Here Comes March!

Can we just take a moment and revel in the fact that it's already March (yesterday)? I mean, didn't we just celebrate Christmas and New Year? Time flies!

Source: http://quotesblog.net/

February was truly a roller-coaster ride for me. First, my Comprehensive Real Estate (Brokerage) classes began last February 7, and even though I never imagined myself being in this field, I found myself enjoying every day of "school." Sometimes, I dread them especially when Atty. Raymond Batu (our lecturer for the legal aspects of real estate) threatens to hold an oral recitation, but I still enjoy our classes generally. I also realized they were nothing but empty threats haha, or maybe we just always run out of time. (I wrote a post about my life as a student here.)

I'm feeling floral today! 

A photo posted by Marie Angeli Laxa (@maanlaxa) on Feb 27, 2015 at 7:27pm PST

I love dressing up for school.

On the other hand, I have also done major career decisions last month. I had an almost month-long hiatus from work because I needed to decide whether I want to stay with my current job or explore new opportunities.

In the end, after the hiatus and many prayers and much self-reflection, I decided to stay with my current job but drastically reduce my hours. I explored new opportunities, and now, I'm a writer for a Christian company (I'll write about it in the next days) and a freelance writer for Writer Bay. I'm enjoying my new setup so far!

However, the downside of my career move last month is the loss of income.
 

Frugal Beauty Haul from Watsons

Another perk of being a student once more (at least for me!) is having a legitimate reason to buy skincare  products and some makeup. Thus, before our classes officially started a couple of weeks ago, I went on a trip to the ever reliable Watsons to buy said beauty products.

You see, because I'm just home everyday, I didn't find the need to buy stuff for my skin. A compact of Maybelline pressed powder and a tube of either Human Nature lipgloss or classic Carmex would suffice. But I wanted to appear more "professional" in class, so I needed to buy "stuff." However, I also wanted to remain frugal so I chose to go to Watsons rather than cutesy Korean shops. Anyway, I'm rambling, so let me show you what I've gotten (I don't remember the specific prices so I'll give you a rough estimate and try to be as accurate as possible!):

1. Pond's Flawless White BB Cream

I wanted to try Holika Holika since I read Ms. Ro of Animetric's review of it. But I don't know where to find it, so I settled for a tried and tested brand. It works naman and it doesn't make my face look ghastly white. I still want to try other brands though; maybe next time, I can try a Korean brand!

A tube costs around P300, but Ponds products were marked down at P50 less, so it was just around P250.

2. Watsons Foot Peeling Mask with Papaya and Lactic Acid

I have rough skin on my feet. Yeah, TMI, I know, but it's kind of annoying because all the scrubbing in the world wouldn't make it soft and smooth; it only turns my feet's skin raw. I wanted to try Foot Appeal because it got raving reviews, but then I saw this far prettier box!

This was on sale from around P200 to just around P80. I wasn't able to try it yet but I shall make a review once I am finally able to do so.

Life as a Student

Okay, a review student for only 8 weeks, not a full-fledged student. I actually still have a scholarship for Masteral and Doctorate degrees in UP (#humblebrag #sorry), but because of my strong aversion to oral recitations and quizzes, I don't think that scholarship shall ever be used.

I digress.

So I've been a "student" for a couple of weeks now, swallowing my aversion to all things academic to perform my daughter-ly duty. Ang drama ba? No, actually, my mother influenced me to take up a real estate brokerage board exam not so I can follow in her footsteps in the field but because she knows employment is not in my blood. Well, yeah, she got that right.

I digress again! Ano ba!

Okay, if anyone thought real estate brokerage was easy, he's so wrong. I mean, I also thought the same before the first class started. I'm reality, we have to know so many laws and so many concepts and do so many computations. Eek!

But there are things I love about being a "student" again. The first thing I love the most about being a student is, I'm not gonna lie, time alone. I only go to classes every Saturdays and Sundays, but believe me, those weekends are the biggest amount time I have ever spent alone as a mother. Because I know Yuri is well taken care of at home, I don't have to worry about him at class and can fully focus on learning and on myself.

The second thing I love about going to school is picking out outfits. Well, it would have been fun if only I didn't gain weight. But I did so my wardrobe choices are limited at the moment.

However, now, I have a legitimate reason to buy new clothes!