women seems to be baby-doll cut dresses and tops and empire waists. Sounds good to me because I have no waist and this cut sems flattering and feminine. Forever 21's specialty is modern fashion with an edge. The store also has very elaborate chandeliers for ambience and the cheapest accessories (bags from $20, costume jewelry from $4). And if my snapshots look like "snatch-shots," well, that's because they are. (I didn't know if photos were allowed to be taken).




Last stop for me was Sephora. Before getting drunk with all the designer fragrances, I started from the back-end of the store and found the Philosophy line of fragrance and skin care. Their fragrances were natural and fresh: Falling in Love, Pure Grace, Amazing Grace. Their skin care simple and straightforward. My husband treated me to a small bottle of Amazing Grace.





I realized this is why we chose to settle off San Francisco--the city is vibrant, but not as confusing and littered as New York. The weather is always nice and there are so many things to see. The people are a nice mix, lots of Asians. Food selections are endless. We grabbed clam chowder on sourdough for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and ate in wonderful authentic Chinese and Vietnamese restos. We even convinced the in-laws to try Johnny Rockets for diner food and ambience. We did have room service a couple of times when they were too tired. (Yipee!)

Arguably, San Francisco has the best cuisine in the world as the immigrants surely brought with them the best of their culinary skills and the Coast allows us access to great seafood. Plus the fact that California is still basically agricultural, with a wine valley to boot, rounds out our place for food pleasures.

Locals never really venture out to the tourist areas. But we totally enjoyed all the sight-seeing and eating that lasted about a week. I never thought eating out everyday would tire us out. We were treated to dining out and movies worth the whole year--Rocky Balboa, Happy Feet and Night at the Museum (IMAX), and Pursuit of Happyness. It's time to go home to good ol' Antioch, though.

We were just as excited to come home to good ol' homecooking of sinigang and corned beef and egg for dinner when we got home. . .Yum!