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Lesson Learned

My family and I just came back from from a fantastic weekend! We attended the beautiful and very intimate wedding of my cousin at Calaruega then proceeded to Hacienda Isabella for the fantastic reception. Both places were absolutely beautiful! The scenery around Calaruega and the chapel itself was so beautiful, I wanted to cry! And as we walked around Hacienda Isabella, I kept wishing and praying that we'd win the lotto so that we'd have our own dream place away from the city as well.

So where are the pictures, you ask? Well, I checked my camera paraphernalia the night before because I knew I'd take tons of beautiful pictures. Things to check: camera, camera battery, flash, flash battery, remote... all CHECK! When we got to the chapel I was all excited and got everything ready. My cousin was just starting to march into the chapel.... Ready, set, turn on my camera.... Whoa!

NO CF CARD!

And why do I bother writing about this? Well, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. And I do believe there's a lesson to be learned here somewhere. lol!!!!

postscript: Our family stayed overnight at a beautiful bed & breakfast place in Tagaytay City. We then visited Moon Garden (sigh!!) for luch. Will write about this next time, after I steal some photos from my brother, Arthur, who brough along his Nikon.

Korean Tidbits

Had a great vacation in South Korea! Such a beautiful & clean place! Any visitor would be greatly impressed by the humongous new airport in Incheon. I just wish I can say as much for our NAIA (weep!).

Like any 1st world country, South Korea is grappling with a low, near-zero population rate. Due to the high cost of living, couples opt to postpone or totally rule out having children. The government gives an incentive to couples for up to 3 years but then it's still very expensive to have kids. Just sending them to school sets them back by millions (and the tour guide was talking in US dollars)! It's no wonder Koreans send their kids to the Philippines to study. Our tour guide says that it's so cheap here!

I totally loved Korean food! The typical Korean meal has a medley of appetizers, usually vegetable, served in tiny dishes. The hands down favorite was of course, kimchi while a close second was the dried seaweed that almost always disappears as soon as the meal starts. The viands are not really that spicy. Compared to Thai food which I would rate with 5 chilis, Korean food is about 2.5 chilis only.

This is one of our favorite meals: duck barbeque. We wrapped the duck slices in a variety of greens then dipped it in yummy soy bean paste.

The time we visited coincided with the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. They are so beautiful!!! The blooming marks the arrival of spring. Koreans are mighty proud of their cherry blossom trees.

One thing I also noticed: Koreans have lovely skin! Maybe it's the weather? Or their diet? Or maybe Face Shop? lol!You'd see flowers furiously abloom everywhere.
A quaint custom that we followed: taking off shoes when entering an establishment and sitting on the floor for meals.
Annyong haseo!!!!
If you'd like to take a photo tour of South Korea, please visit my multiply page.

I'm a Cover Girl!!!

Er... not I but actually my photos made it to the cover of my DD's school Parent Bulletin. There was no fantastic professional fee at all but just seeing my photos on the cover is more than enough for me.

And the best kicker? My name on the Editorial Team!! Woop! Woop!

Another Baking Attempt....and Some Pictures

My DS was around again to help me make Oreo Cheesecake. I dumped some Oreos into the blender and gave DS specific instructions.

Ready....

Set.....
Go!!!!

DS jumped up & down and made like he was shaking inside the blender hence the blurred image. I was laughing awfully hard and tried to keep my hands as steady as possible while I took these shots.

Oh and I took some pictures of these lovely flowers outside.... Just makes me wants to sing...
You are my sunshine...
My only sunshine...
You make me happy....

Now back to my cheesecake...

Making Memories

I took this picture of my DS about a year ago. If you want to freeze a moment like this, make sure to set your camera at a high shutter speed. My shutter speed was set at 1/200 per sec! So love the mood of this set. Enjoy!

Another layout with my Mother using 29th Street Market paper. I so enjoyed dabbing the edges with Making Memories acrylic paint, I had to stop myself from overdoing it!

Materials available at Lasting Impression. There's an ongoing store-wide sale right now with up to 40% off on patterned paper.

Raindrops of August

Summer days are really over as we meet August with what else but rain, rain, rain!!! It's been raining cats & dogs the whole week and there seems to be no let up.

PAG-ASA expects the country to experience at least 4 typhoons this month alone. Oh, I wonder if we'll ever get to dry our clothes this month!

August, which usually falls on the 7th month of the lunar calendar, is also around the time when Chinese all over the world observe the Hungry Ghost Month. They say that during this time, ghosts & spirits wander the earth and of course, give their relatives a "friendly" visit or two. That being said, many Chinese postpone or slow down on major activities such as getting engaged or married, buying a house, investing on a new business, opening a new shop, among others.

Just sit out this month, supertitious folks would say and just hope & pray for the best!!!! And by the way, don't forget food offerings & prayers for our dearly departed kin.

Photo for the Day: A "Cat" & his Side-kicks

I don't know what possessed me but I was crazy enough to agree to sit as Asst. Class Reps in ALL my 3 kids' classes! It's ok with the 2 older ones but activities for my Nursery Boy is taking a big chunk away from my ME time. Been so busy lately that I haven't had the chance to take pictures. I've also put aside regular badminton & haven't even scrapped a single page in 2 weeks!

As part of our regular routine, I have blocked off Saturday mornings for study time with my youngest DS who is in nursery. Exams are coming soon so we have to study double-time. Gee, I remember when my eldest DS was in nursery some ten years back just dancing, singing & playing the whole time. Nursery nowadays is really tough. My youngest has to study so many things!!!

After study time, we are both pretty much proud of ourselves. Me for keeping my patience & my DS for knowing his lessons well. Oh, I'm one proud happy Mama! Oh but we do have to practice our penmanship.....

After study time of course is play time! Here's a photo I took yesterday of my DS trying out one of his school projects & another one of his side-kicks (if you know what I mean)....

I'm Back!!!

Just got back from a 5 day trip in Thailand!!! We stayed at the Grand Diamond Suites Hotel, located in the Pratunam district which is the heart of their shopping paradise. We had a great time there: shopping, site seeing & most especially food tripping. Don't you just love Thai Cuisine???!! (just hold the chili a little bit for me)....

I love the Thais! I find them so respectful, friendly & gentle. And I specially found their custom of bowing with a gentle "Sawadee Ka" greeting absolutely charming. This is my 2nd time in Bangkok & I'm looking forward to going back there. Hmmm, maybe in my next life, I won't mind being born a Thai.

Oh but I would never exchange our very own country, the Philippines! As they say, there is no place like HOME! This is the view I saw as our plane landed at the NAIA 2 terminal.

I took tons of photos from our Bangkok trip. Just hope I have the time to post process. Golly, I miss scrapping! Good thing though because my scrapping buddies & I are having a crop tonight at Lasting Impression.

Baguio in My Mind

Last weekend, our family enjoyed a 4 day vacation in Baguio. The last time I was in Baguio was about 16 or so years ago but it was my kids' first time up in the mountains. They were amazed that the weather up there could get that cold!

Baguio has changed a lot since the last time I've been there. There are more people & more traffic. It's still a very lovely place to visit though. We loved the food, the weather, the sites.... Already, my youngest DS wants to go back! Hmmmm... I hope it won't be after 16 years again though.

Manila Ocean Park

Call us crazy to go to the Manila Ocean Park today because a few other thousands had the same crazy idea! The place was really as tight as a can of sardines! The entrance fee as P400 for adults and P350 for children 12 years & below. Manila residents with valid IDs get special discounts though. We didn't mind paying that much because it seemed reasonable if you compare it to prices of similar establishments abroad. Our expectations were not really that high though as we heard that the place is not yet 100% complete.

Did I mention that the place was really full? Makes one think that the Philippine economy is really not that bad at all if that many people could afford to get in. hmmm... but I digress.

Before guests were allowed entry, an usher made several announcements on proper decorum, etc. and emphasized that flash photography was NOT allowed. He even gave a quick demo on how to disarm the auto flash in a camera. Of course when you get in, you'd want to get pictures of the fish. Alas, we Pinoys are not really known for being disciplined in our own backyards and as expected flashes popped here, there & everywhere. Btw, let me assure you that the photos above were taken without flash.

Verdict: My kids totally enjoyed the place despite the huge crowd. The tanks were clean and the fish looked healthy. The manta ray even seemed friendly and loved going near people. We just hope that the clean conditions are maintained. Oh, the place is not exactly stroller-friendly because there are stairs that you have to pass to enjoy the outdoor aquaria. I'm sure though that there is access for wheelchairs because there were a couple of them there.

If you want to be able to linger around the tanks, I suggest that you NOT go on a weekend. Go see it for yourself!

Orton Effect

Joining a camera club has a lot of perks and one of them is meeting great & talented people and learning from them. Che is one of my camera buddies who shoots fantastically! Her macro shots are so awesome and inspiring. Peppered with smart annotations, her pictures are a joy to see. One of her inspiring sets used the Orton effect. With no inkling what this was, I promptly googled it and found this:

The Orton Effect is a fast way to give your photos a dreamy look. Michael Orton uses this technique with multiple images taken on slide film.

Here's my attempt at it.... This was taken in San Pablo, Laguna.

And here's the photo using the Orton Effect.
Remember the rose bouquet I got from a wedding last Christmas? Here it is now after a little tweaking.

Wedding Month

Weddings seem to be celebrated differently nowadays.

Last night at Hubby's relative's wedding, I was pleasantly surprised at the extensive preparations made for the guests by the bride & groom (B&G). It was a welcome change from the usual ho-hum ceremonies. And because of this, all the guests were all awake and quite participative!

For instance, there was no traditional bouquet and garter toss. Instead, there was a bingo game where guests were asked to answer questions pertaining to the B&G, eg. age, birthdays, etc. And the prizes were amazing! They gave away 2 mp3 players and 2 Nokia cellaphones as the grand prizes.

A touching part of the evening was when guests were asked to volunteer the number of years they've been married. The award went to a couple married for 42 years! As a gift, the B&G presented them with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Of course, the lucky (!) winners had to kiss each other while everyone gamely clinked their glasses. On the side, a lady sitted next to our table claimed that she's been married for 45 years. However, the husband refused to be acknowledged. Oh well!

What a lovely, lovely evening for a lovely, lovely couple!

Manila Bay Sunset

Last Saturday, we were at the port area to visit the MV Doulos, the floating bookstore. My kids were so happy to be able to get onboard a ship and look at the books for sale. Me? I was on deck, thoroughly mesmerized by the sinking ball of fire in the horizon. Sigh...

Pictures to Scrap

Last Sunday afternoon, I found my DS in the lanai blowing some bubbles. Btw, don't you welcome the change in the weather? Perfect for kites and bubbles!!! Of course, I quickly snapped some pictures for scrapping before DS gets soaking wet.

Oh, btw, DS here is still in his pj's because he's recuperating from a slight fever..."lagnat laki" only. And the green stuff you see in the background? Yep, those are Christmas decors waiting to be hung. I do the Xmas decors every year, sometimes overlapping it with the Halloween decor. Talk about kitschy style! This year though, I haven't brought myself to doing it. And it's almost December!!!!

Last week, my ever-efficient Yaya (bless her!) brought out from storage boxes & boxes of decor without being told. Hint, hint maybe? Hmmm, talk about subtle. he-hehhhehhe.. I should let them do it this year. Whaddya think?

A Sneak Peak

Last week, I got a text message from Vivian Uy of Lasting Impression for an invitation to attend the Grand Opening of her new store on November 17. Of course, scrapper's curiousity got the better of me so I replied, " I have to check it out right away." I got a frazzled answer, "But it's not yet ready! Everything's a mess!" "Oh well, you can't stop me from coming anyway..... (har-har)." Ready or not, here I come.

A few months back, I was totally nodding in agreement as I read Alby's Blog where she mentions someone aptly describing Vivan's store as a scrapper's Disneyland. Boy, oh boy! After visiting Lasting Impression's new place the other day, all I can say is "Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Let me give you just a sneak peak of this awesome place. However, I issue a stern warning which I suggest that you take seriously:

Blogger is not in any way

responsible for any

untoward effect on your

health, sanity or wallet!!!

Enjoy!

This isn't even half of it!!! Honest! Hope to see you all on Saturday, November 17. Activities for the day will be announced soon!