Yet Another Holiday

National Heroes Day. Not that the government does anything major to celebrate it. No wonder we are not a patriotic people. Sigh! Everyone just looks at it as another day off of work or school. Yippeee! I mean, that's all it is really.

Anyhoo, we just stayed home today. And played with the Wii for HOURS. Yes, even me. I'm starting to get the hang of Mario Party 8 or something like that. Hehehehe. The kids look at me with amazement when I win some minigame or duel. Love to get looks like that. And yes, I still scream my head off when I'm about to lose to one of them or if my little character gets kicked off or punched out of some game ring. Hahahahaha!

Ok, more scraps, just because I want to, hehehe.

The first 2 are layouts for the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race that I joined with Katie the Scrapbook Lady as my partner. She is awesome, especially in the area of journaling! She did the journaling for the first layout below while I did the layout :) Teamwork, eh?

FRIENDSHIP ACROSS THE MILES
ASDR LO#2 by the SAAVY SCRAPPERS (Katie the Scrapbook Lady and myself!)

Journaling reads: Only in today's internet connected world could two scrapbookers from opposite sides of the world forge such a friendship. We live in completely different hemispheres separated by many miles and lines of longitude and latitude. Our time zones are even 10 hours apart but we manage to have conversations via email and message boards. We read each other's blogs. We have found that we have a lot in common despite our different backgrounds and countries of origin. What a wonderful world we live in today that we can find friendship from all over the globe!

Credits: blue paper - Flag Background by Katie the Scrapbook Lady at The Digi Shoppe; grid paper - by Christina Renee; paper teaers - by Traci Sims; postcards - by Carol Baumann; flowers - Flower Frenzy by Gina Marie Huff at Weeds and Wildflowers; postage alpha - by Eve Recinella at SSD; torn and curled shapes - by Jen Caputo; flag buttons - by Katie the Scrapbook Lady at The Digi Shoppe; arrow doodles - by Gina Marie Huff; globe - downloaded from Wikipedia; fonts - Adler, Arial Narrow; avatars - by blessthischick

3 WISHES FOR YOU
Layout for the ADSR Challenge 3.

A tongue-in-cheek list of wishes for Raine on her 1st birthday, based on these photos

Journaling reads:
3 Wishes for you on your birthday:
1. Always be generous and give of yourself
2. Be a good, well-mannered girl
3. Learn to enjoy girly, frilly dresses

Credits: kit - Happily Ever After by Kathryn Balint at kbandfriends; fonts - Arial Narrow, and DJB Angela & DJB WendyP Script by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi Chick; layered sketch - by Trace Drane

SWIMMING LESSONS
Ranger during his first ever formal lessons in the pool. Look at that poor little face crying his heart out. Awwwww.....hehehe.

Journaling reads: You had your first swimming lessons this summer at Ayala Heights. For the
first half hour, you kept crying and calling me. It took all I had to not go near you just so you would start treading water and listen to Coaches Archie and Rod. Soon, you were laughing while Coach dunked you in the water!!!

Credits: kit - Colors of Spring by Claudia Sollinger at Scrappin Freestyle; bubbles - Bubbly Suds by Gina Miller; white alpha - Dustbunnies Alpha by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi Chick; sticker alpha - Stickybet Alpha by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi CHick; convex bend - by Jen Caputo; fonts - Times New Roman, DJB Angela by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi Chick; layered sketch - Smartstarts Coll 4 by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi Chick

Off to play with the kids some more!

Bummer Basketball, Blah and a Blurb

For the second week in a row, we girls (Zhar, Lai and myself) trooped to the Xavier gym to cheer on the VWL Vultures. It was a must-win situation to be in contention for first place; otherwise, the boys go home with second place. For the 3rd year in a row.

It was a pretty exciting game, especially the part where we were screaming our heads off, "Defense!" For the most part, our cheering was DEFINITELY noticed. I mean really! We were the ONLY loud ones there. If we hadn't started cheering, NO ONE else was going to start yelling. Sheesh! It made for exciting moments, hehehe.

But all to no avail. The boys were within 2 points when everything went to heck. They were too tired, since they practically had no substitutes on hand. Sigh. Sayang! Oh well. Maybe next year :)

I guess they should try getting some younger guys; nothing against the older guys, but really, they needed some speed on that team and not necessarily guys who looked like they needed to use provillus, hehehe.

{BLAH}

The blues? Weeeeellll....just feeling a bit blah lately. Maybe I'm PMSing...I hate that time of the month, you know? I go hot and cold within a short period of time. And no, it's NOT hot flashes either! I'm too young for that, hehehe! Maybe I'm perimenopausal (I read that somewhere). Maybe. But have a feeling I'm going to be nearing that time already. Just feeling bleck, and my back is starting to ache. Sigh!

{BLURB for Today}

Go check out my post a couple of days earlier. Where we talked about F.A.T. I guess it goes without saying that if one has fat, one has those ghastly cottage cheese type of growth on, in and within, our legs. This, my friends, is called cellulite. Ugh.

I've been trying to get rid of mine since I was what, 12?!?! I've always had cellulite on my arms, legs and stomach, the latter made worse due to childbirth! And the search for the perfect cellulite cream to completely eradicate these horrific bumps goes on and on and on. And on and on and on.

Want to be able to compare products before actually buying them first? Then check out this site to get the real deal on whether certain products work or not. What works and what doesn't. Where real people actually write reviews about the products. I guess I need to sift through this site to be able to find something for weight loss, trimming, dieting stuff, and (eek!) exercise gear maybe? I guess there's no denying that I MUST exercise somehow eh?

{CATCH UP SCRAPS}

More of these! I've got at least a couple of pages of layouts over at DST to wade through before I'm actually caught up! Here are a couple of pages that I scrapped for a potential album about our Walking Tour with Carlos Celdran a couple of months back:

KUCHERO
A "kuchero" is a person who drives a horse-drawn carriage.

Journaling reads: We spent an enjoyable 20-minute ride with Many Rey aboard his kalesa, pulled by Romeo his horse. Mang Rey told us that he started off working for one guy until he was able to save enough to buy his own kalesa and horse. He now has 8 kalesas and horses. Despite his success, he still enjoys driving people around the Walled City and sharing what he knows of the city’s history. Mang Rey is a typical hardworking Pinoy who has put all his children through school. He says he is grateful that the government has given people like him a chance to make money and to do well in business.

Credits: kit - Celebrating Liberty by Rina Kroes at 3Scrapateers; font - DJB Mandy by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; convex bend action - by Jen Caputo; layered sketch - Getting Playful by Janet Phillips

AMAZING LIVING MUSEUM
My LO for the ADSR Challenge 1.

A potential cover for my Walking Tour album.

Journaling reads: Intramuros, the Walled City.....a museum in its own right. A LIVING museum of Philippine history. Built in the Spanish era circa 1500s, “intra muros” literaly means “within the walls”.The fortress and the city within was severely damaged by the Japanese during WWII. Today the city showcases different museums, monuments and churches that re-tell Philippine past.

Credits: by Karah Fredricks at Blue Flombingo: kit - American Sweethearts; star buttons - Bountiful Buttons; graph alpha - Hoopdee by Lauren Reid; sticker alpha (recolored) - Chalked Full of Fun by Lisa Whitney; font - DJB Angela by Darcy Baldwin at The Digi Chick; layered sketch - by Gina Miller

I am excited about this album! Ever since I got my first Shutterfly book, I am sold on them! So now I want to start making pages for yet another album! Exciting!!!

TTFN!

New Word Learned

Going through the different SSD challenges to earn Sweet Rewards Points, I learned a new word: MEME (pronounced meem).

Here are different meanings for Meme:

A contagious information pattern that replicates by parasitically infecting human minds and altering their behavior, causing them to propagate the pattern. Individual slogans, catch-phrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions are typical memes. An idea or information pattern is not a meme until it causes someone to replicate it, to repeat it to someone else. All transmitted knowledge is memetic.

Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leading from body to body via sperm or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.

A meme survives in the world because people pass it on to other people, either vertically to the next generation, or horizontally to our fellows.

Ok, for my points, I need to answer this meme:

Five in a Row

1. Name one thing you do everyday. Surf the internet.

2. Name two things you wish you could learn.
Learn how to sing, hehehe.
Learn how to play the violin.

3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood.
Barbie Dolls
Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars and the whole Sanrio gang
Horseback riding and bicycling in the city of Baguio

4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do.
Turkey
Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Reese's chocolate peanut butter cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
Homemade hot chocolate

5. Name five things that make you feel good.
Reading
Scrapping
Kisses and Hugs for no reason at all from my kids
Cuddling under the comforter when it's cold outside

There you have it! With this, I should have enough points to get me the coveted 40% off coupon for some Sweet Shoppe Treats!!! Can't wait!! Whoohoo!!!

{SCRAPS}

Okay, I need to break this text-full posts I've been having....

AMERICAN KIDS
Did this page in honor of Independence Day in the States.

Credits: kit - Starburst by Laura Deceatis at SSD; tags - by Amy Wolff; star template - Fillament by Katie the Scrapbook Lady; painted star doodle - by Lisa Whitney; font - You Are Loved

COUNTING ON YOU
Journaling reads: To my girls: Here is a fervent wish that we will always have a special bond between us --- mother and daughters, sisters, FRIENDS. May this bond never be broken, even when you have your own husband, your own family. My dream? That WE have the same relationsips, the same CLOSENESS that you see and experience with our family now. I am counting on the both of you to keep our family close, together...forever. No matter what it takes. I love you girls!

Credits: kit - Hope Springs Eternal by Rina Kroes at SBE; font - DJB GinaE by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; layered sketch - Trying Something New by Janet Phillips

If you faithful blog readers of mine would like to see any of my layouts on my blog up close AND leave a comment or two or three, hehehe, just click on the layout themselves! Thanks much!

F.A.T.

Sigh! Gotta face the music somehow. Yes, I am SO overweight, it's not even effing funny! Ugh! Some part of me wishes that I'd get LBM (the runs) yet again just so I'd lose weight, even if it is just water weight. Boydee lost 10 pounds just like that after about 5 days of the (major) runs. And he looked so much thinner this morning! When I had LBM, I lost a mere 5 pounds and didn't even lose an INCH!!! Aargh! The injustice of it all! Hehehe. SO the drama queen, but you know what I mean.

All this talk of losing weight in a major way --- we're going to have TWO weddings next year!!! --- makes me seriously consider lipo again. Not just ordinary lipo, but beverly hills liposuction. I figure, these are the people who made lipo "hollywood friendly" so to speak, so they should know the business pretty well, eh? Sigh (again). I do WISH I'd hit the lottery ---any lottery, for that matter--- just so I can do anything and everything to get some sort of body shape again, hehehe.

Another thing for my Christmas wish list? A beverly hills tummy tuck! After 4 kids, of COURSE I want abdominoplasty done one moi! I need that body contour and loss of excess body fat and skin that the procedure guarantees. All this weight I'm dragging around is not good for my back, obviously, and I AM trying by way of yoga and (some) diet, but trying to lose weight is SOOOO hard when you get older! Add that to the fact that I now live a pretty sedentary lifestyle, and there's not that much hope, is there?

The only thing I can think of for something FAST is to have los angeles cosmetic surgery. Fast and easy; all I do is lie down on a table right? I'm sure I'll be hurting afterwards, but then I'd have a SHAPE :) And that's all I want right now!

My Celebrity Look Alikes!

You have GOT to try this out! Too much fun!

Here are MY celebrity lookalikes (who would have known, eh? *wink*)



And just for the heck of it, here's Japa's:



Have fun with this!

We're Moving? We're Moving!

States that is. From California to Nevada. Randy, Stella, Tita B and Roc have been renovating and packing like crazy the past couple of weeks, and apparently, our counter offer for some house near Vegas has been accepted (with some of our clauses, probably because of the plunge in the markets the past week). So, moving will be imminent.

Good thing I had packed our stuff (in Polaris) before we left. I had 2 huge boxes all filled up, and the rest we had either shipped to Manila or thrown away. I know Randy and company are looking at various Home Improvement Guides for tips on renovating what they can without breaking the bank. Wallpaper stripping, wall painting, grouting, even changing the faucets. He's done those, and lived to tell about it! Hehehehe. Good for him! At least all his efforts won't go to waste; it's slowly changing the look of Polaris from an "old, timeless" look to a more modern, more at-home and lived-in kind of place. Changes which will sure fetch a better price overall for Polaris.

Not sure if they've already thought about it, but I guess we have to start thinking of how to move the cars. Maybe we should contact a company that deals with auto shipping just so the whole move will go much more smoothly and we don't have to worry about a thing. I'm thinking a company that takes care of all the details for physically moving our vehicles would be safer (although much less fun!) than a convoy from LA to Vegas, hehehe.

Next problem we have to think of? How to furnish our new home-to-be. I'm assuming that Mom and Dad will be doing the same thing we did with Polaris: use international movers to ship our Philippine-made furniture (read that as wooden, carved and painted GOLD furniture! hehehe) from here to the States. Obviously, we're all crossing our fingers that Mom and Dad won't even think of international shipping, but just buying furniture from the local Ikea or something similar! :)

But until we close (or is it open?) escrow on the new house, all we can do is keep planning!

{More Catch-Up Scraps}

MY PRETTY GIRLS
My Pretty Girls:

*pretty*fair*gorgeous*
*lovely*beautiful*stunning*
*enchanting*attractive*
*cute*glamorous*sweet*
*winsome*splendid*

Credits: Idea taken from Katie the Scrapbook Lady's January Amazing Month of Memories: January 24-Compliment Day; kit - Garden Delights by Lynnie Smith at Divine Digital; button cluster - Take the Buttons by Nina Scraps at Oscraps and ndisb; folded corner - Easy Peasy by Karah Fredricks at Blue Flombingo; font - DJB Mandy by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo

YEAR-END PROGRAM (RAEGAN)
Raegan enjoying herself immensely during her school's year-end program.

Credits: kit - Curtain Call by Silvia Romeo at Divine Digital; vintage frames - by Nancy Comelab; font - Impervious; layered template - by Gina Miller

I Can Drive Again!!!

Oh yeah, oh yeah!!! *doing some crazy dance here* Hehehe. I now have in my possession my Philippine Driver's License!!! Whoohoohoo!!! I WAS using my license from the States ever since I got it, but for some irritating social security law, I couldn't get it renewed this month! Grrrr!!! Total hassle, I swear! Maybe when I go again in the next few months, I'll find some kind DMV person who will let me renew.

Anyhoo, I immersed myself in the whole Philippine government red tape bureaucracy today. And.....it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Hehehe. Yes, it was effing HOT (because it was going to rain, as it turned out), but I managed to find someone to actually HELP me after being sent to only 3 different windows.

And after less than 2 hours, a visit to this rinky dink hellish hole for the mandatory drug test and eye exam, and going to several DIFFERENT windows for the forms, the cashier, and the picture taking place, I was DONE!!!

So I can drive again. Watch out! Hehehehe.

{Some More Catch Up Scraps)

Here are some layouts for my Intramuros (still in the works!) album, from our walking tour last Independence Day:

MANILA CATHEDRAL
Journaling taken from the official website of the Cathedral: The story of the Manila Cathedral is not only a story of the Church, it is also a story of Intramuros, a story of Manila, a story of the Philippines. The Manila Cathedral is a time narrative; it is about ruins and ravages, rising and restorations. Its rich history is a reference to the trials and timelines of Intramuros, the Walled City. The Manila Cathedral: the homepage and centerfold of Philippine history.

Credits: kit - Celebrate Liberty by Rina Kroes at 3Scrapateers; flag button - by Katie the Scrapbook Lady at The Digi Shoppe; fonts - Adler, DJB Mandy by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; layered sketch - by Tracy Blankenship


KALESA RIDE
We hopped on a kalesa (horse-drawn carriage) on our walking tour of Intramuros.

Credits: kit - Frolic by Betsy Tuma at MDM and PDW; alpha, ribbons, glitter burst - Starburst by Laura Deceatis at SSD; font - Adler; layered template - by J Billingsley

DETAILS OF INTRAMUROS
Journaling reads: The Walled City holds many interesting details. There are the doors of the Manila Cathedral which depict the earthquakes and fires that ravaged the City; the cobblestoned roads; and Chinese graveyard markers which commanded a high price in the olden days because the markers were stone and not adobe.

Credits: kit - Teen Extreme Boy by Amy Wolff; vintage frame - by Katie Pertiet; fonts - Rusted Plastic, DJB KeelyB by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; layered template - by Janet Phillips

Ok, gotta go. I need to get dressed for the 40th day of Tita San's passing. We're all congregating at the Shrine.

TTFN!

Home Repairs

As of today, the kids' rooms have all been laid out with maple flooring. Only the masters' room to go. I think it should almost be done since when I left last week, the guys were grouting (?) the space between the floor boards. Then "just" sanding to go. They use a sander, but I know it gets REALLY dusty, so none of us can move into the other rooms just yet.

Can't wait to see what the whole upper floor will look like without any carpet but real flooring this time! Whoohoo!!!

Next on the list? I'm having some cabinets taken out. Like ALL the TV cabinets. I don't want the built-in ones that mom and dad had had made 20 years or so ago. Hehehehe. We need to modernize a bit (finally!).

My personal project will probably be to paint the kids' closets in their bathrooms. Heck, even the walls in their rooms! The plan? To strip the wallpaper and have fun painting their walls! Off course, still just a plan now, but it's formulating in my mind for sure!

First things first, to make sure that we have an air compressor available. I refuse to paint the walls by hand. In the States it was ok doing it, but the rooms here are just soooo much bigger, man! Hehehe. Besides, not only would the walls looks more professionally done, but having an air compressor sure would make the work go by so much faster, eh? So. Either borrow an air compressor from someone....or hire someone to do the job who has one. Hmmm...........somehow that latter option sounds SOOOO much better, hehehehe!

My New Toy!!!

Voila!!!

My new iMac!!! Yes, yes, I converted. But no shame! Hehehe. As soon as I was able to figure out some crucial Photoshop maneuvers on the Mac, there was no turning back! Yes, awesome specs, except for the fact that there was NO 2GB RAM available....so I'm making do with a measly 1 GB of RAM for now. Until the 2GB arrives, so then I can have at least 3 GB!!! Then it'll be time to start saving for an extra gig to max out this new baby at 4GB! Hehehehe. All for the sake of my scrapping eh?

So thank you to Japa for getting me this new toy!!! Whoohooohoo!

I'm still typing on my laptop for now..I need to get started on transferring all my files to the iMac AND setting up my scrapbooking site bookmarks. Those are crucial, too, you know! *wink*

Speaking of scrapping, I've been super duper busy trying to catch up on my CT requirements since I wasn't able to scrap much during the past month.

{Some Inauguration Scraps}

PINK AND LACE

Mom and me all dressed in pink.

Credits: kit - Beauty by Tina Williams; font - Impervious

SHOWER OF ROSES
Some pics of the shower of roses during the Inauguration of the Shrine of St. Therese. Her quote reads, "I will let fall a shower of roses."

Credits: kit - Grammy's Place by Jolene Shaffer at Divine Digital; font - DJB Annette Script by Darcy Baldwin at Blue Flombingo; layered sketch - by Brenda Kempf

TTFN!

It's Almost Christmas!

Yes..and that means.....time for shopping! I just saw this thread on either DST or MSA that asked if we had started Christmas shopping yet. Of course I have! Hehehehe. I did a lot of that when Japa and I were in the States last month.

So now I have to get my Christmas list out and actually start crossing out names! Then I start the process all over again for those whose names are still on the list. Luckily, I found this site, called mpire. It has pretty much ALL my fave stores listed on there. And I just go to ONE site! How cool is that? Am bookmarking this one so I can hit it on Thanksgiving Day weekend....by then I should be done with my shopping right? *wink*

The great thing about mpire (aside from the fact that it has links to most of my fave shops) is that it's also got a link to some great coupon deals!!! You all know how I love shopping with great deals on hand, hehehe! Hard to resist! One of the things I'm definitely going to be looking for deals for are the Wii video games for the kids. I'll be watching this link for sure to see if good deals turn up so I can snag those babies before they disappear!

LOTD!!!!

For you non-scrappers, that means Layout Of The Day!!! Whoohoohoo!!! And I got LOTD over at Scrappin Digi Kreations, a great cozy and fun-filled site.

With what layout? This one:

THE RING

Zhar, showing off her engagement ring :)

Credits: kit - Summer Porch by Kim Smith at Scrappin Digi Kreations; photo border - by Terry Maruca; stitched button - Saturday Market by Dani Mogstad; font - SandraOh; layered sketch, stitches - by Janet Phillips

Cool, huh? Hehehe. That pic was taken by Rodney and I didn't have to crop anything. Good thing my brothers and sisters love taking pictures...I always have an array of pics to choose from. It's just a matter of borrowing their memory cards, hehehe.

I WON!!!

Whoohoohoo!!! $15 to Shabby Princess from awesome ladies Jan Crowley and Meredith Fenwick of Songbird Avenue!!! Click on that link and it'll show you that I'm the official winner of their blog contest: I wrote about their latest collab with Robin Carlton of SSD, Dreamsicle, in this blog post here.

So thank you, thank you, Jan and Meredith!!! And of course to the equally fab Shabby Princess!

I am SO beyond excited, you guys!!!!!! :)

I'm 38!!!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday,
Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I'm 38! Yikes! Definitely off the calendar numbers, but still on the thermometer, eh? *wink* Hehehe. Hanging on for sure, before "middle age" hits me. But hey, age really doesn't matter; what matters is what you feel INSIDE of you, right? Right! And for now, I feel.....uhhmmmm......18? Hahahahaha!

I was pretty spoiled today. Japa and I woke early and he reminded me about going to mass to thank God for my life. Yes, my husband reminded me! Since we had time to spare, he even cooked me a breakfast omelet and made me some coffee!

Then it was off to church, at Incarnation. Today the church celebrates the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Then we went home and spent a quiet morning on the computer and watching some TV. I then shouted upstairs to wake up Randy and Stella so we could go get lunch. We were all anticipating the Souplantation for lunch; but when we got there, the dang place was closed!!!

We found out that they had voluntarily closed shop. Apparently, they had failed a food or restaurant inspection and they were not leaving anything to chance until they got that rating back up again. But still! It was my birthday and they were closed!!! Waaaaah!

So, after wracking our brains for other places to eat, we all settled for Fuddrucker's. And drove all the way to Burbank since the Fuddrucker's at Michillinda was closed! Sheesh! All this driving for a simple lunch! Hehehehe.

I had my usual Chicken Caesar Salad, Japa had a buffalo burger, Stella had a regular burger...and Randy had a ginormous ONE POUND hamburger! Oh man, this thing was HUGE!!! And yes, he did finish it! Hehehehe.

After lunch, Randy and Stella dropped us off at Barnes and Noble while they went to Lowe's to buy some supplies for the renovation of the powder room. I bought some books, including a text for Dreamweaver CS3. That may be reading material on the way home (ugh!) so I can refresh my memory before tackling the job of getting the website set up. Sisterhood dears, if you're reading this, get ready with your plans for the website!!

Then it was back home where I did some more packing; seems like a never-ending thing doesn't it? And after surfing the internet for a few hours, it was time for dinner. No question about it, we were going to have MEXICAN, my all-time fave food! So off we trooped to Acapulco where I had a huge chicken burrito and not one, but TWO strawberry margaritas! Whoohoohoo! Lip-smackin' good, those 'ritas! Yummmm!!!! Val and Ram joined us, but only for drinks, since they had had an early dinner.

{Boydee is 37!!!}

Yup! Happy birthday, brother dear! And for you faithful blog readers who don't know, Boydee and I have the same birthday. Yeah, kind of like twins. Only thing is, I tell people he's my bulok twin! Hahahahaha. Hmmmm.....not sure what bulok means in English; could be rotten, grossly stale....something that happens when you've been in storage for a year. Bwahahahaha! I love you, Boyds! :)

What an awesome day! Sure, I missed the kids, but we'll celebrate when I get home :)

TTFN!

My Next Digital Scrapbooking Purchase....

...will be this:
It's called Dreamsicle and is available at the awesome Songbird Avenue. I have all the kits that have been sold there.....and all for a good cause. Dreamsicle's beneficiary will be the Make A Wish Foundation.

Have I scrapped with all of them? Hehehe. Not yet. But getting close. These kits are what I'm using to do a lot of my pages for The Sisterhood Challenge.

Dreamsicle is a collab between Jan Crowley, Meredith Fenwick, Janet Phillips and their guest designer Robin Carlton. All wonderful designers, and Janet's templates are some of the best there are out in digiland!

So before this day is done, I'm off to Songbird Avenue and getting my hands on that cute kit.

Ok. Lunchtime. :) TTFN!

Goodbye, East Coast!

Time to leave the East Coast and say goodbye to our trip to History. :( Sadness. We had a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed going through ---and living---American History, one of my favorite subjects in High School. It was wonderful, the way this country preserves its past, and how they celebrate it, every single day.

We brought Stella and Lola to the airport, bright and early. And no, there were no delayed or missed flights for the both of them.

That inconvenience was reserved for Japa and me. Sigh! What a loooooooong day.....at the airports, hehehe!

Backtrack a few hours.....after we had brought Lola and Stella to the airport, we went back to the hotel to finish packing. That done, we WERE going to go back to Hershey World, but Japa decided he wanted to watch a movie instead. Ok fine.

Off we went to the nearby Cocoaplex (cute name, huh, to be near the city of Hershey? *wink*) to see the Bourne Ultimatum. Man! I was TENSE throughout the entire movie! Matt Damon is a much much better version AND actor than Steven Seagal. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie, breathing only just before the credits rolled up. Two thumbs up for this one!

After the movie, we had enough time to go to the airport, return the Hummer (bye Baby! Hehehe) and check in. We were scheduled to leave at 640 pm.

At precisely 640 pm, it was announced that due to mechanical errors, our flight was going to be delayed. The new departure time was 840 pm. For those with connecting flights (that was us), we were asked to line up to get our new itineraries.

As it turned out, we had to stay in Atlanta, GA overnight, and get the first flight out the next morning. Fine. Overnight in Atlanta, in a hotel, and get on the 7 am flight. On First Class. Sounded good.

Too good to be true, I guess. We ended up leaving at 10 pm. We get to Atlanta and they have NO rooms to give us. NONE!!! Aaargh! The Delta people were saying that there was a convention in town and that they even tried a place called Ho Joe's. Um.....OKAY. I think I'll take my chances at the Atlanta airport, thank you very much! :)

The huge hassle was that we had to claim our luggage at Atlanta....and we could only check in at 4 am at the earliest!!! Sheesh! We got our meal vouchers and chowed down on Wendy's burgers and fries. We lingered as much as we could to pass away the time. I took my jacket from the suitcase because it was FREEZING in that airport!!!

Japa took out a small bottle of shampoo and his razor and went to find a restroom. He came back after a few minutes looking nice and fresh. Hehehe. He had shampooed his hair and shaved what little stubble he had. A major way to pass the time, eh? Hehehe.

Finally at 4 am, we line up and check all our bags in. We could THEN go to the gates. We grab some Starbucks coffee and some Chick-Fill-A nuggets for Japa with our meal vouchers. Then we sat down and waited.

By this time, I was half expecting that the flight was going to be delayed. Again. So I settle down and was able to take a nap! Thankfully, the flight left at 730 am AND we had scored some great First Class seats!!! Whoohoohoo! Redemption! Hehehehe.

The great thing about flying Delta First Class? Our cabin steward was just AWESOME! He was this kindly-looking, dapper, elder gentleman and he was the epitome of professional elegance. Mouthful, huh? But it's the best way I can describe this guy. He was friendly, courteous, greeted all of us with a handshake. And he always had a wonderful smile on his face. No, he wasn't high! He was just a really really nice guy!

{Back in LA}

We get to Los Angeles in style. Remember, we were in First Class. Japa and I slept for most of the way, waking up to get a drink of water and a cookie. Then we'd promptly go back to sleep.

Randy picks us up, and I stand by the BMW as he goes in to help Japa with the bags. As I stood there folding my jacket, airport security comes and the lady tells me that I have to get back in the car and drive off, there was no parking out in front. Ok, I tell her.

I get in the car and can't find the key. I finally figure out this small rectangle thing COULD be the key and look for a place where I can insert it. I do and press this button that said START/STOP. Oooookkkkkaaaaayyyyy. Nothing happens. In the meantime, security lady was looking at me like I was an imbecile who didn't know how to drive! Hehehe.

I get up and tell her that I couldn't figure out how to start the damn car and I had to get my brother to drive it. She comes over and peers over my shoulder and says that she'd love to help me but had no idea how to do it either! She tells me she'd stand guard while I run in and go get Randy. With one eye on her, I go into the terminal and yell for Randy. He comes out and drives off...but not without showing me how to do it.

You have to step on the brake BEFORE pressing that dang start/stop button! Sheesh!!!

Ok, I need some sleep!

TTFN!

A Day of Culture

We had a wonderful, relaxing day of CULTURE. Uh huh. Culture, i.e., we were inside two different theaters to watch two different plays.

{In the Beginning}

In a spectacular staging of the biblical account of creation, Sight & Sound opens the all new original production, In the Beginning. Be there as the Garden of Eden appears before you - the waters, vegetation, and animals of the newly created world enveloping the Millennium Theatre! Experience God's pleasure at his most awesome creation, Adam and Eve, and the complete beauty of their unbroken relationship with God.

With special effects that surpass all you've previously seen on Sight & Sound stages, In the Beginning promises an experience beyond your imagination. Enhanced by magnificent staging, stirring musical compositions, and captivating live and animatronic animals, the stage will spring to life with the phenomenal story of creation!

Ok, I just copied the text from the website of In the Beginning, but in a word: Spectacular is a perfect description for the play. We didn't have the greatest seats, having to crane our necks at times, but the Garden of Eden was just gorgeous on 3/4 of the entire theater. Yes, it was a wrap-around sort of stage, and the actors were using the entire place, even the aisles. It was a HUGE place and even for the matinee show at 12 noon, the place was PACKED!!! Sure, a lot of senior citizens, but there was a lot of youths and kids in there, too.

Very moving play. I was moved to tears when Adam and Eve were lamenting over the death of Abel, whom Cain killed. One of the most beautiful parts of the entire play was the special relationship between God and Adam. It was truly something to see, this relationship of the first man and his Creator. It was so pure, so extraordinary, so believable, the love of God truly shining and reflecting His glory.

There were some parts that the play was a little bit forced (according to Stella and Japa, hehehe), but all in all, you MUST see this play when you are in Pennsylvania. You MUST! For $45, it was totally worth it!

***

We had a few hours to kill before the second show, so after a very late lunch at the Hershey Farm Restaurant and Inn where we had their delish (but a bit expensive) buffet including the famed Amish Shoofly Pie and Whoopie Pie, we went shopping at the nearby outlets! We didn't want the time to go to waste, now, would we? Hehehe.

***

{Broadway's Best}

Show stopping moments from America's greatest musicals --- Broadway is more than just a street. It represents the music and magic of American artistry. In the same tradition, this show pays homage to all that is Broadway. You'll enjoy songs from the great tunesmiths like Berlin and Gershwin, memorable moments from classics such as Showboat and Les Miserables and highlights from modern pop-driven musicals like Jersey Boys and Movin' Out. Don't miss this unforgettable tribute to a uniquely American phenomenon... Broadway.

And for the next 2 hours, we would be entranced by the familiar and not-so-familiar songs of Broadway's Best. I was getting a tad bit sleepy in the beginning since I was so tired from all the driving I did, but as we neared the end of the first part, I sat up; the songs that were being sung were songs that I actually KNEW! Hehehehe. It was uphill from then on.

The pianist/musical director/arranger was Charles Ancheta. Sounds Pinoy to me, eh? Hehehe. He's from Australia and looked chinito. But his name was definitely Filipino. We didn't bother asking him, since we all rushed out of the theater to go straight home. It was such a loooong day!

Change My Body Please!

I am soooooo tired! I swear, I need an entire body change, you know? I need a lighter body definitely, and one without any slipped discs in it, please!

I just felt old and heavy when I woke up this morning. Maybe all that driving I've been doing this entire vacation (past 2 weeks so far) and all the late nights I've been pulling since we don't have effing internet connection in our rooms and we have to go to the lobby to get connected! Aaargh! I hate feeling old! Hehehehe. Not a good thing to feel too, with my birthday coming up, eh? Hehehe.

Maybe I should ask Japa for some plastic surgery for my birthday.....maybe not this year but hmmmm.....maybe when I turn 40? Hehehehe. I am SO tempted to give in to this wish! Sigh! I want something done on my upper arms and my entire legs, for starters. Not a small thing, I know, but I just get so frustrated sometimes when I look in the mirror and when I try on clothes!

Sigh! Most of the time I have to laugh at myself. After all, I know I'm not perfect and I'm fine with the way I look, honestly. But there are times I wish I were thin as a rail (ok fine, curvy in all the right places!) and I can wear anything and look good!

At this point, I don't think I'll need any rhinoplasty done for sure. My nose is fine the way it is and I haven't had any problems with the way it looks. But after my arms and legs, I'm all for having Los Angeles breast enhancement done. We-e-e-e-ell, maybe not exactly enhancement, unless you call sculpting and lifting enhancement. I'd define enhancement as some bit of reduction as well, just to ease some pressure from my back and slipped discs. That would be a boon, for sure.

And why Los Angeles? Why, it's Hollywood, baby! :) Don't the best plastic surgery doctors come from here? Aren't their models some of the perfect faces we see on the big screen? And it's on Rodeo Drive! How fab is that? Most likely it'll be expensive,but, to borrow a line from L'Oreal (I think), I'm worth it! :)

What Color Nail Polish Am I?

Trying to start early and rack up those Sweet Reward Points! :)

Your Nail Polish Color is Purple

How you're unique: You are artistic and expressive Why your style rocks: You pay special attention to color and fabrics What this color says about you: "I'm creative and know how to take care of myself"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

Pretty close fit for me, I guess. I would have thought I'd be straight out a RED nail polish person, but Purple? I guess I have to try that on now, hehehe.

Happy 39th Anniversary and Hershey, PA

My folks celebrate 39 years of married life today! Congratulations, Mom and Dad!!! May you guys have many more years to celebrate together!

Japa and I drove from Williamsburg, Virginia to Hershey Pennsylvania. The trip took 5 hours because there was some traffic as we passed Harrisburg....and there were some rain showers which slowed some motorists down, but only a few, surprisingly. Not like in Los Angeles where a bit of rain slows down everyone in a major way.

The drive was pleasant, with all those greenery we drove through. Lush, green trees lined the freeway. No cement or bare ground as we drove by. Just beautiful and relaxing.

We checked in at the bluegreen Hershey Suites....which was right beside the outlets!!! WHoohoohoo!!! We didn't even have to cross a major street to get to the outlets, just a teeny tiny side street! Yeah! Shopping, here we come! Hehehehe.

We check in, did some groceries because we knew Lola and Stella were going to be arriving. And we just vegged out for a few hours before going to the airport.

{HUMMER-ing TIME!}

As in the H3 Hummer. I've always wanted to drive one, and I finally got my chance! The rental car company had called to verify if I was picking up the Expedition I had reserved. I told them that yes, I was picking up a car but that I didn't need a big car anymore (since Mom and Dad and Aguila weren't going to arrive. Dad was eventually brought to the Emergency Room and eventually checked into a hospital night to have some tests done).

As luck would have it, there were still some cars available. My choices: a mini-van, where I made some "uhhhhmmmmmm....." sounds, and the Hummer, where she added was $2 or $5 more per day than the mini-van.

What a choice eh? After making sure that the Hummer had enough trunk space to fit our bags, I practically yelled into the receiver: "I want the Hummer!!!" Hahahahahaha!

What a vehicle! I just LOOOOVE the big SUV height of it, and the heavy, stable base of the Hummer. Kind of like a Mercedes Benz, which I love to drive because I just feel totally safe in it. And this baby could turn too! Not only were the wheels big, but because they were so big, driving on the freeway seemed slow but we were still flying! I had to constantly look at the speedometer to make sure I was within speeding limits. Ok fine. That I was doing a maximum of 10 miles (or so) above the speeding limit. :)

I had a choice of either the red or the white Hummer. What did you think I got!??!?!? A no-brainer question, eh? Hehehehe. Here's our lovely Hummer that would be ours for the next week:And that's ME in there, driving INSIDE!!! :)

Whoohoohoo!!! Driving in s-t-y-l-e!!! :)

TTFN!

400 Years Since the First Settlement in America

We couldn't NOT go to Jamestown. What, and miss being part of the celebration of this important milestone in American History? This year, 2007, marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, America's first permanent English colony.

{JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT}Billed as a living-history of 17th-century Virginia, the Settlement has English ships, colonial forts, Powhatan Village, and some discovery areas by the riverfront.

To be expected, the whole experience started with a short, 24-minute film, that told of the story of how and why the first Englishmen sailed to the New World, specifically James Town, named after King James I of England. These short introductory films are a great way to start the tour, in my opinion. They set the stage and transport you all those years ago as to how people lived.

This particular film, Witness 1607: A Nation Takes Root, tells of the colony's first 2 decades. It stresses the convergence of different cultures in Virginia, namely those of the English, the Powhatan Indians, and the Congo Africans, brought in as slaves/captives.

We had a glimpse of the daily life of the Powhatan Indians in a recreated village. There were lots of Indian tents/tepees...huge structures made of dried, woven straw. In Filipino, banig, hehehe. There were fox skins, even an intact bear skin! We saw this lady making rope out of raffia; she had soaked them and was just rolling them until they became rope for weaving baskets. Pretty cool.

There were replicas of the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery, the ships of the first English men and boys to arrive at Jamestown. Never knew how tiny the bunk spaces were, or, for that matter, how cramped the spaces the men had to live in!

Some fun things we saw included a canoe being made from the huge trunk of a tree. Before being carved though, hot coals were put on top to soften the hardened wood. Then, using oyster shells, the Indians would proceed to carve out the wood painstakingly. As for the bottom of the canoe, they did the exact same thing, but they flattened the bottom for better balance out on the water.
There was also a full-scale replica of James Fort, a colonial palisade. Copying from the brochure (so I can refer to my blog for scrapping purposes, obviously, hehehe): With 3 bulwarks at the corners for defense, a triangular-shaped palisade was home to Jamestown's earliest colonists, and included wattle-and-daub houses with thatched roofs, a storehouse, a court of guard and a church.

Japa even tried on some early armor and helmet just for fun :)

{HISTORIC JAMESTOWN}This is the original settlement site and home to the newly constructed Archaearium (ar-KEE-air-ee-um), and archaeological museum. There were ongoing excavations while we were there, and the Archaearium housed items from the time of the first settlement and even beyond, proof that the Indians were a progressive people.

The rediscovery of James Fort and the remains of the town show of the English struggle for survival during the settlement's ear;y years. African-inspired ceramics and tobacco hoes used by 17th centure servants and slaves serve as a reminder of the silent African presence in the area.

Perhaps the MOST famous faces of Historic Jamestown are those of the legendary Pocahontas and John Smith. And no, don't believe the romance between the 2 as what Disney shows in their films :). Pocahontas was waaaaay too young for John Smith, and she ended up marrying John Rolfe. And contrary to Disney's Pocahontas II film, she never went back to her people. She died while in England.

The driving tour was pathetic compared to Yorktown's driving tour. We just saw "a glimpse of the natural environment that the settlers first encountered". Hehehe. Basically, trees, trees and more trees. Beautiful trees, don't get me wrong, but 5 miles of all-trees was too much trees for me :). In fact, I asked Japa to drive the last few miles since I was really very sleepy and ended up taking a catnap on the way back to the Visitors Center.

{DINNER}O.M.G!!! What a dinner we just had! Holy Cow!!! It was barbecue buffet night at Golden Corral right on Richmond Road. Every night, they have a differently-themed buffet (also for lunch, btw!), and we sure picked a GOOD night to drop by! There were chicken, pork, steak, and all sorts of barbecued meats. There were the usual salad bar, the fixin's bar and the dessert bar! And all for $10 per person! This is dinner, folks!!! Hehehehe. What a time we had! Japa had 3-4 humongous steaks and he enjoyed every single bite of it!

Oh and if you have kids, you can't beat $1.99 and $2.99 per kid, depending on the age range. So the next time we're in town, this is definitely going to be a stop for us! :)

Ok, time to check my email, pack, and go to bed. We leave for Hershey, Pennsylvania tomorrow....driving almost 5 hours! :)

TTFN!

Thanks, J.K. Rowling!

Yes, I am done with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've tried to drag it out longer, but I could NOT not turn the next page. And the next. And the next. JK Rowling has exceeded all her books in this last one. Simply awesome, fabulous, totally magic!

Loved the entire book from start to finish. I was crying in some parts, yelling and shocked at others; but for the most part, I was just cheering all the good guys on. Fabulous weaving of the plot and the numerous subplots; I was not confused at all. In fact, because JK Rowling had neatly tied up the stories of practically all the important characters in her ENTIRE series, I was left with closure....and of course, wanting for MORE.

The least part I liked was the fact that the action REALLY started towards the middle of the book. But from then on, it was action, action, ACTION. I was literally gasping from being winded just reading about certain events! Hehehehe. Seriously!

Totally totally an enjoyable book. Totally WORTH the WAIT! Next on my agenda? I absolutely NEED to get the 7th book for the English (British) children's version from Hong Kong! Gotta complete my series, right?

TTFN!

Off to Virginia!

And Japa and I are FINALLY off to the East Coast for the start of our (super-duper belated!) 10-year anniversary! Hehehehe. Oh well. That's life, I guess.

We left Los Angeles at 7 effing am!!! Sheesh! But at least this flight guaranteed us that we were going to be able to get a rental car; we arrived at 510 pm in Newport-News Virginia. Our original flight had us arriving at 1230 am on July 23rd...and we'd have been out of luck in getting a car since the rental car companies ended their airport stints at 11 pm.

And our rental car? I had reserved for a mid-size car since it was just going to be me and Japa. A mid-size car, i.e., Toyota Corolla or something similar. But since I waited for what seemed forever at the Hertz counter (too many people all at the same time, with ONE Hertz person!), and I apparently had NOT lost patience (or at least wasn't outwardly showing it), the really nice Hertz guy offered to upgrade our mid-size car to either a full-size car (Honda Accord) or a mid-size SUV. And you needn't be a genius to figure out what I chose, right? Yup----the Ford Escape of course! And to top it off, for the SAME price given me online for 5 days, I get to keep the FREE upgraded car for an additional TWO days!!! Whoohoohoo!!! :)

Japa and I get to our hotel, the Wyland (used to be Fairfield) Williamsburg, care of RCI exchange. Although it wasn't a fair exchange --- a 2 bedroom unit for the studio we got--- but what was important was that we GOT it in the first place! Totally lucky! Even the RCI guide had to concede that! Hehehehe.

The studio is obviously small, but you know Japa and me, we made do. I actually put all my stuff in the drawers just so we'd have space in the room because the suitcases were out of the way!

And internet in the room? Uhhhh....unheard of. I am sitting here in the lobby of the Ramada 1776 (part of the complex of hotel chains) just so we'd have free internet connection. :)

The first order of business for the both of us after we checked in was DINNER. We were ravenous! We had breakfast before our flight left Los Angeles. Nothing on the flights, despite the fact that we were in Business Class (a mere $30 more for the upgrade, one-way!!! Air Tran Airways, btw, for future reference). We got to Atlanta, Georgia, and stood in line for the grossest, oiliest Popeye's chicken. Ugh. But it was all that we had time for before our flight left.

So while I was standing in the Hertz line, Japa was busy grabbing brochures and coupons off the information racks and looking through them to find a place for dinner. And he found Captain George's Seafood Buffet. Hehehehe, yes, a buffet. We NEEDED food, and fast!

The food was delish, although I wasn't feeling all that well due, I think, to the ingestion of gross amounts of oil from the Popeye's fried chicken, ugh! While Japa feasted on crabs of all sorts, I had some salad, soup, and tried the fish dishes, some crab and of course, dessert! Japa totally pigged out and thoroughly enjoyed himself with the crab legs, among other things. He seemed to have a bottomless stomach! Sheesh!

Price for Captain George's: $30 per person. At that point, totally worth it. 95% was seafood, and there was even prime rib! :) So yeah, we were STUFFED! We went home, took showers, and just CRASHED.

TTFN!

Tita San: Forever in Our Lives, Our Hearts, Our Memories

This is the final copy of the Eulogy I prepared for Tita San, edited by both Bang and Rondic. Because Dic was the closest to Tita San, I told Mom I wanted him to read it. The condition? My eulogy is to be read in its entirety, with some parts added to it if some of the others wanted to add to it.

I also suggested that Rod be on standby when Dic started reading the eulogy.....just in case he wouldn't be able to finish it, since we figured he'd be bawling somewhere in the middle. And Randy? Uh, no. If we expected to be crying his eyes out somewhere in the middle of delivering the eulogy, Randy would probably take a deep breath before he uttered a single word, and end up sniffling and wiping his tears away!

But according to Dic and Lai, Dic pulled it off beautifully! Here are our combined words for Tita San:

Rosanne to her friends, San to her relatives, Tita San or Ninang San to her nephews and nieces, and Mama Lols to her grandchildren, these are some of the names that most of us remember her by. I on the other hand had a special name for her… I called her MAMA.

Mama was 50 years old when she passed. She left behind her three children, and her partner of many, many years. She also left us, family and friends, whom she has touched. She left us a void; but she also left with us beautiful memories. And for that we are grateful.

For us Dizon kids, Mama was more than the younger sister of our Mom. Mama was a friend, a confidante, our absolute favorite tita, and above all, our second mom. When we were in the States for school, Mama was always there for us. She cooked for us, she prepared our baon, she drove for us. She treated us like her own, and she made us a home away from home. We were at home with Mama.

That’s the way she was: The Mama that we all knew was this vibrant, alive person. Brimming with love, she exuberantly showered everyone with this love until you couldn’t help but smile at her. She was full of life, embraced it, and lived it to the fullest. She did what she wanted, she ate what she wanted, she went where she wanted to go. In short, she lived her life to the fullest.

She was a woman who loved, totally, unselfishly, selflessly, generously, protectively, fiercely and loyally. Here was a woman who laughed... at life even if times were tough; and smiled; unfailing in making others' lives a more joyful one.

When Mama was diagnosed with brain cancer 4 years ago, we were all in shock. We didn’t know what this would do to Mama and what she would do about it. We need not have worried: Mama faced this problem in her typical way --- she faced it and fought it head on. She was a fighter, and with family by her side, she won the first of many battles. Doctors gave her 6 months, she defied them for 4 years. That’s how much of a fighter she was.

It was difficult to see Mama deteriorate the past few months. It was hard for us to accept how this full-of-life person that Mama was, change to a reserved, quiet, toned-down person. It was hard for us to swallow, but we didn’t let it stop us from showering Mama with love and attention the way she did for us all those years ago.

Although we weren’t with Mama all the time these past few years, I think she knew that we were there for her, praying for her, thinking about her. Not one of us ever took Mama for granted. We loved her like our own mom; she was our second mom.

We are very privileged to have been touched by her life and to have been recipients of her love, even if we wish and pray that we could have enjoyed that privilege longer. We thank God for letting our paths cross with hers, for planting her into our family, and for making her such a big part of our lives.

Mama, goodbye for now. We know you will still be looking out for us wherever you are. Though your body is gone from us, you will forever be with us in our hearts, in our lives, in our memories. We love you Mama!

--- Eulogy delivered during Inurnment at the Shrine of St Therese, July 22, 2007

Goodbye Tita San! We love you!

Harry Potter is Here!!!

Oh yayayayayayayayyyyy!!!!! I get to read the LAST book in J.K.Rowling's series! I have been WAITING for this book! Whoohoohoo!!!

The truth be told, it was RJ's book that arrived in Polaris. I stupidly had my book delivered to the office, which, obviously, will not happen until Monday! Ugh! But since RJ isn't here, and Roc had already asked RJ if she could go ahead and read his book (he said yes), I asked Roc if we could trade. So yes, as of this writing, I have THE book in my grubby little hands!!!

I WON'T start reading it yet tonight. Our flight leaves at 7 am tomorrow and I have yet to pack. Hehehe. So yes, I am resisting temptation in a MAJOR way! But I tell you, I just CANNOT wait to start reading all about Harry and his friends!

I've already planned it out: I will be d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g-l-y (is that a word? hehehe) reading this book. Stretching it out because I know it's the last book in the series. And I got a text from Bang. She said that she cheated and checked the back of the book.....and that she'll start reading it. Knowing Bang's penchant for happy endings, I just KNEW that the book would be all that I wished it to be! Hehehehe. So yeah, I will HAPPILY be starting my journey into the world of witchcraft and wizardry tomorrow on the plane.

Now, off to pack!

TTFN!

Evan Almighty

A little bit of jet lag, but managed to squeeze brunch with Dad at IHOP, then we went to go see Evan Almighty just so Dad won't go right to sleep after his meal.

I liked this movie, and I think so did Dad. I'd glance at him throughout the movie, and I'd find him either laughing or getting teary-eyed because of the whole message of the movie: to believe in God and the power that He wields.

Critics may not give it two thumbs up, but I think it touches the heart and sends it's message across. I'm going to have the kids watch this just so they'd understand the story of the ark better, albeit in a more modern sense, hehehe. Besides, there are a lot of funny scenes and it's an enjoyable time to spend a few hours with the kiddos.

In Manila Again....After a Week

Yes, we finally arrived in Manila. First things first, we go home to "see" Tita San. As expected, Mom broke down in front of Tita San's urn and cried. It was heartbreaking. All I could do was leave her some space and some time to pour her grief. I know she feels guilty for not being at Tita San's bedside when she died. But it couldn't be helped; she HAD to bring Dad to the States for his doctors' appointments.

But it's hard telling her that, trying to console her with that. Deep down, though, I know she understands. It's just a matter of her accepting that she has no reason to feel guilty.

And again, as expected, Mom didn't sleep at all. Me? I could barely keep my eyes open at 11 am I think! They were drooping of their own volition! Sigh!

I tried working on the plane, typing up the Novena for the Dead on my laptop. But as usual, barely 2 hours after I started up my laptop, the battery started dying on me. I swear, as I always do when I travel, I'm going to get a new laptop with some major IBM memory chips....I hope someone invents something where I can store RAM on an EHD or something. Just so I won't have to buy a new laptop whenever mine feels outdated with all the memory-hogging new software coming out!

Anyhoo, when it was time for Bang to get the Novena from me, she couldn't wake me. Good thing she had a much SHORTER one on hand, which was the one we eventually used during the entire wake.

I broke down and cried for Tita San and her passing during tonight's mass. The Our Father usually is poignant for me, as well as the Communion Song that Tita San loved, Wind Beneath Our Wings. I couldn't stop my tears spilling over. I REFUSED to look at either Bang or Lai, knowing that they'd start to cry as well, when they saw me :) I know the Sisterhood all too well, eh? *wink*

I'm really tired. Gotta get some sleep eye. I swear, I hadn't gotten over my jet lag from flying TO the States, and now I'm trying to recover from flying FROM the States! Sheesh!

TTFN!

Tita San Passes

It is the 14th in Manila. At 11:28 am, Tita San dies. I think she was just waiting for all the her documents to be prepared, and for Mom to finally arrive from the States. But I don't think she could have hung on much longer, she was in pain. I remember asking Bang to whisper in Tita San's ear that if she was just hanging on waiting for Mom, and if she was in pain, to just let go, just so she won't be in pain anymore.

Mom and I never made it to Tita San's side. We were waiting at the airport when we got the call from Manila. I just thank God that we had decided that I was going home with Mom; otherwise, she'd have been getting that call when she was alone. At least I was there to offer a (wide) shoulder to cry on if she needed it.

But if you know my mom, she is a strong woman. Takes after Lola. She tried to hide her tears while we were in the plane. I let her cry it out for a little bit, her head turned away from everyone else. After a bit, I hugged her and told her that she HAD to get some sleep while in the plane because I was expecting her NOT to get any sleep once we landed and she'd want to take care of every little detail she could during Tita San's wake.

In a way, I think Tita San had waited for as long as she could. I told Mom that she had no business feeling guilty for being away from Tita San when she passed. It was her time, and she was at peace with what she knew about the state of her affairs.

One of the more important things that were "settled" so to speak, was the mended relationship between her kids and Tito Lito. The kids finally heard their mom's side from Tito Lito. All the things and emotions that she went through during her last 4 years, I think he told her kids. And they thanked Tito Lito for everything that he did for Tita San.

Another thing that was settled were all Tita San's properties. They had been transferred several years back, and a few were already in the process. Even some blue ridge real estate was settled. No, that's Tito Rey's. I meant the Santolan apartment's documents were already settled.

Tita San is to be cremated as soon as possible. I was right in thinking that she didn't want anyone to see her body ravished by the cancer that had eaten at her. Everyone wanted to remember her as the truly alive, vibrant person she was.

My Star Wars Character

Take this quiz and find out who you are :)
Your results:
You are Han Solo

Han Solo 67% Qui-Gon Jinn 65% Luke Skywalker 64% Emperor Palpatine 59% Mace Windu 58% Darth Vader 57% Yoda 57% R2-D2 56% Obi-Wan Kenobi 56% Jabba the Hutt 55%

Even though you've been described as reckless, selfish and cocky, you're the type of person others love to be around. People like you because you're a scoundrel.

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)

Another Sweet Rewards Point on the way! :) May the Force be with you!

YouTube Entertainment

This is the first time I'm embedding a YouTube video, so hopefully, it'll come out ok. This particular video was taken of the kids during their performance of High School Musical during Avic's debut last year. Last year?!?!? Where did the time go!!!

High School Musical Kids' Dance



This should earn me a Sweet Reward Point for sure! :)

Entering the World of Harry Potter...

...yet again. With each new book that JK Rowling comes out with, I feel this NEED to read the series in all its entirety. Just so I'd understand the book better. So with the Deathly Hallows arriving on the 21st this month, I enter the world of witchcraft and wizardry yet again with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Because I barely have any time to read all the books before Book 7 comes out, I've decided to read Raegan's series of books. Yes, the kids' version! :) Luckily, we had bought the British version while in Singapore, and I had bought the 6th book from Hong Kong.

Easier reading for sure, but 98% of the adult version is in that tiny little volume. Of maybe it's just me that it looks tiny when compared to the hard bound Harry Potter books of mine? Hehehehe. Whatever the reason, it is still an enjoyable read!

So yes, goodbye to the world for now....and allow me to enter and float dream-like in Harry Potter's world!

TTFN!

June Round Up

My June 2007 Round Up

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

What with the soltera, Hong Kong trip, wedding and planning our anniversary trip, it was a WONDER that I started --- and finished --- Jodi Picoult's Songs of the Humpback Whale!

A basic summary: Jane runs away from her husband after a major fight. Her daughter goes with her. She writes to her brother who tells her where to go in his next letter, delivered to the Post Office of the next town. This continues until Jane's husband, a well-known oceanographer, finally tracks her down.

This is a pretty deep, complex book. I was very confused with the book having 5 different narrators, not just Jane. It was a chore to have to completely change my reading perspective every chapter, but as I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. :) Jodi Picoult explores these 5 characters and how they relate to each other very thoroughly. Then the reader gets to tie everything together. Though not by all means predictable, Songs of the Humpback Whales is most definitely NOT an easy read. Be prepared to spend a few hours delving into this book.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

We had kiddie movies this month: Meet the Robinsons and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Enjoyable films both, but not sure if it's worth getting the DVD, hehehe. Maybe Meet the Robinsons.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

June 11 - Rogan's 8th birthday. He had THE most brilliant idea for his birthday celebration: Bowling!!! Everyone had a blast at Paeng's Skybowl, especially the kids. And for me? The EASIEST party to (non) prepare! Hehehe.

June 12 - Double celebration here. We had Philippine Independence Day, of course, where we went on this fabulous walking tour by led by Carlos Celdran. AND Rod proposed to Zhar that same night!!!

June 14 - Lola Nene's 88th Birthday! Some trivia: Rogan is exactly 80 years younger than Lola, and I'm exactly 50 years younger than Lola! :)

June 15-17 - All Girls' Hong Kong Trip. Just Mom, Tita B, Bang, Lai and moi. It was a trip where we literally did not do anything BUT eat, shop and sleep. A vicious cycle, but we had so much fun!

June 17 - Father's Day. Scroll down towards the bottom of the post to read about what we did for Father's Day this year.

June 18 - Despedida de Soltera of Stella. Squeezed myself into an old gown, whew! My girls looked beautiful in their too-old-for-them (maybe) dresses, hehehe, and my boys looked very dashing in their barong tagalogs!

June 21 - Birthdays of Tito Lito, Stella, Yuri.

June 22 - Wedding Day of Randy and Stella. Go check out the photo-heavy post! :)


What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

My back's been acting up, as usual. Maybe it's all those hours sitting on a chair doing the chaplets, or all the walking in Hong Kong, maybe even all the scrapping *wink*! Oh but wait, can't have been the latter since I usually scrap on my bed! Hehehe. Yoga has been a lifesaver yet again; I'm actually on week 5 of my 10-week program. Couldn't do a whole lot of yoga the latter part of the month, what with everything that was going on!

Had a major toothache. So bad that I wanted the dentist to pull the effing tooth out, but she wanted to preserve the dang tooth! Ugh! Luckily I listened to her; it was a short, painless procedure :)

Tita San is still in and out of the hospital. We're not sure if things will ever look good for her. :(


What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

Aside from all the birthdays and parties we celebrated this month, we also had:

1. The Sisterhood Challenge - To date, we have done the cover pages and the first month double spreads. I've finished Baptism pages for Raegan only. Like I said, it was a busy month. Sigh!

2. Swimming Competition - The kids competed in Celebrity Sports Plaza where they had a 50-meter pool! For the first time ever, Rogan's time in freestyle was way faster than his Ate's!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Hmmmm.....I always have difficulty completing this part of the Round Up every single month! Well, with all the shopping that I did in Hong Kong, I can't remember everything! I did buy Boydee's birthday gift early....

I also bought Randy and Stella's wedding gift, a 4-inch memory foam mattress with 2 king size pillows. I also got a 6-pack of standard memory foam pillows for us, just because they're hypo-allergenic. Maybe it'll work wonders with the kids' allergies.

Oh! And THE most unusual gift for this month? This one that I gave to Stella for her wedding shower, hehehehe:

What were this month's disappointments?

Tita San's deterioration. She's sometimes a shell of what she used to be; for a lot of times though, remnants of the old Tita San are seen through a smile, a grimace, a look.

What were my accomplishments this month?

My Cebu Album is DONE!!! Ordered through Shutterfly; I just CANNOT wait to get the finished product!

Still earning a bit via my blog, although my (very few!) faithful readers have started to complain that I've got too much advertisement going on, hehehe. I've resolved to cut down on those ads in the future. Maybe *wink*!

I've done a couple more weeks in the Yoga program despite the busy schedule for this month! In fact, I kept doing it even during our trip to Hong Kong!

Anything else noteworthy to record?

Plans are pretty much set for our anniversary trip. We won't be able to make it to Vegas on our date, but we get to go to Hawaii when we accompany Dad there on a layover enroute to Los Angeles. And yes, tickets have been paid for for our East Coast trip as well as reservations confirmed on our RCI exchanges in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

April Layout Count: (a measly) 23!

***End of Round Up***

(This post reconstructed July 23, 2007)