Before I go on to my post’s topic, I just wanted to share these photos I took at my tita’s backyard in Bulacan. They had a pretty little gazebo with those hanging plants whose roots dangle from anywhere you hang them. I’m not sure what you call them.
Roots. A play on lighting and the photo editor.
And my belated Valentine’s photo. I just love this one.
Mia took her first step last Thursday, Feb 21. Though they were tiny one, two and a half steps, they were such huge steps for both of us.
This was how it started. I would sit her at the edge of the bed, her feet flat on the ground then I would coach her into standing up on her own. (more…)
Rise of the Monsters
you’d think there was some sort of theme in this post. 
first, happy valentines. belated, that is. i really don’t celebrate the occasion because as the cliche goes, you can let someone know that you love them any time of the year. nevertheless, just so i can post a lazy photo of anything related to the year’s most overrated event:
lately i’ve been compelled to go on a healthier diet of less carbs and more veggies. i love vegetables (except okra and pechay) and i have no problem with that really. if not for my mom pestering me to lose some weight, i’d say the monsters of fashion tv are haunting me.
i don’t mind the diet because of the abundance of good diet-friendly food these days. there’s a great tasting salad at Al Dente, for example. it just makes you feel like you’re a diet guru after eating just their chicken & bacon ceasar salad and feeling full already. don’t mind the sarcasm (just one of those days). it really is good.
another round of applause for the graffiti boys over at our neighborhood. first was the very dramatic rendition of melancholy. now there’s a monster rising out of the ground at the corner of xavierville avenue and katipunan. beware. its tentacles might just come alive and what with its crazed eyes it might mistake your head for a lollipop. (i love photo editing. see the old graffiti markings too? i only saw them after tweaking the photo’s midtones a bit. the MMDA might have been successful the first time, but they’re not stopping this monster.)
edit: i passed by the graffiti wall again this morning and monster talks! i’ll try to take a picture of that and post it here.
Mia Update
Mia can walk with just one hand holding on to mine now! I’m so happy she did it i only have to count a few more weeks till she finally lets go of my hand and take her first steps to independence. Yey!
rashes!
i need help with mia. she’s got rashes on her behind and i’ve been putting anti-bacterial creams and calamine lotion on it so it will stop itching. but it won’t and she’s really trying to scratch it. nakakaawa talaga when she cries about it. my cousin told me to give her iterax syrup and it’s only been one day since i started to give it to her, but the redness and the little bumps won’t go away still. what’s the best thing that can get it to heal fast? i hope someone can recommend something.
no “merry christmas”
here’s something you don’t know about me. i’m really hesitant to greet people “merry christmas” because i don’t believe in the greeting, really. for me it’s just an expression to mean whatever you want it once a year. probably to say thank you, be happy, be content, or let’s celebrate. it’s something you can say anytime of the year, for that matter. thing is, i don’t want to say it lest the true meaning be lost entirely on me or the person i’m saying it to.
i confess i have said it to a lot of people this year but that doesn’t mean i don’t mean well wishes. i do. it’s just that i would rather say may God bless you and that you remember why it’s always a special occasion. it’s a remembrance of something or someone greater than us, than gifts, or tradition.
no, i think it’s not cliche to say that it’s all about love, sacrifice, and grace, and the One who made it all possible. so there. no more merry christmas-es for you just a simple prayer that may God take care of you and your family and your loved ones. and that you have an even better year too! may our 2008 be more meaningful than this year
yet i am guilty of being busy with other things
somehow i believe that there is order in chaos. no matter how busy it was this year more than any other in my entire 25 years of existence (not that i was aware for the first 10 years), i know i had not forgotten what it’s all for. somehow, that little person right there reminded me who does sacrifice and unconditional love better than i do.
mia could have helped with the gift wrapping but all she could do was crumple the postcards i was using as gift tags and keep pestering mommy to carry her
it’s been a personal tradition to make my own version of the ref cake every year. this year i experimented with a different batch of ingredients (just different brands, nothing drastic) because i always use Nestle Cream and MY San’s Honey Graham Crackers. it’s just that when i went grocery shopping at Hi-Top, i couldn’t find the aisle where the Nestle Cream usually is and they ran out of HGC! it was already 2 days before Noche Buena and i had no more time to go to any other supermarket. plus, i didn’t want to brave the holiday rush traffic.
i’m quite happy that it turned out good. my nephew whom i gave a small container to as a gift actually finished it in one sitting still, next year i’m going back to my old ingredients. nothing feels better than what you’re used to. besides, Nestle Cream makes more than Alaska’s All-purpose Cream when it’s whipped. hehe.
Move over, Jinggoy and your expensive patrol cars. QC has its own fleet now.So, this is where my taxes go. One of these had better come to my rescue if one day i’ll find myself in a quandary.
this is why i still stick to my own brands not just out of corporate loyalty, but for safety reasons. that’s a thin green plastic strip you see there. and no, i did not set that up.
the name of the band is SILK. yes, even me. that’s how pretty they are (there are 2 more singers but this one’s the best for me) they’ve already played at 2 company events, so that makes them good. yeah ok, most of the audience are guys. you get the picture. (see upcoming gigs)
BF will probably do a double take before spray painting over this vandal. there’s a better version of it on the post beside it (the pig’s face is much clearer and the paint drips better) but it’s kinda hard taking a picture while driving. this caught my attention because it’s different. i mean, melancholy is not the usual graffiti word you’d see painted on sidewalks or walls around here. it’s usually gang names or symbols. makes me wonder, what could be going on in the minds of our youth today?
2 tags and a couple of updates in one post. i need to maximize precious time!
O Christmas Tree!
here’s a tag from miss misyel to show our Christmas tree at home. this photo is actually about 2 years old, but we haven’t replaced it in years. sorry kasi you can’t see much because this is all i have on my pc right now. i know i need to take a picture of it, but there’s just no time! (i know, i’ve complained about it for the nth time, sorry). anyway it’s something i put together that i posted on my flickr site.
the seiko wallet tag
my wallet will not fare against malen’s wallet. hers has everything!
inside: mercury suki card, robinsons atm, abenson discount card, citibank and metrobank cc, philamcare card, some cash, and a few calling cards and receipt slips hidden somewhere there
this wallet is from my mom and she gave it to me because she doesn’t like big wallets. i, on the other hand, have a liking for everything in big sizes big wallets and big bags, what were you thinking?
that’s it for my 2 tags. so show me yours, k, lilmiz, ate pao, joyce, kath, meeya, ate maru, karmi, and you!
mia and her favorite book
i just caught mia kissing her favorite book, Elmo’s “In My Stroller” soft foam book. it’s really funny what kids can do.
i hope she starts that love affair with books early, like mommy. and then, mia starts to get a feel of walking on her own.
with her lolas trying to show off some new skills
i was just so thrilled to see mia interact with other people since we’re always cooped up inside the house and mia never gets to see other human beings other than her immediate family. that’s why when we’re with relatives or my friends, she never wants to go with anyone else which can be quite hard too. last sunday when we went to my lola’s house in bulacan to have her 2nd flu shot by my cousin, which was also my other cousin’s bday party. the other kids were there and mia was happily exploring the grounds with clarice, my niece. whenever clarice would squeal, mia would imitate her. it was so adorable!
mia smiling at the camera because clarice was, too; with ninang jed also
later on mia would grab that hotdog stick
i am rated G
everyone’s welcome to read my blog. this site just gave me a nice rating. too nice, in fact. i’d like to see mine with an X on it. haha.
Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a beautiful little princess whose name is Mia. She was a joy to everyone who saw her, a jem in her mommy’s eyes, and the delight of her grandparents.
Hehe. The birthday party was a success. We did go to far far away land, but more like we drove there. (more…)
during those rare times that my family go out for coffee (since we usually don’t because my mom is one big fan of “cost efficiency” and besides, it’s not like you can’t brew coffee at home yourself that tastes as good as the commercialized ones), it usually ends up as a photo-whoring session with my 2 brothers as the stars.
you just gotta love these moments. and now that we have another star in the making, the results are more than the usual kulitan.
my family and i don’t always get along. what with having someone like me in the brood is enough to make any mother wish for a barbie doll for a daughter instead. just kidding. i’ve been a fairly bad little girl but i do try to make amends every now and then; like coffee times like these, when i put on my best behavior and enjoy the company of those who accept my quirks unconditionally. you don’t get those quite often.
in times like these, i just say a thankful prayer to God that He gave me these people to spend life with, however flawed we all are and however hard it is for us to accept each others’ differences. it had been hard, and i figure it will never be easy, but it’s a challenge i’d be willing to take on anytime knowing that time on earth will always be short.
this is a self-check. next time we go out for dinner, ask them out to coffee.
i remember going on a roadtrip with my friends in summer last year. (i don’t remember blogging anything about it, so here’s my more-than-a-year belated post). we went all the way to the northernmost part of luzon, which is most famous for its pristine beaches, killer waves, and untouched landscapes. pagudpud is actually just a small town in ilocos norte and is 561 kilometers away from manila, one way. it can be reached via air where you land in laoag, ilocos sur, then take a 2-hour bus ride to the town.
i still have the itinerary i compiled from a lot of resources on the web, but this one was the most helpful. with just this in hand, a couple of printouts on probable acommodations along the way, my friends and i set out on an adventure.
we left early morning on a thursday and got as far as laoag by nightfall. amazing, because the road all the way to pagudpud was cemented and we had no problems at all (all that investment of imelda marcos paid off). we just had a lot of stopovers kasi, that’s why it took us that long. we stayed there overnight and set out again in the morning. by around 10am, this awesome sight greeted us:
if you have the cash to burn you can stay in one of the beach’s prime hotels, Saud Beach Resort, which hosted the Bb. Pilipinas candidates a few years back. If not, there are several places to stay in that are really quite affordable and comfortable enough. we stayed at Arinaya Beach Resort. we had a great view of the beach and had the perfect spot to play cards and eat our own cooked meals!
my only regret is that we weren’t able to visit the tourist spots of pagudpud like the patapat viaduct, the lighthouse, the mairaira beach (or the blue lagoon, and i can only imagine how breathtaking the place is), kabigan falls, and the bantay abot caves. we just contented ourselves lounging on the beach, eating whatchamacallit crabs (sarap ng fresh!), and getting henna tattoos. we visited the windfarm, though.
overall, these were good times. nothing beats going on a road trip with people who get your drift for adventure and who know how to have fun. so kahit saan ka pang paraiso pumunta, pero kung ang kasama mo naman puro killjoy, wala din diba?
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p.s. if ever you’re planning to go to pagudpud and you need an IT of sorts, email me at iris14@gmail
cheers!
news bit #1: stonefreak!
had a really great time catching up with 2 friends, onee and joey, at shangri-la last night. i had to meet up with ons because i’m the lucky one who gets to surprise them with two avps for their wedding in january. though ’surprise’ isn’t exactly what onee would want for her perfect wedding, so i guess i’ll be having the first screening for her first. good times.
and of course me being at the shang means there is an ulterior motive. just a secret, but i really wanted us to meet there because stonefree was playing. *wide grin*. loved the band’s rendition of beautiful girls (originally by jojo and this dude…).
i miss watching live bands, really. i think the last time i was at a concert was in UP pa. Ang tagal na non! *hay* i miss the feeling of being in the middle of a crowd with pounding music especially when the act’s not a show band. good music, good times.
newsbit #2: lights, camera, action!
there’s a tv commercial shoot right out there on our dead-end street.
it was a little bit irritating because as early as 530am they were banging those metal things around and mia naturally woke up because of all the ruckus. i mean, they can’t just come parading into people’s sleeping neighborhoods can they? ano ngayon kung shooting pa yan nung kung sinong pontio pilato? i mean, for us who have sleeping babies, it’s just not appreciated much. pero in fairness, maganda yung model ng tvc.
direk erik matti: “cut! i loove-et!”
newsbit #3: exhausted
and because mia was awake really early, i didn’t have to meme her to sleep again around 10.
she just did while playing with her milk bottle. hehe
newsbit #4: letters from the crypt, este, highschool
i was cleaning old stuff in my room and i came across these letters from way back in highschool from my bestfriend, nat.
and i just realized how fun it was to write letters with your own hands back then and you found even the littlest pieces of scrap to write on. those letters don’t even have any of the “important and adult” stuff in them like, “To whom it may concern”, “Cc:”, or something like,
This is in clarification of the note sent earlier at 0900 hours during English class regarding plans of extended bonding hours at the mall. Will it be suffice to provide 5 minutes after class before proceeding with the activity? The undersigned is concerned that some academic authorities might intercept the plan and have them undergo extreme detention penalties for said assignation. Please advise.
that would be very scary. imagine if we were all adult-thinking when we were in highschool. true, a lot of teenage pregnancies would have been prevented, and a lot of adolescent angst would’ve been non-existent, but it would’ve been utterly boring.
newsbit #5: my frustration
so while i’m at it, i unearthed some story boards i did for an advertising class back in college. i loved that class. i especially loved my prof, since he always gave good grades (and i mean i keep getting 1.0’s hehe). i learned a lot, so that’s not all bola. actually that’s when i decided i wanted to go into marketing or advertising when i graduated.
i really want to produce this still. those papers aren’t really much, after all, i’m not a good artist, but i really think they’re good. (hehe love your own). it’s just one location per story so not that much off-site production. all my friends are in the film/advertising industry so what if i bring this up with them no? tamang-tama over coffee in tagaytay
direk iris: “cut! ano ba yan dingdong, ayusin mo naman!”
:)
last week a friend of mine celebrated his despedida in Jollibee Greenmeadows. it was funny because jollibee did make his appearance, and the party host did have games and prizes. there were only 2 little kids at the party so guess who were playing ‘caterpillar’?
i swear, ang gulo-gulo talaga. pero nakakatawa. it’s really what you get when you mix the forever-young jollibee and the young-at-heart urc people.
wasn’t much of a boxing fan, but i think ever since pacquiao glamourized the sport at least here in the philippines, i’ve been able to watch his matches (thanks to my dad and 2 brothers; even my mom watches avidly). so, it’s not at all hard to be very proud of the one man who brings down the cime rate in a single day, and who makes both rich and poor equals in front of the television. ironic no? that this man’s the only one who does it.
anyway. congratulations to us for hoisting the flag up once more in a foreign land. naawa naman ako kay barrera. if you go, you really should go out with a bang. it was supposed to be his pre-retirement victory. but one thing that really set pacquiao apart from him is humility. we all saw how the guy landed a rather frustrated punch at manny after the referee calls it. if he knew that he was going to lose to manny in his final game, after promising that he will beat him, he should’ve just kept to a good clean fight. i actually lost some respect for the eight-time boxing champ.
but then again he hasn’t got filipino respect, so let’s just give it to him. hail manny pacquiao.
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in other news, gusto ko lang sabihin na ang kulit-kulit ni mia. she’s so likot, when she sees me on my laptop she just can’t help but join in. but i don’t mind
and yup, we sleep on the floor now, just to make sure she doesn’t have any more night-time accidents. mia likes being done up. hehe. when i put on her sunglasses, a headband, or a bonnet, she doesn’t even mind.
cute no?
Mia can be quite a handful already sometimes. Growing baby eh. I’m really happy she’s had so many little milestones, when I was really worried that she could be so much delayed in development. Mia is starting to throw things around when she’s on her high chair or walker.
Well most of the time she’s just so adorable. And having a little girl to dress up is really fun
But sometimes, the look on her face scares me. Parang mommy niya pag nagalit, siryoso. Kanino kaya nagmana to?? Hehe
“Mag-usap nga tayo dito.”
How can babies be so all-knowing!?? Sometimes I feel like she knows everything about me. hehe
the best things in this world include mountain-high ice creams (199php only for stuff-all-you-can ice cream sundae at shakey’s katipunan) with corn flakes and chocolate syrup (and mini chocolate kisses, rainbow sprinkles, mini m&m©’s rice crispies, mini marshmallows, and strawberry syrup) and shared with the people you love. it’s ice cream just the way you want it. me and my brothers really enjoyed topping this ice cream. they ate most of it, by the way
and on the other hand, together with the distorted imagination of your friends, transforming the Transformers© image into less than the hard metal saviors-of-the-universe that they are.
it’s a bit blurry but i’m sure Jeff isn’t so excited that his action figures are getting this kind of publicity. hehe
this is what happens when friends gather for dinner and they have nothing to do but gossip about each others’ love lives and lack thereof.
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i can’t wait for our Bohol getaway.
