Litratong Pinoy: Dalampasigan

Ang dalampasigan ang isa sa paborito kong "subject" para kuhanan ng litrato. Sa lahat ng aking mga kuha, bakit ito ang napili kong isali sa Litratong Pinoy para sa linggong ito? Simple lang. Bukod sa maganda ang dalampasigan na ito sa Panglao, Bohol, huli sa litrato ang tuwa ng dalawa kong anak na lalaki habang naglalaro.

Sana naibigan ninyo....



Eto pa ang ilan sa mga paborito kong litrato na aking kinuha...

[slideshow id=360287970207497002&w=426&h=320]

Kung nais pa ninyong makita ang iba pang lahok na galing sa iba-ibang lugar, paki-click rito.

Maligayang Huwebes sa lahat.

15 Guests for 15th Bday

Well that's just to play with the title to this entry. When I counted the smiling faces in the pic, there were actually 14... or thereabouts.

Anyway... So what's the best way to party with about 15 teenage boys? I couldn't think of a better way than to feed them with lechon, dinuguan, ngo-hiong, roasted chicken, fresh lumpia, birthday noodles and pu-so for dinner.

Here's a slideshow of how we managed to fit more than 15 warm bodies inside our casita for Matthew's birthday dinner last Saturday....

Sa Gawing Kanluran

Okay. 530PM na. Puede na akong mamahinga ng konti at sumali sa lingguhang Litratong Pinoy.

Ang Italya ay nasa gawing kanlurang bahagi ng mundo, kaya napili kong isali ang litratong kinuha ko sa Piazza San Marco sa Venice. Romantiko talaga at "old world" ang dating... Kung hindi lang sa datestamp sa litrato na ito (at sa kasuotan ng mga tao), iisipin kong parang nasa ibang panahon kinuha.



Hay, sana makabalik at makapasyal ulit kaming mag-asawa dun...

In the Company of Friends

This has been a long delayed entry about the Sinulog get-together we cooked up at the last minute. Yes, about 7 months delayed. Haha.

Mike was flying in from Davao to participate in last January's Sinulog festivities and has offered to cook his special pasta if I could provide the venue for lunch. Instant reunion with friends and specially prepared food for and by the same group, WHY should I resist?


Mike in green, Prime in blue, Ann and Jerry (standing on the right), myself, and Dahlia

The busy bodies doing the food prep, minus myself as I am more an expert in eating than cooking. :P


It's good to be able to do this every now and then.

My Son Turns 15 Today

15 Things About Matt:

1. He is the eldest.
2. He is now bigger and slightly taller than his Pa.
3. His shoe size is 9.5 or 10.
4. He is into basketball and track & field.
5. He won a lot of medals for running.
6. He also won a medal once for swimming (when he was 3 years old!).
7. He is a consistent honor student.
8. He is not a fan of Math but loves Social Studies & History.
9. He loves reading books especially on ancient civilization.
10. He understands Mandarin, Fookien, and Tagalog but doesn't speak Tagalog fluently...
11. ... but is always elected best actor for school plays (even in roles with Pilipino lines).
12. His major role daily is seeing to it that his younger brother reads his lessons and does his homework.
13. He loves texting and chatting online and going out with his buddies on Saturdays.
14. He once tried driving (with his Pa) when he was younger.
15. His guilty pleasure is listening to his iPod which he bought for himself from saving his allowance.

15 things are just a few of what Matt is truly about. There are sooo much more I could write about him I could entitle this entry a thousand things about Matt. Heh. Well, I will have more to write when he turns older next year.

Happy 15th birthday Matthew Michael! *Hugs & kisses*

One of the Perks

I'm a busy full-time mom, not a SAHM*, nor a WAHM*, but a regular working mom with flexible work hours. Thanks to my job at M. One thing I love about my kind of work is that it enables me to spend time with my youngest. Not so much now with the 2 elder boys since they're at school for most of the day, but spending at least 2 precious waking hours with my bub is cathartic to me.

In the middle of being online, I get comic intermissions viewing this...


My Jake as Superman and his friend Zach as the Flash

and these...



It definitely made my day today! :)

*SAHM - Stay at home mom; WAHM - Work at home mom

Making Plans

What could Jake be thinking? Planning to be a doctor someday???

I woke up early this Saturday morning knowing about the boys' plan to go to the tracks for sprint practice. I planned to join them and to do a few rounds of brisk walking myself but decided against it when I realized they were practicing with their school coach and their classmates / friends. I didn't want to embarass them for looking like a tag-along mom. You know kids these days... Though the boys don't openly show their consternation when they bump into us in the malls, I just know they'd rather be left on their own devices when they're out with their cliques. Mother's instincts...you know...

"Ma, we're playing billiards at the club after practice, is that okay?", Matt, my 15 year old son said as I lay in bed lulling myself back to sleep. "Hmm....Where are you having lunch?", I asked. "Not decided yet but we plan to watch Dark Knight in the afternoon", Matt replied.

A few more questions about their itinerary for the day and Matt and Kyle were off, with Jerry driving them to Abellana Sports Complex.

I crawled towards Jake who was still asleep and planted a kiss on his milk-scented nape... Flashback to our earlier conversation...

"Ma, when I'm big na, I want to be in school with A-hia and Di-hia", Jake remarked. "Oh, but A-hia would be in college by then. Hehehe... But it's okay. You'd be with Di-hia for a few years," I told him. "What are your plans by the way?", I pretended like I was talking to a grown-up half-knowing I'd get wild or weird answer/s from this 4yo kid.

"Uh, I don't know...", Jake replied.

With my 15yo and 11.5yo sons planning things on their own for Saturdays or free days and being less available for family ... I'd hold on to the thought that Jake has not made plans for himself yet...

...not in the next 7 years at least!

Luntian (Green)

Para sa lingguhang tema ng Litratong Pinoy... Narito ang aking mga lahok:

Loob..

Halos walang ibang kulay na makikita sa badminton court na ito. Hmm, Lasalista kaya ang may-ari? Hehehe...

Labas...

ang berdeng damuhan sa park

Bagay...

berdeng tanikala

Tao...

celebrity na naka-berde... hmmm. teka....ay, parang nagalit yata sa pagpaparazzi ko. bwahahaha! kilala nyo ba sya?

Halika silipin natin ang iba pang lahok na kulay berde dito...

Sunday at the Park

A better, cheaper, stress-free alternative...

Balingkinitan

"Slender" yata ang pakahulugan nito sa salitang Inggles. Ito ang pagkakaroon ng maliit na baywang (waist) at balakang (hips) ng isang babae. Kelan nga ba sya pinaka-balingkinitan? Ito ay sa panahon na bago pa man siya magkaroon ng anak. Malaking porsyento pa rin ng mga kababaihan ang balingkinitan pa sa araw ng kanilang kasal. Kaya eto ang aking lahok sa Litratong Pinoy para sa linggong ito...




Ang balingkinitang pangangatawan ng aking kaibigang si Lucille.

Dalawin ang iba pang lahok sa Litratong Pinoy dito.

The Walk

The Walk, originally uploaded by gratitude.

It took more than a year, if I remember right, for this small patch of food / entertainment space to open its doors to the public. Now it's a new destination for food-lovers who want a change of scenery. There's Figaro, Mooon, Pier One, Shakey's, McDonald's, La Marea, Casa Verde which are sure to satisfy anybody's craving.

During Junnie's short visit, we included it in his itinerary. Pics were taken after a filling fusion lunch at Mooon, one bright day in June...

Driving the Boys... Away!

Going out of the bathroom, I ran to the room to avoid getting the laminated floor wet. The sons were there perched on the foot of my bed while watching MTV. Kyle and Jake were in an argument about why Jake changed Kyle's cellphone ringtone.

"Ah-erm... I'm going to change." I said, clutching my towel, water from my hair now dripping on the floor. "Hel-lo? Did you boys hear me?"..."I'm in a hurry!"... Nothing. "Excuse meeee"

No reaction whatsoever.

I rummaged my wardrobe cabinet to get some clothes and muttered under my breath "Fine, stay here and see me naked!"

I heard footsteps and saw them gone in a flash.

Hmm... always worked like a charm!

Couch Hogs

After having lunch at home, I decided to watch tv while Jake was all busy running in and out of the toy room (it's supposed to be a stockroom that got invaded by toys hence the name) bringing with him all the stuffed toys he and his two elder brothers accumulated over the yearssss.

I couldn't watch tv in peace as he kept showing me one furry animal after another. "Oh how cute!...", and some variations of it which I managed to say each and everytime he showed me one (yeah) just to get him off my back. Then he placed it next to me on the couch.

Anyway, that went on for quite a while that I found it pointless trying to see Oprah in between Pokemons and farm animals so I decided to just head back to the office. Jake and I hugged and kissed.

As I was about to get in the car, I managed to glance back at the living room. The whole couch was invaded by the furries! And Jake was sitting on the arm chair and appeared to be reading a book to his animal minions. And within earshot -

"Bye Ma! Yaya, please change the channel to Cartoon Network".

Ah, I get it... the conspiracy to drive me out so they could watch cartoons instead of Oprah. :P