Picture perfect Friday

Happiness is miniature stained glass

One of the main attractions (for me) when we chose to rent this place is the butterflies stained glass effect on the door of our bathroom. It has a pretty calming effect even though the bathroom itself is pretty tiny. Yet it is equipped with all the basic necessities like the sink, the toilet bowl and the shower head, so I'm satisfied with it.

After all, everyone lurve butterflies, right? =)

Dear blog,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post coherent entries.

It's the heat!!!

You see with temperatures reaching a whooping 36.8 degrees, my brain cells have melted.

So I've been stuffing myself with ice cream, iced tea and frozen fruit salad.

I'll be happy if that is all I eat this summer.

But.

You know I'm watching my weight.

So it is an extreme exercise in self control not to overindulge.

But can you blame me?

The house turns into a sizzling sauna.

I shower like 3 times a day.

I dread to see our water and electricity bill, this month.

It might make my heart palpitate just like the cost of the meds I take to boost my chances of being a parent.

Oh well.

It's time for lunch and shower # 2!

Till next time,
D@phn3 LauRa =)

Picture perfect Friday

Happiness is a virtual nostalgic trip

My sister who is based in Singapore travels frequently for business trips. Recently, she was in New Delhi, India to attend a conference. In her free time, she was able to reconnect with our past. She visited our former residence there. She also took a stroll to our former institutions of learning. The top picture is the Holy Child Auxilium School where we studied during our elementary years. The bottom picture is the Tagore International School where we went for kinder/preparatory classes. During our Y!M chat, we chatted about our very happy childhood. She emailed me several pictures and I was really excited and happy to see sights and scenes from my very distant past. It made me smile. =)

Catch a Falling Star

I watched "Everybody's Fine" a really heartwarming but sad movie, this past weekend. The film started with one of my favorite songs "Catch a Falling Star" by Perry Como. I grew up listening to Perry Como because my parents had his Long Playing Record on repeat mode. It is a lovely song with a catchy melody and great lyrics. It makes me smile!

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day

For love may come
and tap you on the shoulder
some starless night

Just in case you feel
you wanna hold her
you'll have a pocket full of starlight

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day

For love may come
and tap you on the shoulder
some starless night

Just in case you feel
you wanna hold her
you'll have a pocket full of starlight
(mmmmm hmmm)

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day

For when your troubles
start multiplying
and they just might

It's easy to forget them
without trying
with just a pocket full of starlight

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
never let it fade away

Catch a falling star
and put it in your pocket
save it for a rainy day
save it for a rainy day

Sports

D is quite the sports minded individual. He plays basketball, golf, billiards and volleyball. He is an active participant in the university intramural games. He also plays basketball with his friends in a nearby sports facility during his off days. He also tries to schedule some time for his golfing activities.

I, on the other hand, am pretty much a couch potato. I did play tennis decades ago but I wasn't good at it. I had terrible hand to eye coordination. I also hated my P.E classes in high school and college. I used to wear glasses back then so I was really scared of the ball hitting my face. My fear was increased because it seems that my glasses served as some magnet that would attract the freaking ball directly towards my face. Yikes! Plus the fact that I sweat like a waterfall is a total turn off for me, sports wise.

So I'm more of a sports spectator. I remember I used to watch baseball with my sister in the early hours of the morning when they were telecast, live. We would be baseball betting just for fun to see which team won. Fun times!

Beauty Schools

The task of making someone beautiful is more than just good skills. It is an art form. Proper training is vital. There is also a need for continuous updating of these skills. There are several beauty schools that will hone your talents. Regency which was founded more than 50 years ago has a wide network of almost 30 campuses with certified growth.

Hayes Batson, Regency’s president and CEO says “our campuses mirror upscale salons and provide an exceptional education that benefits our students, the salon community, and the public.” Their cosmetology school in Florida provide appropriate training to their students by expert faculty supervision.

Sunday pleasure

One of my guilty pleasures is to browse the PostSecret website every Sundays. It is the website where people's secrets which were mailed on a postcard are displayed. It is refreshing to see some of the secrets since you suddenly don't feel alone in your anguish/pain or troubles.

I could have sent this postcard myself but I didn't. It hit a raw nerve with me.

For the longest time, I've been a careless, free spirited single person. I didn't have a maternal bone in my body. It was all about me, me and only me. Then just as my views about weddings and marriage slowly changed for the better (after I got married 2 years ago) I feel myself consumed by the motherhood aspect of my existence.

I still have no idea how I will handle it but at least I have soften my stance. But at this juncture of my life, my biological clock has unfortunately stopped ticking. Tough luck, right?

Oh well, I believe the key to enduring all these stress is my deep faith and my hubby's unwavering support. They both play an important role and prevent me from completely losing my mind over this hurdle. I try to maintain a positive outlook but alas I am only human and yes I do hurt!

Picture perfect Friday

Happiness is finding a pair of shoes that fits me!

I was unfortunately born with tiny feet. So finding the correct pair of shoes is a tedious process. This month has been doubly negative in terms of my fertility tests. The procedures drained me in every sense so I decided perhaps some retail therapy would boost my morale.

Normally I would avoid the shoes department due to the above stated reasons. But somehow I found myself standing among hundreds of shoes. I saw these strappy metallic brown sling backs, by accident. I tried them and they fit quite well. Imagine that!

Nevermind that I have no occasion to wear them. Nevermind that my toes get squashed from those straps. Nevermind that it's shiny.

It fits, it uplifted my spirits and that's all that matters to me. =)

Special effects

The proliferation of affordable gadgets in the market has contributed to many digital pictures stored in our hard drives. Pictures from our travels, special occasions and even snapshots from our daily existence abound. I discovered a new website where you can upload your photo and make a lot of different amazing effects in less then one minute.

You can create funny pictures online like this picture of my face on a drum set.




How about adding a cool photo effects like turning your picture into a sketch? Cute, no?



You can also make funny photos yourself. Here I turned my picture into a Christmas tree ornament.



Picjoke.com has more than 100 effects and they make new effects, daily. So be sure to check out this service every day! It's fun. Try it for your amusement.

There are places I remember

In my 4 decades on this planet, I've lived in 5 different countries. Each stay ranging between 2 to 6 years. Our rented houses ranged from bungalows, apartments to condominium dwellings. I remember in Brussels we called a 2 bedroom flat located on the 2nd floor our home for almost 3 years. The flat was average size with an airy feeling due to the high ceilings. The building was a dark hue of orange bricks with a creaky elevator. In the lower ground, there was a bodega area with good Basement waterproofing where each tenant could store their 'extra' pieces of furniture.

Our apartment was located on a wide avenue lined with trees and electric trams would roll by in the middle of the street. Although it was only on the 2nd floor it had a clear view of adjacent streets and a nearby university. Little establishments like bakery, pharmacy and curio shops added much character to the place. It was also about 2 blocks away from the elementary school where my sister and I acquired knowledge.

In 2001, my sister and I were able to re-visit Brussels for a few days. Our list of places to visit in Brussels included our former apartment/flat. It was so nostalgic for us to walk down familiar haunts. Although there were more shops, the quaintness of the area was still intact. In fact our former place still had the same dark orange color just like we remembered it. Needless to say, that visit was one of the many highlights of our European trip! =)

Picture perfect Friday

Happiness is a cup of tea.

The picture was taken at the Discovery Suites where we billeted our parents for their 40th wedding anniversary in February, 2008.

I'm more of a tea drinker than coffee. During vacations I usually have tea as my breakfast beverage. There are also times when I overeat so I take a sip of peppermint tea to ease indigestion and gastric problems.

Tees

Summer is blazing in this part of the world! So we should wear comfy clothes that won't make us sweat like waterfalls.


One of my regular items to wear are t shirts and jeans with flip flops. Supergoodtees are an online store that sells funny t shirts uk at affordable prices.

They are 100% heavy weight cotton and comes in 6 different colors. Sizes vary from Small to XXL. They currently have a great promo where you can buy 4 t-shirts and get one free!

Election Fever

With barely a month left for the May 10, 2010 elections, we are constantly bombarded with political ads. Every form of media is agog with election related stories of candidate this and candidate that. Social networking sites too are not spared. It isn't really my thing to join a free debate site for political chat about anything.

I may be opinionated but I prefer to keep my political views private. I would just pick D's brain about it and we love to argue just for argument's sake. I'm sure that by now, some of us have more or less picked our candidates. Well me, I'm still undecided! I'm still weighing my options between two presidential candidates. Probably I will only decide on election day itself so whatever na lang.

Crowning Glory

As I've mentioned several times in this blog, I'm a low maintenance gal when it comes to my hair. You see, I was (unfortunately) born with thick wavy hair. As a child, I sported a boy haircut complete with bangs! My mother would do the cutting so it wasn't really precise given that she wasn't a hairdresser. Just a typical Mom who thinks they know best.



Then when I was an awkwardly thin as a rake teenager, I adopted a Princess Diana style hairdo. Except with thick wavy hair, it looked more like an afro gone wild. Plus there were instances when I got static in my hair so the top part would stand up straight as a ruler. Add to that some really thick eyeglasses and well you get the ugly duckling picture. And NO WAY I am posting that picture! :D

It must have been some time in my 20s when I decided to go for the shoulder length. No bangs, just straight cut to an even length. But it was still as thick as ever and when I would tie my hair in a ponytail it looked like an unruly mop.

It was only when we arrived back here in Pinas for good in 2001 that I assumed a more layered haircut. It took me several hair raising episodes in various hair salons and an odd mix of stylists before I found my 'suki' stylist who knows exactly how I want my no frills hair done.

I know I have no one else to blame but my lazy self for not making more effort to maintain my mane. But I keep thinking of the electricity cost my flattening iron incurs each time I use it. And it never really gets flat out straight naman! I also think of the cost of getting a hot oil and trim every 3 months. Nowadays I only go for hair treatments like once a year. I tend to time it specifically for October, my birth month so I would feel oh so special.

So how come it is only April and yet I have this urge to visit my fave stylist na?

Oh well on verra (we'll see!)

Home improvement

October and December used to be my favorite months of the year. I was born on the 10th month and obviously we all love Christmas, right? Now, I've added April and May to my list of fave months. Specifically because D is home during the school break. So more happy, laughter filled moments to share and cherish. Naks! :D

It is also the period when D gets to tinker with maintenance chores. Fixing some leaking pipe or hammering creaking book shelves. He is quite handy with tools. He can actually fix anything. Even major repairs like plumbing. So probably it would be a good idea to gift him with a diamond saw blade to add to his tool set.

It sounds like a good plan but then what do I know about manual labor? Or tools for that matter? NOTHING. So you won't find me in any hardware store.

Picture perfect (Good) Friday

Happiness is Visita Iglesia

Visita Iglesia is done during Maundy Thursday when we visit different churches to recite the Stations of the Cross. It is also a time of solemnity, thanksgiving and deep reflection. The above picture of the adoration chapel was taken at the Santa Ana church in 2008.

Our Lenten tradition has evolved through the years. In the early 1990s, we managed to visit 14 churches in one night. Few years down the road, it dwindled to 10 churches. For the past few years, we were lucky if we could visit 7 churches. The traffic situation, the parking problem around the vicinity of churches and/or the large amount of people fulfilling this annual tradition - all contribute to the less number of churches we get to visit in one night.

With my sister now based in Singapore and my dad's difficulty in driving at night, we didn't go for the Visita Iglesia, this year. D & I simply heard Mass where we prayed and gave thanks to the Almighty for his numerous blessings which HE continues to shower upon us.