Instagr.am Love – Week 6

This blog category is moving in snail’s pace.  I found it so troublesome to sort photos on the iPhone because you can’t tell right away which ones were taken using Instagr.am (IG). Gah!  So after downloading on my Mac, I painstakingly went through each one and picked out the IG photos I haven’t uploaded yet. So, here they are.  My 2nd to the last installment of our Manila Holiday photos. Whew!

Playtime at Power Plant Mall, Rockwell:

My kids will never get tired of play areas like these.

Oh, how we miss Ate J.  She helped us a lot during our holiday.

Sy was so scared of the car rides. He’s hanging on for dear life!

Happy girl!

Lunch at Cafe Juanita with my charms and mother-in-law:

The beef mechado was good but the sinigang na corned beef was nothing close to Sentro’s version.

But this dessert I love!

My charms in the Bellagio pool.

Had a massage treat from my mother-in-law.

Last Day at Filinvest, Alabang:

Default pose with Jollibee.

Amelie enjoyed her quick trip to the salon.

The kids rode this carousel a gazillion times already. Hee.

The mall was gearing-up for the Chinese New Year.

Clark, Pampanga trip with my fam-bam:

You can’t tell from the facade of the building how cozy the restaurant is on the inside.  – @C Italian Dining.

Lounging while the staff were working on our orders.

Bellissimo!

The food’s great and so was the bill. Ha ha.

C Resto had a lot of popular patrons.  This one was written by Jimmy Santos, TV Host.

  Solid! Hee.

Found this the daintiest of them all!

 

 

Heart’s Day 2012

We had our family dinner out at Phoenix (again) last Sunday. The major reasons why we dined out was 1) I was unwell that weekend and didn’t want to cook :P and 2) We celebrated a big milestone in our little family’s life (blog entry to follow :) ). So we thought that it’s fitting to make it our V-Day dinner, too. Hee.

 The hubby made my day with the pretty red rose and a box of yummy cupcakes he brought home today.

The kids enjoyed these goodies, too!

Amelie made this flowery Valentine’s Day card for her Daddy.

The best Valentine’s gift!

A Sentimental Note

This morning, I went home to an empty house. I drove my daughter to school, she’s on her 2nd week in Kindergarten and then my son to his 1st day at day care.

Despite the heaps of chores I have to do, here I am all weepy and feeling like something is amiss. This separation anxiety is surely getting the best of me. But I have to trust that even without me, my kids will thrive. They will discover new and exciting things in this world that they will not learn being with me everyday, in our little sheltered environment. And that as they grow and mature, all these worry and sadness will fade away.

But for now, I’ll just sulk a bit more in this misery of missing my kids. Missing their laughter, cries and endless chatter that make this house a home.

These were taken during the holidays.  School started in January 30 here in Sydney.  See here how the playroom gets (and stays) messy day to day.

My kids love playing with playdough.

 

Bangus (Milkfish) Fix

My sister treated us to Bangus Restaurant, Mall of Asia branch last December.  I heart their sinigang bangus belly to bits! Now, I’m craving. ((Sniff))  Nonetheless, Happy Saturday!

My sister-in-law, J and daughter, LA.

With my princess…

..and my prince.

Dessert at the Creamery.

More poses.

With my sis, C.

My One Word for 2012

Last December, I thought of starting the New Year with One Word. It is a word that I’d live by, remind myself of often and be happy about just pondering. My one word for 2012 is FREEDOM. Last year has been a tough yet rewarding year in so many aspects in my life. I will never ever forget 2011 and how it had made me a better person. At least that’s how I see myself now.

Why freedom? I have read in one of my favourite author Barry Neil Kaufman’s writings that “we are born with many beliefs”. That as we grow older, these beliefs, wrong or right, form part of who we are and determine how we will live our lives. For example, growing up in a province in the Philippines and having a very simple mother and a very strict father, I believed that I should dress up and present myself a certain way. A way that will never hurt my parents’ ideal image of me. Hence, I never wore nail polish. The first time I did, as far as I can remember was during my wedding. I was already two weeks short of turning 30 years old then! But last year, I broke away from this belief. I painted my toenails red. It felt good. During our Christmas vacation in the Philippines, I had my fingernails painted red, too. Oh, sweet freedom! It was like I had set myself free from my own judgments. Judgments that have put lids in all of what I wanted to do in life.

It does not stop there. I have been “unearthing” these beliefs in me and slowly but surely changing my perspective and totally turning my back from them. So long as these newly-formed beliefs do not go against my faith in God, they don’t hurt the people around me and they make me happy, I’m totally there.

How about you? What is your One Word?

Instagr.am Love – Week 5

It makes me feel a bit homesick looking at these photos taken last Christmas.  ((sad face))

Taken at Power Plant Mall, Rockwell.

At Toys R’ Us at the same mall.  Love, love my little boy’s smile here.

The dynamic duo. :)

Had dinner here at the Ayala Triange branch.

While waiting for the light show to start.

Watched this the 2nd time.

All sweaty and tired but happy to have seen this attraction the second time around.

 

 

 

Instagr.am Love – Week 4

My husband and I agree that our last Christmas vacation is by far the best we’ve ever had. This only made us look forward to our next planned trip back to Manila, God willing. Here are a few more catch-up photos from my iPhone.

Visits to this bazaar has become an annual thing for me.  Hee.

Along Macapagal Highway.

 It was my first time to use this shade of nail polish last year. I heart red.

Not really a big fan of polvoron.  I bought this though because I was intrigued by the new flavors.

Eng Bee Tin goodness.

My ‘pasalubong’ for the kids when I went out for some “me”-time.

While we were waiting for the fireworks display at the Mall of Asia, the kids stopped by at Burger King for sundae treats.

With her cousin, LA.

Just a minute before the fireworks started, I took a photo of these cuties.

The kids were all in awe.

It was so crowded, I couldn’t move to get the roof out of the frame.

My little tornado stopping for a minute to pose for me.

Ahh, my little lady looking so mature and beautiful.

The following photos were not taken using IG but the standard camera functionality of my iPhone.

Unique deco at SM Mall of Asia.

My Little Munchkin

Just like that my little boy is almost 28 months old. He is one happy, cranky, fun-loving, sweet, moody, outdoor-sy, tiny person.  He loves to play kick ball, run around, watch and dance with the Wiggles, play Angry birds, watch and sing abc videos, doodle with his sister’s markers and listen to Bruno Mars. :)

He still loves his milk and still does not sleep through the night(!) but we see incremental developments in the sleep territory.  He eats much, much better and has outgrown being uber-picky.  I keep telling myself that we should enjoy his toddler stage because before we know it, he’ll be going to big school just like his big sister.

Here, There and Everywhere

I took out my “Mark” for a brief walk outside one morning.  The sun was up and it was very hot.  I couldn’t stand walking around lugging my heavy dslr with its strap rubbing against my nape.  (Or maybe I should’ve worn a collared shirt. :) ) So in the end, I took about just ten shots.

Then while I was processing the photos on my computer, I remembered how excited I was when I first used my first ever dslr — a Canon 30D in 2004.  I took photos of just about anything — food, street signs, shells on the beach, fallen leaves, etc.  I didn’t care then if people will like my photos or not.  I had fun.

And then I discovered many photography blogs.  I have my favorite reads to this day.  But little did I know that while I expose myself to these wonderful blogs, the more I got conscious of my own photos.  I began to post less and less on my blogs.  It killed my joy.

It is entirely my fault, really.  Photography is a highly subjective form of art.  I should care less what people will say and should never compare.  And with the rebirth of this blog, I vow to nurture the joy I once found in taking photos.

Just like that, the Christmas season is over.

The “bahay-kubo” (nipa hut) in my family’s compound.

 

My daughter watching the other kids play.  The chair behind her belongs to my late grandmother.  It’s still very sturdy to this day.

My son enjoying his time under the sun.

Instagr.am Love – Week 2

One of the important values we (my husband and I) want to instil in our children is love for family, immediate and extended family that is. As much as we can, we try to open up opportunities for our kids to have close relationships with our relatives even if we are a gazillion miles away from them. We’re grateful that we can visit the Philippines every Christmas, we also have periodic Skype sessions while in Sydney and I try my best to update my Facebook account. They all add up to bridge the distance.

Growing up, I feel so blessed that I have good ties with most of my relatives. We may not see them often but when we do, there is that “connection”, love and respect for each other. I should thank my parents for instilling this important value in my siblings and me.

Below is my second installment of my Instagr.am Love posts. I’m so enjoying this and it motivates me to pick up my phone and capture life as it happens. I have only brought out my dlsr once since we arrived over two weeks ago but in the coming days and weather permitting, I will be practicing with my “Mark” again. Toodles!

My mother-in-law took this photo of me and my eldest.  My kids got so tired and sweaty running around their condo unit in Makati so here, I was up tidying up Amelie’s hair.  I love this photo.

Here is my Isaiah, posing for a second before he started running again.  It really takes lots of energy and will power to keep an eye on this little boy.  He really is my “little tornado”.

Amelie posing for me for the nth time after our dinner at Amici.  Good sport, you are my dearest.

We’ll be back at Amici for sure!

Dancing lights at the Ayala Triangle.  I should share the video I took that night as well.  Even if it rained hours before and the ground was wet, there were still lots of people really “wow-ed” by this.  The dancing lights start at 6, 7 and 8pm and runs for about 15 minutes.

We’ll see you again tomorrow, weather permitting!

 

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