Last month, my bathroom was renovated and was turned into a spa. It has a hot tub now and a sauna. For all the hardwork, I decided to give myself myself a treat by indulging in a relaxing vacation at home.

The hot tub was amazing. It certainly made me relaxed. I loved sleeping in the tub while dipped in a mixture of herbs and fragrances. However after a week of doing that, I noticed that the tub was not glossy anymore. There was a build up of salt all around it and it really pissed me off. I called the technicians who installed it and they restored it using some chemical agents.

It turned out I have hard water at home. Tap water, or faucet water, may come from different places depending on your location. Sometimes it is sourced from deep wells and sometimes buy one of those hot tub spa covers to keep the surface of the tubs from drying out. Oh what a relief.

Music is the one thing that can make me relax during times of stress. Some say it has something to do with the brainwaves and stuff  like that. Anyhow, this is why I invested in very good quality sound systems at home. When I say sound systems, I mean BIG systems. I had so many sound systems that I began to treat them as my collection. My recent addition to my collection is a pair of Energy bookshelf speakers.

At first I thought, “what will I do with these small speakers?” – because I usually get big speakers because they have better sound quality. But then when I tried them, they sound amazing. I was supposed to just place them on my book shelf but then I realized that they would be perfect as satellite speakers.

I was so happy that I invited my friend to come over and watch a movie with me. I do not usually do this but hey, I need to brag these speakers. And of course this is to show my appreciation to her.

Last night, I did something so naughty. I went to a friend’s condominium to hangout and have a BBT marathon but that was not what happened. You see, my friend pad is on the 30th floor so you can pretty much see every building nearby. My friend had a pair of steiner binoculars she got from her dad. We use it when we watch concerts so that we can have a good view of the artists. Last night we use it to entertain ourselves. Hehehe…

At first we were just looking down at the cars below. But then, in a nearby apartment, We saw a lit room with an open window. It was a bedroom with a couple in it. The view was perfect – open window, well lit room, and no curtains. And then it started. The couple began kissing, then undressing each other, then… you know what happened. And we were there to watch it all happen. At first we were so silent then we were like OMG they are doing it!

I know it was very unethical to do that, and even illegal, but I just can’t resist. It was a show brought to us live. How could I resist?

You have tried going to the spa, having a massage, going on a long vacation yet you still feel stressed? Here’s a suggestion for you: A patch of nature in your own home. A sight of nature will surely relax the stressed mind. However it is hard to find such a sight in this busy city of New York. So if you can’t find nature, you might as well build it at home. Here’s what I did:

First thing I did was to visualize the setting I want. I made drawings so that I can clearly describe what I want. After that I itemized everything and listed it on a sheet.

In my list are trees, flowering plants, birds and fishes. I went to a local gardening shop to get some great looking pots that will look well indoors. Then I bought Bonsai trees and sunflower plants. In my Cherokee scrubs I placed the plants in the pots. It looked great.

After setting up the mini garden, it is time for the fauna. I bought a small aquarium from a pet shop nearby. Just a five gallon aquarium with a couple of goldfishes did the trick. For the final touch, a pair of peach faced green love birds.

Now, when I feel stressed, I just get a chair, sit in my mini garden and read a book. In just a few minutes, I feel relaxed and well again.

As early as now, I am already planning for the Halloween  party that I am hosting this year. It has been a tradition in the family to host these events. We have a rotation every year and annual events are distributed to every adult member of the family. This is a very good practice to keep the family ties. This way we will always have the chance to visit everyone’s homes once every year.

So here, I am planning my party starting with a theme. The theme is always the first thing you think about because it will set your goals plus you will know what design to use in your Halloween invitations.

This year, I plan to have a fairy theme. I have always been a fan of the Tinkerbell series. Plus I think that the kids would really look cute with fairy wings and not the traditional chain saw massacre costumes. Hmm… I wonder what I will prepare for dinner then?