M has been showing so much excitement lately on our next out of town trip. we still cannot decide yet which one this time, but we want a place that we’ve never been before or an experience that we haven’t tried yet such as a ski vacation perhaps? this is one outdoor activity that we’ve never had and living here in the ever snow-hammered New England must’ve been one of the reasons why. it’s that ‘we’ve had enough of snow already’ feeling most likely that’s causing this discrimination to anything or any freezing cold and immaculate white blanketed place. but maybe it’s about time for that ski-cation, just for the thrill of it!

this may not be our own house [since we are just renting] but i just cannot stand living anywhere that i don’t put my personal touch into. whether it’s just a small rented apartment or our own house even back home in the Philippines, I need to have it designed or at least decorated however i feel like it. if it’s even feasible, i will even do the painting myself or even setting up ceramic tiles with my own two hands mostly because i want to make sure that it turns out how i pictured it to be. that’s just how i am. call it the designer in me or the love for anything hands on.

…back to more macro shots, i am. with the following settings…in a portable studio, sitting on top of a mirror, a gray backdrop cloth, 2 fill lights…with some natural light.

Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Firmware
Firmware Version 1.0.9
Shooting Date/Time
2/1/2010 00:27:40
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/6Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F5.6
Metering Modes
Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS…………….. with a 10mm macro filter
Focal Length
55.0 mm
Image size
4272 x 2848………………………………resized.
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Tungsten
AF mode
Manual (MF)
Picture Style
Portrait…………………………………..d’oh! haha!
Parameters
Tone Curve : Standard

do critique!

ang band ring na ito ay akin! akin na ngayon. malungkot man isipin, ibinigay ito sa akin ng mama ko noong huling bisita nila dito sa amin sa Massachusetts halos 2 taon na ang nakakaraan. alam nya na type na type ko itong singsing na ito, dahil kanya ito. maski na inaalok nya sa akin ito noon, hindi ko tinatanggap dahil alam kong gusto rin nya ito. ang nakapagtataka nga lang pilit nya itong ibinigay sa akin sa kahuli hulihang pagkakataon. hindi ko rin alam kung bakit sa panahong iyon, akin na rin itong tinanggap. malungkot. na masaya kasi napasa-aKIN na rin itong minimithi kong palamuti!

an entry to Litratong Pinoy…with the theme…AKIN. and for more bling action, i discovered this nifty unique gifts for her accessories that would be good for anyone who loves artisan hand-crafted jewelries.

…this one’s for Ayen! i posted last night on my Facebook status that i was eating these together with pistachio nuts…and yup! my guess was more or less accurate. not such a good combination after all! it’s not that bad, but better beware if you have sensitive tummies! hehe! one go was all it took for me though.

So this is how Longans look like Ayen:)
it is somehow hard to find here in the country but i would assume that any Asian store will have this when in season. that’s where i got them:) must be a cousin of sorts, this sweet, succulent almost lychee-tasting fruit brings back memories.. that of my mom, more importantly. we both loved this and we first had a taste of it together during that special trip, when she gifted me with my very first airplane ride to nearby Hongkong.

and now it’s my daughter Samantha who shares this love love love for snacking on ‘em!:)

At my age, I am a self confessed fan of the song, ‘You’re so Vain’ haha! not that it applies to me, but it just reminds me of how cosmetically challenged i am these days. The more obvious ones would be getting back into shape, getting that smooth and soft skin especially on my tired hands! yikes! and more importantly now, is having healthy teeth. This is a fact and I have to deal with it sooner or later. I am faced with the truth that I wasn’t blessed with a good set, blame my genes I guess. But there should be something that I can do about it right? What about going to a Plano cosmetic dentist? What do you think?  Will that be going to far?  Maybe not if I really want to get back into feeling that good about my smile again.

I know I have told you a million times that I have been debating on going back to school. See, I have this obliterating dilemma or not, whether I should follow my heart’s desire in Photography or even Culinary or going to divert into the medical field and thinking of more practical solutions such as Nursing perhaps. Another great factor to consider would be the setup, which will greatly affect our daily lives…my routine so to speak as a hand on mom to my two kids. Will going to a regular school be more of an advantage or getting an online degree would be a much wiser choice in terms of tending to all my responsibilities while I study? This is why I have been doing some research recently about all these and I stumbled upon this website where they offer such course in Nursing. We all know how this course is never affected by the current or previous probably even future recessions, which is giving me an inkling to do this even more. As my husband would say, ‘you can keep your passion on the sideline’ at least for now. The tuition fee is another factor, but this one says they offer at least half of the other existing schools out there and if you actually pay less when you are able to complete your online degree at a lesser time frame like a year. Sounds good to me! Now I need to check whether I can be qualified for a student loan or not considering my current status here in the country.

what’s that? before you scroll down…can you at least try guessing first? demanding! haha!
this has been part of our weekly ritual…the hubs and myself, that is. more often than not, Saturday mornings are spent in this place while the kids are in their karate class. it’s also the only ‘our-time’…and we make good use of it…

with…

dining…dimsum style!:)
kakainin lang po nitong mga larawan na ito, sa kadahilanang nagpunta kaming mag-asawa sa Doctor kaninang umaga para sa aming flu shots at blood test naman para k M…at syempre pa…wala ang mga bata…nasa school…kaya dito kami dumiretso! pramis! haha!

syempre pa ang paborito naming…chicken feet ay hindi mawawala sa order:) sarap!!!
lahok para sa Litratong Pinoy…na may temang…BALAK!

…on days like this, any kind of warm and hearty soup would be great!

my love for food? my food blog? my continuous drive to learn anything and everything culinary? yeah…or possibly it is genetic too! both the bulge and that of being a self-proclaimed foodie. now, i have been debating on taking those creams or pills to ease this guilt mostly right after bouts of dining and pigging out! haha! but i must check on some relevant relacore reviews first i know…just to be sure and not waste some precious money too.