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patawad dahil naipost ko na dati yung last 2 photos. pero yan lang kasi ang feel kong perfect pictures ng gusto kong ipagpasalamat sa taong nagdaan.
salamat, Lord.
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Eastwood QC / Dimakya Is. Palawan | 2009 | Canon EOS 400D | postprocessed using Photoscape
Tags: christmas, family, Litratong Pinoyi always look forward to family get togethers. there’s none quirkier than my relatives, none more dysfunctional. lovably dysfunctional, that is.
and they’re never shy. grown up,
or not.
i feel so amateur looking at my photos and then looking at random Interesting Flickr photos. grabe, when will I be that good?
anyway, still practicing for now. be my model? =)
Tags: black and white, portraitsmy mom can rule a country. seriously. she’s the best dictator while micromanaging. there’s some sort of ={ and >=( there, but this week has been nothing but realizing a lot of stuff about being The Matriarch of the house.
i think almost all mothers — who were born in an era when courtship didn’t mean just sending text messages (in shrtct txt lingo), everyone knew the value of hard earned money because they actually worked for it, and Values isn’t a subject — are like that.
when my mom got confined at the hospital for dyspepsia and gastritis (because of the gall stones i think, forgive my lack of medical knowledge), i had a taste of that. it was difficult, really, to take on all the responsibilities of having to cook pinakbet only to fail miserably, do the laundry and find that the washing machine hates me, keep the house in order, and make sure mom had what she needed in the hospital.
i realized she gave so much of her time to make sure we had everything we need. and with it came so much pressure, so much stress, so much sacrifice. no wonder she gets grumpy when we forget to pick up after ourselves or during the weekend when i fail to take over the kitchen. now i know, because i was almost like that the past week.
my mom’s home now, but still confined to the bed and the couch. on another note, i thank God for family. these are the times that you’re thankful to have a big clan who’s always there to check on you and help out. i thank God for my brothers (one of which is even handier at home than i am) who willingly help out around the house.
so mom, even if you can’t read this, i still want the rest of the world know that you’re appreciated, you were missed, and that i will now try to cook during weekends even if i have much to learn. 
Sundays once or twice a month usually mean playtime for me and Mia with my cousins and their kids.
Tita Sarah: Seriously Mia, did you think your mom is gonna let you have that piece of chocolate?
Mia: (very confused now)
Mia: What? The chocolate has a thousand calories in it!?? Mom!!!
Me: I told you so!
Clarice: Well that’s how it is. Whatever tastes good is always, always unhealthy.
Mia: I see…
Tita Baby (background): Tingnan mo tong dalawang to, ke-bata-bata pa, diet na ang pinag-uusapan!
Clarice: Well, don’t forget what I told you about chocolates! They’re good for you while you’re a kid and you still have all your teeth!
Mia: I won’t! See you soon!
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And that was my weekend. How was yours? 
Hindi ko kuha ito. Kuha ito ng aking ama noong ako ay may isang taong gulang pa lang. Kahit noong maliit pa lang ako, mahilig ng maglakwatsa, este, mag-travel ang aking magulang, dala na rin ng kanilang ministeryo sa Iglesia. At ako naman ay kaladkad na nila kahit saan mapunta. Ito ay kuha sa Baguio.
Gustong-gusto ko itong litratong ito dahil napaka-saya ng mukha ng aking Ina. Kahit saan namang litrato ay napakaganda niya. Lalo kapag siya ay ngumingiti.
Malabo lang itong litrato dahil kinuhanan ko lang yan gamit ng cellphone camera. Dapat siguro na-scan ko. At maniwala ka’t sa hindi, ang kamera na ginamit sa pagkuha ng litratong iyan ay buhay pa. Ito yung Minolta na sinasabi kong nagamit ko noong kolehiyo ako.
Sana’y magustuhan niyo ang litratog ito! Magandang LP weekend!
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Edit: At dahil naka-schedule lang itong post na ito, huli na rin itong pahabol ko. Hindi ako makakuha ng litrato nitong nakaraang linggo dahil na-ospital si Mia simula nung Tuesday. Sa susunod na post ang kwento. Pero salamat pa rin sa pagbisita.
it’s undeniable. you just can’t ignore it. it’s screaming out loud.
it’s. SUMMER.
(photo: iris; unsuspecting model: anne; loc: batanggas)
and i’m loving it. More »
One of the changes our family will be going through is my youngest brother’s transfer to Los Banos in a couple of months. But this UP LB thing wasn’t exactly a definite plan a few months ago, when my brother was deciding what to take in college.
I’m pretty sure he’s not alone. A lot of fresh grads are groping around, guessing what they’ll like to study and what will bring them big bucks eventually.
My brother wanted to learn how to cook. It wasn’t as glam as attending a fashion school in New York, but it was extravagant alright. Young people these days, with their characteristic love for freedom and carefree days, can consider searching for New York fashion schools or even in 12 other states in North America. Pretty versatile, huh? This particular website actually shows potential students what career options they have after graduating from top fashion schools new york. Information like this can be very beneficial for a HS grad who may be clueless about what college education really is for. These days, you can never be too informed.
vannie tagged me to write down top 5 things I want my child to know before he grows up. Or more specifically, top 5 values I should impart to my child to make him be a better person. and these are:
Here are some of my long overdue posts. i finally get a free hour (at least!) before the princess wakes up and i am fully at her service again. (pictures are links to my multiply albums, so if you happen to pass by there, add me up!).
New Year at the beach
This is the first time that we spent new year’s eve away from home. and this was mia’s first new year outing too! mia was scared of the water at first, but after cajoling her to dip her feet in the water like after 15 minutes, she finally gave in to my kulit and she finally let me put her in her float (which tita mytee gave her for her birthday). it was really cold by then because the sun hasn’t completely come out and it was 2.30pm already. we only stayed in the water for 20 minutes because mia was freezing already.
and of course the best part of it was spending new year’s with my entire family. we shot music videos (but this one i linked to was shot at home just the other night; my cousin is still editing the others and i’ll post them on youtube as soon as they’re ok), took night time pictures, and ate lots of junk food.
and see that new section on my sidebar, What’s on my tube? that’s mia right there, playing with me when we were at the beach.
Mia’s 2 front teeth
my little girl is growing up. she’s got 4 front teeth growing! the only downside to it is that she got me panicking for the last 2 weeks. she’s had fevers on and of, which weirdly didn’t last more than a day; and a really bad case of diarrhea for 5 days. she really lost some weight too. i thought it was just because of all the holiday eating (because she also wanted to eat whatever we were eating, and she loved the chocolate especially). but when it just wouldn’t go away, and she was really getting picky with what she was eating, i knew it had to be something else. my cousin told me to get her a fecalysis but on the day i was supposed to bring her to the hospital, it turned out she was ok. hay.
Mia at Fully Booked
this is another reason why i love Fully Booked at Gateway Mall. the children’s section is carpeted, and although it’s not exactly spic and span, it’s still room for mia to explore.
it was fun watching her among all the books, but not really when she was throwing them around i have yet to teach her how to put things back in their proper places.
that was today, when my mom and i got mia’s ears pierced. she finally looks like a real girl now! hehehe.
The Wedding
nope, not mine i just attended the wedding of my good friends onee and rommel at the Madre de Dios Chapel at the Midlands, Tagaytay Highlands. the place was really beautiful and serene. forgive me for not sharing the details of the wedding because the only thing that stuck to my mind were the wedding singers. they were reeeally good. the guy and the girl (i think they’re part of the band Sound Salad) sang The Prayer which was originally done by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church. it couldn’t have been more perfect. i’m still trying to look for the band’s profile somewhere on the web, but i couldn’t find any. sayang.
i’m still asking for my friend’s permission if i can post their Love Story AVP on YouTube, which i made for them as a gift. labor of love yun!
Cadbury®, choose happiness
has anyone seen the Cadbury® Choose Happiness tv ad campaign? it’s a claymation (clay animation) tvc of a family that finds themselves in happy Cadbury® land and everything is made of chocolate. yum, right? so they all drive around in a chocolate car, over chocolate hills and past chocolate trees, and all that stuff. the dad who was driving even tried on one of the car parts that came off! it’s cute, but you get this ominous feeling that they will turn to each other and just eat one another’s arms. haha.
seriously. watch it. if i find a clip on YouTube, i’ll show you
anyway since we’re on the topic, there’s this really funny Thai TVC series of a beauty product, Smooth-e Babyface facial scrub. there’s no subtitle but you can almost get what they’re saying with the facial expressions and body language. and it’s really funny.
i hope i linked to the right videos.
A night at The Fort
i had the chance to treat my family out to dinner last night at the fort. we went around fashion market at market! market! first to buy some more gifts, then went to Bonifacio High Street to have dinner. i was taking them to Texas Roadhouse Grill but the restaurant was full and we were 7th on the waiting list and my mom was already complaining. so, we head back and on the way, asked at Italiani’s, Mini Shabu-Shabu, and Claw Daddy’s all to no avail. the place was just crawling with families and groups of friends gathering for pre-Christmas celebration dinners.
i got frustrated because i really wanted to eat at Texas Roadhouse. the chicken tenders are just awesome. i realized i should have called to reserve. well, next time. so we ended up at the Polu Kai Grill at Serendra. since we really had no choice, as the other restaurants were full (except for Brazil Brazil, that only offered buffet meals at P600++/head which my mom pointed out that she was not going to get my money’s worth for it), i had us get a table at the Hawaiian themed restaurant. More »
i’m going to take time and squeeze in as much things i can write about in this post. because by next week, which is the busiest at the office and with some of my extra-curricular activities, i may not be able to post as much. and at the rate that my memory (and my mood for that matter) has been failing me recently, this may be the best time for me to write everything down.
forgive my being a scrooge the past few weeks because i haven’t exactly welcomed the holidays with welcome arms. as i said in my previous post, it’s probably just a phase.
there’s no stopping her anymore
mia’s been really busy learning a lot of tricks lately, and i’m really proud of her. first she starts to crawl on all fours. then she can’t keep from grabbing things to stand up! barely a few days later, she learns to climb the stairs on her own! although it’s a sign for me to panic already given the hazards of stair-climbing-without-much-experience, my reasonable parent side won over. i let her climb but i’m just close by. you really can’t stop a child from discovering the bounds of her motor skills, and i’m not about to. mia can climb 2 steps in under 3 minutes now. yey!
what i like about this whole learning process is that there’s room for me to learn too. i’m not just learning to trust her abilities, but my judgment as a parent as well. i never thought i would have the capacity to raise a child, even on my own; sure i can take any marketing project anytime, but this a different story. there’s no gross profit to protect, sales targets to maintain. it’s a child whose future self entirely depends on how you do your job. they’re just 2 so different things!
it’s a good thing that my Boss isn’t just results-oriented, but is also process-oriented. and i don’t mind if He keeps looking over my shoulder to see how i’ve been doing. i’m even thankful that He’s always there to make sure that we’re both safe. besides, he’s sent 2 really strict supervisors to watch over us all the time. no excuse for slacking here. hehe. thank God for them too.
finding my niche
i just blogged earlier about joining this networking thing called entrecard. and i just want to share my really cute entrecard. it’s a picture of different colorful cupcakes that my cousin took at mia’s birthday recently. these were the desserts i served that my other cousin baked. i plastered on my tagline, “finding my niche” on the photo and just couldn’t be more pleased by how it turned out. get the message?
more than just bibingka and puto bumbong
what i like most about christmas are the sights and smells that attach to memories of good times, family bonding, and get-togethers. red hot glowing embers in between clay pots are a common sight in our country as soon as november rolls around (and even earlier sometimes). but you just inhale so much more of the tradition as the much celebrated 25th day of the month comes nearer. because then, all sorts of round things are brought our for luck, the best pigs and chickens are sacrificed for the table, even the bad tasting (for me) queso de bola gets its once-a-year spotlight, and curfews are momentarily forgotten for children.
isn’t it great basking in tradition when you don’t have to worry about work, problems, and whatnots? without being able to pinpoint a reason for being merry this season, it’s a glorious time to be free and happy. i realize now that i’m expecting too much from myself to keep things in my life in order, not knowing that sometimes it’s just not mine to bear anymore.
i love the smell of traditional bibingka and puto bumbong, even if it’s just smoke from burning coal. it reminds me of a carefree childhood and pig outs and beach reunions. it reminds me that the bad things in this world are so small compared to why i’m celebrating Christmas. it reminds me that there’s a lot more reason to be happy after all.
between my brothers and i, i was the one who took the love of literature. when i was a kid, i would pretend to be a newspaper editor and make newspaper editions out of ruled grade 2 pad papers, complete with pictures i guess that’s what being the first born does to you; my mother wouldn’t quit until i learned how to read and write even before i went to school.
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.
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.
