Detox, Diets, and Other To-Dos

Every first week of January ever since I was a little girl, I would write "My New Year's Resolutions" on my diary. Filled with optimism, I always felt ready to take on the coming year. Alas, come February, I'd find myself breaking every promise I made to myself one-by-one and I'd feel like a complete and utter failure.

This year, I decided to take a lesson from one of our favorite bolso pastime - To-Do lists. (You have to check out http://mommypads.multiply.com for the cutest personalized stationery.) Channeling my bolso babes - Jenny's green notebook, Kit's Starbucks planner, and Rorie's mini vintage pad - I whipped out my pink moleskin (a gift from one of my BFFs - Congratulations, Natchee, on now being a certified yogini!) and jotted down everything I planned to check off by year's end. And like any girl with a new project, I came up with my theme for 2010 - De-clutter!!! I figure, now is the best time to rid myself of negative emotions, dust-gathering junk, and unwanted pounds.

Last week I was definitely a girl on a mission. On Monday, I enrolled in unlimited yoga classes for a month (http://www.pulse-yoga.com) Come Friday, I decided to cleanse my mind even more...so I met up with one of my fave amigas, Lexi, in Fully Booked (or "The Big Bookstore" as we fondly call our usual meeting spot) and left with Meditation Bliss: Inspirational Techniques for Finding Calm.

Being a self-diagnosed insomniac, I have also found my very own on-line support system. In my quest to shed some inches, I have enlisted the help of the following:

http://www.self.com (This site has everything from diets to exercises to even playlists for your ipod! The 2010 Jumpstart Plan is an absolute must.)

http://www.foodnetwork.com (A whole section on Healthy Living...Elie Krieger, you are the Julia to my Julie.)

I have yet to work on my closet - that's a whole other kind of de-cluttering all together, fix my little workplace, and re-decorate my bedroom...But then again, it's only the third week of January and I've already incorporated a 5-minute meditation at day's end. Yup, slowly checking those to-dos...Namaste... - KAB

On Always Being Ready and Going Green

When I leave my house in the morning, I’m usually out for most of the day. And after being stranded during Ondoy (we, Bolso Babes were stranded overnight in Bellevue Hotel during our first bazaar), I never leave the house without my “go bag”.

I refuse to look like a bag lady lugging my belongings all around town – so I have a separate bag that I take with me, but leave in the car while I run my errands. And what better bag to use than our very own Carry-All (http://www.bolsomanila.com)? I have everything I could possibly need (just in case) arranged neatly in the pockets – toiletries, my Kindle e-book reader, a lightweight wrap for when the air-conditioning is too cold, an extra shirt, my Aquazorb hand towel, my water bottle, all my gadget chargers and sometimes even my laptop.

And speaking of water bottles…I’m guilty of not getting enough water in my system. Having a water bottle helps me remember to get hydrated. I don’t want to add to the environmental problem by consuming too much plastic so I have a personal water bottle that I fill up at home and take with me. After all the diseases and illnesses associated with plastic and aluminum materials, I invested in a stainless steel water bottle. I bought mine at Costco in the States, but Rustan’s recently brought in Klean Kanteen (http://www.kleankanteen.com), the company that made the first food-grade stainless steel hydration bottles on the market. I love, love, love the innovative design and the fact that the bottles are safe, easy to clean and sanitary.

So, I’ve cut out my consumption of plastic bottles – and I’m slowly decreasing my use of plastic bags. My favorite reusable bag is from Mother Earth (http://mamaearth.multiply.com). They have these sturdy, well-made canvas totes that fold into neat little squares you can tuck into your bag for those times when you’re out and suddenly find yourself accumulating things – a.k.a. shopping! Bolso Babe Karisia gave me one with the “For My Hot Mama (Earth)” design. I take it with me everywhere I go! - KGG