She Tagged Me

Au tagged me, and now I'm supposed to share seven random facts about myself.

1) I am married to a painter/sculptor. The first time people learn that, they invariably ask four questions:

a) Are you an artist, too? When asked by other artists I answer, "No, I'm just the wife." For non-artists, my standard answer is, "No, I'm the left brain of this operation." Recently, I've been thinking of changing my line to "No, but I scrapbook."

b) He must be very moody, how do you live with that? Contrary to popular belief, not all artists are temperamental. And lucky for me, my DH is the least moody person I know.

c) So who among your children are showing signs of being artists? I don't subscribe to the idea that children should inherit their parent's predilections. But like my paternal grandfather used to sing to me when I was a child, que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be.

d) You must have a very beautiful house filled with artworks. Nah...sorry.

2) I love to travel. After graduation, I spent a year travelling Asia and the US. I have been to Europe but there are still many countries left to explore. Right now, my priority is to go around the Philippines with my family.

3) I had dreams of becoming a professional writer. I entered U.P. as a Journalism major. My Filipino teacher that time, Rene O. Villanueva, told me I was in the wrong course. That if I wanted to write I should have enrolled in Literature or Creative Writing. So on my second year, I shifted - to Economics. Then I took my Masters in Public Administration. So what do those courses have to do with writing? Nothing. But they sure paid the bills. :-) Recently I had dinner with a couple of friends who share eight Palanca awards between them, and I asked. I want to write, what should I do? They answered, dapat chismosa ka. (You should be nosy.)

4) I love to eat but I can't cook. I even enrolled in Heny Sison's Essentials of Cooking (21 Saturdays of fine dining lessons) where I confirmed to myself and my husband that I don't like cooking. (But I discovered that I love baking.) During our grauation, we prepared a full-course meal for our guests. When I served my DH, I whispered to his ear, "Don't get used to this. It is never going to happen again."

5) I love reading. I will read anything I lay my eyes or hands on. Even if a book is really bad, I would read it to the end, hoping that it will redeem itself sooner or later. I can't say that there is a book that changed my life (I think it will take more than a book to do that) but there are books that I really related to and made perfect sense during particular moments in my life.

6) I have been a TV addict since Sesame Street and The Electric Company. I swooned over Remington Steele and MacGyver. I was a big Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan. Right now, I am loving the thrill of Prison Break seasons 1 and 2. I tell the days of the week by what is showing on television.

7) I love movies. I used to be an MTRCB deputy and I was able to watch all the movies I wanted for free. But much as I love the movies, I wait in trepidation when the movie moguls decide to make movies out of my favorite books. Thankfully, The Lord of the Rings adaptation lived up to the movie in my mind or there would have been Mordor to pay.

Now I am supposed to tag seven other people. If you read this entry, consider yourself tagged. :-)

Tribute to a Great Dad

It's late and I should be sleeping. Another long and busy day tomorrow. But, finally, I get the chance to blog and I can't resist taking this chance to share what the KiDS and I made for THE Oustanding Young Man (got it?) of our lives.

The week before Fathers' Day I asked the KiDS to write ten things they love about their Papa. Sarah and Kahlo were quite excited to do the assignment. Diego was quite blase about it. He said that he would just treat his Papa to the Fantastic Four movie, and indeed, that's just what they did last Sunday. A little male-bonding time.

Sarah came up with this:

At the back of which is her interpretation of the best day ever.

Kahlo needed help writing down her top 10 but all the sentiments are hers.

I then summarized their list to come up with the top 10 for our mini-album.

Mini cards inside the envelope:

Front:
Back:
The Process:
I finally got to use the mini-album which I bought at the September 2006 Scrapfest, and also my paper scraps. I decided that this was also the best time to use the stickers that Manang sent me last year. This is my first mini-album - I only ever did LOs and that altered photo box. I enjoyed it so much I think I might be doing more such albums in the future.

I did the layouts Saturday afternoon while my KiDS did the journaling and the doodling. They also made mini-cards to be put inside the envelope at the back of the album. They had fun sneaking in and out of the bedroom, making sure that Papa doesn't see us at work. It was a big secret. It is truly a collaborative work of love for THE man. And of course, on THE day, it was much appreciated. He says he will always keep it with him and whenever anyone asks him about his family, he will simply show it off. Syempre, proud mama naman ako.

Materials Used:
Simple Scrapbooks mini-album, my scraps of Making Memories PPS, EK Success stickers, MAMBI rub-ons, Technique Tuesday and CE stamps, Colorbox ink.

Lakbayan - Travel Philippines

I had some time to myself today and spent it visiting my favorite blogs. I found this at Leirs'. I love to travel and my dream is to be able to visit every corner of the Philippines so I took the test. I think the Philippines is as interesting (or even more so) to visit as other Asian countries or even Europe and America.

I am lucky that I have a DH who loves to travel as much as I do, that I have friends scattered all around the country who I know will welcome me with open arms should I ever find myself in their neck of the woods, and that I had a job that allowed me to visit places that are outside the usual tourist destinations.

So here is my map from Lakbayan. There's a lot of ground I still have to cover. I am hoping that I can visit Sulu soon. My Muslim friends tell me it is paradise, if not for the peace and order situation.

My Lakbayan grade is B-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

I think the map is a brilliant idea, except that the survey questions can be a bit confusing. What exactly did he mean by "just passing through" and "remainder"? Because, really, to reach some of the destinations, you have to pass through someplace. To get from point A to C, I will have to drive by point B. Does that count already as having traveled point B? And if it was not listed as a specific destination in the survey, he has "remainder." Remainder is very ambiguous. Especially if you do not have a map in your head. How will I know for sure if the "remainder" he is talking about is not point B, as I am on my way from point A to C? But anyway, for what it's worth, it's a fun survey to take.

Gone Shopping!

Due to certain difficulties, I will not be blogging for awhile. And, oh, re my title? I wish!

Slowing Down

So! My glee over my good start has been cut short by reality. The reality that I caught the bug last weekend and my head felt like cotton for days. (Or at least, what I imagine cotton would feel like if it could.) The reality that the KiDS started school today. The reality that their yaya is not coming back. Ever! Mommy! Me - shrieking ala Paris.

Goodbye lazy mornings. Goodbye scrapping bliss. Hello waking up grumpy. Hello waking up even grumpier KiDS. Hello trying to convince three brats to eat their breakfast, drink their milk, take their vitamins and put on their uniforms, without anyone breaking into tears. (It takes all my energy not to break down and cry, I tell you.) Hey there, bringing the KiDS to school in the boondocks where there is no internet. Hey again, waiting at my in-laws' for the KiDS to come home, and again, trying to make them understand that food is good. You're back, homeworks that boggle the mind. Good evening whoever said "early to bed, early to rise..." Hello sweet pillow and soft bed for my tired bones. Go to hell alarm clock.

Where has the summer gone? Yayaaaa!!!!

A Good Start

June has just started and I have already finished two layouts. I do not count the hours I put into creating layouts because I do not scrap without interruptions. But one a day is not bad...I sure hope I keep it up.


Almost Forty is my entry to the PS Kayang Kaya June Challenge. I made it on June 2 - the eve of my 4oth birthday. Details are in the blog. But I'll tell you a secret, I should've used a bigger photo but I was too cheap to print out another black and white photo. I've had the 4x6 photo since early this year. I planned to mat it in wide white CS and PPS to give it an illusion of being the right size for a 12x12 layout, but I forgot to do it. Haha. Talk about memory gap. Must be the only downside to turning forty.

And here is an LO that I started and finished today. I followed the Basic Grey May sketch. I took this photo of Sarah when she was four, on a family trip to Palawan. Her Papa carried her as close as possible to the butterfly. She was so fascinated by it. In fact, the Butterfly Garden was a big hit to the KiDS.

Journaling Reads:
(Palawan, 5/21/04) May you always see the beauty around you...May you never lose your sense of joy and WONDER

Materials Used:
DCWV CS, Basic Grey PPS, Bazzill and Prima Flowers, Secenic Route alphabet chipboards, EK Success Phrase Cafe, MM acrylic paint, UTEE, Craft Express clear stamps, Uni-ball Signo pen, Colorbox Chalk inks.

The Process:
I scrap simple. Much as I want to try the wonderful styles of other scrappers, I just can't. When I start doing that, I lose the joy in creating. So I just go where the flow takes me. I have also stopped wishing I had this or I had that, and just used what I have on hand. Also, I really enjoyed making this because I am finally using supplies that I've had for more than a year. I feel I am making some headway and that just feels great.

40th Birthday

Well, this video by a family favorite just about sums it up. Please click here.

Woke up to the lively chorus of The Birthday Song from DH and the KiDS. Lots of hugs, kisses and cuddles before I could even make it out of the bed. Headed off for lunch at Casa Gracia (my MIL's house). We had a belly-filling lunch of sugpo, liempo, pusit, buko salad and mango cream pie. Around 4 pm we headed off to explore the latest Ayala Mall - TriNoma. DH and I had a guessing game as to what trinoma meant. Three what? Turns out TriNoma stands for Triangle North of Manila. I wonder how long it took the staff at ALI to coin that word?

Trinoma is huge and confusing. We had to stop and ask several security guards where we can park. All the parking lots were full. We just walked around, (I can't believe the number of people there) until we spotted our favorite stores, conveniently located right next to each other - Toys 'R' Us and Powerbooks. We spent some time at both stores. And then since it's my birthday, I got to choose which restaurant to eat in. But bearing in mind the KiDS' happiness, (I think it will always be like this when you're a parent), I chose Jollibee and was met with "yeahs" and "Happy Birthday, Mommys." (The KiDS only call me "mommy" when they're feeling especially affectionate.) Besides, DH and I already had dinner buffet at Alba's Spanish Restaurant. They always send us complementary dinner certificates on our respective birthdays. So you can say we eat at Alba's every six months. Haha.

Like Spongebob says, this is the best day ever!

PS - thanks to all those who sent me warm birthday greetings on this day. Mwah!