Hangin

Nahirapan akong pumili ng lahok para sa linggong ito sa Litratong Pinoy para sa temang "hangin". Paano mo nga ba makukuhanan ang isang bagay na di mo naman nakikita?

Ipagpaumanhin na at kuha ito habang nasa loob ako ng sasakyang bumabagtas sa kahabaan ng interstate. Kaya may repleksiyon pa ng camera kung papansinin nyo ng mabuti. Di ko na maalala kung saan eksakto pero madadaanan ito kung ikaw ay papuntang San Francisco (galing LA). "Windmills" nga ba ang tawag dito? Malamang.

O sya, makaikot na nga muna sa iba pang lahok nang makita ko kung paano na-interpret ng iba ang tema. Hanggang sa susunod.... Maligayang LP!

Coupling

I mentioned in my previous post about my aunt & uncle's ruby anniversary. Just like what I said during my own parents' 40th anniversary last December 2006, not a lot of married couples get to reach that milestone these days. Pity.

As I savored the food served before us at the reception, I took some and posed for a few shots, with me and Paparazzi taking turns with my digicam. Here are some couple shots from the recent celebration...


The ruby couple... My Papa Lalo and Mama Sol (my mom's only sibling)


My own Pa & Ma :), they celebrated their 40th yr last Dec '06


Jerry and me... with 24 years more to our 40th :). Notice the orb? That must be our maternal Grandma who passed away last Jan '08...


A romantic silhouette of Pa & Ma as they danced the night away... *Awww...*

Her Excellency in Attendance

Last Monday (May 19th) was my maternal aunt & uncle's ruby (40th) anniversary. It was a well-attended affair that started in Sacred Heart Church and culminated in a Moroccan-themed reception at the Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel.

Security was tight as we noticed that the PSG (Presidential Security Group) was there. The "who's who" of Philippine politics were there too. And one of the distinguished guests was...


GMA - taken by a 2MP Blackberry phone and enhanced by Picnik

I'm not much of a fan but what do I do when I'm face to face with a famous person (Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, no less) and I have a cam with me? I snap a pic and blog away. Bow!

Tubig

Sa init ng panahon ngayon, dala na rin siguro ng "global warming", mapapaisip ka ng paraan para guminhawa ang pakiramdam. Pinakamadalas na gawi ang magpunta sa "beach" (O sige, puede na rin ang mag-"malling", hehehe. Pero ibang usapan yon.).

Maliban sa "teambuilding" ng aming opisina sa Alegre Beach noong January, di pa ako nakakapag-beach ulit na kasama ang aking mga bugoy. Nakakahiya mang aminin, dala ito ng sobrang ka-"busy"-han ng mga "schedules" naming mag-asawa. Dagdag pa ang pagbyahe ng aming panganay sa Xiamen kasama ng kanyang mga kamag-aral sa "high school". Anyway...

Sa aking paghahalukay ng aking "archive" para sa tema ng Litratong Pinoy ngayong Huwebes, nakita ko ang 2 larawan na ito na kuha pa noong isang taon. Huuu... Pag tinitingnan ko, parang gusto ko na talagang mapasyal sa tabing-dagat. Di bale... Pagbalik ng panganay, sisiguraduhin kong makakapag-beach kami ulit.

Harinawa at wag sana kaming tamarin. :P



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Ang panganay at ang kasunod... Wala si bunsoy sa litrato...

Tutorial?

Jake playing one of his favorite games...
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No extra-curricular summer courses for the boys were planned for this vacation. We did not enroll them since we initially planned a short trip within the month. However, due to some conflicts in our schedules, we decided to just postpone the trip for November during the boys' sem break.

So what kept/keeps them busy? Matt went to China with his classmates. He's due to be back this week after more than a month of immersion and studying Mandarin. For the other two boys (Kyle and Jake), it was more of just being home taking turns playing with their toys or watching tv. Ugh....

Much as I wouldn't want them to spend most of their time sitting and playing virtual games, we let them be. However, we occasionally broke the monotony by taking them to the movies or to the mall for afternoon treats or to my mom-in-law's place to spend time with her.

Anyway... it's not too late to spice up their summer vacation, is it? There's one more month before classes officially start for them. Yeah... I know, the trip or our schedule is a pretty lame excuse... If it's any consolation, it's knowing that 4 year old Jake already knows how to work my Mac. ;)

Umaapoy

Nakatabingi ang baso ng Bailey's sa tabi ng kandilang umaapoy
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Literal na naman ang aking lahok para sa linggong ito sa Litratong Pinoy sa temang "Umaapoy".

Ayon sa aking Flickr archive, ang litratong ito ay kuha ko pa noong Feb 17, 2007 habang nagde-date kami ng ex-bf kong si Jerry sa Treff Bar sa Waterfront Hotel Lahug.

Eto pa ang aking 2 lahok na kuha ng 2 malalaking sunog na nangyari sa Cebu. Wala akong nakitang apoy dahil malayo ako sa pinangyarihan. Pero sa aking pagmamaneho, nakita ko ang malalaking "column" ng usok na ito.

Iba na ang may point-and-shoot na digicam palagi ano? Puedeng maging on-site reporter. Hehehe.



Sunog noong Nob. 21, 2005
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Sunog noong March 7, 2007
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PS: Sa dalawang sunog na ito, maraming mga pamilya ang nawalan ng bahay... Ating ipanalangin na sana maiwasan na ang ganitong mga insidente.

Mothers' (Day) Weekend

This was how my Mothers (Day) Weekend was spent...



Friday evening - An hour of foot pampering at my favorite (cheap) spa
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Saturday - outing with family and friends from work
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Sunday - 6pm mass at Sacred Heart Church (yay for aircon'ed places of worship), Kenny Rogers feast of slabs of ribs, roasted chicken, muffins, several sidings and roast chicken sandwich (this last item was my dinner) and... couch potato-ing for most of the day watching the Desperate Housewives marathon!

It was a simple celeb but a great one at that. On the whole, I had a lovely Mothers' Day weekend!



Kyle, Jake and Jerry... not in pic is Matt, who is presently in Xiamen, China until 3rd week of May

Mahal na Ina

Maniniwala ba kayong kami na yata ng aking Ma ang isa sa pinakamadalas magkaroon ng alitan sa pamilya? Well di ko na aalamin kung kami nga o silang dalawa ng aking Paparazzi. Hehehe... Alam ko lang na madalas kaming galit-bati na parang aso't-pusa. Palibhasa, pareho matitigas ang aming ulo at proud ika nga...walang gustong magpatalbog.

Dahil mabait naman akong anak (Ma, wag na pong kokontra, okay?), nais ko syang parangalan ngayong linggo sa Litratong Pinoy at sa darating pang mga panahon bilang pagtanaw ng malaking utang na loob. Kung hindi dahil sa kanyang pagmamahal at pangangalaga, di sana ako lalaking perpekto mabuting tao (base sa aking pagkakaalam :D).

Kamukha ko ba sya? Kayo na ang humusga!



Si madir, sa aking 1yo na bahay-kubo...


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Ang kasunod na pic ay di na kalahok sa LP dahil di naman ako ang kumuha nito kundi ang aking hubs. Noong isang taon pa ito kinuha sa company outing na ginawa sa La Luz Batangas. Gusto ko lang i-share. Patunay na ako rin ay isang mahal na ina. Akin ang 3 inakay na nasa tabi ko. Yung mga nasa likod ay di kasali. O di ba? Saan kayo nakakita ng "beach babe mom" na nakasuot ng salamin? Palibhasa malabo ang mga mata. Ehehehe....



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Advance Happy Mothers' Day sa lahat!

Happy Birthday Sistah!

Happy birthday, May!
(May, Junnie, moi)
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* This is a favorite pic which I keep recycling on this site...not because I'm 50 pounds lighter here. (Heheheh...This obsession about my weight is making me crazy now). I think I posted this one at least 2 or 3 times to date. It's just one of those moments you want to keep reliving in your mind. This was taken during our trip together in beautiful Switzerland. Ahh those were the days... Sana maulit! Tara, byahe ulit tayo kahit Siargao lang :P.

No Such Thing

I was channel surfing between the Buzz on ABS-CBN and Showbiz Central on GMA when I chanced upon the new Nescafe commercial...

Me: Hmm, where could I get that coffee that could make me look like that?
Hubs: Err... I think you got the message wrong.

Grr....

Buti na lang di ako pikon (masyado). Hahaha!

To Hug and To Hold

I was hurriedly getting dressed for work. While moving about with a towel on my head and another one wrapped precariously around my body, Jake, who was playing in the room, started to say something.

Jake: Can I stay here? Can I look at you?
Me: (I pretended not to hear for 2 reasons. I didn't want to slow down by shooing him off. I could slip into my clothes without baring myself naked after all. And no. 2, I wanted to just let him forget what he just asked me. Hehe..)
Jake: (Didn't say a word and quietly got up, walked towards me and gave me a hug)
Me: (I hugged him back, still trying to keep my towel on. I was glad he didn't persist on taking a look at me while I dressed up. That would have scarred him for life. Haha! Or scarred me emotionally if he said anything about how fat I looked.)
Jake: (Looked up at me and smiled)
Me: (I smiled back and hugged him tighter. What's a few seconds of a tight embrace right? I stood there stroking his head with one hand while tugging at my towel with the other. Why was I even entertaining thoughts of him making fun of my figure? My boy just wanted a hug after all... And that was what I was giving him. I hugged him some more while slowly walking him towards the door. Just before he could finally step out of the room....)
Jake: Ma...you have a very big tummy...
Me: UGH!



Jake the rascal
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Malungkot

mga kandilang nakasindi sa puntod ng aming lola...
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Ano ba ang pinakamalungkot na pangyayari sa buhay ng kahit sino? Para sa akin, wala nang lulungkot pa sa pagpanaw ng isang mahal sa buhay. Kamakailan (Jan. 20, 2008) ay namayapa na ang aming lola (sa aking ina) sa edad na 94. Kahit alam namin na nasa mas mabuti na syang kalagayan, hindi pa rin maiaalis ang lungkot na nararamdaman ng aming pamilya dulot ng kanyang pagpanaw. Tanging alaala na lamang ng masasayang araw sa piling nya ang naiwan...

Ito ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy sa tema para sa linggong ito...

Eto pa ang isang lahok na di naman kasing bigat kagaya ng nasa itaas... Pansinin na habang nakangiti ang 2 kong anak na lalaki sa gitna at kaliwa ay malungkot naman ang bunso. Dahil maraming manlalaro, hindi sya nakasali sa "badminton" nung araw na iyon. Bakas sa mukha nya na di sya nasiyahan gaya ng kanyang mga kuya.



"Di bale Jake, sa susunod, makakalaro ka na ulit."