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.